Casper is a modern man with decidedly modern problems. His chain of pizza shops is preparing the risky task of changing their menu. In addition to their traditional fare, he'll now begin serving grinders and chicken wings. Casper is doing so in an effort to compete with the likes of Dominos and Pizza Hut and it's costing him a lot money to do so. There are long nights experimenting to discover the perfect dressing for certain subs. He has radio advertising to purchase and menus to print. It's stressful. Couple this with his now sexless marriage, two teenage kids and a mortgage that he can barely afford, Casper is being pushed to his limits. As the bills pile up, so does his anxiety and he eventually suffers a nervous breakdown. Dissatisfied with the benzos prescribed to him (they only make him sleepy, and his wife swipes them regularly), Casper turns to internet forums and discovers a promising research chemical that has received rave reviews from those with similar debilitations. This drug makes everything better. He's more confident and focused; his libido is through the roof. Unable to find sexual satisfaction at home, Casper, once again, takes refuge online. He meets a beautiful, young escort and begins an ongoing tryst. In his stupor, he concludes that this is his perfect scenario. That is, until her pimp begins to cause problems. It is then that Casper recalls a talent from his youth. Since he was a child, he has always been able to stop time. Although long dormant, the research chemical he's taking seems to reawaken this ability. A chance meeting with his courtesan's handler, which promptly turns violent, results in Casper putting the world on pause and manipulating his surroundings. People die and now he's on the run. Casper is no longer the owner of a pizza shop chain, he's now an outlaw, evading the authorities with an effortless zeal, his pretty, young, and understandably confused, escort in tow. It is then that Casper gets the call from the Front Office. He's being called into service. They've been waiting for years for him to come around. He's given a handbook and a shortwave radio. His instructions and procedures will be outlined therein. These are simple matters, really. Stop a bus and prevent a child from being crushed beneath its tires, for this child serves a purpose. Push an old man in front of that bus instead, as he does not. Certain souls belong in this timeline - others do not. The shortwave will tell him who to remove. The goal is to assure the Human Ascension. Casper is also told to beware the Ilsead; nasty bitches they are, fighting against the cause and allied with the Third Order of Lucifer. Of course, this is all quite overwhelming for Casper. His trusted assistant manager is running the pizza shops but is quickly becoming overtasked, he's lying to his wife (he's attending a never ending convention of dough manufacturers it seems), he has this hooker to take care of, and now he has to make sure that certain people die. He's also constantly concerned that he will face a terrible withdrawal should he not keep a steady supply of the addictive research chemical on hand. Quickly, Casper becomes quite unliked among all involved. A Despicable Man, indeed. But he now has a purpose. He's dangerous. He's feared and respected. He thinks he might get used to this.
The Luciferian Preemptive, as it had come to be known, was a failure. The Humans were successful in collecting their Earth-bound souls, full of vitriol and hate. These souls, made in the Human image, are the sole possessors of a concept known nowhere else in the known Omniverse: death. With the Humans now in possession of this ultimate weapon against their oppressors, other worlds and soul groups prohibiting their further ascension appear to be at risk of extinction should they oppose the Human will to become the ultimate power in the Omniverse. Meanwhile on Earth in the Third Dimension, the Grand Queen Alicia holds rights to no Queendom. In the lawless, post Ascension world, she struggles for survival among her peers, those who have also managed to opt-out of the promised Human enlightenment. Perhaps surprisingly, the world still functions for the most part but it lacks organization. With no clear leaders and supply chains breaking down, Alicia concludes to use her leadership skills and her access to a world-wide television and radio link-up to rally the remaining citizens of Earth in the spirit of cooperation. Forging a new society based on barter and, eventually, when required, brute force, Alicia's new Luciferian society proves successful. Working in cooperation with the Christians in Alabama and Mississippi, their influence begins to spread throughout the South. In time, the Luciferians and the Grand Queen Alicia will become among the dominant powers in Third Dimensional Earth. Promised by Sariana that a savior would return to lead her people to another, more rightful, Ascension, Alicia and her society await further instructions. Finally, an original Luciferian Warrior Soul arrives but he is not the benefactor Alicia's citizens had hoped for. Disgusted by these "new" souls and their seeming obsession with violence and death, he reluctantly leads them to meet the Second Order of Earth Bound souls. The Second Order of souls are the lone bearers of the "unknowing"; that which might erase death from the young souls inner logos, thus freeing them from their role only as weapons and permit them Ascension as free souls to live as one with the remainder of the Omniverse. However, it is discovered that other, more menacing soul groups are playing a part in this Third Dimensional timeline. The Third Order of Souls comes to discover that there are numerous alliances at play, altering the timeline and preventing countless scenarios that would have led to a Luciferian revolt and thus, resulting the failure of the Luciferian Preemptive. Nevertheless, they have yet to discover the sheer magnitude of these manipulations and how it will further impact their coming role in the Omniverse. For more details visit www.brianrickman.com or find the book on Amazon.
In INVOCATION, the Earth bound Humans are the attack dogs of the universe. Feared throughout galaxies, we are an aggressor species, bred by our makers, specifically for war. Unaware of our destiny, we have been left to develop on Earth since our inception. We are now being called into service. So discovers Alicia Parker, a field reporter for a major news organization, sent to Alabama to cover a remarkable tear in dimensions appearing in the sky above a tiny, rural town. From the tear, a yellow fog is now enveloping the Earth and a voice on the radio is promising all Humans a grand enlightenment. A teenage girl, claiming to be a princess from another dimension, however, tells a different story. Princess Sariana, as she calls herself, relays to Alicia the history of all souls on Earth. It seems that the planet Lucifer, once located between our present Mars and Jupiter, was home to a civilization of ascended souls living peacefully in the third dimension. However, a great civil war erupted on the planet as a sect of Luciferians announced their intentions to ascend ultimately to the realm of God. As this is forbidden by universal law, the offending Luciferians were cast out from the planet to live in exile, in the far reaches of the universe. They returned, however, more powerful than before and now calling themselves "Humans." They destroyed the planet Lucifer, took captive the surviving souls and finally did the unthinkable. The Humans created new, vicious souls in their image and bred them on Earth with the sole purpose of occupying the front lines of a large, inter-dimensional war. Today, the rings of Saturn are all that remain of the planet Lucifer and the Humans are poised for domination of all dimensions. They've come now to collect their disposable soldiers. Sariana maintains that she is Alicia's grand-daughter. She insists that it is Alicia's destiny to lead a revolt of Earth-bound souls and to become the Grand Queen of the Third Order of Lucifer. The ascension must be stopped, and the lost souls of Lucifer must be found in order to halt the Human aggression. While Alicia is quite certain that the girl is more than a bit troubled, something about her seems familiar. Her story seems to explain a lot including the Human preoccupation with war and the apparent isolation of Earth in a densely populated omniverse. Nevertheless, being a Luciferian Queen will surely have a negative impact on her career. While outraged pundits debate vigorously on television and merchandising runs rampant, the gravity of the situation eludes most of mankind. Alicia must decide her role in the coming rapture and, perhaps, the fate of all Earth-bound souls. On the upside, free commemorative glasses are available with the purchase of any value meal at participating fast food merchants.
They are the stuff of nightmarish and cautionary tales told to children. Sirens of the swamps, the Ilsead lure unsuspecting suitors in an effort to climb the ranks of southern society. Then, once entrenched and under the guise of nobility, the Ilsead begin to breed. Their children born skinless, these terrible creatures then rip the flesh from Human babies in order to dress their own. Should you be unfortunate enough to be kissed by the Ilsead, she'll steal your soul and inherit your very spirit, leaving you for dead and getting high from your lifeline. These are the fabled Boo Hags of the southern wilds and, as with most folklore, it leaves such a quite unflattering portrait and, in the end, it's utter b.s. In truth, the Ilsead are an ancient order of souls, not of the Third Dimension. They exist to right wrongs in the present timeline. We learn that there are troublesome souls that have been directed to disrupt the preferred end of the Dark Age and these transgressors must be stopped. The Ilsead fulfill this role. Allied with the Third Order of Lucifer, the Ilsead are immortal creatures that set about their mission many millennia before, at the dawn of the Human population on Earth. They are sadly and, at best, misunderstood. In this volume of ASCENSION, we meet one such sect of Ilsead. The Gullah understood. At least they once did. The GeeChee of the South Carolina isles revered the Ilsead and took them in as equals and protectors. The Ilsead in turn honored their Human counterparts and made them Symposiarchs; sires that would breed new vessels as needed and direct them to the many wants of the masses. Crops were protected, oppressors were frightened away and, eventually, political offices were taken. It was all for the betterment of the timeline. Benny Watt, though, had an agenda. The Ilsead, he'd heard could be crudely utilized as assassins. He had certain enemies that he would prefer removed and so he longed for Edith. He dreamt of her. Perhaps he thought her a pet but he was awfully mistaken. He was predestined to meet her. Unbeknownst to him, Benny is a decedent of a great line of Symposiarchs and Edith was merely calling him home. As he discovers his destiny, he also comes to realize that the Ilsead have become lazy. Preoccupied with the spoils of the Third, their mission has gone terribly awry. Petty jealousies and power struggles within the sects of Ilsead had given way to disruption of the mission. While he doesn't stand a chance to right all of the many errors (the sinking of the Titanic, for example, was inexplicably the Ilsead's doing), Benny must come to terms with his role. He and his offspring must set the timeline right and learn to protect the greater good; the cessation of the Human Ascension. It's an insurmountable task but the comedy of errors that leads Benny and Edith together is told, at first, in tribute to the American Romantic stylings of Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving, the story then takes a decidedly comic and more modern turn as readers are jolted into present day as we learn of the legacy of Benny Watt's Ilsead and their haphazard attempt at completing their mission, all the while attempting to overcome the beauty and distractions of the Third Dimension.
“We are not worth more, they are not worth less.” This is the mantra of S. Brian Willson and the theme that runs throughout his compelling psycho-historical memoir. Willson’s story begins in small-town, rural America, where he grew up as a “Commie-hating, baseball-loving Baptist,” moves through life-changing experiences in Viet Nam, Nicaragua and elsewhere, and culminates with his commitment to a localized, sustainable lifestyle. In telling his story, Willson provides numerous examples of the types of personal, risk-taking, nonviolent actions he and others have taken in attempts to educate and effect political change: tax refusal—which requires simplification of one’s lifestyle; fasting—done publicly in strategic political and/or therapeutic spiritual contexts; and obstruction tactics—strategically placing one’s body in the way of “business as usual.” It was such actions that thrust Brian Willson into the public eye in the mid-’80s, first as a participant in a high-profile, water-only “Veterans Fast for Life” against the Contra war being waged by his government in Nicaragua. Then, on a fateful day in September 1987, the world watched in horror as Willson was run over by a U.S. government munitions train during a nonviolent blocking action in which he expected to be removed from the tracks and arrested. Losing his legs only strengthened Willson’s identity with millions of unnamed victims of U.S. policy around the world. He provides details of his travels to countries in Latin America and the Middle East and bears witness to the harm done to poor people as well as to the environment by the steamroller of U.S. imperialism. These heart-rending accounts are offered side by side with inspirational stories of nonviolent struggle and the survival of resilient communities Willson’s expanding consciousness also uncovers injustices within his own country, including insights gained through his study and service within the U.S. criminal justice system and personal experiences addressing racial injustices. He discusses coming to terms with his identity as a Viet Nam veteran and the subsequent service he provides to others as director of a veterans outreach center in New England. He draws much inspiration from friends he encounters along the way as he finds himself continually drawn to the path leading to a simpler life that seeks to “do no harm.&rdquo Throughout his personal journey Willson struggles with the question, “Why was it so easy for me, a ’good’ man, to follow orders to travel 9,000 miles from home to participate in killing people who clearly were not a threat to me or any of my fellow citizens?” He eventually comes to the realization that the “American Way of Life” is AWOL from humanity, and that the only way to recover our humanity is by changing our consciousness, one individual at a time, while striving for collective cultural changes toward “less and local.” Thus, Willson offers up his personal story as a metaphorical map for anyone who feels the need to be liberated from the American Way of Life—a guidebook for anyone called by conscience to question continued obedience to vertical power structures while longing to reconnect with the human archetypes of cooperation, equity, mutual respect and empathy.
On May 14, 1846, the U.S. Congress declared that the country was at war with Mexico. Despite protestations to the contrary, the primary purpose of U.S. President James K. Polk in executing the war was the acquisition of California. In 1847, Nicholas P. Trist was sent on a diplomatic mission to deliver Polks peace terms to the Mexican president, Santa Ana. Angered by the Mexican governments rejection of his terms, Polk issued a recall order in November which Trist chose to ignore. He eventually negotiated a settlement on February 2, 1848, that contained nearly everything that Polk had hoped for. This diplomatic history of Americas first foreign war focuses on Trists efforts and the policies of the Polk administration.
Bearin's: The Book " by Brian Robbins is a collection of columns written for "Commercial Fisheries News" over the past 20 years. These author selected columns are the best of Robbins' unique blend of humor, wry observations, and personal reflections on life. Originally written for a commercial fishing audience, these columns encompass characters, situations, and themes that are bound to resonate with all readers. He'll make you laugh, maybe even shed a tear, and definitely leave you wanting more.Bearin's (bar'ins)-When you're on the water, the act of figuring out where you are and what's going on is known as "getting your bearings." The same applies to life itself. In the Northeast, we often don't fuss around with the letter "g" at the ends of our words. Therefore, we have the title "Bearin's".Reviews:"I invite you to put your hand on the cover of this book, close your eyes and see if you can feel its heart beating. If you do, then try laughing a bit, too. Now you're in the spirit of Brian Robbins, telling his tales that will make you laugh so hard you'll have to lay down on the couch, but eventually he'll also get you right where it counts as you feel his spirit in the depths of your heart." Randy Olson, Ph.D. (a.k.a. "Doc Urchin"); scientist-turned-filmmaker; author of Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style"Brian Robbins' tales are hysterically accurate, showing great humor in the mishaps and misadventures of dockside denizens." Crash Barry; author of Sex, Drugs and Blueberries and Matinicus: True Stories from Maine's Toughest Island
I was recently in a brainstorming session with market research and R&D managers at a Fortune 50 client. The marketing manager turns to the R&D technical lead and asks, “can you give me a list of all possible technologies out there?” She was speaking the language of high level summary of the universe of possibilities. The technical lead, on the other hand, translated it as “give me information on the technologies we are capable of delivering in the near future.” Simple miscommunication? Little business impact? Not if you’re trying to stretch the innovation possibilities and the R&D lead disqualifi es longer term technologies because they’re not ready now. That’s one reason why innovation at some companies looks like the same old stuff re-packaged.
After serving in the Vietnam War, S. Brian Willson became a radical, nonviolent peace protester and pacifist, and this memoir details the drastic governmental and social change he has spent his life fighting for. Chronicling his personal struggle with a government he believes to be unjust, Willson sheds light on the various incarnations of his protests of the U.S. government, including the refusal to pay taxes, public fasting, and, most famously, public obstruction. On September 1, 1987, Willson was run over by a U.S. government munitions train during a nonviolent blocking action in which he expected to be removed from the tracks. Providing a full look into the tragic event, Willson, who lost his legs in the incident, discusses how the subsequent publicity propelled his cause toward the national consciousness. Now, 23 years later, Willson tells his story of social injustice, nonviolent struggle, and the so-called American way of life.
This book does not offer any miracles, although it does offer a better opportunity for someone to get results, for one who is prepared to get out of the victim role and take a positive step into seeing what they can do for themselves. By reading this book, you will realise the significance of continuous learning. And that’s how philosophy tries to discover the nature of truth and knowledge, to find what is of basic value and importance in life. This is about the relationships between humanity and nature and between the individual and the society.
Dr. Bailey beautifully portrays the heart of the Father that longs to have blessed fellowship with His children. An unfolding revelation of the matchless grace of God and His endless love for His people are brought out in this study of the Seven Dwelling Places of God: The Tabernacle of MosesThe Tabernacle of DavidThe Temple of SolomonThe Temple of ZerubbabelThe Temple of HerodThe ChurchThe Temple of Ezekiel
A noble scholar visiting Mulmaster gets more than enough material for his research when he becomes entrapped in the city's political games The city of Mulmaster, nicknamed the City of Danger, is run down and teeming with corruption and crime. Unfortunately, it is also the next stop on Volothamp Geddarm's—minor wizard and esteemed traveling scholar—research trip for his upcoming Guide to the Monsoon. The deadly city may become Volo’s final resting place when a rescue mission embroils Volo in a sinister plot that threatens the tenuous political stability of all Faerûn. Volo’s calling may be to stand as an impartial scholar—but with danger and evil around every corner, he must go beyond his usual duties to protect himself, his friends, and the realms.
I have often thought how wonderful it would have been if any of my grandparents, not to mention my great grandparents, had jotted down some of their thoughts, experiences and accumulated wisdom on paper for me to read, irrespective of how trivial or mind-blowing they may have been. I could have gleamed a glimpse as to who they were and how they thought, even though they died long before I was born in most cases. I really feel the void of not having known them. This book is an attempt to correct that omission and is written for the benefit of my kin still to come.
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