1:00 O’CLOCK

“Ladies and gentlemen, Perps and Winders of all clockwork motion, welcome to the Klockwerk Kabaret! Here you dine on dreams and drink the nectar of Gods you never knew existed. Our entertainment will astonish, stun, and maybe even, dare I say, arouse you. For not only do we offer you the one and only, the delicious and lascivious, Olivia Nightingale; the Kabaret has something in store not one man, woman, Winder, or Perp has laid eyes on. Tonight, we unveil an act so incredible, I promise you your lives will be forever changed. Ladies and gentlemen, when the curtain rises something truly unique will dance and sing so deftly around your heart and soul, you will swear you have looked into the eyes of the Watchmaker and witnessed the future. If you please, clap your hands together in a four-four time and call forth… the Klockwerk Dolls!”

The Dolls were the creation of Dollia L’Escapement. She was Mainspring’s premier maker and only crafted the finest Perps and Winders. Her Perps were exquisite, but beyond the budget of ninety-nine percent of the city. Her Winders were just as beautiful, only they required manual winding. I didn’t mind having to wind the Dolls. Not only did it save me coal-tank of cash, it prevented one of the Dolls from bailing. Not that they’d have any reason to bail. The Klockwerk Kabaret was the finest establishment of its kind; and I treated my employees well. Some might say, ‘Too well’. It was a reputation I could live with. So long as my Dolls could dance and my customers found a temporary escape, all was well at the Kabaret.

The slow, steady beat of the crowd’s applause eventually fell into perfect synchronization. I turned and gave Lemulé, the best stage manager in all of Mainspring, the sign to raise the curtain. Slowly the burgundy velvet drape rose to reveal a stage, black as pitch. The audience fell silent. I nodded to Darcy to turn the crank on the Orchestron. Her lace-gloved fingers gripped the winder and slowly turned clockwise. Once wound, the basso notes of the steam-powered pipe organ pumped a deep, hypnotic rhythm.

Audience members of the Kabaret were accustomed to the unexpected. The entertainment I provided fell into, shall we say, a rather darker category. For years, the town of Mainspring suffered under the tyrannical leadership of Denube Detant. During his reign, nearly everything was forbidden. Flesh, fantasy, booze, sex… the color black and any heel higher than his pinky finger. His iron-fisted rule was a knee-jerk reaction to the spread of Dark Chemistry. When the steam train finally made its way into Mainspring, it brought along with it pleasures from far away lands. It also brought darkness. Detant did everything he could to fight off the rise of Chemistry – only he went too far.

When Denube Detant’s clock finally wound down, his predecessor did everything she could to revitalize our spirits, our hearts, and our economy. That meant the repealing of the laws forbidding establishments such as the Klockwerk Kabaret. So now, I am able to bring to the people I love so dearly, pleasures they hadn’t known in such a long time.

The Orchestron pumped out a thunderous beat the patrons had never before experienced. The strange and wondrous music was a necessity – given what everyone was about to behold — and had to transport them away to another time, another place, an age and a land of wonder.

Pinpoint gaslights lit the stage with dots of light. It was at that moment, the audience realized the stage wasn’t actually empty. In a perfect row, across the hardwood floor, stood the Dolls – the Klockwerk Dolls. They were Winders like no one had ever seen.

Perfect, graceful, exotic. The Dolls were porcelain-skinned beauties who could seduce anyone with little more than a flip of the wrist and bend and a twist of the neck.

Each doll was costumed in variations of the black-leather corset dress so often seen on the moonlit streets of Mainspring – only the skits were shorter and the necklines lower. They stood atop dangerously high heels, but moved as if they were barefoot. Their lips and cheeks, painted to perfection (thanks to the miraculous hand of my love of loves).

A grace under pressure like no other.

Expect Klockwerk Kabaret to hit the shelves mid-to-late summer 2013! Now, to help get you in a steampunk mood, take a look at this How to Make a Steampunk Outfit, by Threadbanger.

Hate begets hate. Jealousy begets jealousy. Ignorance begets ignorance.

The lack of compassion allows it all to unfold. From the smallest incident to the most senseless war — the human animal sits back and allows it all to tear away at the warp and weft of our collective heart. The end game to this constant barrage of negativity is the dissolution of the soul.

• War
• Terrorism
• Bigotry
• Homphobia
• Racism
• Sexism
• Classism

Nothing good ever comes from the above. Yes, I know there are those that would argue the end result of war can be positive — and, in some cases, I would agree (If war is used to free the oppressed or stop terrorism). But holy war? What good comes of that? The rest of the list? You can’t argue for those points. Period. Nothing good comes of such ignorance.

The solution? Compassion. According to Wikipedia, compassion is:

the understanding or empathy for the suffering of others and helping them to come out from the suffering.

Of course I wouldn’t limit the definition of “others” to just mankind. I would include the whole of the animal kingdom in that definition. And I like to think this solution could easily conform to chaos theory. What I mean is this — a single act of compassion could easily have a ripple effect across the globe and effect every living being. All from a single act. Who knows, a simple moment started by one soul and perpetuated by another could end hunger, war, hatred… anything. But it cannot start if the human race is still stuck in within a tomb of their own hatred.

I would ask those of you in the Jackverse to spread the word of compassion. It takes so much less energy to be kind than to hate. Accept your fellow man simply because it’s the right thing to do. Drop the filter of race, religion, sexuality, gender, class and see everyone for what they are — human. If you peel away our flesh, are we not the same underneath? If you remove the fatality of fanaticism are we not all working toward the same goal — to live life to its fullest?

The human spirit is a wondrous thing; but that spirit cannot flourish if it is being crushed by hatred. If humankind is to survive, it will only do so under the care of a compassionate hand. Let that start with you.

To end this post, I give you David Bowie’s “Black Tie, White Noise”.

This wouldn’t all be happening if I ran the world. How can I say that? The world is a tough place to run. It’s angry, confusing, and just generally in a constant state of PMS. But the leaders have pretty much run it so far into the ground that anyone with half a brain (and  conscience) could do a better job. With that in mind, I thought I’d list out what I would do if the world was run by Jack.

Hold people accountable: Too many people get away with too many bad things. From speeding to genocide — people need to be held accountable for what they do. The US court of justice is so flawed that murderers and rapists get off on technicalities or because the wrong words were used in the Miranda rights. This needs to be fixed!

Limit gun purchases: Why do you need a stock pile of weapons? You don’t. Although I am a firm believe that gun ownership should be limited to law enforcement and military, that will never happen. Instead, I would allow only one gun per person. Period. And I would require gun owners to do the following:

• Take a safety class and pass a test before the weapon can be purchased
• Retake that test yearly
• Pay a heavy tax on both weapons and ammunition

Limit alcohol and tobacco sales: Alcohol and tobacco sales would be limited to a certain number of purchases per consumer, per year. Yes, this is harsh — but there are too many alcoholics and deaths by tobacco. The average person just doesn’t have the intelligence necessary to understand the risks involved with consuming too much of both.

Parental rights: I would require all adults to take a test prior to conception of a child, to make sure they are intelligent enough to actually have the child. Anyone having a child without passing said test would face a significant fine.

Healthcare: I would completely do away with health insurance and completely restructure the cost of healthcare so anyone can afford care. This would also include restructuring malpractice insurance for doctors. To help that issue I would make sure malpractice law suits were tightly controlled and limited (and rarely won).

Transportation: I would focus all new transportation efforts on encouraging people to rely more on bicycles for transportation within a certain range.

DUI: If you are arrested for a DUI, you lose your license for a year. If you injure or kill someone due to that DUI, you lose your license permanently.

Reality TV: Would be done away with — unless it could prove an educational value to the viewer.

Marriage Equality: Same sex marriage would not only be legal, it would come with all of the benefits that varied-sex marriage has. Not only that, but to get married, all couples would have to first go through free public classes in order to marry.

Income: This will sound incredibly radical to most readers, but I would instate an income floor and ceiling. In other words, no one could make more than X and less than Y. These numbers would be based on a calculation that conforms to the idea that the highest paid employee (including CEO) cannot make X times the amount of the lowest employee. In other words, if the lowest employee makes 50,000 per year, and the calculation states that the highest paid employee cannot make more than 10 times that of the lowest paid — the highest paid employee would not be able to make more than 500,000 per year. Other incentives (vacation, company car, etc) could be used. This would be standard — and the floor and ceiling applied to all industries. Once the floor and ceiling were set, they would not change.

Education: Teachers would be the highest paid and highest regarded in the work force. Not only that, but education (on all levels) would be available to all. Add to that — dropping out of high school is no longer an option and all graduating high school students would be required to at least attend one year of college.

Bullying: Zero tolerance – in schools, workplace, public locations. Period. Anyone found guilty of this will serve community service detail.

Lawsuits: This would radically change under my rule. No more would the law hold court for vanity and frivolity. You want to sue someone, you better have a damned good reason for it. You trip and fall, it’s your DAMN fault. You pour hot coffee in your lap, it’s because you were doing something STUPID!

The little man wins:  The economic and financial systems would be set up to not only encourage but benefit the small companies. No more would the huge corporate chains have a strangle hold on the world. And Wall Street? That corrupt ring of legalized corporate gambling would be completely flushed down the toilet.

Work Week: The universal work week would be thirty hours. Those thirty hours could be spread out in whatever way the employee prefers. If you want to work three, ten hour days — good for you. If you want to work five, six hour days — awesome! Two, fifteen hour days — if you can handle it, I’m okay with that.

Animal cruelty: You hurt an animal, you go to jail. Period. Period. Period.

Okay, I know some of my ideas are crazy, but you see where I’m going with this. It’s time to level the playing field and bring a sense of compassion and logic back to the planet. The human race has been swirling in a very dark toilet for too long. It’s time we pull ourselves out, shake ourselves off, and shower in the waters of equality.

Before this book is released, I wanted to touch on the variations on the steampunk theme — so you can have a full understanding of just what steampunk is before you lay down your iron coins to purchase my book.

Steampunk is a fairly broad brush. I’ve already address the question of What is Steampunk in my post “Steampunk: What it is and why you should care“. This time around, I want to point out some of the sub-genres of Steampunk, so you are fully prepared to decide for yourself, what flavor of Steampunk Klockwerk Kabaret falls into.

Atomic Punk: In this flavor of Steampunk, the steam has been replaced by atomic power. But it goes beyond power. This genre tends to focus on the Cold War in both political issue and architectural, fashion, and transportation design.

Clock Punk: This variation on Steampunk tends to lean on technology centered around clockwork. The confusion here is that both the general category (Steampunk) and Clock Punk can easily be intermixed. Many Steampunk stories (and designs) lean heavy on clockwork design and all Clock Punk worlds are Steampunk-centric.

Diesel Punk: If you want a darker, grittier Steampunk, you want Diesel Punk. The steam engine is replaced by the diesel engine, so immediately you know you’re dealing with a sky painted and choked in the black smoke of diesel engines. The fashion is also reflected in this — you’ll find a lot of WWII-era inspirations but also a good deal of racier and more revealing designs. Diesel Punk is very much in line with Cyberpunk in style and tone.

Gaslamp Fantasy: This is what happens when you mix high fantasy and Steampunk. Although Steampunk can tend toward the fantastical, the fantasy is typically mechanical. In Gaslamp Fantasy the fantasy leans toward the biological. Fairies, talking animals, and humans with super powers.

Spypunk: Need a little steam-powered James Bond? Some would even say the earlier James Bond films and Maxwell Smart fall into this category. Much of these retro-futuristic settings are peppered with incredibly advanced technology. It can be a bit of a stretch and I would say much of the recent Bond films no longer fall into this category.

Steamgoth: If you’ve ever seen The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, then you know Steamgoth. It resplendent with darker, gothier fashion and subject matter (even with Vampires!). Cleavage is king (or Queen, as it were) and the top hats and ruffles are large. Colored contacts are often employed in the Steamgoth world — giving an added layer of creepy/sexy.

Steampulp: When you mix pulp fiction and steampunk, you get Steampulp. You’ll see many stereotyped views of society in a wash of colors from horror, mystery, soap opera, and more. You’ll find a lot of scantily dressed women, overblown heroic men and even more overblown situations. Steampulp is pure tongue in cheek fun with a dash of sexy.

Isn’t it amazing that a relatively new-to-the-masses genre can already have so many sub-genres? One of the reasons Steampunk has become so popular, I believe, is that it is not so heavily entrenched in boundaries. Yes, there are certain elements that must be present, but the genre is wide open to interpretation and inspiration. It also helps that the fashion from the genre has spilled out into the real world. Steampunk fashion is am amazing amalgamation of goth and victorian styles. It’s lovely, sexy, aristocratic, and proper all at the same time.

If I had to label Klockwerk Kabaret with one of the above sub-genres, I’d have to say, without a doubt, Clock Punk happily applies. As the name implies, a good deal of clockery goes down within the Mainspring and Keep of Keys world.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed your little visit. I know you need to hop into in your roadster, pull down your goggles, and speed off. Please, do visit the Jackverse again and look for information on my latest novels here.

Chapter 3

Gerand’s expensive wing-tipped shoes carried him to the temporary office set up by the Zero Day Collective. He had no idea what he would say. Fear had such a tight grip on his heart, he thought for sure his brain would stroke out before his hand could grasp the handle of the door. In all honesty, he hoped for that very thing. There was no way of knowing what the Collective would do to him now that he’d completely and utterly failed them.

When he stepped through the door and saw the group of men seated around a video monitor, his heart dropped into his bowels.

“Have a seat Gerand.”

It was John Burgess that spoke. Sweat soaked his forehead and the collar of his expensive shirt.

“Thank you. No. I’d rather stand.”

Burgess allowed the muscles in his sizable jowls to flex and pulse.

“Have a seat Gerand. I insist.”

Out of pure fear, Gerand took the cue and dropped into the wooden chair facing the table filled with over-priced and over-stuffed executives.

Instead of speaking immediately, John Burgess allowed the young scientist to build up a head and heart full of nerves. The man on the hot seat began to perspire profusely. As soon as the first bead of sweat leaped from Gerand’s chin, Burgess continued.

“Tell me about your progress.”

The executive was met with silence.

“You seem to be having a hard time hearing today, Gerand. Allow me to repeat myself. Tell me about your progress.”

Gerand’s gaze shot to the floor. Sweat plipped and plopped at his feet.

“You obviously know… ”

“What was that, Gerand? You mumbled something and I don’t speak a fluent ‘mumble’. Now, answer my question or the consequences will be quite dire!” John Burgess dropped a meaty fist down hard on the table before him.

Gerand stood and screamed. “I said you obviously know! You were watching the damn monitor. You had to have seen for yourself. There’s been zero progress. I have utterly failed you.”

John Burgess smiled.

“Thank you for your honesty. Yes, we were watching. Yes, you have failed us. I would like to say to you we have no room in our ranks for failures. However, we employed you not only for your scientific prowess but for your, how shall I put this… your lack of any apparent moral compass. Under normal circumstances I would have fired you immediately. But there are desperate few molecular biologists as easily bribed as are you. We need you as badly as you need this.”

John Burgess slid a small baggie across the table. Within the baggie was a white cube.

“Laboratory grade. The finest money could not possibly buy. I do believe this is enough to get you through, what, a day now? Is that the level your habit has reached?”

Gerand’s breathing grew labored, his hands visibly shook on the table.

John Burgess withdrew the baggie and carefully tucked it inside of his jacket.

“Now that we understand one another, let me explain the rules a little more clearly. You have been tasked to do one very simple thing – create a virus. We have given you everything you need to succeed and yet you continue to fail. Why?”

Gerand stuttered and went silent. His gray eyes scanned the floor for the courage to confront Burgess and his gang of executioners.

“Your clock is ticking biologist.”

Gerand finally stood and made a show of smoothing out his laboratory coat as a gesture of strength.

“I told you what I needed some time ago. A simple diary.”

Burgess stood to interrupt. Gerand’s voice marched onward.

“Within that diary is the key to your virus. I have tried to make the most educated guesses possible; but this isn’t faith, it’s science, so guesswork is out of the question. If you want this virus, you will find that diary. Until then, you may as well keep every citizen of this innocent town in a coma.”

Burgess picked up a phone and punched a sequence of numbers.

“Bring it in.”

The door to the meeting room clicked open and a beautiful woman in a severely cut skirt suit and five inch patent heels appeared. Grasped tightly in white-glove covered hands was a cracked leather-bound book. The woman set the book on the table in front of Burgess and turned to leave the room.

“Is that…” Gerand asked.

“It is.” Burgess replied.

Gerand reached excited hands toward the book. John Burgess shook his head and handed the man a pair of white gloves. As the biologist slid the gloves over his sweaty hands, he spied the faded lettering on the cover:

Das Tagebuch der Josef Mengele

“The Diary of Josef Mengele. You found it. Have you read it?”

John Burgess shook his head. “The handwritten diary hasn’t even been translated. You will be the first modern scientist to bare witness to its contents. Somewhere, within the pages of this book, you will locate the formula and create The Mengele Virus.”

With his hands gloved, Gerand picked up the book with an ironic nod to reverence. Not a breath left his motionless body. His eyes welled with tears.

“Get back to your laboratory. I’d rather not witness this sickening display of misplaced emotion. Just get me that God damned virus and do it quickly!” Burgess’ voice boomed, jarring everyone in the room to attention… even the wide-eyed Gerand.

“Yes sir. You’ll have your virus, I swear to it.”

Without another word, the biologist left the room.

Burgess stood. “Put a guard on that man. The second he stops his work… break him.”

We all know the saying “Ignorance is bliss”. Over the last few days, I have come to realize that saying is far more true and deeply profound as I original gave it credit.

Everyone, say it with me — “Ignorance is bliss.” Now, say it again — “Ignorance IS bliss”.

But how can someone who claims to not only be intelligent AND compassionate, espouse such sentiment? Let me break it down for you.

I opened up a can o’ worms thread on Facebook recently about health insurance. Now, I have a lot of intelligent followers on Facebook, so any time a good discussion starts, you can be sure the sharing of information will be keen — and it was. What came of that discussion was a brain dump that would make anyone step back and say “Wow, the American Health Care system is truly and profoundly broken!”

When you fully understand a subject or system you immediately get a peek behind the lovely, velvet curtain to see the grease, dirt, and human sweat. You see the flaws, the mistakes, and the breakdowns. Having that knowledge at your side can make for a wide-eyed awakening. You know how bad things are and how much worse they can be. The insurance issue is a perfect example:

• You know the system is broken
• You know a major factor in the broken system is corruption with Insurance and Pharmaceutical companies
• You know doctors are hamstrung by insurance companies
• You know there is no way to resolve the issue without amputating the infected appendages

There are so many other broken systems in the world and the more you know about them, the more frightening things can be. Of course, this nasty conundrum is a wicked business. Knowledge is a precious commodity that I wouldn’t trade for anything. But what do you do when that knowledge threatens your sanity? Do you turn your back? Do you beg for a state of blissful ignorance? Or do you tarry forward, hoping what brain power you have left will help you to unravel the confusion insisted upon you by the knowledge.

This is all so perfectly propped up by reality TV. Never before has there been such a collection of “train wreck” television that so well illustrated the effect of ignorance — both negatively and positively.

Wait — how can ignorance be positive? I guess that all depends on if you want to live in a state of bliss or not.

But really, is it bliss to live a life of ignorance; not knowing what is going on around you on such an absolute level? And is ignorance (on that level) in any way proportionate to compassion?

When I dove into the realm of authorship, I learned so many things about the publishing industry — many of them not so pleasant. That same thing could be said about nearly any industry. Dig into Hollywood and you’ll find PLENTY of bad tastes to roll around in your mouth… so much so it might make you think twice about ponying up the scratch for that latest Hollywood blockbuster.

The restaurant industry? Can you say “drug problems”? I bet you can. What about the fitness industry? Eating disorder anyone? The list goes on and on and on. Everyone sleeps with everyone else, no one is innocent, the bad guys will win, and the good guys? Well, do they really exist?

You see? It’s easy to ride that slip and slide across the yard of cynicism. The hard part is to not give in, to reclaim your intellect, and not have it fold you inside out.

Intelligence is what’s in — what’s sexy. But knowing what to know isn’t as simple as one might think. And that leads me to believe the only sane way to be intelligent is to cherry pick what you comprehend. Or… better yet, help to make a difference. Although I have no idea how, I would like to think there is a way for us to fight the healthcare system in this country and make it realize that WE are what’s important and without US, there would be no system to corrupt.

As much as it pains me to know, I want to know more — and hopefully one of us smart-ass bastards will figure out exactly how to expose those corrupt systems for what they are and begin a radical change. Along with that radical change, we can all stop turning a blind eye and hoping to live in that ignorant bliss.

Remember, knowledge is power. At the moment, knowledge is the only power the citizens of this country have. It’s been proved, over and over, our votes carry no weight. Our voices and our intelligence, however, are mighty powerful weapons.

But before I go too deep into the gist of Klockwerk Kabaret, I wanted to first enlighten you as to what the Steampunk genre really is. According to the all-powerful Wikipedia, Steampunk is:

…a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century. Therefore, steampunk works are often set in an alternate history of the 19th century’s British Victorian era or American “Wild West”, in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. Steampunk perhaps most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technology may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the modern authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld, and China Miéville. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of such technology as lighter-than-air airships, analog computers, or such digital mechanical computers as Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace’s Analytical Engine.

Steampunk may also, though not necessarily, incorporate additional elements from the genres of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, alternate history, or other branches of speculative fiction, making it often a hybrid genre. The term steampunk’s first known appearance was in 1987, though it now retroactively refers to many works of fiction created even as far back as the 1950s or 1960s.

So, it’s an alt-history cum alt-technology mixtape wrapped up in a bit of high fashion and high invention. The term “Steampunk” was a play on the word “Cyberpunk”, so the element of “punk” doesn’t actually exist. But… like with everything, rules are meant to be broken.

For my take on the Steampunk world, I have created a city called Mainspring where you will find the Klockwerk Kabaret. Within the world of Mainspring, there are, basically, four types of beings:

• Bios — humans
• Perps — mechanical beings that have had perpetual motion winders installed within their bodies
• Winders — mechanical beings that require regular winding
• Steamers — outcast mechanical beings that have had a steam-driven engine permanently attached that serves to wind their mainspring engines.

The horror in the novel comes when the ruler of The Keep of Keys releases a few, shall I say, nastier Steamers onto Mainspring. By using the trans-dimensional clock, Hieronymus Ebauché (pronounced Aboosh — long “A”), releases a pack of demons upon Mainspring. The town’s only hope — you guessed it, Nathan Gage and Olivia Nightingale. Our protagonists also serve as night-time vigilante crime fighters. So they kick ass and look sexy all the while.

The tapestry should be fairly thick with enough goodness to entice both Steampunk and non-steampunk fans into its loom.

The beauty of genres like Steampunk is that they are so wide open to interpretation. It’s a genre that was born of someone breaking the rules of another genre to create something quite lovely. This book (and genre) has allowed me to meld together a number of my own personal styles into one, tasty treat.

In the writing of this book, I have experienced such a breath of fresh air. It’s been an absolute joy to create a new Steampunk world and I am confident that joy of writing will transfer to a joy of reading. It’s different than my usual fare, but I believe you’ll know it is certainly a Jack Wallen original. I can’t wait to pass this book onto the fans of the Dark Hayride and hope to bring in even more fans to the velvet and brocade fold.

As always, I want to thank everyone for being a part of my world. It wouldn’t be the same without you here.

It should be clearly obvious that such a means of education would not only fail, but does a complete injustice to one of the most important pieces of the human puzzle — education. But what this also points out is something a bit darker and the conspiracy streak in me has glommed onto something I think most certainly worth sharing.

Conformity is the enemy of the soul.

If you’ve ever spent any time within the business world, you know what I’m talking about. I call it the “Shirt Tucker Nation”. It’s a wash of beige and blue and the idea of individuality is scorned at all costs. It’s not just in how you conduct business, but how you present yourself within the business environment. And from day one of business school, you are taught that there is truly no “I in team”.

Students are now spending their formative educational years learning they must be the same as the person to their left. Do not stand out, do not strive to be unique, do not let them know your thoughts and ideas vary in any way.

It’s deeply embedded in our school systems, our businesses, our churches, our government.

That’s right — even our government.  Even the tax and insurance systems are set up such that the individual must overcome obstacles to succeed.

But this is old news — right? Why would anyone need to hop onto this rotting equine corpse and flail it a bit more? Because it needs to be shouted from the highest of highs as often as possible — until people understand that individuality is one of the truly wonderful traits that makes us human.

I should back track just a bit and speak of why I decided to slip on my shoes with soles made of Soap Box (outside of the original inspiration being that brilliant resignation letter). It happened when I previewed the new self-titled Paramore album. Yes, I admit, I’ve been a fan of theirs for a while (I have fairly eclectic taste); and when the new release came out, I was shocked that they had lost their “edge”. But more than that — they sounded like Katie Perry.  Stripped away was the post-punk feeling so many of their songs had, only to be replaced with watered-down, radio-friendly tunes that could as easily be piped into malls and muzak. They opted to lose what made them uniquely them and opt for what made everyone else, well, the same.

I’ve come into this same issue in the publishing industry. What tends to be considered a hit is the same as it ever was. Those things the masses can consume without challenging their boundaries, their thoughts, their beliefs.

Those of you who know me, know that I have never been, nor ever will fall in line with the “beige and blue”.

So for anyone that follow me (and bless your wonderful, unique hearts for that), I want you to know that I will always and forever be me. I will never sell out, shut up, or allow what makes me unique to be forced aside for any reason. And I know, full well, that every member of the Dark Hayride will honor that which makes them unique and do everything they can to celebrate it.

Be proud, be unique, be you.

I can put this into a number of perspectives. Let me give you an example. I am currently reading The Year of the Black Rainbow by Claudio Sanchez and Peter David (Published by Evil Ink). While reading that book I’ve come across both editorial and formatting issues. Those have not stopped me from enjoying a book I paid full freight for. Why? Because it happens. For so many reasons. The speed at which consumers want good dictates a much faster pace than the days of yore. Mistakes are inevitable.

I’ve also purchased a high quality set of studio monitors and ear buds (for book narration). These speakers have helped me to hear imperfections in recordings I’ve listened to for years. Do I complain? No. Why? Because nothing is perfect, mistakes exist…even in the music of Rush (say it isn’t so!).

But that’s not really the point to this post. My point is simple — we (as a society) have turned our backs on civility. Instead of offering up concern for someone else’s suffering, we’d rather whip out our mobile phones and film the tragedy in motion. Why is this? What happened to our society that caused us to lose touch with our souls? Is human suffering the new commodity? Does failure sell?

I blame…

Reality TV. Plain and simple. Thanks to that dark spot on modern network television — society has been acclimated to laughing at the sheer stupidity and awkwardness of mankind. We long to see others, in real time, fall, fight, flounder, and fail — just so we can either feel better about ourselves or realize just how imperfectly improbable humankind is.

I am far from perfect. I make my fair share of mistakes. I don’t, however, watch reality TV. When I see someone fall, my inclination is to help them. When I see someone fail, my instinct is to hurt for them. I would like to think the world would be a much better place if that were the go-to behavior.

It makes me sad to think we’ve fallen so far from grace. But I don’t think it’s hopeless. Remember, as with everything, it only takes one to start a revolution. So I would ask each and every one of you — help stamp out the madness. Reach into your heart and pull gentility back out and let it breathe.

Forgive the small stuff.

Forget that which does not apply.

Remember, we are all in this same wacky hay ride together.

Rush: Working Man

It’s the obvious choice — but the song simply rocks. And when they perform it live and toss in a bit of reggae, it’s just amazing.

Fly By Night: Fly By Night

I wanted to go with Beneath, Between, & Behind, but the title track is just too good to pass up.

Caress of Steel: The Fountain of Lamneth

This was one of the first epic songs I heard, so it has a special place in my heart.

2112: A Passage to Bankoc

The opening guitar riff alone always brings chills to me. I know the whole of the 2112 epic is amazong, but Bankok beckons!

A Farewell to Kings: Xanadu

Those most would go with Closer to the Heart, Xandadu takes me back to my childhood, walking through the woods with my Sony Walkman. Precious memories, those.

Hemispheres: La Villa Strangiato

For me, there is no guitar solo on the planet that will ever best this one. La Villa Strangiato is a truly complex playground of amazing sounds, rhythms and musicianship.

Permanent Waves: Natural Science

As someone who was a music minor in college, how could I not love the song that includes a hemiola? This song is so complicated I don’t think most listeners can appreciate it for what it is — genius.

Moving Pictures: Tom Sawyer

The greatest rock song ever written. ‘Nuff said.

Signals: Analog Kid

There’s something about this song that reminds of me of skateboarding in the spring time. The smell of warm air and sunbrown legs.

Grace Under Pressure: Between The Wheels

I love the message of the song, the heavy guitar against the more delicate keyboards — and the solo rocks.

Power Windows: Emotion Detector

It’s another song with hidden power that you don’t experience until you really “hear” the lyrics. Alex’s arpeggio work is fantastic on this song.

Force Ten: Lock And Key

This one was actually a tough one. Eventually the lyrics of Lock And Key won out. “Heart of a lonely hunter, guards a dangerous frontier”. Peart knows how to write ‘em.

Presto: Show Don’t Tell

As a writer, the title alone brings a smile to my face. The song is just amazing.

Roll The Bones: Roll The Bones

They added a rap? Seriously? And it worked? Bravo to the power trio of might.

Counterparts: Stick It Out

I remember this tour — the first time I saw the band with a row of Marshall stacks behind them. This song shook my clothes. It’s pure power.

Test For Echo: Virtuality

I really can’t explain this one, but I just love this song. The heaviness of the guitar and bass works so well together.

Vapor Trails: Peaceable Kingdom

The message alone gives this one top honors. But the thickness of the chordwork is amazing. I sure hope this recording gets a full remix so it can be better enjoyed.

Snakes And Arrows: Armor And Sword

Pure power with an amazing message. I love the opening drum riff.

Clockwork Angels: The Garden

It’s one of the most lovely songs ever put together by a rock band. Period.

Wow — that’s quite a list. Is it really possible for a band to be together this long and still be creating unique, powerful music? In the case of Rush — yes.

What do you think? What would your track list look like? Do share.