Of Hurricanes And New Business Ventures

Well, that's Charley and Frances down, now it's Ivan left to go. What, does Florida have a big ol' metereological bullseye painted on it?

Anyway, on to other and better news:After threatening with doing this for months, if not for a whole year (I'd have to check my journal), I finally did it. Yesterday I filed all legal papers to begin doing business as Highmoon Media Productions. Yep, I am starting my own business, a publishing company. I will be starting with gaming material for D&D/d20 system, allowing me to market my own projects without being at the mercy of other companies' editors and/or budgets. I don't know that this will be hugely succesful, but it has got to be better than the big NOTHING I am making right now.

I chose the name Highmoon Media Productions (HMP) for two reasons: (1) Highmoon is a name that I have been using since 1996 when I first went online, and I've actually used HMP for other endeavors in the past, like when I did web design; (2) HMP allows me the flexibility of releasing other things than gaming through it, as long as it is media (and what isn't). So for example (and this is something I will do) I can use HMP to publish fiction, mine or my wife's (or solicited), or an e-zine, or do more web design, etc. Flexibility is good, and with HMP I have all I need.
I am quite excited about this new project, and am currently hard at work finishing the initial HMP gaming releases, and contracting artwork. Couple this with getting ready for the High Holy Days, and starting Grad School, plus regular work, and of course all these wonderful hurricanes that keep wanting to plow through Florida (do they hate Disney or something?) and you can understand how busy, stressed and tired I am. But it is great!
I'll keep you updated.

-- Highmoon
Fervently hoping that Ivan decides to go somewhere else. "Shoo, Ivan, don't bother us!"

Thoughts On The Da Vinci Code

I'm reading now The Da Vinci Code (and strangely enough, so is my mother-in-law) and liking it a lot. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's 100%, but as fluff goes, it's not that horrible.

I find incredibly funny that so many Christians have had their feathers ruffled by this work of fiction. Of course, as much a work of fiction as it may be, there are some truths in there, and that's what has people scrambling.

I'm not naive enough to take everything presented in the book as fact: I can do my own research, thank you very much. However, I am not naive enough to think that for the last 2000 years everyone in the church has been 100% honest and telling the whole truth. Ridiculous! If you truly believe that you are either possessed of an unearthly faith (and thus should be removed from this plane of reality) or incredibly stupid.

Thing is, none of the so-called great secrets revealed in the book are new to me. I have either read them before in a variety of sources, or have come up with similar ones myself. And for the record, yes, I do believe (and have believed for more than 2 years now, before the novel was published) that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. In fact, I go so far as to say that the "Beloved Disciple" of the gospel of John is indeed Mary Magdalene. You figure it out.

Is the book biased? Of course, it is a work of fiction by a man who holds a particular set of beliefs. Is everything in the book accurate? Nope, you go look it up and find out for yourself; don't get your history from a novel (or a movie, for that matter, even if it claims to be the authoritative vision of the passion of Jesus). Are some of these theories real? Absolutely, many are documented going back centuries. Do they tell the truth? Who the hell knows. Only God knows the truth of the matter--the Truth, if you will; we humans must make due with history, what we know, and what we unearth in our constant search for an understanding of our world. But do me a favor, don't let anyone tell you what is true or not, in this book or anywhere else. Go find out for yourself.

And remember, that just as the author had a bias, so does every single book being published right now claiming to crack, explain or debunk the Da Vinci Code: notice the majority are being published by Christian writers who cannot stand even the suggestion of such an idea as Jesus' humanity and all that entails.

For now I'll keep reading. I look forward to seeing how much of it is old news to me, and feel really good about it.

-- Highmoon
Clamouring for people to think for themselves!

Pele McFuFu (1999-2004)

It's a sad day. Our rabbit, Pele McFufu, passed away yesterday April 21st. Pele was the first of all our rabbits, the fluffiest, the craziest and much loved by all. Though he never weighed more than 3 pounds (and that's when he was fat!), the empty space he leaves is large indeed. One never knows how much one loves these little balls of fur until they are gone.May he go and meet up with Duncan (see Dec 02, 03: Back From NYC And Sad News) and may they wreck havoc in the great burren in the sky.



Pele McFufu

-- Highmoon
Quite bummed...

M.A. News

Just dropping by to say hi.

Not much to tell lately except that I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE GRADUATE STUDIES IN LITERATURE PROGRAM AT FIU!!!!!!!!

Kickass.
Not just that, I was also accepted into the Teacher Assistantship Program, which means I get to help out some professor or other, I eventually get my own class to teach, and (the best part) I have my tuiton covered plus a monthly stipend. Now this is the way to go to University!

-- Highmoon
Who wants eventually to have that "Dr." in front of his name.

Sophie B. Hawkins In Concert

Went to see Sophie B. Hawkins in concert last night at Calliopefest. I had missed seeing her in concert twice in the last eight years, but last night I finally made it. It was an awesome concert. There were just a couple hundred people (of which I, a straight, married guy, was the incredible minority) which made the show intimate and allowed everyone to have a great view. Sophie is on crack onstage; she just has this incredible energy, and she sends it through the microphone to all around. By the end of the concert, with the ubiqutuous "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover", almost everyone was up on their feet and dancing. Even cooler, when she did the encore, we moved up right up to the stage, just about 5 feet from her; no pushing, no shoving, no problems. It definitely was a concert to remember. She had a signing session afterwards, but we were tired, and besides, I already have three autographed pictures.

In other news, my application to Grad School went through ok. The English Dept. has recommended me for the Masters Program in English, and all that is missing is the approval of the University itself in the next few weeks. Can't wait!

Back to work.

--Highmoon
Who did not realize "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" was about a girl singing to another girl for about 4 years. Not sure what that says about me...

Of Reading, University & Europe

This is what I have read so far this year (follow the link to my little review):

1. Gehenna: The Final Night - Ari Marmell
2. Girl With a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
3. Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters
4. Maimonides' Principles - Aryeh Kaplan
5. The Passion - Jeanette Winterson
6. Mysterious Creatures - Nosson Slifkin

I've been reading a lot lately, and I intend to keep it up. If I can stay at the rate of 3 books per month, that'll be awesome. I may be able to do more, who knows, but at the very least I am officially shooting for 30 books this year.

Oh, and wish me good luck. I already put in my application for grad school. Hoping to get into the Masters of Literature program at FIU. I'm shooting for that PhD, though; I wanna have Dr. in front of my name and annoy everyone who ever doubted I'd amount to little more than a pimply-faced, comic-book-reading, D&D-playing nerdoid. Granted, there aren't many of those (I do have an amiable personality), but still. Bah, who cares about those people. We all know I wanna have a PhD cause I want that cool octagonal velvet cap and velvet gown you only get as a PhD graduate. Fashion, that's why I want my degree.

And about the book I am currently reading, Neither Here Nor There: Travels In Europe by Bill Bryson, I am liking it a lot. I like travel memoirs. I like making my own better (something I intend to start working on soon), but it is a good second option, and beats whatever it is I am doing here at work.

-- Highmoon
Wishing I was in Dublin, or Venice, or London, or Paris... heck, even Rome will do (though not Naples... icky Naples)

Back From NYC And Sad News

Back from New York. It was a cool trip, wish I could've stayed there and not come back to Miami.

We had some really sad news while on our trip. One of our rabbits, Duncan, passed away while we were away. I took him to the vet last Wednesday, before we left, cause he wasn't eating and the doctor decided to hospitilize him for observation. He died Thursday, Thanksgiving night.
Duncan was probably the favorite of our rabbits. He was a rescue, and he always was very thankful of the life we gave him. He was sweet, curious and sometimes too smart for his own good. He had a temper, but rarely used it (only with Nuala, another of our rabbits). He always loved us, and allowed us the honor of petting him until our hands fell off.
He will be missed. May he be happy in the great rabbit burren in the sky.



Duncan McFufu, The Mighty

-- Highmoon
Sad.