Stacey E. Bryan's Blog, page 13

Beautiful Fantasy: Spartan Justice for All

Where do I begin? Did I love the movie “300”? Yes. Was it based in reality? Somewhat. Here and there. Just put a little Wite-out on the ugly parts and blow up the good parts by 1,000.

Well, it’s kinda like how, over time, certain people and/or events become…let’s say…changed from what actually happened or who they actually were, and all of this becomes viewed, in time, through a distorted lens that’s only telling part of the story. Yeah, yeah, history is written by the victors. Yeah, yeah, y...

FEATURED MULTIRACIAL INDIVIDUAL: MEET STACEY E. BRYAN

Thank you to Jen, Kourtney, Amal and Jenn and Swirl Nation for featuring me in their multiracial individual interview! Their website is unique and fascinating, in my opinion, drawing opinions and observations and relevant information from a cornucopia of multiracial folk with interesting and varied backgrounds. Visit them here!

http://www.swirlnationblog.com/

WHAT MIX ARE YOU?

White: Austrian; Mediterranean: Greek. Creole black; some Native American (not sure which tribe) and white (not...

Sci-Fi or Terrifying Prophecy?

“Demolition Man” from the early ‘90s wasn’t just an action adventure/ sci-fi comedy starring Stallone, Snipes and Bullock. It was an oracle in movie form, a prophetic finger pointing toward certain roads we were traipsing down which, in retrospect, we did end up traversing: enthusiastically, merrily, and blindly, in my opinion.

The more benign predictions included Tablets, instructional videos (like YouTube), self-driving cars, GPS. Well, as benign as technology can be, considering the more...

Where Thunder Goes When It Dies

One of the best days of my life when I was a kid was the day I discovered Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” Reading that story was like gorging yourself at a buffet, except you could keep eating and eating and never get full, and the words and rhythms and sentences each tasted different, smelled different, felt different.

Ray Bradbury made a big impression on me, opening that fascinating door into writing and ideas. How did people come up with these stories? How did these peo...

The Silence Where the Voice Was

A weird thing happened today. I thought, “I should call mom and tell her about that.” And then I remembered, “Oh, yeah. Can’t do that.” She left the world at the start of 2012.

I guess it’s actually not that odd. People probably go through that all the time after a loved one passes on. It’s like experiencing “phantom limb” but with a person who’s gone instead of a missing leg or arm.

My mother wasn’t young. She was 83. Her actual passing, while not tragic, still surfed along on the tail end...

The Unseeming Connection Between Horror and Poetry

When a story starts out, “You know he’s the one who made your beloved niece disappear,” how could you not want to keep reading?

The first line of The Button Bin in Mike Allen’s collection of horror stories, “Unseaming,” is enough to raise the hair on your arms and the back of your neck. Allen, already well known as an editor and writer of speculative poetry, delivered “Unseaming” several years ago in all its luscious, spine-tingling dread and horror. I had no idea it existed until a member...

Annalisa Crawford Outwits a Maniac

I’m happy to have Annalisa on my website today! We’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I sort of tossed a coin and wrote to Annalisa a year ago through the Vagabondage website because she appeared approachable…plus, I was drawn to the cover of That Sadie Thing.

She’s been a rock in the surging tides of my first-time publication experiences. So…thank you, Annalisa, and now on to the fun part.

You. I. Us. is a collection of vignettes, small scenes which hint at the story beneath....

Arcanaland: It’s All About the Gleip!

Check out Wyborn Senna’s latest offering: Arcanaland: Far From Shandesto

I’ve always wondered what would happen if I went under a sofa somewhere and ended up in a different plane of existence! Arcanaland: Far From Shandesto is a crazy ride into a different world where the rules are always changing and you never know what to expect.

I loved the Arthurian legends, Hawiian myths, spells and magic and pretzel clam chowder. At first I felt sorry for the kids that ended up there, but then later i...

Unidentified Flying Myths?

They’re out there. You just don’t wanna believe it!

John Fowles’ “A Maggot,” circa 1985, a truly bizarre and fascinating tale revolving around one of the most unlikely subjects possible for historical the setting of the 1700s, slowly pushes open an eerily creaking door on the controversial world of UFOs.

Though Fowles denies that “A Maggot” is historical, it does nevertheless take place during a precise historical timeframe of May 1736 to February 1737.

An article in www.nytimes.com stated:

...

It’s Deja vu All Over Again!

If imitation is sincerely the best form of flattery, then moviemakers are often the kings of…let’s call it echoing. Borrowing. Being…*wink* heavily influenced.

BATTLE ROYALE VS. THE HUNGER GAMES

Teacher Kitano: “Life is a game. So fight for survival and see if you’re worth it.”

Effie Trinket: “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.”

When we were talking about the Hunger Games at work once, a coworker remarked that at least they were trying to do something different. Wh...