Rant on stuff…oh and “interesting” Harry Potter costume

So the new health care bill has recently passed and most people, predictably so I might add, shrugged and ignored it completely.  This reminds me of the momentous announcement that the human genome was mapped, remember June 26, 2000? The U.S. president and the British prime minister? yeah most people shrugged about that too.  In fact a lot of average people shrug about most things happening around them. How many of you have actually taken the time to read the Firefox terms before agreeing to them? or the terms of Twitter?

Our whole generation, the millenials or the internet kids, whatever you want to call them seems to be generally “meh” about stuff.

Sure, whatever

How many people are constantly bored and always texting (even while driving?) or checking their facebook or IM accounts. We need constant distractions and most stuff is boring. Sure, we voted during the recent presidential election in record numbers but then what? I mean a vote is not really an impressive amount of effort for issues affecting almost everybody alive today. Sure we nod and chuckle when some comedian makes a acidic comment about any of the controversial issues out there, but then go on pretending nothing is wrong.

 

So can a short story change any of that? I mean that’s the purpose of art, to entertain while also expanding one’s views of the world. And nothing can work better than a good story in making you wonder about humanity, right? But do stories still have that power in an age when almost no one bothers to read. I mean in all honesty most books bought are never cracked open and most of the people who will leave comments on your story are other authors.

The problem is not that the publishing industry is dying. Industries have been dying for decades now. The problem is that the industry is becoming a creator of cheap comedy instead of a means to expand one’s mind. Then again, read something like John Dies at the End and you will find some deep thoughts even in easy to read/funny stories…

So, then, can stories regardless of their artistic quality pull us out of our meh state and at least get us excited about one or two things, but I mean REALLY excited? And is that worth it? Well, look at Twilight and Harry Potter and the Davinci Code…

Click the image for more awesomeness

Hmm… I am not sure where I was going with this especially after that last photo but yeah…you get the idea… general worry about the state of the world and the publishing industry…

Inspiration

After doingthe Halloween sources of inspiration I thought I should try and reveal a few other sources of inspiration for me. Two of my favorite distractions sources of inspiration are music videos/music and artwork.

Best way to find new music? Head over to Slacker or Pandora and check out the free radio stations there. Pop in your favorite or select a smooth jazz for background noise and voila. Alternatively you could download Muziic a free radio station/youtube browser/laylist generator/nifty tool.

Some of my favorite music for inspiration are emotionally charged pieces such as Times are a’changing- Bob Dylan, Piano Man- Billy Joel, almost anything by the Beatles and most of the stuff on this list VH1 Greatest Songs.

 

So how about some eye candy that can tell a story? The best place for me is the conceptart forum where they host a bunch of Creature of the Week contests. Some of the entries are incredible. Very, very good stuff here! Of course one should make sure to give credit where credit is due if one image is used for a story. I usually just browse around and see stuff that get’s me thinking, until I come up with something original.

On that note I will leave you with this. If you are writing a horor story your inspiration is right here.

Delicious fingers!!!

 

 

Some real life horror.

Since Halloween is coming up I’ll share some of the things that trouble me most. These are real live animals/ places that give me the creeps. Feel free to use them as scary stories

#3 Gordian Worms

These parasites spend most of their lives inside crickets, but once in a while they decide to get out. Seeing as they are dependent on being in water these worms do a very interesting thing. They control the cricket’s mind and make it commit suicide. In case you mist that let me say it again. This parasite controls minds! Watch this video of a suicidal cricket in case you need more proof.

 

#2 Wasps

In case you don’t know this Wasps love to leave their eggs in warm, plentiful in food places, such as the body of caterpillars. When the eggs are done hatching they eat their way out of the caterpillar from the inside out. The Gordian worm at least has the decency to kill the host, but the wasps just fucking eat the host’s inner organs and skin. Dozens of larvae…from the inside out. Wait a second you need more description? How about this very detailed video from National Geographic.

 

#1 Aokigahara Forest

How about a forest where hundreds of people kill themselves? Creepy enough? The article above also has a bridge where dogs kill themselves if human suicide is not creepy enough for you.  Anyhow, want to see photos of dead people hanging by their necks? Click here and enjoy the nightmares.

 

So there we go, the creepiest three things I have seen (at least recently) Enjoy the links and have a creepy Halloween!