tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60782339026198831522024-03-13T10:14:48.119-05:00Searching for HeroesKevin Domenic's Official HomepageKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-89303068542728861382017-10-07T10:00:00.000-05:002017-10-07T10:00:02.893-05:00Sweet SorrowI am stepping away from writing for now. Frankly, I stepped away a long time ago, but I wasn't entirely sure why I had lost my creative spark. I think I'm finally coming to understand it, and I wanted to share at least some of my feelings with you before we part ways.<br />
<br />
Recent events in both my life and the world have caused me to take a step back and reevaluate a lot of things. There was no one incident that triggered these feelings, but rather several years of ongoing attempts to open dialogue with people of different perspectives and belief systems.<br />
<br />
When viewed through the eyes of social or television media, our society can sometimes seem as though it is crumbling. Nowadays, any online conversations involving even the slightest disagreement seem to be derailed and drowned by hate, anger, distrust, ignorance, and a stubborn unwillingness to consider anyone else's opinions. I, too, have been guilty of some of these things. Healthy discourse is severely lacking, replaced now by angry screams and hateful condemnations. It is completely counterproductive and it goes against everything I was ever taught about coexistence, cooperation, and love. <br />
<br />
We don't cooperate anymore. We don't seem to want to coexist. We most certainly don't love each other. When I was young, I lived in a time of "We Are The World" and "Hands Across America." Every TV show had an episode about the pitfalls of racism. Every cartoon taught kids the importance of understanding, accepting, and embracing each other despite our differences. We didn't have to have the same religious beliefs. We didn't have to side with the same political party. We were all humans. We were all in this together.<br />
<br />
Today, in 2017, you are ridiculed and discarded for having religious beliefs. You are judged, threatened, and stereotyped for your skin color. You are vilified and dismissed for your political views. Our society has become everything that the bullies and villains in my childhood stories were. Everything we were taught was wrong has been embraced. It scares me. It sickens me. It depresses me.<br />
<br />
This website was called Searching for Heroes. <br />
<br />
I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that we now live in a world where true heroes are seen as the villains.<br />
<br />
While this has all been going on, I've begun to question my role as a writer and the responsibility that comes with it. What is my part in improving this world? How can I help change the direction our society seems to be heading? Sure, I could set the example by writing stories of true heroes, but I've come to question the <i>nature </i>of my writing. To put it bluntly, I'm not so sure <i>what </i>God wants me to write anymore. Is sci-fi/fantasy the way to go? Should I write more books like Building Blocks and get away from sword and sorcery? The Bible speaks against witchcraft and the like, but I always accepted it in the fantasy context because I know how to separate fantasy from reality. But what about my readers? What about the influence I'm having on them? <br />
<br />
Many of you have written to me over the years to tell me how you have been affected by my books. I can't tell you how much that has meant to me. But at the same time, I take that responsibility very seriously. And I have started to wonder whether or not I am using what God has given me properly. Am I serving Him with my writing?<br />
<br />
Or am I serving myself?<br />
<br />
What am I supposed to be doing?<br />
<br />
I'm not sure. But until I have an answer, I will step away. I will reflect, study, pray, and seek.<br />
<br />
When I write again, it will likely be under a pseudonym. I don't want the credit for the work that God is doing in my life. I don't need the credit. I don't deserve the credit. God deserves it all, for he has blessed me and my life in more ways than I ever expected.<br />
<br />
I love you all. Words cannot express my gratitude to all of you for giving me the forum to share my stories with you. It has been an amazing journey, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
Kevin<br />
<br />
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." - Matthew 7:7-8<br />
<br />
<br />Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-72805769791246484932015-11-22T10:29:00.004-06:002022-09-11T18:22:29.772-05:00Logical Arguments for the Existence of God<div class="MsoNormal">
Are human beings the most intelligent species to ever exist
across the entirety of the universe?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your answer is yes, you are claiming intellectual
superiority over a universe of which humans have explored and studied less than
a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If your answer is no, you can't be an atheist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I begin, I want to make something clear: This not about "proving" the
Christian God. Yes, I am a born-again
Christian and I do believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for
my sins. But this is not about proving which
religion is "right." For that
matter, it's not even about proving God exists.
It's about acknowledging the very logical <i>possibility</i> of the existence of a Creator.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Atheists like to throw around words like "logic"
and "reason" in an attempt to make themselves appear superior and to both
degrade and demoralize those who disagree with their reasoning. After all, if you're not logical or
reasonable, you clearly aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer, right? But if you take a step back and observe the
workings on the universe for just a moment, you'd find that it's both
unreasonable and illogical to assume there is no God, much less declare this as
a fact.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We see varying levels of intelligence in the various species
on our own planet. Insects, animals,
humans - we all have differing degrees of intellectual capacity, and it is clear
that humans stand at the top of that list.
Right away, that begs the question: What about other planets? Does any other life exist out there? If it does, is it smarter than us?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Critics will jump all over that comparison by saying that comparing
the possibility of life on other planets to the possibility of a Creator is not
equal because we see life on our own planet yet do not see any scientifically
measurable evidence of a divine being.
Again, I direct them back to the "levels of intelligence"
point from the previous paragraph.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, a dog can't design a satellite. A bear can't invent an energy-efficient
vehicle. Lower forms of life lack the
intellectual capacity to <i>understand</i>
the concepts required to be able to accomplish what humanity has. To them, the inventions of humans work by
magic. We, however, know that these
things are not powered by magic because we understand the science behind them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To those life forms, we are the divine beings due to our
superior level of intelligence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With that in mind, now ask yourself the question: How did the universe begin? Whatever your answer may be, ask yourself
what came before that. Then ask what
came before that. And before that. And before that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No matter what reason you come up with, you can always ask
the question, "What came before that?" This demonstrates the human brain's
limitations. Humanity <i>cannot</i> truly comprehend a hard
"start" to existence because our brains tell us something <i>must</i> have come before that. The law of cause and effect states that for
every effect there is a cause. So our minds
tell us that whatever we believe "started" the universe, there must
have been something to cause that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this plane of existence we call the universe had to
begin somewhere, right? The only option
we have left - whether you do or do not believe in God - is to accept that our
intellect is too limited to understand what many refer to as the "First
Cause" of the universe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if we can demonstrate that the human brain is indeed
limited, and we can demonstrate that there are varying levels of intelligence
right here on our own planet, how can we possibly assume that there's nothing
out there with an intellectual capacity greater than our own?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most atheists will discount believers who invoke the
"God did it" response to biblical events that would appear to be
scientifically impossible. Again, I want
to reiterate that my goal here is not to prove Christianity but instead prove
the possibility of a divine creator.
With that being said, why is the answer of "God did it" so
impossible to us? Regardless of the
context, whether it be a miraculous healing or a worldwide flood, why do we
discount the possibility that a divine Creator could do these things?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The answer, usually, is because these events seemingly go
against the laws of physics and contradict much of what science knows regarding
how the universe works. So let's talk
about that for a minute.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your dog enjoys riding in the car with you. To him, the car is this sleek red container
that he jumps into and it takes him on this amazing ride through town. He's always known it to be the same shape, color,
and size, and there's nothing <i>he</i> can
do to change the overall appearance or workings of the vehicle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then you buy a new car.
Your dog has no idea why, but his formerly red container has now become
a wide green container. It sounds
different, looks different, and smells different. How could this be possible? It goes against every understanding he
previously had about the appearance and workings of his travel container.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To us, the universe has always adhered to certain
expectations. The planets revolve around
the sun, the tide rises and falls, etc.
And although we may put dings and scratches on our world much like that
dog would put on the car, overall, it's the same universe it has always
been. Based on that, science has observed
certain scientific laws regarding the nature of the universe. And in our understanding of things, nothing
can break those laws.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what if something with a greater intellectual capacity <i>does</i> exist out there? Again, the owner is smarter than his dog, so
the owner completely understands why his car changed. If there's something out there greater than
humanity, how do we know it <i>couldn't</i>
break what we call the laws of physics in a way that would be perfectly
understandable if we shared its level of intelligence? Why is that so impossible? To declare these scientific laws 100%
universally unbreakable is akin to declaring mankind the most intelligent
species in the universe. It is basically
saying, "If we can't understand how it would be possible, it simply cannot
be."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yeah, the dog said that too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When presented with these arguments, the atheist will
typically say something about how there's no evidence that any of the workings
of the universe are guided by a divine being and therefore there's no reason
add one into our line of reasoning.
After all, if science can explain how a thunderstorm works, why do the
religious add God into the mix?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because nothing happens without cause. Science teaches humanity <i>how</i> things work. It does not
teach <i>why</i> they work that way. The question "Why?" is similar to
the question "How did the universe begin?" because it can never be
truly answered. No matter what the
response, you can always ask "Why?" again. We know how thunderstorms and earthquakes
work. We know how televisions work and
how motor vehicles are operated. But why
do they work that way? And whatever
answer you have in your mind, ask why again.
And again to that answer. And
again to that answer. Keep going and
going, because every scientific response you give - right down to the most
basic laws of physics - still do not and cannot give a definitive answer to the
question of "Why?" If you can
ask it again, it hasn't been resolved.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Science learns how the universe works, but ultimately has no
idea <i>why</i> it works that way. It's like learning how a car works without acknowledging
the fuel that makes it go. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if we can accept the possibility that humans are not the
most intellectually superior beings in all of the universe, then we must also
accept the possibility that there is something greater out there. And if we accept the possibility that there
might be something greater out there, we must also accept the possibility that
this greater form of intelligence could understand and manipulate the laws of
science in ways that the limited human brain cannot. And if we accept that possibility, then we
must accept the <i>possibility</i> that God
exists.<o:p></o:p></div>
Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-21065456715497088822015-08-01T09:45:00.002-05:002022-09-11T18:22:04.268-05:00Breaking Through the WallsI never thought I'd find myself in this position.<br />
<br />
I work a job right now that I never would've considered taking on my own. It's a job I sort of fell into - a position that God put in front of me that I didn't expect. And at the time, I didn't really want it, either. But I had bills to pay, and I knew that responsibility had to be placed ahead of my anxiety.<br />
<br />
It's funny how God teaches us things whether we want to learn them or not. As you may or may not know, I'm a pretty socially awkward introvert. I keep to myself in public, I don't have many friends, and I spend a lot of time at home with Laura. There are those I've encountered throughout the course of my life who take that as arrogance, as though I think myself "too good" for them. On the contrary, I see myself as not good enough. I'm boring and plain. I don't drink. I'm not into the clubbing scene. I don't dine in fancy restaurants, and I'm not a concert goer. I like plain milk chocolate. Vanilla ice cream. T-shirts. The band Chicago. (That's the first time I've ever admitted that, by the way.)<br />
<br />
I don't talk much about my non-writing work online for a couple of reasons. First off, I work for a well-known worldwide company, and privacy and security are two of the most important aspects of our business. Second, I prefer not to put too much of my private life out there. I've been with my employer since moving to St. Louis five years ago, and I hope to remain there for a long time to come. For that reason, as well as moral obligations, I won't divulge too many details. But what I <i>can</i> tell you is this: I make presentations to different groups of people on a near-constant basis, most of whom are initially complete strangers to me. That puts me in sort of a public-relations type of position that is quite different from my old retail jobs, a spot that does NOT suit an introvert in the least.<br />
<br />
But as I said, sometimes God teaches us things whether we want to learn them or not.<br />
<br />
In school, I was absolutely terrified if I had to do any sort of public speaking in front of the class. Oral reports were the worst - they may as well have been Armageddon as far as I was concerned. I didn't want people to look at me, I wanted to sit in the back quietly and be forgotten. There were times when the stress and anxiety made me want to throw up.<br />
<br />
This past January, I spoke in front of an audience of nearly 80 people for a couple of hours. And I did it with relatively little anxiety, no speech or script planned, and everything went extremely well. I realize that 80 people wouldn't be considered a lot in the eyes of some, but there was a time not too long ago when I would've quit my job long before I got anywhere near that conference room.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I don't tell you these things to pat myself on the back or solicit anyone's praise. I'm proud of the things I've accomplished, but I know there are millions out there who've done far greater and more important things with their lives than I ever will. I tell you these things because I want you to know something: If you run away from every situation that scares you, you could wind up closing doors on absolutely wonderful opportunities. If you let nerves stop you from doing something, if fear makes you cower in the corner, if challenges make you tuck your tail and run, you will never know what you are truly capable of. You will never learn, never grow, and never really feel a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction with your life.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong - I totally understand the fear, especially when the critics in your life want to do nothing but bury you beneath it. I've cowered in the corner more times than I can count, and when challenges come along, the instinct to run away is still the first thing that pops up. I'm still an introvert. I still prefer to stay home and avoid public places.<br />
<br />
But if I need to do something that initially sparks those fears, I now find that there's a bravery just beyond the anxiety that I can call on when I need to. If I find out today that I've got to speak in front of a group of 100 tomorrow, I'll be OK with that. Not because I'm not scared, but because I allow God to put me in situations to teach me what I can accomplish. To show me what I can do. And if you never step out of that comfort zone, you'll never know what comfort really is.<br />
<br />
Because the honest truth is that there's nothing more comforting than knowing you are no longer imprisoned by fear.<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
<br />
KevinKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-72379114091177910372014-12-28T10:59:00.001-06:002022-09-11T18:19:07.225-05:00Deconstructing "The Miracle on 34th Street"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-olAhF8azBIk/VKA06qfkB-I/AAAAAAAAAs4/hu6WRzo8lYM/s1600/title.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-olAhF8azBIk/VKA06qfkB-I/AAAAAAAAAs4/hu6WRzo8lYM/s1600/title.JPG" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At some point every holiday season, we sit down to watch <i>The Miracle on </i><st1:street><st1:address><i>34th Street</i></st1:address></st1:street><i>.</i>
Not the atrocious 1994 remake with John Hammond and Matilda - a movie
that, in my mind, had no business being made - but the 1947 version with Edmund
Gwenn and Natalie Wood. I've seen this
movie countless times throughout my life, and the assumption I'd always made
was that Kris Kringle was really Santa Claus and that the ending of the film confirmed
that fact. However, after watching the
movie this year, I came away with a much different conclusion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kris Kringle was <i>not </i>Santa. He was indeed "just a nice old man with
whiskers." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uhlcpq9iA3g/VKA05zivatI/AAAAAAAAAsk/eU4oTPn3jK0/s1600/exp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uhlcpq9iA3g/VKA05zivatI/AAAAAAAAAsk/eU4oTPn3jK0/s1600/exp.JPG" height="156" width="200" /></a>Kris Kringle was simply an elderly man who had made it his
mission in life to act as a sort of real-life version of Santa Claus. I think <i>he</i>
believed he was the real Santa Claus, perhaps due to some form of dementia or
other psychological disorder. But
nowhere in this movie is it suggested that he is the jolly old man from the
North Pole who delivers presents to children all over the world on a sleigh
pulled by flying reindeer. Sure, he
acknowledges the reindeer in the beginning of the movie and even shows the
drunk Santa how to lash the whip, but acknowledgement is really as far as the
movie goes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When <st1:place>Doris</st1:place> first meets Kris, she asks
"Could you play Santa Claus? Have
you had any experience?" Kris
laughs and says "A little." It
is reasonable to believe that, although this line was crafted to make the
audience wonder, the truth is that he <i>HAS</i>
played Santa before. Later, his
interaction with the kids inside Macy's supports that theory. Yes, he speaks Dutch to the child, however as
<st1:place>Doris</st1:place> says, "Susan, I speak French, but that
doesn't make me Joan of Arc."</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haven't you ever wondered why, when the children sit on his
lap, he doesn't just tell them he'll bring whatever gift they've asked for? Instead, he tells the parents where they can
find those gifts. He tells the boy's
mother where to find the fire engine. He
tells another girl's mother where she can get skates. Seems odd - why wouldn't Santa just bring
them himself?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bCgqG87Tp2s/VKA06WBhmkI/AAAAAAAAAtE/wzXPP11TS4U/s1600/pierce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bCgqG87Tp2s/VKA06WBhmkI/AAAAAAAAAtE/wzXPP11TS4U/s1600/pierce.JPG" height="165" width="200" /></a>When <st1:place>Doris</st1:place> begins to question
Kringle's sanity, she finds that he lives in a home for the elderly under the
care of Doctor Pierce. Shouldn't Santa
live in the North Pole? Or if Kris
spends the "off season" as a member of the general population, wouldn't
there be some questions about his whereabouts whenever he returns to the North
Pole? None of this sort of thing is
suggested - instead, Dr. Pierce appears to know Kris well and seems to have a
positive relationship with him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VvmWUxaYeVM/VKA051QJHCI/AAAAAAAAAso/2JduT1BxN8g/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VvmWUxaYeVM/VKA051QJHCI/AAAAAAAAAso/2JduT1BxN8g/s1600/Capture.JPG" height="146" width="200" /></a>As for the gifts, just about each one of them is explained
throughout the course of the movie. As
already noted, Kris tells the parents how to get their children's requested
toys during the Macy's scenes. Later, we
are shown a scene in which Mr. Macy gives Kris a bonus check. Mr. Gimbell asks Kris what he's going to do
with it, and Kris says he knows a doctor who needs a new X-Ray machine. This is the X-Ray machine later given to Dr.
Pierce at the end of the movie. Then
there's the part where little Tommy, after coming off the stand in the
courtroom, runs over to Kris and says "Don't forget, a real official
football helmet!" to which Kris replies "Don't worry, Tommy, you'll
get it!" At the conclusion of the
case, the prosecutor (Tommy's father) exclaims "I've got to get that
football helmet!" and runs out of the courtroom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e2MbuRic1fE/VKA058ll8VI/AAAAAAAAAss/GpGc0Bm4li4/s1600/house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e2MbuRic1fE/VKA058ll8VI/AAAAAAAAAss/GpGc0Bm4li4/s1600/house.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This brings us to the finale, where Susan's grand request
for a house is fulfilled. Not just any
house, mind you, but the exact house from the photo she gave Kris. If you notice, the picture is a page out of
either a newspaper or magazine.
Additionally, you can see that there are other homes on that same
page. It is probable that this page came
from a real-estate listing of some kind, and all Kris did was show Doris and
Fred where to find the house knowing full-well that Susie handle the rest. Remember, when they enter the home in pursuit
of Susie, Fred says "The sign outside says it's for sale. We can't let her down." Kris didn't <i>give</i> them the house. He just
showed them where to find it. As for the
cane against the wall, it could've very well been left there by the people who
moved out. Or Kris might have left it
behind either by accident or to solidify <st1:place>Doris</st1:place>' belief
in him as Santa. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe everyone else already picked up on all these details
and I'm late to the party. I don't know,
but these subtleties give me a new respect for <i>Miracle on 34th Street </i>as a remarkable piece of storytelling. Just don't ask me to watch the 94
version. I won't react well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JwD8mE05Ic/VKA06QAcXwI/AAAAAAAAAtA/FEQ860fqLmY/s1600/sleigh.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_JwD8mE05Ic/VKA06QAcXwI/AAAAAAAAAtA/FEQ860fqLmY/s1600/sleigh.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope you and your loved ones have had a safe and Merry
Christmas. As we approach 2015, I pray
for a peaceful, prosperous, and uplifting new year for all of you. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God bless,</div>
<br />
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Kevin<o:p></o:p></div>
Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-91904583549662051722014-05-15T18:08:00.000-05:002022-09-11T18:15:15.976-05:00My Hero<div class="MsoNormal">
It was during kindergarten that I first remember her standing up for me in a way that might have embarrassed other kids. I was an introverted bundle of nerves that had somehow managed to make a few friends only to find myself in a lunch period with none of them. She came to the school and talked to the principal to request my schedule be changed. Some would call me spoiled for that; as though she felt I was so special that I deserved to be able to choose my schedule while the other kids were blindly assigned. But some of the friendships I forged that year lasted to this very day. And I know I have her to thank for that.</div>
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For the entirety of my life, she's been accused of spoiling me. Of being overprotective. Of giving me special treatment. Of coddling me. Sheltering me.</div>
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I say she's the reason I'm still alive.</div>
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This website is called "Searching for Heroes" for a reason. I chose the title because true heroes are hard to come by these days. Police officers are beating their prisoners. Children are being molested by religious leaders. Protagonists in movies and TV shows are unrepentant murderers, drunks, womanizers, and thieves. Video games like Grand Theft Auto center around criminal activities. Morality is no longer "in" - rejected by a society bored of chivalry and consumed by a culture that revels in self-adulation. Indeed, real heroes are hard to come by.</div>
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Yet were I to be asked for my definition of a hero, I'd point my finger squarely at her. </div>
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She worked from <st1:time hour="6" minute="0">6AM</st1:time> to <st1:time hour="23" minute="0">11PM</st1:time>. From the moment she began making breakfast while simultaneously packing our lunches to the moment when she finally sat down to read a little before bed, she did nothing but serve her family. Between the duties of raising four children and working side-by-side with her husband to run the family business, she barely had a moment to breathe. But when we needed her, she always made time. If I needed a ride to school, she made time. If I needed supplies for a school project, she made time. If I needed help with my math homework, she made time. When I needed a ride at the last minute to go on my first date, she made time. And when I struggled to cope with my first break-up, she made time.</div>
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She taught me to respect others, appreciate what I have, and that the only thing I should ever hate is the word hate. </div>
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She's been one of the main supporters of my writing aspirations from the very beginning. When other family members told me I'd never be published, she urged me to follow my heart and work hard for what I wanted. And without that support, I would've likely given up many years ago. I've written a total of ten books to date, one of which she even edited for me. I can't say enough about what her support has done for my writing career.</div>
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When I told her that a girl I met online was coming halfway across the country to visit me for a week, I said "Don't worry, she'll be staying in a hotel."</div>
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She said, "Why do that when she can stay here?"</div>
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Five years later, when I made the announcement that I was moving 900 miles away, other family members scoffed. "You have no idea what you're getting into," they said.</div>
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She said, "You're going to do just fine."</div>
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More than all of that, however, she has been a living breathing example of what Christianity is truly all about. She taught me that the first and most important commandment is to love others. I've seen her volunteer for charity work, give stuffed toys to children's hospitals, bring strangers into her home, and most of all, care for my father during his final years. As Alzheimer's consumed his memory and his motor functions, she carefully bathed, fed, and clothed him every single day. She made sure he had music to listen to or movies to watch. She brushed his teeth and combed his hair. When he stared back at her blankly, she'd smile and tell him she loved him. Her dedication to upholding the vow of marriage was unquestionable.</div>
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I've been trying for years to put these feelings into words in a way that does her justice. I'm not sure I've really done that here, but I'm beginning to think it's because there just aren't any words that properly express my gratitude and appreciation for everything she's done. I owe her everything I have and everything I am. She is a counselor and a teacher. A barber and a cook. A nurse and a cheerleader. A fighter and a defender. A friend and a mentor.</div>
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She's my mother.</div>
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And she's my hero.</div>
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Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-71111924149322223092014-05-01T14:35:00.009-05:002022-09-11T18:16:48.500-05:00Seventy Times Seven<div class="MsoNormal">
My father and I used to watch professional wrestling together. It was one of a few things we shared. He introduced me to it back in the mid-80's, which was when Hulkamania was booming. We often watched it together on Saturday mornings and sometimes I could even get him to wrestle me with one of his big-buckle belts serving as the championship title. When RAW started airing on Monday nights, we watched every week together.</div>
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I could go on for hours about my fascination with the wrestling business. Dad used to point out to me when the wrestlers "messed up" because you could see how a move was done or watch a guy react to a punch that clearly never hit him. It all had a very "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" feel to it, which of course, made me want to see behind the curtain. Nowadays, the curtain has been pulled back, and the industry openly admits to being a staged performance.</div>
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As a kid, one of my favorites was Jake "The Snake" Roberts. I mean, I liked Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage and all those big names of the time period, but there was something about Jake Roberts that grabbed my attention and held it firm as long as he was on the screen. Of course, there was the eventual hope that he'd open his bag and dump Damien (his snake) onto his opponent, but there was more to Roberts than that. He had a natural charisma that made you question how much of what we saw on TV was character and how much was actually his real personality. </div>
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One of the most impressive aspects of Jake Roberts' character was his ability to deliver fantastic promos. In the wrestling world, the word "promo" is used to describe any time a character speaks on the mic. Today, most promos are (sadly) heavily scripted. Maybe not word-for-word scripted, but still planned out for the most part. The person conducting the interview will ask pre-planned questions, and the wrestlers will give their pre-planned answers.</div>
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But back in the day, it was all improv work. Part of being a successful character was being able to deliver interesting promos that sold the product. The wrestler and interviewer would be put in front of the live camera and told "Talk about the upcoming match" or "Talk about what happened last week" or something general like that. Since they were broadcasting live, they had only one take to get it right. From there, it was up to the performers to make it happen. And Jake Roberts always made it happen.</div>
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One of my favorite promos by Jake happened at Wrestlemania 6 before his match with Ted DiBiase. This promo is widely considered to be one of the best promos in the history of the business. I've posted it below. Just to set the stage, Ted DiBiase played the character of "The Million Dollar Man," a rich guy who was so arrogant that he paid for his own title belt - the "Million Dollar Championship" - which Jake Roberts stole.</div>
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Sadly, Roberts never spent any considerable time at the top of the wrestling world. Drug and alcohol addiction dragged him down a dark and dangerous road for the majority of his life. He'd disappear from the wrestling world for a time, then re-emerge for another run. Sometimes he'd be gone a couple of months, sometimes years. Eventually, he disappeared for good. As the business began to open up more, documentaries began to be produced. Jake's battle with his addictions is well-documented in films such as "Beyond the Mat" and "Jake Roberts: Pick Your Poison." In his defense, he had a worse childhood than many of us might have dreamed. The kind of things he endured during his youth would be enough to drive most people to find some kind of escape.<br />
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As time went on, pictures and videos started surfacing on the internet. Among other things, there were clips of him drunk at independent wrestling shows, unable to perform properly, and making a mockery of the amazing character he'd created during his run in the 80's. Fans like myself thought it was just a matter of time before he was found dead somewhere. But somehow, through it all, he hung on.<br />
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Fast forward to October, 2012.<br />
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Jake Roberts, over 300 pounds and barely able to move due to the years of abusing his body through both wrestling and drugs, moved in with another former wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) to try to clean up his life for the umpteenth time (really, Microsoft Word? You recognize "umpteenth" as a word?). With DDP's help, Roberts was able to get himself on a good path for the first time in decades. DDP's yoga program (creatively called DDPYoga) helped Jake get mobile again, lose weight, and finally begin to take hold of the demons that had held him prisoner for the majority of his life. <br />
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But exercise, no matter the type, can only do just so much. Jake was in need of surgery to help fix some injuries that had never healed and were inhibiting his recovery. Wrestlers don't have health insurance, so, in January of 2013, DDP set up an Indiegogo donation campaign to help fund Jake's surgeries.</div><div class="MsoNormal">
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Following Jake's surgery, he continued to walk the straight and narrow. He kept up with his workouts, resisted temptations to return to the drugs and alcohol after 30 years of addiction, and today he is clean and sober and in great shape. <o:p></o:p><br /><br /></div>
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So why am I telling you all of this?<br />
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Well, as I mentioned, this wasn't Jake's first attempt at getting clean and taking control of his life. He had done it before, but it never lasted very long. Doctors will tell you that addiction is a cruel mistress - your brain becomes so accustomed to the stimulation provided by the object of your desire that it begins to feel like a bodily need. A requirement. A thirst. You feel like you just can't get by without satisfying that need.<br />
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As a result, when news got out about Jake's Indiegogo campaign to raise money for his surgeries, there were some wrestling fans who reacted harshly. There were people who said things like "I'm not going to hand him money - he'll blow it on more drugs" and "If he'd been smarter with the money he earned, I wouldn't be expected to pay his bills" and so on. It made me sick to my stomach.<br />
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Is there a limit on forgiveness? Should there be? <br />
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The answer is no.<br />
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<b>Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." -Matthew 18:21-22<o:p></o:p></b><br />
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Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes we make a lot of them. Sometimes we make the same mistake over and over. Sometimes we know we're doing it, yet don't know how to stop it. We're all human. We're all imperfect. And we all rely on each other to make it through this life.<br />
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Jake Roberts, regardless of past transgressions, reached out for help. How could we, as fellow human beings, knock that hand away? Why would we refuse to offer help to someone in need? Because he screwed his life up by himself? Because he has no one to blame but himself? Because his choices put him in that position?<br />
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<i>So what?<o:p></o:p></i><br />
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Who among us hasn't done one thing or another to screw up our own lives? Who among us hasn't made poor decisions? Who among us hasn't reached out to a fellow human being at one time or another and said "Please, help me."?<br />
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If someone reached back, were you thankful?<br />
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If no one reached back, did you wish they had?<br />
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Why not be that blessing to someone else?<o:p></o:p><br />
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Are we as a people so focused on results that we'd give up on a human being if the odds of success didn't look good? It's not as though he was in a vegetative state in a hospital; he was injured and asking if anyone would be willing to help. But since he'd failed too many times for some people's liking, they weren't willing to "risk" it for him again. Really? A fifteen dollar donation is too much to risk? Thirty? Fifty? Is that the price limit on a man's recovery? Should there be a price limit?<br />
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Here's a question: If Jake Roberts turned back to booze after getting his surgery, should anyone have regretted contributing? If Jake Roberts used the donation money to buy drugs, should anyone have regretted contributing? <br />
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The answer is "No."<br />
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I would've been upset, of course, but I would not have regretted it. You can't control what other people do, you can only control what you do. The donations Jake received helped give him a chance for a healthier life. Whether or not he wanted to accept that chance was up to him. But at the very least, when he extended his hand and asked for help, there were people out there to grab it.<br />
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Last month, Jake Roberts, with his life back on track after 30+ years of addiction, finally received his much deserved reward with an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Addiction is a lifelong struggle, and he will have to battle his self-destructive tendencies until the day he dies. Maybe he'll make it, and maybe he won't. But at least for now, he's living life in a way he hasn't experienced before - happy, healthy, and alive.<br />
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Never underestimate the blessing you can be to another person.<br />
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Give without expectations.<br />
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Love always.<br />
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God bless,</div>
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Kevin</div>
Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-22990951011492588182014-03-23T09:58:00.005-05:002022-09-11T18:07:57.564-05:00Lost in Paradise<div class="MsoNormal">
For the longest time, I used to ask God why I was
alone. I was never one to go out dating
random girls, so it would've been easy to single out that fact as the
reason. But the truth was that I didn't
have interest in dating anyone I didn't know.
I never believed my future wife would come from a random date - it would
be someone I was friends with first.
That's not a knock in any way at people who do the random dating thing -
I know people who met that way and have had long healthy relationships. It works for some people, but not me.</div>
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Eventually, Laura came along. We became friends online through a Christian message
board. Oddly enough, she replied to a
post I had made about battling depression, and we talked back and forth for a few months before meeting in person.
To make a long story short, we've been together for almost ten years and
have carved out a nice little life for ourselves. God answered my prayers for companionship.</div>
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Another big thing on my to-do list was to get out on my
own. Where I grew up, independent living
doesn't come at a reasonable price. I lived
in my parents house for far too long, and I needed to gain my
independence. A series of events in late
2009 led to Laura and I moving halfway across the country into our own
apartment. We've been on our own since
then. God answered my prayers for independence.</div>
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After serving the monster that is retail for far too many
years, another goal of mine was to find a job where I could be happy. Of course, I didn't put too much weight into
this goal because, quite frankly, most people dislike their jobs. But when I least expected it, I found myself
in the job I have now. I'm not going to
go into detail, but I'm in a position that I actually like with a company that
I respect doing something I actually believe in. After so many years of horrible bosses,
heartless customers, and meager pay, my current boss is awesome, I don't
interact with customers, and I'm able to pay my bills while still setting some
aside for savings. </div>
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Will it last forever? Few things
do. I'm aware that there's a
near-certainty that my current job situation will not last, and I realize that there's a chance I may have to
return to the nightmare that is retail employment someday. But for now, I'm enjoying what I've been
blessed with. I'm doing something where
I have the opportunity every day to help people get the best out of themselves,
and it can be very rewarding. God
answered my prayers for a job that makes me happy.</div>
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My last big goal was to be a published author. After years of rejections from publishing
houses and agents, I finally decided to go the self-publishing route in
2010. I fully expected to be met with
harsh criticism - after all, if the experts of the industry didn't find any
merit in my work, how would readers ever accept me? But my books have all been met with overall
positive reviews, showing me that sometimes the best way to reach your goal is
to go out and do it on your own. God
answered my prayers for writing success.</div>
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In a way, you could say that I've reached all the goals I
set out for myself in life. </div>
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So why do I feel so lost?</div>
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As you probably know by now, it's been almost two years
since I've written anything of significance.
It's depressing. It's
aggravating. It's suffocating. Every time I sit down to write, my brain
shuts down. I stare at the screen
telling myself, "Let's go adventuring!" My brain responds by saying, "Nope,
Nothing here today. Please try again
tomorrow." I have ideas, but no
words. Images, but no expression. And it wasn't until recently that I
discovered that this dry spell of creativity extends to more aspects of my life
than just writing.</div>
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I used to do video editing on my iMac that I'd upload to
YouTube. Sometimes they were goofy little
shorts and sometimes they were vacation montages. I loved it, and from what I've been told,
others enjoyed my work too. But last
week, I tried to sit down and make a video for my first time in a long time,
and nothing came together for me. I
couldn't get audio and visuals to line up.
The program wouldn't allow pictures to display properly and I just
didn't have the energy or drive to keep pushing and researching until it was
resolved. I threw my hands up and walked
away.</div>
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I also used to enjoy recording music. I've never recording anything substantial
because I'm not at all gifted musically, but I enjoyed dabbling with it and
seeing what I could come up with.
Lately, I haven't had the ambition to do any of those things.</div>
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For whatever reason, my creative juices are shot. And it's not that I don't WANT to do these
things. I have a ton of story ideas, a
few videos I'd love to put together, and I still enjoy playing guitar. But when I sit down to try to create
anything, it all falls flat almost immediately.
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The only conclusion I can come to is that I'm supposed to be
focusing my attention on something else right now. If there's one thing God has taught me over
the years, it's that he has a way of taking away or postponing the things I
want until I do whatever it is that HE wants me to do. I'm fine with that - I'm here to serve, after
all. There's only one problem.</div>
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I really don't know what he wants from me this time.</div>
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There have been times in my life when I've gotten so wrapped
up in my own plans that I've unknowingly turned from the path God was leading
me down and went my own way. When I
finally realized it and got back on track, God was waiting there to continue
the journey with me. I fear this may be
one of those situations, but it's hard to determine when and where I may have
gone astray.</div>
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I've considered the possibility that taking a break from
writing was the wrong decision, but if that's the case, then getting back to
writing would be the solution. That's
not working out at all for me. I also
thought that maybe God wanted me to take my writing in a different direction
rather than continue with sci-fi/fantasy stuff.
In my last post, you can see my attempt to do that, but it ultimately
hasn't gone anywhere either.</div>
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I've also begun to think that maybe the direction I'm
supposed to go doesn't necessarily have to be a creative one. Without revealing too much about my job, I'm
in a position where I can help people bring out the best in themselves. It's my job to encourage, develop, and guide others. Is that my service to God now? Is my task for God to help people through my
position at work? It seems a little too
easy to me - this is what I get paid to do every day. It doesn't feel like "above and
beyond" or anything like that. But
maybe that's OK with God? I don't know.</div>
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And because I know I have critics of religion who read this
page, I'm sure some of you are asking "If you claim God talks to you, why
doesn't he just tell you want he wants you to do?" Sometimes God will do that. But more often, we learn and grow better when
we figure out things for ourselves. If
your calculus teacher gave you an exam and then stood there telling you all the
answers every time, you wouldn't learn nearly as much as you would have if
you'd taken the time to study and apply the material yourself.</div>
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Laura says it's possible God doesn't want anything right now
and that this is just a waiting period.
God's timing is not our own, after all, but when things come up, I need
to be ready to act. I know this does happen, but is that what's going on here? I'm not so sure. I <i>feel</i> like I should be doing something. But right now, I'm just...
lost.</div>
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God bless,</div>
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Kevin</div>
Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-59842863105779409672014-01-27T22:22:00.002-06:002022-09-11T18:02:08.682-05:00The Atheist Dilemma<div class="MsoNormal">
For the last four years, I've made it a goal of mine to try
to understand atheists. I stress that
word - <i>understand Â</i>- because no amount of logical thinking leads me to a
resolution wherein I might agree with them.
I mean, I <i>know</i> God exists from my own personal interaction with
him, so that won't change. But I had
hoped to at least be able to understand their point of view - to be able to
follow their line of reasoning to a point where I could say "You know
what? I get it. I see why you believe
there is no God."</div>
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I mean, I <i>can</i> understand why some might ask "How
do you know your God is the right one?" or "How can you claim to know
God's intentions?" or the ever common question of "If God is so good,
why does he allow bad things to happen to innocent people?" I understand these questions. I have answers of my own, but again, they
come from my personal interaction with God - something that the non-believer
wouldn't have had without first taking a step of faith. So I can see why someone who does not have a
relationship with God might ask these things.</div>
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What I can't fathom is why people claim the absence of God
to be an absolute fact. Not one specific
God, mind you, but <i>any</i> God. The
statement "There is no God" to me is akin to being handed a sealed
box and told "There's no cookie in this box." If you haven't opened the box to find out,
how can you know for sure? We've
explored such a small fragment of a fragment of a fragment of the entire
universe. How can humans presume to know
so much from that small fragment that we can actually say "There is no
God."? We haven't explored the
entire universe - the entire cookie box, so to speak - so how can we say for
sure?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've talked with a lot of atheists over the past four
years. I've tried to engage them in
debate. I've tried to get them to
explain to me what it is that makes them so certain that God does not
exist. Most of them sidestepped my
questions. I'd get responses like,
"I'm not here to teach you. Go look
it up yourself," or the ever common "I can't help you if you're too
stupid to see common sense." It's
hard to get any real answers from them.
And if they did afford me the opportunity to ask deeper questions, most
stopped replying at that point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of the problem, I've noticed, is that atheists state
you cannot use religious texts to support your claims, nor can you use the idea
that "God did it" to explain things that science claims to be
impossible. So trying to get them to
acknowledge the possibilities of a divine being would mean trying to do so
through human means - scientific means.
Of course, we have no scientific evidence that directly links our
universe to a God, so atheists conclude there is no God. The most confusing circle of logic for me is
when you ask them how science proved there is no God. They state it is not up to science to prove it
- it is up the religious community. Then
why do they cite science when trying to support their claims that there is no
God? "You can't prove a
negative," they say, meaning you can't prove it if you say something
doesn't exist. But you can - I can open
the box and see whether or not there is a cookie inside. If it isn't, I've proven there is no
cookie. With God, the universe is the
box. We have yet to explore the entire
thing, so how can we say if the cookie is there or not?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The argument of Russell's Teapot has been brought up on more
than one occasion. If you are unfamiliar
with it, the concept came from a philosopher named Bertrand Russell. He stated that if one claimed a teapot was
out in space orbiting the sun, it would make no sense for people to believe him
just because they can't prove him wrong.
My problem with this notion is that technically, there are circumstances
in which his claims could be verified.
If we had spacecraft traveling longer distances, or if we used a
satellite or unmanned craft, we could verify or disprove the claim. But for the sake of argument, let's just say
we <i>couldn't</i> verify his claim.
Does that mean that it is a fact that there's no teapot out there? Or would it be more reasonable to say "There could be a teapot, but we have no
way of proving it."? Because
regardless of whether or not it could be proven, if the teapot is out there
beyond the reach of human observation, then the claim is correct. How, then, can we say for a fact that there
is no teapot based solely on a lack of observation?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Science is often quoted by the atheists I've spoke
with. The concept that science has
learned how the various systems and mechanics of the universe work - systems
that were once attributed a God or Gods - seems to make some atheists believe
that the only reason early man believed in God was because we couldn't explain
things like eclipses or the rising/falling of the sun. Once science learned how they worked,
atheists say the need for God disappeared.
Again, this seems illogical to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This argument could be compared to a man who discovers a car
for the first time. He disassembles it,
studies it, reassembles it, and figures out how to use it. That's what we've done with science - we've
learned how the various systems of the universe work, how the human body works,
how the earth has changed over the years, and invented ways of managing all of
it in our day to day lives. None of this
explains how the car (universe) came to be or who assembled it in the first
place. If matter can neither be created
nor destroyed, then we all must have come from some unknown piece of original
matter. OK, so where did that come
from? And whatever the answer is, how
then did <i>that</i> come into existence?
How did the space in which this matter resides come into existence? How did the very laws of the universe come to
be formed, and what holds them in place?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don't say these things to somehow "prove" God
did it all. I say them to illustrate
just how little we know - <i>too</i> little to be able to say for sure that he
didn't.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One person encouraged me to watch a Discovery Channel
special where Stephen Hawking explains his theories about how life in the
universe began. I watched the entire
special online so that I could learn what this well-known and highly-respected
scientific mind had to say about the origins of the universe. Unfortunately, zero questions were answered. If anything, it gave me even more questions
to ask. Hawking postulates that the
beginnings of the universe itself spontaneously popped into existence from <i>nothing</i>. Comparing to a certain type of particle (I
watched this a while ago, so I don't remember the name) that has been observed
to pop in and out of existence randomly and spontaneously, Hawking says it's
very possible that the same could be said of the initial makings of our
universe. How this argument disproves
God in his mind is beyond me - if anything, it supports the Christian Genesis
story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When faced with these questions, most atheists reply with
"Well, we are still learning and experimenting every day, so the questions
we don't know the answers to will one day be answered." But for me, the important questions will not
be answered. You can tell me how
something works, but if you cannot tell me how it came to be and why it
happened that way, it will not disprove the existence of God. You can describe how each of the processes of
the universe function together and why they are necessary, but if you can't
tell me what makes them go, why they work that way, what fuels the engine of
this plane of existence, then you cannot rule out the possibility of a God as
the driving force behind it all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Contradictions in religious texts are another hot button
topic for atheists - if there are apparent contradictions in the text, then it
must not be true. First off, most of
what seem to be contradictions can be explained by differing points of view. Think of it this way: You're walking down a
crowded <st1:street>New York City street</st1:street>
minding your own business. You hear a
commotion behind you and turn around to see a car smash into another car. The two of them then hit a bus while fleeing
pedestrians run in all directions. Some
are knocked over and trampled, others escape just fine, and still others stand
still watching the chaos. The police
arrive and start interviewing people. Do
you think each person's account of the accident is going to be identical? It's unlikely. Does that mean the event didn't occur?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other contradictions arise from scientific discoveries that
seem to counter the Bible's claims. The
great flood, for example, is often cited as being scientifically impossible
because the atmosphere can only hold just so much moisture. This is where the "God did it"
argument gets so much flak. But is it impossible that God did it? Well, to disprove the idea, one would first
have to disprove the existence of God.
We already know we can't do that, so how can we rule out the "God
did it" possibility? Yes, it <i>seems</i>
like yet another easy answer to explain something that, at the time, couldn't
be otherwise explained. But again,
without disproving God, we can't know that for sure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And why is the existence of such a divine being so
impossible to begin with? We see differing
levels of intelligence in our own world.
A dog can't perform complex mathematical calculations. A monkey can't draw up designs for a
suspension bridge. We are the most
intellectually superior beings on this planet.
But what about the universe? Are
we really so pompous as to think that there is nothing out there that might
possess a higher level of intelligence than we do? And if there <i>is</i> something out there
with an intelligence beyond our own, why is it so unfathomable that this level
of intelligence might allow it to manipulate the laws of time and space in ways
we cannot? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One atheist recently argued with me that the ability to
imagine something doesn't make it exist.
"I could tell you that there are sixteen magic unicorns living in
the core of Mars, but that wouldn't make it true. Without empirical evidence to support that
claim, one would have to conclude that it is false." Just because you can think of an absurd
concept doesn't automatically mean that ANYTHING we cannot observe ourselves is
automatically untrue or nonexistent. How can we presume we are so intelligent
that we know whether or not there is a divine being? How can we presume that
the fact that this being has never physically shown itself to us means it isn't
there? How can we presume that our understanding of scientific principals is
the highest understanding there can ever be? For that matter, how can we
presume that this is the only universe? How can we presume there are no other
planes of existence - alternate dimensions or universes where God may reside?
Humans can't even make it back to their own moon, yet they presume to know
enough to declare no sort of divine being could have ever existed. It boggles my mind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During these conversations, I've been accused of being unable
to think objectively, rationally, or logically. How is it objective, rational,
and logical to assume that there is no God when we have not discovered each and
every place intelligent life may exist? How could humans possibly have observed
the presence or absence of a God if we've not yet explored every inch of the
universe (or other universes, if there are any)? I've yet to have an atheist provide any real
answers to any of these questions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another argument often posed is that a loving God would not
allow the injustices of the world to happen.
People seem to think that God's purpose is to heed to every
request/demand we have and solve the problems of society. We still have world
hunger? Blame God. Men raping women? Blame God. Children dying of disease?
Blame God. The problem is that they are placing God on the same level as
humanity and judging his actions accordingly. But as the creator, he is above
any other being and therefore above judgment. How arrogant are we to expect to
tell a divine being what he should or should not do? He possesses a higher level of intelligence
and understanding than human beings are capable of, and to expect to understand
everything he does is unreasonable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In reality, man has been given free reign over the Earth.
These things don't get fixed by God because they're not God's responsibility to
fix. They are our problems, our trials, and our responsibilities. If our children are starving, it's because we
aren't taking care of them. Not God, but
<i>us.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The final, and possibly the most common, argument against
the existence of God is the actions of people who claim to follow him. Religious zealots wage war on
unbelievers. Homosexuals are shunned by
churches. Priests are molesting
children. It's easy to highlight the
belief systems of these types of people because their actions are quite the
opposite. Religion is an easy front - in
the eyes of the offender, saying "God told me to do it" provides a
way of shirking moral responsibility for their crimes. But man is responsible for man's crimes, no
matter who they try to blame. If someone
walked into a mall with a gun and started shooting everyone in the name of
atheism, it wouldn't mean that all atheists are evil. Further, this entire argument holds no water
because the shameful acts of an evil man have no bearing on whether or not God
exists - regardless of what the crime was.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, sadly, after all of this I find myself no closer to
understanding atheists than I was four years ago. I just don't see how it is logical to state
"There is no God" without proof.
The atheist will respond to that statement by saying "I don't see
how it is logical to state "There <i>is</i> a God" without
proof. I can understand that, but it
makes far more sense to me to at least acknowledge the possibility rather than
write it off entirely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm sorry, guys. I
really do want to understand. It just
doesn't seem rational to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God bless,</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kevin<o:p></o:p></div>
Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-77978285631980831022013-10-22T19:45:00.001-05:002022-09-11T18:00:14.645-05:00Be Prepared<div class="MsoNormal">
I feel like I've been preparing for all the wrong things in
life. Or maybe not enough of the right
ones. Either way, as life rolls on and I
get older, challenges arise and things change.
I knew all of it was coming. I
knew I wouldn't be a kid forever. I knew
family members wouldn't be around forever.
But I didn't realize how much the inevitable winds of change would tear
a hole in my world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was in elementary school, I was told that I needed to
work hard and be prepared because middle school was much harder. I'd have different teachers for most
subjects, and none of them would care about my responsibilities to any class other
than theirs. I mentally prepared myself
for the academic challenges that awaited.
But when I got there, it wasn't the amount of schoolwork or the
complexity of the material that caught me off-guard. It was the heartlessness of my classmates.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suddenly, I was interacting with kids from the other
elementary schools who had been combined with mine, and not many of them liked
me. At the same time, many of my old
friends from elementary school turned their backs on me as new cliques were formed
and old friendships were tossed aside. Adolescence
had arrived, and with it came the race for popularity that would last straight
through high school.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During my high school years, I was warned that I had to take
the work seriously because college would be a hundred times harder and the
workforce even worse. I ended up holding
off on college and getting a job first, so I mentally prepared myself to be worked
to the bone. I wasn't going to complain
about the responsibilities I was given.
I wasn't going to complain about the endless hours on my feet. I wasn't going to stress about the workload.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the workload turned out to be surprisingly easy. I did really well and was promoted several
times over the next few years. The
workload wasn't my problem. It was the
people and the politics. My first job
was retail, so I was given my first exposure to the heartless underbelly of
humanity known as the "customer."
I had no problems helping people find what they needed - that's what I expected
to be doing. But their attitudes were
not what I had expected. Customers were heartless and mean. I honestly didn't see it coming. The poor attitudes of many of my coworkers
complicated matters as well. I'd been
led to believe that working a real job meant being a part of a team. But I soon learned that many employees only
looked out for themselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I did go to college, I got better grades there than I
did in high school. The workload was
almost laughably easy (with the exception of math, my weak point - curse you,
numbers!).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I moved out of my mother's house, I was warned that I
had no idea what I was getting myself into.
I was moving 900 miles away to a state with no family of my own. I was told that the stress of being
responsible for keeping a roof over our heads (mine and Laura's) in today's
economy would crush me. I was warned
that I wouldn't be able to handle the responsibilities of living on my own and
that I wasn't prepared for all of the expenses that go into independent living. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But none of that stuff has been an issue for me. What I now struggle with is the prospect of a
life that is completely new, an unpaved road that is, for the moment, completely
unfamiliar to me. And the worst part is
that it's a one-way street. Everything I
<i>was</i> familiar with - the things I now lack - are things that can never be
a part of my life again. Even if I were
to quit my job and move back to the New York/New Jersey area, I still wouldn't
be able to regain what I've lost.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was <i>not</i> prepared for that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've always known that a day would come when I'd lose my
parents. And I always thought "I
don't know how in the world I'm going to handle that." But growing up, all I really worried about
was how I'd react <i>when</i> either of my parents died. What I didn't think of was how I would cope
in the years that would follow. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And it's been like that for a lot of things. We used to own a house in <st1:place>Point
Pleasant</st1:place>. It was my
favorite place in the world - and still is.
I'd give anything to have that house back, but we had to sell it years
ago, and it has since been renovated to the point that it barely resembles our
old place. Even if I <i>could</i> afford
it, the house I spent countless summers enjoying is no longer there. No matter what I do, I can't get it back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are the things I wish I'd been prepared for. I miss the days when my mother, father,
sister, and myself would spend a weekend down the shore. I miss the days when Mom would make a big
dinner and the whole family would sit around the table with Dad at the end
making bad puns. I miss spending holidays
with my family and taking trips to <st1:state>Vermont</st1:state>
to see my brother. I miss playing video
games with my other brother before he'd go out every evening. I miss the summer nights when my father, my
uncle, and our neighbor Bobby would sit outside talking about who-knows-what
while my sister and I looked at stars through a telescope. I miss Fourth of July barbeques at my uncle's
pool and going to fireworks with everyone afterward. And I miss all the family members we've lost
over the years, whether by death or by choice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I realize that I've entered the second part of my life. I knew it was coming, and I know that it's up
to me to create new traditions, new favorite places, and new memories. But sometimes nostalgia can be a
psychological tormentor reminding me that I'll never wake up in Point Pleasant
to the sound of Mom returning with morning donuts, I'll never share another
"Dad walk" with my father, and I'll never spend another Christmas in
our house in New Jersey.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That's not to say I have nothing great in my life now. I really do.
First and foremost, I have Laura to walk beside me, and that's the
biggest blessing I could've ever asked for.
We are creating all of our own traditions as the years go by, making our
own memories, and enjoying our lives together.
And, to my surprise, I actually enjoy living in <st1:state>Missouri</st1:state>. I'm sure I'll settle in on this new path
eventually, but the transition has been tougher than I expected not because of
the responsibilities that come with it, but because of everything I've lost
along the way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Life has changed so much and I've just been running to catch
up. I spent so much time focusing on and
preparing for the responsibilities of life that I forgot to respect the intangibles
that make life worth living. It's not
that I don't appreciate the things I have now. And it's not that I didn't appreciate the shore
house or the family holidays when we had them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I just wasn't prepared for them to be gone so soon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So remember every day to appreciate the blessings you have,
whether they are memories, family, or anything else. Let the people closest to you know you feel
about them, and cherish every moment you have with them. After all, "Time is short, and suddenly
you're not there anymore."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love and miss you guys.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
God bless,</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kevin<o:p></o:p></div>
Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-84985516901048099062013-09-28T20:48:00.002-05:002022-09-11T17:58:09.206-05:00Origin<i>The following story is fictional... I think.</i><br />
<br />
Many years ago, a man died of a severe flu. He was an evil man who delighted in tormenting others, so it was no surprise that he wound up in hell.<br />
<br />
As part of his punishment, his illness followed him beyond the void, sentencing him to an eternity of stuffy noses, upset stomachs, sore throats, and painful coughs. Satan found joy in this, smiling at every sniffle and laughing with every wheeze.<br />
<br />
After a few years, the man's relentless sickness drove him to madness. While walking through the halls of hell, his eyes fell upon the smoldering coals lining the floor. Desperate to alleviate the pain in his throat, he snatched up one of these coals and stuffed it into his mouth in an attempt to burn a hole through his esophagus. <br />
<br />
Surprisingly, his plan worked. And Satan took notice. He called the man into his chambers the following day to offer him a proposition.<br />
<br />
"I know you have taken coals from the halls of my den and cured your ailment," Satan said. "I will allow you to communicate with a few of my associates in the mortal realm. They are greedy men, business associates eager to store up their wealth by any means necessary. You will inform them of your discovery, and provide them with instructions to create their own coals. In this, my most dastardly plan, I shall bring searing pain and misery upon the living through the promise of healing. And the men will become wealthy and powerful servants of mine while you become one of my trusted advisers."<br />
<br />
The man did as Satan commanded. He appeared in a dream to one of the businessmen and instructed him how to make coals similar to those found in the halls of hell. The businessman, inspired by his vision, followed the instructions and created a new treatment for sore throats, a red coal shaped like an oblong marble, tainted with an artificial cherry flavor to distract customers from the pain, and branded with a trademark signifying their origin.<br />
<br />
This is the origin of "Halls" cough drops.Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-39675456023031871582012-10-07T01:00:00.000-05:002022-09-11T17:59:04.880-05:00The "Almighty" CloudI am deeply concerned about the direction of technology these days. We've seen a lot of positive advances in the field, many of which have been very beneficial for authors in particular. But there's a word which has been growing in popularity that has made me increasingly nervous.<br />
<br />
I'm talking about the "cloud."<br />
<br />
For those not familiar, the cloud is a term used to describe offsite data storage. The promotional idea behind it is the simple fact that you would no longer need to worry about storage space, data backup, and physical media. Everything from your saved documents to your video games to your music and movies would be stored on a server somewhere else, giving you virtually limitless data storage and media access.<br />
<br />
That's how companies like Microsoft and Apple want you to see it, anyway.<br />
<br />
I see a far different reality in the not-so-distant future.<br />
<br />
Several years back, Microsoft introduced Xbox Live. While not the <i>first</i> online gaming service for home consoles, it was certainly the most complete package available at that time. With it came promises of eventual downloadable content (or DLC) that could extend the life of your games with patches, new levels, additional characters, and much more - for a price. DLC didn't really take off until the Xbox 360 was released.<br />
<br />
When it started, DLC was in no way a requirement. Games were shipped complete, and any DLC available was simple; they'd provide a new horse for your in-game character or maybe a novelty arena for a hockey game. DLC cost money, but anyone not interested in paying for it didn't really miss out on anything significant.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to today. DLC has become more and more prevalent and, in some cases, almost necessary. You can get additional characters for Street Fighter. There are additional missions for Mass Effect. New multiplayer maps are frequently released for most popular shooters. Some DLC is only available by pre-ordering your game at one retailer as opposed to another. Buy that shooter at Best Buy? Then you can get a specific in-game weapon that people who purchased at GameStop won't ever have access to. Buy at Walmart? You can get an additional character download that other retailers won't provide.<br />
<br />
But here's where things are starting to get dirty. First off, companies are releasing game discs with DLC data ON THE DISC. You can't have access to it, of course, until you pay for the content online. But the data is there on the disc you've already paid for. It's a sneaky and immoral way for companies to try to squeeze more money out of players. Second, downloaded content is becoming more and more important to the multiplayer aspect of games. Shooters, especially, have new maps coming out seemingly every week (exaggeration, but you get the point), and since so many players fork over the cash, those who haven't purchased DLC have more trouble finding games. Or, in the case of games like Call of Duty, you can get a game, but your lack of DLC restricts EVERY player to only the multiplayer maps you have. And, as you might imagine, that will often earn you an expletive laden verbal assault from other players who don't want to play the "same old maps" over and over.<br />
<br />
<br />
So what does all of this have to do with the cloud?<br />
<br />
Well, as DLC popularity has risen, so have the prices. A pack of 3-4 new multiplayer maps for Call of Duty will typically cost you $15. Fifteen bucks for a couple of maps. That's a quarter of the price of a brand new game! The makers of Street Fighter release a pack of four new characters and a couple of interface adjustments and calls it a whole new game, charging players another $30 to access it. Keep in mind that players already pay $50 a year for Xbox Live to begin with in addition to the cost of the console and the original game itself.<br />
<br />
Worse yet, sadly to say, my former favorite developer - Square Enix - has finally delivered the ultimate slap in the face. Their latest release, Final Fantasy XIII-2, ends with a "To Be Continued" message. When questioned, director Motomu Toriyama stated that the ending is leaving room for DLC and the game's multiple "Paradox Endings." In other words, you shell out $60 for a game, play through to the end, and get told to pay more in order to finish it. It suggests what I've feared all along: Our living rooms, bedrooms, family rooms, and everywhere else are being turned into home arcades. Plunk down your money to play, get through a few levels, then be forced to pay more to continue. Sure, it's not that bad yet, but I could easily see the industry reaching that point within ten years.<br />
<br />
And I have the same concerns regarding the "cloud."<br />
<br />
Right now, we have - for the most part - control over our media. We can download music from iTunes and save it to our computers to be either burned to CD or shifted to an MP3 player. We can still get hard copies of games and movies and music in stores. And we can save our files on hard drives built into our computers or external backups. The data is ours to do with as we please (legally, of course), and we never have to pay for it again.<br />
<br />
But the cloud has already appeared in some ways. Netflix, for example, is a cloud-based movie service. You have access to all kinds of TV shows and movies storied on Netflix's servers, and for a fee, you can access them. Likewise, there's a game service called OnLive that does the same thing for video games. For a monthly fee plus the price of the game, you get online access to any games they offer. All information is stored on their databases; you don't need a fancy computer or the latest game console. Just money. Every month. But if you don't pay every month, you don't have access to <i>anything</i>, no matter how much you've already paid.<br />
<br />
See where this is going?<br />
<br />
If the cloud becomes universally accepted by the technology world just as DLC was accepted by the gaming world, we could find ourselves paying monthly fees for everything and anything. Movies, music, games, and even data storage could all come with access fees because, after all, those companies need money to maintain the servers and data backups. As time goes on, physical media will become a thing of the past because it's easier to just click a button to download a purchase. Need storage space? Pay a subscription fee, click a button, pay a product fee, and you'll have terabytes at your disposal. Want the latest Batman movie? Pay a subscription fee, click a button, pay a product fee, and be watching within minutes. The ease of use will be the main marketing point, but inwardly, these corporate executives will be laughing all the way to the bank. EVERY month. But if you cancel your subscription, you lose access to everything you've already paid for.<br />
<br />
Do you know why companies like Best Buy and Staples push services plans on technological purchases? Because services are considered pure profit. It is one of the few ways that you can take a customers money without handing them a physical product in return. Digital media will be viewed the same way. In fact, it already is. When iTunes tries to sell you a digital download of XYZ Band's latest album, they may as well be saying, "Would you like to purchase a warranty plan?" There's no CD, no case, no physical product of any kind changing hands.<br />
<br />
Without a physical product in the customer's hands, the power is ALL in the developer's hands. Fees will be small to start, but as physical media fades away and the cloud becomes king, our society will be trapped in a system that gives all the financial control to businesses and other organizations that have one simple demand: Every dollar in our wallets. Next thing you know, access fees begin to rise. Then, "processing" fees will be instituted. Online purchase taxes. Pretty soon, purchasing a copy of a movie will entail a $9.99 per month subscription to a service, $20 purchase fee for the movie itself, $2.50 online purchase tax, standard sales tax, and whatever else the developers and distributors want to tack on. Worse, because we will have allowed ourselves to be forced into this system, there will be no way out.<br />
<br />
Additionally, if this sort of technology extends beyond entertainment and into standard computer use as Microsoft and Apple and others are pushing for (the cloud is already a part of Apple's latest iOS), we'll soon find ourselves buying computers with minimal hard drive space because we'll be able to store as much data as we need on the cloud. Once that becomes standard, Microsoft could decide to charge monthly for access to the cloud. Suddenly, that book you're writing, that assignment you're working on, that presentation you need for work, they could all be held ransom each month by the providers of the cloud until you pay access fees. People will grumble just as they do about the prices of Microsoft Office. But people will pay just as they do to purchase Microsoft Office. <br />
<br />
Is any of this going to happen for absolute certain? I have no idea. But if DLC has taught us anything, it's that we need to be very careful which powers we entrust to the powers that distribute digital data. Gamers have allowed themselves to take the bait, and now game developers are reeling in more dollars every day. If we don't want to see that happen to all aspects of media, society needs to reject the cloud as a whole.<br />
<br />
Spread the word.<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />KevinKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-16262549794387566632012-05-09T18:00:00.001-05:002022-09-11T17:55:29.511-05:00Pointless SexNow that I have your attention...<br />
<br />
Laura had me watch "Water for Elephants" the other night. It wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't exactly one I'd rush out to buy, either. It's about a guy who is set to graduate from school and get his license in veterinary medicine. His parents die in a car accident, their assets are seized due to debts, and he suddenly finds himself homeless. With nowhere to go, he winds up with a traveling circus taking care of the animals.<br />
<br />
Three-quarters of the way through the story, there is a sex scene. Nothing graphic or over-the-top, just your regular could-be-aired-on-TV sex scene. While it was playing, I started thinking about sex scenes as a storytelling tool. And I've come to a conclusion: I don't understand them.<br />
<br />
Whether in books, movies, TV shows, or video games, I just don't see the purpose. From a storyline perspective, they don't accomplish anything. It's not like sex means anything to the average person anymore. What was once the most intimate expression of love between a husband and wife is now just as commonplace as shaking hands. So I'm not sure what purpose these scenes serve.<br />
<br />
Watching this one, I looked at Laura and asked, "Is this supposed to mean that they're passionately in love? Because this is the same exact premise of '16 and Pregnant,' and we all know how those stories turn out." A sex scene in a movie doesn't do anything to emphasize or define or characterize love between two people because - let's face it - the amount of people who have sex out of honest-to-God love is minimal these days. Our entertainment, our media, and our society all glorify sex so much that it has lost any and all of the significance it once held. It's an everyday thing now, an activity that takes place between two willing participants (That's really teh only requirement these days. They don't need to be married or in love - they don't even need to <i>like</i> each other!).<br />
<br />
So how is a sex scene supposed to have any impact on the story when it is something teenagers do simply to shed the dreaded "virgin" title? When college students use it as a recreational activity? When companies use it to sell products? When girls have babies simply because they're lonely? When men carry the number of women they've slept with as a badge of honor?<br />
<br />
On the flip side, a story that emphasizes an actual emotional connection can accomplish wonders that sex scenes simply can't. I become far more invested in characters who interact well, can play off one another's individual characteristics, and who always find their way to each other no matter what obstacles or circumstances stand between them. At that point, there's no <i>need</i> for a sex scene because it would add nothing to the already established relationship. Characters should be about character, not what goes on behind closed doors.<br />
<br />
I realize that I don't speak for everyone. But as someone who loves a good storyline, I can't think of a single instance where a sex scene has added anything to the depth or strength of a story that wasn't already there. They feel like filler scenes to me - a chance to refill my soda, skip ahead a few pages, or change the channel. You don't have to agree; I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who could do without a fantasy sword duel or sci-fi space battle. Everyone's got their own thing.<br />
<br />
The sex scene ain't mine.<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />KevinKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-72279168491100569792012-04-18T00:30:00.002-05:002022-09-11T17:53:55.322-05:00The Publishing "Deal"Last year, I was approached by someone claiming to be a representative from a publishing company. A quick look at his facebook page made me immediately skeptical (his only "Likes" just so happened to be the same as mine, and the publishing company he claimed to represent didn't publish sci-fi/fantasy material) but I played along with it just to see what would happen. He claimed his company was interested in publishing my Fourth Dimension series and asked if I'd like to know more. Know more? Of course. Reach a deal? <i>That</i> I wasn't so sure about.<br />
<br />
It turned out to be a hoax as expected, but the situation raised some interesting questions. If I was given the chance to publish my books through a traditional publishing house, would I take that opportunity? Years ago, the answer would've been a resounding "YES!" But what about now?<br />
<br />
In December of 2007, the first draft of Eye of the Tornado was completed. I was very happy with the story I'd created and was excited to share it with the world. I spent the first couple of months of 2008 editing and revising each of the three Fourth Dimension books before sending submissions to various publishers and agents.<br />
<br />
I spent the rest of 2008 like so many other writers: Coming home from work to find various letters and postcards telling me that my work wasn't what they were looking for at that time.<br />
<br />
I had been trying to get published for years. My earliest attempt was back in 2004. I read through all kinds of different websites and books for advice on the subject. I looked at other people's sample query letters and read interviews with published authors on how they got into the business. Everything I found lead me to believe that talented authors with quality products will get published while mediocre authors with less-than-polished work will be rejected. Seems obvious enough, right? So, with my books being constantly rejected, I assumed that I needed to hone my craft a bit more. If the quality of my work improved, then my chances of being published would increase as a result.<br />
<br />
But a nagging voice of logic in the back of my head was telling me something different.<br />
<br />
Whenever I received a rejection letter, I automatically told myself that it was because my work wasn't good enough. I didn't pay too much attention to any other possible factors until I decided to go ahead and self-publish in 2010. When I received my first review - a 5-star review on Key to the Stars - I stopped for a minute and said, "Wait a minute. Someone <i>likes</i> my writing?" Over time, more positive feedback started coming in. I actually had people emailing me asking when I'd be releasing more books. I was completely blown away. The self-depreciating mindset instilled in me by the publishing industry's responses had led me to assume that there was no way I'd be able to attract an audience.<br />
<br />
They were wrong.<br />
<br />
And so was I.<br />
<br />
This forced me to look at the other factors relating to publishing rejections, and I realized for the first time that the traditional publishing houses base their publishing selections on many more factors than just quality of work. And these factors keep many hard-working authors from reaching readers not because their books aren't good enough, but because the publisher doesn't consider them marketable for a variety of reasons. <br />
<br />
For the sake of argument, let's just say that you're a talented author with the potential to be an award-winning best-seller one day. And you're trying to publish your first novel.<br />
<br />
First and foremost, it is important to note that the majority of publishers only release a handful of books each year. With thousands of manuscript submissions coming in every month, the odds of yours being selected for publication are slim-to-none. Obviously, a well-written book will have better chances, but there's no way I'm going to believe that out of thousands of manuscript submissions received, the three-to-five books released by a publisher in a given year are the <i>only</i> bookstore-worthy titles. Even if only twenty of those books were fantastic pieces of work, fifteen talented writers would be sent the same rejection letters that the less-than-polished authors received. <br />
<br />
Then there's subject matter. In my case, it's no secret that sci-fi and fantasy are crowded genres. There are a lot of us out here writing tales of swords and sorcery and adventures amongst the stars. With so many trying to make it, the odds of being chosen for publication automatically drop. Of those five books the publisher releases, how many will be fantasy books? One? Two, perhaps? Cut another three authors from the list for no other reason than their chosen genre.<br />
<br />
Now we're down to two open spots. And guess what! One of those spots automatically goes to the publisher's big name author who is releasing a new novel that year. So now there's only one spot open for you. Out of all of your genre's submissions that the publishing house received throughout the course of the year, you're all vying for the single open slot. Of those top twenty hard-working authors, nineteen are about to be sent home because there's only one opening. <i>Not </i>because their books aren't well-written. Not because they couldn't attract an audience. Not because they aren't talented. There's simply one spot left.<br />
<br />
"Wait, what's that? Snooki wants to put out a book!? GET EVERY EDITOR WE HAVE ON THAT AND MAKE SURE WE GET THAT OUT TO BOOKSTORES IMMEDIATELY!"<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yep. You just lost your spot to Snooki.</div>
<br />
And just like that, you've lost your opportunity to be published based on factors that have absolutely nothing to do with the quality of your book. The odds are heavily stacked against you - even if you're a previously published author. You can try to get an agent as many authors do, but when it comes
down to it, the obstacles in securing a literary agent are quite
similar to those in securing a publishing deal. Each agent has their own genres they handle, and like publishers, they can only accept so many clients before their workload is full. And, just like publishers, they'd rather take a Snooki than a Joe Schmoe because - let's face it - Snooki's book provides a better guarantee of a financial return.<br />
<br />
Now, with a more complete understanding of how the publishing industry works and how a well-written book isn't all it takes to be selected for publication, I don't feel quite so bad about all of those rejection letters.<br />
<br />
On the flip side, self-publishing through ebooks has given millions of authors the opportunity to find their own audiences. Where publishing houses were once the gatekeepers of the literary world, ebooks have blown those gates wide open, knocking down the barriers between authors and readers. Now, authors are free to write what they want, how they want, and when they want without having to listen to a publisher tell them which subjects are marketable or which characters are likable. No longer do authors need to worry about hot topics and market trends. With ebooks, the creative control is 100% where it belongs: In the hands of the author.<br />
<br />
Likewise, self-published ebooks have benefited readers in a variety of ways. No longer do they have to let publishing houses tell them which books are good, which books are bad, which genres are hot, which trends are old, or anything else about what they <i>should</i> be reading. Not only that, lower prices and free content are abundant within the indie author scene, a stark contrast to the works released by traditional houses.<br />
<br />
With five books published on all major ebook platforms and readers from a number of countries around the world, I find myself in a position I never could've reached through traditional publishing. I am able to share my art with people around the world. And the response has been both humbling and heart-warming.<br />
<br />
I haven't submitted my work to any traditional publishers since 2008, and as of now, I have no plans to. Perhaps, one day, if the situation is right and the return is worth the investment, I might consider it. But right now, I'm going to continue to enjoy the opportunities I've been given with the doors that have been opened to me.<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
Kevin <br />
<br />Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-42366494848046686012012-04-07T12:00:00.001-05:002022-09-11T17:50:57.853-05:00The Need to CreatePicture this, if you will.<br />
<br />
A teenage Jim walks into the kitchen one morning carrying a stuffed frog. He proceeds to dance the frog around while singing a song in a silly voice, pretending that the frog is putting on a show for his mother. And when he finishes, he looks at his mother and says, "I'm going to dedicate my life to doing this."<br />
<br />
What do you think she said? How did she react?<br />
<br />
Now put yourself in that position. However, change the dancing frog to whatever your passion may be. Playing guitar, writing books, dancing, acting, painting, wrestling - whatever you enjoy doing. You enter a room of family and friends and proceed to perform your chosen interest. For the sake of this example, let's say you've written a short story and you want to read it to them. When you're finished, you say to them, "I'm going to dedicate my life to doing this."<br />
<br />
What do you think they'd say? How would they react?<br />
<br />
Perhaps they'll cheer you on. Perhaps they'll throw their full support behind your dream. I've been lucky enough to have some supporters of my own goals. But from my experience, there may be others who don't have as much faith in you. There may be skepticism. Criticism. Flat-out discouragement. After all: "It's nearly impossible to break into that field." And: "You'll have to fight against all the competition out there. <i>Professional</i> competition." Or the cliche response: "You'll never make any money doing that."<br />
<br />
Or worse yet, as someone close to me once said, "You'll never get published."<br />
<br />
How would you react to that? What would you do?<br />
<br />
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Jim's mother says something like that in response to his dancing frog routine. And Jim listens. Instead of pursuing a career as a puppeteer, Jim decides to start a business career, and years later, he gets a high-level executive job. The pay is good. The benefits are good. Life is good. But Jim is miserable. He's stuck in a corporate suit promoting someone else's product and contributing nothing of his own interests and creations to society. And worse yet, the world has been deprived of a piece of entertainment history that would've captivated the hearts of children and adults for decades to come.<br />
<br />
The world has been deprived of The Muppets.<br />
<br />
Now, as a disclaimer, let me just say that I have no idea how Jim Henson first told his parents of his interest in being a puppeteer nor do I know how they reacted. I used the above scenario as an example to illustrate the potential consequences of allowing naysayers to stop us from pursuing our goal. <br />
<br />
I realize the fact that for every one person deemed a commercial success, there are thousands, tens of thousands, and even millions who fail to reach that level. I get that. I don't expect to be a millionaire author (though I'm not opposed to it!) and I'm not counting on it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up doing what I love. It doesn't mean I'm going to abandon all hope and get a job I don't want just because it's a rough road. I only get to live once, and I'll be damned if I'm going to find myself lying on my deathbed one day going, "What if I'd just tried harder?" <br />
<br />
I can tell you this: I can't imagine a scenario where I'd be lying on my deathbed saying, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office."<br />
<br />
But let me make it clear: If working in the business environment is your thing, more power to you. If that's what makes you happy, if that's what fulfills your need to contribute something of yourself to the world, and if that's what you truly have a passion for, then pursue that path and never look back. The things I say about the business world and the "corporate suit" apply to me and only me. It's not my thing, and I won't be motivated to do something when my heart isn't in it.<br />
<br />
So how about the rest of you? What do you have to contribute to the world that is you and only you? Do you like to sing? Tell stories? Have you come up with an invention? Do you have a talent for sculpting things out of glass? Stone? Do you love a sport? Are you passionate about government and leadership?<br />
<br />
Whatever it is, whatever your dreams, whatever your passions, I urge you: Do <i>NOT</i> let anyone or anything stop you from pursuing them. Even with zero support from others, if you feel the overpowering and relentless need to create, go out there and do it. Everyone must choose their own path in life. We can't let others dictate our roles in the world or what contributions we can or cannot make to society. Every piece of the puzzle is important. Everyone from carpenters to comedians have their place, and each serves a purpose whether it be to put a roof over someone's head or put joy into their heart. It will be tough; I'm not saying that it won't. It will require dedication, sacrifice, struggle, heartache, perseverance, and above all else, passion. But if the need to create is there, the rest will come so long as you don't allow anyone or anything to stand in your way.<br />
<br />
If Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird had allowed anyone to dissuade them
from self-publishing their comic book (originally a parody of Marvel
Comic's <i>The New Mutants</i>), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may
have never existed. If NBC told Jerry Seinfeld that a show with no
character development or "moral moments" wouldn't succeed, the hit
sitcom Seinfeld may have never existed.<br />
<br />
If Jim Henson had spent his life working with puppets and was never a commercial success, do you think he'd wish he had gotten the corporate job? I don't know the answer for sure, but I have to ask myself this: Is it better to fail doing something you love or succeed doing something you hate?<br />
<br />
I don't know if I'll ever be a "commercial" success. But then again, I don't know that I need to be. Of course, like most writers, I'd love to be able to pay my bills with my writing alone - and I'm going to continue to work toward that goal. But writing is what makes me happy regardless of whether or not I'm the next J.K. Rowling. It satisfies that endless need to create, that overflowing fountain of imagination that just cannot be contained within the confines of my own head. I do this because I love it, because it's fulfilling, and because it's the unique thing that I have to contribute to the world. My imagination, my emotions, my characters, my stories - they are what I have to give that no one else can. And that mere fact provides a sense of completion and fulfillment that a corporate suit can never give me.<br />
<br />
Maybe the business world works for some people. If it does, that's great. But not me. I'll forever drift amongst the stars within my own imagination, and it's a place I never want to leave. I may never be a J.K. Rowling or Robert Jordan, and I'm OK with that. That's not to say that it wouldn't be cool to walk into Toys R' Us and see a section of Fourth Dimension action figures, but as long as I can continue to share my work with you and explore the distant corners of the galaxies in my head, I'll be happy.<br />
<br />
After all, I'd rather fail doing something I love than succeed doing something I hate.<br />
<br />
Tear down the walls. Follow your dreams.<br />
<br />
"Life's like a movie. Write your own ending." - Kermit the Frog <br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
KevinKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-4194696299548920882012-02-25T21:40:00.002-06:002022-09-11T17:46:58.867-05:00Building Blocks - SampleThis is a snippet from Building Blocks, my free Christian novel. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
Kevin<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Building Blocks - Kevin Domenic</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Available for download at e-Retailers Everywhere </b></i></span><br />
<br />
"So," Doc continued, "which memory have we come to see today?"<br />
<br />
"I don't know," I admitted. "I mean, I remember the day, but only in brief images. I don't know if anything special happened on this particular date or not."<br />
<br />
"What made you choose this day?"<br />
<br />
I thought about it for a moment. "I wanted an average day. I mean, every day here was special. So that's what I wanted. A typical day."<br />
<br />
I couldn't see him, but I could tell from his tone of voice that he had that warm smile on his face. "You lead the way. I'll stay close by at all times; don't worry about me. Just explore as you wish."<br />
<br />
My eyes were fixed on the cabin. "Can we go inside?"<br />
<br />
"If that's what you'd like to do."<br />
<br />
Bravery has never been one of my strongest points. "I don't know. Do you think we'll be discovered? Maybe we'd better not."<br />
<br />
"It's alright, Herbert." I felt his hand on my shoulder. "I won't put you in any situation I don't have complete control over."<br />
<br />
That didn't exactly calm my nerves. But at the same time, what kind of fool would I be to turn down an opportunity like this? How many people get the chance to see loved ones that have died long ago? "Okay, let's go. We can get in through the back door."<br />
<br />
As usual, Grandpa had forgotten to lock up. That saved me from having to remember the passcode. A flood of aromas filled my nose when I inched the door open. Everyone's house has a smell of some kind. Most people just overload on whatever air freshener they like the best. Some smell like fabric softener. Then there are some that smell like whatever food they cook most often. Grandpa's cabin fell into that category. The smell?<br />
<br />
Bacon and coffee.<br />
<br />
And maybe butter.<br />
<br />
It was a combination of flavors that brought back memories of summer mornings when Grandpa would be making breakfast while I played with my toys in the living room. I could almost hear Grandpa telling me stories about the big fish he had caught on his latest adventure on the lake.<br />
<br />
No, I really was hearing it.<br />
<br />
Doc and I stepped through the door to the rear den. I could hear voices from the other room along with the sizzling of breakfast on the griddle. The den was just as I remembered it. All of Grandpa's biggest fish were mounted on the walls. His favorite old couch was there. Even his fishing gear was piled in the corner, presumably where he left it after a recent trip. The fireplace and wicker chair where he used to read, the wooden coffee table he carved—it was all just as I had remembered it. <br />
<br />
"Breakfast is served!" a voice boomed from the other room. There was no mistaking it. That was Grandpa!<br />
<br />
Even knowing what I was about to face, the sight that greeted me when I stepped into the living room stopped me dead in my tracks. There he was, Grandpa Joe, standing at the little table near the far wall with a plate full of bacon and pancakes in one hand and a pitcher of orange juice in the other. At this point in my life, he had to have been around seventy years old, but he didn't look the part whatsoever. He took good care of his body—the temple, he called it—with routine exercise and plenty of vitamins. And though his temple was routinely bombarded by bacon, that was likely his one and only vice. <br />
<br />
"Come and get it, Herbert!" he said.<br />
<br />
There's no real way to accurately describe what it is like to look upon your childhood reflection. A part of me wanted to cry. I was staring at the innocent little boy whose outlook upon the world had yet to be corrupted. Yet another part of me wanted to go and punch that child in the face for being so naïve to the nature of the society around him.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b> Building Blocks</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Kevin Domenic</b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-38329310656880861962011-11-13T13:26:00.003-06:002022-09-11T17:43:08.709-05:00To Touch Reality<br />
I stumbled across something this morning that served as a powerful reminder of just how much of an impact the stories that we create can have on the lives of the people who enjoy them.<br />
<br />
It was a conversation on <a href="http://www.reddit.com/">Reddit</a> regarding movies and the personal changes they had brought to people's lives. Many users told very heartfelt tales about how each story taught them something very valuable about themselves, their lives, or the world.<br />
<br />
The post can be found here: "<a class="title loggedin" href="http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/manz9/what_movie_has_personally_changed_something_about/">What movie has personally changed something about you, be it your way of thinking or the way you do something, and how?</a>" <br />
<br />
The notion that a movie or a book can change a person's life is often considered to be a bit silly and perhaps over-dramatic. I mean, if I told someone that a movie like Iron Man taught me the importance of taking responsibility for my mistakes, most people would laugh and say something along the lines of, "It's just a movie."<br />
<br />
But for many, it seems, movies, books, and even video games have a lasting effect on how they view life. And I think it's very important for people like writers and filmmakers to remember the power they wield, and more importantly, to respect that power. You never know what people are going to take away from your work, but hopefully, it will be something positive and uplifting. <br />
<br />
For example, I once worked with a woman who told me that her son's hero was Goku, the main character from the anime series Dragon Ball Z. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Goku, he was the epitome of good. He stood up for what was right, protected the innocent, and never hesitated to put himself in harms way to help someone in need. And I remember thinking, "If Goku can still be a hero for kids, then maybe I can also create a hero for people to look up to."<br />
<br />
These days, the antihero rules. But I<span class="answer"> am a firm supporter of the good
old-fashioned hero of chivalry. Honor, nobility, and all that. The
anti-hero rubs me the wrong way. No "good guy" should use questionable
tactics to win. It undermines the spirit of conflict, in my opinion. I mean, how do you choose who to cheer for if both characters are using the same underhanded tactics to achieve their goals?</span><br />
<br />
<span class="answer">So that's the message I put out there. I try to present a protagonist who is a good role model. Someone that people can look up to. To draw inspiration from. Some may just see it as another character in another book, but others might see a person who possesses qualities they lack. Or maybe they might be able to empathize with the character's journey, or growth, and find hope in the hero's victory.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="answer">Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not trying to say that everyone should share my view of what a story should or should not be. But we need to be aware of the message we're sending. People, whether it be readers of a book, players of a game, or viewers of a movie, often take away much more from our works than we sometimes realize. And we should remember that. Our words, our themes, our characters, and our stories can find their way into reality through the ideals and lessons learned by our audiences.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="answer">After all, with great power comes great responsibility.</span><span class="answer"><br /></span><br />
<span class="answer">God bless,<br />Kevin</span><br />
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</tbody></table>Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-83990516685585958612011-11-06T14:21:00.006-06:002022-09-11T17:45:25.482-05:00Building Blocks Released!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cache.smashwire.com/bookCovers/562f23f8660bde714f705af4c6727e156be507ae" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cache.smashwire.com/bookCovers/562f23f8660bde714f705af4c6727e156be507ae" width="153" /></a></div>
Greetings,<br />
<br />
I must first apologize for not having updated in a while. Building Blocks was nearing completion and I wanted to spend as much free time as I could with cover creation and editing. A special thanks goes to Crimsanity Creations for the awesome cover shot. The whole image holds several symbolic meanings for me personally as well as Herbert, the protagonist of Building Blocks. Readers can check out more art from <a href="http://crimsanitycreations.deviantart.com/">Crimsanity Creations</a> over at <a href="http://crimsanitycreations.deviantart.com/">deviantArt.com</a>!<br />
<br />
Also, because it is a Christian book, I wanted to take the time necessary to make sure that everything I wrote matched up with Biblical teachings as I certainly don't want to lead anyone in the wrong direction.<br />
<br />
But it's done now, and Building Blocks is available for your reading pleasure on Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, and Feedbooks.com! Please note that this book is meant to be free for everyone, but Amazon.com's minimum list price is $0.99. So I highly encourage you to download the book for free from Smashwords.com or Feedbooks.com! Links are listed below.<br />
<br />
I am aware that a Christian novel will not be everyone's cup of tea. That's OK - I didn't write this with expectations of literary market domination. But the most common question I get asked when people find out I'm a Born Again Christian is, "If God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen to innocent people?" There's no easy answer for that question, but the short answer is this: Anyone who thinks that God is a magic genie who will grant our every wish is mistaken. God allows bad things to happen because doing otherwise would mean controlling us in one way or another. Controlling our decisions, controlling our actions, controlling our voices, our feet, our hands, or our thoughts. If God were to step in and stop a man from killing his neighbor, He'd be forced to momentarily take away the free will that He gave to humanity in the first place.<br />
<br />
Obviously there's far more to it than just that, but that's what Building Blocks is about. It's about a young man named Herbert who has thus far struggled through a miserable life and can't help but wonder why a just and loving God would let so many terrible things happen to him.<br />
<br />
I'm offering this book for free forever because I didn't write this book for money or book sales. I wrote it because I wanted to try to provide a better understanding of who God is and why He does the things he does. I hope to be able to get Amazon.com to drop the price down to $0.00 once the book becomes available on Barnesandnoble.com (they have a price-match policy). But until then, my best suggestion is to simply download the book in your preferred ereader format from Smashwords.com. And as always, please please please leave a review!<br />
<br />
As for me, I am going to take some time off from writing. Building Blocks was a new experience for me; it took me out of my comfort zone of fantasy fiction and third-person storytelling and challenged my writing abilities to grow in a different direction--a direction I had not before explored. I don't regret it for a moment; I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try something new. But as a result, I find myself a bit burned out. So I'm going to take the rest of the year to relax and recharge.<br /><br />
God bless,<br />
Kevin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101510">Building Blocks on Smashwords</a><br />
<a href="http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/23666/building-blocks">Building Blocks on Feedbooks</a>Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-31026926448981201162011-09-11T10:31:00.002-05:002022-09-11T17:42:08.782-05:00Ten Years LaterI have mixed feelings about today's "observance" of the ten year
anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America that have come to be
known simply as 9/11. I remember the day vividly; it was like watching a
movie unfold on TV with the most realistic special effects I'd ever
seen. We weren't too far from New York. We could see the smoke on the
horizon.<br />
<br />
It was a scary time. The years that followed
were even more so. We went to war against an opponent we couldn't see.
They weren't confined to any one location. Even worse, our country
decided to label it the "War on Terror." Knowing our nation's almost
arrogant proclamation that it never loses wars and that our military
was/is the best in the world, it was frightening to think that our
government wasn't going to stop until terrorism itself was eradicated.
Not because we didn't WANT it that way, but because terrorists will
always rise up from one place or another. You can't catch ALL of them
any more than you can catch ALL criminals across the world. So, faced
with an objective that could never be reached and a military that
doesn't stop until the job is done, I couldn't help but feel that we
were going to be stuck at war forever. <br />
<br />
And that's just what Osama Bin Laden was looking for.<br />
<br />
Ten
years later, and we're still at war. Bin Laden is dead, but the events
of 9/11 have already had their effects. Telephones wiretapped without
permission, surveillance cameras in public places, intrusive and
violating searches/pat-downs at airports, and much much more have become
a part of life for every citizen of this nation. Loyal or disloyal,
peaceful or violent, loving or unloving - they're all the same to good
ol' Uncle Sam. And it's all in the desperate struggle to make sure
another 9/11 doesn't happen. <br />
<br />
Bin Laden may be gone,
but his mission of seeing America destroyed is still a work in
progress. 9/11 set in motion a chain of events that continues to
reverberate throughout our nation's very way of life. Government
officials call the changes "necessary." Some of our citizens agree,
sadly. But for a large number of us, seeing our freedoms taken away one
by one has been a bitter pill to swallow. Not because we have anything
to hide, but because the fall of ANY of our freedoms opens the way for
the loss of more. <br />
<br />
An episode of Star Trek, called "The Drumhead Trial" addressed this very well.<br />
<br /><i>
"The
road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter
than we think. Something is very wrong here, Mr. Worf. I do not like
what we've become."<br />
<br />
"You know, there are some words
I've known since I was a school boy. With the first link, a chain is
forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the
first freedom denied chains us all irrevocably ... The first time any
man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged."<br />
<br />
"You
think we've come so far. The torture of heretics, the burning of
witches, all ancient history. Then, before you can blink an eye,
suddenly it threatens to start all over again."<br />
<br />
"Villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged."<br /></i>
<br />
That sums up my feelings about America these days.<br />
<br />
Then
there is another viewpoint that was recently brought to my attention.
Be warned; I found this offensive at first. Until I read the reasoning.<br />
<br />
Someone posted this online: "What's the difference between a cow and 9/11? After 10 years, you stop milking the cow."<br />
<br />
As someone close to 9/11 when it happened, that kind of bothered me at first. But then I looked into the logic behind it.<br />
<br />
We
lost a total of 2,977 victims on 9/11. Yes, that is tragic and sad.
You know what else is sad? The 4500 or so American troops lost during
the wars that followed. And according to a recent study by Brown
University, at least 132,000 civilians have died from both the
Afghanistan and Iraq wars - and that's a conservative number, they
claim. <br /><br />
The Vietnam War claimed nearly 40,000 American troops. Civilian deaths numbered in the <i>millions.</i><br />
<br />
The Gulf War claimed approximately 150 troops. Yet over 103,000 civilians died during attacks. <br />
<br />
What about the world wars? What about the innocents that died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the atomic bombs were dropped? <br />
<br />
Why
do we mourn the deaths of 3,000 civilians and ignore so many others?
When comparing the numbers, our losses almost seem tame. <br />
<br />
Then
there are natural disasters which are seemingly forgotten. Does anyone
even think about Japan anymore? Between 20,000 to 30,000 lost there.
The government of Haiti puts the death toll from the 2010 quake at
316,000. How about the 2004 earthquake in the Indian ocean that sent a
tsunami across several countries that saw 185,000 dead and 1.69 million
displaces from their homes?<br />
<br />
The point is that
absolutely tragic things happen across this world, yet we sit here ten
years later still licking our wounds from 3,000 dead. Are we really
that self-centered that the 3,000 people in the twin towers deserve to
be remembered every day while the hundreds of thousands of innocent
lives taken by war are forgotten? Are those 3,000 people really that
much more important than those killed by natural disasters that were NO ONE'S
fault?<br />
<br />
Yes, 9/11 was sad. But I can't help but feel
just a little self-centered worrying about it when there are millions
others who've suffered tragic losses as well How are the cleanup efforts proceeding from the
Alabama tornadoes? Joplin, Missouri? When was the last time you heard
anything about Japan's recovery? Are the families of the civilians lost
in the Iraq/Afghanistan war seeing any sort of aid?<br />
<br />
I
want to propose a change. I don't think 9/11 should just be about the
World Trade Center. I don't think it should just be about the Pentagon
or Flight 93. I think 9/11 should be a day of mourning for all the
innocents. Whether it be war or natural disaster or disease or
whatever, 9/11 should be a day of remembrance. The images of the twin
towers plastered with the slogan "We Will Never Forget" seem to have
prevented us from healing over something that, outside of the "safety"
of America's walls, happens every day in random countries around the
world. So, instead of refusing to forget our own pain, perhaps we
should try to remember the pain of others.<br />
<br />
It's time we realize that the world doesn't revolve around us.<br />
<br />
With
that, I'd like to extend my condolences and prayers for anyone stricken
by tragedy, anyone struggling through loss, anyone suffering from
devastation. Whether it's a lost loved one from 9/11 or a child that
died of pneumonia, if you're hurting, my heart goes out to you. I pray
that God lifts up your soul and comforts your sadness. You're not alone
in your struggle. Not ever. <br />
<br />
Never forget that.<br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
KevinKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-43371321430137527012011-06-19T22:24:00.012-05:002022-09-11T17:39:11.402-05:00Character Development: How Anakin Skywalker Killed Darth Vader<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.imgur.com/ZmAvmoV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/ZmAvmoV.jpg" height="200" width="168" /></a></div>
I've had a number of other authors and blogs approach me about writing "guest blogs" for their sites. The idea is for me to offer my advice on the different aspects of writing from my own experience. The problem I have with this is that I don't see myself as any form of authority on such subjects. I can't tell people what to write or how to write it because I'm no expert myself.<br />
<br />
So I've been trying to figure out what kind of advice I <em>could</em> offer. After all, I may not be an expert, but I have been writing for a lot of years. Surely there's got to be <em>something</em> I learned along the way that could help others.<br />
<br />
Then Spike TV ran their usual Star Wars marathon over the weekend.<br />
<br />
Let me first and foremost say that I am a Star Wars fan. I'd stop myself short of calling myself a Star Wars nerd/geek because I can't speak the alien languages, have read very few Star Wars books, and I don't own nor do I plan to own a lightsaber. Unless it was real. And cheap. And turned everything it touched into candy. As long as it's not licorice. Or apple. Strawberry is good. Orange, too.<br />
<br />
Where was I?<br />
<br />
Oh, right.<br />
<br />
I do enjoy the Star Wars movies. The original three (ahem - the originals, <em>not</em> the special editions) still rank among my favorite movies of all time. And while there were a number of issues that kept the prequels from being nearly as good (Yoda should have remained a puppet, and his lightsaber duel, while entertaining, did not fit with his character), I still found them to be overall enjoyable movies. <br />
<br />
Still, there is something that I, along with many other Star Wars fans, cannot look past.<br />
<br />
Anakin Skywalker.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to the purpose of this post: Character development. I'm going to explore the characters of both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader in an attempt to illustrate what can both make and break a good character in the eyes of the audience.<br />
<br />
Think back to the first time you saw A New Hope. The doors slide open, and in walked Darth Vader. Clad in black, shrouded by a flowing cape, and his ominous breathing left you wondering just what exactly could've been behind that mask. And as the movie wore on, we were shown a ruthless dictator. He was a being that would choke the life out of someone who simply disagreed, a figure that didn't hesitate to slay his former master at his first chance, and a heartless murderer who sat back and watched while his beloved Death Star blew Alderaan outta the sky. Or stars. Whatever.<br />
<br />
Then came The Empire Strikes Back. We find that Vader is obsessed with finding young Luke Skywalker. One would presume that he sought to exact vengeance upon the man responsible for the destruction of the Death Star. But we soon learn that Vader is interested in turning the boy to the Dark Side of the Force. That idea is even more chilling. For Vader, killing Skywalker would be nice, but it would be far more satisfying to turn the Rebellion's newest hotshot pilot against them.<br />
<br />
But then we find out the truth. Luke is Vader's son. So it <em>is</em> a man in there, after all. And he's a man with at least some measure of compassion, because he'd rather have his son standing by his side than as another corpse on the battlefield. Luke, of course, refuses before making his dramatic escape. And although you can't see his face, you can tell that Vader is disappointed. Not angry, but disappointed. Seems the man in black might have a heart after all.<br />
<br />
Return of the Jedi saw the culmination of Vader's continuing quest to find his son and convert him to the Dark Side of the Force. By the time they meet face to face once again, Vader almost seems unhappy to have to take Luke to the Emperor. He knows, as the audience does, that Luke Skywalker will die if he does not turn to the Dark Side. Yet at the same time, he can't deny his own feelings of compassion that he has for his son. Even when Luke accuses him of having good within, Darth Vader doesn't deny it. He simply turns the conversation in a different direction. He's a conflicted man, dedicated to his duty and loyal to both the Emperor and the Galactic Empire. But inside, there is a part of him that can't argue with his son. He knows Luke to be right.<br />
<br />
And of course, in the end, we see Vader's repentance. After seeing the truth with his own eyes, perhaps even inspired by Luke's refusal to take his father's place beside the Emperor, Vader finally does the right thing by sending the wailing old Sith falling to a bitter end within the Death Star's reactor. Or wherever those giant pits all over the Death Star lead to. Seriously, those space stations were riddled with design flaws.<br />
<br />
So there it was. Darth Vader, ruthless murdering Lord of the Sith still knew right from wrong. And in the end, even he was capable of repentance. It was a powerful story and a great message.<br />
<br />
Then George Lucas decided to go back to the beginning and tell the stories of how Anakin became Vader in the first place. This, he said, was his plan from the beginning. After all, the first Star Wars movie was Episode IV.<br />
<br />
And this, ultimately, would tarnish the name, image, and character of Darth Vader, who up until that point had arguably been one of the greatest villains of all time.<br />
<br />
In Episode I, we were introduced to the wide-eyed youth named Anakin Skywalker. Cheesy dialogue between he and Padme aside, little Anakin was portrayed as the shining example of innocence, a light in the darkness. And while that's fine considering he was just a boy, the seeds of Darth Vader needed to be sown from the very beginning. Given the cold-blooded nature of the man in the black mask, one would've expected that at least a hint of those tendencies should've shown in little Anakin Skywalker. More specifically, a dose of anger could've gone a long way. <br />
<br />
Vader's most defining trait was his anger. His temper got away from him so frequently that he nearly choked a man to death just for disagreeing with him over the power of the Death Star. When one of his admirals made a slight tactical blunder, Vader choked him out too. Anger was his weakness. That was made very clear throughout the entire original trilogy.<br />
<br />
Why, then, was little Anakin's "weakness" portrayed as fear over losing his mother? Fear!? Darth Vader knew nothing of fear! It didn't fit with his character at all.<br />
<br />
And when Episode II rolled around, the Anakin we were treated to amounted to little more than a cocky teenager. What's worse, his main character conflict became his love for Padme despite the fact that Jedi aren't supposed to have emotional attachments. In order for any of this to make sense, Vader would've at least had to have referenced a lost love at once or twice for the audience to make the connection. But Vader never even <em>hinted</em> at anything having to do with Luke's mother. Vader's motive was always to ensure the lasting dominance of the Empire and to see the will of the Emperor carried out no matter what the cost. His actions, attitude, and ruthlessness came from his deep determination to maintain order in the universe by whatever means necessary. In order for Vader's evolution to have made any sense, Anakin would've needed to share that passion for those ideals.<br />
<br />
Granted, there were a few moments when it seemed like Lucas might take the story in that direction. Anakin's conversation with Padme in the meadow, for example, addressed his feelings about democracy. He felt that "someone wise" should <em>make</em> the leaders of the various worlds across the universe agree on political policies. Had that subject been explored a bit more, it would've had far greater effect in connecting the Anakin Skywalker of the new movies with the Darth Vader of the old. It wouldn't have to get overly political; a single scene where Anakin witnesses the bickering of the Senate could've done the trick. Something to further establish his feelings that the Senators could get far more accomplished if they didn't spend every session arguing.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, Anakin's slaughter of the sandpeople finally showed us a taste of the anger that drove Darth Vader. The scene that followed with Padme, however, undermined the whole thing. I mean, the dialogue was great as Anakin proclaimed that he'd slaughtered them all, even the women and the children. But as a young man who was beginning to succumb to his anger and hatred, it would've been far more beneficial had he not been tearfully remorseful about it. That took away from the direction Lucas was trying to take Anakin's character. Had he been proud of himself - maybe by brushing off any objections from Padme - it would've foreshadowed the eventual birth of Vader brilliantly.<br />
<br />
I will say that Episode III did a better job of depicting the development of Anakin's political ideology than Episodes I and II. With the Jedis' lack of trust in him combined with being denied membership of the council, it was only natural that he would begin to wonder why they were excluding him from their plans. At the same time, a growing need to remove Chancellor Palpatine from power led to the idea of the Jedi taking over the Senate to ensure a smooth transition. With Palpatine in Anakin's ear planting the seeds of dissension and Mace Windu's attempt to kill the chancellor (to which Anakin proclaims, "It's not the Jedi way!"), it made far more sense for him to turn his back on the Jedi and become the Emperor's apprentice. To him, the Jedi had turned their backs on their own ideals. From his eyes, it really did seem as though they were plotting to take over the republic as Palpatine had said.<br />
<br />
If Lucas had rolled with that story alone and connected it with with my earlier suggestions regarding Anakin's polical ideals, his purpose and mission would've been far clearer and certainly more believable. But the focus was still on Anakin's relationship with Padme. His main concern was still all about saving her life. For a man on the verge of turning his back on the Jedi, ready to slay them all - adults and children alike - along with anyone else who stood in the way of the Chancellor, the idea that he could still be obsessed with saving Padme seemed unrealistic. His number one focus had become the protection of the newly-formed Galactic Empire. The Dark Side had consumed him through his anger, and morality had apparently slipped away. A more realistic approach would've been for him to blow Padme off entirely. "He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed." The Darth Vader of Episode IV wouldn't have cared if Padme was bawling her eyes out. He would've shoved her aside and gone on his way.<br />
<br />
No, he would've used the Force to choke her to death before going on his way.<br />
<br />
Had that happened, followed by a tense scene in which doctors rush to save the babies, it would've established the Darth Vader we all grew up with. It would've solidified Vader as one of the most memorable villains of all time (although I don't think anything can really change that anyway, I just feel that the Anakin Skywalker we were treated to tainted the legacy of Darth Vader). <br />
<br />
Plus, we never would've been subjected to this: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s</a><br />
Then again, without that scene, we never would've gotten this: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjPmjwszr2w">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjPmjwszr2w</a><br />
But I digress.<br />
<br />
Character development can be one of the more difficult aspects of writing. But I think what I've illustrated here is that the character's actions and experiences must directly relate to what he or she will ultimately become. I mean, think about your own life. We are all products of our upbringing in one way or another. Each memory, each experience, each lesson learned, each battle lost, each struggle overcome, they all come together to form the people we are today one way or another. Characters must be same the way. It's how we identify with them. <br />
<br />
And if you can't identify with the characters of your stories in one way or another, why are you writing about them?<br />
<br />
Just my opinion. <br />
<br />
God bless,<br />
KevinKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-62327093816482195472011-05-25T17:32:00.024-05:002022-09-11T17:38:07.637-05:00Final Fantasy VI Prologue<span id="freeText7444998634356533305">This is a novelized version of the introductory scenes of the video game Final Fantasy VI. I found myself wondering what the story would be like if it were in book form. So I took the opening scene and wrote it out.<br /><br />
I did it all over a weekend, so it's probably got lots of errors and stuff. Doesn't matter, that was never the point. I just wanted to add another dimension to the story. I think I succeeded :)<br /><br />
Oh, and for you purists - yes, I did change some things. For example, "We'll approach from the south" was originally "We'll approach from the east." But when you play the game, the only way in and out of Narshe (and the way the soldiers used) is from the south.</span><br /><br />
Enjoy!<br /><br />
---------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />
Long ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to a scorched wasteland, and magic simply ceased to exist.<br /><br />
One thousand years have passed. Iron, gunpowder and steam engines have been rediscovered, and high technology reigns. But there are those who would enslave the world by reviving the dreaded destructive power known as "magic."<br /><br />
Can it be that those in power are on the verge of repeating a senseless and deadly mistake?<br /><br />
--------------<br /><br />
It started, as so many tales have, on a cold night. Snow rarely fell south of the mountains, but in Narshe, it was always winter. The cliff sides faced away from the sun's daily arc, far above the desert lands of Figaro. The constant chill served as a ward against those who might otherwise perceive Narshe to be a cozy community for retirement or raising children. People didn't come to Narshe to live. They came to work.<br /><br />
And work was abundant. Many recent industrial advances had come from Narshe. For a time, it seemed as though every able-bodied man was uprooting his family and marching north. Miners, in particular, were plentiful. Narshe's mines dove deep into the mountains and had provided an abundance of resources to feed the technological boom. The network of tunnels expanded every day, providing work for just about any man strong enough to swing a pickax. And with so many of them working side by side every day, it was only a matter of time before they unearthed something far more precious than any stone or jewel.<br /><br />
It was a discovery that immediately caught the attention of Emperor Gestahl himself.<br /><br />
Cold wind rushed through the valley just south of Narshe's entrance. It was the kind of cold that made faces raw and bones numb. The mountains usually kept the stronger gusts from reaching the worn path, but this wind was persistent. And it was gaining in strength. Snow fell, lightly at first before gaining in both strength and density. Soft thunder rolled between the clouds.<br /><br />
A storm was coming.<br /><br />
On a precipice just south of Narshe where the path split to form a small plateau, Vicks and Wedge took a moment to survey the area. They'd thus far seen nothing unusual during their journey, but the nature of their mission led Vicks to believe that would soon change. His dark eyes scanned the snow-covered path ahead before coming to rest on the glowing lights of Narshe on the distant mountainside. "There's the town," he said softly, gripping the control sticks of his Magitek armor. <br /><br />
Wedge moved beside him, the mechanical feet of his Magitek unit stomping heavy holes in the snow. "Hard to believe an Esper's been found there one thousand years after the War of the Magi."<br /><br />
Another set of iron feet shifted behind Vicks. He didn't want to acknowledge the presence of their third member, but he knew that sooner or later, he would have no choice. She was assigned to accompany them for a purpose, he knew. But that was all he knew. A new recruit? A spy? Were his loyalties to the Empire in question? Or was the woman really just a puppet as Kefka had claimed? Whatever the truth, the rumors about her . . . abilities . . . didn't sit well with Vicks. The less interaction he had with her, he thought, the better. Then again, perhaps ignoring her would give her the chance to catch him off-guard.<br /><br />
He shook his head and wiped the snow from his helmet's brim. Best not to continue with that train of thought. "Think it's still alive?" he asked, returning his attention to Narshe.<br /><br />
Wedge shrugged. "Probably, judging from the urgency of our orders."<br /><br />
But the more Vicks tried not to think about her, the more he could feel her eyes at his back, burning a hole through his skull. He had avoided the subject during the entire journey from Vector, but now that they faced their objective, the woman's purpose was likely to become clear sooner rather than later. If, by chance, Wedge knew anything about her . . . Well, it couldn't hurt to ask.<br /><br />
Rotating the two steel control sticks, Vicks brought his Magitek armor around to face their pale-skinned companion. "And this woman, this . . . sorceress . . . What's she doing here? I heard she fried fifty of our Magitek armored soldiers in under three minutes."<br /><br />
Wedge grinned, stomping big prints in the snow as he lumbered over to her side. "Not to worry," he said, pointing to the twisted metal bands circling her head. Another thing that made Vicks shudder. "The slave crown on her head robs her of conscious thought. She'll follow orders."<br /><br />
That wasn't an answer, Vicks noticed. If Wedge knew anything of her identity or purpose, he didn't seem eager to share. Instead, he headed past both of them and down toward the main path to Narshe. "We'll approach from the south. Move out!"<br /><br />
A long trail of mist streamed from Vicks' nostrils as he sighed. Regardless of his concerns, he wasn't about to disobey an order from his superior. The only thing he could do was follow and pray that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.<br /><br />
Had they traveled from the capital on foot, they'd surely have made camp on that hill. Not even the biggest fool in Vector would attempt to travel through that dark valley during a snowstorm. With visibility dramatically reduced by both the darkness and the snow, predators could be upon the party before their pistols had left their holsters. A soldier knee-deep in snow couldn't move with any amount of agility, and hidden boulders and dips in the path buried well below the snowdrifts could break ankles or even swallow an unsuspecting soldier.<br /><br />
But with the Magitek armor to carry them, such concerns were, quite literally, beneath them. The Empire's mechanized bi-pedal armor units were hailed as one of the best inventions to come out of the research facility in years. Armed with the latest in Magitek weaponry and plated with heavy iron for added protection, the mechs had a tremendous impact on both the role and the effectiveness of the traditional soldier. A single man could calm a riot, crush a blockade, or level and entire battalion. In addition, the units were able to carry a soldier across great distances faster and safer than ever before possible. For a man, walking along that snowy road to Narshe would've been a brutal and exhausting experience. But the mechs plowed through the snow with ease while onboard scanning units watched for predators and other dangers that might pose a threat.<br /><br />
"Still, even with all this technology, they still couldn't build a canopy to protect us from the elements," Vicks muttered, brushing snow from his mech's control console. "Unbelievable."<br /><br />
Wedge, who had taken point, looked back at him. "Why, are you cold?"<br /><br />
Despite the weather, Vicks was actually quite comfortable. The heavy brown uniforms they wore were well-insulated. "No," he answered, shaking his head. As he did, his eyes came to rest on the woman. She marched along beside them in silence, her eyes fixed forward as though she could already see the Esper ahead. Unlike them, she only wore a simple dress of pink that ended just above her knees. Vicks almost shivered as the wind blew through her long blond ponytail. "I bet she is, though."<br /><br />
Wedge looked back at her before shrugging. "Not our problem. You heard what Sir Kefka said. She'll do her job whether she's comfortable or not."<br /><br />
It didn't quite seem right to Vicks, but he was a mere soldier. He didn't know everything about His Excellency's plans or what kind of crimes this girl might have committed. Perhaps it was her punishment for what she'd done to the other Magitek soldiers . . . if the rumors were true.<br /><br />
The snow was already slowing when they reached the base of the hills where Narshe was located. By the time they arrived in town, it had stopped completely. Vicks couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. While the leaders of Narshe had yet to formally sever ties with the Empire, they had made their dissent known on numerous occasions. Emperor Gestahl's methods were not popular here, and it was likely that the people would be displeased with the idea of three Magitek soldiers entering their city to take possession of their latest archeological find. But the Empire was Narshe's biggest financial backer; an estimated eighty percent of minerals gathered from the mines were purchased by the scientists at the Magitek Research Facility. In short, if Narshe wanted to prevent the collapse of their economy, they'd have to hand over the Esper.<br /><br />
At the towering archway that served as Narshe's entrance, Wedge came to a stop. Vicks and the woman followed suit. "Let's put her on point," Wedge said, positioning his mech behind hers. "No sense in taking any risks. Forward!"<br /><br />
Without question, the woman took the lead, and Vicks and Wedge followed her into the town. The first thing Vicks noticed was the lack of activity. True, it was a good deal past dusk, but there wasn't a soul to be found on the paths, and no light shone from any window.<br /><br />
As if to answer his thoughts, Wedge spoke. "Lookouts must have seen our approach and told the people to take shelter."<br /><br />
"Fine by me," Vicks responded as they marched northward. "I had expected we'd have to argue with local security forces over this whole thing. The easier they make this for us, the better it will be for everyone involved."<br /><br />
In his travels around the world, Vicks had never had occasion to stop in Narshe. It was a primitive little down despite its flourishing economy. He had expected large mansions and cobblestone streets, but the brick-and-mortar homes were no more impressive than anything that could be found in South Figaro. Oil lanterns on tall iron poles lined the paths that twisted around each building, and large staircases of wood led to structures built into the higher elevations. Some of the town's layout seemed a bit haphazard, but there was little doubt that the aesthetics had been sacrificed due to the formation of the mountainside. Odd hills and cliffs and valleys had apparently forced some creative choices for construction. Though some homes were level with the ground, there were others that were build almost entirely on wooden scaffolds to compensate for uneven land. Then there were structures that seemed to be built right into the cliffsides with only a single staircase erected to provide access. How or why they managed to construct such a thing was beyond Vicks imagination.<br /><br />
Wedge's voice pulled Vicks away from his thoughts. "Narshe's mines are located at the northernmost part of the town. If we keep heading-"<br /><br />
He was interrupted as a pair of soldiers dressed in old blue robes stepped onto the path about ten paces ahead of them. They were lanky men carrying primitive weapons. No match for the mechs, but Vicks clung to hope that they might be willing to negotiate.<br /><br />
His hopes were dashed in an instant. "Imperial Magitek armor?" one of the soldiers yelled, hoisting his sword. "Not even Narshe is safe anymore!"<br /><br />
Their charge was ended just as quickly as it had begun. A deafening crackle pierced the air as a scorching beam of fiery light shot forth from the chest cannon of the woman's Magitek unit. The blast sent their bodies sailing through the air. One man came down hard on the rooftop of a house, his body rolling and sliding downward before falling to a smoldering heap on the ground below. His partner crashed down beside him, smoke rising from his charred remains. Neither man so much as twitched.<br /><br />
"Serves 'em right," Wedge said with a grin.<br /><br />
Vicks shook his head. "Let's keep moving."<br /><br />
The trio marched past the fallen men and continued northward. Despite the fact that he was an imperial soldier, Vicks didn't like violence. He'd joined the military to help people and preserve peace. But lately, he'd found himself questioning his purpose. Much of that had to do with the Empire's apparent motives. More and more, the word "magic" had been making the rounds amongst the troops, and Vicks didn't like it. The stories of the ancient War of the Magi should've served as warning to anyone who might decide to purse such power. If that was the Emperor's goal . . .<br /><br />
No, it couldn't be. His Excellency was far too wise for that. Perhaps he learned of others who sought the power and mobilized the Empire to intervene. There was another faction opposed to the Empire, an organization calling themselves the Returners, who seemed to be trying to start an uprising. Perhaps they planned to use magic to do it. That must be it. Emperor Gestahl was just trying to protect the people from the Returners, and to do so he needed to secure Narshe's Esper before the Returners could get their hands on it. That made sense.<br /><br />
It didn't explain the technology that powered Magitek armor, though. But there had to be a reasonable explanation for it all. The Empire was not evil. It couldn't be.<br /><br />
Another Narshe patrol stepped onto the path ahead. "Narshe's freedom depends on us!"<br /><br />
This time the woman fired before the men had even managed to take a step. A bright beam of blue shot from her mech this time, immobilizing the guards in a thick shell of ice. She pressed a few buttons on her console, and her mech raised his steel arm. Latched atop its forearm were a pair of foot-long missiles. With a pop-hiss, one ignited and flew toward the frozen men. The collision sounded like the shattering of fifty panes of glass. The remains of the men showered down upon the buildings and pathways ahead, leaving the way forward clear. Vicks couldn't even try to imagine how that must've felt.<br /><br />
The path shifted upward ahead, narrowing through a ravine past several more homes and into the hills. As they marched through, Wedge's ears seemed to perk. "Did you hear that?" he asked.<br /><br />
Vicks stopped and listened carefully. For a moment, there was nothing but the stillness of the night. Then he heard it; something that sounded like numerous feet scampering through the snow behind them. He and Wedge turned their mechs around to prepare for whatever might be headed their way.<br /><br />
"We've got 'em trapped, now!" a voice yelled from behind. Vicks looked back to see two more men racing toward them from the north. As he faced his console to bring his mech about, two dogs burst around the corner to the south, snarling and barking as they bounded toward the imperial soldiers.<br /><br />
"We'll take the dogs," Wedge shouted. "She'll handle the guards."<br /><br />
The last thing Vicks wanted to do was kill a couple of dogs, but they seemed to be ready to rip his throat out given the opportunity. As they galloped closer, Vicks angled his Magitek mech directly toward the one on the right. Wedge aimed for the other to the left. Simultaneously, they pushed the triggers of their left control sticks, unleashing powerful bolts of electricity into their targets. The dogs squealed and tumbled backward before resting motionless in the snow. Vicks looked back just in time to see the two guards meet a similar fate.<br /><br />
"C'mon," Wedge said, turning northward once again. "We need to keep moving."<br /><br />
They continued along at a slow but steady pace, following the ravine up a steep incline toward Narshe's northern border. A short distance beyond the final house, Vicks could see four figures standing with weapons drawn. "They won't even give us a chance to speak," he grumbled. "If they'd just talk to us, maybe we could avoid bloodshed."<br /><br />
"What are you worried about?" Wedge asked, almost laughing. "They can't touch us. We're Magitek soldiers!"<br /><br />
Vicks shook his head as snow crunched under his mech's feet. "I'm not worried about us. I'm worried about them. I don't want to have to kill people if it isn't necessary."<br /><br />
"But their actions make it necessary," Wedge told him. "That's not our fault. Don't blame yourself."<br /><br />
Vicks raised an eyebrow. "What would you think if Magitek soldiers marched into your town?"<br /><br />
"I'd think they must have had good reason," Wedge said flatly. "I would never question orders from His Highness."<br /><br />
Again, Vicks sighed and shook his head. "I suppose."<br /><br />
The four soldiers stood at the top of the rise, waving and shaking their weapons menacingly as though they really thought they stood a chance against the imperial troops. Vicks wanted to call to them, to offer amnesty, to beg cooperation, but he couldn't undermine Wedge's command like that. Instead, he kept his mouth closed, and eventually, he heard the rallying cry he'd hoped to avoid.<br /><br />
"We must defend the mines!" The guards screamed, rushing down with weapons waving above their heads. They were dispatched by a few quick blasts from the Magitek cannons.
<br /><br />
"Fools," Vicks growled. "If they'd stayed in hiding, they'd yet live."<br /><br />
Wedge nodded with satisfaction. "Exactly. They chose to oppose us, and therefore chose their fate."
<br /><br />
It wasn't quite what Vicks had meant, but it was clear that he and Wedge were of separate opinions on the matter. "Let's just get the Esper and get out of here."
<br /><br />
Just beyond the top of the hill, the three came to one of several mine entrances. This particular opening had piles of fresh wood and tools lying on the ground beside it, suggesting that it had only been recently constructed.
<br /><br />
Wedge must've noticed it, too. "According to our source, the frozen Esper was found in a new mine shaft. Maybe this one?" He guided his Magitek armor inside without waiting for a response. Vicks and the woman followed close behind.
<br /><br />
The tunnel itself was relatively short. Oil lamps lined the walls, providing the only source of light in the dim shaft. Half-finished train tracks ran along the center of the dirt floor, leading right up to the far wall where they disappeared under a pile of rocks and dirt. Vicks' first thought was that there had been a cave-in, but upon closer inspection, he began to think otherwise. A cave in would've left more structural damage, and debris would be littered about the floor. This looked more light a neatly organized pile of rocks and boulders purposely designed to block the path. Only one way to find out...
<br /><br />
"I'll handle this," Vicks said, positioning his Magitek armor as close to the pile of debris as he could manage. He tapped a few buttons on his console and pulled back on the right control stick. The mech raised its heavy arm and pulled back, mechanical fingers clenched. Vicks pushed the stick forward, and the Magitek unit mimicked the action, thrusting its fist forward with immense force. The punch blew a gaping hole in the rubble and sent rocks and debris scattering across the floor. Again, Vicks wound up and delivered a stiff blow, shattering through the largest boulder in the center of the pile. Over and over, he pounded his way through the wall of rock until there was a wide opening through which the mechs could pass.
<br /><br />
"I would've just blasted through," Wedge said, crossing his arms.
<br /><br />
"I didn't want to risk damaging whatever is on the other side," Vicks responded. "Unless you'd like to be the one to tell Emperor Gestahl that you incinerated the Esper."
<br /><br />
"Nonsense," Wedge said, pointing toward the silent woman. "I'd blame her. That's what she's here for."
<br /><br />
Vicks rolled his eyes and headed through the opening. What he saw on the other side nearly took his breath away.
<br /><br />
It was a wide open cavern unlike the typical mine shaft. The train tracks stopped midway into the room. Just beyond that, a single guard beside what looked like an oversized snail's shell. But that wasn't what had caught his attention. Against the far wall, standing nearly twice again as tall as Vicks himself, was a giant block of ice. And inside, a giant creature resembling some kind of bird with green and red feathers lay dormant, encased in its frozen prison for over a millennium.
<br /><br />
They had found the Esper.
<br /><br />
"By the Goddesses!" Wedge exclaimed as he entered behind Vicks. "Look at the size of it! We'll never be able to get that thing back to Vector ourselves!"
<br /><br />
"You won't have to worry about that!" the guard shouted, patting the giant shell. It was nearly the size of the Magitek unit. "We won't hand over the Esper! Whelk! Get them!"
<br /><br />
A low growl came from the shell, a resonating vibration that shook Vicks to the core. From the opening near the floor slithered a giant snail, its neck oozing with an unidentifiable slime. Teeth like giant needles lined its oversized mouth, and its beady eyes twisted about, presumably surveying the room for food. As soon as it saw the guard standing beside it, the head shot forward, mouth open further than Vicks would've thought physically possible. It came down over the soldier's head with a crunch, silencing his screams as it lifted his body into the air. The beast ate like a snake, swallowing the little man in two more bites.
<br /><br />
"OK, try to stay out of its reach," Wedge said while it struggled to get the guard down its gullet. "Its head may be fast, but it's still a snail. Its maneuverability is its weakness. We'll-"
<br /><br />
But Vicks already knew what to do. "Hold it. Think back to our briefing."
<br /><br />
Wedge was obviously getting impatient. "What about it?!"
<br /><br />
"Do you remember hearing about a monster that eats energy . . . "
<br /><br />
Wedge's eyes widened. " . . . and stores it in its shell!"
<br /><br />
"Right," Vicks nodded. "So whatever you do, don't attack the shell!"
<br /><br />
Whelk growled angrily, its beady eyes shifting between the two of them. Vicks and Wedge moved to either corner of the room while the sorceress woman stood between them.
<br /><br />
"Ready?" Wedge called out. "Fire!!"
<br /><br />
Vicks unleashed a powerful blast of fiery light, hitting the monster right between the eyes. At the same time, Wedge let loose a blast of ice energy which formed a frozen patch on the left side of the beast's head. Their female companion followed that with a missile that exploded into Whelk's neck, leaving charred burns across its disgusting pink flesh. The creature let out a piercing roar as it writhed in pain.
<br /><br />
"Again! We can't let up!" Vicks shouted, firing again. But this time, Whelk withdrew into its shell, and the fiery blast crashed into the pink shell.
<br /><br />
"No!" Wedge yelled, but it was too late. A thick band of electricity rolled across the shell before it shot toward Vicks, throwing him from his mech. His body slammed into the wall before crashing to the floor.
<br /><br />
Everything hurt. A dull ache rolled through his arms, his legs felt like jelly, and his chest smoldered where the blast had found its mark. As he struggled onto all fours, he was startled to see the their female companion standing over him. She didn't say a word. She just clasped her hands together and lowered her head. White light surrounded her body and raised up, seemingly hovering above her before coming down on Vicks like a soothing blanket. Within seconds, the pain left him, his wounds closed, and strength flowed anew. It was like something out of a storybook, something he wouldn't have believed if it hadn't happened to him. The rumors about her had to be true. That was magic!<br /><br />
From the other side of the room, Wedge was screaming. "Can I get a little help over here!?"<br /><br />
The monster was back out of his shell and angrier than ever. Vicks jumped to his feet and climbed back into this mech while the woman returned to hers. Wedge was backed into the corner with Whelk's teeth snapping just inches from his face.<br /><br />
"Hold on!" Vicks called, shifting his mech into position. With a silent prayer, he fired a crimson blast into the side of the creature's long neck. The beam cut through flesh with ease, severing Whelk's head from the rest of its body. It hit the ground with a disgusting splat.<br /><br />
And then it was over.<br /><br />
"Took you long enough!" Wedge grumbled, stomping over the remains of the creature's head.
<br /><br />
"Did you see what she did?" Vicks asked him. "She healed me! She used magic!"
<br /><br />
"That's not surprising," Wedge responded. "She does-" He cut himself off. "Hey, what's she doing?"
<br /><br />
The woman was standing in front of the Esper in silence. She stared at the ancient creature intently, eyes as wide and glistening.
<br /><br />
Vicks and Wedge shifted to either side of her. "Hey, what's the matter?" Wedge asked her. "Do you know something we don't?"
<br /><br />
Of course, she didn't respond. Vicks looked back at the Esper. The ice glistened in the flickering light of the lanterns. Somehow, though he couldn't explain quite why, he got the feeling that it was studying them just as much as they were studying it.
<br /><br />
Without warning, a blinding light filled the cabin, accompanied by a horrific scream from Wedge. When his vision cleared, Vicks was surprised to see Wedge in a crumpled heap on the far side of the room, his mech blown to pieces around him. "Wedge! Are you-"
<br /><br />
Another blinding flash of light, and this time Vicks felt like every bone in his body had been shattered to pieces. He sailed from his mech as it exploded beneath him, sending mangled iron and gears across the room like shrapnel. The pain that radiated through him when he hit the ground was indescribable.
<br /><br />
When he looked up, everything was blurred. Vainly, he tried to crawl to his feet, only to find his body unwilling to respond. The world spun, glowed, faded. He could see the woman, rising from her Magitek armor, surrounded by a brilliant blue light. The light formed repeated arcs between her and the Esper as consciousness began to slip away. Did Gestahl know this would happen? Did Kefka? What was it all for?
<br /><br />
Darkness swallowed everything.Kevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078233902619883152.post-78372394645862456322011-04-23T00:00:00.009-05:002022-09-11T17:29:16.007-05:00St. Louis Tornado - 4/22/11We just got back from checking out the devastation left in the wake of the F4 tornado that touched down minutes from our apartment last night. I'm sure many of you have seen the images on TV - but after witnessing it firsthand, I can tell you that television doesn't do it justice.<br><br>
It's one thing to see smashed homes and fallen trees on television. There's still a bit of psychological separation from the situation because so much television programming is larger than life. We see it, but we don't completely comprehend the weight of it. We feel bad, then we flip the channel over to Seinfeld or Family Guy and move on with our night.<br><br>
Driving through it brings the weight of it crashing home. Hard.<br><br>
Just to be clear, Laura and I are safe. So are her parents. Our apartment and their home were spared. Laura's uncle wasn't so lucky. His roof and front door were torn off, windows blown out, and his puppy was killed when the fridge fell on it.<br><br>
St. Charles Rock Road, the highway were we do most of our usual shopping, was hit hard. The tornado must have run alongside it for quite a distance before cutting through the town of Bridgeton. Alongside the big name places like Home Depot and iHop, there are a lot of smaller mom-and-pop independently own businesses lining the highway. We pass them daily - sometimes more than once. So when we saw buildings crumbled, missing walls, smashed windows, mangled signs, crumpled trees, twisted power lines, and various debris littering the street, it sent my heart to the soles of my feet and put a lump in my throat the size of a melon.<br><br>
There's a pub called The Penalty Box that was mangled. A mom-and-pop glass repair shop that was pretty much leveled. A mechanics shop decimated. A brown building - I don't even remember what it was - was half-collapsed, the inside exposed like an open autopsy. And everywhere, people stood in helpless awe, staring at the broken pieces of their lives. <br><br>
Further down, the trail of destruction moved onto highway 70. I described the scene to my mother like this: Imagine a long highway with trees lining either side. Now imagine that a dinosaur marches up and down each side and chomps off the top halves of each tree before moving on to the next. Or, if you prefer, imagine a giant baseball player walking up and down the highway smashing the tops of every tree apart with a huge bat. Trunks shatter, branches crumble, limbs fly, leaves fall. <br><br>
The aftermath is what highway 70 looks like now.<br><br>
Then it was on to Bridgeton. Laura and I were trying to get to a local Italian restaurant this afternoon when detours led us into the heart of town. It was once a nice little rural area. Lots of trees on every street, quaint little one-floor homes, flags and chimes hanging from their front porches, and mailboxes of varying design at the end of every driveway. Anytown, USA, for the most part.<br><br>
Now, you can barely see the pavement beneath the leaves and crushed branches. Most homes had at least one fallen tree, some in their front yard, and others right through their homes. There were people everywhere trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. On one front lawn, I saw a little old lady just standing and staring. Her house seemed to have been spared, but her neighbor wasn't so lucky. And I can tell you from my own experience that you didn't have to be affected by the damage directly to have been hurt by this storm.<br><br>
Of course, there's our airport, not ten minutes from us. It suffered millions of dollars of damage. A bus was thrown on TOP of concourse C. A plane was moved from one terminal to another. Tons of windows blown, lines of seats from inside were found outside, clumps of insulation everywhere, crumpled signs - the list goes on and on.<br><br>
The news is saying this is the worst St. Louis has seen since 1967. The trail stretched for miles through nine municipalities, damaging over 750 homes. It was an F4 tornado with winds up to about 160 mph.<br><br>
Our sense of security has been taken away. Although this city is in "Tornado Alley," St. Louis itself rarely has real tornadoes within city limits. For the most part, they go north or south. Before tonight, a Youtube search for St. Louis tornado would've brought up little in the way of results. Some claimed there was a tornado near a local mall last year, but there was no visible tornado in the videos posted. This kind of thing just didn't happen in the city. But now that it has, I'm sure many others will feel the same spike of panic that I now feel when seeing a forecast for more thunderstorms (we're supposed to get more tonight and tomorrow). <br><br>
The silver lining? No deaths and few injuries. None severe.<br><br>
As a Christian, I've been surrounded by people telling me that there's no God for the majority of my life. But after driving through the devastation I saw today, the news that none were killed only confirmed my belief that God was watching over us.<br><br>
And this was just one tornado. There were more elsewhere, but I believe our area suffered the most damage this time. <br><br>
After seeing the destruction, first on TV and then in reality, I can't help but wonder just how much MORE devastating the Japanese tsunami was for those who experienced it in person. Things are far worse in person than they are on TV.<br><br>
So pray for our city. Pray for our people. I don't care if you're not religious or don't believe in God. We need all the prayers we can get. Pray for Japan. Pray for the Japanese people. They need all the prayers they can get.<br><br>
Thanks for reading. Should you be interested in helping with the relief efforts, I've provided a few links below.<br><br>
God bless,
Kevin<br><br>
St. Louis Red Cross Relief Efforts: <a href="http://www.redcrossstl.org/2011SpringStorms.aspx">http://www.redcrossstl.org/2011SpringStorms.aspx</a><br><br>
Japan Red Cross Relief Efforts (Bottom Choice): <a href="http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main">http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main</a><br><br>
By Telephone: 800-RED-CROSSKevin Domenichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13796045964683654356noreply@blogger.com0