Star Wars – Looking to God

The Star Wars Universe

Posted on January 25, 2016January 24, 2016 by Jack Flacco

There was a time I didn’t like Star Wars. I was in my teens. All my friends, who were nerds, by the way, were into the whole Star Wars universe thing. I didn’t care for it. In fact, I went one step further. I used to tell my friends Battlestar Galactica was better. Boy, did that go over well.

Thankfully, as I’ve grown older, I had kids of my own. My first introduction to the entire Star Wars universe wasn’t until I hit my mid-thirties. Yes, you can call me deprived. Coincidentally, it was also when my kids experienced their first introduction to the sci-fi saga.

For those of you wondering what it was like watching it on TV, and all we had back then were thirty-two inch CRT TVs and a VHS tape that rendered the film in a pan-and-scan format—life couldn’t have been better. You may think this is crazy, but if you didn’t have today’s standards to compare the picture quality, you would have thought the presentation was phenomenal. And back then, it was. The kids loved it.

Once the Star Wars prequel trilogy hit the theaters, I couldn’t help but take my kids to watch it. Somehow, the films were so amazing that other films in the sci-fi genre had trouble keeping up with the visuals, creative motifs and gorgeous backdrops.

And this brings me to the reason why I’m writing this Monday Mayhem post with Star Wars on my mind.

I have found that other than Star Trek, the Star Wars universe is where I would enjoy living. With so much talk about how bad or how wrong this world is right now, isn’t it refreshing to know hope exists in the movies we watch? I don’t know about you, but when I die, I’d like to think the world I’m leaving to my kids would be a world filled with hope. I don’t think I’ve ever thought that until I began watching Star Wars.

And although the Star Wars universe has meddling Sith Lords wanting to bring about the death of all humans, akin to a zombie apocalypse, the Force, which holds everything together, reigns supreme. Even with the Dark Side wanting to corrupt a good heart, the Force, living in every Jedi can overcome evil, and bring about real change to a heart.

Imagine the Force now, living in us, able to help us overcome the pulls to the Dark Side. Wouldn’t that be awesome? I sure wouldn’t think life would be all that bad after all.

Yet, as fictional as Star Wars is, some truth exists within its universe’s tales. Perhaps to see that truth we have to look closer. Or, perhaps, the Force is something real we have yet to experience.

Get the Ranger Martin trilogy now!

What do you think of Star Wars? What do you like about its universe?

Winter

Posted on January 22, 2016May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

Every year I look to winter as my time to prop my feet up, grab a snack, and ease into a cozy atmosphere of hibernation. Even though January has yet to end, I haven’t taken any of my Christmas lights down. Call me a die-hard Christmanite. Thinking about it, I really don’t suppose the lights come down at all until sometime in April when the first bird appears and declares the arrival of our Canadian spring.

So, this time of year is my time. Why?

Some people find winter to be a miserable season. I’m in the other group. I don’t suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), nor do I hate the massive storms we receive at the hands of nature unleashing its wrath on humanity for abusing the environment. I love my 5:30 walk in the morning when the air is tight, the ice cracks under my boots, and the wind howls between the still moments.

Ah, winter! There isn’t anything like it.

I live for coming in from the cold to find a hot cup of apple cider waiting to warm me up. I love sitting by the bay window during a snowy evening to observe everything turn white. I get a thrill from watching the twinkling lights of the winter village we have sitting on the ledge of the bay window. I love driving through a whiteout, appreciating the inside of my warm car while another track of Star Wars: The Force Awakens plays in the background.

I can keep going, listing every single reason why I love winter—but what would that serve? Actually, maybe I should do that. Let’s see how far I get.

My parents' backyard — My parents’ backyard

Have you ever caught snowflakes on your tongue? Sounds silly, I know. I’ve done it. Have you ever slid down a hill at full speed in a toboggan with the fear of God stuck in your throat wondering if you’ll survive once you reach the end where a clump a trees awaits your arrival? Done it. Have you ever thrown a pot of boiling water into the air outside at subzero temperatures and watch it instantly turn into vapor? Done it. Have you ever dropped in the snow and made the greatest snow angel in your life? Yup, done it, too.

Gosh, then there are the times when I sit at the kitchen table with my parents and steal a glance out the window to enjoy the dark blue look to the evening. And then there is the time when I build a fire, and the smell of burning wood spills into every room of the house, providing another layer of coziness to an otherwise frosty night.

Yet, of everything I’ve described, I think my favorite part of winter is spending time with the family and feeling warm inside. Inside my home, and inside my soul.

Get the Ranger Martin trilogy now!

Do you like winter? If so, what do you like about it?

Monday Mayhem

The Enemy Within

Posted on January 18, 2016January 19, 2016 by Jack Flacco

There is a place for everything and everything has a place. Given today is Monday Mayhem, I can attest that if nothing is in its place, there will be mayhem.

Star Wars' Darth Sidious — Star Wars’ Darth Sidious

In the past, I’ve written extensively about zombies, The Walking Dead, aliens, the end of the world and other flavors of destruction you might consider chaos for the choosing. I think one of the most interesting subjects is what would happen to this world if all social boundaries no longer existed. What I’m thinking has to do with human interactions. Although I’ve written about the subject in my book Ranger Martin and the Search for Paradise, the matter keeps popping up. One can only cover so much in a book before the themes spill into other works, such as this post you’re now reading.

One of the themes I wanted to explore with the book, and related to this subject, pertains to the absolute corruption of the human soul. For example, when people turn into zombies, it is easy to see them as enemies—they see their food ahead, they smell it and they want to eat it.

However, when people are not zombies, and they try to kill the hero, that becomes a more fascinating story. I read somewhere that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. I don’t think that is too far from what I’ve learned when dealing with dark characters in my books. Again, I’ll bring up zombies. With zombies, you can see them coming. They are easy to spot. Humans, though, are tougher.

Of course, not everything is easy to understand. In the film, Edge of Tomorrow, the adversary is simple to find. They’re creatures bent on the destruction of humanity. They will not rest until every human is a grease spot.

The tougher challenger is the one you can’t see coming, or even worse, the one who at first is not an enemy at all. A great example of this is Darth Sidious of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The term wolf in sheep’s clothing comes to mind when I’m thinking about this particular breed of maleficent.

All right, now you may be wondering what I’m talking about, since I’ve completely deviated from the subject matter. Or have I?

It is my opinion that the corruption of the human soul is the key to a good story. And as I said, it is one of the most fascinating aspects of writing. Not only does it provide a great deal of conflict for the reader, but the theme also provides a remarkable sense of accomplishment for the writer—if done right.

I’m wondering aloud. That’s all. I suppose I’m wondering about evil characters. Are they compelling enough to write a story centered only around them. Do we always need a hero?

Get the Ranger Martin trilogy now!

What do you think? Do we always need a hero in a story?

Monday Mayhem

Being a Superhero

Posted on January 11, 2016January 10, 2016 by Jack Flacco

I’ve been thinking a lot about superheroes, what it would be like to be a superhero, what kind of problems superheroes face living in among us while the rest of us depend on them for our survival. I know it sounds silly to think about this stuff, especially during the winter when we’re all comfy and warm in our homes watching Jurassic World, or, for that matter, the first six episodes of Star Wars. The closest we can ever come with anyone saving us would be the cable going out, sparing us from previews of the latest reality show.

In all seriousness though, being a superhero must be a tough gig. Think about it. For instance, wouldn’t superheroes always have to wear their uniform under their normal clothes? What about capes? No one can tell me those fit under a shirt and unravel without a wrinkle. Who takes care of their dry cleaning? And in the case of Captain America, where does he put his shield when he’s not using it. A pocket isn’t large enough to stuff that thing.

Then there’s the family thing going on. Suppose you were a superhero and you also had a birthday to attend to but during the cake cutting ceremony, you have to scoot because you feel a great disturbance in the force. Wait a minute. I think I’m getting confused again with Star Wars. But, you know what I mean. What are you going to do? Do you change there at the party, or leave without mentioning it to anyone? What if you drove there with someone else? Does this mean you have to take the car, even though you can fly or run fast where you need to go. I’m sure you’ll get questions asking you about transportation. For me, it would be equally difficult since I live in a small town. How can I explain needing to go to the big city with our car?

Okay, let’s look at it from another angle. What if you live in the big city and you see a mugging. What will you do? Do you run to the victim’s aid, all the while revealing your identity to the perpetrators? What if you’re walking down the street with family and friends? Will you ignore them in order to fulfill your superhero duties? Again, you’ll have a lot of explaining to do if you were heading to see a movie.

As you can see, the logistics to superherodom is a nightmare. Oh, sure, I suppose you can look at the lives you save versus the inconvenience. But what if you didn’t ask for it? Let’s say you are merrily walking along and BAM! all of a sudden you’re a superhero? How would you feel about that? Even more so, how would you feel if everything you thought regarding of being a superhero is all wrong? I’m sure you’d feel pretty darn silly knowing you’d have to run around for the rest of your life in tights.

Well, I guess being a superhero isn’t all that thrilling after all. Maybe I should shoot for simply being me. My family already considers me a superhero anyway.

Get the Ranger Martin trilogy now!

Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Ever wonder what it’d be like?

Freedom Friday, Other Things

More Games I Love Playing

Posted on December 18, 2015May 9, 2017 by Jack Flacco

When I’m not writing, I have a number of hobbies to keep me entertained. I enjoy photography, and if you’ve been a regular reader of my site, then you’ll know I get a thrill telling you about my love affair with capturing the right moment. I also enjoy food. Being Italian, I’ve come to appreciate the big Sunday meals at an early age. In fact, I’ve shared those things with you many times. I can’t deny it is one of my favorite things to do as a way to bond the family. And, along with all the other hobbies I have, I love listening to music. There’s nothing quite like having a song appear on a playlist to take me by surprise and change my mood. Tell me the theme Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn’t make you want to jump on a horse and conquer the world. Yeah, music, there’s nothing like it.

But of all the hobbies I have, the one that excites me, and keeps me focused for hours, is playing games. One quick game of chess on my phone is a great way to distract me enough to feel refreshed and carry on with my day.

I have a number of new games I’ve been playing that I thought I would share with you. I enjoy getting lost in these games, so they may not be for you. I do find, however, they are entertaining enough for a mention.

SimCity BuildIt—I discovered this game one weekend while searching for something to do between eating lunch and going to my kid’s recital. If you haven’t played any of those time-sensitive games, where you’re creating a farm, a town, or in this case, a city, then take this as a lovely introduction. The first thing you’ll notice with SimCity BuildIt is its incredible attention to detail. Sometimes, I simply sit back and watch as the scene changes from day to night. The building model is quick. You have to zone areas for growth, add electricity, add water, and, if you really would like your citizens to be happy, a park or two. The economics are in perfect balance with player expectations. When you build a residential neighborhood, you don’t have to wait long to see growth. The added city that comes with the game is a pleasure to watch come alive. This is a great game to pick up for your phone or tablet.

Card Shark—I’ve played many Solitaire games, but none quite like Klondike in the Card Shark universe. The game has many other card games, such as DrawPoker and MemoryMatch, yet I really do enjoy having that quick game of Klondike when I travel. Even at home, it’s a wonderful app to play until dinner is ready. I think my favorite part about this app is all its options to customize the playing field. You can choose from a bevy of card decks to play, different backgrounds for the table, and even go so far as to choose if you you’d like uniform or messy stacks for the deal and discard piles. And to top it all off, the game looks great. I have yet to encounter an app with cards that look as realistic as those presented in Card Shark.

Action Movie FX—Okay, so this isn’t a game per se, but I can’t resist getting enough of this app. It’s a film studio on your phone, complete with real special effects from well-known movies. The most recent version I downloaded has the little robot from the new Star Wars movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens as one of the effects to use as part of a clip you can capture yourself. The way it works is you shoot a video with your camera or tablet, process the effect with the app and share it with all your friends. The app makes ordinary shots hilarious, and equally funny when sharing it with people you know. For instance, one morning I took a video of my wife sitting at the table having breakfast while she was reading. In the clip, I then added the Star Wars robot rolling into the scene and blasting her in her seat. We couldn’t stop laughing at the ridiculousness of the scene. The app also has explosions, rocket and other robot effects to play with. I love this app so much that I do consider it a great way to spend a few minutes playing with it to see what else it can do.

I had a longer list of games to go through, but these are the one I like the most.

Get the Ranger Martin trilogy now!

Do you play games? What games do you play, and which game would you recommend I should play next?

Freedom Friday, Other Things

Driving

Posted on August 28, 2015May 9, 2017 by Jack Flacco

I love driving. I mean, I really do love driving. I once drove from my home, an hour north from Toronto all the way to New Brunswick in a day. I had stops along the way, but I had done it in one full day. That’s about 1,500 Km/900 miles, give or take. I can also negotiate my way through traffic in Montreal. If you’re familiar with Montreal, then you would know what a feat that is. The other side of it is that I also love country drives as much as anyone else who loves driving.

For Freedom Friday I would like to talk about my driving experiences, what I’ve enjoyed and perhaps, if I have time, talk a bit about what I would have wanted to do over.

The thing I most enjoy about driving is the freedom. Sitting behind a steering wheel and going somewhere really excites me. When no one else is in the car, I crank the tunes, open the windows and allow the wind to carry me where I want to go.

Night driving has to be my favorite part. I have one of those cars that sport a blue dashboard. In the evening, it makes me feel as if I’m part of a Star Wars movie. The middle scene in Attack of the Clones when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi follow an assassin through the planetary cityscape comes to mind. The other reason I enjoy night driving is because driving through a town, a city or in the country, in my opinion, is much more beautiful at night than during the day. The lights make the journey something to behold. Whenever there’s an opportunity to pick up my kids from their activities, I’ll jump into the car without a problem. I love riding through town at night—especially during Christmas. The lights warm my spirit and renders my soul satisfied. That’s code for saying I always have a smile on my face whenever taking the car through town.

Anyway, enough about night driving. I told you it was my favorite.

The other part I enjoy about hopping behind the wheel of my car is the long trips to various places. Depending on the traffic, the trip to Niagara Falls from my home is a highlight. With attractions on either side of Clifton Hill, the main street where all the museums and activities take place, I can’t say enough how awesome a time it is going through there and experiencing the joy of adventure. Yes, it does feel like an adventure, but how many places can actually do that, besides Las Vegas, which is a place I’d like to visit one day?

Lastly, I would have to say that I also enjoy a country drive as well. I live out in the country, so, in that respect, I have to like it—otherwise, what would I be doing living here? Right? The relaxed pace, the farms and small towns is a regular occurrence as is the sight of cows, horses and other farm animals grazing in the fields. The other aspect about a country drive is the leisurely pace everyone drives getting somewhere. I can say the experience is relaxing and eases the mind into hibernation. Not good though if it’s at night, since you don’t want to fall asleep while taking a jaunt without the light standards paving the way to your ultimate destination.

And so that’s why I love driving. Some folks don’t enjoy it, but I’m one who looks forward to it.

Now, I’m just wondering if there is anyone else like me who loves driving.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE, on sale October 20.

Do you like driving? What road trips have you taken that made the drive special?

Freedom Friday

1999

Posted on June 20, 2014June 19, 2014 by Jack Flacco

I am convinced that 1999 was one of the best years in film. I didn’t notice this until one night when I was looking through my DVD collection and came upon The Matrix, a movie about a reality within a reality. Flipping the box, I came upon the date and remembered Fight Club came out that same year. This led me also to note American Beauty and Magnolia released that year, too.

I have a few minutes, grab a chair, and let’s talk movies for Freedom Friday.

Did you know The Mummy and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out in 1999? Both mega-blockbusters took in just under $1.5 Billion. That’s a lot of money, especially for back then.

What thrills me, though, is not the blockbusters, but the movies that have become annual events here at my home. Movies like Drop Dead Gorgeous, Analyze This, and Payback get a yearly viewing from me. Why? They’re fun movies! Whenever I’m bored, which happens more often than you think, I grab one of these movies, ease into my couch and let the story carry me away. I’m like a little kid wanting to watch the same movie again, even after having watched it twice already in a row. I never tire of these.

Anyway, about 1999—the world held its breath wondering if the lights would go out because of that supposed nasty Y2K bug that would have otherwise crippled North America’s very capable power grid. Of course, Y2K came and went with not even so much as a whimper. But the movies remained and the stories tempted their audience to be different. The majority of films imposed the message on us that we humans are unique, different, and filled with hope, and that we should go ahead and fulfill our dreams.

Here is a list of movies that hit theaters that year and why I feel they merit more than an once-in-a-lifetime viewing:

January—The Thin Red Line: A military movie gone crazy. So many cameos hit the film that I can hardly keep up including George Clooney, John Travolta and John Cusack.
February—Payback: Mel Gibson as the bad guy out to settle a score. Notable mentions go to October Sky, Office Space and 8mm.
March—Analyze This: Robert De Niro spoofing his mob boss roles from the past. Hilarious. Notable mentions go to Cruel Intentions, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Matrix, of course.
April—Go: One drug deal, three different points of view. Incredible.
May—The Mummy: A mummy comes back to life and eats people’s body parts. Sounds like a modern zombie movie. Notable mentions go to Election, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
June—Tarzan: Disney’s animated version. Great song by Phil Collins.
July—Drop Dead Gorgeous: A mockumentary about teen beauty pageants. Notable mentions go to American Pie and The Blair Witch Project.
August—The Sixth Sense: The kid sees dead people. Scary as heckfire. Notable mentions go to Dick and The Iron Giant.
September—American Beauty: Kevin Spacey has a midlife meltdown. Awesome! Notable mention goes to Double Jeopardy.
October—Fight Club: Don’t talk about Fight Club. Notable mentions go to Mystery, Alaska, Three Kings, and Bringing Out the Dead.
November—Dogma: A loophole in Catholic dogma may undo creation. Hey, anything with George Carlin is funny. Notable mentions go to The Bone Collector, The Insider, Sleepy Hollow and Toy Story 2. You didn’t really think I was going to forget this one, did you?
December—Magnolia: Multiple plotlines that all intertwine somehow. Notable mentions go to The Green Mile and Man on the Moon.

Quite a list, isn’t it? Can you believe these great movies came out all in one year? I suppose the fear of the Y2K bug consuming civilization made for a situation where creative juices flowed freely.

Speaking of which, I have to head off. I think later tonight I’ll pop in Fight Club and have Jack’s complete lack of surprise engulf me.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

What 1999 movie do you remember as the one you cannot forget?

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