Lurking Fear

Along the path deep in the fragrant wood.
A corner turned the carriage stopped on the dirt trail.
A masked man, long coated frop.
Demanded our pennies and all that we have.
Birds singing, the sun is shining,
showing through branches and leaves.
His gun controls us all, each nervously smiling.
The masked man relieves us of our worldly weight.
A cool breeze brushes our white faces,
and in the far distance a laugh echoes through the woods.
Resonating on dew covered leaves that line the path.
Nervous and twitching the masked man gets jumpy.
The fragrance of flowers reaches my nostrils,
just before the sulfrous boom.
Each person falling with each heated blast,
upon the soft moss covered forest floor.
The rumble like a distant thunder,
the sound of his horses hooves as he rides away.
Warm and wet the scarlet flow comes from my lips.
My eyes catch a bird fly overhead as my daylight enters darkness.

As the lights flicker in the room and
my fingers blazing, crack the keys, popping and
the chat room buzz is all docile now, and
morning light shows, dimming cables lose their artificial and
electrical glow. empty.
empty. I can only speak in electronic form. and
I smash the keyboard
I smash the keyboard and
look out of my dirty window..into the street at the people going to work.
the chat room buzz is all docile now.

A genre in its prime these days, the horror film is a work of beauty. Pumped with the deadly killers of retro ‘B’ drive in films and stacked with the antics of sexy vixens and victims, the scream queens of the thriving horror industry are upon us. One of these, Stephanie Beaton, is making a mark in her films and on her fans alike. A veteran of 20+ films and numerous television, magazine and other appearances, Stephanies resume just keeps growing. We managed to get a few moments in email with her and got a great chat….

NR – Did you plan on being an actress, or scream queen?

SB – Actually, I never wanted to be an actress. I always wanted to be a veternarian while growing up. Acting sorta came to me in High School after moving to California. Being a “Scream Queen” was never planned either. It just happened that way by being casted in so many horror flicks.

NR – Does it bother you to be known as a scream queen?

SB – No, not at all. In fact, I love it!! Since I am a HUGE fan of horror, it’s kinda cool.

NR – If so have you always been interested in horror?

SB – Oh YES!!!! I have loved horror all my life. When I was a kid, I remember buying all the Fangoria Magazines and looking over and over the pictures of guts and stuff! I watched horror films when I was a kid again and again.

NR – How did you get invovled in movies or horror movies?

SB – Well, when my career first began, I did runway modeling, calander modeling. That was back in 1993, 1994. In 1995, I did my VERY first film, Unnaturally Born Killer. Prior to that was some Music Videos and modeling jobs. But UBK was my first film. I auditioned and got the part. Part of the audition was screaming.

NR – Do you find a difference ( the work atmosphere )between doing horror type films/tv to dramas or other work?

SB – You know, there really is no difference between doing horror verses other types of films such a comedies or dramas. It’s basically all the same for the exception of the budget and whether its a independant or a A list film. I’ve done both “A” and “B” films. If it’s low budget, then it’s real tough. But there is a lot more creativity going on.

NR – What was your first experience with horror as a child?

SB – Are you asking me when I saw or remember my first film? If so, I was 4 and watched “Phantasm”. If you are asking me my OWN horror…well I can tell you, when I was a kid, my Mom used to tell me of the story of the Bagman and how he gets little kids who are bad. He drives a dark van with tinted windows and he has two black dogs in the back. When you are bad, he comes and puts you in a burlap bag and takes you away, chops you up and feeds you to the dogs. Well, one day, a knock came to the door and my Brother told me it was the Bagman. He told me to look out the window and guess what was there? The dark van! I paniced!!!! He drug me to the kitchen where this man was at the back door and he held me down as I screamed and screamed!!!!! My Mom was there too. But that was my first REAL experience with horror.

NR – Are you into horror films/books/etc in your real life, or is it just a job?

SB – Yes I am into horror. I have a quite extensive library of films, books and all types of dark and mysterious things!

NR – What is your favorite work that youve done? What type of work do you find most satisfying?

SB – Wow…this has to be a tough one here. I really enjoyed playinmg Serena in, “The Evilmaker”. I liked working on that film a lot. But unfortunatly, they casted someone else to play me in “Evilmaker 2″. I like doinf roles which are meaty. I like roles with more pof a character base then anything else. I also liked working on “Bikini Planet” too. That film was a riot to work on!!! It was a comedy.

NR – What type of work did you do before films?

SB – Let’s see, where do I begin! I worked as a 911 Dispatcher for the Police Department, I worked in a Veternarian’s office, Nursing Home, Grocery Store, And I did telemarketing…I sold toner!!!! Yes, toner, for photocopiers! I also was a bookkeeper.

NR – How do you feel about the current state of hollywood, do you find most of the big budget films good/bad. Is/was it a hard system to break into?

SB – Well my opinion of Hollywood isn’t too great! All your fakes, pretenders and losers all seem to flock to this industry and prey or feed on people and they literally will take your soul if you let them. But as far as big budgets are concerned….I prefer the indi scene more so. Don’t get me wrong, I love working on Blockbuster films, BUT working on indi’s are the best!!! The hardest working people around do these types of films. And yes, it IS hard to break into the business. There is no such thing of an over night success.

NR – You have a fan club, how is that going? How large is it? Do you take any active parts in the club?

SB – My club is going well. You know, if I had a members site for the fan club, I could tell you how many people are in it but because I don’t, I can’t tell you. I answer all my email personally. I am 100% involved with my site and my fans.

NR – Who is your favorite actor/actress?

SB – I like Demi Moore, Morgan Friedman, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro.

NR – You have a great internet site, are you good with computers or the internet? Do you spend a lot of time online? How many emails do you get everyday?

SB – Thank you first off. I know nothing of HTML. So I design my site and my webmaster does it all for me. I am completely illiterate when it comes to computers. But I do anser all emails and such. I get about 500 to 1,000 per week from fans alone.

NR -What is your favorite type of music, or band?

SB – You would have to ask me this. I am one of those people who are clueless to the band’s names but just know the song by heart. So I can sing it to you, but can’t tell you who it is. I do like all types of music though…..Blues, rock, Old Rock, Alternative, Techno, oldies, Jazz, etc.

NR – How do you feel about nudity in a film, do you think it is overdone?

SB – Yes I do. I mean, you can tell the cheap low budget films from the big budgeted films JUST by the nudity. The low budget guys seem to think that they have to exploit the woman in their films to sell the films and thats sad. If they wrote a better script they could maybe do better but instead they sell only to a certain market. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with nudity, BUT, when it comes to the late night Cinemax films or low budget films where its raw….YES there is a problem! The stuff aired late night on Cinemax is VERY close to porno. If you are going to do porn, then do it, make money at it but please don’t be crossing that fine line with stupid scripts, ridiculous actors and constant sex scene after sex scene that makes no sense at all!

NR – Do you think it affects film quality?

SB – Yes, having too MUCH sex in films does affect film quality! If it’s done when needed, then its fine but when doing it too much is pure trash and then your film is nothing more then merely trash!

NR – Have you ever done any ‘playboy’ style magazines, or been approached to do any?

SB – No, I haven’t done Playboy. I wouldn’t have a problem with Playboy either, I would LOVE too! In fact, Penthouse WAS cool too at one time, BUT now, Penthouse has gone bad. There photos now are pretty risque.

NR – How about pornography, do you get approached for that?

SB – No, I have never been aproached for porn. I know plenty of porn people but never been asked to do it. Probbaly because I make it VERY clear that I would NEVER do that. So therefore, they don’t ask me.

NR – What is your stance on pornography? Do you feel it should be restricted?

SB – It has it’s place. I think Pornography on the internet is bad. Mainly because kids get their dads credit cards and get in there and watch. But who knows what will happen with this new DA guy, John Ashcroft. He has already closed down many porn shops all across the country and he will start working on the internet too. Which is good because the internet isn’t regulated. Well to a degree it is. You can’t away with murder on it, but it would be a good thing if this Ashcroft guy could start cleaning things up a bit. He is against sex and violnce in films too. So maybe the end of all these late night almost porno films on Cinemax! That would be wonderful if he got rid pof those.

NR -What are you currently working on? What is in the future?

SB -I just rapped up shooting two films actually. One here in Los Angeles titled, “Quarantine”. I play Jenny and I get ripped apart by zombies. That was fun to make. Then I flew to Minnesota to shoot, “Tortured Soul 3, The Willing Flesh”. I just returned from there like 3 days ago. That shoot was interesting. As for whats in the furture…right now, we shall see. I have a few productions lined up.

NR – What city are you living in now? What is a good town for horror films?

SB – I live in Hollywood, California, but I am moving VERY soon. As for where is good for Horror, there seems to be more horror films shot back east then out here in California.

NR – Is it good money making horror films? Is it a living or just a side thing? Have you done work for free?

SB – It’s good money when things are Union. When films are non-union, thats when you can get screwed! So you have to becareful. I have worked for free, back when I first started. I think I worked twice for free, but NO MORE!!!!! No my fees are pretty high. I’ve done well over 30 films so your prices rise as your popularity rises and fame and experience.

Bowling, the sport of the middle class. Played in nostalgic 50′s era mod lanes, or in blacklit, neon modern mega-complexes bowling is now the past time of friends and families all across america. It has been a game enjoyed by many, since its inception in 5200bc by the Egyptians to its use as a religious worship by Germanic monks in 200ad, bowling has had quite a past.

The actual first recorded enclosed ‘bowling center’ was built in London around 1455, but bowling ‘greens’ were being built on the lawns of nobility in Europe since the 1300′s. This original enclosed

center was used by common-folk as a gathering place, to drink and enjoy the game of ‘nine-pins’ ( it was originally called ‘kegels’ ). These enclosed centers spread to other majoy towns in England throughout the next 10 years. The big problem was that the nobility never seem to like commoners to ‘gather’ together in one spot too long, and in 1465 Edward the IV made an edict forbidding ‘hustling of stones’ ( the slang term at the time ) and any other bowling like sport. This took its toll on the sport in England for the next 20 years or so. But the sport again started taking off and gained popularity once again…of course this couldnt last, in 1555 all bowling centers in England were closed, considered ‘places of unlawful assembly’.

In 1611 Captain James Smith is returning to the colony at JamesTown in Virginia to find the colonists, starving and out of food, but happily spending their time bowling. This he finds offensive as the colonists should be working, and the sport is declared illegal and punishable by three weeks in the stocks. The sport although suffering from illegality in many places flourishes in others. The dutch are bowling away in their American colonies around 1625.

The sport again takes its hold on England and becomes widely popular, with new bowling centers opening once again. It becomes a gamblers favorite and many people begin losing their days pay to shady rules, and bowling hustlers. One of the biggest gamblers of the time ( a compulsive gambler ) is King Charles of England. He takes the game, standardizes the rules ( ball sizes, pin sizes, etc ) to make it more competitive and to even the odds out. At this point everyone is still playing the favorite ‘nine pins’.

The sport continues to grow world wide, but especially takes a hold of the United States. The main problem is that by 1840 almost every place to bowl is located next to a tavern ( i gues taverns like to build small lanes to attract customers ) in its ‘alley’…This seems to be the origin of the name ‘bowling alley’. Well drinking, and the good people of the USA just dont mix, in 1870 ‘nine pin’ bowling is banned due to its association with crime and gambling, fortunately for the rest of us there worded the law quite maticulously and a nice fellow brings about ‘ten-pin bowling’. The sport continues to flourish.

In 1895 the American Bowling Congress is formed, and the sport moves on through history. In 1916 the Womens International Congress forms, and everything stays quiet until about 1950 when the first automatic pin setting machine is invented. This causes bowling to gain mass appeal. During this same time, Capezio introduces a line of bowling shoes with advertisements showing upper class ladies bowling.

In 1961 the number of bowling alleys in the US jumps from around 6500 to 10000, at this same time the average neck size per pin is increased make the average pin weigh 7/10 more ounces than previously. By 1963 Americans are spending around 44 million dollars a year on bowling balls and the equipment. The sport continues to grow in popularity to its current day estimates ( by the A.B.C ) to around 50 million bowlers in the USA alone.

The dull hum of neon lights, the stench of sweat and stale cigarette smoke. All these things invaded my senses as I approached the counter at a local adult video store. The clerk, a pregnant Spanish girl with a listless look in her eyes, asked what I needed as I neared the counter. “I’m looking for a snuff movie.” She glanced up at me briefly, then pointed to a well-lit corner of the store. “Everything you want is right over there,” she stated. I was shocked, I thought it would be much more difficult than this. The corner walls were lined with movie boxes, most with leather-clad sex mistresses on the cover. Others showed tightly bound women or men, asses red and blue from severe lashings, each ball-gagged and staring wide eyed at the camera. As I looked over the boxes, each seemed to be what I was looking for, but upon closer examination I noticed a warning in small letters on each, stating “death and rape depictions are for entertainment purposes only, no actors/actresses were harmed in the making of this film.” These were not what I was looking for. These were not the scourge of the Christian right, nor the Holy Grail of porn. These were not real snuff films.

But what is a snuff film, what defines it? A snuff film is a movie (film or video) that depicts the rape, torture and eventual murder of the actor/actress (victim) while engaged in a sexual act. The victim being filmed is not aware of his/her impending death and usually they are young prostitutes, kidnap victims, or girls from foreign countries. The films are made for sexual gratification by the most extreme sadists and are for sale to only the most bizarre collectors. They are said to mainly originate in South America but this might be related to a 1970 film called The Slaughter that was filmed in Argentina. Wel, at least that is what the rumors state. You see, the more you investigate snuff the more it seems nobody has every really seen a snuff flim.

The hype about snuff films really began to circulate in the early 1970s. It seems it started with a letter to the FBI from Raymond Gauer, then-director of The Citizens For Decency Through Law. “They’re producing snuff films now,” he wrote, and went on in detail describing the making and use of the films. The FBI (being a law enforcement agency) was obviously interested in finding some of these films. This began an almost 25 year investigation, that is now revealed through the freedom of information act. It shows that although the FBI has constantly heard rumors of snuff films, they have never actually seen one or been able to purchase one. The one thing about snuff, is someone always knows somebody else who has seen it. Hmmm … quite interesting.

The hype was amazing, the search was excruciating. Al Goldstein, owner of Screw Magazine, once put up a reward of $100,000 to get his hands on one of these films. No luck. In 1976 the FBI thought they were hot on the trail when an underground cinema in Indianapolis announced it had a copy of a film called Snuff. Among the 12 people attending the screening were two agents and a criminal pathologist. The film depicted a gory and amateur-type sex and death sequence, which the pathologist stated was a theatrical staging. Come to find out, to the trained eye cow intestines do not match human intestines. Later, it was also determined that the producer had hoped the FBI would investigate the film to bring him more publicity. Another dead end.

(On a side note, the film title Snuff is actually the early ’70s movie titled Slaughter. This was filmed in Argentina, and is directly related to the persistent rumor that snuff comes from South America.)

It seems snuff is something many want (for various reasons), but no one can find. A San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Rider McDowell, spent over six months trying to track a film down. He talked with pornographers, collectors, police, murderers and others, with no luck. While he did find movies claiming to be snuff, these were all deemed theatrical representations. This search was also attempted by the LAPD, after hearing rumors of satanic cults making snuff films on the beaches in California. This investigation actually went on for a while, but It turns out the eye-witness was making everything up. Geesh.

One of the more famous or infamous snuff legends involved Son Of Sam killer David Berkowitz. It is rumored that Berkowitz filmed the murders of his victims to circulate among the Church Of Satan members. Maury Terry, author of a book on Son Of Sam, states that on the night of Stacy Moskowitz’s killing, a VW van was parked across the street from her death site. This van was supposedly used to film the murder. Unconfirmed reports state this footage was obtained by Roy Radin, a financier and well-known porn collector. It is said that about 10 copies of this film exist, although none have ever been found or seen. The trail continues.

An expert on pornography and obscene material once stated that he had seen a snuff film, and that Scotland Yard had numerous copies of these types of films. But when contacting Scotland Yard, Detective Mick Hames states, “although they have never found any in England, they surely exist in America.” Once again, this is not what the FBI says. What is interesting about snuff films is that it is not actually illegal to view or own one. If one were to turn up the police would have to use local obscenity laws to even confiscate the tape (and only as long as the owners/viewers were determined to not be involved in the murder). The FBI even questions its own ability to prosecute if such a tape were to be found. “Since there hasn’t ever been one found, there have never been any laws enacted against snuff films,” states a California agent.

Members of Screw Magazine state that the snuff film is an urban legend perpetuated by the Christian right to give pornography a bad name. Christians claim that snuff films exist and are the work of the devil and evil pornographers. Police in the United States say they exist in England. Scotland Yard states they don’t have any but they surely exist in the states. One thing is sure, fake ones exist and do a thriving business at adult video stores and online. But what about the real thing? Well, in the past four years, more information has surfaced.

In 1999 we finally get a break in the case. Two men in Germany were arrested for making a snuff film. It seems they kidnapped a 21-year-old girl, raped and tortured her. The only problem was she died before production could finish. They then attempted another kidnapping but this woman managed to escape and alert authorities. So it seems the myth of snuff is not a myth anymore. Also, in Italy, a child pornography ring that allegedly sold films of children being raped and tortured to death for prices ranging from $60-$6,000 dollars, depending on how brutal the film was, was broken up. Hard evidence at last? Or just a couple of random acts?

It only seems logical, in a world where murder can be bought on the streets for a few hundred dollars, teen sex tours can be bought from countries like Thailand and South America, and video equipment is easy to operate and obtain, that these movies exist. And it seems that with the proliferation of image transferring media on computers, this style of film will become more and more real, leaving the back alley world of dark pornography and invading Web sites and mainstream media. That is, if they really exist…

You get a new job, you move to a new town up in the mountains of New Mexico; everything is going great except for the headaches. You chalk it up to the change in elevation, perhaps a bit of stress from the move. But after two weeks the pains still don’t go away. Then one day, as if a switch is clicked, it begins … a low and distant hum. At first you can shake it away, push it out of your mind. But then it seems to gain in strength; not that it’s getting louder, but it’s just so constant. The sound emanates from the center of your head and pushes out, not throbbing, not changing, it’s just there. Within a year of hearing the ceaseless, penetrating noise you just cant take it anymore, and you are forced into an insane asylum.

This is just one of many near-identical stories that tell of this phenomenon, and amazingly enough, they’re not isolated incidents. In the town of Taos, New Mexico, (about 30 minutes from Santa Fe) roughly 2% of the citizens hear this constant noise. While all of them are not driven mad by it, they are positive the noise exists; so positive, in fact, that they collectively gathered enough support to persuade the Congress to investigate the phenomenon. Investigators have dubbed it the “Taos Hum.”

The Taos Hum is said to be a very low frequency noise that sounds like a buzzing or distant rumbling. Some people say it emanates from their head, others say they hear it coming from the ground. Investigators sent in by Congress determined through comparison (not actual measurement of the sound) the noise was indeed a very low frequency, somewhere between 30 and 80hz; The human ear picks up sounds in the range of 20hz to 20khz.

The investigators determined, by broad study of the Taos population, that around 2% of the residents could hear the sound. Because of this rather large percentage, they decided the hum must be from an external source rather than from something like low frequency tinnitus (a condition in which one experiences a constant hum or whine in the ears, suffered by, among others, William Shatner). Extensive tests were done in and around the Taos area, but no background sounds could be measured. Some have speculated that nearby power plants are creating the sound, but this too was ruled out. The investigators, after trying every external approach, even did extensive testing on the inner ears of the people who could hear the sound. This too produced no measurable results. Investigators finally concluded their work, admitting that while the noise in all probability does exist, they have no way of measuring it.

So what is the Taos Hum? What or who can be causing it? One prominent theory holds that some type of government experiment in low frequency earthquake control is generating the sound. Others speculate on some type of submarine communication device, using what is called “ultra-long frequency” waves. But if either theory were indeed the case, why would this strange sound only exist in Taos? After digging a little deeper, it seems these occurrences aren’t localized phenomenon after all.

As it turns out, people have reported the sounds from various parts of the country. A source, who will only be known as “Jude,” says this: “The Taos Hum does not emanate from Taos. It is heard all over the US and other parts of the world. I may leave Taos and not hear it in Kansas, for instance, but then hear it again as I get close to Michigan.” Similar reports have been made by people all over the country. The show Unsolved Mysteries aired a special on the Taos Hum and asked viewers to call if they knew anything about it. From the calls, surveys determined that of 383 call-in responses to the program, about 174 people claimed they could actually hear the noise. The locations of those who could hear the hum were as far-flung as Seattle, central Arizona, Southern California, North Central New Mexico and Colorado, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. What do these locations have in common? Almost all of them claim some type of military installation nearby.

Another interesting aspect of the hum is the insistence by many that it intensifies during periods of heavy military activity. During the Gulf war, for example, many people actually left Taos and other locations where the hum was active because it had become so intense. The intensity makes sense if the hum does indeed relate to ELF or ULF submarine communications.

ELF and the military go hand in hand. The military first conducted ELF and wave propagation experiments around 1969 using antennas that were each about 14 miles long. These experiments went on until about 1976, when studies determined the system would be too vulnerable to nuclear attack. But despite the cancellation of the tests, the Navy continued to develop the ELF communications system. They built new antennas, this time 28 miles long, located at a Clam Lake facility. This renewed development went on until the Carter administration cancelled the project in 1978. It was revived again in the Reagan years in 1981, and this latest system employed 56-mile-long antennas along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (notice the site correlations), in addition to 28-mile-long antennas in Wisconsin.

But what does all this mean?

The ELF communications system operates with each antenna powered by a 660 kilowatt transmitter. This transmitter broadcasts on the ELF system using U.S. frequency bands 30 to 50 hertz and 70 to 80 hertz. Both of these ranges have been associated with the Taos Hum.

So is the Taos Hum related to the military use of ELF or ULF communications? We can’t be certain. The evidence would seem to point in that direction, but the government has again closed off studies on the subject. Does the Taos Hum even exist? It hasn’t been recorded, it hasn’t been heard by any type of expert and it has been mimicked. But it’s been heard by hundreds of people. They have gone crazy from it, or suffered nosebleeds and raging headaches. Those unlucky enough to be plagued by the sound have suffered greatly for years, and if the government is indeed behind the hum, they owe a whole lot of people one hell of an explanation and apology.

Electric lightbulbs blacken.The traffic lights all go out.

dancing lights
city streets
cars headlights zoom past knowing
you are alone in this world
walking on a concrete sidewalk
looking for something or someone
while 8 passenger SUVs drive past with just a driver
you watch the dancing lights
on the freeway
like bees
desperately searching for the hive

 the wind whips over the lake
its fingers touching the surface
like you touch me when we make love
soft and nice.
every now and then the breeze picks up
the water swirls and splashes
and we wake up with a bruise

My Name Is Ralph

My name is Ralph. I turned six years old last week. My mommy had a birthday party for me and all my friends came over, we had cake, and ice cream, and I got lots of presents. After opening my presents all the mommy”s said it was time for us to go outside and play. Mommy”s did that a lot when they wanted to be left alone to talk. I live on the 5th block in Upper Newchester, that”s what my dad says to tell anyone if I get lost. I have a small front yard but that is ok because the park is just through a hole in the back fence, down the alley and across the street. Mommy lets me go there because she can see the park from the house. On my birthday me and my friends all walked over to the park.

Last summer I couldn”t go to the park much unless my mommy took me. She said that derelicts were hanging out in the alley and were doing bad things back there. Daddy even put boards up over the hole in the fence so I wouldn”t talk to them. My friend Billy says that derelicts are bad. One night I woke up and looked out my window towards the alley and saw a bright light coming from there. I got scared and ran to my mommy”s room. She said it would be ok and called the police. After that the derelicts were gone and I could walk to the park again.

The alley was different after that summer with the derelicts. Me and my friends would run through it now because it was scary. The derelicts had painted weird things on the walls like pictures of monsters and big words that I didn”t know how to say. My friend Billy says I”m a chicken and that he isn”t afraid of the pictures. One day Billy was making fun of me at the park just before supper, so I dared him to walk through the alley by himself. He laughed at me again and hit me. I told him I was going to tell and ran over to the policeman. When I looked back Billy was running across the street into the alley. I guess Billy really wasn”t afraid. My mommy came to get me after that and we went home for dinner.

That night Billy”s mommy called us and asked if he was over at my house. Billy didn”t come home from the park that day. I didn”t want to tell my mommy that I had dared Billy into the alley, I would get in trouble, so I said I hadn”t seen him. That night the light was in the alley again, I pulled the covers over my head and hid.

Even in today”s modern world, of high tech electronics, and the domination of man, secret horrors still exist. The horrors live in the deep places, the remaining few still around, dark woods, empty unvisited caves, and the cold still lakes. The places forgotten about or still unreached by development and civilization. But sometimes these places even exist just outside the spaces heavily occupied by modern man, overlooked, brushed off, looked at daily, but unexplored, lost in the arrogance of technology. It is one of these places, which I happened upon, one of these places, so close to all we know, one of these places I will send you my warning about, perhaps in vain.

It was just last year, but seeming like yesterday, that I and my lovely wife moved into one of the local upscale complexes occupying the edge of expanding city of Tampa, Fl. It was beautiful, newly built, palm trees, and swimming pools, a place that many young business men and women were moving to, trying to escape the slow decay of an old and dying city. It was at this apartment, with its new carpet and cold white counter tops, that this story begins, and I will tell you in the best of my ability, and leave it up to your judgement to determine what exactly happened. The apartment building was typical for the area, grouped into four or eight units in a two story rectangular shape, often painted with flat two-tone earthy colors to blend into the surrounding trees of a nature reserve that the complex bordered. This was one of the main reasons we had picked our particular unit, it was on the ground floor and had a screened in patio that overlooked the pine forest that made up part of the large nature reserve. It was the best of both worlds, modern living, on the edge of a large forest; it seemed an ideal place to live.

The first few months were uneventful, just the idea of what you would think it to be for any modern working couple. We would work in the day; come home and my wife would cook dinner. Then perhaps walk the dog in the evening, and as the weather cooled, we would often sit on the porch enjoying the sight and sounds of the pine forest just outside the patio. It was perfectly normal until around the fourth month, that was when I started noticing things, small stuff at first, but noticing none the less. The smell was the first thing, faint at first, a mild scent of mold, or decay, coming from the forest on days with a light breeze. It seemed normal the first week or so, often and old area of trees will produce that faint scent of decay, but then it started getting stronger. It seemed to permeate the entire area, to the point that being outside for any period of time had become entirely unpleasant. One evening, I encountered my neighbor who lived across the hall coming home work and questioned him about the smell, and if he had noticed it. His response was quick, and slightly aggravated in nature, “That”s just a dead animal or something, pay it no mind” his eyes unconsciously glancing toward the trees as he said it. I was surprised a bit and stood silent, watching as his door slammed behind him. Needless to say, our days of sitting on the porch were over, we only went outside now to leave, or to take the dog for a needed walk, but this neither would last much longer.

During the next few weeks as the stench from the trees got worse, my dog seemed to get rather jumpy. First the dog would stare out through the glass door for hours on end, this was quite unnerving, since it wasn”t a lazy lay down stare of a dog, but a full standing tense stare, directly at the trees outside. This would not stop, the only thing we could was to drag the dog away and close the large hanging blinds, and obstruct the dogs view of the trees entirely. Then the barking began, it would start about 11:30 each night, constant and non-stop. The dog would bark and bark, standing in the same tense startled look facing the direction of the forest. One night during this cascade of barking, which was now keeping me awake throughout most of the night; I heard a strange deep growl from outside the patio window. Shocked for a moment, I moved over to the patio light and turned it on but found nothing unusual near the patio. The next morning, the dog refused to leave the house, and that night didn”t make a sound, the dog just curled up in the far corner of the house, eyes wide and staring.

I was glad the barking had stopped but now found I could only sleep in short spans, which were occupied by odd dreams and sometimes-violent nightmares. My wife on the other hand slept heavy, to the point that waking her was almost impossible. It was during this time that I also noticed myself ever increasingly moving to the patio and staring out into the woods. It seemed I could see a faint light just beyond my vision, I would strain to see it, I couldn”t tell if it was there or not. Other times I would scan the edge of the woods, seeing small glowing eyes peering out, I would grab a flashlight, but then they would just disappear. These all night sessions were now really affecting me.

The mornings and days seemed now to pass quickly, almost dreamlike, I had stopped going to work, as had my wife. She would drift in and out of sleep all day, and would often start making odd mumbling sounds in her sleep, or speaking in what seemed to be a strange language. These mumbling were fairly quiet during the day at first, but as time wore on and the night came she would get louder, her chanting was rhythmic, and all this time I was staring into the forest. I was now sure something was out there, beckoning and calling to me, I was sure something was waiting, but I still sat drifting in and out of my reality, I drifted in and out of sleep. A cool breeze brushing my face made me wake up with quickly. I jumped up startled and disoriented. The door was open to the apartment, leading out into the darkness, to the woods. I instinctively ran to my wife”s room, she was gone, to the forest, I knew she was out there, I could smell the stench stronger than ever. I could see the faint distant light, and tonight, I could here the rhythmic chanting of many voices. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a long bladed knife, charged out the door and into the trees. The branches were catching me as I ran, pulling at my clothes, cutting small gashes into my arms and face. It seemed as if the forest were trying to stop me.

As I ran the light I had been searching for was growing brighter and the chanting louder, I was approaching my fate, whatever this was I would finally find it. I would have the knowledge of what had been consuming me for weeks now. I moved closer, in a madman”s daze, bleeding and clothes torn, I rushed forward to the edge of a large clearing filled with people. No one noticed me; they were consumed in a spinning circular dance, that moved in beat to the slow chanting that they were all making. This dance circled a large glowing monolithic stone carved with symbols and geometries that seemed to move with the sounds around it. To the left of this were 4 robed figures, each writhing to and fro in front of a black slab that was laid out before them. In my horror I saw my wife, laying on the slab, clothed entirely in white, but with mystical runes painted on her flesh, she seemed unconscious of all around her. The faces I recognized of al my neighbors, people I had passed while getting the mail, all were sinister and lustful, moving in a frenzied circular motion around this monolith and altar. The chanting was now rising and getting louder, the glowing stone seemed to crack and let forth a large roar as chunk fell to the ground, with that a fissure opened near the stone that held my wife. Fire erupted from it, the people were now in a screaming frenzy, swirling and dancing, chanting and writhing on the ground. The fissure again grabbed my attention, from which a long grey tentacle was coming forth, it was octopus like with suckers, but had long dark spines along its back. This was moving towards my wife, and as it seemed it was juts about to reach her, I sprung forth in a mad dash, fire burning, reflecting in my eyes. I made the stone, and plunged the knife deep into the rubbery tissue of the tentacle. A horrible nightmarish scream erupted. The throng of people were now scattering and yelling, in disarray. I grabbed up my wife and once again found myself fighting the trees, but this time to escape.

I could hear many running behind me, howling and chasing me, I could hear the roars and bellows come from the beast. The forest seemed so deep now, holding us within, the dark forces that worked within it were chasing us, almost gaining. I shielded my wife”s face from the branches as I ran. It was then I could feel the cold behind me, it was about to stretch that slimy grip upon me, when my dog snarling and ferocious jumped from ahead of us and grappled with the thing that was behind. I burst from the woods, and made for the car, the engine starting as I heard the horrible cry of my dog, then nothing. We flew from that place, and drove fast and far, far away.

So you see, even in today”s modern world, there are places, dark places, surrounded by all that we know, but containing things we should not see. These places exist, just next to where we think its safe, not even hiding, but hidden, hidden by mans modern arrogance of the dominance of science. These places, these things I have experienced, judge for yourself if it were true or not. Judge for yourself, if that small section of trees is empty, if that person you know so well, is who they say they are. If your technology, is the answer.

I saw the add for a part time programmer in the local school newspaper and decided, mainly because my grants didn”t cover all of my expenses, to take my chances at getting this job. I also thought some brushing up on my programming skills in between class projects would be good for my resume anyways. I called the number in the paper and arranged for a meeting the following day in the late afternoon. The location was close to the campus, and at first thought I was in the wrong place as this was an upscale residential neighborhood, but upon checking the address against my notes, I realized this must be the place.

The outside of the house was beautiful, the property surrounded by a six foot wrought iron fence, which enclosed green lush acreage covered in tall grand oaks and lovely azaleas. The house itself was early northern American gothic style, having large gray columns set against an aging white base color. The windows were large and plentiful, being symmetrically placed on either side of the large double doors that stood in front of a concrete circular driveway that led from the front gate. I pulled my bicycle to a stop at the gate and was about to finger a small electronic pad to the left to let someone know I had arrived, when gate began to slide open. I looked around wondering if a small camera had captured my approach, but could not find one.
I wheeled up the driveway taking in the trees and lovely fragrances from the various flowering bushes before pulling my bike up to a large column at the front and approached the door. A small greying man opened the door, seemingly of great age, but upon his warm hello and firm handshake seemed quite a bit more youthful. “Good afternoon! ” he exclaimed, a warm broad smile opening on his face. I am Dr Jorge, mathematician and scientist, I would presume you are the fellow who called in interest about the ad yesterday?”

I confirmed his assumptions as I followed him rapidly through a large entry hall, through a living room area, and finally into a modest but again large kitchen area. “Have a seat. ” the doctor said. “Please tell me a bit about yourself while I fix us something to drink”. I began by fumbling in my small pack for a resume I had banged out the previous night, and started to go over the few places I had been employed and the stuff I had done while the doctor filled two large glasses with bottled water. After my small five minute speech the doctor said, “So you have done some programming before then” he turned to face me. “Is that what your major is in school?” he asked as he walked over to the table and sat down. I told him I was a language major, both ancient and electronic. “Very good,” he said while handing me a glass of water and glancing over my resume. “Well if you are interested, the job pays fifteen dollars an hour … and you can work as much as you like, with a minimum of at least twenty hours each week. We will try out your skills for the first couple weeks and see if it works out … how does that sound?”

I left a couple of hours later after discussing in more detail the times I would come in and the exact type of programming I would be doing. It turned out it was in FORTRAN with some minor COBOL, older languages that I hadn”t used in a while, but I would catch back on quickly enough. One thing that I had forgotten to inquire about was what systems I would be working on, I couldn”t imagine the doctor having any real advanced computer system in his house, but perhaps his projects were not that elaborate. If anything I could take any real number crunching I needed to do in to the school lab.

The following Tuesday I only had a couple of morning classes, so after finishing I gathered up some of my reference books and went off to my first day at work. The gate was open as I arrived, and the front driveway had some electronics trucks parked in it. I noticed some workers moving around the side of the house were assembling what appeared to be a large antenna of some sort. I was about to have a close look when doctor Jorge opened the front door. “Good afternoon, glad you are here … I have been waiting for you!” He exclaimed with a broad grin. “Come in, come in. I want us to get started right away.”

I again followed him quickly through the house, this time through a huge sitting room, down a long hallway filled with Grecian busts, and finally to a tall square door that opened to a winding stairway leading down into the basement of the house. “I was wondering what type of systems we would be working on?” I was starting to ask as I turned the comer at the bottom of the stairs, my question was cut short at what I saw.

The room was filled with computer systems, some of which I recognized, and others far more advanced and larger than anything I had ever seen. There was a wall filled with sun workstations, all. connected to 3 e10000 servers dedicated in a large cluster configuration. The wall opposite of that had a large glass enclosure filled with some kind of gas cooled disk array, and this was connected to a centralized tape changing system that occupied the center of the room. The third wall contained about 20 pc based systems and a very large battery backup system that went from floor to ceiling. “I hope this answers your question.” The doctor laughed. I was in shock, this was more computing power then I had ever seen.

“Every 5 pc”s are connected to the mainframe there in the cooling chamber.” He pointed to the large glass enclosure. “The sun workstations are each independent, but use the e10000s cluster as file and background job processing, the backup unit does a full system backup nightly, while maintaining differential backups hourly.” He said motioning to the large tape unit in the center of the room. “You might also notice toward the rear of the room the test chamber, this is where we will, conduct all of the trial runs.” I looked towards the back of the room and noticed another glass enclosure, this one containing a single workstation with hundreds of wires hooked up to it. “Well have a seat, let me show you what we will, be working on”.

I watched as the doctor moved about the room, first going into a small. cabinet and taking out a wine glass, then taking the glass and placing it on a comer table within the test chamber. After this he connected several long cables to flat directional microphones, which he placed on black stands all around the casings of two of the workstations. “Have you ever heard of Ley lines?” He glanced over at me raising an eyebrow. “No, I don”t think so.” I responded. “Ley lines circle the earth, they are invisible lines that connect each and every ”magical” sight on earth. For instance, Stone Henge, The Pyramids, and supposedly the underground continent of Atlantis, are all part of this network of connecting lines.” The doctor began connecting more wires to a small generator that was under one of the desks. “These Ley lines, although often disputed, DO exist. They are channels, or rivers of electro magnetic energy. Alfted Watkins first discovered them in 1921, or perhaps I should say re discovered the ancient druids and mystics knew about them, but as science took over, these Ley lines were forgotten.” The doctor turned to me and smiled. “This house here, sits on one of these ”rivers” of energy, and we are going to harness that energy”. He laughed loudly.

“I suppose you know that each of these computer systems generates a small electro magnetic field?” He asked, “Sure, but its quite small.” I responded. “Yes it is, but, it CAN be measured…. and arnplified, and best of all….” He paused and nodded. “Tuned!” I responded in a puzzled voice. “I”m not sure I follow you doctor.” “Well you see, as each system does calculations, its field of energy changes, depending on how hard it is calculating, and if you put in just the right numbers, you can generate a frequency close to what you need…. watch.” The doctor said as he flicked some switches on the generator then sat down at one of the workstations. “Focus your attention on the test chamber,” he pointed at the wine glass. I watched, very interested in what was going on, the doctor was bangm*g away at the keyboard very quickly. I could see rows upon rows of numbers flowing past on the screen changing and calculating at an incredible pace. “Do you hear it?” The doctor said turning towards me now, and cocking his ear slightly. I listened, straining at first to hear anything above the normal hum of computer fans and the generator. At first nothing, but then growing slightly louder by the minute. “Yes I can hear it!” I smiled and nodded. “That”s it!” He exclaimed. “That”s the sound of energy!” He ran over to a small dial on the generator and began slowly turning it.

With this the sound began to get louder and more refined. The quiet almost inaudible hiss was now getting loud enough to cause my ears to start ringing, and the more he turned the dial on the generator, the more tuned and precise the sound got, gaining pitch and volume until it was a splitting constant tune. At this point the doctor hit a switch on the wall, which caused the sound to be moved from our room, into the test chamber. “Look!” He screamed, both of us still deafened from the whine. The glass on the small table first began to shake slightly then simple burst. The doctor laughed loudly, throwing back his head, he then turned off the generator and began disconnecting the various wires. “We can harness these energies here, the Ley lines amplify them enough in this house to actually use their power!” He smiled, and looked almost maniacal.

After this we talked for a while longer and by the time I left it was very late in the evening, apparently the small experiment and display took much longer than I had thought. I was quite amazed at the ability to harness the frequencies of the calculating chips, apparently from what the doctor said, the Ley lines that the house sat on allowed these to be amplified enough to actually use them. This is why he worked here; he bought this house specifically because of its position on one of these ”channels” of magnetic energy. It was new to me, and I still couldn”t actually see any practical purpose in using these frequencies, but the pay was good and I was willing to learn more. That night before I went to sleep, I could still hear the uncomfortable whine of the computers.

The following weeks were spent at a frantic pace, the doctor would supply me with certain numbers, and equations, and I would formulate small routines to do the calculations. Each routine he insisted had to repeat itself and work out each equation to its end over and over. This was not too Oficult, it just required the proper code structure and error checking, the same as any basic program. At the end of each day the doctor would move various objects into the test chamber, glasses, wood, books, all of which were wired to a bunch of instruments, and he would run the frequency tests on the code we had generated. Each of these appeared to do nothing, and I still couldn”t figure out what he was doing.

The next few weeks went the same, but the doctor appeared to be getting a little frustrated. He would often come down to the lab looking rather disheveled, he was also frequently barking at me to hurry up, or “Check the code!” he would yell. The broad smile he had was fading quickly. The doctor was also demanding more and more of my time, it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with my classes due to the late nights spent working in the lab. I decided it was time to leave this job and get on track with my studies.

When I arrived at the doctor”s house that afternoon, it was very quiet. I went down into the basement to find Dr Jorge sitting in near dark, reading a large book under the light of the many computer screens in the room. He looked as if he hadn”t slept for the past week. “I think I”ve found it!” He nodded slowly, face not leaving the book. “We have been going about the calculations all wrong.” I noticed the glass to the test chamber was cracked, and the door entering the small room was broken open. “I did some tests last night with these new figures, you can see what happened.” He noticed me looking at the test chamber. “Tonight, we will have our final results.” I wanted to tell him I wouldn”t be working anymore, but figured I would help him this one last night. “What happened to the test chamber?” I blurted out; wanting to make sure these new frequencies weren”t dangerous. “Oh don”t worry, I just had the generator up to high, I know the exact levels we need tonight.” He grinned at me oddly.

The tests began as usual again that final night, after we taped up the glass of the test chamber and re secured the doorway, the doctor handed me a large stack of equations and figures to code. This time instead of being straight hand written numbers, some of the pages were Xerox copies of different texts, the first few pages were from a numerology book and the doctor had ciphered certain Latin and Hebrew words into mathematical sequences. The next couple of pages were Kabalistic documents that did the same thing, this time with a verse from an ancient Sumerian text. The next few pages were very interesting, series of machine code, all in zero”s and l”s apparently forming some link between the previous texts in straight computer code. I began my work.
It must have been very late in the evening and the pages of numbers were making me tired. The doctor was hovering over me and prodding me to finish, checking and rechecking my work this time. He kept saying “NO ERRORS! This has to be EXACT!” I did my best to get all of the pages coded in night, the bridges between routines, and the sequence analysis output correct, but the numbers were dragging on me. The doctor had everything hooked up by the time I was done. All the wires, microphones, the generator was running, and this time he also had to medium sized satellite dishes in the test chamber. They looked Eke small television receivers, but were pointed towards each other over the table in the center of the test chamber. “Lets begin.” The doctor said as I finished my final bit of code.

Each computer in the room was going to be involved tonight, I knew this was going to be the big test, the doctor even gave me precise times to start the code sequences on each system. “Each one has to be done just right, the frequencies all must be in tune!” He started the code on the first machine, and the small but perceivable whine began. “You see electro magnetic energy is a great force.” He pointed at me and I began the sequence on the next few computers, the whine intensified. “It has the power to provide motion, to provide acceleration, to provide transportation.” He started turning the tuning knob on the generator. The sound was again starting to become high pitched, and painful to listen to. “If the frequencies are just right, we can move matter through space, turning it briefly into direct energy, then instantly back again, do you understand what I mean?” I was dumbfounded, as I now understood the nature of the doctors research…. teleportation through the use of electromagnetic amplified fields. “Start the rest of the codes in the proper sequence, DO NOT vary from the plan I gave you, do you understand?” I nodded. The doctor then to my amazement, went inside the test chamber and sat between the two satellite dishes. I ran to the glass and screamed, “What are you doing? You can”t test this on yourselfl” He shook his head and screamed, “Stick to the schedule! This is our only chance!”

I stared briefly into the room, and then began the sequence step by step on each system as the doctor wanted. I actually thought to myself that nothing would happen, nobody can teleport, especially with sound, and what would all these numbers taken from ancient texts actually accomplish. I moved from system to system, each time a new code structure began, the frequency began to change and develop, it at first got deafening, I was grasping my ears in pain, but as the code developed it seemed to grow distant. Distant and far off, as the room itself now seemed, I was able to move about in the normal respect and was stiff operating the systems and watching the code move past, but I seemed to be hovering above myself. As I punched in the code on last machine I glanced over at the test chamber. The doctor appeared to be enveloped in a white light that was coming from the two satellites. He had his head arced back and mouth open as if he was in extreme pain. I screamed, all seemed to be in slow motion now, the room growing ever distant.

There was a slight pop and I was in another place, but the same. It was a darkened landscape, burnt and void. There was neither sun nor moon, only the house central to my vision. It was glowing and large electric currents seemed to be flowing through it. With each of these spasms of electricity I could see vague amorphous forms floating closer to

the house and myself. Each seemed some dark visage of a demon or beast talked about in the tales you heard when you were a child. The cold stillness of the landscape gasped at me as I hung motionless before this scene. Then the pop came again. I was back in the lab, lying on the floor, the doctor was now a glowing white mass, and a large black void was opening behind him in the test chamber.

I tried to struggle to my feet, but a heavy force seemed to be resting on my shoulders. It was then I noticed, below the table I had been working on, a sheet of paper. It must have fallen when I was doing the final coding earlier in the evening, and now the code was running on each system without this crucial piece. I knew I had to stop the computers, the dark rift in the chamber was now almost engulfing the doctor, and the piercing whine was shaking everything. As I dragged myself to the generator I notice black forms starting to emerge from rift, the doctor was now completely engulfed. I frantically hit switches and turned dials, trying to shut off this power source. Nothing seemed to work. I staggered to my feet, barely able to move, I had to destroy this system, this place.

I pulled myself over to a huge monitor and heaved it up, ripping wires and cables from its back as I lifted it from its perch. I struggled and flung this with all my might at the casing of the gas cooling chamber, containing the large array, which was now flashing and humming, processing at tremendous speed. The monitor hit dead on and cracked the chamber causing a small explosion that flung me back towards the stairs. I could see gas and flame shooting out from the crack; the void in the test chamber was now seeping out into the lab, along with dark shadows and forms. I turned and scattered quickly up the stairs, as fast as my now bruised body would let me. I reached the front door as the terrible screech reached its most heightened pitch, and then an explosion sent me flying through the air and into a tree, I was out.

I awoke, aching, bruised, and bleeding. The pain in my head was piercing, but it was quiet, the incredible screech was gone. I turned and saw across the street a smoldering ruin of the once grand house. It appeared as if a bomb had dropped on it, the lot once green and lush was now blackened and burnt, the smell of sulfur and ozone filled the air. In the distance I could hear sirens, growing closer as I stared. I staggered again to my feet and began to make my way home, but as I stumbled away, I heard a small pop, and could have sworn I saw a black shadowy form move in the distance.

It must have been two or more years ago that they arrived. The large metal ships looked like huge Skyscrapers turned on their side, the metal dull and used looking, with thousands of small square windows Covering the ships. They landed in Michigan, near a small town named Coloma. This had no significance, they did not know the structure of our government, they didn”t know what was or wasn”t important. It was just chance. The world”s attention was immediate, all the large nations had monitored the ships incoming through the atmosphere, it was a major event.

The governor called out the National Guard right off the bat, a typical response, probably brought on through indoctrination of hundreds of early horror films, which depicted just the same event. The National Guard made the typical response as well, almost launching into a full-scale assault of the ships, even before anything happened. These vehicles had come all the way across the vastness of space, and the first thing these geniuses wanted to do was blow them up, get that! The president had to call out real troops to keep the national guard off, now there was a large force from the army, circled by a large group of national guardsmen, surrounded by police, surrounded by the media, being pressed upon by a final outer ring of curious locals. It was quite a scene.

The funny thing was nothing happened. The ships just landed, smashed a few trees, and scared a few animals, then just sat. This is how it was for almost six weeks, complete silence, no humming, no strange lights, no strange sounds, just large ships, sitting silently, surrounded by this ever-growing throng of people. The press ate this up, providing ”what ifs” ever night, interviews with people who supposedly had been snuck aboard the ships by green large headed aliens. The military on the other became extremely nervous, even erupting into outbreaks of civilian bashing now and then on those that got to close. It was a crazy time. On the first day of the seventh week something finally happened.

It began as a low whine, coming from within one of the first and largest ships that landed. This whine lasted for 3 days, very quiet, almost inaudible. It was just loud enough to hear, and just low enough to make you feel like you were going crazy. Then the other ships started doing the same thing, all whining at precisely the same note, quietly, annoyingly, and non stop. This didn”t really change in volume but the combination of all five ships making the noise, made it seem like it was growing in volume, even fluctuating at times. This noise was making the military stationed around the ships very edgy, as a matter of fact everyone was edgy. And this noise continued for another 3 months.

The media during these three months started reporting increasing numbers of arrests from places around the country and the world. It seems the debate about the visitors was causing heated arguments, and the stress of not knowing was making some people a little crazy. Fights were erupting at offices, bars, and even in private homes. A slow shift was taking place, everyone seemed to be on edge, everyone seemed just about to crack, reports were even coming in from as far away as Australia. The worst of the reports though was from near the craft. Things happening there were just terrible.

It seems many of the civilians just couldn”t take the sounds anymore, they charged into the outer ring of police armed with sticks, small handguns and just about anything they could grab. The police were already on edge, starting fighting back, shooting, punching, bashing, from there you can imagine. A guardsman was shot; they started shooting, and so on, and so on. Soon the whole area was in turmoil, bodies were everywhere, bullets were flying, people were screaming, bleeding. This spread to Coloma, the town next to where the ships landed. Within six hours, the entire town was ablaze.

The news of this happening spread quick, people were being killed on network television, all in the shadow of the large ships, and the dull whine. Of course it didn”t stop there, this chaos caused even more chaos. The following day, nobody went to work, everyone was afraid, this was creepy enough, but the following night bombs started going off in cities all over the country. It all went downhill from there. People were taking to the streets, fighting, looting, all this stopped the fire departments from getting to the bomb blasts, fires started spreading, and everything was burning. And this was happening in every city, village, around the world.

The days following that were like night, the smoke from the fires all over the country was obscuring the sun, bodies were in all the streets, anyone who tried to get away was jumped by gangs, women being raped, men with their throats cut. The police and armed forces were in total disarray, most of them joining in on the anarchy, they had the powerful guns and more ammo, they were doing plenty of killing. This continued for two months, nothing was the same anymore. Starvation and hunger, all the cities burnt to the ground, some of them still burning, civilization was destroyed.

When the whining stopped on the third month, nobody remembered the ships, those that were still alive, who didn”t starve; who weren”t murdered or raped had forgotten the ships. They had forgotten how things had been, everything was gone, and everything was burned. Those that were left only wanted to live, to find a meal, to find some moderate shelter away from the vicious animals that would murder them in the night. Nobody was there when the whining stopped, and nobody was there when they lit up the sky and blasted off into space.

The Faith Based Popularity Contest

Many things about Christianity are appealing to a large amount of people. This is obviously true for religion in general with the amount of conscripts each one of them has around the world. People have a tendency to want to believe in a higher power, a divine purpose, or just a philosophy that is greater then themselves. I think this is because people are afraid of walking alone in this world and desire the comfort of these greater ideas to see them through hard times. This can explain a bit as to why people follow religion but not really as to which religion is more appealing, or in the states where it applies, which Christian religion is more appealing. This I feel has more to do with social and economic factors and not so much with the general belief system.

What do I mean by social factors? Well it is common for most people to have a general herd mentality when issues come to a point of fear and/or personal safety. This herd type mentality comes into play when people choose a religion I think. A person does not want to be seen as an outcast, nor do they typically want to single themselves out for ridicule even if they know the ideas they are suggesting are right or true. This alone will help determine what religion people pick in society. If it is unpopular to be a Muslim, because of September 11^th, and a person has a greater chance of ridicule for being a Muslim then they will have the tendency to stray away from that religious path. This in reverse can help push an appealing religion.

If a person is in a community or society where the majority faith is Christian then simply for the reason of not being ridiculed they will choose Christianity, but this can delve further down. If your local environment ( town, city, subdivision ) pushes a certain faith these same pressures will apply to make a person want to join that faith. A community full of southern baptists will put pressure on a person who might be catholic and try to convert them over to their faith. And while this might not be done in an aggressive form like in ancient times, subconscious peer pressure will be applied. ( maybe even conscious pressure ) This form of pressure can be seen in society’s like Nazi Germany, where being of the state minded faith basically meant you stayed alive while pointing the finger of oppression at other religions. This is the perfect example of societal influences affecting Christian faith popularity.

In addition to social pressures, economic factors help divide faiths, and provide certain faiths popularity boosts. America is divided up economically, this can been seen by just driving through Tampa. In certain areas you see all well to do people, fancy houses and cars, and in other areas you find lower class or middle class people. This is because of housing costs in those areas and that people want to be around people that are like themselves. Now this doesn’t mean a rich guy cannot move into the bad part of town, it is just not common. Richer areas have ingrained faiths and value systems that apply to them. So as you move up the social ladder and mingle with different classes of people you will find different religious demographics.

It is common knowledge that many poor blacks are Baptists, Catholics are known for their support of the middle and working class, and the rich are Protestants or Jewish. Now this is of course based on broad stereotypes, but these stereotypes are their for a reason and that is because the people in these classes typically fit into that religious mold. How does this fit in with religious popularity? Well a growing poor class might mean a surge in the Baptist religion, where a shrinking middle or upper class will show a decrease in Catholic or Protestant religion. Many of these examples can be seen in todays society.

So which is the faith with greater appeal in todays age? Based strictly on the arguments above I would say it would be a faith that has a growing economic segment ( probably poor to lower middle class in todays society ) such as Southern Baptist, or Evangelical Faiths ( these as stated above cater to the poorer class ) these also have a large peer influence because of their growing stature. This growing stature also means a greater degree of pressure on society to believe in what they preach and believe. ( more political and local social power ). Now of course there are exceptions and this is broadly based, but it seems that it is generally true.

The New Testament & The Trappings of Doctrine

The idea in modern society of believing in Jesus Christ will get you into heaven is a faulty one. The teachings of Jesus I feel are ideals that one should try to live up to, but it seems that most people instead of trying to understand their Christian faith and ideals simply follow a well laid out path ( of whatever their particular church preaches ) to salvation. This in my opinion is a slap in the face to real religious people who seek knowledge and love.

I have seen it many times, a person who attends church on Sundays and walks around preaching right and wrong, explaining the 10 commandments to you, and talking about what their preacher says, but then this same person will do whatever they want without following the teachings themselves. For instance, almost everyone in this country claims to be Christian but then many of them join the military which as we know would require them to kill somebody. I don’t think you can go against the teachings of thou shall not kill simply because of your religion is preaching it is the right thing to do. Country has no sway over the word of god, at least in my opinion.

It seems that the teachings of Jesus have actually been lost to many Christians and replaced with book worship, and misinterpretations of the words within the bible. The kingdom of God is here, love thy neighbor, turn the other cheek. These are all great teachings but they are not taken to heart by most. Many think its just to hard to turn the other cheek in todays society, or they think that they can do what they want because on Sunday the lord will forgive them. I think this problem exists because of organized religion. Once religion became an entity unto itself and not an ideal for living it had a need to survive. This need to survive meant in ancient times perhaps speaking the mass in Latin so the peasants couldnt understand and the religious leaders who use this mysterious language to be the keepers of religion. Or perhaps it was keeping sacred texts out of the hands of every day folk ( the Vatican still has many secret texts in its library ), this being done so only they could interpret the word of god. This allows the keepers of the knowledge to hold sway over the meanings of the words of god and of course the doctrine. Keep the doctrine keep the faith. I feel that many these days worship the idea of religion and do not actually understand their religion or study the teachings of Jesus themselves.

So in closing of this section, I feel it is utterly necessary to be a mystic and extend love to others regardless of class, religion, skin color, or creed. These are the true meanings of the words of Jesus, it was never meant to be this ‘God is on our side’ attitude that almost everyone has today. To read within and expand your personal temple ( within you ) is the idea that I think Jesus wanted to convey. Grow yourself and become a better person to the people around you and they will hopefully do the same.

What was the best lesson of the semester?

I really enjoyed reading about Hinduism as I felt the ideas were very nourishing and open compared to the religious ideas I get from most Americans today. I felt the ideas of the stages of life were actually very logical and I can see how I have gone through some of these stages myself. The stations of life I felt though were an extreme form of what religion should hope to eliminate. These were probably put in place through misinterpretations of their religious teachings and pushed by upper class people of the time. ( the rich always enjoy keeping the poor in line ) And perhaps the poor caste accepted it better since they would not be punished as badly for crime, or if they though “Hey I am moving up the ladder”.

I found the ideas of Buddhism and Confucianism to be extremely foreign to the ideals I was raised with and therefor quite difficult to comprehend. I also felt that perhaps the book did not do such a good job in explaining these ideas very well. I would perhaps like to see a different order in the studies, like starting in christianity and moving into muslim then the eastern religions as this might help people get a better grasp of where the class should take them mentally. It would also offer something familiar to start with as jumping into Confucianism so quick was quite foreign ( even after reading about hinduism ). I will definitely take the Hinduism ideas with me as I continue on my journey, and have already discussed many of the ideas with co-workers I have that are Indian.

I often have wondered about the true meaning of the Christian bible and of belief systems oriented around it. Interested in a sense of what the ideas really mean or represent. Does the bible really mean to say that there is a physical godlike being, or are the stories and lessons contained within it just allegorical tales on how to live. I tend to lean towards the idea that these are concepts on living that provide illumination of thought, but this illumination itself has another idea, one that might pertain to idea Lucifer.

Whatever you want to call him, Satan, Old Scratch, Nick, Lucifer this figure plays an important part in the Christian faith. While there is much debate as to whether Lucifer is truly identified as Satan himself in biblical texts, for this paper we will assume the general Christian belief that Lucifer and Satan are one and the same. Lets first start off with who Lucifer is and what he represents to modern Christianity, discover what he represents to followers of the left handed path, and learn about modern observations of Lucifer.

Satan as interpreted today by many Christians is another name for Lucifer. Lucifer is mentioned many times in the bible and currently is held to be the one told in Adam and Eve as the serpent, and later as the great dragon in the Book of Revelations. Lucifer is also known as the one who fell from heaven because in his pride he refused to bow to God. He was considered the highest of all angels and wanted to rule heaven himself until God cast him out to and he took up rule of the Earth ( “the god of this world.” (2Cor. 4:4)

Lucifer spends his time trying to corrupt people away from god. He is identified as the tempter in the story of Job, and as mentioned above was the snake in Adam and Eve. He tempts to pull people away from following the word of the lord. His name in Islam is Shaitan and this equivalent means ‘astray’, in the sense that Lucifer makes a person who is with the lord go astray from that path and into darkness or evil. Most modern Christian sects believe this idea to be true and can be seen in many aspects of todays culture.

Anytime Lucifer is portrayed in modern television, or depicted in a religious pamphlet he is depicted typically as a red horned beast tempting the righteous into sin and oblivion. Sometimes he will bear the mark 666 on his body somewhere like in the movie ‘The Omen’. He is usually moving about causing great harm to people, murdering, causing animals to go crazy and generally being a bad guy. Religious pamphlets and Sunday morning preachers on television always talk about him as the ultimate bad guy, tempting young children into drugs, girls in to pre-marital sex, and other wanton acts of self destruction.

This though does not really fit with his name, as he is considered the light bearer, the light of the morning. Perhaps this is in relation to his name which in ancient times Lucifer represented the planet Venus, or perhaps it is in relation to the fact the Lucifer actually leads one into light of self illumination. This self illumination being knowledge ( forbidden or not ) that God did not want Adam and Eve to have in the garden of eden. But how does this idea move into what are considered the darker sides of religion or fraternal organizations?

The Knights Templar were considered one of the earlier and most famous orders of holy knights that possessed a secret knowledge. This secret knowledge was thought to have been what corrupted the knights away from their holy beginnings as the poor soldiers of Christ and the temple of Solomon. As they gained in power and holdings, they also supposedly grew in their possession of secret knowledge of the mysteries of the bible and of ancient biblical relics. These secrets are what brought the knights downfall around 1307 when King Phillip the Fair ordered most of the order arrested and tortured for apparently worshiping a deity closely resembling Lucifer named Baphomet. Were the Templar knights worshipping a deity for purposes of evil, or was Baphomet another name for Lucifer and a keeper of hidden knowledge?

The left handed path ( in direct opposition to the right handed path, such as in the saying ‘the right hand of God’ ) is commonly referred to as Satanism. It is referred to this way mainly because it is the opposite of Christianity. Christianity being a right handed path is fraught with rules, biblical and moral concepts as well as the belief in a deity, the left handed path is considered immoral and evil. Its followers however denounce the evil-ness of their chosen path because the left handed path puts responsibility on the individual and not in ancient dogma perpetuated by an organized religion. Most followers of the left handed path also do not worship any kind of deity ( Satan ), but rather believe in self and personal responsibility. ( What is interesting though is more and more modern theologians are stressing the fact that Satan is not a physical being, this goes well against common ingrained tradition of many sects of Christianity and is leaning to more esoteric concept of evil.)

This belief in self and this personal responsibility is translated esoterically as the concept of having ones own knowledge, or being illuminated as many fraternal organizations put it. This illumination concept I feel comes directly from the concepts of Lucifer as the light bearer. While the right handed path wants its followers to believe and follow a well trodden laid out path, the left handed path wants its followers to use knowledge to forge their own path. This puts the two ideas or religions if you will at direct odds with one another and with Christianity being the dominant force throughout the ages, it is easy to see why one demonizes the other ( literally). But perhaps in earlier times before many Christian sects turned into powerhouses, their ideas of god and the bible were illuminating to an oppressed people, this is another question to explore.

It is very easy to track Lucifer or Satan as a literal being in the bible, a few stories mention him or a being like him or a force. But should the bible be read literally like this, could this Luciferian force be just an idea for thoughts or knowledge that is different then what is portrayed in biblical holy texts? As stated above I have often wondered about how the bible should be read and how the idea of hidden knowledge might be represented in the concept of Lucifer. While I do not feel I have really had the opportunity to explore this concept to its fullest, I think this paper has given me time to look at a few cults, religions, and concepts that I might not have looked at but I need to definitely explore these ideas further without as many time constraints in a short class. I am pleased with my outcome of readings on the web and in the bible, but feel this topic needs to be extensively examined.

Joseph Murphy

Sat/Sun World Religions

Take Home Test 1

813-451-2985

Question 1.

- religion at its best

I feel religion is at its best when it helps people move forward in their lives. Helping a person to establish personal goals and boundaries that fit with their own moral standards. While religion or the belief in deity is perhaps in itself not required, the package of most religion is to provide a belief system for each person. This typically encompasses rules and/or advice to live by that is put in place to basically make a persons life better. For instance, ‘do not steal’ is a common rule in many religions, ‘do not kill another human’ as well. These moral standards are put in place by religion to help a person define their boundaries and also have a clue as what to expect from other people. I feel that rules like these make religion worthwhile as they help establish a general code of conduct for society and within this code people can feel comfortable enough to advance their own personal goals and beliefs.

- religion not so good

This same rule system of religion also can have a negative effect on people when taken to extremes or followed blindly. In a closed society or a overly patriotic society people can have a tendency to feel that ‘god is on their side’, such as in the United States today. This patriotic rhetoric about god being on the side of one country is just ridiculous and unfortunately perpetuates racist and overbearing views towards other peoples and cultures. This perfect example is in great effect today with the way most Americans feel and think about Muslims. I think this zeal that Americans are gods chosen people is utterly crazy especially if you take the modern Christian gospel itself into account which never even mentions Americans as gods anything. Todays patriotic Christian right is a great example of when religion might not be so good.

- what does it mean to be religious

Religion definitely means different things to different people. To some like Catholics, it means upholding an ancient belief system full of the mystery’s of the mass and the saints. To others like Muslims it can mean being fervently faithful and praying to Mecca. One thing that does hold all truly religious people together is the idea of faith. Faith, to believe in something beyond what you know or can prove. Faith holds all religions together no matter what their doctrine states. Perhaps some do not eat pork, perhaps some believe Haile Selassie is the lord reincarnate, but all hold in the fact that they belief in a higher purpose, spirit, lord or power that cannot be scientifically proved. I think this ability to have utter faith in the unknown to guide you is what it truly means to be religious.

- is being religious good, necessary or unnecessary & is it necessary to be part of a particular religion

I think being religious can be good and bad as mentioned in the questions above. It is good if a person uses the ideals of their faith to further themselves and their goals without hurting other people, and it can be for the opposite reasons. If it is necessary I do not know for sure, but I think that in a sense religion will always be around. Perhaps not in the robe wearing bible tapping sense. But the concept of a higher good and belief in goals and ones friends and family will always be here. Does this mean we need priests or ancient books to tell us what is right and wrong? I do not think so, humanity itself dictates moral standards of the times. Therefore as an institution religion is unnecessary but being religious about your ideals and following them is good and definitely necessary.

This being said I feel it not really a requirement to be part of any particular religion itself. I mean if you feel an avid and ideological connection with people who share your same value systems, do you really need to have the shell of and organization tied around it? Free expression of beliefs and the ability to follow them is brought up from yourself, not from the trappings of a doctrine put in place sometimes thousands of years ago. Being able to have faith in yourself and your ideals is religion enough, I think a person does not need a priest to explain value systems to them. Express your beliefs with people who have like beliefs and operate in mutual respect and admiration of one another because you truly enjoy that person, do not do so because an ancient book tells you its not right to hate them. These ideals of respect and living together are religious in nature but actually are fundamentals of mankind and have been in place since the dawn of time. So being a certain religion is not necessary but having some good common belief systems is.

- what is the best lesson derived from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism? At what points might they be somewhat problematic?

Hinduism is a very interesting religion. I feel it is one of the more interesting ones perhaps because it is so different in aspects to the Christian belief system I was raised with. I really like the concept that every person has his place and has the ability to move up to the next level in the caste system, eventually reaching the top. While this could also have just been put in place to hold he masses in order for the ruling elite, it still gives a sense that the spirit of their religion is in each person. Everyone can reach the peak and attain the knowledge and become one with knowledge of everything. I also found the stages of life quite interesting in the fact that it really sort of follows how people develop over time. Even in this country equivalents to the Hindu stages can be seen in people as they move through life. Being young we experiment, then we attend school, get married, care for the family, and then retire and seek knowledge. It is nice to see general life put into the concept of how one lives with religion. I also found their aspect of more or less open sexuality to be much more interesting than the puritan ethic that is pushed in America. It seems to make more sense to be open about sex as a passion then to repress it as something vile and dirty. Problems arising from Hinduism though have to do with the stations of life, as they hold a person to a fate no matter what. This is a bad thing, as it means if you are poor you stay poor, if you are a laborer you stay a laborer, and the excuse that ‘well in the next life you will move up’ just doesn’t seem to help.

While the stages of of life allow for people to move through their lives with purpose, the stations of life give everyone a chance to attain a higher purpose. In Buddhism this is totally switched around. Buddhism allows everyone to wake up without having to go through stages to attain knowledge. These stations of life perhaps influenced Buddha greatly when he rode his carriage through the streets and saw the downtrodden and plague ridden people. He in a sense realized, why do we have to suffer now? We can all attain this knowledge, without moving through stations. But while denying the stations he did follow basic Hindu systems of yoga and meditation to achieve his ends. This ability to achieve knowledge and nirvana by anyone is a great concept, but the path to the reaching this level is a hard one. Denial of the basics, while not a requirement seems to be necessary to archive nirvana. Deny need as it is not really needed. You can drink the wine, but why, that is not existence. In the modern world following the path of the Buddha just doesn’t fit with most modern lifestyles.

Confucianism seems to fill in the gaps of Buddhism and Hinduism to me. It provides a societal stance on the basics of enlightenment. These basics are models to live by ( just like other religions ) and are put together in sayings and stories that have been passed on among the tradition for many years. Confucianism really stresses the human side of things as opposed to the other wordly aspect. And is often not thought of as a religion at all but like I stated above, models to live by. Things like a ruler cannot rule without the consent of the people. This means a leader must prove himself worthy and then he will enjoy the support of his people, you cannot rule with force alone. It allows for furthering oneself through martial and mental action like Buddhism and Hinduism but its basic tenants are more fundamental in nature and are more like lessons to live by. I think what is bad about Confucianism is that while it has many good lessons to live by, it is constraining in that its tenants are really based on ancient society and while some of the lessons can be universally applied, others cannot. It is also an idea based on a previous more harmonious version of Chinese history and designed to uphold tradition rather than bring a young population into the future.

TERMS

Brahman – This is the state of being in Hinduism that is the final attainable state. It can be called nirvana, the supreme reality, and even the godhead. This is not to be confused with a caste in Indian society that is at the top level, brahmin. It is thought that this can be achieved through meditation and study.

Caste – Part of the stations of life, there are many castes in Indian culture and up until recently one stayed in ones caste for their entire life. There are Brahmin, the wise men and seers, they are the thinkers and the rulers. Other castes include laborers and unskilled workers at the bottom level. Each caste has its specific duty and level of punishment in society based on the level or responsibility the caste has. For the lower levels lesser punishments are given as these people are thought of as less intelligent and therefor given more freedom.

Krishan – This the the main deity of Hinduism according to the Bhagavad Gita and was a warrior and a teacher. His lessons can be found in many of the Indian texts. He can also be found in many other religions such as Buddhism and even Thelema studies of Aleister Crowley.

Arhat – Is a person who has achieved enlightenment and has a lack of desire because he has infinite knowledge. Buddha was asked if one who has attained this continues to exist. But in an excellent Buddhist response Buddha states its pointless to think about it as no terms can apply to arhat.

Koans – Is a problem or statement that forces you to think outside the box, forces the mind to a state of agitation by the illogical nature of the statemnet. Its intent is just that to force a monk to think on something to the point of exhaustion.

Satori – This is what comes about from a monks koan. This is when the rational removes itself and the monk is suddenly hit with spiritual insight and answer to his koan. It can take many years or can come about in a sudden burst of knowledge and it sheds a new light on everything.

Jen – This is the perfect state of two-ness. It can be translated as man-to-man-ness. Benevolence and love between two human beings and was thought of as the highest virtue in Confucianism. All men are brothers, we are all one person. Confucius stated he had never seen anyone attain this fully.

Chun-Tzu – This is the ‘perfect hostess’. Some at one with everything around, so much so that that can put others and instant ease by giving them their full attention. Of these type of people Confucius thought civilization should be built because of their beauty in character.

Wen – These are ‘the arts of peace’. Music poetry and painting. Confucius thought that the arts empowered humans and he did not necessarily care for the product of the arts but how it built people. He also thought the arts were good because countries with the highest cultural state often were the victors in situations with other countries.

Myself : Whitman
Joseph Murphy

Poetry is the medium of an emotional and intelligent person. A person who is not afraid to show there loves and fears. Walt Whitman was a man such as this. Never afraid to put his feelings on paper and expose himself, Whitman”s style was truly unique to his time. In his poetry, Whitman used his poetic style of free verse, personal involvement, and language to establish a presentation of what it is to be an American.

Traditional European poetry typically has some form of rhyme scheme. Whitman was one of the first to develop the free verse style of poetry. Letting his words form a line that flows off the tongue. “I chant the chant of dilation or pride” ( Whitman 790 ). The line itself although not rhyming with the next forms its own pattern and rhythm with its syllables and form. This rhythmic wording which is best heard when read aloud, is typical of Whitman”s poetry. This new sort of rhythm “was crucial in the development of twentieth century American poets” ( Mack 791 ). Another aspect of Whitman”s poetry is his personal involvement in the verse.

When reading poems, the aspect is typically third person; the reader is watching the poem happen. For example in this line from “Leda and the Swan”

“By the dark webs her nape is caught in his bill, He holds her helpless breast upon his breast” ( Yeats 1455 ). The reader is watching what is happening, in Whitman”s verse Whitman himself is narrating, involving himself and the reader in the story. “And what I assume you shall assume” ( Whitman 791 ). Whitman is always using himself as the eye to see his verse through. “Walt Whitman in his poetry makes himself the center of the universe” ( Mack 789 ). This style was new to the literary world at that time, as was Whitman”s use of language.

Poet”s in Europe during the 1800”s were romantic in nature and tended to use large eloquent and often flowery language. Whitman on the other hand tended to use words that were “in a sense familiar to the reader of that time” ( Mack 790 ). Often European poets like Wordsworth tended to separate themselves from their readers with language that some could not identify with. While Whitman identifies with a large number of the American people with his choice of words.

Whitman had an immense effect on American poetry and literature. His work and style are still being studied and enjoyed today. Whitman”s use of free verse helped set American style. His personal involvement brought the reader into the work, and his use of language helped to identify him as a poet and as an American.

Hunter S. Thompson
Joe Muprhy

People have defined the American dream in many different ways. This dream is always changing depending on the viewpoint of the person seeking it. Hunter S. Thompson has made his attempt at finding this elusive dream in his work Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. While the work has an in depth story line which weaves in and out of the hotels and streets of Las Vegas, the main theme is the self evaluation of the American dream through the narrator ”Raoul Duke” who is a caricature of the author Thompson.

For Thompson”s compatriots the drug crazed main character of his work Fear And Loathing wasn”t much of a shocker. Thompson is known for his own binges with narcotics and is also a heavy drinker. The work was defined as “A vile epitaph for the 60”s” ( Marin 94 ) culture and helped bring in the 70”s. This is probably best summed up by the title of the work. Fear, or fear of what is to come in the next decade, and loathing, loathing the burnt out times of the 60”s. Thompson gained national attention with this work and brought “Gonzo Journalism”, or journalism focusing on getting involved in events, into the mainstream. Thompson has many works of merit and spends most of his time reclusively on his farm in Woody Creek, Colorado sending off “crazed and often hilarious faxes” ( Marin 95 ). Thompson”s reclusive style and drinking binges are easily seen in the personalities of his main characters.

Raoul Duke, the main character and narrator of Fear And Loathing can be seen as a mirror image of Thompson himself. The character uses drugs and alcohol to an extreme in an attempt to escape from his life as a journalist. He is also frequently going off on a paranoid trip about all those around him. This is restated in a critique of the work done by John Hellmann. “Thompson”s self-caricature is a paradox of compulsive violence and outraged innocence, an emblem of the author”s schizophrenic view of America.” ( Hellman 66 ). What this means is that Thompson put himself on paper literally, not just his feelings and ideas. It was Thompson himself blasting through the narration, taking the drugs, and tripping out for the reader throughout Fear And Loathing” pages. This style of writing was cutting edge at the beginning of the 1970”s when the work was first published in “Rolling Stone” magazine, and is still being debated today concerning its merit.

The main problem many critic”s have with Thompson”s work is not the work itself, but Thompson”s use of drugs and counter culture in his work. Thompson started out as a sports journalist, covering the college scene in Florida. It is unconventional for a journalist to get major coverage and applause as a fiction author, but Thompson did it. His journalistic style is quite evident with his in your face descriptions like the opening of the book.

“We had two bags of grass, 75 pellets of mescaline, five sheets of acid, a salt shake of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of uppers, downers, laughers and screamers…” ( Thomspon 4 )

The reader immediately knows the depth of drug use that will be going on because of his descriptive use. His descriptive journalistic style is often discredited because of its content; this can be seen in a critique by Joseph Nocera. “More than anyone else, Thompson has damaged and discredited fiction and journalism”s promise” ( Nocera 44 ). This cheap shot at the style of Thompson in my opinion is just a cheap shot at the 60”s counter culture movement and it”s ideals through the eyes of a conservative critic. Raoul Duke”s use of drugs was the 60”s drug culture defined, there is nothing discrediting about that. The main character”s trip to Vegas and his perceptions of Vegas are Thompson”s search for the American dream, the main theme of the work.

The setting of Las Vegas is a good one for a 60”s counter culture journalist. Where else can a person examine all that is decrepit in the country. A city in a desert, it cannot survive without man, or man”s greed. Las Vegas with its bright lights, gambling, prostitution, and get rich quick lifestyle is Thompson”s idea of an American dream gone bad. As stated by John Hellman, “Las Vegas is Thompson”s idea of artificiality.” ( Hellman 66 ) While the main character is here working on a story, he is constantly hallucinating from the drugs he has taken. He is constantly seeing people as lizards eating each other. This is referring to the predatory nature of Americans, especially as seen in Vegas casinos. This escapism through drug use by the works main character is repeated over and over throughout the work. This is actually what helps the main character discover what the American dream means to him. This drug escapism in my opinion is another example of Americans wish to just forget problems and have a good time. Thompson”s main character is downing the lifestyle of the typical Las Vegas loving American but instead of trying to change it, does nothing but serve his own interest and takes more drugs. This is one of the subtle ironic points made by the book.

A 60”s gonzo journalist, takes a trip to Vegas to do a report. The journalist analyzes the inefficiencies of American culture on the way and while there. The only problem is that he is on a drug binge that alters his perceptions. It is this character”s drug binge that is another example of American hypocrisy and is totally ironic. The character is their searching for the American dream and not liking the mainstream culture he finds. The reality that he is just as much a part of the American dream totally eludes the main character throughout the work, and is classic irony. This perhaps was unintentional on the authors part as he was trying to write the work from a counter culture standpoint and couldn”t see his main character as part of the American dream.

Perhaps the American dream is all too personal for Thompson and this work. Many critic”s see Fear And Loathing not as a work of literary art, but more as a shameless tool for self promotion by Thompson. By caricaturing himself with the story”s main character Thompson was attempting to turn himself into a drug legend and increase profits from his writings. This was stated best by John Hellman who said “Thompson creates Fantasies which record his spirit” or “Thompson Multiplies himself” ( Nocera 44 ) referring to Thompson”s tendency to exaggerate reality. Whether or not Thompson was using his main character as a self promotion tool doesn”t seem to matter. Thompson successfully explored the depths of 60”s drug depravity with the overindulgence of Raoul Duke, and delved into the madness of the so called ”straight” world of the American dream in corrupt Las Vegas. This work is a must read for anyone with an interest in literature and is considered a modern classic by many. This can be seen by the year 2000”s aniversary re-printing and distribution of Fear And Loathing.

Things Fall Apart
Joseph Murphy

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story with hidden meanings. The general literary premise behind the tale is that the main character, Okonkwo has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. But, the story Things Fall Apart, “was a conscious attempt to counteract the distortions of Joyce Cary”s Mister Johnson” which portrayed Africans as being uncivilized and savage. The work is looked upon as a great literary achievement by many readers. But the nature of the tribal lifestyle, especially with it”s treatment of women, is still looked upon as savage by some modern readers.

Modern civilization has developed many tenants that are thought to be absolute and correct. One of these is the idea that men and woman are of equal social status. This is obviously not the case in the villages of Umofia. One of the first signs of this inequality is when Okonkwo”s wife is questioning him about Imekfuna, a prisoner from another village. “Do what you are told woman” ( Achebe, 2103 ) Okonkwo yells at her. It is obviously not her place to question what is happening with the boy Imekfuna. Readers from a modern society such as the United States, would never speak to a woman this way. Another aspect depicting the savage nature of Okonkwo”s existence is the violence towards children.

In America it is a crime to beat on ones”s spouse or child, but this was not the case in the villages of Umofia. After Imekfuna is brought to live with Okonkwo, the first week he refuses to eat. Okonkwo decides to make him eat, “Okonkwo came into the hut with a tick and stood over Imekfuna while he swallowed his yams” ( Achebe, 2109 ). Beating a child with a stick these days would be considered child abuse and probably land a person in jail. The same violence comes from Okonkwo towards his wives later in the story.

Okonkwo has more than one wife and one, Ojiugo his second wife, has gone off to get her hair plaited. This is during what is called The Week Of Peace. A time when violence is not supposed to take place or the tribal gods will be angry. Okonkwo discovers his second wife is not around during dinner when she is supposed to bring him his plate. Okonkwo gets very angry. “when she returned he beat her very heavily”, “his other wives ran out pleading in great alarm” ( Achebe, 2110 ) for Okonkwo to stop. They were not upset at the beating but were upset that the beating took place during this sacred week. This savage act would also land a person in jail today.

The literary accomplishment of Achebe is not being argued. The savage nature of Okonkwo is the character”s tragic flaw. But the purpose of displaying the African tribal system as not being savage has failed. It is agreed that there was a rich social system in the tribes of Umofia, but for modern man to look on that system as not savage is nearly impossible. The treatment of women as objects and children as possessions is practically unheard of in modern times. Perhaps in some ways Joyce Cary was right.

This paper is written in direct response to the discussion we had in class. It does not reflect my personal opinion on the nature of tribal life. I found it interesting that the author wanted the reader to NOT view his culture as savage, but all we could talk about in class was the savage nature of it. Anyways, I hope you get my meaning.