I expounded on this a few years ago with a post entitled Bette Midler Bids Johnny Carson Adieu, focusing on Johnny's farewell show.

David Letterman reached that 30-year pinnacle this year (granted, on different networks), and, to my way of thinking, he is Carson's TRUE heir to the late night throne.  The less said about Jay Leno, the better.

PBS.org recently posted a documentary on their American Masters page, entitled American Masters – Johnny Carson: King of Late Night.  I just finished watching the 2-hour program, and it was so good, and nostalgic, and entertaining, I decided to plug it here.  (I tried embedding it, but something went awry.)

The copy from the PBS page reads as follows: Quite possibly the biggest star that television has ever produced, Carson commanded, at his peak, a nightly audience of 15 million viewers – double the current audience of Leno and Letterman – combined. Rarely giving interviews, Carson chose to remain a very private man whose public persona made him an American superstar. He once revealed, “I can get in front of an audience and be in control. I suppose it’s manipulation. Offstage, I’m aloof because I’m not very comfortable.” American Masters Johnny Carson: King of Late Night explores this dichotomy and enigma, unearthing clues about Carson’s childhood, early days in the business, and personal and professional life.

Interested?  Of course, you are.  So, without further ado: Heeeeere's Johnny!

The plot does assume that you’ve seen all of the previous films but, even if you haven’t, shouldn’t be that hard to decipher.  Loki, Thor’s adopted brother, comes to Earth via the Tesseract – that glowing cube used by Johann Schmidt/ Red Skull in Captain America – and immediately starts either killing those he meets, or enslaving them with his glowing staff.  Loki (Tom Hiddleston – who for some reason is MUCH better, and more threatening here than he was in Thor) wants to subjugate Earth and rule over its inhabitants as King.  An alien being known as The Other, has charged Loki with bringing him the Tesseract, and in return, promises him an army of Chitauri (basically reptilian badasses) to assist him in conquering Earth.

What is one to do? Especially if one is Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)?  Answer: assemble the Avengers.

That this team does come together to fight this global threat is a given.  That they spend the first two thirds of this film fighting each other is unexpected, a pleasure, and seriously ups the ante of the original threat.  Can these notorious loners ever put aside their egos long enough to form an alliance?  Well, Iron Man and Thor have egos …

Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is still a corn-fed boy scout, a man very much out of time (he doesn’t get a lot of the modern-day references thrown at him, but it’s funny when he DOES), and someone who still very much acts like the patriotic, nerdy-but-buff World War II badass that he is.  That he eventually takes charge of this team (and that the others LET him do this) is a pleasure to watch.  (Also, if you ever wondered what would happen if Thor’s Hammer met Captain America’s shield … wonder no more.)

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is still as narcissistic as you want him to be, and his quips about the others are some of the funniest in this film.  I don’t want to spoil any of them, but I can’t resist quoting at least a couple.  For instance, he refers to Thor as both “Point Break” and “Shakespeare in the Park,” and at one point asks him, “Dost thou mother know you weareth her drapes? ”  Now THAT’s funny!  RDJ knows this role quite well by now (he is much better here than he was in IM2, thanks to Whedon’s script), and seems to have been anticipating this film as much as the rest of us.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) doesn’t show up for the first 40 minutes or so, but when he does, when this film finally starts letting these disparate characters bounce off each other (and BOUNCE they do), this film kicks into gears you didn’t even know it had.  When this hammer-swinging, lightning-charged, Asgardian God of Thunder (who does look like he should rideth a surf board) first shows up, ready to kicketh his brother’s ass, his struggle is made that much more powerful by the fact that we know he still loves his brother.  And speaking of Loki …

Tom Hiddleston (if I didn’t say this before) is a much bigger threat than he was in last year’s first Thor film.  He seemed kind of wimpy in that movie to me, but here, with a new glint in his eye, an evil smile (to rival Jack Torrance, the Joker, Hannibal Lecter, and Alex from A Clockwork Orange), and a longish flip-style haircut, he literally oozes charismatic menace.  Especially when he is holding hundreds of people hostage, and threating to kill them if they do not “kneel before him.”  Whether or not Whedon meant to remind us of General Zod in Superman II (it reminded me of this), the line fits Loki, and he seethes it with perhaps even better venom than Terence Stamp did over 30 years ago.

Jeremy Renner is fine as master archer Hawkeye (though he is under Loki’s control for a good chuck of this film), and Scarlett Johansson is equally good as Black Widow (in fact she is MUCH better here than she was in IM2).  Originally I wondered why these two were included in this incarnation of The Avengers (weren’t four enough), but after viewing the film, I actually couldn’t imagine this story without them.

The Cabin in the Woods starts in verrrry familiar territory, as five attractive young people pile into a camper and head into the wild to spend the weekend at the titular location. These five are archetypical: Curt the jock (Chris Hemsworth), Jules the slut (Kristen Connolly), Holden, the sensitive smart guy (Jesse Williams), Marty the stoner (Fran Kranz), and Dana the virgin (Anna Hutchinson). The disparity of these personalities is part of the joke: birds of a feather generally do flock together, unless of course a film needs a rather motley crew to bounce interestingly off one another as in The Breakfast Club.

We’ve been here many times before, especially in the 1980s – whether in the Friday the 13th films, or Sleepaway Camp, or, most notably, in Sam Raimi’s first two Evil Dead movies. TCITW pays homage to all of those, and then some, but doesn’t beat us over the head with too many obvious pop culture references. There are nods to previous horror films, to be sure, but many are so geek specific that if you DO get one of the obscure allusions, you will probably feel pretty special, or hip, or geeky … you know … like the other two people laughing in the theater because they got that joke, too.  The film plays on our awareness of horror film tropes (especially what may lurk in a dark cellar), but does so with style and intelligence, without letting the joke spoil the suspense. While the Scream films of the 90s brought a hip awareness to their slasher proceedings, TCITW goes infinitely further in turning its own genre on its head. And boy is that putting it mildly it mildly.

This film goes places I not only did not see coming, but that I have never seen in a film of this type. I spent the first half trying to figure out the mystery of what was going on. Why DO we keep cutting away to those guys in ties (Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins, who damn near steal the movie), who work at a facility that may or may not be doing some high tech surveillance work? This is not a spoiler – the movie opens with this dorky duo. In fact, for the first few minutes, I thought I had walked into the wrong theater.  By the second half, I was watching in slack-jawed awe, saying to myself, Holy shit, are we really going THERE? Only to discover that not only are we going there, we are going well beyond THERE. Where is THERE, you ask? No place you don’t want to go – you just don’t know it yet.  But, the less you know about that … hell, the less you know about the entire movie, the better.

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, it goes to the next logical place that you never thought of. There isn’t a Big Twist Ending pasted on at the end – no Shyamalamadingdong here. From the opening frame to the last, this film’s complex plot is well thought out and slowly revealed. And how often does THAT happen in a horror film? Or IS it a horror film? Or a deconstruction of a horror film? Or is it science fiction? Or … I’ve said too much already.

Joss Whedon (co-writer and producer) and Drew Goddard (co-writer and director) have both come a long way from their days on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And with this one film, announce to the world that they are forces with which to be reckoned. To date, this is the only film Goddard has directed, and even this has sat on a shelf since 2009, after MGM filed for bankruptcy. That may have been providential as … none of the five visitors who go to the TCITW was a known name in 2009. Cut to three years later and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is on top of the world – especially with the imminent release of The Avengers. His name may draw some viewers who wouldn’t ordinarily go to a horror film, but strong word of mouth will (hopefully) do the rest. Needless to say, 2012 is going to be a banner year for both Hemsworth and Whedon, who wrote and directed The Avengers. (Banner year for the Hulk, too, HA!)

Oddly enough, if there is a breakout performance in this film, it is not Hemsworth (though he is fine). It is Fran Kranz as Marty. Normally the “stoner” archetype in movies like this is played strictly for laughs or is portrayed as an annoying buffoon. Not so here. Marty does provide comic relief (his travel coffee mug is classic), but he may also be the wisest of all the visitors to this cabin. The Stoner Sage – haven’t had one of those on our screens since Jeff Bridges donned a robe, flip flops, and a White Russian. Also, if anyone ever decides to make a biopic of Dennis Hopper, Fran is your man. (For more on this talented newcomer, check my profile of him on Examiner.com.)

If TCITW does well at the box office, of course the producers will want a sequel. Or (shudder) a prequel. But I don’t think this is franchise material. I can’t say so without giving anything away, but I would be happy if this was simply the brilliant stand alone feature that it is, towering over its milked-to-death predecessors.

Three things regarding the trailer for TCITW: One – nothing in the trailer made me want to see this film. I went because the buzz on it has been out of the stratosphere. Two – the trailer at once tells too much, and not enough. The same damn trouble I am having trying to write an enticing, yet spoiler-free review. Three – don’t watch the trailer. I know some of you won’t be able to resist (that’s why I am not posting it here), but trust me, if you can possibly see this movie without ANY foreknowledge save what I’ve written here, DO SO.

Yes, it is only April, but The Cabin in the Woods is fresh, funny, original, intelligent, and the best time I’ve had at the movies so far in 2012. For the rest of this year’s films, regardless of genre, the bar has been set high.

MOVIE GRADE: A-

But judging from this image (finally with ears!), released today by Warner Bros., it looks like Anne is going to have more than just Dark Knights rising.  I've wondered how Catwoman would figure into the ultra-serious Nolanverse of Batman, and this just seems like a perfect fit … in more ways than one.

Love the boots.  Meow.

My suggestion: The Shining.

After all, this is a classic story of isolation set in an iconic Bad Place (the claustrophobic setting could be easily replicated on the stage), has over the top themes like malevolent ghosts and a murderous father (the better to go all operatic on your ass), and deals with dysfunctional familial relationships (always good musical fodder).

I could see it going something like this:

SHINING! – a musical in 3 acts
based on the novel by Stephen King
written and directed by Andy Williamson (HA!)

JACK (singing soft and sincere to his son)
"I would never hurt you, Danny – nor slap, nor hit, nor sever.
We'll be safe right here in The Overlook – forever and ever and ever!"

I can imagine many song titles and production numbers, like:

Ode to Mr. Ullman (Officious Little Prick)
You Gotta Watch Her, She Creeps (The Boiler Song)
Stay Away, Danny (Tony's Lament)
Closing Day
What's Up, Doc?
It's a Long Way to Topiary
Come and Play with Us, Danny
Snow! Snow! Snow!
All Work and No Play (Makes Jack a Dull Boy)
White Man's Burden (aka Drinks on the House)
Gimme the Bat, Wendy (The Bash Your Brains In Song)
Let Me Out! (The Pantry Song)
Bring us Your Son
Take your Medicine (you damned little pup)!
Redrum, Redrum
Oh, Danny Boy! (pictured above)

I am only half kidding. (Or am I?) Like I stated above, given the over the top, operatic themes of this story, this might could actually work. What say you? Good idea? Or do I have bats in my belfry?

Are there any other King stories which would lend themselves to the musical stage?  I'm thinking Misery is a no brainer … if only to hear Annie Wilkes belt out songs like Number One Fan, You Dirty Bird!, Hog Heaven, They Cheated Us (The Cockadoodie Car Song), and I Wanna Be Your Sledgehammer!

Thoughts? Leave a comment below.

For much more on The Shining, and ALL of its incarnations, read my article King, Kubrick, and The Shining.  For further thoughts on this subject (including a similar musical treatment of King's The Stand,) visit this expanded article on my Examiner Pop Culture News page.

Carrie tells the story of a shy and picked on teenage loner, Carrie White, and her mother, Margaret, a religious fanatic whose insanity is matched only by her zeal.  As adolescence brings changes to her body, Carrie also realizes that something is changing in her mind: she has the power of telekinesis.  A cruel prank at the prom brings tragic results.

Say what you will about whether or not Carrie needs to be remade, this casting sounds perfect.  This will be the third film version of Stephen King’s first novel.  Brian De Palma’s classic 1976 movie earned Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie Oscar nods for their roles as Carrie and Margaret White.  A not uninteresting version was made for television in 2002 with Angela Bettis as Carrie, and Patricia Clarkson her mom (Bettis was terrific, Clarkson unwisely underplayed her role).  Both Spacek and Bettis were in their late 20s when they played teenage Carrie White and, if this remake moves forward, this will be the first time that an age appropriate actress will tackle the part.  Kimberly Peirce (Boy’s Don’t Cry) will direct.

Within hours of her officially being cast, Chloe tweeted the following:

“Never been so happy in my life! Thank you Kim Peirce and thank u MGM for the chance of a lifetime i will never forget!”

Some have opined that, given Chloe’s age, the opening “shower scene” (wherein Carrie learns that her first period is not Home Economics) will have to be cut.  I disagree.  After all, though De Palma’s take on the scene was filled with steamy, slo-mo nudity, the TV version was able to dramatize the same incident without showing anything.  The same will surely be done here as that “incident” sets the entire story in motion.

Others have commented that Chloe is too pretty to play homely Carrie White.  To this I also disagree.  Chloe’s unique features (dare I say she got that pretty tomboy thing down pat) are perfect for Carrie White.  Simply imagine her with stringy/greasy hair, no make-up, and some of the fire we saw in her eyes during Let Me In … I can already see her orchestrating a symphony of hellfire from that prom stage.

Being considered for the part of Margaret White are Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore.  Both sound great, though Foster earns points in that both she and Chloe were cast in their teen years by Martin Scorcese: Jodie in Taxi Driver, Chloe in Hugo.

PIPER LAURIE AND SISSY SPACEK AS MARGARET AND CARRIE

Between this new version of Carrie, Ron Howard’s Dark Tower project (which recently found new life at Warner Bros.), Ben Affleck’s take on The Stand (please let it be a trilogy), Warner Bros. IT remake (no updates in a while), the anthology film The Reaper’s Image (featuring the King tales The Reaper’s Image, Mile 81, N., and The Monkey), and Jonathan Demme’s version of 11/22/63, our cinemas will soon be having a full-on King renaissance.  We haven’t had one of those in our theaters since the 1980s, when seemingly every month brought a new King film.

Go Uncle Stevie!  And congratulations, Chloe – you deserve it!

What say you?  Is Chloe a good choice for Carrie?  Is this remake a good idea?
Sound off below.

At a recent Savannah Book Festival, Uncle Stevie read the entire first chapter of the now completed book – and – someone got it on video.  For King fans and Shining aficionados, this is like literary crack.  After listening to this, one wants to strap him down in a chair and make him read the entire thing!  LOL

In 1977, after two successful seasons of The Bionic Woman, the execs at ABC decided that the show’s legs, bionic though they were, had grown a bit wobbly, and dropped the series from its schedule – this despite the fact that it was still in the top fifteen of the Nielson ratings.  In an unheard of move, NBC stepped up and offered to pick up The Bionic Woman for a third season.

And thus marked the first time that a series and its spinoff were on two different networks, with supporting characters like Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) and Dr. Rudy Wells (Martin E. Brooks) bouncing back and forth between shows.  While this was handled easily, it was rather irksome that the character of Steve Austin was only mentioned once in the first episode, and thereafter never mentioned again.  To avoid further complications, the producers tried to give Jaime different love interests throughout this final season, as if Steve Austin had never existed.  As a boy watching during this period (nursing a serious crush on Lindsay Wagner), I found this disturbing.  Yes, I knew about the network conflicts, but saw no reason why that should dictate story.  Also, the number of potential boyfriends that Jaime kisses on and cuddles up to here seems out of character.  This problem was, to a great extent, “solved” with the introduction of Christopher Stone as Chris Williams, but still … to expect audiences to warm to idea of a Steveless Jaime simply because of network issues was a burden the show could not shake.  SMDM suffered too – both shows were canceled in the spring of 1978.

Series creator and producer Kenneth Johnson was absent for this final season as he already had his hands full producing The Incredible Hulk.  While his underlings did the best job they could, Johnson’s absence is palpable.  Other season 3 changes include: Jaime is never seen teaching school anymore, and Steve’s parents, who own the ranch where Jaime lives in that awesome carriage house, are never seen or mentioned.  While these don’t seem like major changes, the tone of the series was quite different.

Season 3 of The Bionic Woman starts off a bit silly with a two-part episode called The Bionic Dog.  As always, the charisma of series star Lindsay Wagner makes all the difference.  Maximillian, the aforementioned German Shepherd with the bionic legs and jaw, was supposed to get a series of his own but, after an episode entitled Max,  in which Lindsay Wagner barely appeared at all, smarter minds prevailed.  (I must admit, I laughed pretty hard during the opening minutes of The Bionic Dog Part 2, when, after recapping the events of Part 1, Richard Anderson says, “And now the conclusion of The Bionic Dog on The Bionic Woman.”  Oh, what Beavis and Butthead would have had to say about THAT … uh, huh huh huh.)

While this was not a terrible way to open the third season, things did pick up a bit with another two-parter: Fembots in Las Vegas.  The title says it all.

Other notable episodes from this season include –

Motorcycle Boogie, in which Jaime enlists the aid of Evel Knievel (playing himself – see the photo below) to get her out of West Germany … though she refuses to believe that he is who he claims to be.

The Pyramid – Jaime and Chris are trapped in an underground pyramid with an alien sentinel.  (Given the alien/ Mayan overtones, there is a bit of a Crystal Skull vibe here … 30 years before that Indiana Jones sequel.)

Sanctuary Earth, where 14-year-old Helen Hunt plays visiting alien Princess Zorla, who is being pursued by intergalactic assassins who look uncannily like the Hagar twins from Hee Haw.

Given that this season was made in late 1977 and early 1978, the influence of Star Wars can certainly be felt – especially with those last two aforementioned episodes.

This five disc set breaks down like this (episode descriptions are jacket copy):

DISC 1

The Bionic Dog
When Jaime learns of another bionic prototype – a German Shepherd named Max – who''s suffering from many of the same setbacks she and Steve Austin experienced, she makes it her mission to rehabilitate the animal.

The Bionic Dog Part II
Jaime and Max take refuge with a former flame of hers, forest ranger Roger Grette, but it''s Max who puts his life on the line to save the woods from an overwhelming threat.

Fembots in Las Vegas
While Jaime and Oscar try to negotiate with a reclusive and terminally ill scientist over the fate of an energy ray weapon, the son of the Fembot''s creator, Carl Franklin, remotely activates the killer female robots.

Fembots in Las Vegas Part II
After launching the weapon into Earth''s orbit, Franklin demands that Washington turn over Jaime, Oscar and Dr. Rudy Wells to him as ransom for not destroying the planet.

DISC 2

Rodeo
Jaime''s mission to protect OSI computer expert Billy Cole from a deadly foreign power is complicated by the daredevil''s overwhelming passion to become a rodeo champion.

African Connection
Jaime''s mission in Africa to stop a potentially rigged election takes an unusual twist when she hires Harry Walker and his WWII tank to help her traverse through treacherous jungle terrain.

Motorcycle Boogie
While on the trail of a stolen computer tape in West Germany, Jaime relies on the assistance of Evel Knievel to get her across the border … even though she steadfastly refuses to believe he is whom he claims.

Brain Wash
Someone''s playing dirty at OSI when Jaime overhears industry secrets spilled, but Oscar refuses to believe it has anything to do with his trusted secretary, Peggy.

DISC 3

Escape to Love
Romance complicates rescue when Jaime is assigned to help Dr. Arlo Kelso and his son, Sandor get across the Iron Curtain, and Sandor begins to develop feelings for his gorgeous rescuer.

Max
Everything quickly goes to the dogs when a bionic check-up incapacitates Jaime and Max is kidnapped by opportunistic foreign agents.

Over the Hill Spy
Jaime and retired OSI agent Terrence Quinn reluctantly team up to catch Oscar''s long-time Soviet nemesis, Vilmos Vanovic, in a heart-racing international game of cat- and-mouse.

All for One
It''s back to school for Jaime when she enrolls as a college student to find out who has been stealing thousands of dollars by connecting the campus computer into the OSI system.

DISC 4

The Pyramid
Jaime finds herself trapped in an underground pyramid with an alien sentinel who claims that a ship from his world is headed to Earth … and that the consequences will not be good for mankind.

The Antidote
Man''s best friend becomes especially important to Jaime when she and a Russian diplomat are poisoned and Max must find the doctor who can provide the antidote and save her life.

The Martians Are Coming, The Martians Are Coming
When Oscar sees what appears to be a U.F.O. abduct a scientist who is working on a top-secret project, Jaime sets out to find the man and has her own encounter with the spacecraft.

Sanctuary Earth
Jaime is first on the scene when a satellite crashes into a lake, and she meets a girl who claims to be a princess from the planet Zorla and says that she is being pursued by trackers from another planet.

Deadly Music
A doctor isolates a sound frequency that makes sharks attack anything he wants, and Jaime becomes the first human test subject when she joins a diving team that is deploying a submarine detection system.

DISC 5

Which One is Jaime?
Oscar learns that Jaime is under some kind of investigation and takes her to OSI headquarters for protection, but then the culprits mistake Callahan, who is dog- sitting Max, for Jaime and kidnap her.

Out of Body
During a break-in at the OSI labs, a Native American is electrocuted and falls into a coma, but his spirit remains intact and desperately tries to save Jaime from being destroyed by the most deadly bomb ever created.

Long Live the King
Posing as the social secretary for a Middle Eastern king who is visiting New York, Jaime works to stop an assassination plot … but soon finds herself in the cross hairs.

Rancho Outcast
On a mission to find stolen currency plates, Jaime assumes the identity of a crook known as Blondie Malone and heads to Central America with a convicted criminal who is working with OSI in the hopes of getting paroled.

On the Run
Terrified of becoming more machine than human, Jaime retires from OSI, but Oscar''s superiors move to put her in a special compound because they believe her bionics are government property and that she knows too much confidential information.

(One item of interest: All for One, The Pyramid, and Rancho Outcast all feature actor and stuntman Henry Kingi, whom Lindsay Wagner would be married to from 1981 to 1984.)

The Bonus Features here are okay, but nothing to cheer about.  Other than some audio commentaries on select episodes by various writers and directors (one of whom is Steven E. de Souza, who would go onto cowrite the scripts for 48 Hrs. and Die Hard 1& 2), there is a photo gallery, a podcast, and a Q&A with Lindsay Wagner, which, while interesting, plays like leftovers from the previous two featurettes on the Season 1 and Season 2 box sets.  Oh, well … considering how long we have waited for these shows (35 years!), this is still a wonderful package.

While I would love to review the three bionic reunion movies that were made in the late 80s and early 90s, those are not available in this Season 3 set.  They ARE available in that 40-disc SMDM box, which I promise I will get to as soon as the price drops.  Season One of SMDM was released individually last year at around $30 but, as I believe there are hours of bonus content available in that big set that may not be released on the stand alones, I think I will hold off.

For all its story problems, network troubles, and 1970s cheese, this third season of The Bionic Woman (Amazon $29.99) shines for the exact same reason that the first two did: it stars Lindsay Wagner.  While she is still quite lovely, this series captured her in her late 20s, in all of her tall, leggy, beautifully tomboyish glory.  For some reason, that long, straight, dark blonde hair, parted in the middle and worn loose, just killed me when I was a boy.  Rewatching these episodes decades later … the effect hasn’t changed.  No amount of CGI or digital trickery can match what lovely Lindsay did during the three years she got to play Jaime Sommers and the world fell in love with her.

But if you are a fan of this show, you already knew that.

SEASON 3 GRADE: B
BONUS CONTENT: B-

I have written an indepth biography of Lindsay Wagner – check it out on my Examiner Celebrity Profile column.

After having major abdominal surgery, I spent two weeks (two weeks!) in the hospital, and was then sent home with an open wound that needed to be cleaned and dressed twice daily.  To say this was traumatic is a gross understatement.  I do not want to go into gory detail, save to say that I have never seen anything like the horror show that was my abdomen.  I was told this incision (incision? Ha!  It looked like the Grand Freaking Canyon to me!), would heal in 4 - 6 weeks.  Three months was more like it.  While that wound has closed up and is much smaller than it was, I’ve still got a pretty damn big scar on my stomach, that is like a (sometimes painful) seam on the moderate paunch I’ve got down there.

For a good little while, I could barely get around, and could not eat very much at all.  During those two weeks in the hospital, I dropped 20 pounds – about half of which I have put back on.  I also could not even sit at my desk, much less write.  Well, now that I am mobile again, and getting back into the swing of things, I am here to simply fill you in on my progress.

I was just starting to get serious about promotion on the book last year when this happened.  I had done a couple of big shows and was scheduled to do a couple more when I was struck down.  By springtime I intend to be back on the promotion trail.  By that time it is also my intention to have the Kindle version of BROODING for sale online.  I know I’ve been promising that for awhile, and I want to thank those of you who have been waiting patiently for it.

Other than that, I have been questioning a lot of things recently.  This event was what many call “a life changer.”  And yet … I haven’t really changed that many of my old habits.  In fact, this event was SO traumatic and overwhelming, that at times, I have relied even more so on some of those old … crutches.  I wasn’t ready for it.  Is anyone ever ready for something like this?  I was told by the doctors after arriving at the hospital that if I had waited much longer to call 911, I might not have made it at all.  What does one DO with information like that?  By all means, I SHOULD be embracing life even more, and thanking God for sparing me, and yet … instead of doing that … I think I’ve been PISSED!

At what? you ask.  That’s a good question.  One for which I don’t even have an answer.  While this big scar on my stomach is healing, it sometimes angers me.  Then I remember that if I DIDN’T have that scar, I would be DEAD.  This thought does nothing to ease my confusion about the whole matter.  Sometimes I wish that my number HAD been up.  After all …

Life is pain – when you die, the pain is over.

How’s that for a mantra?  How’s that for a warm and fuzzy thought?  While even I could argue both sides of that statement – with both worldly and biblical wisdom – I can say that for the majority of my life, the first part of that statement has been true.  Life IS pain.  Writing that novel of mine has been my attempt to make sense of that pain.  Love and hate, trust and fear, sin and redemption, heartache and self-medication … these are themes upon which I am continually meditating, and which make surprisingly good fodder for my fiction.  Good thing I’ve got Book II to work on, for I’ve surely got a helluva lot more where that came from.

I think I’m rambling here.

Anyway, in fine, I am doing much better, I will be hitting the promotion trail on the book again soon, and will hopefully see some of you while doing so.

Take care, have fun, and … don’t take any shit from anybody!