For the solo studio, that’s a bridge that needs to be crossed eventually. Until then, to get by, utilizing all you have to make it work is the best option and I’ve finally come up with a slick character creation, skinned and ready to animate pattern that works for me. In fact, i even developed my very first MaxScript to help facilitate the process because while developing this reel, I’ll need processes to speed things along from time to time.

I’ll give an overview now, but later, I’ll tighten it up with a solid ‘How to’.

The directional flow is:

DAZ 3D Studio to 3DS Max to MotionBuilder

DAZ for character creation … 3DS Max for final render/animation/effects/whatever … MotionBuilder for the core character animation

We can go back and forth over using MotionBuilder for character animation verses the 3DS native animation tools verses animating in Daz3D alone, but for this journal entry, just roll with me for a minute. If I can say anything about my choice of MotionBuilder … greater control of my characters and the ability to add mocap files, layer them with my own animation and mix and match.

If you know anything about MotionBuilder, you’ll need to Characterize your model and that requires specific Character Definition Names for the bones.

Example: LeftUpLeg, LeftHand, Spine, Hips, etc.

But most times, the names of your bones being brought into MotionBuilder have other names (i.e., lToe, rToe, spine, hip, etc)

Notice ‘Hips’ in MotionBuilder is different than ‘hip’ and so you’ll spend your time matching the right bone name to the right spot either by hand or allowing the system to auto configure and most times you’ll get a dialogue reporting there were a few unassigned bones.

Enter Bone Name Switcheroo! *(DAZ 3D Studio only thus far)

After a few weeks of assuring myself that the Daz 3D studio to Max workflow ports over excellently skinned mesh; weighted and ready to go, I was getting tired of CONSTANTLY renaming the same bones over and over again when bringing over to MotionBuilder.

With just a ‘RUN’ of the script, or dropping it into the Max interface, you’ll know it’s done when you get a dialog box that says ‘All Done!’. LOL

It will change the bone names from lShldr to LeftArm, lHand to LeftHand, lFoot to LeftFoot and so on. I even incorporated a few of the extra bones to the correct auxilary and other areas outside of the ‘required’ names in MotionBuilder.

What’s this mean to you? Simply put, when you FBX out your model to MotionBuilder with the new Bone names changed, all you have to do is Characterize ONCE and its done. Essentially, the script makes the DAZ 3D Bones a MotionBuilder Friendly model.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Right now, this is for people who follow the workflow I just mentioned (DAZ to Max To MotionBuilder). I’m working on an alternate that follows the Poser to Max to MotionBuilder chain and maybe any other software that leads to MotionBuilder out of Max. For instance, just in Max alone, the bones in CATrig need to be changed automatically as well. In fact, that will likely be my next version really soon.

Bone Name Switcheroo! (DAZ 3D to MotionBuilder) 1.0

UPDATE: 

Finished the Base Human for 3DS Max CATRig. Very simple, but helpful. It gave me the ideas to come up with a much more complex but efficient script to automate the process in a larger scale. Something to work on over the next week or so. I’m getting into MaxScript more than I thought, which of course leads back to other App design moving forward.

Bone Name Switcheroo! (Base CATRig to MotionBuilder) 1.0

Before with CATRig

AFTER with Script Applied

When you’re doing this kind of animation work, the process of changing bone names for MotionBuilder is the worst! I hope the script helps people as it’s helping me. It’ll get better with updates, too. Call these just a foundation.

The Butta: Worldwide covers start with the tip of a motorcycle. Side note: the reason it’s doing a wheelie is primarily because the way Facebook covers are designed, I can’t remove the headshot profile box in the bottom left corner. LOL…so the wheelie is lifted above the box and turned out to be a nice image to continue with moving forward.

Each week, leading up to the release date, there will be a little bit more of the scene which is taken directly from the sequel.

Each cover will also have a quote from either the first book or the sequel. ‘finally’ is exactly how I feel about it. I came a long way from 2007. I can’t thank Ebony and Neil Phillips enough for starting this brake-less rocket and it’s been an adventure.

Also …

40 To Go stumbled but has a strong following that seems to be waiting. So, to clear the air and any confusion, 40 To Go will be a series of enhanced ebooks for the iPad. Armed with my Mac Mini, iPad and months of HTML5 experience, it’s on. Same rules apply, just different and all the actors you kow and love will still be portraying the characters that they were assigned … just different. Similar to the sample version I posted online, the novel will interject audio and video in sections with clips of animation.

Not motion comic animation.

Animation. Thus the need for slight character redesign, also. The cover for 40 To Go is not progressive, but rotating. Showcaseing every character in the series until the book releases.

Date? Don’t hold me to one, please. LOL … but you know it’s almost there when you hear me talking about recording schedule’s with the actors and we run through all 17 characters in the covers.

First up … Julissa:

“Henry” was designed to help a good friend (Oana Niculae) with an image for her article. The timing of the image coincided with my recent weekend where I spent defending my race. As I posted on Facebook …

“A reminder that the African-American Male has value and intelligence, in addition to sex appeal, equal to any other human male. No more. No less. “

According to quite a few people, Black women and other cultures alike, my statement is NOT the case.

I beg to differ.

First: The almighty Disclaimer:

My credentials and they are important to mention:

Went to Caucasian majority run and populated schools since elementary school. Through the late 70′s to the early 90′s, all throughout Floral Park, NY to Garden City, New York during a time when being African-American was being a minority by census and by physical placement. If there were any ethnic people at these schools during this time, they were a small handful of Blacks or a couple East Indians/Pakistani’s. Suffice to say, the majority of my friends were White and my general thinking pattern was molded from a White perspective. Before you give me  a ‘what’s a white perspective’ comment, I’m referring to a lifestyle that is not any other ethnicity EXCEPT classic White Anglo Saxon Protestant, American-Italian, American-German and/or Jewish.

I state my background not to prove something asinine like “Now you see I’m the ultimate ‘white person’! See my credentials!’. It’s to make sure you understand I have spent the bulk of my life in DEEP with a culture outside of my own and I can speak with confidence of how one race perceives the other from a Long Island, New York point of view, at the very least.

What this journal entry DOES NOT presume to do is point fingers at the whole. Example:

All White people do not trust Black people.

That is NOT true and I don’t support that.

All Blacks are thieves and rape White women.

That is NOT true and I don’t support that.

HOWEVER, MANY of you do. Many of you take one of  three positions: (1) Self-Concluded decisions about a particular race (ignorance), (2) Self-concluded decisions about a particular race and you HATE them because of it (racism) or no awareness of what’s going on at all and refuse to know (ignorance is bliss). There could be a fourth … absolute LOVE for one another, but it seems to fade off after we reach age 10 or eleven. Those who have it are far and few between. You know this … I know this … stop fighting me because I see you shaking your head and denying it … and read on.

How do I figure all of this? We all have built-in conclusions in our heads about one another. From the things we’ve seen on the news, from articles we’ve read and from other sources in our lives. These conclusions become ‘racist’ point of views when you use those conclusions against the progression of another race based on what you think. Then you have people who just don’t know what the hell is going on and don’t feel either way, wondering what all the hubbub is about? Those kinds of people are the worst, in my opinion.

Example: A man who speaks well is looking for a job and he is interviewed over the phone. The manager says I like how you sound and your faxed resume looks good … come on down, I got a job for you. The BLACK MAN goes to the job to meet the manager, and suddenly there was a mistake. the job is gone and he can’t be hired.

Here’s what some of you are thinking:

‘well, it might have been an honest mistake’.

‘That figures’

“Good for him’

Back in the day, much of all the South believed Blacks were stupid, regardless of the Fredrick Douglas’s of the time. Instead of trying to see that wasn’t the case, they classified them all as just slave material and you know the rest.

If you were White, and had no conclusions either way, and you weren’t a “racist” and didn’t take part in any of the civil rights era ANYTHING, you probably spent most of the time asking “why are those Black people so upset for?” It didn’t affect you, so you couldn’t feel anyone’s pain. That’s ignorant bliss.

The same way many of us sit and watch CNN and the Arab Spring recently (go look it up). What could those turban heads be complaining about? Me? Racist? Noooooo! Just what are they all up in arms about? They got it good with the oil and the world’s tallest tower in Dubai that Tom Cruise jumped off of. What’s the big deal? That’s ignorant bliss.

When white people tell me ‘this has nothing to do with race‘ on particular topics. That’s ignorant bliss.

That kind of thinking is so pervasive, it’s insulting and that is the foundation of this journal entry and when I’m done, you will understand my perspective and frustration with many, MANY people: friend and stranger alike.

Get ready to be offended.

Here we go …

Today, was NOT suppose to be spent online. I was actually suppose to be outside laying down mulch with the kids. I came inside after doing half the house and jumped to check emails when I saw this:

Posted on Facebook by Anna. Okay … get past the humor of it and I think it’s funny. That’s cool … but this is my comment:

Corey: ‎”I see no reason not to believe her as these 3DE films are very lifelike” …. I’m speechless. I’m speechless. I’m speechless. When you’re screwing around on your husband away in the military and he comes home and your best defense is the 3D movie did it???? At what point will Black STOP being blamed for everything???? This has to be a joke. I’m going to believe it’s a joke and laugh about it because if it’s real, that really says a lot about white women and what they think of black men with the history of ‘blaming a black man’ for this that and the other thing over time.

So, after that, I let it go. No sense in trying to duel with someone without a sword … or a sharp one at that.

Some of you are saying, “Corey, you’re taking it too seriously. Obviously it’s a joke. It has nothing to do with race.”

Doesn’t it?

Okay, let’s take a history trip over a few things that WERE NOT jokes:

I want to thank TheGrio.com for compiling this list. You can read the full article here:

Bethany Storro
On August 30, 2010, Bethany Storro claimed an unidentified black woman approached her, said “Hey pretty girl, want something to drink?”, and then promptly threw acid in her face. Storro’s upbeat and forgiving demeanor post-’attack’ and her somewhat improbable story (her eyes were protected by sunglasses, but the incident occurred at night) raised suspicions. This week she revealed it was all a hoax.

Ashley Todd
At the height of 2008 presidential election, 20-year-old McCain supporter Ashley Todd manufactured a story about an attack by a black Obama supporter who carved a ‘B’ on her face (ostensibly for Barack). When authorities noticed the B was scrawled backwards (suggested it had been done in a mirror) the rest of her story began to crumble. She was forced to enter mental health counseling.

Brian Wells
Back in 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Wells showed up at a bank in Eerie, Pa. with a bomb tied around his neck, claiming a group of black men had taken him hostage and planted the bomb on him. After getting $9,000, Wells was blown up by the bomb. Later authorities learn that the entire event was planned by Wells and some white friends.

Susan Smith
Arguably the most famous example of a murderer pinning her crimes on an anonymous black man, Susan Smith became a media sensation in 1995 when she told anyone who would listen a horrific story of her car being stolen by a black man with her two kids inside. Police eventually discovered that she haddrowned her children in her car. She’s currently serving a life sentence in prison.

Robert Ralston
Philadelphia police officer Robert Ralston intentionally shot himself earlier this year (reports say either to get a transfer or simply for attention) and blamed it on imaginary black suspects–he patrolled a predominately black neighborhood. He was later fired.

Bonnie Sweeten
In May of 2009, Sweeten made up a fantastic story–claiming she and her daughter were abducted by two random black carjackers. They were discovered living it up in Disney World.

Charles Stuart
In 1989, Stuart ignited a racial firestorm when he claimed a black man (with a “raspy voice”) shot him and killed his then-pregnant wife. Stuart went so far as to pick an assailant out of a lineup but his story collapsed when his own brother told police that Charles was actually the real shooter. Stuart killed himself in 1990.

Amy Fox
This Michigan woman was something of an equal opportunity offender. In February of this year she claimed a black or Mexican man robbed her at gunpoint at the post office. The truth was she robbed the post office herself.

With a little more time, I could search for a whole bunch more but I don’t have to. All it takes is ONE of these reports to show up in the news that A BLACK MAN RAPED, A BLACK MAN KILLED, A BLACK MAN did this or did that … and the fear factor is on.

Many of you hear this report and jump to conclusions QUICKLY. A Black man raped my daughter and she’s pregnant. Baby comes out and it’s White, now what? Who cares! For about a week, BLACKS are under scruitny and it’s painful!

The Ignorance is Bliss people are saying “They are sick people and it has nothing to do with race.”

I’m saying, “This ARE sick people and they picked Black people because YOU would believe it without hesitation.”

That’s problem number ONE … and problem number two are people like “Anna” who want to spout how they are in relationships with Blacks and live with Blacks … and that’s fine.

But she is NOT Black and she, with her Blonde hair /Blue eyes will NEVER be subject to the suspicion HER MAN gets when he’s alone and, even worse, when he’s with her.

Example: A White woman and a Black man, a married couple, are arguing …  Now watch this:

Now, don’t be a wise-ass: I saw the same film as you and the majority of the intervening people were White Female, which is fine. The sum of this point is the end when the Psychologist says, and I quote at time 7:08 in the video:

“It may have been that the women were more threatened by his physical appearance and African-Americans are considered to be … stereo-typically to be … more aggressive than Caucasians.”

That line said it all about how White women think of Black men daily.

So, when I say I can walk thru Costco and be in an empty aisle with a White woman, and watch her close up her purse and lock her door when I walk past her car … this isn’t funny. It’s insulting and it’s an ugly view of ME – my race – that is built from lies reported by people above and generally accepting stupid newspaper clippings like above as a joke.

Now that your frontal lobe has been marginally expanded, consider this: If White women are generally mistrusting and afraid of African-Americans, how easily acceptable do you think a report about a Black Man kidnapping a person, throwing acid or shooting a White person sounds when you first hear it?

Or how comfortable are you when hearing a man shoots a Black kid for walking through his neighborhood in self defense? (See Trayvon Martin).

Dumb-ass, I also know you’re thinking “The newspaper clipping is about 3D films making her pregnant. Can’t I take a joke?” You can keep your damn ignorant bliss and ask yourself this: why did it have to be a Black baby?

My response to the person making jokes like this is to leave BLACKS out of it.

We have our own issues to deal with; to rise out of the mistrust slush pile. Next time use your own race for the butt of a joke. Or some other race. A Chinese baby would have been funny. Or would it? Asian readers take note: I feel the racism you get too. Damn White America just loves to mess with us all. To that end, China, I highly encourage your subtle takeover. Broadening minds will do a nation good when you see, hear and interact with more than one color. Church.

Oh, but it doesn’t stop there.

At the same time, I’m reading an article by a friend of mine about this situation:

(http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/student-banned-prom-graduation-after-twitter-post/nMdKj/)

In a nutshell, this kid said in a Tweet: “I’m gonna blow up New Manchester! Fear me! Grrrr”

The school tribunal suspended him for the rest of the year and this was his graduation and prom year.

Here’s the rest of the story:

The kid is in a radio DJing competition.

Do I have to say anything else? Many of you with some sort of slang ability must understand what he meant by blowing up anything. So fine, in this post-9/11 era of fear, they jumped and suspended him. My friend commented that this is the sort of thing that needs to be instructed to children about what they put on the internet and I agree. She said she would never allow her daughter to post those sort of things.

I commented that ‘if her daughter did post it, she would not have been suspended. One look at her and it would have been understood.”

The kid in trouble is Black. My friends daughter is White/Blonde/Girl next door.

You do the math.

My issue with this story samples the last one: The kid is Black and he made a threat sounding comment that represented his prowess over whatever he did and he would decimate competition … basically. The school took it as if he would come to the school and destroy it physically, so out he goes. Don’t pass go. Don’t collect $200. Get out of here! We don’t allow that kind of talk in here!

Now, change the people. Put an attractive White girl in his place and see if any of this happens. See if they make this judgment as swiftly. See if they don’t perform due diligence to investigate and properly associate the words with the individual.

Even as I said in the post, it’s hard to say since THAT scenario didn’t happen.

Her words to me: This isn’t about race.

Well, let me answer that by showing REAL cases for suspending students:

Kid threatens to bring GUN to school: http://www.woio.com/story/17334135/highland-high-school-student-suspended-after-gun-threat

Student Suspended after bomb threat: http://www.fox47news.com/multimedia/videos/?bctid=1497040470001

* Student Suspended for five days after creating a hit list: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/04/20/2083425/boise-junior-high-student-accused.html

This last one is interesting because he got suspended for JUST FIVE DAYS because …

“They determined the student didn’t have the capability to carry out the threat,” Hollar said.

School officials first heard about the hit list on Thursday. Hollar did not know how or where it was found.

The boy was located, confronted and then suspended, Hollar said.

The hit list threatened violence against 70 East Junior High students and 10 others, including some “celebrities,” Hollar said. He did not provide specifics on the threat.

Did MANCHESTER determine the student had the capability to carry out the threat? Who knows.

Apparently in the Idaho school, that school did the due diligence to find out if the kid was capable of killing 80 people and discovered he didn’t. How??? I don’t know. It’s Idaho … it’s likely that the boy was White. Come on, you know that’s right.

But at the Manchester School, the Black kid said it, and it was so. The Manchester Tribunal believed he had the capability to carry out the threat and so they got rid of him.

In my interest to reduce cursing in my journal, I can’t tell the Manchester school to go fuck themselves.

What gets me frustrated is how anyone could NOT think race is involved when someone Black is jailed, suspended and thrown out with the speed of light over bullshit. Or killed for just walking down a street (See Trayvon Martin).

That’s the ignorant bliss that bothers me to the core because you end up thinking race has nothing to do with anything and you won’t see me being arrested or shot or pulled over for being Black.

Because you aren’t BLACK and you won’t ever get it. EVER, unless your race is CONSTANTLY called out as the thief. CONSTANTLY called out as the rapist. CONSTANTLY called out as the people breaking into homes.

I am offended by dumb ass jokes like the previous. I am offended that shit happens in schools and the case is wrapped up quickly before anyone can really ask questions and see the seriousness of it. I’m offended that the same White people getting drugs and getting pregnant have the NERVE to call out that BLACKS have the highest rate of abortions when you know GOD DAMN well little fucking Becky is not reporting her second abortion in a year all across America. Yes, we BLACKS have the highest REPORTED cases of abortions. Our dumb ass for reporting it.

The slant against us is harsh by it’s subtle text. Blacks are this. Blacks are that. Be on the look out for a 6’2 Black man who just robbed someone. I guess that would be me too. Fuck it, drag my Black ass in too. Why not? I’m 6’2 and I’m just Black.

But the ignorant blissed don’t understand why I’m making anything about race because they don’t have ANYONE making them feel as I do when I turn on the news and prepare, in my mind, bury another ‘brother’ (see Trayvon Martin). They don’t have people afraid of them as they walk by. They don’t have doors locked, purses picked up or sealed or generally get the feeling that they are feared.

So this perpetuates HATE and more FEAR. Okay … you’re scared of me? Let me give you something to be afraid about!

I’ll roll up in my Escalade, jump out with the Timbs and combat gear. I’ll carry my gun so I can shoot the next hero George Zimmerman FIRST, just in case. I’ll arm and guard myself, rolling with 10-15 deep posse of other Blacks … and go shopping for dish washing liquid at the local Costco because they had a sale; pay for my purchases and we all leave without saying a word.

But you’re afraid and you called the cops already.

The cops greet me outside and want to see identification. I don’t have to show them SHIT because I don’t have to and the Gestapo was lost years ago. I wasn’t doing anything, I paid for my shit and I’m leaving. There’s an argument, cops pulls guns first because they are trained to do that.

There is more arguing: More guns pulled. I’m shot and I’m dead.

Hello Corey,

I’m very sorry for the delay in our reply. Our editors have carefully reviewed your recent submission of “Scratch,” and it has not been selected for inclusion in the Kindle Singles store. Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to consider it. Your work will remain for sale in the Kindle Store.

Again, our apologies for the wait. Thank you for your interest in Kindle Singles.

Best,

This stays consistent with almost everything I submit somewhere to someone and some point in time and, once again, validates my lack of interest in submitting to contests. Meanwhile, Scratch is selling without being in the Singles program, so go figure.

For more on how and when this started, you’ll have to start about a month back here.

Upset? No … well, disappointed, but I can wallpaper my wall with rejections so you would think I would get use to it by now. Amazon Singles was a nice program that likened back to the selection process classic of old publishing … but by Amazon, who is trying to be an official ‘publisher’ of sorts, but Singles was short stories.

So no real interruption on my part because, once again, Scratch and the other shorts, especially the Leslie Road Detective Mysteries, are generating their own readershiip. I suppose what I’m feeling is, it would be nice to be validated by a multi-million dollar company that I’m worthy for publishing. I suppose I have a little more work to do.

That’s fine, I guess. But don’t expect me to be happy when I hear another report of ‘little Timmy’, age 5, getting a book deal anywhere because he blew his nose. At that point, I rightfully point fingers and say fuck you to little Timmy and the publisher that pimped him.

Now you know why this journal exists in the first place. A record to look back on when things are different so I can refer back to a specific point in time and say: Oh, you’re lovin’ me now but back then …

And so, the hustle continues …

Good friend and excellent author Daphine Glenn Robinson has pointed out, in not so many words, that my social presence is crappy (said in a kind, Christian presentation because the woman will not curse. But if she did, I would have heard the REAL deal). My facebook page is a shallow mess. 40 to Go page, come to think of it, is a mess too.

All of it … and me trying to look like a professional author. HA!

My defense: It’s only me here and I’m doing the best I can. Now, because I can read minds (you didn’t know?) I see you saying: “ohh boo-hoo, Corey. I got to do everything myself, too! Do you see me with a sloppy fan page????”

So, this weekend, which will give me an excuse to play with my Ipad in another room away from the computer, I will be focusing on cleaning up my social presence from sea to shining sea. By Monday morning, I’ll be a brand new Online Corey. Even going to add those funky checker-board barcodes on somethings INCLUDING a novel or two.

But first things first … my stuff is dirty and I need to get it all cleaned up and transcend from the hustler of old to the PROFESSIONAL hustler of today.

Anyway, here we are in 2012 … today, it’s called Instagram, which went live in 2010. Sold for billions in 2012.

No, I don’t think any robbery or anything. That wouldn’t be right at all. My idea didn’t utilize cellphone technology directly and was really a base prototype. Cell phone photography usage was a no-brainer to me, at the time, and it was just a matter of time before someone scooped up that idea, which is why I put it out there as fast as I could. What i needed at the time was programming skills.

The point is, I feel I was justified and the idea could have worked, obviously.

What this does for me is justify a few other ideas I have and helps me bend them a bit so I think in the right terms to make them work for me.

1. Finalizing a workable workflow between Daz 3D Studio 4, 3DS Max and MotionBuilder to create characters, skinned and boned properly and animated with a return back to 3DS Max. All for the cause of animation.
2. Partially into the next Leslie Road Detective Mystery Short Story to follow Toasted!. 
3. Partially finished the video tutorial detailing how I do a book cover from start to finished. It’s really just an overview
4. Walkthru #1 of the Butta‘:Worldwide edits almost complete
5. Photography of Tiffany tonight for face mapping for animation (Demo Reel). I’ll have to wait till Aaron and Sariya show up during the summer.
6. Writing 40 To Go novel
7. Staging “I Got A Man” animation for DesktopEpics Storytellers.
8. Storyboarding Demo Reel
9. Storyboarding 40 To Go Book Trailer.

A trip that I don’t necessarily work daily to get to, nor think about packing for, but every now and then I remember it’s a trip my ticket is already paid for with no returns and the date is blurry. Every now and again, I try to see the date in a better light without success. I know there is a date there… that much I’m certain, but I can’t really make out the numbers. Maybe it’s an 11 … or a six. Who knows.

That’s a reality we all have to consider. The great guarantee in life: death. Not taxes, because not everyone pays their taxes and have successfully gone far and long without doing it. Ask a republican. They may also have the secret to cheating death too!

I don’t regret what I wrote regarding my mother. I’ve been writing too long and too confidently to proclaim what I wrote was something i didn’t mean. No. I meant every word and stand by them. I just wish I had things differently; lived life differently, where I could have ended our strife with a significant amount of money to get her out of her situation and shut her up, succeeded in my goals to be a ‘good son’ and let her age gracefully debt free.

Rest assured, I do have other regrets:

I regret I wasn’t ‘successfully’ writing earlier. I regret I wasn’t as obsessed to get here that I’ve alienated friends and family. I regret that I’ve ruined lives along the way. I regret meeting people who have ruined my life. So on and so forth.

No, not a pity party. Insightful reasoning. We can talk all the hardcore ‘get up and start walking’ jazz all we want, but I think this era lost it’s ability to stop and think deeply. Everything must be fast. Articles online must be short and quick. Web series must be brief. Everyone is acknowledging the short attention span and they feed into it by giving the short attention span even less to think about.

Long drawn out thinking of anything more than 120 characters is not recommended in this day and age. As you know, I travel a road written by me so if I decide to change the way things are done, that is what must be done. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … a good story is like fine wine and MUST be told at it’s pace NOT the readers inability to keep up or slow down. You don’t write for the stupid … you write to enhance the stupid otherwise they will not learn or think from anything written.

How that connects to anything is the last regret: that I could actually NOT succeed in achieving personal career goals before, say, my mother passes; canceling my opportunity to prove to her once and for all I’m not who she thinks I am. Ahh, but to even care would mean I not trying to reason that I will NEVER be approved by her.

Death, however, shakes all reasoning and, likely, at that time, I’ll never have a chance to say or do anything anyway for her. Then all of the ‘you should have said this and that when she was alive”. Well friends, I said this, that and the other thing multiple times and it wasn’t being received.

No, nothing happened recently. Well, I had a bizarre dream earlier. Very disturbing. A neighbor was going through some domestic situation. Neighbors I didn’t know. I was being told to get away from the situation and come inside, but for some reason I stayed to see if I can help. The wife of the neighbor was out int he back chasing her kids inside and she was mad. She snapped some wood in two and was screaming. I saw the husband and nodded at him and asked if everything was okay. The people around me was concerned that he had a gun but i didn’t see it. The rest of the dream had me running and chased by dogs and the husband ended up having a gun and he was shooting at me … or at least in my direction but I couldn’t tell while I was running. But I knew dogs were chasing me and I climbed this fence, but on the other side was a yard full of dogs and the fence I was on was bending terribly.

Naturally I woke up. But something about this dream is sticking with me. Do I want to say a message? Who knows. from who? Why and what cause. None of the players, except one or two in the dream, had any meaning to me. I don’t own a dog and I didn’t know the neighbors. But I can say this … the wife of the neighbor was cute (lol) and something was telling me there was some impression of the husband thought she was cheating with me … but not really. More like he thought she was cheating and ANY man was a suitable target.

I do have one family friend in mind that roughly overlaps this scenario. They are divorcing even as we speak and he’s a cop. Plus they fit the ‘I know them but don’t really know them’ bill.

Hmm. It’s times like this when I start creeping myself out. The kids are sleeping and the house is quiet. No music or TV and I get this overhwhelming feeling like someone is looking over my shoulder as I write. I’ve practically turned my head to see a few time now. Very unsettling. Let me throw on SOME sort of background noise. LOL. Alarms on in the house so I’m good.

This sort of journal entry easily gets the ‘random crap’ category.

For the record, I don’t dream often and when I do it’s usually something that comes to pass within a 6 month to a year and I either remember it with no record of proof that I dreamed it a year prior … or I forget it and it feels like Déjà vu.

This one is sticking pretty hard. Almost remember every action and voice.

Officially got the heebie jeebies and just wait till I start writing that horror/scary novel before October.

ugh … enough of these bleak journal entries.

Every now and then, it’s important to just get some tasks done and this is that week to finalize a bunch of things to better position this whole adventure. I think you’ll like the results, too.

So, updates will be here or uploaded on FB, but for the most part, my head will be buried under a thick workload that can give me a better position on Amazon and start moving toward claiming a real spot on Barnes and Noble as well. Another AppleBytes chick will be produced as well as the next Leslie Road Mystery. Plus a whole lot of other things and this is a great week NOT to be playing around on Facebook and call it multi-tasking. LOL.

Just a note: vook.com did not turn out to be the help I wanted and I’m abandoning their services. By the end of the week, I’ll have my hands on a proper IAuthors package and I can officially produce Apple worthy eBooks. Vook.com wants money to push the enhanced ebooks, but the changes that are so different from average ebook production are so great, it’s not worth it.

I’ll be in office all week. Wanna reach out and say hi? call or text at 678-453-8102