And how could I have been remiss to mention a very successful book-signing event recently at Saint Peter's University's O'Toole Library. And yes, I sold all those copies of FATAL POSE, raising money for our chapter of the National Communication Honor Society!
Then, in the twentieth century, the news media would once again satiate a public appetite for knowledge about real criminals like Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floy, Machine Gun Kelly, and underworld kingpins like Al Capone. Among the most popular films at the time were the gangster films that made superstars out of actors like Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson playing underworld thugs and tough guys. But even before frontier justice or stories of organized crime in the United States were turned into public entertainment, we had millennia of people all over the world turning out to see the brutal public flogging, skinning, burning, disembowelment, decapitation, and dismemberment of people who had defied the law. It is remarkable to behold the incredible level of mathematical and architectural accomplishment of the ancient Romans thousands of years ago, and then to consider the fact that they applied such advanced knowledge to the construction of the Colosseum, an immense amphitheater dedicated to displays of violence and brutality. For the ancient Romans, watching marathon sessions of gladiatorial combat where people from criminals to slaves, prisoners of war in the empire’s foreign campaigns, and all sorts of imprisoned undesirables being forced to fight each other to the death was as entertaining as watching football or baseball is to us.
So, taking in such a history of violence, we have to recognize that the twenty first century’s violent entertainment, like movies or documentaries discussing true crimes, pales in comparison to the blood lust of our ancestors. We merely hear about serial killings or see actors recreating crimes in TV shows or movies. We no longer watch people torn limb from limb in front of us or watch see them get crucified, scourged, or burned at the stake.
The point is that we need to realize that a fascination for all manner of information about or depictions of violence is a part of human nature. There are areas of science that have long sought to understand this. Perhaps there was an evolutionary advantage to constantly thinking about possible threats, possible sources of violence. An imagination of threats kept our ancestors on the lookout for dangerous predators. This fixation on the violent and morbid, in turn, kept them alive long enough to reproduce and pass those traits on to descendants who merely enjoy a TV show like "You" about a murderous stalker. Today’s threats we need to be on the lookout for, the new unseen danger that haunts the imaginations of modern humans, is not a wild animal hiding in the bushes but the serial killer who might be living among us. It is the friendly person who lives down the street or a boyish coworker we talk to every day who might be a twisted, blood-thirsty psychopath. Our fascination with true crime then is merely our evolutionary programming at work. Films, TV shows, and documentaries dramatize this programming.
Seeing a story you had spent years crafting, polishing, rewriting, and just generally fussing over night and day until it's ready for publication connect with readers and critics is always fantastic. Very happy to have gotten this excellent review of FATAL POSE by Literary Titan.
I was recently interviewed about a subject that's quite a favorite of mine because it's so hard to come to conclusions about. It's a topic that requires and open mind, but one that won't be easily filled up with garbage...
UFOs.
This article on the How Stuff Works website (and you can listen to its podcast version as well) details the complex classification system of alleged UFO encounters, everything from strange lights in the sky to encounters with otherworldly beings and all the way to purported human/alien hybrids walking among us. The classification system was originally devised by the legendary astronomer J. Allen Hynek, and it would eventually provide the title for Steven Spielberg's iconic science fiction film, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Hynek's system only had three kinds of close encounters. As the article details, at least seven more have been added, including complex subheadings of encounters.
But Hynek's involvement in UFOs I find very intriguing since the eminent astronomer who had originally worked for the Air Force's research projects into the phenomenon was originally a skeptic. He changed his mind while working on the infamous Project Blue Book.
I'm quite open minded about the topic of UFOs myself, but I guess I would consider myself an open-minded skeptic. The recent Pentagon report on UFOs (or UAVs as they like to call it), I thought, made an intriguing case for the consideration of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. There is something flying around in the skies, physical objects of some kind, aircraft that could not have been built by any known technology on Earth today. So where does that leave us about this issue...?
I don't know.
I kind of like the Sherlock Holmes approach to UFOs: once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, has to be the answer. So far the Pentagon report made a pretty good case for the elimination on Earthly technology behind the phenomenon.
So does that leave aliens?
I don't know.
So my mind is open about the issue, but just as long as we don't get into the territory of absurdly complicated government conspiracies about back-engineered UFOs, demonic UFOnauts, and U.S. presidents having made deals with aliens in abduction/technology-exchange deals.
It's always great to see your work recognized and I'm very excited to receive this 5-Star review from Reader's Favorite for FATAL POSE. Check it out right here.
In the world of LA's pro bodybuilding scene, health and fitness can be deadly!
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