Saturday, October 31, 2009

HOLIDAY: Halloween, my Jack-o Lantern



This year i decided to go with a white pumpkin. It's pretty much the same thing only its pure white, giving your Jack-o Lantern a special look. I never did one of these kind before tonight but i really liked how it turned out. It wasn't as messy as a normal orange pumpkin. I'm pretty classic with my pumpkins, i don't do characters or goofy faces or scenes, i like the old school scary looking Jack-o Lantern. I tried to make this guy look like hes going to fly through the night and tear off your face, and enjoy every second of it too. Welp, i just wanted to say Happy Halloween everybody. I could do a rant on this holiday and how people are trying to do away with it and all that junk, but i rather just enjoy it, but that's my two cents.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

My Short Story, "Strike of the Bigfoot"

It was daybreak. The suns rays were now lighting up the landscape. Luke was happy to see the light, the darkness frightened him a bit. Sure he had been out in the woods before, but never totally alone. Today was his very first day of buck season and his father let him sit all by himself. Luke wanted to make his father proud, he wanted to prove that he could bag a trophy white tailed deer, like all those hanging on their wall back home. The forest was filled with its usual sounds, tiny birds chirping to each other, squirrels chattering as they hurled verbal abuse towards one another. The ground was white with a new dusting of snow and Luke could see his own hot breath on the icy cold morning air. “A deer had better show up right about now,” Luke thought to himself, already feeling irritable and impatient. Patience was not one of young Luke’s strong points but is it for any 12 year old? A strange looking black rock caught Luke’s attention, he didn’t remember seeing it there before but rocks don’t just get up and move. The black rock then, as if by magic, grew arms and legs and stood up and started to walk. “What in the hell is that animal?” Luke said out loud to himself. No animal walks upright like that, but that clearly isn’t human either. Puzzled and a bit scared Luke realized he had lost sight of the mysterious creature. It was gone and Luke was all alone again. No longer could he hear any of the animal noises he had been listening to all morning, it was dead silent. Then he heard a twig snap and he slowly turned his head to the right.
There he was, standing in front of Luke, the legendary Bigfoot himself! With his mighty arms stretched above his huge head, he stood over 8 feet tall. The creature was covered in hair and there was a stench about him that could peel paint off of a house. His human and monkey looking face showed furious anger. His massive jaw hung open baring his human-like teeth, all but the k-9’s, which hung in his mouth like daggers, dripping with saliva. The monster’s beady little eyes were solid red, like flames they flickered with fury. His claws were sickles, each one sharp enough to cut tree trunks in half. He was here, he was real and he was fucking pissed off. Then, all of a sudden a deep rumble began in his throat, his chest swelled and the Bigfoot let out this, god-awful roar. It shook the very tree Luke was sitting under. If Luke hadn’t been frozen with fear he would have covered his ears. Luke’s chin shook, he wanted to cry or scream or call for help but nothing came out, nothing came out other than urine. Luke peed his pants.
Like an angry worried mother, Luke’s mind was yelling at him, “Shoot it! Shoot it!” Luke’s hands clenched the gun but when they became tight they began to tremble and shake violently, he couldn’t hold it any longer because he was petrified with fear. The rifle slid slowly off his lap and onto the ground. The Sasquatch reached down, never taking his glare off of Luke’s terrified eyes. He picked up the rifle and held it at both ends with his brown dirty mitts. The colossal biceps bulged and flexed. He started to bend the gun, the metal creaked under the pressure and the wood cracked and splintered until the once straight gun was in a U shape, then with a half hearted toss to the side he threw the gun. That very gun brought down elk, deer and even a bear, but it was now as useless as the other sticks it lied next to in the snow.
The horrible beast took a step toward the frightened young hunter with his humungous foot. He reached out with his terrible meat hooks and grabbed Luke by his jacket. The coat was big so the Bigfoot had an easy time gathering the boy in his clutches. He pulled Luke in closer as he lifted him up in the air. The monster’s ugly awful face was now just inches from Luke’s. Luke could smell the stank breath of the Yeti, he could even see the rotting flesh caught in the huge teeth of whatever it was the creature had just killed and ate. Luke knew this living myth was just going to rip his arms out of their sockets and there was no avoiding it…or was there?
Luke remembered what the police who came to his school taught the kids. His mother also told him the same thing. There was but one way to dispatch a full grown man, no matter what his size. One special area, that if struck, would render a man incapacitated, allowing for an escape. It was Luke’s only chance. He looked down to the V where the bulky thighs met, this was his target. Luke pulled back his leg, this was easy because he was dangling in mid air like a butchered side of beef. The boy imagined a red rubber voit ball bouncing towards him in the most important game of kick ball of his short life. Luke was going for the home run. The desperate child wound up and kicked, he used all his might, all his strength, all his power, Luke put every bit of him into that kick and it was a direct hit. The enormous creature’s hideous face went from pure rage to a blank look, then tears swelled up in his red eyes, which now had lost their tiny flicker of wrath. A revengeful evil little grin started to spread across Luke’s face. Then the immense brows of Bigfoot furrowed, they came together so tight that they could have snapped a stick in half. His eye’s squinted and they glowed a furious red rage again. Sasquatch’s nostrils flared and Luke could hear the air being sucked in. His ivory teeth grinded together so rigid that Luke actually thought they may break. Bigfoot’s grip tightened and a low rumble, like a distant thunder clap, began to grow deep within his body. The sound came rushing up the throat like a geyser. His jaw dropped to 180 degrees and he let out the world’s most dreadful scream ever uttered by any living being since the dawn of time. Luke’s face was covered in spit and his hair was blown back, both of Luke’s ear drums exploded and shot blood out like a fountain. The yell actually broke sticks behind Luke’s head and it could be heard for 3.4 miles in every direction. Rocks split, a nearby squirrel lost his nuts, a bird flew into a tree, a chipmunk fell over dead and Luke, all empty of urine now emptied his bowels.
Luke had thought about death before, most people have. Would it be a car wreck of twisted metal and shattered glass to end Luke’s life? Maybe a rare heart condition would bring Luke to an end. Perhaps a common disease like aids or cancer would finally kill him off. Even in Luke’s wildest dreams and to the depths of his imagination he never, ever, EVER thought his demise would come by a Bigfoot tearing him apart, limb from bloody limb. At this point, in one smooth motion the crypto maniac let go of Luke and regained the clench at Luke’s wrists. Dangling like a rag doll, the abominable snow man began to spin Luke around in giant circles like an Olympic Hammer Thrower. Trees, leaves, sticks, branches, logs, the sky and the ground blurred into one uniform color as Luke spun, with each turn the ape-man gained speed. Luke screamed like a girl. If Luke wasn’t about to die this ride would have been better than any roller coaster on earth. All of a sudden, with a mighty groan Bigfoot released his grip. Luke flew high into the air, he hit branches and twigs, breaking tree limbs as he flew wildly through the forest sky. The tree’s outstretched branches unmercifully whipped Luke’s face as his arms and legs flailed. Like a cannon ball Luke’s body came crashing down through the boughs and landed with a great thud.
Had this throw come in an open field with no resistance, Luke would have easily been tossed 60 yards and slid another 5 yards before stopping. This throw came amongst trees however and they slowed him down so Luke only went about 40 yards. Now Luke would have never considered any part of this to be lucky, but this landing just happened to be very lucky because Luke didn’t end up on a stump or a rock or a log, no, he landed on a soft part of the forest floor. The hairy man let out a triumphant howl and beat his enormous chest with his sledgehammer-like fists. Luke opened his eyes, he began to feel his body part by part, miraculously he was ok, other than the cuts on his face. He could see Bigfoot regaining his composure and started a determined march with a single purpose right towards him. Bigfoot wasn’t done yet and he was coming over to finish the job. With as much gracefulness as a drunkard, Luke tried to get to his hands and knees. The world was still spinning. The last time Luke remembered being this dizzy was when his older sister tied him to a merry-go-round at the park and left him for several hours. In spite of this he had to get to his feet so he could run. The Sasquatch sensed this too and like a great locomotive he charged the boy, great puffs of steam poured out of the beast’s nose. Luke got to his hands and knees but didn’t have the strength to stand, let alone run for his life. The hatred filled Sasquatch was moving now like a tremendous machine. The youth looked over to see the wild man of the woods leave his big feet with a flying leap that would have made any professional athlete jealous. As he flew through the air towards Luke it was as if time slowed down. Luke saw the big foot extended as the creature began his decent. Closer it came with much force and power and all Luke could do was think to himself, “I probably shouldn’t have kicked him in the crotch like that.”

Friday, October 9, 2009

Blast from the Past: THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD





Back when i was 4 years old i watched a cartoon on Nickelodeon. This was and has been one of my all time favorite shows. It was a Japanese/French cartoon that was dubbed in English for American tv. There were only 39 episodes but each one continued the story from the episode before. The music was also outstanding, which i feel had a lot to do with the shows popularity.

The basic plot of the show was that a young boy travels to the new world in the 16th century with two friends in search of El Dorado, the city of gold. There are many people trying to find the city also and the kids have to deal with trouble the entire time. It was a great mix of scifi, history, and anime, very unique even by today's standards. Ill review what i remember and what i loved about this show and take you through each character.

Estaban is the main characters. He was saved from a sinking ship by Mendoza, a sailor who meets up with him much later in life. In the first episode Estaban's care taker, a priest, dies, leaving Estaban alone in the world. Its at this point where Mendoza shows up and says he will take him to the Americas in search of his real father. Estaban is very brave but is deathly afraid of heights due to the fact that unlike anybody else ever in Spain, he can make the sun come out. Sailors would tie him to their masts and hoist him up to bring out the sun for a good voyage. Estaban doesn't believe he can make the sun come out but as time goes by he realizes that he indeed can, this comes in handy many times. (you'll learn why) On the ship he meets a young girl who is a prisoner named, Zia.

Zia is an incan girl who was kidnapped by Mendoza and the Spaniards. They find that they both wear matching madallions, only Estaban's is in a cresent moon shape and Zia's is a full circle. Turns out Mendoza has the inner part of the madallion and has kept it since he saved Estaban as a baby. Mendoza knows that these two madallions are supposed keys for the cities of gold. He also believes that Zia knows the way to the cities, although she doesn't. Zia is known as a child of the sun, Estaban being the only other one.

Mendoza is the bad guy/ good guy. What is he? Its hard to say, everything he does is for greed and for gold, yet he does care for the children and it becomes apparent as the show goes on. Yet we never really know his true feelings. He is a Spanish navigator, trained by Magellian himself. He is trying to get to the cities of gold for pure greed, he tricks Estaban and Zia by telling them what they want to hear, that he will take Zia home and he will find Estaban's father. He is very brave and never afraid to fight. He helps the children through out the series and often is seperated from them.

Tao is the third child of the show. He kidnaps Zia from the beach because he believes she is part of his destiny, as the prophecy says anyhow. He is the last of an anciet civilization of Heva, the people who built the cities of gold and were very advanced as far as technology goes. Tao has a great ship called the Solaris. It is soloar powered and is faster than any Spanish ship that chases it. It can also shoot a heat lazer from the mast when it gathers the sun's energy. Tao is very proud and sometimes smug when it comes to his smarts. Tao goes with Estaban and Zia because he believes that he should be in the city that his ancestors built. Tao carries with him an encyclapedia of his people that has the answers to almost everything the kids need help with. Tao has a parrot named Kokapetl.

Kokapetl is a little green parrot that loves Tao and always repeats words. He alerts the kids of danger by flying ahead and keeping a look out. He is also afraid of Patu, Zia's pet condor that flys by from time to time when they get to South America. I've always wanted a little talking bird like Kokapetl since i saw the show.

Sancho and Pedro are Mendoza's hired sailors. Both are for comic relief and i really liked them as a kid. Pedro is tall and looks like a monkey. Sancho is a fat little guy who stutters. Both are very greedy and will do anything for gold, or the thought of gold. As the show goes on they do get a little more brave and do care for the children as well but their quest for gold never ends. I learned from these two that there is water in cactuses and if youre in the desert you can cut one open and drink from it. Very good lession for a 4 year old to learn!

Golden Condor is a flying machine built by Tao's people. It is found in a temple and amazingly it is solid gold. Sancho and Pedro find that it is some type of vehicle when they are in the cockpit trying to steal jewels. Turns out Zia's and Estaban's gold madallions work as the key. This was a major part of the show, the golden condor really represented the show. I always thought it was cool how the stick in it was a snake. (that scared Sancho and Pedro when they first saw it) With the flying condor they are able to get to many places. The condor cant fly at night however and needs the sun to operate. This is why Estaban's ability to bring out the sun is very important. Estaban also loses his fear of heights after flying in the golden condor.

The Spaniards follow close behind always trying to catch Zia and Estaban in hopes they will lead them to the cities of gold. They do catch them many times but there are many escapes. They are constantly trying though and never give up. They arent the only bad guys on the show, there are many indian tribes and people along the way who add to the adventures of the children.

I loved this show but it hasnt been on tv since about 1990, maybe even 89. For years it was lost and when the internet became very popular i decided to search for this show, not knowing much about it at the time. I thought the show was called the Seven Cities of Gold and back then search engines weren't as good as they are today so i never found anything. Then on September 11th i found a site all about the show. I was so excited and surprised to learn that the name was the Mysterious Cities of Gold. At that point a man who worked at the Penn State computer lab came in and told us terrorists had hijacked planes and crashed them into the world trade towers. I sat there and continued to look at the website i found instead, thats how much i loved this show.

I won't tell you how it ends but even when i forgot just about everything i never forgot the last episode. At the end of each episode it gives a preview of what will happen in the next episode and then it gives live footage of something that the show delt with. It shows Incan temples, Mayan Temples, anciet cities, places and people of south america, and much more. It was a very educational show and there is nothing like it on tv today, which is a shame. I loved this show and still do, if i could find it on DVD i would buy it without thinking but thats just my two cents.

For a ton more info, visit Sailor Heva's Mysterious Cities of Gold page. This site is GREAT and has many pictures, audio clips and music from the show!

Friday, October 2, 2009

THE AUTUMN WIND

The autumn wind is a pirate.
Blustering in from sea,
with a rollicking song he sweeps a long,
swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
with a silver hat about his head,
and a bristling black mustache.
He growls as he storms the country,
a villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake as he robs them of their gold.
The autumn wind is a raider, pillaging just for fun,
he'll knock you round and upside down,
and laugh when hes conquered and won.