Wartooth Writer

Posts

New Book Launch Alert (+bonus)

Hello everyone. You may not have expected me back so soon. Yet here I am with another post for this decade. A lot has happened since the last post here, there is so much, that I’ll have to skip explaining and sum up. Salem’s Sequel, Harvester of Tomorrow, is in its final revision, I’ve been bogged down in various projects besides. Research for Tripwire (sci-fi/aliens + prison thriller), The Assassin’s Box , a fantasy epic for Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts, its companion pieces (the Sunkissed Thieves, Fall of the Day Star, and more), and what might be my most important work since Salem’s and continuing along that path Daddy’s Invisible Ouchy . Yes, it sounds like a kid’s book, and it is. Really? How do I tie Salem’s Son to a kid's book? Well, for one thing, I’m using a Nom de Plume , so no juvenile readers or parents accidentally link my Rated R (or worse) fantasy and horror works to DIO. God forbid they find this place. Salem’s Son sets out to give a modern look at PTSD,...

Odd recent news...

As a social scientist, an expert in strategic global human affairs with decades of experience accurately predicting things like the Iraq War, its outcome, etc. and working to stop a widening GWOT that may have repeated the Iraq debacle in Syria, I feel compelled to talk about today's news. Easy piece, China warning our birds out of their space. Who cares? We would do and have done, the same. Behind the headlines, there is massive over reaction to our "quadrupling" of our forces in Taiwan. We have 30 guys there (on paper) x4 that's 120 guys. Barely an infantry company. Nobody actual thinks that matters. Our real numbers in Taipei? Meh. What about Ukraine? Were spending (laundering) more than 46 billion per year, more than we did in Afghanistan annually. I wonder about how much comes back to our political class ILLEGALLY sending these funds I to a war zone? Yes. Illegal. Believe it or not, it's illegal, under the constitution, reinforced by recent statues, to supp...

Happy White People New Year

As many of you know, I celebrate Chinese New Year, not this one. Still, it's important enough to comment on. I'm wondering about your resolutions and how successful those have been. For me, this year, I'm doing the dry January thing and giving up smoking again. I restarted smoking when a friend, Justin, got me back into it after I survived a near-deadly hornet sting in June. Yes, I was almost killed by a bee sting. Didn't know I was allergic. EMTs took 45 minutes to get to me, took 2 epipens to save me. Docs at the ER said I was 5 minutes from death. Since then, I've had a ton of medical issues. A week after the sting my primary care follow-up sent me back to the er for more testing and monitoring, it was that bad. Dr. Manning (UPMC) said an allergic reaction like that can kick-start latent medical issues. He thinks I have MS. He's seen it before with my symptom cluster. Thankfully a few of my symptoms have lessened in severity, even as others have be...

Reluctant codependency, illusory love, addiction and our future.

It's been a while since I wrote. I've been tied up a bit. There is this war, my kids, lawyers, and a ton of stuff that would bore you to death. Right now, let's talk about my SOCOM pals who have had enough. 8 years ago, it was 5-800 of them in Jordan, and 2-300 in Iran, mostly on the Kurdish/Iraq border. They all knew what they were getting into. That's what they'd all say about me if our positions were reversed. Sole Survivor in some encounters. Their wives and families might feel different but it's of no consequence. How many grieving widows did you see on the news or MTV during the big popular wars? Not many. Definitely not our widows. Our wars, the small, silent, and angry ones were very personal. There were no fleets of fighter jets or any kind of cover. Most of our missions required preparation for suicide. No US marked anything. No ID, no Hanes socks, no whatever might make you American. But enough of that. How does this link to the title...

In a fast moving world, sweeping up sanity, an anchor for you and some sanity for navigation

A modest proposal for the prevention of mass shootings, protection and expansion of responsible gun owner rights, strengthening local civil defense, and fostering good citizenship. How can we do all of these things at once? 1) A simple licensing scheme, similar to that system used for fishing or hunting licenses, arguably also constitutionally protected rightful activities (fishing & hunting in the pursuit of life). 2) Establishment of an all-volunteer militia at the community/county or other small municipal entity level. Membership is required to obtain a license to keep arms. 3) Simple requirements to ensure those purchasing & keeping guns are responsible, safe, and proficient in their arms, with the ability to (verifiably) keep their weapons secure. The license would have a training period beginning at 18 years of age (though informal training can start earlier). The p...

The Restless Dead of Gettysburg

Hello, everyone! It's almost Halloween, my favorite holiday, so here is an appropriate tale for 'round the campfire. Actually, it's my contribution to the Gettysburg Writers Brigade annual anthology project for charity. The book will feature a number of our authors including some of our stars with multiple titles to their names besides Jim R. The book, to be called 'For the Love of Gettysburg' will also feature works by artists from last year, Jim R and I included. There will also be a handful of others to go along with new voices and some first-time short story writers. I do hope you can find it on amazon after our launch, we can't set up a pre-order but I'll let everyone know when it's available by updating this post with a link. For now, enjoy my contribution (one of two submissions), 'The Restless Dead of Gettysburg'! The Restless Dead of Gettysburg Another Gettysburg battle reunion. I’ve lost count of how many, but I’ve been to most of ...