Am I the Crazy One???

The above question/title is one I've asked myself for decades and, in some cases, have come back with a positive response. Not this time! What began as a silly, lighthearted post on a Facebook friend's page quickly mutated into a bizarre exchange where I realized I wasn't being spoken to, I was being lectured by a lunatic. Thanks to another friend, I have the entire thread even after the inevitable blocking of me. 

Here's the image that prompted the discussion:

And here's the thread:

 

Chris Norton Because each new gen are made up of 3-kinds of peeps; the ones who wish they were in the past, the ones who define themselves as not dif from their parent's gen, and those who do live in their own time, the 2nd need to put that stuff down to make themselves feel better & b/c they've a weak sense of self & feel that's the only way to break away from being defined by their parents

15 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton But what I remember from the 80's was bad stuff: Reaganomics, bomb shelters, nuke bomb drills, and the 1st Gulf war

13 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau The first Gulf War was in 1991.
For me, one glance at that prune drinking a martini is enough to say much of the 80s sucked.

12 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton But what I remember from the 70's was high gas prices, the Viet war; but also disco and hippies and feminism

12 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton well I stand corrected by 2-years then

12 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Disco is not a compelling argument for LOL

11 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Not saying it was

11 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton but you also cannot just an entire generation of people

11 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton let alone as bad, to do so suggests you also judge entire countries, races and religions as bad to

10 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau I think there was a word missing there.

10 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Or an incorrect one. Did you mean "judge?"

9 minutes ago · Like

David Garlow Chris thinks the 90's were cool, nuff said

9 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau The 90s weren't cool.

9 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Especially when your willing to go on such little info from a characterization rather than reality, to take a microcosm of a situation and blow it up and say that represents the whole

9 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Chris Norton, you keep making these odd comments that bear no connection to what I wrote and I'm still not even sure what your original point was.

8 minutes ago · Edited · Like

David Garlow He also liked the boy bands, he lip-synchs to them to this very day

8 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton b/c that's how propaganda vs. other races, countries and religions work, so if you're willing to do so yourself without being targeted for propaganda, what chance do you have of not going with that propaganda when its specifically intended to get you to...

7 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Done with the speech? How about we go back to the post with the missing and/or incorrect word so I can get a little perspective and context?

7 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton do exactly what you're doing here (making yourself feel better than others by saying a group you belong to is better than another group)

7 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton by the exact means by which they would try to get you to do so

6 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton I am trying to give you a larger sociological perspective

6 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Are you gonna pass the bong down because nothing you're saying has anything to do with what I wrote. In fact, you just judged me based on nothing the same way you apparently think I judged others, which I never did.

6 minutes ago · Like · 1

David Garlow man, can't we all just chill and laugh at a stupid cartoon poster without it being a debate on world politics, music, race...humor...what ever happened to humor? and 'kaff' what Nadeau?

5 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton you do understand that by taking a small thing and saying that justifies your thinking you and your people are better than another group of people, is by definition bigotry, making U a bigot

5 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Thanks, I don't require a larger sociological perspective, I already have one. However, since I was only speaking for Reagen being the reason I felt the Eighties sucked in some way, I'm not sure why the stump speech was necessary?

5 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton and you are also aware that every country in the world has propaganda, and that the exact means they use for propaganda are the way you use to justify stuff anyway, so that you're especailly susceptible to it

4 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Yes you do need it, you are in desperate need of it

4 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Okay, at this point you're obviously just engaging in online masturbation. Enjoy the one-sided conversation.

3 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton not just for you, but because of the fact these attitudes of yours will be used by others to make it easier for them to hurt others

3 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau LOL! And then he went and blocked me!

Melissa Weaver WHAT!? Chris Norton, Nadeau never said anything about any group of people. Reread the thread, man!

17 minutes ago · Like

Derek Foster you can't already have something "larger", larger refers to more/ bigger than what you have

15 minutes ago · Like

Evalyn Crooks cuz they forgot how to dress them selves.....

15 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau No, in this case "larger" refers to something bigger than what others he's referring to have.

13 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Evalyn Crooks You as opposed to African Americans with nearly their whole boxers showing, and 14 year olds with midriffs like they were a college girl trying to get laid?

11 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Evalyn Crooks All cultures are approximately equal; good <==> bad they all tend to even out in the end

10 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Evalyn Crooks the only thing you can be sure of is the closer something is to your own culture the more likely it is part of your unquestioned assumptions, or as they say "1's too close to it to judge"

9 minutes ago · Like

Chris Topher-thomas Perguidi no one ever says the 80s sucked its the 90s sucked

8 minutes ago · Like

Christopher Nadeau Uh-oh! Get ready for another sociological perspective speech!

7 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Evalyn Crooks causing ppl to criticize others (who they cannot force to change without it becoming abuse or worse) but not changing themselves, which they can do most easily- so if you're asking the question of whether a gen sucked or not, you're already wrong-minded

6 minutes ago · Like

Evalyn Crooks more like offended.... and any day you can get up and enjoy your day is a good doesn't matter if its the 60's , 70's , 80's , 90's or the 00's

6 minutes ago · Like · 1

Christopher Nadeau Every decade has its traits but unless it was nothing but war and disease, I don't think any one decade sucked.

5 minutes ago · Unlike · 1

Evalyn Crooks why did you attack just made a statement about the fashion that is what most women complain about in the 80's

4 minutes ago · Unlike · 1

Chris Norton Evalyn Crooks not being offended is an overly valued commodity, those who are the most offended are usually the ones benefiting the most from offensive things (e.g. ppl in the burbs, whose whole lifestyle depends upon ghettos & the oppression of the developing & 3rd world)

3 minutes ago · Like

Melissa Weaver He seems to do that to anyone with an opinion. he's like a robot that was programmed to annoy people and then got struck by lightning and couldn't stop.

3 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Evalyn Crooks fashion is an easy target, they also attack fashion in the 70's, 60's 50's (e.g. the beatniks);& if someone's complaining more about fashion that the wars in central america and giving weapons to both Iran and Iraq, their values are out of wack.

Melissa Weaver Chris Norton, are you a first year sociology student who can't handle all the theories and "really makes ya think" concepts?

8 minutes ago · Like

Melissa Weaver Chris Norton, are you a first year sociology student who can't handle all the theories and "really makes ya think" concepts?

Chris Norton I like make you think concepts

7 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Melissa Weaver but you have to realize that the point of them is to have a discussion about the subject, and if everyone is on the same side; well that's not accomplishing much, and if its criticizing another group of people and everyone's in agreement about doing so that's dangerous

6 minutes ago · Like

Melissa Weaver So you basically have no sense of humor or irony?

5 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton Melissa Weaver I didn't say that

4 minutes ago · Like

Melissa Weaver You didn't have to. You've demonstrated it by totaling missing the point of this silly image and turning the thread into a diatribe on your views on having views.

3 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton I enjoyed the clip and was gonna juz comment upon that clip, after answering the question; but when seeing people who are criticizing large groups of others,

3 minutes ago · Like

Chris Norton well that is very close to bigotry and that behavior is the exact opposite that one should have

3 minutes ago · Like

Melissa Weaver Nobody criticized any groups, Chris. I think you go through life hoping for that so you can make your comments.

about a minute ago · Like

Chris Norton If one cannot look at one's own culture only 25 years before without feeling a need to say that is not me and I am better than that; than how can they (without changing that mindset) be excepted to nor view people in or from other countries with completely dif cultures as infinitely worse than you are essentially judging yourselves

about a minute ago · Like

Chris Norton Melissa Weaver A generation is a group

a few seconds ago · Like

Chris Norton Melissa Weaver as is the GROUP of people in any time

a few seconds ago · Like

Melissa Weaver I realize that, my friend, but no one criticized a group. You started up before anybody had even responded to the image.

a few seconds ago · Like

Chris Norton Melissa Weaver and as stated I'm not concerned about how that would effect people who were that way in the 80's but about how that same attitude is an indicator of bigotry against others

a few seconds ago · Like

Chris Norton Melissa Weaver and as stated I'm not concerned about how that would effect people who were that way in the 80's but about how that same attitude is an indicator of bigotry against others

a few seconds ago · Like

Melissa Weaver That's a real stretch.

So, you be the judge of who was the crazy f**** here. I actually thought he was being humorous in the beginning!

 

 

 

 

　

　

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nadeau on Stage.

A few months ago, I was virtually approached by my favorite expatriate Rick Barry, whose acquaintance I originally made around 2005 on this very blogger website, with an interesting request. He asked me if I knew of anyone who'd written any short one or two act plays they were interested in having produced. I told him not only did I know someone, but that person looked just like me.

"Well, as long as he looks like you, I'd love to take a look," Rick replied.

Since I'd had a science fiction play outlined for years that I'd never been motivated to complete, I knew what I was going to be sending him. You see, Rick performs in a play troupe in Australia, his adopted homeland, and the adventuresome group of thespians was looking to create a night of short plays.

So, I went to work on mine, titled "A Flash of White," centering around seven very different individuals in a grocery store who, following a sudden flash of white light, are rendered momentarily unconscious. When they awake, they find themselves developing bizarre abilities based on their life choices and personalities with no ability to leave the grocery store. It was a story I'd always wanted to write in play form, so it was surprisingly easy to accomplish in the few weeks Rick gave me.

Then, the waiting game. Based on what he'd told me, I figured I wouldn't hear anything in regards to whether or not the play was going into production until possibly December of this year. Writers are a superstitious lot; any writer who tells you otherwise is either in denial or trying to make themselves appear cool. Not wanting to jinx it, I mentioned nothing of this online. Now, I'm, happy to say, I can do the very opposite. Yesterday, I received the following email:

Hey Chris,

My names Sam. I'm mate's with Rick who you sent your script for 'A Flash of White' through to. I enjoyed reading it and I'd like to include it as part of a short play script reading evening I'm hosting on the 8th April on Monday night at The Portable next to St Ambrose Hall (2-4 Dawson Street, Brunswick). If you are available and would like to come along and hear some actors read your script and have a bit of a discussion about it you would be most welcome.

Let me know.

Cheers: Sam B

Needless to say, I was pleased as spiked punch. I was also amused that Sam thought I would be able to attend the performance. I sent the following reply:

 

Hi, Sam!

Thanks so much for accepting the play. Rick mentioned it might not be performed until the end of the year, if at all, so it's wonderful to hear that it's being read so soon. Thanks also for the kind invitation. Sadly, I am stuck living in Middle America, so Oz would be a bit of a hike for me. However, if you're planning to record it, I'd love the chance to watch. Regardless, I am still pleased the play is going forward.

 

Regards,

Chris Nadeau

 

So, there you have it. "A Flash of White" shall be performed live on a stage in Oz. I'm worldwide, beeches!!!

 

An Unexpected Review.

As I've often written, it's the stories I consider throwaways that often grarner the most unexpected praise. In this case, my Halloween-themed "Always Say Treat," available to be absorbed and dissected in the A Feast of Frights anthology. Black Static Magazine wrote the following in its review:

'Always Say Treat’ by Christopher Nadeau crosses Halloween with Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ to give a

hellish version of every horror fan’s favourite festival, one made all the more minatory and disturbing

by what is not said or revealed.

Quoting Myself because literary masturbation is acceptable thanks to the Interwebbings.

"If you want to meet someone who's always surprised by the obvious and never prepared for the inevitable, talk to someone who has never read science fiction."

Info on an Upcoming Anthology.

Below is the cool cover for Diabolic Tales III, an anthology that will be released on October 15 of this year featuring my short story "The Other One" about a farmer in the 1950s who buries his wife only to be haunted by the sounds of her screaming to be released from the ground so the bugs will stop feeding upon her. Disney has optioned the movie rights with Mickey Mouse interested in the lead role!


Here's the cover:

"DT3 will be available for digital download for the Kindle and the Nook, and for pre-order of the trade paperback on October 15, 2013. "

Out of the Shadows emerges another Nadeau Tale!

After several attempts at finding a publisher for her latest anthology, The Horror Zine's Jeani Rector has announced the greenlight for the following project:

SHADOW MASTERS:
AN ANTHOLOGY FROM THE HORROR ZINE (Published by Imajin Books)

For those who are following along, you may recall I had a story in the previous Horror Zine antho A Feast of Frights, which actually made it all the way to the Bram Stoker Awards Recommendation List before being disquialified because it contained reprints from the Zine. Among those reprints was my Halloween story about evil children called Always Say Treat.

This time around, as Jeani writes, "Shadow Masters only contains original, never-before published fiction, not even on the ezine. Therefore, if we make it to the Stokers Recommendation List again, we cannot be disqualified."

Also, I feel the story in this anthology is much stronger than the previous one. It's possibly the best short story I've written, or at least in the top three.  Willard Junction is the title, and it's about an Old West town that feeds upon those who enter it willingly.

I'll update again once there's a publishing date.

Really? I won?

Back in 2011, I entered a short story writing contest as a lark because I liked the idea of having to write a pirate story. I just realized I was one of the winners of that contest, finally solving the mystery of the free hardcover book that came in the mail a year ago!

And now, before ye start calling me a scatterbrain, clink upon yon highlighted link here to read yon story!

Arrr?

Door Closed, Window Open.

As I promised on my Facebook fanpage, here is the story of the horrible news I received regarding a publisher with whom I've had a wonderful working relationship over the past few years. As some of you may know, a few of my short stories have appeared in their anthologies, and I have always been pleased with the results.

Recently, I'd been waiting and waiting for news of when my latest monster hunter story would see print, as it had been accepted months ago. I was eager to know because this would mark my third story in Pill Hill's monster hunter series, meaning I'd so far appeared in all of them. But repeated questions on the publisher's message board resulted in nothing concrete until yesterday when I and several other authors received the following email:

Announcement from Pill Hill Press Forum

I’m afraid I have some unpleasant news. Jessy was going to write this, but she has accidentally deleted her account. We have decided to close PHP.

Jessy has been trying to go back to work for the past few weeks and, with the babies she cannot give Pill Hill or the authors’ creations the time, attention, and love they deserve.

All short stories currently in submissions are returned to the authors. All rights on unpublished books revert back to the author. Authors who are currently getting royalty statements will be getting a snail mail letter about rights, etc.

The website is down, and we are contacting lefora about closing the forum.

This decision did not come without a few tears. We have truly enjoyed working with all of you, and have met some wonderful people, some of whom I consider to be friends. Thank you for sharing your creations with us, the glimpses into your imaginations have been entertaining, thought provoking, wondrous, and at times a little scary. It has been a privilege to work with all of you.

All our best,
Alva J Roberts
Pill Hill Press

I was understandably upset and crestfallen. Then my favorite (former) Pill Hill editor sent us the email below:

 

Hello Monster Hunters,

As many of you know by now, Pill Hill Press has closed its doors. The news came yesterday (a little over 12 hours ago for those in the UK) in the form of an email that took everybody by surprise. I responded as quickly as I was able to let folks know that I have started a new press, Emby Press, and that I will be publishing Use Enough Gun exactly as described and planned by Pill Hill.

I know that there has been confusion regarding the silence on the Pill Hill Press forums and over the past few months I've been biting my nails like everyone else. During the summer and early fall, I updated the thread on the forum and posted the "Campfire Tales" interviews thinking that we would have a book out by Christmas, but I stopped updating when I lost contact with Jessy. Then, about a week and a half ago, I heard back from her and she told me that she and Alva had been swamped with their new family and that they were considering closing the press (having a 3 year old son myself, I told her that I understood completely and figured everybody else would as well). I mention this now as an acknowledgement that it has been a frustrating wait for all of us and that in a time when so many other small presses have closed or just gone silent, I understand and very much appreciate everyone's patience and your not giving up on this book!

Several of you have asked me if I know anything about Wicked East Press or Static Movement Press and simply put, I do not.

But I can tell you all about Emby Press! First, the website is currently under construction and will be posted at www.embypress.com as soon as it's ready. My focus will be to publish Use Enough Gun and to re-release Leather, Denim & Silver and The Trigger Reflex. And, as soon as the website goes live, there will be a new call for submissions for the next monster hunting volume. I'm going to keep the theme of this one general, similar to Leather, Denim & Silver - just wanted to mention that in case anyone wanted to start making notes.

For Use Enough Gun, I have all of the stories so there is no need to worry or re-send anything. I will need to draft a new contract for each author to return to me - everybody knows the drill (the terms and payment will be the same as the old contract). As soon as the contract is ready, I'll send it to all of you. I'm still sorting through what will be needed for the re-releases of Leather, Denim & Silver and The Trigger Reflex and will post that info as I have it.

The physical books will be of the same quality as the Pill Hill volumes. The ebooks will be go up for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as before. I do want to try and expand to ibooks (Apple) as well, but I'm still looking into it.

I plan to communicate with everyone through the website and facebook - I don't plan on opening a forum up right away because managing those suckers is a full time job in and of itself.

I think that's about it...

For now, what I will ask from all of you is that you reply to this email to let me know that you still wish your story to appear in Use Enough Gun. Just a quick note that says "Of course I want to be included in this epic new venture!" or, alternatively "Please do not ever contact me again or I will be forced to report you to the authorities". This will let me know if I need to replace any stories or if the book will remain intact.

I'm sure that there will be more questions and you can hit me here (milesboothe@comcast.net) or on facebook at Miles Boothe (I'm the ghost) of the Legends of the Monster Hunter page.

Thanks again for your patience with all of this. We are all monster hunters - we know the risks and we accept that not everyone is coming back. But the hunt will go on.

MIles Boothe

Emby Press

 

 

And just like that, we were back in bidness. I look forward to working with Emby Press and am sure the relationship will be just as mutually beneficial. There, corporate lingo exhausted. Isn't this freakin' awesome!?

 

2012 In movies (Revised & updated)

2012 was not an inspiring year for movies, at least not when it came to the ones I saw at the movie theater. Below is a list of the films I went and saw with brief reviews of each one:

The Hunger Games- Genuinely awful. This is the type of film that reminds me why teenagers are still developing their taste. Bad dialogue, mopey “acting” substituting as grim resolve and dull situations made this one of the more painful exercises in futility I’ve suffered through in years.

Amazing Spider-Man- Embarrassingly bad. As far as I was concerned, there was no need to reboot a franchise that was working, but since Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire wanted an extra year to develop a quality Spidey flick, the studio stupidly chose to green light this abortion. Spidey for the “Twilight” degeneration, this film features a mopey Peter Parker with a soap opera level backstory and some of the cheapest-looking visual effects I’ve seen since the Scorpion King in “The Mummy Returns.”

The Bourne Legacy- Very good. Not as good as the Greengrass/Damon films, but the same screenwriter from those films wrote and directed this one with a mostly positive pay-off. Kudos to him for creating a separate yet equally interesting concept running concurrent with the events of the third film. It’s a bit draggy and confusing in the beginning, but once the film finds its legs, it’s one helluva ride!

Skyfall- Absolute drivel. I was never keen on the reboot to begin with, but "Casino Royale" turned out to be an astoundingly good film. Then "A Quantum of Solace" showed me what happens when idiots run the show. Now "Skyfall" comes along and reveals how little there is left to say in a Bond film. Featuring a screenplay that felt as if it was written by fifteen different teams of writers who never met or compared notes, this garbage pile lurches along from uninspired scene after scene until a pathetically awful conclusion ripped out of "Witness" with Harrison Ford. It's so poorly structured, that a scene at the end that should have held emotional relevance resulted in a shrug from me. I have now officially lost interest in Daniel Craig's Bond films. 

Lincoln- Very good. Still, it could have been better. And had Spielberg not been the director, it probably would have been. I’ve always seen Speilberg as a superficial director whose skills in creating suspense are not useful when doing character studies. His historical films have been at best uneven and, at worst, “Schindler’s List.” Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent and Sally Field does well with what she’s given. It’s the acting that makes this rather static film move.

The Avengers- Excellent. I’m not just saying that as a fanboy, either. This was a film that could have easily not lived up to the hype, but it exceeded it. The characters are well-represented, the dialogue is crisp and serves the plot rather than hampering it like the awful lines uttered in the Spider-Man reboot, and the action is phenomenal.

John Carter- Great. An underrated adaptation of a difficult novel, this film was unfairly maligned because of its budget. It’s the first thing I’ve seen in years that made me feel the way I felt when I first saw Star Wars. Even the JJ Abrams Star Trek didn’t do that.

Taken 2- Painfully awful. To be fair, repeated viewing of “Taken” the first reveal it to be a deeply flawed film with little redeeming quality beyond its star and subject matter. But compared to its sequel, the first one is a masterpiece. Taken 2 pushes the concept of kidnapping to its illogical extremes and actually has the daughter running around Turkey tossing live grenades onto rooftops so Super-Liam can direct her to where he’s being held prisoner. The fight scenes are stiff and geriatric feeling and the climax between Neeson and the main bad guy is so abrupt, I literally missed it. Terrible, terrible movie that I feel dumber for having watched.

Ghostrider: Spirit of Vengeance- Meh. I didn’t have a problem with the first one, so the idea of a revamped sequel was lost on me. Yes, Johnny Blaze is darker and crazier in this one, but the story feels rushed and all the cool setup gets lost in asides showing how crazy and evil the title character is.

Total Recall- Forgettable. Instantly forgettable. I’ve never seen a more disposable remake. I used to have a strong dislike for the Schwarzenegger original, but that one at least had feeling behind it. The remake feels cold, functional and serviceable at best.

Django Unchained- This was the one film, other than the "Avengers," I'd been waiting for. It was also the perfect way to close out the year, following the dreadfulness of Bond and the whitewashed classroom boredom of "Lincoln." The writing, the directing, the acting are all perfect, Tarrantino once more showing that he exists in a world of quality filmmaking quie separate from most of his peers. Best movie of the year.

 

Congratulations Are In Order!

I'd like to take a break from discussing myself and extend a hearty congrats to my literary home-gurl and favorite editor, Jeani Rector, who took first place in three different awards in the recent Preditors and Editors poll.

Best Fiction Ezine

Best Poetry Ezine

Best Ezine Editor

Here are the results:

Take a bow, Jeani, you maginificent !#$%^&*()!

 

 

Read the Ezine in question here.  It's free!