C.A. Milson's Blog, page 246

Cinemas on the out?

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Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: cinemas, downloading, Netflix, Online movies, Poll, torrent

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here's an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,900 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 48 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Filed under: Media Tagged: 2011 in review

2011 a year that was…

2011 … the final trumpet of 2011 is about to ring out loud and clear and with that we will herald in 2012.

This year has been memorable for many of us on different levels. For some it was met with success, for others it just plain sucked

Rather than mention a long list of reflections as I have done in past years, I think I will make a list of what 2012 can expect out of me

1. I may or may not follow the hysteria of the 2012 doomsday. I do have my own theory though on the whole "doomsday thing" and I predict that on December 22nd I will awake very much alive in my bed, (or the bed of someone else, depending on what trouble I get into the night before lmao). It will be sunny or it may be raining, all depending on what the weather forecast predicted, and maybe the lawn will need mowed. I will make my coffee like I do every morning in my extra large coffee cup (actually it's a former soup cup, but I aint one for soup anyway. Coffee tastes better than soup anyday), I will turn on my laptop, and most likely play Evil Genius while the coffee gets my brain functioning I will probably wonder if there is any last minute shopping I have to do for Christmas, as knowing me there would have been someone I forgot

2. I will try not to spend too much time on facebook

3. I will watch more British TV shows (much to the annoyance of some) lol

4. I think I will travel to the UK later in the year.

Some may be wondering though about the big questions that have been left unanswered, so I will answer them now

1. Will I stop smoking? Probably not. Infact I may also take up smoking cigars

2. Will I start drinking again? That depends on how much people try to stress me out lol

3. Will I find new comedy material? You know what they say, the oldies are still goodies

4.  Will I make any new resolutions? Ah, nope. Resolutions are better off in the dark recesses of my mind. If I make any, you wont know until I did it and say "Told ya so" lol

5. Will I drink less coffee? My answer to that is: Yeah, okay, when hell freezes over I may

6. Whatever became of …. :  Yada, Yada, Yada

Whatever you all decide to do on NYE and whatever you plan for 2012, make it the best year that you can….

Til 2012 ………

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 2011, 2011 parody, 2012, 2012 Doomsday, Christmas 2012, Comedy, December 22 2012, final trumpet sounds, lighthearted, NYE, travel, yada yada yada

Have you got a spooky/ supernatural story to tell?

Have you got a true ghost story that could be featured on a new show?

Got a story or photos about things that go bump in the night?

Do you live in a house that is haunted?

Maybe you work at a place that is haunted?

If you have an interesting story that you would like to share, join the Facebook group, write a few lines of your experiences, post it on the group and if its good we'll get in touch

https://www.facebook.com/groups/216747225072626/ 

Location: Victoria, Australia

Filed under: Media Tagged: Ghost Hunt, ghost stories, ghostly experiences, Haunted house, haunted locations, haunted victoria, Paranormal Activity, paranormal show

who is this?

Who is this character?

 

Find out in the exciting page turner, Bloodline Of Darkness. Available on Amazon Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/Bloodline-Darkness-Chosen-ebook/dp/B004HO5Y24

Filed under: Bloodline Of Darkness Tagged: AHWA, Amazon, Australian horror, Australian writer, E-Book, ghost stories, horror stories, Kindle

It has been a while… again

It has been a while again since any postings. I know that I have heard it many times that to draw the people, one needs to post often. Something that I seem to be lacking to do. Infact, ordinary every life seems to get in the way all the time with one thing or another.

It has now been almost a month since we moved into a nice home in Ardeer. For those who do not know where that is (and dont feel bad as even people in the next suburb don't know this area! lol), Ardeer is located next to Sunshine, a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria.

The area is quiet enough, apart from the soccer training which goes on every Friday night at the sports club across the street, which is usually followed by drinking til the wee hours in the morning If I was a drinker I would be there with bells on, but I am not, so I tend to sometimes watch from a distance of the revelry

When we first looked at the house, we sensed an unusual aura about the place, as if there was an unearthly presence in the midst. Our suspicions may have been right, as it was not until we moved in that we found out that the house does have some spirit activity, at least on some level. It turns out that the house was last occupied over 6 months ago, and there has been no tenants since, despite it been looked at many times. For the amount of rent it costs a month, one would assume that it would have been snapped up, but for our favor, it had not been.

Now while one of the former owners (an elderly Polish woman) now lives in a nursing home, it does seem that the former male owner may have died in the house. The home has 2 bedrooms, 2 loungerooms, big kitchen, bar room, large laundry room, nice big bath (which I am yet to take advantage of), enclosed outdoor entertaining area, sunroom/enclosed patio, large front yard. The house also came fully furnished, complete with everything including the bedsheets of the elderly couple. Creepy.

The 6 months preceding us, the house was left empty, abandoned. Unwanted. Empty with the exception of the spiders that decided to make this their home. Spiders….. The scourge of the earth, disgusting on any level, and the only good thing for a spider is a size 9 shoe!  In the 4 weeks we have been here, we have found many spiders in the house, ranging from Huntsmen to Trapdoor spiders to Funnel Web spiders. One would think that with the amount of spray packs I have used on fumigating the house,  that would be enough to kill an elephant, but no. These pesky little phrats still make their appearance from time to time, now every other day. And what's worse is the ones that are the same color as the carpet, and you don't see them unless they start crawling up the wall.

I could go on about spiders but I wont. I hate spiders with a passion. They scare me. Anna said to me the other day "You can face demons and ghosts with no fear but a little spider you are scared of.". She asked me why I was scared of spiders, to which I still don't know. Maybe it is the way those 8 legged freaks crawl along or the fact they are just like a predator, waiting to inject their venom.  Who knows. In any case, the worst thing that came from the fall of man was spiders. Yeech.

Getting back to our ghost… We do have a ghostly resident. There are times when our son, David, will be going to bed, and he will point to his bedroom window (which faces the enclosed patio), and say "there's a man there" and he will smile. Other times he will be playing as though there is someone in the room playing with him. Other times we will wake the next morning to find the fridge door is open, or the dial in the fridge has been turned off, or things moved around. It could well be that we have a ghostly resident, which is all well and fine by me, as he is posing no drama for us, and in a way we do feel that our unearthly resident is watching over David during the night.

We'll just have to see what else becomes of our ghost.

Things have changed in ways for us in film. Some of you know the big drama in Queensland regarding Telemarketers Show, and how that came to a halt after much bad drama and bad decisions. Yes, I made very bad decisions in the way it was done. For a start I should have had someone on board who knew how to effectively do PR for the show.

It is a shame there is a lot of bullying and backbiting in the film industry. The whole aspect of film making is about helping one another succeed in making a great story come to life. The world of film is a different game than writing. Being a writer, my first priority is to creating a great story that people will like. My other priority is to help other writers get published. That is why we set up ASJ Publishing. We have seen how hard the publishing game is, and we do strive to help new writers get published.

Some will think that being a writer is easy. Some people drop me a message on various social networks and still assume that because they have a great story to tell, that they will become an overnight sensation. Sad to say but that does not happen. To those I will say, if you choose to be a writer, don't plan to give up your day job. And I say that with the greatest respect. It is good to have a dream, but if you plan to become the next Rowling or Meyers, then be prepared to put in the hard yards.

Even me, I have seen 4 books published and I still work as a freelancer.  There are times when I don't like what I do, and would prefer the life that some writers have, but life is not like that I wish it was, so I could spend more time on writing and on films. That is where my passion lies. But I do what I have to do in order to get by.

For now though, I strive on to make the dreams happen, whilst living here in a haunted house in Melbourne

One day at a time….

Filed under: Rants & Ramblings of..... Tagged: Ardeer, ASJ Publishing, Ghost, Haunted house, Hauntings, Spiders, Sunshine, TTS

Production Notices

There are some changes coming to Telemarketers Show in 2012 that J.D. and I have been bouncing around. Cast will remain the same with some added people.

One issue that always posed a hindrance to the show was getting a location for months on end. However, with some changes we are playing with, we are thinking to take Telemarketers Show back to basics and do this as a short film, primarily for the Int Film Festivals. If you clued up with the Fests O/S, you will know that a short can be up to 45 mins, and since our focus would be getting it to Europe and Nth America, this will give the cast and crew the opportunity for international exposure. It has always been my focus from the moment I conceived the idea for TTS that it would hit the Film Circuit, as well as Aussie TV.

It is my passion to make this happen and I intend to do everything in my power to do what I have stated, despite the obstacles that have been constantly put before me. For those who "really" know me, you will know that I am far too ambitious to let things go. I know that if I let TTS go, this will be a decision I, and others, will regret for the rest of our lives. TTS has great potential to get right up there, and I am not saying this because it is my idea and I am a bias arrogant SOB, but because I believe in the show, I believe in the talent, both in-front of the camera and BTS. It is the guys (and gals) we have worked with who have helped bring this concept to life.

For those who did wonder about Distribution, yes we have some of that in place through our publishing company, ASJ Publishing.

To quote a line here, "The Show Will Go On… Or I Will Die Trying"…..

Filed under: Media Tagged: ASJ Publishing, Production, Telemarketers Show, TTS, TV Show

Alternative-Read Book Cover Poll Now Open

Vote for Bloodline of Darkness book cover:

http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com/2011/...

Filed under: Website Reviews Tagged: Alternative-Read, book award, Book Cover, Book covers, book reading, polls

Uncovering the past

It is that time of year in Brisbane when people go through their things and throw out what they have horded or forgotten over the years.

In this year's annual clean-out, we went through everything in the shed to see what we were going to keep and what was to be turfed. Amongst all the items that were well past "taking to the dump" stage, we came across some original short stories that I had written way way back when I started writing. Go figure

In looking through the short stories I wrote, there was even a beginning of a sci-fi screenplay I had once start. Dated 1989. Wow! How things have changed since then. To be honest I had never thought twice about doing a screenplay until very recent years. So for me, going through all the "oldies but goodies", it left me feeling rather nostalgic about my roots, my beginnings.  In a sense, coming full circle. Seeing how I began as a rookie "wanna-be" with idealistic delusions of grandeur.

My craft has developed since those days when I was a kid with a dream, but in it all, it does leave me with a strange feeling of closure. Now I mean this in the best of ways, as for some time I had wondered if I would ever see those stories again. And all these years later, they came back to me.

You can believe that when I say a new book or two is coming out in January/February 2012.

To add to the stories that are listed on my website, these are the ones I found in the darkness:

 Fun in Tailytown – Coming 2012
Revelation (1992)
The Siberian Factor (1989)
The Resurrected (2 stories) (1989)
Roach Plague (1989)
The Legend (1989)
The Stalker (1990)
Ghost of Croseley Manor (1991)
Trouble in the Bahamas (1989)
The Alfrazedian Chronicles (a short story that ended up being 4 short stories and a beginning screenplay) (1987-1989)
Night Of Trouble (1989)
The Private War (1989)
Vampire Chronicles (Crime Wars) (1990)
Spiritual Warfare (1994)

There we have it. The list still in perfect condition as the day I first wrote them. In looking at them I know they will need an extreme makeover, and much of the original story-lines will be trashed, as will some of the characters; but who knows, maybe in some of these, the adventures of Alex Manning will continue.

I do know this, that my first priority is to see the children's book released. That in itself will need a good illustrator

Sometimes it is good to reflect on our beginnings in order to review where we are going…….

Filed under: About The Author/Contact Tagged: Alex manning, ghost books, ghost stories, horror stories, Novels, Short Stories, spooky tales, vampire stories

when things go bad

Hey folks!

Been a while since my last post but good reason for that. If you have been following my antics on facebook, you will have seen some photos posted for The Telemarketers Show, a series that we are planning to get on TV some time this year. While the pilot has been shot and out of the way, there is still alot of work to get done for the show. The location we had in Bowen Hills came to a halt for some reasons I cannot go into, but rest assured, our brilliant director has things under control and things looking for a go ahead in early 2012.

It can be very trying and frustrating when a dream gets stalled, and for those who know me personally will know that I am not one who has a lot of patience. Maybe this time is developing that, so I can focus on other things, such as family and work and also getting our E-Pub firm up and running in full swing.

Right now I am down in Melbourne. Voted one of the most livable cities to be! I can say that this is true. Getting around is as easy as 1-2-3, with transport every which way you look, and the choices of shopping an absolute dream for some.

Melbourne certainly has changed in the years since I was last here, but there is also a side that I discovered that is not all that peachy.

For those who don't know what I do outside of writing, I work in freelance marketing. Something I have done for many many years. But recently, the work flow has dried up I have found, so to make ends meet, I went for a job that was posted by a recruiting company. Now the job stated that they wanted a TSR for investment property. The job also stated that is was $30 an hour. So taking the initiative, I flew down to Melbourne for the job. I met with the people last week, and guess what? The job is NOT $30 an hour as the ad on Seek.com.au stated, but $20 an hour and is nothing remotely to do with Investment Property, but Financial Planning. I started none the less, on the basis that it "may" work. It did not.

But, I doubt that I will be looking long for work in my specialty. I have had 17 years in the industry, so picking something up will only be a matter of time.

In all this, there is a lesson I am sure. Patience? Perseverance? Fighting for what you believe in?

I will close today with what the Apostle Paul said, "I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith." I think that can apply to us all, don't you think.

Filed under: Rants & Ramblings of..... Tagged: bad jobs, Marketing, Melbourne, Metlink, Paul the apostle, recruitment companies, Telemarketers Show, Telemarketing