Felix Alexander's Blog, page 6
September 6, 2015
March 24, 2015
The Romantic first Official Book Trailer
The Romantic trailer on YouTube
In the winter of his life, Hadriel Alighieri barters with the Angel of Death to find Sophia Paula, and confess his undying love. Hadriel retraces the steps of his life, beginning at an old abandoned church in Santa Lucia, where he followed her sixty years ago.Their friendship blossoms in their youth, but when Hadriel confesses his feelings for Sophia, she is unable to reciprocate his affection. Sophia gives him a letter and bids him farewell before her family immigrates to America.After his military service, Hadriel goes to America, and meets Celeste Williams, but after a night of lingering on the shores of passion, Celeste flees.Over the years, Hadriel and Sophia maintain a guarded distance from each other. Sophia’s mother tries to rekindle their friendship, but after Hadriel is introduced to Joshua Abrams, who Sophia first met when she came to America, it becomes difficult for him to see Sophia and Joshua together.Changed. Detached. Alone. Hadriel loses himself to his insatiable appetite for passion. He embarks on a path of meaningless flings to avoid love. For love, he fears will destroy him. He later realizes that the absence of romantic love leads him to become the worst version of himself.When unemployment looms Hadriel accepts Joshua’s offer to work together, but when Sophia answers the phone instead, they feel something stir inside them both. After the call Sophia wonders why she could not tell Hadriel about her relationship troubles with Joshua.Each longs to reveal how much they miss their friendship, but neither dares to echo the whispers in their hearts. During their innocent encounters Sophia begins to feel differently for Hadriel. Finally, she decides to distance herself from him, lest she betray Joshua.Joshua and Sophia resume their engagement despite the absence of romantic love. During Sophia’s absence, Hadriel crosses paths with Celeste. He allows himself to be lured along the path of desire, and she allows herself to be seduced by the hopeless romantic that teaches her about the complexities of love.A lifetime of longing, and heartbreak, and desire leads Sophia Paula and Hadriel Alighieri on a journey that reveals what is lost in the shadows of silence. Will what they learn help them discover the innermost truths about love and friendship? Readers will find much to enjoy and much to enlighten in Felix Alexander’s The Romantic.
In the winter of his life, Hadriel Alighieri barters with the Angel of Death to find Sophia Paula, and confess his undying love. Hadriel retraces the steps of his life, beginning at an old abandoned church in Santa Lucia, where he followed her sixty years ago.Their friendship blossoms in their youth, but when Hadriel confesses his feelings for Sophia, she is unable to reciprocate his affection. Sophia gives him a letter and bids him farewell before her family immigrates to America.After his military service, Hadriel goes to America, and meets Celeste Williams, but after a night of lingering on the shores of passion, Celeste flees.Over the years, Hadriel and Sophia maintain a guarded distance from each other. Sophia’s mother tries to rekindle their friendship, but after Hadriel is introduced to Joshua Abrams, who Sophia first met when she came to America, it becomes difficult for him to see Sophia and Joshua together.Changed. Detached. Alone. Hadriel loses himself to his insatiable appetite for passion. He embarks on a path of meaningless flings to avoid love. For love, he fears will destroy him. He later realizes that the absence of romantic love leads him to become the worst version of himself.When unemployment looms Hadriel accepts Joshua’s offer to work together, but when Sophia answers the phone instead, they feel something stir inside them both. After the call Sophia wonders why she could not tell Hadriel about her relationship troubles with Joshua.Each longs to reveal how much they miss their friendship, but neither dares to echo the whispers in their hearts. During their innocent encounters Sophia begins to feel differently for Hadriel. Finally, she decides to distance herself from him, lest she betray Joshua.Joshua and Sophia resume their engagement despite the absence of romantic love. During Sophia’s absence, Hadriel crosses paths with Celeste. He allows himself to be lured along the path of desire, and she allows herself to be seduced by the hopeless romantic that teaches her about the complexities of love.A lifetime of longing, and heartbreak, and desire leads Sophia Paula and Hadriel Alighieri on a journey that reveals what is lost in the shadows of silence. Will what they learn help them discover the innermost truths about love and friendship? Readers will find much to enjoy and much to enlighten in Felix Alexander’s The Romantic.
March 19, 2015
Creative-minded Responsibility
The Message of a Visionary
I haven't bothered with Hip Hop much over the past decade, aside from underground powerhouse Immortal Technique, b/c in my opinion the tracks of the past 10 years haven't truly made a statement.My thought has basically been, "I hear you, but what are you saying?"Quote from the article:"Originally, rappers emphasized luxurious lifestyles to inspire their listeners. Biggie's long list of toys on "Juicy" offered hope for those who felt trapped by poverty."Beyond ambition, however, I've always felt strongly about message.That's what artists do. We impart a message. We observe our world, we analyze it, and we break it down for our audience with the hope they'll gain a better understanding OF our world, and how to go about improving our place in it.Not by entitlement.Not by demands.And certainly not by holding true to hypocritical, archaic, and misguided notions.Create the moment of success.Become it.Seize it.Not by engaging, or perpetuating criminal activity, but by finding your niche…honing your craft, and fueling your ambition.The adage: "The world is yours, take it!"We can only hope that Hip Hop & a new generation are revived by a powerful message & the messenger.Because let's face it… all these young cats who emulate the tired image of failed rappers-past need to learn that to become your own man, you need to BE your own man, not a photocopy of someone else.
I haven't bothered with Hip Hop much over the past decade, aside from underground powerhouse Immortal Technique, b/c in my opinion the tracks of the past 10 years haven't truly made a statement.My thought has basically been, "I hear you, but what are you saying?"Quote from the article:"Originally, rappers emphasized luxurious lifestyles to inspire their listeners. Biggie's long list of toys on "Juicy" offered hope for those who felt trapped by poverty."Beyond ambition, however, I've always felt strongly about message.That's what artists do. We impart a message. We observe our world, we analyze it, and we break it down for our audience with the hope they'll gain a better understanding OF our world, and how to go about improving our place in it.Not by entitlement.Not by demands.And certainly not by holding true to hypocritical, archaic, and misguided notions.Create the moment of success.Become it.Seize it.Not by engaging, or perpetuating criminal activity, but by finding your niche…honing your craft, and fueling your ambition.The adage: "The world is yours, take it!"We can only hope that Hip Hop & a new generation are revived by a powerful message & the messenger.Because let's face it… all these young cats who emulate the tired image of failed rappers-past need to learn that to become your own man, you need to BE your own man, not a photocopy of someone else.
March 12, 2015
Patriotism or Racism?
Professors say U.S. flag symbolizes racism
I haven't decided if this is illogical, or the start of a paradigm shift in our collective consciousness.
On the one hand, flags have been around for centuries.
It was a means of rallying people around a symbol. It's the reason they exist in religions, too.
Every country, every religion…heck, even family sigils have been a symbol of pride and identity.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that the American flag itself symbolizes racism.
People are racist. Not flags. It's an inanimate object for crying out loud!
On the other hand, however, I'm wondering about the future and how it is affected by our actions today.
For example: A long time ago the masses accepted that personal fate, weather, celestial phenomena, etc were affected by "the gods."
Then, something happened.
There was this unprecedented emergence of a new way of thinking.
Monotheism.
Two of the most famous figures in history to pose this new paradigm were Abraham, sometime in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and later the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten about 700 years later.
Both were met with staunch opposition.
One eventually failed, and his country reverted to its pantheon of mysterious gods.
It serves to note that Akhenaten was married to Nefertiti, and his success was largely predicated on her strong will and support.
Anyhow, it took another 1,300 years before another man rose to prominence with a new way of thinking.
He cast aside teachings such as, "an eye for an eye," and told us to "love thy neighbor."
These were radical ideas in a violent world.
Again, met with fierce opposition.
Especially when he chastised the Jewish priests for taking money from believers, "for God," and threw a fit in the temple, destroying furniture and releasing goats/lambs/etc to be given back to the people. All which resulted in his arrest.
My point is, that every so often we are faced with a choice.
A choice to continue doing things as they have always been done, or to change.
We must weigh those decisions against our conscience and against our understanding of what is the best course of action as we hope to make the world…and leave it better than we found it.
If not for ourselves, but for our progeny.
Leading by example.
Is the age of segregated identity over?
Or will it soon come to an end?
Will the lowering of flags result to collecting them in museums while we shift our thinking?
Will we go from viewing each other as outsiders to seeing each other as brothers and sisters?
Will this be the paradigm shift that ensures our survival?
Because if we aren't fighting over borders and ideologies…and if we aren't being led like sheep into slaughter under the guise of patriotism, then we may actually stand together.
We may stand up for each other instead of against each other.
We may actually change the world.
What do you think? Are you up for it?
If so, then we may have to remove that bit of scripture that reads:
Leviticus 25:44-46 44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
Having said that, I leave you with an adage from Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."
I haven't decided if this is illogical, or the start of a paradigm shift in our collective consciousness.
On the one hand, flags have been around for centuries.
It was a means of rallying people around a symbol. It's the reason they exist in religions, too.
Every country, every religion…heck, even family sigils have been a symbol of pride and identity.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that the American flag itself symbolizes racism.
People are racist. Not flags. It's an inanimate object for crying out loud!
On the other hand, however, I'm wondering about the future and how it is affected by our actions today.
For example: A long time ago the masses accepted that personal fate, weather, celestial phenomena, etc were affected by "the gods."
Then, something happened.
There was this unprecedented emergence of a new way of thinking.
Monotheism.
Two of the most famous figures in history to pose this new paradigm were Abraham, sometime in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and later the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten about 700 years later.
Both were met with staunch opposition.
One eventually failed, and his country reverted to its pantheon of mysterious gods.
It serves to note that Akhenaten was married to Nefertiti, and his success was largely predicated on her strong will and support.
Anyhow, it took another 1,300 years before another man rose to prominence with a new way of thinking.
He cast aside teachings such as, "an eye for an eye," and told us to "love thy neighbor."
These were radical ideas in a violent world.
Again, met with fierce opposition.
Especially when he chastised the Jewish priests for taking money from believers, "for God," and threw a fit in the temple, destroying furniture and releasing goats/lambs/etc to be given back to the people. All which resulted in his arrest.
My point is, that every so often we are faced with a choice.
A choice to continue doing things as they have always been done, or to change.
We must weigh those decisions against our conscience and against our understanding of what is the best course of action as we hope to make the world…and leave it better than we found it.
If not for ourselves, but for our progeny.
Leading by example.
Is the age of segregated identity over?
Or will it soon come to an end?
Will the lowering of flags result to collecting them in museums while we shift our thinking?
Will we go from viewing each other as outsiders to seeing each other as brothers and sisters?
Will this be the paradigm shift that ensures our survival?
Because if we aren't fighting over borders and ideologies…and if we aren't being led like sheep into slaughter under the guise of patriotism, then we may actually stand together.
We may stand up for each other instead of against each other.
We may actually change the world.
What do you think? Are you up for it?
If so, then we may have to remove that bit of scripture that reads:
Leviticus 25:44-46 44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
Having said that, I leave you with an adage from Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."
August 29, 2014
The Romantic Available in Paperback!
https://www.createspace.com/4939658
Order your copy, today and introduce your friends and family to The Romantic, and the love of his life.
Order your copy, today and introduce your friends and family to The Romantic, and the love of his life.
August 25, 2014
The Romantic on AwesomeGang!!!
The Romantic... featured on AwesomeGang!
http://awesomegang.com/romantic/
Thank you for the support!!!
http://awesomegang.com/romantic/
Thank you for the support!!!
August 12, 2014
May 29, 2014
The Secret of Heaven...section 5...
When Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca had met Sariel in a dream, the first light of dawn peered through the window.“Lucifer walks among you.” The angel had warned.The bishop’s gaze fell on the shores of a strange land. A sea of corpses lay scattered about, and the ocean’s swirling waters ran red with blood. The stench of death rose with the tropical heat, and a mysterious figure lingered among the dead.“He gathers their souls.” Sariel whispered.“What would you have me do?” The bishop asked, but he could not hear the sound of his own voice.“God’s will.” Said the angel.“What is the will of the Lord?” The bishop watched as the Seducer of Souls hovered from one corpse to the next.“Send warriors in the service of the Lord, armed with sword and scripture, to eradicate the evil in the hearts of savages. It is the only way to save them from eternal damnation, and to locate the secret of Heaven.”When the bishop woke, he walked over to the window of his bedchamber and gazed at the sky. Though he had organized a series of voyages to the New World, none had procured the location of the Chamber of Spirits.With Cristoforo Colombo no longer opposing his efforts, however the bishop felt certain that their fortunes would change. After his meal, the palace sentries found him in the cathedral. They escorted a messenger to where the bishop knelt beneath a statue of the Christ above the altar.After he concluded his prayer, he turned to the messenger and took hold of the scroll he had been sent to deliver. Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca dismissed him with a wave of his hand and read the missive with great interest. His voyagers had not managed to find the Chamber of Spirits, nor had they been able to secure the assistance of the natives to journey through the jungles.Furthermore, they had confirmed the rumors that Cristoforo Colombo had returned to the New World in search of hidden treasure, and had befriended los Indios he had known from his previous expeditions. Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca’s eyes swirled with the poison of rage, and he stormed out of the cathedral with the fires of Hell ignited in his heart.He needed unequivocal access to the land across the sea. It was the only way to prevent Lucifer from winning his war against God. The savages needed to be eliminated, and their evil religions needed to be eradicated from the histories of the world. Only one man possessed the fortitude to accomplish this mission.The bishop summoned him to the palace to appear before Queen Isabella de Castile. They would promise the young man favor in the eyes of God, and an illustrious career in the service of the Crown.“Send him in.” The queen commanded.He entered the Golden Hall of the Catholic Monarchs. Despite being born to a family of lesser nobility, he carried himself with dignity. When he knelt before the queen, he confidently introduced himself in a loud and clear voice.“Are you prepared to do God’s work in the service of the Crown?” Queen Isabella de Castile asked.“Anything for the glory of the Lord.” The young man said.After the queen dismissed him, the bishop begged the queen’s leave to speak with him in private. Isabella nodded. Her trust in Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca had been absolute.Juan Rodriguez approached the young man and invited him to the Bishop’s Palace to discuss his mission in greater detail. The bishop warned him of the challenges he might face, including the presence of Cristoforo Colombo and his alliance with the savages.The young man vowed to let nothing prevent him from accomplishing his mission. The bishop reminded him that there was more at stake than gold and personal ambitions.“Indeed there is, but how likely is any man to succeed without some measure of personal incentive.”“Fair enough.” Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca said. “Would you care to share your personal incentive?”The young man turned to the bishop with a wicked a smile and said, “When history remembers my deeds, it will be because my name will echo through the ages.” Bishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca studied him momentarily. Though he detested vanity and pride, he felt certain that he had selected the right man to find the secret of Heaven.He offered a silent prayer, May God have mercy on your soul, Hernán Cortés.
May 22, 2014
The Secret of Heaven...section 4...
For months they journeyed across the great sea. Planning and re-planning their route, never satisfied with the direction they took.They followed the sun and charted the stars. The ebb and flow of the ocean enchanted them by day. The black, liquid mirror haunted them at night. Soon they no longer cared about the bishop and his intrigues, for they knew that eventually those worthy of His grace would complete God’s work.As for their immortality, they felt it would only be secured by more prodigious feats than they were prepared to accomplish, and not from a fountain that spewed some magical elixir.None had been more certain of this than Asif al-Khidr. He studied the night sky with great interest during their voyage. As the different phases of the moon had passed, he took notes and made precise calculations of the lunar cycle. Immersing himself in his books had been the only way that Asif could distract himself from his pensiveness.The bishop, patient and secure in Spain, had rid himself of them without much effort, and the reminder of that jarred them from their hopelessness. When, at long last, the three of them solved the conundrum of their endless travels, it was too late for they had been caught in a storm. Though they survived, much of the crew was lost and their ship sustained extensive damage. Colombo soon realized that they were stranded on an island he had visited before.Assisted by a Spaniard and some natives, the three men found shelter before the Spaniard and the natives paddled a canoe to Hispaniola for assistance. When the governor, Nicolás de Ovando, learned of Colombo’s presence on the neighboring island, he obstructed every effort to rescue him, because he detested Cristoforo, and knew of his fall from grace in Spain.With their financial resources exhausted, Cristoforo Colombo turned to Asif al-Khidr for assistance. “We need to convince them to provide us with provisions or we will die of thirst or starvation!”When Asif asked how he could be of service, Amerigo suggested that the young Muslim draw upon his extensive knowledge of the sciences to impress the natives. At first, he could think of nothing, but then he remembered the moon and the stars and the secrets of Heaven.After he explained to Cristoforo Colombo the phases of the moon, the explorer met with the leader of the tribe. Cristoforo told the Cacique that his God was not pleased with the natives for withholding food and water from Colombo and his friends. He warned the Cacique that the Christian God would cover the moon in blood as a sign of His wrath if they did not continue to provide them with food and water.When the lunar eclipse appeared as foretold, the natives begged their forgiveness, and provided them with provisions until their departure from the island a few months later. They continued their journey to the New World, in search of the mainland where the secret of Heaven remained hidden. With no more gold, and only enough food and water to reach the shore, the three men pursued destiny. They were followed by the shadow that had once stalked the Seducer of Souls.
