Raymond Gaynor's Blog, page 20

THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION IS ALLUSION

YEP! If you’re literarily inclined, it’s definitely so! Writers (people who record things for themselves) and authors (errant writers who write professionally for a target audience) both know the Big Three C’s: Clear, Complete and Concise. Clarity is a given and always takes first billing. Completeness is next, and, while one of the Big Three C’s deserves second-most attention, is more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule (the whole mystery genre is based on almost but not quite completeness). Finally comes conciseness, which is the Big Three C that many ignore, begin satisfied with having penned something clear and likely complete. This is the one that, ignored, is the cause of what I’m reticent but obligated to call “literary pollution.” Who can forget Emperor Franz Josef’s comment after listening to the premiere of Mozart’s new operetta in the movie Amadeus: “Too many notes” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoY0Q...).

What, then, is one to do? I mean, it all boils down to which words should be cut, easy for a critic, much less easy for the creator (Which species should I cut?). Well, happily, there is a solution other than providing each word with it’s own VISA card whereby the words with the least amount of money put their consonants between their proverbial legs, creep away and disappear: It’s all about allusion.

Allusion, according to that authoritative fount of knowledge Google Dictionary, is “an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.” Essentially, one word says it all, and with due deference to the literary gods and goddesses, “covertly or indirectly, leaving it to the audience to make the connection.” Ah, so, one word also encompasses it all! Now that’s a task worthy of an author’s time and effort.

My latest novel, the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859

has been applauded for both it’s strategic and tactical use of allusion, just short of making the work an allegory, which, dear reader, it is emphatically NOT! I labored hard and long to NOT provide readerS with a hidden meaning or “truth.” THE EDGE OF MADNESS is instead, a chance to look into a future mirror and decide for oneself whether that future is to be applauded and encouraged, or boo’ed and strongly discouraged.

THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook format, and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and/or cinematic treatment. A sequel, tentatively entitled “Prophecy” is more than halfway written. And, yes, it is Relatively Clear, Mostly Complete and Definitely Rife with Allusions, that is, Reasonably Concise. Try THE EDGE OF MADNESS, you might like it…or not.

THE SOUND OF AUTHORING

THERE are so many aspects of authoring versus writing that it can feel like a unscalable chasm separates the two. And yet…one thing that they have in common is the sometimes exciting, sometimes inspiring, sometimes relaxing, but always appreciated edge-of-consciousness sounds of moving creative new ideas from within, to resilient but editable, enduring publicly shareable stories as books, ebooks, audiobooks, screenplay-novels, screenplays, manga, animations, television programs and/or motion pictures. Sample some out these ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) sounds of authoring and see they do for you:

Fountain pen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwuOW...

Pencil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7RA-...

Typewriter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsEbt...

Computer keyboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXwXR...

And while you’re at it, consider a good:

Book/ebook/audiobook: THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859

Music CD: Lullaby Moon by Malia Elliott — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.squ...

Movie: K. Simmons Production of STATIC (2021) — https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie

or join me on my author/actor homepage and blog at https://janik.yolasite.com.

WARDLE DANCE!

AS you probably know, I’m an inveterate social, performance and competition dancer in the International-style ballroom and Latin American alongside my lifelong dance partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya — https://youtu.be/ync4vCUxEoc. But also being a former U.S. NAS/NRC Senior water reclamation research scientist assigned to NASA-Johnson Space Center and later NASA-Ames Research Center, I’m particularly enticed whenever I find an example of the marriage of the humanities and sciences, especially if it involves water and a form of dance.

So how about these: horizontal 3-D visual representations of musical vibrations (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFAcY...) as well as one of my favorites, a 3-D flowing-dancing fluid representation of tonal vibrations (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uENIT...). Or a visual-liquid sound show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVhYu... think TechnoDance). Or perhaps an early demonstration of 3-D mid-air fluid reconstructions (like holographic images of dancing but with fluids? — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odJxJ...), and my favorite, “living” dancing water (or at least it looks and acts a bit like dancing water – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zoTK...).

I like to stretch the imagination to reconstruct competing dichotomies into one balanced cooperative whole, as I’ve tried to do in my latest Amazon-genre-bestselling novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859, and in my latest films: the K. Simmons Production of “Static” and “The William Maltese Collection,” as well as the Kurt Ken Kaminaka Production of “The Perfect Illusion” — https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php.

Stretching the imagination further as I proceed to finishing the sequel to THE EDGE OF MADNESS tentatively entitled “Prophecy,” I bid you new adventures in dance, fluid sciences, reading and films!

Dancing in Micro-Gravity: https://i.postimg.cc/ydLF8jcx/Vomit-C...

ADD A LITTLE WILLIAM TO YOUR LIFE!

READING an online CNN article today entitled, “Burnt out and frustrated, Covid-weary Americans try to accept uncertainty as their new normal” (https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/31/us/cov...) and pondered for a moment just how difficult humans, including Americans, find uncertainty. I have a suspicion that it has something to do with our inevitable mortality. Uncertainty dredges up the “Am I really mortal, and, if so, when am I scheduled to die” questions that always seem to linger in the fringes of one’s mind. Or my just my mind? Who really knows? But the greater question is what to do about it. My suggestion: Add a little William to your life.

You know, William Maltese, pioneering author of over 180+ books, including LGBTQ erotica. You don’t know? Well get ready for “The William Maltese Collection,” a K. Simmons Production bio-documentary movie on the incomparable William Maltese, currently in post-production with an anticipated 2022 release — https://kspllc.media/maltese-collection. Want to kick out the doldrums and be part of this incredible production? Donate-with-privileges and become part of the “working crew” to bring this enlightening film to every corner of the world.

How about me, author Raymond Gaynor aka actor Daniel S. Janik? Besides being an Executive Producer, I have a brief appearance as one of the many interviewees impressed with this phenomenal author and soon to become actor-celebrity’s life work. You needn’t ask about me: I’ve already added a little William to my life and you can follow me on "The William Maltese Collection" project at https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php. How about you?

TWMC teaser: https://vimeo.com/626706914

APPARENTLY, THE WORLD COULD USE A LITTLE MORE STATIC

IN this world of desired transparency and constant obfuscation, maybe the world COULD use a little more “STATIC.” The K. Simmons Production of the 2021 movie “STATIC,” in which I play lead character Will Gardner, will be airing on Hawaii’s OLELO Community Television (OLELO53):

Monday, Valentine’s Day 14 February 2022 at 6:30 PM

Tuesday, 15 February 2022 at 2:00 PM

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 at 10:00 PM, and

Sunday, 20 February 2022 at 8:00 AM

Will is a curmudgenous old veteran, who’s conquered every challenge life has thrown at him. Until now. This time he faces Alzheimer’s Disease, a battle he quickly realizes he won’t win. And yet…Will discovers a way to find peace with this final challenge in the form of an old Philco radio that plays only static.

Won’t you join me, the cast and crew of “STATIC” for an evening of human drama? Or, if you live a too busy life, consider purchasing a STATIC in High Definition on DVD along with behind-the-scenes videos and interviews — — https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie.

STATIC trailer: https://vimeo.com/589494043

Soon to be a screenplay-novel by Savant Books and Publications!

IT’S NOT THE STATIC, IT’S WHAT PEOPLE HEAR WHEN LISTENING

IT’S my pleasure to announce that the K. Simmons Production of the STATIC movie will be airing on Hawaii’s OLELO Community Television (OLELO53):

Monday, Valentine’s Day 14 February 2022 at 6:30 PM

Tuesday, 15 February 2022 at 2:00 PM

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 at 10:00 PM, and

Sunday, 20 February 2022 at 8:00 AM

Won’t you join me in watching STATIC, a family friendly, science fiction/drama in which Susan struggles to find balance in her life as she deals with her practical husband Donald and her father Will who’s showing symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Events force her to make a heartbreaking decision, while Will makes the situation worse, bringing home a radio that only emits static but which he swears through which he can communicate with his late wife Ginny. In STATIC, I play Will Gardner, a curmudgenous old veteran, who’s conquered every challenge life has thrown at him. Until now. This time he faces Alzheimer’s Disease, a battle he soon realizes he can’t win. And yet…Will discovers a way to deal with this final challenge in the form of an old Philco radio that plays only static.

According to Wikipedia, as of 2020, 50 million people worldwide are experiencing Alzheimer’s disease. If one assumes a 10:1 provider/caretaker/medical-social worker ratio, then 500 million people worldwide are directly affected by this disease.

Purchase your own DVD of STATIC in high-definition, including behind-the-scenes videos, and cast and crew interviews from K. Simmons Productions at https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie or Savant Bookstores, including a special collector’s version, personally autographed by me and my partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya, who played Edna, at https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.squ.... A portion of all proceeds goes to the Alzheimer’s foundation.

MONEY, POWER OR SELF-ACTUALIZATION?

PEOPLE are often generous in advice as to how to “get the most out of life,” humans being mortal and life being finite. But what is it that one should “get the most of” while alive? People who’ve lived in poverty would likely tend to say, “Money!” People whose lives have been determined by overwhelming events, like war survivors, would likely tend to say, “Power!” People who’ve lived their lives and never respected themselves or felt self-satisfaction, would likely say “Self-actualization!” So what should one “get the most of” while alive in order to “get the most out of life?”

While I don’t feel experienced enough to directly answer that question, I do have an indirect opinion based on the question, what happens when we die? We are born into a perplexing world that easily overwhelms all our newborn senses, making any “meaning” particularly difficult. It is only through years of experiences that we “make sense” of our lives, increasingly rewriting our collective experience as we age. At death, I believe, the mortal body is shed and our experience, our “sense” of this world, ends. What live on, in my opinion, is the soul. So, what is a soul? I hold that the soul is the collective experience of our mortal life, a sort of unfinished road map, that leads to another existence in another universe that “fits” our individual soul and continues the journey. So, for me, it’s not about money, power or self-actualization; it’s about the day-to-day journey and reflection on it. It’s about preparing the soul for the next journey.

In THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.squ... — I begin to introduce this idea and what it means in terms of getting the most out of this and the whole of life, before and beyond this one. In the sequel which I’m completing tentatively called “Prophecy,” I go more into the human, relationship, environmental and global ramifications of this point-of-view, and, yes, they are great in amount, intensity and expectation. Won’t you try THE EDGE OF MADNESS and see for yourself?

The Edge of Madness

THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook formats and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.

FINDING DR. STEVENSON

I was recently contracted with Kurt Ken Kaminaka’s independent film studio for the role of Dr. Stevenson in the upcoming film, “The Perfect Illusion” — https://www.totck.com/the-perfect-ill... –. Interestingly, the audition required me to guess how Dr. Stevenson should sound and look while reading the audition script. All I knew for certain was that he is a physician in Hawaii who is credible enough to be tending a comatose patient, has a malpractice case lingering somewhere in his closet of skeletons, and would be interested in seeing the malpractice case “disappear” if he’d only…well, you get the idea. But, who, I wondered is this Dr. Stevenson?

Thanks to my partner, actress and pre-eminent “behind the scenes” photographer for “Static,” Setsuko Tsuchiya, we set up a little exploratory photo shoot here at our home, using copyright/fee/licence-free backgrounds from pixabay, to see if we could flesh out this here-to-fore illusive character. The result is my first post on “The Perfect Illusion” on my actor website at https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php (or you can go directly to https://janik.yolasite.com/theperfect...).

Which Dr. Stevenson intrigues you most? Which would you like to see in the movie? Or, perhaps you have another idea? Who knows? Maybe your choice or version will end up in “The Perfect Illusion” where “a suicidal man finds a new reason to live after he stumbles upon a curio shop that transports him into the future. Soon he finds himself risking his own life trying to save the woman of his dreams, but struggles as reality may not be as it appears.”

Pre-Trailer for "The Perfect Illusion" at https://vimeo.com/654045510

WHAT TO CALL THE NEW SAVANT “AUTHOR”?

SAVANT Books and Publications, a traditional “no-cost-to-author” full-service book publisher, was recently purchased by K. Simmons Productions, a Hawaii-wood based manga, animation and film production company. With the purchase, writers whose manuscripts are accepted for publication are now afforded the opportunity of seeing their work in printed, electronic and audiobook as well as manga, animation, television and cinematic formats. So what should such an author be called, the panoply of opportunities now including screenwriting, acting, crewing, executive producing, producing, directing, filming, publicizing and philanthropy including donation to your favorite film and to help prepare a next generation of “new” author?

I can say from personal experience that being an author, actor, executive producer and philanthropic donation all in one is not only possible, plausible, but, in my case, an actuality. And the opportunities presented by working with a multi-medial communication group rather than just a book publisher, expand exponentially beyond the immediate. My debut as lead actor in K. Simmons Productions’ “Static” — https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie and https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.squ... — has already resulted in two more acting opportunities with more on the immediate horizon — https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php. I’ve also had the opportunity with my partner and actress, Setsuko Tsuchiya to serve as Executive Producers for the K. Simmons Productions of “The William Maltese Collection,” currently in post-production — https://kspllc.media/maltese-collection — and “Finding Kate,” the film adaptation of A. G. Hayes’ fifth of nine adventures of the same name, currently in pre-production — https://kspllc.media/finding-kate. And I’ve been contracted to play Dr. Stevenson in the Kurt Ken Kaminaka Production of “The Perfect Illusion” — https://www.totck.com/the-perfect-ill.... It’s also been my pleasure to “vote” by donation towards expanded distribution of my own favorite K. Simmons Productions and to advance the company vision of the “new” author.

I’d like to hear from you about what you think the “new” author should be called. Send the one-word name along with an explanation and statement that K. Simmons Productions has your permission to use the name and explanation to promote the “new” author role, and I’ll be pleased to send my top five selections a free signed copy of my latest novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (my thriller pen name), purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and/or cinematic treatment. I’ll even pay postage within the USA including Alaska and Hawaii.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859

WHAT’S A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE?

THERE seem to me to be two fundamental currencies in human life: (1) love (think co-operation); and (2) money/power (think competition). These two currencies “empower” or “power” our lives respectively. They are often embedded within contemporary female/maternal (creation/agrarian/nurturing) and male/paternal (destroying/hunting/survival-of-the-fittest) archetypes, and played out together in literature and cinema, with one or the other eventually “winning.” In fact, neither alone ever “wins.” What needs to win is a humanistic balance. A world without love would be as bleak as a world without money/power in some form or another.

Business, according to this approach, embracing as it does money, power and competition is an essential polar extreme, just as “pure” love, co-operation, creation and nurturing is the opposite polar extreme. Business has a place in the “circle of life,” but is often distorted by individual fears of mortality, pushing some to relentlessly pursue money and power in a feeble and ultimately failing attempt to avoid individual death. All this, I feel compelled to say, is my own opinion. Call it Raymondism or Gaynorism if you like, or, as a pen name for author/actor Daniel S. Janik, Danism or Janikism, though I prefer Danism as it sounds more archetypal. Go figure.

The Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.squ... or https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — explores and even immerses the reader into this all-too-human conflict, elucidating the importance of balance through “taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, providing a challenging and dangerous future place for three young firebrands to live.” Is it possible to balance the unbalanced?

The Qati ("Unbalanced") Series Blu-Ray at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009D004MC

THE EDGE OF MADNESS now available in printed, digital, audiobook format from Amazon.com; purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions.

The Edge of Madness
Total Meltdown: A Tripler and Clarke Adventure