Weekend Lounge ~ Why Everything Sucks Now

Welcome to the weekend!

Hope you've had a good week. I've been knee-deep in multiple projects, one of which I can't even hint at yet. That aside, lets talk about the current entertainment landscape, and how it's been changing recently. We are finally seeing the last embers of the 20th century extinguished and what we are being left with has yet to be seen.

Let us explain why that is.

We've gone over a bit about the slipping quality of corpo entertainment and its various reasons for it current terrible state before. In fact, it's been a constant theme. The Cultural Ground Zero effect is real. Of course, we have the usual reasons/excuses for noticing this trend: the "nostalgia" argument, the "changing tastes" argument, and the "catering to the market" argument" are all the most common. And yes, some of those might apply, but are not enough to paint the bigger picture. None of the give the full view of what's going on.

For instance, no Zoomers or younger gens care about mainstream entertainment anymore, just as much as no one except aging "Geek Culture" Cultists desperately holding onto their youth even look twice at it anymore. Some passively consume the slop, but none pay it any real mind anymore. It's like how a Baby Boomer goes to the television to think. It's just expected and passively consumed. No one actually cares about this stuff anymore, and they haven't for a long time now.

You won't find any shortages for the reasons behind this, but I think the video from David V. Stewart above highlights all the potential arguments and explanations as to why things have changed. This is before he gets into the main crux of the issue. I'd suggest watching it for good reason. He has a very good way of getting things across.

That aside, I do see a hard turn coming in the future due to both how fragmented our culture is and how those in charge both dumb down and belittle real creativity at the expense of ambition. It's going to lead to a generation that is just plain going to ignore "fiction" entirely. They will see it as a waste of time, much like we basically already do now.

What will happen is because of how vapid, predictable, and repetitive, mainstream entertainment is, as well as the cratering emphasis on "imagination" (We're a long way from the silly "Reading Is Magic!" punchline of the 1990s), on top of the lack of interest in 20th century IP among younger gens, will all lead to a fracturing in the overall.

You're going to see the mainstream focus more on "reality" entertainment (A growing trend since the end of the '90s) with things like streamers, reality programming, and video essays, taking the air out of the room. At the same time, anything "fiction" related will struggle unless it a flavor of the month supported by one or more of the above things.

The reason for this is the mainstreaming of "tropes" since the Geek Culture '00s have made Following The Formula Right the only thing a corpo needs for you to hand over their wallet. What the formula is depends on how you were trained to consume your entertainment. What you then have are Gen X to Millennials begging for scraps, whether they be rehashed tired formulas, endless subversions of the same handful of ideas, or More Of The Same.

None of these groups desire stories, they desire their youth resold to them forever, like Baby Boomers buying endless Beatles merch and products well into retirement age. The old IP is all they want, quality has nothing to do with it. This is because the "quality" to them is merely in repeated names, aesthetics, and actors/voices saying what they want to hear. The core story, the morals and the deeper meaning, don't matter as much as the surface level. If it did they would engage in other things outside the IP. But like Baby Boomers, it doesn't matter how good something is, because it isn't John, Paul, George, and Ringo. At the end of the day that's all they care about seeing.

Evergreen meme for a reason

How did this come about? For many reasons. We all know it's real, but it's hard to put a finger on what exactly is to blame for it. This is because the explanation is multifold.

Those among these older generations, present company included, are to blame for the current state of things. We cheered for vacuous slop, meaningless pop cult references, and selling our youth back to us forever. We made fun of the Big Bang Theory for being "geek blackface", but Scott Pilgrim was no different in pointlessly catering to "Geek Culture" vapidity. Just because one is better made doesn't make them both slop. Slop is about intent. There is no meaning to either except ego stroking and pandering to a generation that deserves neither.

What we have here is not only the End of Pop Culture, but the end of the 20th century influence on culture as a whole. Those days are gone and they're not coming back.

The elephant in the room is also that Western Culture has been built off negativity, subversion, and bitterness for over half a century now. It has lead to a low trust society, fracturing political and religious outlooks, and mainstreamed misery into common discourse. Politics didn't cause this: it lead to the current sociopolitical situation everyone hates.

I don't tend to address politics here directly, because it's really a dead end discussion point. The second someone sees a buzzword, their brain clicks on to a certain track and you become Friend or Enemy. At that point, you might as well be speaking backwards. But this isn't about Friend or Enemy, it's about understanding where we're headed.

And this is all due to where we've already come from.

I'll be blunt. The Right sees the arts as useless and a dead end. They refuse to support anyone even remotely on their side, ceding the ground to people who hate them. They would much rather support grifters who put out low quality versions of "based" calendars, political talk shows, or vapid entertainment stuck 20 years ago. No one is investing in any real countercultural efforts (and if they are, they are very much the exception to the rule). There is nothing even remotely approaching art here.

The Left is no better. They see the arts as an opportunity to promote whatever new thing they were told to support by their favorite TV/online personalities, and morphing their own works to comply with these updated slogans. They are convinced that something like naming a villain Tonald Drump is high art to be applauded and high brow commentary on par with the best Russian Literature. They also happily subvert their own IP for updated messaging at every opportunity. There is nothing approaching art here.

Surely, that's everything? After all, we've addressed both "sides" of the discussion, right? No, we're not done. 

Centrists pretend to be above it all, saying they want no morals, lessons, or politics, and just want Entertainment. This is impossible. There is no piece or art without meaning, without something to say, and in fact any art worth engaging will have these elements in them deep inside on some level. The actual problem should be that there is little focus on what is being said, how to say it, and how to connect with the audience. Instead, the focus is on returning to the *Insert Decade Here* standard where everyone was Sane and Not Weird, even though they were and we just didn't notice because we were kids back then. There is nothing approaching art here.

This leaves you with the three modern views of how art is seen: to be taken for granted, to weaponize against your neighbor, and to consume mindlessly between sugar binges. That's it. There isn't anything else. What you are left with is an upcoming younger generation whos see all of this and has no reason to engage. Art is clearly meaningless because that's how we see and treat it. Therefore, the younger generations will turn away from it.

It will also lead to the more common usage of AI generators for entertainment, because it gives the bare minimum. This will be good enough for them, and we've given no valid argument against them doing this. What else is consuming art for anyway? We don't have a good answer for this that isn't a cliché from the 20th century since proven incorrect by how things have decayed.

The ignorance of the Right lead to the belittling of art, the arrogance of the Left lead to the pamphletization of art, and the mindless consumption of Centrists lead to seeing art as novelty, trope checklists to follow or subvert. Don't get me wrong, none of these positions are exclusive to any of these groups, but those are the main three views of entertainment that has lead to the irrelevance of art on modern day living. The younger generations have internalized this and are ready to apply it to their own position.

And, again, what reason have we given them to think of anything else when all we focus on are things we should have let go of long ago?

20th Century IP has no meaning to those born outside of it. No, not even if you "update" the morals, and not even if you Go Back To the old morals. It has no relevance for the 21st century man living in uncertain times caused by the previous century, and the more we cling to it the more younger generations will turn away and move on without us. The 20th century is not the center of the universe, and we're quickly learning how irrelevant it's most likely going to be in the long run. We should be preserving what worked now before it all gets disposed of.

We've treated existence and reality as a novelty for so long it has turned our outlook cynical and barren, matching our entertainment. The only way to move forward is to take what we learned and apply it to the present. This requires letting things go, but also looking forward to the generations before us who need a guiding light. We have to be there for them, not ourselves. We're not kids anymore. We need to start acting like it.

Thanks for reading. That's it for this week! 

See you next time, and please be sure to support smaller and independent artists trying to make a difference. It's the only way we'll see any change.

Check out King Leper by David V. Stewart, an epic tale of a king protecting his throne!

Weekend Lounge ~ The Third Place

Welcome back!

The weekend's here, so lets have a bit of fun.

There's been much discussion recently of reclaiming smaller things we've forgotten over the years, perhaps even subtle things we hadn't even considered before. One of the recent discussions has centered around "slop" and what we've allowed our entertainment and art to fall into. We've essentially given up trying or aiming for anything higher, our priorities on other things.

Another related and yet less talked about topic, is the loss of the Third Place. One might argue the loss is at the crux of everything we've been going through since Cultural Ground Zero put a wrecking ball to everything so long ago.

If you've been interested in the decay we've been going through for any amount of time by now then you've almost certainly heard of Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, a book that came out a quarter of a century ago which saw all the patterns that had already formed and the cracks that led to pale artificial replacements like "Geek Culture" to consume an entire cohort of youth into a New Religion and way of life. The problem became centered on the "Normie" and the solution was to relate to those who consumed the same product you did instead. There was nothing else to it. You were a Victim and everyone was out to get you.

And, obviously, that mentality didn't work out too well.

One of the expressions no one had really brought up over this quarter century was the idea of the "Third Place" in life, something Bowling Alone described as its main thesis, and something which has faded away into irrelevance in the war on everything that is modern life. All this despite the fact that we clearly desire connection while fighting hard against finding it at the same time. It's a giant mess, but we're used to it by now. We don't want to accept it's not normal or healthy, for whatever reason. And we're paying for it.

The video above gives a good description of the topic. The Third Place is, as described, the third important place in life. The first being Home and the second being Work. Home is where we can relax and recharge on our own and with those closest to us. Work is where we show another side of ourselves, using effort to achieve something separate from Home and our relationships there. You know how you always felt awkward as a kid when your parents talked to your teachers? There's a reason for that. Instinctively, you knew those two places should be separate. Mashing those together hasn't been all too great a change either, but that's not the topic today.

The Third Place is a neutral public space between the other two where we can connect with other people away from the others. In fact, part of the three places that makes them important is that it disconnects us from the other two and gives us a break and a way to discover new sides of ourselves. All three are important.

The third can be as simple as a restaurant, a bar, or a club, a place where you are detached somewhat from the other two places, throwing in some unpredictability and odd comfort into your day to day routine. And it no longer exists in the modern world.

The issue is that all three places have been heavily damaged in recent years. Home has turned into a bunker from the world, a place where Work is not only brought into but made the place where it is frequently done the most. Work has no stability and therefore contains no trust or growth of basic work relationships beyond tentative trust for as long as your inevitably short employment exists for. The Third Place, however, is completely gone and destroyed from modern life, taken out back and shot. And we're feeling its effects today.

There is no public neutral place to go, and they are rapidly dying out. In the process, we are losing community connections and turning into a block of strangers who sometimes see each other when we dare go out to... well, to do what? Going out is now seen as an annoyance, taking you away from your bunker. It's a nuisance, not a break. Eventually, the way things are going. we won't even need to go out to get groceries anymore. Then what happens?

All of this is killing community worse than Putnam ever imagined it would. Remember, his book was written before social media, lockdown world, and door dash. We've fought hard to kill off connection since Bowling Alone first released, and we're not quite turning it around yet. Local life is dying everywhere as we anticipate plugging into the cloud instead.

I know where I am the streets are fairly deserted and even the weekend makes no difference anymore. It is a ghost town of door dash drivers and empty buildings and sidewalks. There are no clubs, no hobby groups, not even church gatherings, anymore. It's just a large concentrated block of people who do everything they can to avoid each other. That's all it is and all it has become.

What is being built up by this attitude? What is the purpose of burrowing away into ourselves at the expense of both our own health and everyone else around us? We all know the answer to that, and we're well aware of where we're going is not anywhere good.

On the plus side, this topic is being brought up again more and more in discourse, because now there is no one who doesn't know, and doesn't pretend, that any of this is leading to a healthier society. We know it's not. We just have yet to figure out a solution beyond fancy words and promises. We need more than that. The answer involves bringing back the Third Place, and until we do, we'll be trapped circling the drain.

That's all for this week! Have yourself a good rest and get ready for March! We're almost there and out of the endless winter.

I can't wait until we finally are.

Check out Cirsova #20! My story of a man on a motorcycle with a mission against witches is inside! I hope you like bullets, because you'll get them!

Weekend Lounge ~ What is Slop?

Welcome to the weekend! We're back!

Things have been more than a bit crazy over here, and I'm hoping they settle down a bit soon. Until then, I'll try to get back into. Today, let us talk about some trends.

One of the recent subjects that's come up a lot recently has been the subject of "slop" and how it has gotten so prevalent in modern culture. The above video talks a bit about it, but the whole idea has been one of wondered about for some time.

At what point is it that we desired the bare minimum in regards to everything, where we wanted just the base experience with nothing but irrelevant additions like an IP name or trope lists? When was it acceptable to just want to consume product and move onto next product?

I have long held a theory that post-9/11 "Geek Culture" was the first movement to turn creativity into slop, a formula made of tropes, IPs, and Politically Correct attitudes and ideas. Before it was used in the 2010s to shape "geek" tastes and beliefs it existed in the 2000s as an identity (one that never existed before) where what you consumed made you what you were. As long as you consumed the slop and repeated back the right code words, you were good to go. It evolved from there to the current state 20 years later where slop is not only expected, it's seen as inevitable.

But it wasn't always this way, and I don't believe it will be this way in the future.

For now, however? We are stuck with slop culture and have to adjust accordingly. That doesn't mean that we have to enjoy or even participate in it. We simply have to be aware of the trap it sets and to avoid falling into it.

Things have changed a lot since the 20th century ended, and though we still try to cling to those old attitudes and trends that have long worn out relevance, we have only started recently discovering things aren't what they used to be. Those days are gone, and what is coming ahead is an entirely new world--one where "slop" has no place.

What that will be remains to be seen. We'll just have to keep pushing ahead and see for ourselves. Either way, it's time to aim higher once again.

And that's all for this week. I've got some projects to get back to. Until then, check out the big book sale for this Valentine's Day weekend. There are some bangers in here. Not much slop, as NewPub itself thrives on aiming a bit higher.

Until next time! Have yourself a good weekend.

Check out the Based Book Sale here!

Year Start Signal Boost!

Back it Here!

Welcome back! It's been a little bit, but I've finally got something new for you. It's the time of year when NewPub creatives finally start rolling, so lets dig into it.

Now is the start of the year when crowdfunds finally begin in earnest, so here are a few campaigns to get you started!

The first is the above Catch the Lightning: The Art and Craft of Writing Romance campaign! Want to know how to write romance, or just want to know more about it? Then check out this campaign today. You're guaranteed a lot of great advice.

Learn more about it below:

"Our previous course, The Art and Craft of Writing, taught authors how to bring their writing to the next level by understanding the nuts and bolts (Craft) of writing to bring out the grace and beauty (Art) of it. Now, The Art and Craft of Writing Romance will do the same, focusing on the core of romance stories: the emotional arc bringing your hero and heroine together.

"In simple and clear language, this course explains what makes a romance work (Craft) and how to bring this work to life (Art) on the page of your manuscript. Discover how to catch the lightning of desire so as to electrify readers; weave obstacles so daunting as to wring readers’ hearts. Learn how the more your hero and heroine resist their longing for each other, the more the reader yearns to see them through to their happily ever after. Learn to pull your readers in and help them feel the rollercoaster of your hero and heroine's emotional ride!

"About the Instructor:
L. Jagi Lamplighter is a published author, a professional editor, and a writing teacher with decades of experience analyzing stories and figuring out what makes them work. She has written everything from hints of sweet romance at a magical school to the complicated loves and lives of Shakespeare's fae in the modern day, and edited everything from far-future science fiction with a sweet romance subplot to contemporary romances set in Texas."

For those who don't know, Jagi has been my main editor for around a decade now. You can be certain she is very knowledgeable in what she's talking about when it comes to anything to do with writing and creativity. Therefore, this project is guaranteed to be a great one.

Once again, you can back it here!

Now let's move to the next project:

Back it here!

That's right, it's the return of Mongoose & Meerkat! This time it's a complete series deluxe release for anyone who might have missed it. This is the ultimate release of the NewPub sword and sorcery series and meant to be an easy place to collect it all.

Cirsova and Jim Breyfogle have been a double team of great storytelling for years now. A good reason why I approached Cirsova for Star Wanderers was because of how well the two of them worked together on their projects. Therefore, if you missed out, I can promise you that this is the perfect place to jump on.

The description:

He's a brash young bravo, eager to prove his worth with a blade. She's a mysterious rogue with a head for history and razor cunning. Together, they are the Mongoose and Meerkat!

Whether they're looting haunted dungeons, fighting demons and necromancers, or just settling labor disputes, this swashbuckling duo is ready for anything! Mangos would love nothing more than to earn a name for himself and keep himself comfortably in coin. Kat, however, has more far-reaching plans for her wealth.

The City State of Alness has fallen to a band of mercenaries and brigands who have ravaged the north lands. Amidst the rumors that an Alnessi royal may have survived, the Mongoose and Meerkat must navigate all manner of intrigue and betrayal to win the fame and fortune necessary to restore the once-mighty city.

Originally serialized in 18 installments from 2017 through 2023 in Cirsova Magazine, Jim Breyfogle's Mongoose and Meerkat became one of the iconic Sword & Sorcery teams of the Pulp Revolution. Now, you can have all of their adventures in a single gorgeous volume!

Plus, this collection includes an all-new side-story, Chasing the Cat Sword, featuring the mercenary sisters Daini and Kairi and has world-shaking implications for the Mongoose and Meerkat lore!

Once again, you can find it here!

Next, let us go into weirder territory, as we usually like to around here.

Back it Here!

For those who remember the scandalous Sword & Scandal campaign, comes the follow-up: Jungle Scandals! The previous hit campaign was based on the idea of Sword & Sorcery tales that get a little too close for comfort. This one aims for the lesser-known these days jungle tales. Stories of the deep dark that get a little deeper and darker than might be comfortable.

I've always had a mixed relationship with NSFW stories because of how one-note they tend to be, but J. Manfred Weichsel always manages to make them interesting in a way that has me considering a new angle on a topic. So while such things are not usually easy to recommend, I would always do so here for those who want to try something a little bit off the beaten trail.

The description:

"This time around, we're touring the jungles of the world, taking stops in Africa, Indonesia, and the Amazon, and we'll be taking our inspiration from the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, and H. Rider Haggard.

"But, while those writers all had more or less Victorian sensibilities, we'll be filling the pages of our book with more gratuitous nudity, sex, and gore than you can possibly imagine! Some today find the old writers problematic. We think they're not nearly problematic enough!

"These stories will retain the sense of fun and wonder from the jungle adventures of old. But they will be absolutely insane with all the sex! If you read our last book, then you know we don't hold anything back.

"Just like Sword & Scandal did, Jungle Scandals will have an open call for submissions. The submission guidelines will be posted in various places around the web where authors go looking for open calls. This process makes selecting the stories democratic, and ensures the anthology gets the best writing it possibly can.

"Last time, we received 47 submissions, out of which we selected 11 stories totaling 60,000 words, plus the 5,600-word story author and editor J. Manfred Weichsel wrote with the backer who selected the design-your-own-story tier. Including the editorial material, the book totaled almost 70,000 words.

"Because we are a little more established this time around and have a bit of buzz, we expect Jungle Scandals to receive even more submissions than Sword & Scandal did.

"Unlike other publishers who tend to play it safe with their selections, we will be looking for the wild, strange, and outrageous. We want to publish off-beat and off-the-wall fiction that would never otherwise get to see the light of day.

"Humor is also a big part of what we do. We will actively look for stories that incorporate a similar sense of humor as ours: dry, sardonic, and satirical. We enjoy humor that is character-driven, dark, and surreal. But we also like farce."

You can find the campaign here!

One more to go:

Back it Here!

Lets end it off with something a little different. This is the coming On My Ghost by Ghostmaya. This is comic romance series currently running on Webtoons, and this it the most recent crowdfunding campaign for it.

To explain all the intricacies of the story would take some time, so I'll just cut to the chase with the overall gist of it.

The description:

Oh My Ghost is a wholesome Action Comedy Romance Supernatural Horror Mystery webtoon series that is currently 7 seasons with 1000+ episodes ~

The narrative is about a human guy, (Loi), a poor guy who is desperate to find a place to stay. So, Loi decided to live in a very cheap haunted house where he will meet Maya, the ghost, who is scared Of ghosts and other scary stuffs. and who likes to eat. Yes, you READ IT RIGHT~! This ghost can eat because logic is useless here in this series~

For more information, you can be here!

And that's all for this time. The year's just starting but already you can find a little bit of everything just waiting for you. February has just started but I can promise you many more surprises ahead, including from myself.

Until then, just dig in for yourself and enjoy the wild world of NewPub. There's plenty to go around, and it's not stopping anytime soon.

Before I go, check out this art book from my Gemini Man artist, Manuel Guzman! He's got a lot to show, and the campaign is almost over!

Weekend Lounge ~ Down but Not Out

Welcome to the weekend!

I'm sorry it's been a bit longer than usual recently. I both got hit with something going around and had to deal with something very annoying in my personal life. It's been tough trying to stay on track with my focus taken like that.

As a consequence, there's not been much to talk about recently. So instead I'll leave you with a quick update and a video on shadow people. You never know just what lies waiting in the dark.

February is here, and winter is nearly at an end. So here's hoping we can make it through to its conclusion. Not much further left to go!

Be sure to check out Cirsova's Mongoose and Meerkat omnibus release! It's looking to be a beauty! Help it crack 100 backers!

Words Not Deeds

*Note: Today's post was originally posted on the Patreon! Join to get early posts on top of podcast episodes and new book serializations!*

Today's going to be a little bit of a reflection. Take it with a grain of salt, but I usually talk like this when trying to figure things out internally.

A long time ago it used to be well understood that what you did is what mattered. No matter what bluster you had behind your words, no matter how many wheels you greased, and no matter how many popular buzzwords you spoke to get your foot in the door, in the end it came down to what you did. You couldn't rest on puffing yourself up forever to gather audience attention. If you didn't act, it didn't matter. And we would ourselves back up our beliefs by holding such people's feet to the fire to ensure that they acted.

In other words, we valued the truth, and we valued those who fought for it. If you were a faker, you would get found out soon enough.

That doesn't happen so much anymore. Instead we let anyone above us do what they want as if they simply need to repeat the right codewords and they can have carte blanche to run roughshod over whatever or whoever they want. Simply look at any legacy industry and see them being run into the ground by these exact people these days. Nothing is growing, it's all shrinking. It ties in to our obsession with surface level aesthetic and appearances over proper depth and meaning. Juvenile and shallow. It's no coincidence such folk communicate mainly with teenage snark and prepubescent name-calling. This is who we let in the door, juvenile and bitter.

Who cares if the Superdude comic (this is a general example, not literal) has him murdering and dehumanizing large swaths of the population through silly speeches--it is a comic produced by DC Comics, therefore you need to swallow and accept it as scripture. Meaningless words. None of it has value. But it does send signals to the right people, and that's all that matters. The connection is gone, now it's all lectures.

Everyone seems to know it, but no one really has answer. After all, how do you compete against an industry that simply isn't interested in you? You can't, really. All you can do is vote with your feet, as the saying goes.

And it seems like exactly that is happening.

But, at the same time, who am I to complain about such things? Am I not doing exactly what I'm complaining about above? As a writer, am I not the purest example of words and not deeds? In a sense, yes, and that is one of the many reasons writers no longer command the same sort of respect they once did. We wasted our opportunity and lost the audience's trust. Too few are unwilling to put their money where their mouth is and it has lead to ruin. All we have to do is say the bare minimum of buzzwords and get all the rewards and kudos, or so we think. There's more to left than momentary profit, and we all realize that on some level.

Any man or woman who creates has a duty to use their creation to try and understand more about themselves and others. They must move outward from inward. The other choice is to either pander to the lowest common denominator or to produce propaganda to drag others down, neither of which is art--it is a grab at respectability with the in-crowd, whatever in-crowd that might be, in order to fit in with some pre-established group. This is the perfect example of words instead of deeds. It is about what you say and not what you do. This is anti-art and therefore should be discouraged. Unfortunately, in the modern age, this is the default way of being and is very much encouraged. Unfortunately, it is to our detriment.

Now we desire those buzzwords and ingroups more than we desire art or Truth, and it has led to a giant mess of an industry no one can believe in anymore.

So how does one change that? How do we reverse course this late in the game? How do we do it when no one in charge wishes to listen?

More so, how does one become someone whose words are meant to explain their own actions to others instead of lecturing or pandering instead? How do you avoid talking at others and forcing yourself down their throats instead of just communicating and presenting your ideas for consideration with insistence of acceptance? How does one avoid tripping over that line and losing their way in a medium that incentives losing your way to begin with? There is no guidebook or manual for this kind of thing, after all. It's all so very confusing.

I say this because it has gotten to the point that I don't think I properly understand how to bridge words with actions anymore. I thought I did, but it's only gotten more complicated as I've gotten older and as the industry has gotten more blunt and surface level. How much of myself is to be put into what I say before it just becomes jabbering nonsense detached from actions? When does it cross the line into being real and not foolish hopes or projections onto others?

When do I lose connection and begin drifting off into the void, never to return? That's something I think about a lot.

Many have wondered why I tend to avoid using larger words in my writings, those the ones intellectuals pepper their own works with to sum up larger thoughts, and the reason is that I want to remain crystal clear in what I say to as many people as possible. I don't want to rely on stopgaps, especially when such stopgaps are so easily weaponized these days.

While words matter, so too does the intent behind what we say with them. I do not want to waste them on filter words and cobbled together codewords for a select few who have the matching code rings to decipher them. I want to reach as many as possible, and I don't think it can be done by purposely obscuring my meaning with unneeded clutter. I could be wrong about that, but at this point I think it's the only path forward for me. I have to find a new way forward somehow.

Does anyone, these days?

I've written before about slogans and the insidious way they can be used to kill communication, but that is because of how powerful words are to begin with. They can persuade and they can inspire and, under the right conditions, can also manipulate and destroy. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will be the motivator for them to be used against you in the first place. Therefore we should take them seriously and learn what they're for, and how to use them in better ways.

Perhaps this post is a call for responsibility among those who use words, much like they are for any other weapon. I know I need that reminder a lot. You need a license for most weapons, but you don't need anything for words. I suppose the closest thing would be "credibility" which is given by publishers or editors these days, in rapidly decreasing amounts. But aside from that, it's free game. And there isn't any way to control who gets influenced by what, as OldPub is very quickly learning. We're all speaking into the void these days, and that does not seem to be changing.

So what is my role as a writer? How do I shape my words into deeds? Can I live the lives my protagonists do, even from my comparatively less exciting existence? Is my way of acting through art used to inspire or to build up? To do it the right way?

There are always a lot of questions, but asking questions is a lot easier than finding answers. It's especially difficult to find answers when no one is on the same page anymore. These days it's a free-for-all, and I'm not convinced that's entirely a good thing.

I don't want to puff my own chest up too much, merely try to figure out how art crosses the line from posturing into accomplishing. Accomplish what, you may ask? I can't really say. Perhaps the expression it wishes to get across from artist to audience. There is a reason for all art, just like everything else. Figuring that reason out, however, is the problem, especially for someone like myself who is not the quickest or sharpest. If it was so easy our industries wouldn't be falling apart as we speak because of their complete inability to do anything but posture. There has to be an answer out there beyond what we've been doing.

What that is, however, is the question.

The Phantom War serialization and the Cannon Cruisers podcast, for instance, are my way of filtering all the influences I had growing up into a coherent world that makes sense of it all in the present. I hope I'm getting that feeling across, but telling a story, and talking about them, is the only way I can do so. Finding that undefinable thing that strikes, that hits deep in a way that remains with you, and then trying to explain it to others is a hard task to accomplish. It might just be a fun action story of adventure, but it still means everything in the world to me. Why does that connect so much? All I can do is as the question over and over, trying to find the answer.

Perhaps that's the point? Can't say that I know. The whole purpose of this post is to try and understand it, after all. I'm not sure if I'm any closer now than when I started, but at least I gave it a try. I can't do much else but try. That's what most of us are doing in this ever fluctuating scene: simply trying to find out way forward.

Things change as you get older, as we all know very well, but it's what sticks with you as you age that starts to mean more to you as you contemplate your mortality and where it is you're heading towards. If a silly movie like Bloodsport has stuck with me since I was a young runt, there is probably a reason it has lasted so long where something like, say, Care Bears, has not. What is it that sticks, that refuses to go away, that which sticks with you through the wild times rippling around us? That's what I want to find, and that's what I want to show to others.

And if I can do the same with my own work then all the better. All I can do is to try harder and hope it works out better next time.

Maybe that's what action is to a writer: striving to express the truth no matter what gets in the way. Who knows, but I'm going to figure it out, even if it takes ages. It's all I can do.

Hey, it's just going to take a whole lifetime, that's all. No big deal! Not like I have anything better to do with this skill I've been given. Here's hoping we can all connect more as we try to figure it all out. In the end, that's what we're all here together for, right?

Check out the mass release of Adrian Cole's "The Dream Lords," out today! Mankind and its empire spanning the Nine Worlds are ruled by a powerful triumvirate of long-lived dreamers: the Dream Lords! Think Dune if it were a comedy (in the traditional sense) instead of tragedy!

Weekend Lounge ~ Winter Stories

Welcome to the weekend! We're about halfway through the longest (and slowest) month of the year, but there are a few pieces of news to share so deep into the season. 

I've been spending most of my free time getting some stories in the can before I finally return to Phantom War and dive into that for the majority of my 2025 writing output. This is the best time of the year to get extra stuff done because it is the one least likely to contain nasty derailing surprises in life to get you off track, and, so far that's been working out.

Related to that, I guess I can announce here that I've been accepted to Mistcreek Tales and the related Pulp Rock anthologies with my stories "Lightning Jim" and "Spirt Rock," respectively. The former is the first in a new series of shorts about a nameless protagonist in the 2000s wandering through the backroads on the way to his destination. The second is the fourth and longest story so far in the Night Rhythm series about a traveling band in the distant future. Each of the other three starred a different band member. This one? It has all of them. These are stories I'm very excited to finally share with you. So look forward to those!

There's also been a new episode of the podcast put up. This one I decided to talk a bit about an author I don't like very much, though it is not so much on a technical level but a deeper one. I discuss Stephen King here in the newest episode.

For the weather, January is also known to be the most miserable, cold and snow-covered to contrast with the time that is supposed to be the most promising for change in the year ahead. So today's video is about a place known for its terrible winter weather, the cold white north. Enjoy three stories about the old Catholic Quebec as it deals with the frosted unknown threatening to tear into beyond their walls. When we say the old stories have more to do with the pulps than you'd think, this is what we mean. These tales of the past may hint at the future bearing down on the road ahead, too. Food for thought, I suppose.

Quick update on Cannon Cruisers: we're working on new episodes and will have one up this weekend in the middle of January to tide you over. January is always the month we slow down, for obvious reasons, and this year isn't any different. We've got some fun stuff ahead, though, so hopefully it'll be ready to go by February.

Anyway, have yourself a relaxing January weekend and see you soon.

This is going to be a wild year!

To tide you over, check out Silence & Starsong Vol. 2, Issue #1 with my story Fade Away to Anywhere! Sometimes the world isn't quite what we think it is, and sometimes people aren't what they seem to be, but there's always more waiting under the surface...

Weekend Lounge ~ Animated Past

Welcome back! I hope the new year is working out well for you!

For 2025's first proper post, lets take a look at the above video. It shows a bit of the evolution and changes of the animation industry in both the US and Japanese animation industries. Why certain things happened and why others did not. It's more of a general summary and history, so you won't get specific details on certain things, but the general gist of why things happened the way they did. Worth the watch just for the comparison.

That said, the main thrust of it can be gathered pretty clearly. Japan thought of animation as a medium to explore with stories and new techniques while the US never really considered animation as anything but kid stuff. This didn't change as the years went on. Even the "adult" animation we talk about these days was simply "adult" because it was subversive and winking at you that it was doing what it was because it was playing in a "kid" medium. As a consequence, exceptions aside, it never really grew up. It neve really wanted to.

I'll go a bit further than the video and name at least one of the culprits. If you've read here for a while than you probably know who I'm going to blame.

The US industry was also run by secular prudes like Peggy Charren since near the beginning, and this is an unavoidable subject. People that fought for complete censorship (No shooting villains, showing blood or death) for children while simultaneously fighting for complete freedom for adults to watch everything short of (and it would eventually include) pornography after a certain timeslot for adults. Where such people got the idea that poison stopped negatively affected you just because you turned a certain age is a mystery, but also completely nonsensical for moral crusaders to believe in. This is what happens when your morality is empty on the base of it. This helped contribute to the oddly stunted maturity of the industry that never really, and still hasn't, ever tried to grow up. This is what has led it into the wall it crashed into some time ago.

Of course, Japan has its own issues with over-corporatization and an increasingly rigid reliance on tired formulas, but it doesn't change that their base is still a lot stronger under them. They can still make things like Pluto or Frieren. This side of the pond can't make anything but "Billion dollar corpo/ nostalgia franchise slathered in late 20th century grey morality" which runs out of steam incredibly fast every time. The only new thing it has is cramming ever-changing modern sexual morality into whatever they do to make it more predictable. It cannot compete with the East, and we all know it. It can't even compete with its own past, at this juncture.

The most exciting US animation is entirely underground at this point and done by people who are passionate about the medium in a way the mainstream simply isn't (some examples here), despite how the individual workers might feel. The US isn't hopeless or finished in regards to the medium, but they are behind, and thankfully the newer generation, the one least enthralled with nostalgic throwbacks to dead days and constant subversion, are looking ahead. They are the ones who will steer the ship in the right direction.

Despite what the tone of this post might indicate, I am vey optimistic for the future of the medium, but I do think all the more interesting projects at this point (particularly in regards to the US) are coming from the younger generation in the indie sphere. Such seems to be the case for a lot of things these days, but it's particularly true here.

What we need going forward is our entertainment industries run by people who not only want to push things to the next level, but also hold no bitterness towards the past; people who think art has a meaning or purpose being consuming or giving the finger to someone they are bitter towards. Create something new, something fresh, and want to show it to both the young and old. Art can bring us together, it does not always have to divide or tear down.

Until we figure that out, I'm afraid a lot of industries are just going to remain stuck. So here's hoping 2025 is the year we make strides to turn that around.

Thanks for joining me in this fresh new year! It's going to be a good one.

Don't forget to pick up (and review!) some issues of Cirsova! Few better ways to spend the doldrums of January!