Music

30APR17: To close out this month of April, here's a little bit about music. I listen to all sorts and I will date myself with some of the tunes I bang my head to, lol. 

First off, if I searched my soul for my fondest music memory, it would be listening to the Supertramp Live in Paris double album at my Dad's house in Inglewood. My dad had this sweet setup back in the day with huge speakers and a dual turntable that would automatically play the second record when the first one was done. 

*For the youngins in the audience, a record is a big rough black piece of plastic about the size of a dinner plate. Has a bunch of grooves in it and you had to place a little needle on the outer edge of the record in order to start the music. 

I would lie on the carpeted floor, close my eyes and be transported to the center of a roaring Parisian crowd.

Supertramp

That was my first taste of Supertramp and it soured their studio albums for me. I wanted a more organic feel than studio perfection. I did see them in concert later in life, which was a great experience! 

So that is at my soul's core. Right next door though are some strange neighbors. Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies (thanks to my Dad, who had the first ST album I listened to, and shout out to anyone else from SoCal out there!) and Nine Inch Nails (NIN) are near and dear to my heart too. Pretty Hate Machine is one of the best albums out there, in my opinion, but then so is a lot of Trent's later stuff too. System of a Down and other bands like that, I can listen to them all day long. My wife calls it my Angry Beaver Music, lol.

After that I have my alternative/L.A. tastes. Rooted in my exposure growing up with the non-genre that is the Los Angeles melting pot music scene, I also had a bunkmate during my first few years in the Navy who was alternative to the core and re-ignited in me a love of the odd, out there, and definitely non-mainstream. Old Depeche Mode, Art of Noise, The Cure, the Smiths, Morrissey when he went solo, Concrete Blonde, Tori Amos, Sublime, Violent Femmes of course, can't forget them,... All great stuff.

Old-fashioned rock and roll and oldies makes up a lot of my playlists too. Thanks Uncle Joey and Uncle Santos. "Just take that old record off the shelf..."

So what can you expect from my playlist? Wow, well nothing typical and nothing easily predicted/expected. Here's a rundown of the last ten songs or so I listened to:

1.  Metallica - Master of Puppets
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird (how did I never notice they used only y's in their band name?)
3. Santana - Do You Like the Way
4. James - Laid
5. The Bravery - The Bad Sun (Sun Version)
6. Seal - Killer
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
8. Rammstein - Du Hast
9. Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
10. Matisyahu - King Without a Crown

No NIN or Supertramp in there, but a pretty good sample of what I jam out to. When writing, I will sometimes listen to music to inspire me, other times I will set it to play my favorites and take inspiration as it comes. 

I'm totally interested it what sounds you hear when you search your soul and find your fondest music memory. What makes your heart dance and sing? What makes your tail wag?

Picture for today is the cover to the Supertramp in Paris album.

ANZAC Day

25 APR 17
In my military days, I was fortunate enough to work alongside Aussie forces and other military from around the world. Today is ANZAC Day, a day of remembrance for Aussie and New Zealand military forces. I had the distinct pleasure of being a part of an ANZAC Day dawn ceremony in Afghanistan during the war. I say pleasure because it was a unique opportunity to see Turkish and ANZAC forces both represented at the ceremony. The Turkish referred to the ANZAC forces as their "honorable enemy." They traded items, including covers. It was very touching.

Two things I would like to share on this day. 

One, rare footage of the actual landing on Gallipoli, the first battle that ANZAC forces took place in.
Gallipoli Landing

The other is a picture for today of a page from a diary from that day. From the war diary of Indian Army Captain C.A. Milnard. He was with the staff, on the boats that day. 

In these days where the news is filled with talk of military action between countries, between the US and North Korea, may we never forget the sacrifices and battles of those who fought to give us the world we live in today. And when we think of war, may we weigh these costs in with everything else. I'm not saying we shouldn't go to war, just that we go to war wide awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance that we are doing the right thing.

EDIT: I took this picture during the ceremony. I believe it ended up being used in New Zealand somewhere. Very happy with this one.

Wattpad - Bullseye

23 APR 17 Howdy all!  Hope everyone is having a great Sunday!
I write here and there and like many other authors I have various pages at different sites. My latest writing I posted up over on Wattpad, which has several small pieces and one serialized story. Go check it out:

Wattpad - Montellano

Latest story piece is Bullseye, inspired by a dream. It's about being arrested. I forgot most of it by the time I got around to writing today, but the core survived. It turned out all right despite all that and I have some ideas on how to merge it with a few other pieces I've written. Not my usual stuff but then again what is the usual stuff when the story is inspired by a dream?

Dumb pun: Mountains aren't just funny, they're hill areas! :) I like puns. One of the many reasons I enjoy the Xanth series.

Picture for today:
Nothing could be more true.

Another Short Story!

15 APR 17 I have another short story in the pipeline! A total departure from my normal genre, this short story is a crime story. Set a few years in the future, it focuses on a dastardly man who goes to extreme lengths to get the ultimate Viagra. It was written specifically for an anthology about incarceration in the future. The anthology is due out later this year. This will be the second short story published this year, a third story, horror genre, is at another publisher as well, still awaiting final approval.

My wife also has a story in the same incarceration anthology, which is very nice and another change from the usual. The anthologies that we have been a part of so far have leaned more toward my neck of the woods genre-wise: Fantasy. She has felt like the odd man out and now in this anthology, I am the odd man out. Even though I wrote a story that fits with the theme of the anthology it definitely is not my comfort zone at all. Feels good though to stretch my writing wings.

What I really want to do now is write a fantasy story about police and incarceration. Makes my mind juices water. How would the police develop in a world of magic? Might makes right? Truth spells? Crimson Bands of Cytorrak or some similar means of restraint? Would there be sheriffs? Cops? Makes you think. Reminds me of Corwin being blinded in the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. Now that was a punishment. It also makes me think of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony and the banishment of those who have no magic.

In my main fantasy setting, as times change, incarceration and policing change dramatically. It is something that I am still working on. I like the idea of justice. I may have found my next story idea!

Picture for today: A Snowy Sentinel, to go along with the theme of policing.

New Short Story - The Legacy

I have a new short story released out into the wild! Woot Woot!

You can get it now for 25% off over at www.createspace.com/7040219

Enter in the discount code: 9HW5GHYR to receive a 25% discount on purchases. This code is valid for this month ONLY!

My wife Cheryl Toner has a story in the anthology also. Hers is a murder mystery, a murder most foul, in the Pentagon of all places! All the tales in the anthology revolve around or take place during the winter.

My story is called The Legacy, and deals with what happens when an ancient witch, the eldest of five magical sisters, dies. Here's a taste:

“Well, that’s it then.” Destra said as they helped each other get back on their feet. She was always the practical one. She hugged her stomach and hung her head, still shivering. “Anna’s gone.”

Twilight was soon replaced by the stars and coruscating colors of the northern lights. The three old witches shuffled back indoors. Anna and her would-be rescuer never surfaced.

The arctic air grew colder by the second. A keening noise ran away, out into the darkening and was joined by wolves howling deep and long in the night. That sad susurration traveled far and wide through all the lands. Those who were able to hear the Death Knell knew what it signified. The eldest had passed. The entire family would mourn tonight.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go buy it!

And feel free to share this post shamelessly across all social media platforms my homies! lol

Picture today is of a woman dying, and much like in my story, she is releasing something as her last act, something precious flying its way to her eldest son. His legacy.

The VA and Surgery

27 MAR 17

I have snored for most of my life and I was referred to a sleep study by the Veteran's Administration (VA) near me (Overton Medical). The first doctor I saw took a look down my throat and said surgery may be an option and so did the sleep study Doc. When I got to Dental, the actual doctors that would be cutting me open listed what they wanted to do. It sounded pretty severe. 

The most minor of the THREE surgeries was removal of my uvula, the little dangler in the back of your throat. Not sure what it does but I assumed it could be snipped off without too much consequence. And it is obviously in prime location to get in the way of a quiet of sleep. Okay, sounds good so far. The second surgery was a removal and change up to my septum. They were wanting to cut at the bottom of my nose, peel it open, remove the septum, cut it up and use it to make changes to the interior of my nose. The last thing on the schedule was the most drastic-sounding to me: they were going to cut a cubic centimeter chunk of my chin (a piece attached on the backside to my tongue) and move it and my tongue forward a few millimeters. All three surgeries together should stop all snoring forever!

Wow.

Surgery took hours longer than they thought, but when all was said and done, everything went all right. No complications at all. I was even able to go home the same day. It is pretty amazing that the only stitches to be seen on the outside were on the underside of my nose. Everything else was done inside my body.

This is me at the hospital in recovery. I was the first one in for surgery that day and the last one to leave.

Nobody told me I would peeing so much after surgery! Every hour on the hour for forever!

The pain medicine also did a number on me. Made me constipated, itchy all over and gave me nausea. I had all the side affect symptoms listed. 

This is me ready to leave the hospital. Well, maybe not quite ready. lol

And this is me after a day at home.

I have bandages over my nose and chin. The only stitches are on the underside of my nose. Swelling of my nose and chin as well. Stints up each nostril that will come out tomorrow. One thing you don't see in the pictures is the bruising in and under my chin.

The docs did a good measure of the level of pain meds I would need, but I encountered a lot of side affects. The itchiness, constipation, and wooziness were big obstacles. I was definitely in enough pain to take the medicine though. Over the week I tried various times to pace out the meds, but ended up on Sunday (surgery was on Monday) switching to taking a half dosage for each time.  That left me hurting, but I could think a little more.

I'm not looking forward to teaching tomorrow, but we will see. I have a relatively easy day, hoping I can do it! Then an appointment in the afternoon to get the stints out and then should be done!

UPDATE: So the x-ray below is from a follow-up visit to the dentist. It shows that they did not cut a piece out of my jaw, rather they broke off my entire chin and moved it about 6 mm.  Wow, well no wonder it still hurts! It's numb, they said will most likely take around a year to heal completely. Five screws and a little plate.