OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), which introduces a new genre of filmmaking, namely sci-fu or scientific futuring (see https://soif.org.uk/about/jim-dator/ and https://foresightguide.com/dator-four-futures/) rather than science fiction or fantasy, is, however, much more. Its intriguing exploration of the nature of the soul instantly elevates it to a metaphysical exploration as well.

Oxford Languages defines metaphysics as “the branch of ...

The upcoming JET Progress production of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”) is an exploration of the other side of the universe and one particular form it might take. When Commander Michael Mylo (played by Daniel S. Janik), his Astership Twilon and crew abruptly disappear on THIS side of the universe, they find, on the other side, innumerable planets with technologies far beyond anything imaginable on his side. Upon return, he must convince his...

THE last of the crew and cast of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), internationally-awarded scoring musician Zachary M. Oliver, has officially agreed to provide the same outstanding score for OTOSOTU as he did for WINNOWING. Kudos, Zach!.

An acknowledged master of musical minimalism, Dr. Zachary M. Oliver PhD is also a distinguished educator and author. He is constantly celebrating music as one of the great achievements of humans, uniting co...

THERE are mangoes and there are mangoes. Then there are Haden mangoes. Rich, juicy, piney, lushious, sap-dripping, brilliant orange Haden mangoes. Not totally alone in quality, there are also ‘Ah Ping’, ‘Fairchild’, ‘Gouveia’, ‘Harders’, ‘Keitt’, ‘Momi K’, ‘Pope’, and ‘Rapoza’ varieties that are almost equal, of the over 60 varieties that grow in Hawaii. The key word here is “almost.” But give me a Mangifera indica Haden mango anytime.

I’ve noted over th...

The JET Progress production of the film WINNOWING has just received semi-finalist recognition and an award in Iceland’s 2024 YETI FilmFest for Best Queer (LGBTQ) film — https://yetifilmfest.com/2024-semi-finalists. This follows a previous nomination by Brooklyn’s 2024 Nocturna Online Film Festival for Best Queer Film — https://nocturnafilmfest.com/2024-spring-results.

WINNOWING is a human drama about human perseverance in which an actor and actress are asked to do a final audition fo...

ALMOST all attention is currently focused on the new JET Progress film, OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”) as it moves through post-production on its way to the big screen for its anticipated 2024 release. With editing completed, it’s time for adding the musical score, hopefully by award-winning musician Zachary M. Oliver who scored WINNOWING, our most recent release. OTOSOTU has just appeared on IMDb, and work on a second official poster, t...

Japanese-born American actress Sakura Kai (aka Setsuko Tsuchiya), co-starring in OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), received her FIFTH “Best Actress” award for her multiple roles as lead actress in the JET Progress production of the film, WINNOWING. She has been awarded “Best Actress” by the Stockholm Short Fest, International Film Festival of Saudi Arabia, Keezhadi International Film Festival, Washington Film Awards and Seattle Filmm...

WHAT’S better than one movie poster? Two, especially if the second one is even better! OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”) now has two posters, the second replacing the first as the official first poster. Yep, it’s that good, or I should say better. But, hey, I still like the original first as it has my picture on it in my roles as Imperax Commander Michael Mylo AND that of his son, Captain-Major Brit Mylo; Sakura Kai as his wife, Carol Myl...

ACTOR Daniel S. Janik will play impuned Imperax Commander Michael Mylo, Imperax Captain-Major Brit Mylo and provide the voice of Captain-Major Kyle Westbrook in the upcoming JET Progress production of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”). Michael, the disgraced captain of the Astership Twilon, which abruptly disappeared during the crucial battle of Tylog-Tyle, returns with an intriguing but potentially deadly proposal from the other side of the ...

THE international-multi-award-winning actress, Sakura Kai (aka Setsuko Tsuchiya) will play Carol Mylo, wife of traitorous Michael Mylo, mother to Brit Mylo, and Dominie-in-Grey to the Imperax Galactic. Sakura appeared as Edna in the movie STATIC (2021). In WINNOWING she played a complex dual role as Sakura Kai and Aika Abiko, appearing in additional roles as Army Weiss, Chiaki Svengaard, Mam Moog, Dai Johnson, Kiko Wright and Masako Pence. Sakura Kai appears in the television series and movie...

OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), a “new genre” Sci-Fu film about what happens to the human soul when Commander Michael Mylo, played by award-winning actor, Daniel S. Janik, accidentally discovers what’s at the other end of our universe. OTOSOTU now has its official first film poster! Co-starring 5-times awarded “best actress” Sakura Kai (aka Setsuko Tsuchiya) and internationally renown author, awarded screenwriter and actor Willia...

A few days ago, it was my pleasure to introduce voice actress Pam Hoffman, “The Voice of the Imperax Galactic.” Today, it’s my added pleasure to introduce renown author, screenwriter, actor, producer and director William Maltese. The recipient of four international “best screenwriter” awards for the film WINNOWING, Mr. Maltese is co-producer, co-director and co-cinematographer for the JET Progress production, OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Un...

IN my fervor to share the progress of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), I’ve neglected sharing the continued success of JET Progress’ recently released drama, WINNOWING at https://winnowing.yolasite.com or, for the making of the movie check out https://janik.yolasite.com/winnowing.php or, for memorabilia the JET Progress Productions’ Cinematic Memorabilia, Gift and Collectables Shop at https://jet-progress.square.site.

WINNOWING, star...

IT’S my pleasure to introduce the first and newest cast member of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), JET Progress’ newest film currently in post-production with a mid to late 2024 anticipated release date. OTOSOTU is a science futuring (Sci-Fu) film about the nature of the human soul. Pam Hoffman will be the official Voice of the Imperax Galactic.

Voice acting isn’t new to Pam, having played the voice of Odee, the BG Oil Drop, and provid...

AS you may well already know, OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe,” a science futuring film about the human soul) has finished filming and is now in post-production, meaning assembly, editing and polishing, at the moment having just transitioned to editing.

Editing is where the film, now assembled correctly, gets turned into a “real” film. In general, scenes are cropped; sounds are added, mixed and modulated; special effects are added; scene...

EVER wondered what actors/actresses do between films? I’m currently “between” OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe” – https://janik.yolasite.com/otosotu.php), which is now in the second stage of post-production (namely editing) and “the next film.”

So, to keep food on the table and the hearth warm, I’m doing as much background acting as possible. I’m currently working NCIS: Hawaii (S3) while scouring the landscape for modeling and...

AH, have you heard about OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for the JET Progress movie “On The Other Side Of The Universe”)? OTOSOTU is unusual right from the beginning, being a sci-fu film about the nature of the human soul. Filming finished in late February, and the work is now in post production, with an anticipated release in late 2024. In the prior post, I described some of what goes on during the mysterious “post-production” period.

As of today, the over 600 scenes, filmed...

WITH over 250 scenes (800 “takes”), OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe,” a science futuring film about the nature of the human soul) now “in the can” (ie, finished and digitally recorded in 4K on the SDXC UHS-1 card from our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500 studio camera), we’ve technically finished filming (or production) and are on to post-production.

To most, the typically 12-months of post-production is a mystery. At JET Progress — ht...

IN my haste to post yesterday about the OTOSOTU “Dragon Egg,” I fueled speculation that the film, a sci-fu (science plausible, rather than fiction or fantasy) work, delving the nature of the human soul, was proceeding so well in post-production that it was possible it might be released in 2023. Sorry, NOT. Admittedly it would add substantially to science fantasy, that is, having a film released before it’s edited, polished and pre-screened. But, no, doesn’t work with sci-fu. What I sh...

DRAGON EGG

SORRY to be absent from social media for a while, but here at JET Progress productions – https://jet-progress.yolasite.com – we’ve been extremely busy wrapping up filming (done!) and beginning post-production of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe). Our current task is to transfer over a thousand takes to a single hard drive, rename them in order of movie sequence, and assemble everything into “raw segments.” Raw, many because...

THAT’S where JET Progress is currently in the production (filming) state of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe, a Science Futuring drama about the human soul).

Science Futuring? There lots of science fiction and fantasy out there, so what’s science futuring? First it’s about science, which, by definition, is about anything repeatable. Second it’s about futuring; that is, plausibility, typically, future technologies or situations based on ...

TODAY was scheduled to be an OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Sew-Toe-Two” for “On The Other Side Of The Universe” - https://otosotu.yolasite.com) filming day in JET Progress’ Studio Two – the “Carol Mylo” scenes. However, last night the principal actress playing Carol, Sakura Kai, came down with a cold, and this morning sounds like a burly security agent, rather than the Dominie-in-Grey for the entire Imperax.

What is a Dominie-in-Grey you ask? Screenwriter William Maltese working with...

JET Progress, an independent film production company in Hawaii, currently offers two multi-award-winning films: CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND, winner of two-Telly awards, The Indian Independent Film Festival, and Saudi Arabia International Film Festival, and WINNOWING, winner of 30+ international film awards and semi-finalist in the Hawaii International and Washington Film Awards — https://jet-progress.yolasite.com. CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND is a documentary on water quality, and WINNOWING is...

THERE are countless New Year traditions, but as I, actor Daniel S. Janik (aka author Raymond Gaynor) and my partner, actress Sakura Kai (aka author Setsuko Tsuchiya) represent a melding of Western and Asian cultures, one of our favorite New Year traditions is making mochi.

The “recipe” is quite simple: Make some rice, specifically mochigome (糯米), a short-grain glutinous rice. In general, the better the “quality” of the rice, the better the mochi. But that’s only half of what make...

MOVIES are a lot like families: They begin with the birth of something new, require lots of coddling throughout infancy, tolerance during toddlership, and frank but kind, constructive criticism during adolescence. OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for On The Other Side Of The Universe – https://otosotu.yolasite.com) has now reached young adulthood, entering pre-production with intriguing, meaningful and mature character-and-scene concepts. During the December, the JET Progress product...

HAVING just recently spent 5 weeks in Japan, I have to mention my delight in discovering hoshigaki. I came across them my first day and almost every day afterwards, tied together in long strings hung from porch roofs throughout the main island, Honshuu. Looking like beaded curtains of brilliant orange, they are the start of dried Japanese persimmons, which herald December and the pending New Year. 

While Christmas is celebrated by many Japanese families, it's New Year celebration that is the...

DURING a brief trip to Japan in late November to visit family, actress Sakura Kai (Setsuko Tsuchiya) and I made an even briefer stop at Toei-Kyoto Studios jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) Park and filming lot for a day — https://global.toei-eigamura.com. Needless to say, being actors ourselves, we had a wonderful time transported back to Japan’s Edo period (1600 to 1868 AD) Japan, walking streets we’d seen in various Japanese movies and shows in the taiga (historical) drama genre. Ac...

CNN reporter Ashley Strickland recently published an article entitled “Mysterious, fast radio bursts in space keep getting stranger (https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/14/world/repeating-fast-radio-burst-quirk-scn/index.html#).

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) — “bright, millisecond-long flashes of radio waves in space” — in their own right, are, in my opinion, quite mysterious enough. Known since 2007, FRBs seem to be “coming from distant points across the universe.” According to Strickland,...

READERS sometimes email me at drjanik@gmail.com asking me if, with my wife and I being actors, we regularly take a limo to go somewhere. Well, yes, it’s true Sakura Kai (aka Setsuko Tsuchiya – https://setsukotsuchiya.com) and I, Daniel S. Janik (https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php) are actors as well as authors, but, ummm, sad to burst the limo bubble, but we walk together to work whenever possible, which is most of the time.

First, weight and body tone always come before luxury. The ca...

TRY this brain-twister: OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” for ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNIVERSE – https://otosotu.yolasite.com) – is welcoming an eleventh character, Chad Stuart. Chad, played by award-winning actor, screenwriter and author William Maltese, is a contemporary screenwriter, actually THE hypothetical screenwriter of this Sci-Fu, action-adventure-drama as it unfolds on this and the other side of the universe. Not twisty enough? Well then, William Maltese, who plays Chad ...

DANIEL S. JANIK here, director and lead actor of OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two” which is the acronym for ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNIVERSE). I was recently asked what I thought would be the biggest challenge in filming OTOSOTU. Remember that OTOSOTU is a production of JET Progress, a small, independent production company in Hawaii — https://jet-progress.yolasite.com.

Well, the final scene will be one in which Michael Mylo will appear inside a spaceship with Brit Mylo, both roles w...

WITH the screenplay by WILLIAM MALTESE finally approved, JET Progress studios has begun preparing for production with the development of a second studio to film off-world scenes, and a new boom-based sound system for better clarity and noise suppression. Script read-throughs are anticipated to begin within the next 10 days.

“OTOSOTU presents several new challenges to us at JET Progress,” says Daniel S. Janik, director and lead actor. “We’re a micro-budget, small film production compa...

YOU heard right! International-award winning author and screenwriter, WILLIAM MALTESE will appear in the JET Progress production of OTOSOTU (“Oh-Toe-So-Two” for ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNIVERSE, a Sci-Fu film about the soul – https://otosotu.yolasite.com. And what you ask is Sci-Fu? Sci-Fu (scientific futuring) is a step beyond traditional science fiction and fantasy, involving totally plausible future scientific technologies of the future.

William Maltese provided the screenplay for ...

YEP! One needn’t look any farther than this High Definition DVD or better yet, a loaded Blu-Ray, of the classic film WINNOWING, winner of 30+ international awards. https://winnowing.yolasite.com. At under $US 25, with no country code, and no gratuitous violence, A “real” holiday gift! Starring Sakura Kai (Setsuko Tsuchiya) and co-starring Daniel S. Janik, this film about persistence is unusual from the start in that Sakura and I play not one, but two different roles and read six differe...

YES, you heard right. Now that the SAG/AFTRA strike is, well, almost officially over, meaning that I’m still awaiting the results of the ratification vote by my fellow actors and actresses, JET Progress has contracted with SAG to produce OTOSOTU (“Oh-Toe-So-Two” – ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE UNIVERSE), with filming scheduled to begin on 1 January 2024. In the meantime, preparations have already begun with the focus on addressing several technical issues associated with an “in space” ...

IT is my pleasure to announce that the JET Progress production of the movie WINNOWING with BURNT-IN ENGLISH SUBTITLES, starring Sakura Kai (aka Setsuko Tsuchiya) and Daniel S. Janik, is now available for free to the first 1000 viewers at https://youtu.be/YmRwN4yz760. This is in addition to the version with no or optional computer-generated subtitles. Burnt-in or “open” subtitles, unlike computer-generated ones, are perfect and allow for a significantly more enjoyable viewing.

WINNOWING, ...

TWO posts ago, JET Progress introduced Daniel S. Janik, the star of it’s third film, OTOSOTU (pronounced “Oh-Toe-So-Two,” an acronym for “On The Other Side Of The Universe”), a Sci-Fu* mystery-drama about the human soul. In it, Janik, a veteran of WINNOWING (2023), THE PERFECT ILLUSION (2022), THE MALTESE COLLECTION (2022) and STATIC (2021), will play Imperax Commander Michael Mylo. *Science (meaning “repeatable phenomena”) and futuring (meaning “plausible in the future to the...

BEING both a movie actor and director, as well as a movie affectionado, I'm well aware of the part that a good soundtrack plays in any and every movie, right down to the ability of "the right" music being able to, almost on its own, invoke viewer emotional attachment and garner views/sales. But I've often wondered exactly how much music also masks the acting and story. So, when world class author and scriptwriter, William Maltese, sent me a script for WINNOWING, I determined to make it an exp...

JET Progress, a Hawaii-based independent film production company, recently announced it’s second film, OTOSOTU (“On The Other Side Of The Universe”) — https://otosotu.yolasite.com — a sci-fu (science futuring) film about spirituality and the soul. Principal characters include Commander Michael Mylo, Captain-Major Brit Mylo and Carol Mylo, wife of Commander Michael Mylo, and Dominie in Grey of the known universe. The male lead will play both Commander Michael, Brit and the voice of B...

YES! I do, like most, have moments of spare time that glare into my eyes, taunting me to do something — anything! — rather than loll away my time here in Hawaii (aka “paradise”), stretched out on a hammock between two palm trees, Mai Tai in hand, languidly watching the tropical sunset.

Yes, well, having experienced just such a month ago in response to the beginning of the SAG/AFTRA strike (which, BTW, has yet to resolve), I decided if I can’t act, perhaps I can at least model. So, ...

THAT’S right! As of today, the JET Progress production of the film WINNOWING has accumulated 30 international film awards including Best Concept, Best International Short Film, Best Experimental Short Film, Best Writer, Best Producer(s), Best Director, Best Sound Design, Best Original Score, Best Editor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Debut Filmmaker, winning four festivals! Now an internationally acclaimed movie, WINNOWING, is available on DVD, BluRay and fee-per-view streami...

CONSIDER producer/director Elias Perez’s 2-Liters Shady Films production, MOCOS in which Setsuko Tsuchiya (aka Sakura Kai) and I play supporting roles in our first real horror film. MOCOS, currently in post-production, is about an extra-terrestrial “COVID”-like plague, that sweeps across the world like a sirocco carrying everyone in its tsunami wake. As you might expect, the “meaning” of the disease is interpreted by different people in different ways, from a blessing in disguise to...

WHY watch the multi-award-winning JET Progress production of the movie WINNOWING on a phone or computer when you can watch on your big screen TV? If your TV has YouTube (not necessarily YouTube Channel, just YouTube.com) search for “Winnowing Tsuchiya” or “Winnowing Janik” and you can watch the Standard Definition (SD) version of the movie for free in all its big screen glory. Get ready to enter a movie “time capsule” and return to the 1940’s B&W noir, or if you’d prefer a HD ...

IT’S my pleasure as director of the JET Production of WINNOWING -- https://winnowing.yolasite.com -- to announce the creation of a director’s cut. This novel “soft” neo-noir film features Setsuko Tsuchiya in her debut lead actress role with actor-companion Daniel S. Janik, together playing eight roles each from a screenplay by the incomparable author/screenwriter William Maltese. Incorporating storylines from six Maltese books, WINNOWING brings diversity to a new level and, I believe,...

AS films progress through the usual year or so of post-production, the work involved in editing, scoring, captioning, creating distribution formats (like DVDs, BluRays and streaming) and making plans for the “official” release, is often so intense, this period often becomes one of relative public silence. Not so with WINNNOWING. I regularly post about the film’s progress on my personal blog, WordPress, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram accounts, summarized at https://janik.yolasite.com/w...

FIRST, let me explain that living in Hawaii, we’re always alert to tropical hurricanes, like Calvin, that like to visit our islands this time of year through Christmas. Calvin is about halfway here and so far has been growing in intensity achieving Category Two status yesterday.

WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — on the other hand is a JET Progress film production, currently in post-production. What they have in common is that as WINNOWING progresses through the film festival...

MY opinions expressed are typically those of but one of 336 million individual Americans spanning an increasingly disparate spectrum of opinions. But being a SAG actor, the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, in fact, affects me not only as an inveterate film enthusiast, but also as an actor AND filmmaker.

As an actor — https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php — it means a cessation of work in a field of endeavor not only my livelihood but my passion. Acting opportunities are rarely tightly consecut...

WINNOWING, a JET Progress production based on the screenplay of the same name by William Maltese, is a vignette of short scripts from previously published William Maltese books, which two actors must persevere reading as part of a final audition for a “Really Big Film.” A mystery-drama, the six scripts include:

“House of the Brave Bulls” in which prize bulls raised and trained for the bullfights in Madrid suddenly go missing.

“Assignment: Grey Area” in which a private investigato...

I recently posted regarding the film WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — which I’m debut-directing, and which I’m hoping will become a classic in what I’m calling the post-modern “Soft” Neo-Noir movie genre. Never heard of it? That’s likely because it’s, I believe, unique to contemporary motion pictures.

One of the great challenges to creating a new film genre is the musical accompaniment. The big question at JET Progress — https://jet-progress.yolasite.com — r...

NOW that’s an open ended sounding question if there ever was one, isn’t it? But I’m following up on yesterday’s post “What Would Life Be Like If It Was Captioned?” This time, however, from a musical scoring perspective. While we’re probably a long way from the former, we’re already into the latter, I believe. Just go for a walk and offer passing people a friendly “Good morning!” Most don’t respond, having earphones or buds firmly in place and, well, living their personal...

CALL me weird, but working on adding captions to the JET Progress production of WINNOWING -- https://winnowing.yolasite.com, currently in post-production with an anticipated late 2023/early2024 release, a mental picture actually did pop into my mind of living one's life with closed captions floating just above or below each person's image. Shades of Jim Carrey in THE TRUMAN SHOW! 

Actually, working on captioning for WINNOWING has been another education: First, I've often wondered watching mo...

IF you’re thinking nautically, nope. If you’re thinking the two-Telly-award winning short movie, CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND, however, you’re spot on — https://www.prlog.org/12970291-jet-progress-announces-the-worldwide-re-release-of-the-film-clean-water-common-ground.html. It is with the greatest of pleasure that I announce the resurrurection, re-mastering and re-issuance of one of a classic film that travelled the entire world in 1999-2000, this time in 16:9 HD, ready for yet another...

WINNOWING is a JET Progress production about an actress – Sakura Kai played by Setsuko Tsuchiya – and actor – Richard Andrews played by Daniel S. Janik – persevering together through a final audition for a part in an undisclosed “really big film,” currently in post-production with an anticipated release in later 2023 or early 2024. Based on a screenplay by pre-eminent author and screenwriter William Maltese, WINNOWING requires reading excerpts from six published Maltese works, inc...

WHAT, I’m not so sure though. Just kidding. I can say from personal experience that doing anything all yourself is more challenging, constructive and instructive. For example, I’ve recently taken up acting, and having starred in STATIC — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie — supported by an outstandingly professional team of cast and crew, movie making seemed amazingly easy. That’s what you get when working with a great team.

More recently, I decided to try my hand at movi...

MANY readers are aware of my premier debut as co-producer, director and co-star of the upcoming film WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — scheduled for release in late 2023/early 2024. Not so many know about my 1999 Two-Telly-Award-Winning film that I executive produced, CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND — https://clean-water-common-ground.yolasite.com.

CWCG, a cinematic short that seems even more relevant today than during its inception, is a documentary about water and the environme...

OKAY, let’s start at the beginning. “Noir” (masculine) or “Noire” (feminine) simply means “black.” According to a popular online thesaurus, it can be used in a variety of shades of meaning such as dark, absence of light or illumination, obscure, cynical, fatalistic, edgy, bleak, to which I would add in contemporary terms minimalistic. According to Filmlifestyle.com, “During the 40s and 50s, film noir was at its height. The world had just come out of a brutal war and there was ...

I'M pleased to announce the official trailer for the JET Progress production of the film WINNOWING:

https://youtu.be/fzrMFnQgmNU

That's all for now and is quite enough, don't you think?

#DanielSJanik #SetsukoTsuchiya #movie #film #Winnowing #actor #actress #audition #perseverence #trailer

JET Progress, an independent Hawaii film production company, is pleased to announce the release of two official movie posters and an official trailer for its upcoming film WINNOWING, currently in post-production with an anticipated “late 2023/early 2024” film release date.

The JET Progress production of the movie drama, WINNOWING is a film about human perseverance, following two actors through a difficult final audition for roles in an unnamed “Really Big Film.” 

MANY ARE CALLED; FE...

WE’VE long known that much of human behavior comes from the old adage, “Monkey see, monkey do,” but if this is true then the entertainment industry has done little to curb the escalating impulsivity and violence being experienced today. And yet, it affect billions of viewers and readers worldwide. In the past, as the owner of Savant Books and Publications, I vowed to produce books that uplifted the human condition without gratuitous sex or violence. That policy made Savant the powerhous...

IT’S all about the difference between “investment” and “gambling,” the contemporary world constantly and increasingly blurring the line. By my definition, an investment guarantees the principal, what’s variable is the return on investment (ROI). Gambling risks everything, including principal and return on principal [ROP(E) meaning accept a large and long enough gamble and you’ll likely hang yourself these days].

In fact, as owner of JET Progress, a movie production company, and f...

BEING an actor, author and the owner of JET Progress studios, I’m often challenged to define what constitutes entertainment in the contemporary world. It sounds like truism, but, in fact, defining entertainment, especially “healthy” entertainment is neither intuitive nor obvious as is often offered. Entertainment for one can be the abject opposite for another.

Thinking of mass entertainment, I catch myself falling on the Roman sword, so to speak: the “political” entertainment conce...

WHEN acclaimed author William Maltese approached me regarding “Winnowing,” a screenplay he’d written specifically for Sakura Kai (aka actress/author Setsuko Tsuchiya) and myself, Daniel S. Janik (aka actor/author Raymond Gaynor), I was immediately sold on it. Not only was it a dramatic work with clever plot and plenty of challenging subplots, it was a work that relied principally on human drama, rather than gratuitous sex, violence and special effects! It’s rare these days, in my expe...

GOT your attention? And, no, it’s not a misspelling. By the Julian calendar it’s Friday, but, given my and my partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya’s actor work schedules, today is our day off this week, and it’s a promised day dedicated to Setsuko, aka Sakura Kai in the upcoming JET Progress production of WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com or for more behind-the-scenes gems https://janik.yolasite.com/winnowing.php.

WINNOWING, from the screenplay of the same name by renown author/actor W...

THESE are [once again] times that try men's souls (Thomas Paine). All known governments have a rise and a fall. Is this the United States' time to stall, trip and fall? It certainly can seem that way, with all the disruptions surfacing these days, and growing, polarized dissension replacing compromise. There seems to be a craziness bubbling up, as if the simmering pot called America were approaching a boiling point. But is this true? 

It certainly is a reflection of the times in which we live,...

WELL, first off again, who’s Sakura Kai? Sakura Kai is a character in the JET Progress production of WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com, a new film, currently in post-production, scheduled for release in early 2024. Sakura Kai is an actor auditioning for “The Really Big One,” a movie that will singlehandedly make her career. But this is no typical audition. Sakura Kai must read, live, not one, but six audition scripts alongside movie character Robert Andrews. Only by reading a...

WELL, first off, who’s Richard Andrews? Richard Andrews is a character in the JET Progress production of WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com, a new film, currently in post-production, scheduled for release in early 2024. Richard Andrews is an actor auditioning for “The Really Big One,” a movie that will singlehandedly make his career. But this is no typical audition. Richard must read, live, no one, but six audition scripts with actress Sakura Kai. Only by reading and acting to...

CHEATING can have different meanings in different contexts. Cheating at cards, on taxes or on a partner isn’t what I’m addressing here. I’m writing about the technique of “cheating” in film-making.

The JET Progress production of WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — was filmed almost entirely in a small indoor studio, the only backdrop being a black curtain (representing a curtained-in area inside an urban studio close to a major airport conveniently designed and located f...

The JET Progress production of the movie WINNOWING, about human perseverance, hope and accomplishment has just exited filming and entered post-production with an anticipated early 2024 release.

Filming for WINNOWING, a film by independent film production company JET Progress — https://jet-progress.yolasite.com — located in rapidly growing “Hawaii-wood” (Hawaii, USA ), has recently entered post-production with an anticipated early 2024 release. Based on internationally acclaimed autho...

JET Progress is currently seeking product placements for its film short, WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — now in post production in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. A film about human perseverance and hope, WINNOWING features actor Daniel S. Janik and actress Setsuko Tsuchiya of STATIC — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie — fame in a film about two actors, stretching their acting abilities to persevere through multiple live, screening auditions for possible lead roles in a...

IT’S always a moment for celebration when a film reaches the point where it is ready to be listed on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) — IMDb is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online, including cast, production crew and personal biographies, plot summaries, trivia, ratings, and fan and critical reviews. [Sounds of Celebration in Background!] I’m pleased to announce that the JET Progress pr...

WHEN JET Progress agreed to produce William Maltese's screenplay, WINNOWING, I was pleased to be offered not one, but TWO Lead roles, those of Jeff Candleston, Draqual Media's Casting Director, and Richard Andrews, auditioning actor. I'd never played two roles, much less two lead roles, in a movie. Still, one of my personal favorite actors, Peter Sellers, was known for such, so I immediately felt a sense of excitement in the challenge, and, now that WINNOWING is almost finished filming, accom...

JET Progress is pleased to announce the immanent transition of the film WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — from production into post-production. This short, dramatic mystery about two actors stretching their acting abilities to persevere through multiple, live screening auditions for possible lead roles in an otherwise undisclosed “Really Big Film,” stars Daniel S. Janik and Setsuko Tsuchiya, each playing two different characters.

The Ultimate Audition: Two Actors; One Drea...

FIRST, let’s establish that I’m not blind lover of things electronic or digital, including AIs. I personally think that like nuclear power plants, we’ve a lot to learn about the downsides and side effects of these commonly extolled human endeavors. Still, I admit to a particular and equally peculiar character propensity I call “Toad’s Wild Ride.” I am attracted to anything and everything new, shiny and, alas, that includes things electronic and digital, including AIs like ChatGPT,...

FIRST, I must profess that I’m anything but lonely for conversation. Between domestic life, my many friends and acquaintances, the social internet and my garden, lonely for conversation is more like begging for quiet. Still, being a former university educator, I couldn’t ignore an article in the newest edition of Science News entitled “Homework HELP? ChatGPT and other AI tools are poised to disrupt education” by Kathryn Hulick. After a somewhat obtuse read about how AI may or may not ...

THE over 240 indoor scenes in the drama-mystery film WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — by JET Progress — https://jet-progress.yolasite.com — were completed yesterday, and the filming of the remaining 10 outdoor scenes are scheduled for next weekend, meaning production is nearly ended. Based on the screenplay of the same name by eminent author/playwright William Maltese, WINNOWING is a film about two actors stretching their acting abilities to persevere through multiple live...

PROGRESS on the filming of the JET Progress production of the film WINNOWING continues this weekend with the concurrent release of an official press release — https://www.prlog.org/12960168 — and the release of the first official poster — https://i.postimg.cc/T1z7BbvJ/Poster1.png.

Filming of the remainder of the indoor studio scenes is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 14 April 2023, with a backup day on Sunday, 15 April 2023 if necessary. After completion of the indoor studio scenes, f...

ASSUMING you had the opportunity of reading the previous post (if you haven’t now would be a good time to do so), you’ll already know that actor/author Daniel S. Janik (https://janik.yolasite.com) and actress/author Setsuko Tsuchiya (https://setsukotsuchiya.com) are busy, busy, busy this weekend, all involving filming. But first, regarding authoring, I’m continuing to work towards completion of the sequel, PROPHECY, to my Amazon-genre-bestseller book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS — https://www...

THE catchphrase in the movie, THE PERFECT ILLUSION, that just yesterday was released on Amazon Prime — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYSR2TBB — and in which both Daniel S. Janik and Setsuko Tsuchiya appear, Daniel as a featured party-goer, political agitator and the ethically challenged Dr. Stephenson, Setsuko as a background gala dancer and party goer. A suicidal man finds a new reason to live after he stumbles upon a curio shop that transports him into the future. Soon he finds himself ri...

FOR those following the filming of the JET Progress — https://jet-progress.yolasite.com — production of the film WINNOWING — https://winnowing.yolasite.com — co-produced by Daniel S. Janik, Setsuko Tsuchiya and William Maltese, and directed by Daniel S. Janik, this fourth day of filming will focus on characters Richard Andrews (played by Daniel S. Janik) and Sakura Kai (played by Setsuko Tsuchiya, of STATIC — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie — fame. In WINNOWING, Richa...

HAVING last week finished filming 1/8 of the JET Progress Production of WINNOWING -- https://winnowing.yolasite.com, this weekend was scheduled to complete another 1/8. HOWEVER, actors Daniel S. Janik and Setsuko Tsuchiya, playing Richard Andrews and Sakura Kai, were on a roll, and so far, today, ended up finishing 2/8 more with tomorrow, Sunday, heralding another 2/8. Should we continue tomorrow as today, we’re anticipating completing 5/8 of the film this weekend!

5/8 may not sound like a...

OFFICIALLY, in the West, the new year begins on 1 January. Always does. Always has, at least as long as I can remember. True, there’s their lunar new year typically somewhat later, but still according in the middle of winter, which, to me, doesn’t seem like a great time to start a new year. So, for the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to “tune in” to the actual seasons and see if there might not be a more sensually sensible time for a new year to begin.

Anti it’s the first ...

AS many of you reading this know, Raymond Gaynor is the pen name of actor Daniel S. Janik. It all depends on which muse grabs my shoulder and holds onto it most tightly for the moment. In terms of acting, I’ve been doing less background acting these days, my acting interests focusing on the immanent release of THE PERFECT ILLUSION — https://janik.yolasite.com/theperfectillusion.php — and moving from pre-production to filming of WINNOWING — https://janik.yolasite.com/winnowing.php.

Th...

OVER the years, I've come to know various governments like people, some friendly, some not so; some balanced, some not so; some greedy; some not so. Reflecting on our United States of America, I would have to characterize us as prickly, individualistic, not so balanced, and, with money seeming to be the new god and business the new religion, greedy without limit. But it's more than just that. It's easy to say that money and business under our capitalistic (ever increasing profit) approach res...

WITH the JET Progress production of WINNOWING well into pre-production, having addressed blocking, shortlisting, studio, camera and sound, the last remaining issue has been that of insulating the film set from noise. It would be easy to fall into the tourist idea that Hawaii, being a true paradise, must be so quiet as to enhance the sound of the trades in the coconut trees. Not so, even in Waikiki. One of the challenges to filming outdoors or indoors on Oahu is the high levels of light and so...

WE’RE talking THE PERFECT ILLUSION, a soon-to-be-released film by Kurt Ken Kaminaka about a suicidal man who finds a new reason to live after he stumbles upon a curio shop that transports him into the future. Soon he finds himself risking his own life trying to save the woman of his dreams, but struggles as reality may not be as it appears.

Personally, I’m a big fan of illusion (prestidigitaion or entertainment “magic”) where, like THE PERFECT ILLUSION, there is a distinct pledge, tu...

IF you find plastic/metal/code Artificial Intelligence somewhat daunting (think of the AI inside your cellular phone that translates what you say into text), then fasten your seatbelt before reading this report: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/americas/xenobots-self-replicating-robots-scn/index.html. Scientists “at at the University of Vermont, Tufts University and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering said they have discovered an entirely new form of bi...

AS Actor Daniel S. Janik of STATIC — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie — fame (that’s author Raymond Gaynor of THE EDGE OF MADNESS — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — fame to my reader fans), I was elated to receive a “gift” from my author/screenwriter//actor colleague William Maltese of a wonderful script. Called Winnowing, it was written for myself and my author/actress partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya, also of STATIC fame. Winnowing is a short script for two actors, ...

HAVING had my moment on the big screen as lead actor in the multi-award-winning movie STATIC, I was gifted by author, screenwriter, author-and-actor colleague and friend, William Maltese, with an intriguing movie script, WINNOWING, written specifically for myself, Daniel S. Janik, and actress and life partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya. Thank you, William! In it Setsuko and I play not one but TWO lead roles in this story about an actor and actress auditioning for the “big” one, before two, hardene...

SUBSCRIPTIONS are clearly the way the business of humanities is going. I say business, because thus far business has penetrated almost every aspect of our lives. I recall watching business invade medicine when I was in practice, attempting to turn my love of helping others to love of money. Later, I watched the same happen in education, culminating in the private “for profit” colleges and universities, where the love of truth, knowledge and wisdom languished secondary to love of money. I ...

WE’RE not talking pocket change, but we are talking ongoing rather than “thank-God(dess)-we’ve-made-it-so-far” climate change. And as it progresses, the possibility of abrupt directional switches at some point instead of extraordinary warming, extreme cooling, wind and humidity as well. After all, it is called climate “change.”

Personally, I’ve noticed that in addition to the usual climate change (and climate change denial) there’s another kind of climate change/denial going ...

WELL, yes, shades of Roswell aliens and balloons aside, and the current government explanations sounding amazingly similar, hopes (if you’re looking forward to welcoming a superior alien race that has figured out how to transcend war, violence and the illusion of money and power) or worries (if you’re simply frightened by the idea of change that an alien race might bring). Are reports of literally hundreds of balloons floating about in our atmosphere good or bad? Don’t ask me. Ask the h...

“HAPPY Valentine’s Day to you / Happy Valentine’s Day to you / Happy Valentine’s Day Dear Sweetheart / Happy Valentine’s Day to YOU!” Sweet. Now the big question: Did I write that or did ChatGPT (an artificial intelligence or AI program currently infiltrating the internet? And, so what if one did? I had to ask the bot to provide a Valentine’s poem for an unspecified but close either BBF or BGF or better. I mean, is that so different from buying a Valentine’s card? And, who kno...

WITH three of four objects shot down flying over the USA/Canada of which three currently are as yet, by definition Unidentified Flying Objects or UFOs, public fervor over something that many have come to not only welcome, dread or at least assume will soon happen, the wait to hear the UFOs origin(s) is hot, hot, hot. Will they be truly unidentifiable in terms of not being of terrestrial origin, or will they prove to be DARPA experiments, lost high school projects or some new kind of social ad...

IN my Amazon genre bestselling book, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — I lay the foundations for my “Philosophia Psychís Empeiría” which I expand in the upcoming sequel PROPHECY, which is nearing completion. In essence, the “soul” is the sum total of one’s life experiences, and acts as the “guide” to the next universe. Not simply another world in space/time, but an entirely different universe of worlds, each accord...

AI — Artificial Intelligence — https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/08/business/nightcap-chatgpt-microsoft-google/index.html — has progressed beyond Tweeting, blogging, answering phones and writing essays. Now it can make up a story to answer any question. Write a senator. Lobby. Write a novel. Spread misinformation, unintentionally or not. We’ve given the car keys to AIs. The only thing we haven’t given them is a sense of what good there is in humanity. We’ve created the ultimate sociopat...

JUST read an article by BBC — https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64492456 — suggesting a breakthrough in quantum computing, namely parallel quantum computing had occurred, this time on the actuality rather than simply theoretical level, taking advantage of quantum spookiness. Currently, accuracy has been a limiting factor in quantum computing. Linking two or more quantum computers using quantum spookiness would result not only in more processing power, but also the use of parall...

SHADES of Houdini! In the tradition of Thomas Edison, Mae West, Queen Victoria, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mary Todd Lincoln — https://www.history.com/news/spiritualism-communication-dead-figures — and my own works, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — and its yet to be published sequel PROPHECY there’s a first inkling of such! In these two books, I explore the idea that birth and death constitute an entrance and exit from our...

IT’S my pleasure to announce that I’ve finally accumulated the third SAG/AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) Union Talent Voucher required to graduate from non-union to union actor. Qualifying to join SAG/AFTRA is an important stepping stone in the life of an actor, whether one chooses to exercise the right or not. For me, it represents yet another step in my acting career.

What it’s supposed to represent is recognized acting experience a...

“THESE are the times that try men’s souls” – Thomas Paine. Divisiveness seems everywhere, encroaching everything everywhere, and with it a kind of intolerance and negativism. It’s always been easier to berate, criticize and destroy than to support, solve. create and build, or at least so it seems to me. Little is accomplished by divisiveness and its ultimate expression in destruction and death individually, through mass shootings or nationalistic war. On the other hand, discriminati...

SEVERAL months ago, consummate author and screenwriter William Maltese offered author/actor Daniel S. Janik and author/actress Setsuko Tsuchiya a written-exclusively-for-them screenplay about auditioning for the “Big One.” To quote the Bard, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely Players…” What could be more central to contemporary life than the constant auditioning/interviewing/screening to which we are endlessly subject? WINNOWING — https://janik.yolasite.c...

COUNTERPOINT to yesterday’s post entitled, “How Much Do I Deserve,” I though today’s post should be on what we don’t deserve. What we don’t deserve is what much of today’s world is desperately trying to serve everyone: Pre-COVID crowds and World War III. It all gets down to those two great illusions for which everyone is supposed to be competing: money and power. With the general acceptance of this long established, constantly resurfacing axiom, comes the increasingly inhumanity...

THAT pivotal question comes in many forms throughout one’s life, like, “Why should I vote for so-and-so?” or “What starting pay do you want?” or “Should I join the military?” or “Is this a good person to date?” or “Isn’t it okay to simply pay myself more?” or “Should I accept the bribe?” It all gets down to how much one believes he or she deserves. Unfortunately, while a specific answer isn’t always simple. the general one, in my opinion, fortunately is, which re...

Aignos Publishing Announces the Release of Raymond Gaynor's New Novel, "The Edge of Madness" 

Aignos Publishing, an imprint of Savant Books and Publications LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, announces the release of Raymond Gaynor's new sexually-provocative future thriller, "The Edge of Madness" 

Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese left off, NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, provides a challenging and dangerous futu...

I was so pleased to hear that KS Media Group Inc has purchased THE EDGE OF MADNESS for manga, animation and/or cinematic treatment. Despite my reservations regarding incorporation of some of the elements (the characters, for example, are largely unclothed in the work), I was assured that pre-production plans were already underway. 

Already an Audible audiobook read by the incomparable Peter Pollock

An Excited Raymond Gaynor

Author of THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor

Co-au...

IN continuation of yesterday’s post on eroticism, consider the SweetSixteen. Yet another of the many facets of coming-of-age in NewAmerica:

“For modern lovers, SweetSixteenSalsaSex, when it really clicked, especially when virginal and alternative as in the case of Draff and Billie, offered the enactors a further reward: that all-time most sought-after prize of publiczed intimacy, the exceptional, elusive, once-in-a-lifetime “FirstLoveIConsumated” pop emotag, FLIC. While the best in h...

Romance is a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love, accompanied by a feeling of remoteness from everyday life. Love on the other hand Is an intense feeling of deep affection, generating both interest and pleasure, often surrounding potential sexual attachment. Erotic refers to arousal of actual sexual desire. It is easy to say that humans typically follow romance with  love and finally eroticism, but we're also stimulated by the unusual so any progression through or simple ap...

(This Excerpt is PG-13-rated)

"The entire foray celebrated his continued ascent into adulthood. Billie smelled and looked unfazed. Andry smelled and looked stunned, then incredulous, then annoyed, aggravated and finally disgusted. What is with Simi? Draff wondered, raising his eyebrows at the staccato olfactory slaps he sensed coming from her, all seeming aimed directly at him. Why did he feel so hurt? More important, why should her reactions bother him so deeply, or at all for that matter?

Clothes? Jackson, now there was an interesting anachronism. Until SweetSixteen, clothes were strongly frowned upon though in some distinctly retro circles still tolerated, but with general public disgust and distrust. Afterwards, adult clothing was even more strongly discouraged, being outright prohibited in all public and many private spaces. The contemporary drift was that the absence of clothing imparted a feeling of security to passersby, given that nakedness was a way of demonstrating th...

Although he wouldn't completely understand it until much later, it began well before he was born a pudgy-looking, seven and a half pound naked ball of flesh, fat, gristle and bone, screaming its head off. And why shouldn't he have protested? Every trusted thing he'd known had been ripped from him: the constant warmth; the gentle, protective floating feeling; the ruddy aura that had always surrounded and protected him, the ever-present thump-hiss, thump-hiss, thump-hiss in the background that,...

It is my pleasure to present the long awaited sequel to my and William Maltese's naughty pop sexual-political-thriller TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009), entitled THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020). NewAmerica, a shadow of its former United States of America, is now leaner and meaner. Once again commanding wealth and power thanks to a series of sociopolitical advances and technical innovations like Eugitors, ShimmerSuits, ContraSpray, T-rips, CandyShades and CandyCable, NewAmerica a challen...

SEVERAL have attempted to engage me in debate over the nature and effect(s) of the global wave of protests that seem to be attacking the heart of governance using chaos as it’s modus operandi. I say shades of Trotsky! This approach is neither new nor particularly effective, especially as it typically offers “down with the establishment” but nothing of value with which to replace other than money and/or power for the few: A story as old as humans attempting to govern — to control other...

Raymond Gaynor is the pen name of reclusive, multi-award-winning thriller author and actor-artist-photographer-videographer, Daniel S. Janik. Under this pen name, Janik most recently authored the Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) --  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 -- currently available in printed, digital and audiobook formats, the latter read by renown voice actor Peter Pollock. 

He has previously co-authored with William Maltese the naughty Tripler and Clark...

THE EDGE OF MADNESS — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — is an exploration of a possible (nay, freakishly probable) future, where every hedonistic pleasure is available to anyone…if they can but afford it. Every person works in order to purchase the newest technology that promises to provide the next ultimate pleasure. But as in Huxley’s BRAVE NEW WORLD and Orwell’s 1984, citizens are under constant surveillance by emotionless observers called “The Enforcers” who show up any...

In THE EDGE OF MADNESS, author Raymond Gaynor touches on many sensitive issues in our current world. From this perspective, the book is thought-provoking and invites us to see things in a different light. For example, NewAmericans promote an education system based on cooperation and critical thinking rather than individualism and competitiveness...fascinated by the unique worldbuilding, I often...re-read some of the explanations about the technological wonders of the new world (“ContraSpray...

"THE EDGE OF MADNESS [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859] is a science fiction book written by Raymond Gaynor. It’s a sequel to another novel that was co-written by the author. The events in the book take place in the future. In the novel, the United States of America was forced into dissolution and has been resurrected into a smaller new country called “NewAmerica.” The main character in the story is Draff Rob Brie Septican-Smite. Rob is first shown in the book when he’s still in h...

Received notice yesterday that my part in the filming of the K. Simmons Production of the 6-part, made-for-television series FINDING KATE — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate — will begin tomorrow WITH A FUNERAL. Go Figure! I’ll be playing myself as the star who played Will Gardner in the K. Simmons Production of the multi-award-winning movie, STATIC — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie. Based on the multi-award-winning book — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997247215 —...

THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor: "Radically original while chilling and shocking. A dark vision of the future reminiscent of Brave New World but on steroids. The title page should be plastered with a warning: "Not for the sentimental or faint of heart. This is not a game. Enter...at your own peril and keep a defibrillator handy.  Medical power of attorney should be assigned to someone you know very, very well.

"Right away the reader becomes observer of the pulsing, sensate world of the...

        "Author Raymond Gaynor, in this sequel to his novel TOTAL MELTDOWN, manages a successful tear in the time-space continuum that provides his readers with an insightful glimpse of society’s future. It’s not always a pleasant picture. In fact, it’s sometimes bordering on the truly shocking. That said … all of his prophetical premises seem to have logical underpinnings based upon historical facts, including what’s obviously at play within our own Twenty-First Century. It’s a f...

AND I’m even more tired of people asking me what this year’s New Year’s resolutions are. This year, I’m resolved to not make any New Year’s resolutions. Well, except for the one I just made. But you get my drift, and I suspect you get your drift, too. While the idea of bettering oneself through New Year’s resolutions is commendable, not being able to stick to most of them is downright depressing, and there’s enough going on in the world that’s depressing already. If I could, I...

THINKING about the idea of the all-inclusive, unified-field-theory multiverse? While we, as humans, continue trying to understand the nature of nature, how about the all-inclusive, unified-“money-and-power”-theory business-verse. It’s difficult enough to understand the nature of business, a totally human creation, rapidly becoming a force demanding to be reckoned with.

In the multiverse, the idea is that multiple universes exist and quite possibly sometimes even intersect briefly. Mayb...

CAN I got to see all the Daniel S. Janik films like STATIC (2021) — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie; THE MALTESE COLLECTION — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/maltese-collection; and THE PERFECT ILLUSION — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18690318/ — that are supposed to be available in 2023? And what about viewing those Daniel S. Janik films that are still in preproduction or production like FINDING KATE — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate; MOCOS — https://www.instagra...

I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but the 2022 news seemed eerily like the that preceding December 1941 when Hitler declared war on the United States of America. These days, Putin seems to be mimicking Hitler’s playbook of aggression, double-speak and terror. I’m currently reminded of Conservative politician Arthur Neville Chamberlain’s foreign policy of “appeasement,” and the “Munich Agreement,” signed by Hitler, which Chamberlain naively assumed would avert a world war, which it d...

AS I sit, by the fire…and work on the sequel to THE EDGE OF MADNESS by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — aptly named PROPHECY and rapidly approaching the finish line during these sometimes madcap, sometimes boring holidays. What could be better than a good new book to while away 2023? Prophecy has the same characters as in THE EDGE OF MADNESS plus one who stirs the pot in a most unusual way. If THE EDGE OF MADNESS is all about the beginnings of life, PROPHECY is ab...

WHICH one would YOU choose if you could be granted only one?

Health would promise a longer, quality life, which, if you live in the USA, could be a boon. If you live elsewhere that might or might not be a boon. Still, if one has health, wealth and happiness can, if desired, follow.

Wealth wold promise a more varied life, though, without health it might be either tempered, or very short. Then there’s the issue of whether wealth (or it’s one step up cousin, power) ever really brings happi...

WHAT exactly is it with “entertainment” and gratuitous violence? While it may be partially or even mostly the case that viewers today want and are willing to pay for more violence and more “authenticity” surrounding violence. as an author and actor, I believe it’s not as simple an equation as that. As evidence, I present a recent BBC article entitled, “1923 and the violent TV universe that has electrified the US” — https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20221213-1923-and-the-rise...

HAVING left San Francisco for the paradisiacal climes of the Hawaiian Islands, I suddenly find myself hunkering down today and supposedly tomorrow for a tropical storm alert replete with 60 mph wind gusts, intermittent 45 degree pelting rain, thunder, lightening and hail. Yes, hail! Can you believe it? Well don’t. It may be coming our way, but it hasn’t arrived en mass, yet. The operative word being “yet.” In the meantime I busier than I’ve ever been with acting and authoring.

I’...

LIVING in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, is like living in a suspended, sunny California day forever. At least until tomorrow, when the weatherfolk are predicting a strong bout of cold, thunderstorms, lightening, thunder, torrential rain and even icy hail, the latter God(dess) forbid. I’m trying to imagine icy roads in Honolulu, if only from momentarily road-coating hail. Actually, I can’t imagine it. The nearest thing is snow on the top of the world’s tallest volcano, Mauna Kea, or the unusual...

THINKING about a really heartfelt holiday gift? Consider purchasing a HD DVD copy of the multi-award-winning movie, the K. Simmons Production of STATIC (2021) — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie. An irascible veteran who, having successfully conquered everything life’s thrown him, suddenly faces a new challenge that he can’t win: Alzheimer’s Disease. Yet, through the intervention of a radio that plays only static, and with the loving and sagacious advice from his long depar...

I wonder what that singular word invokes for you? For me, it means sharing the spotlight with others, including my sister’s cat, “Bugs,” who just recently became a celebrity showcasing a new kind of cat food dish that she apparently endorses whole heartedly. Okay, okay. I always make it a point to share the spotlight with my dance partner and actress, Setsuko Tsuchiya, who, BTW should be back on the set with me, filming a featured “honor dance” for FINDING KATE. In the first of an a...

INVARIABLY, when the Holidays approach, I become clumsy. Why, I’ve no idea, but it’s like a holiday ritual; something, I can count on, like taxes in January, but much more pleasant. Not that I resent paying my fair share to keep the USA, well, American, and my neighborhood worth living. No, I don’t resent taxes or the Holiday clumsies (by March and tax payment, I’m no longer clumsy). They’re just little hooks upon which I can hang my Christmas and New Year’s feelings on, while I g...

IMAGINE lifting a curvaceous flute filled with the finest bubbly (either champagne or fruit juice depending on your wont and disposition), before a blazing, crackling fire (in a fireplace, please), intimately toasting your BBF or BGF (you decide). That’s what I think of initially, easily forgetting the stress of all the preparation that would have to go into making just such an imaginary scenario into reality. Forget the tree, the trimming, the holiday cards (or, these days, emails), the sh...

A lot’s been said about the environment over the past couple decades, but when I was invited to work for the University of Hawaii in 1993 to serve as the Northshore Water Quality Agent as part of the University Extension Service, I said doubled down and said my part about the environment by Executive Producing the two-Telly-award-winning movie, CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND — https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1548932.

In fact, it was more of a cooperative agreement than entertainment, publicly bin...

CLEVER, huh? In this world of increasing extinctions, “Any gnus is good gnus.” And with that little play on words, I am pleased to bring you some really, really good news: THE MALTESE COLLECTION — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/maltese-collection — just advanced in the Washington DC International Film Festival from “selected” to “bimonthly awarded” and is further advanced in the final run for two major 2023 awards — https://filmfreeway.com/WashingtonDCInternationalcinemafestiva...

SHOULDN’T that read, “The ages of man?” Nope. Several weeks ago, I was given the opportunity of appearing on a TV series as a photo double of a major actor. After accepting, having never done such before, I traveled to the set to find that the fellow I was photo-doubling for had VERY short, salt-and-pepper hair and no mustache. Awe! After receiving my military style hair cut, having what little hair was left spray painted, and my beloved mustache shaved completely off, I left makeup in ...

I’M pleased to report that the K. Simmons’ Production of THE MALTESE COLLECTION — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/maltese-collection, recently out of post-production, has been selected to appear in the Washington DC International Cinema Festival — https://filmfreeway.com/WashingtonDCInternationalcinemafestival, a bi-monthly film Festival, culminating in a 30 April 2023 Gala Awards Ceremony! Congratulations to world-acclaimed, multi-award-winning author, screenwriter and now lead actor, Mr...

ONE of my author-friends, A. G. Hayes, recently passed. It was a sad day for me and his many action/adventure affectionados. A. G. authored tens of books, short stories and screenplays during his lifetime, epitomized by his seven-book Koski and Falk series — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/the-complete-koski-and-falk-two-volume-set/84 as a seven-book, two-volume printed book, also available from Amazon in printed two volumes as THE COMPLETE KOSKI AND FALK VOL I — htt...

AS our opportunity to film Daniel S. Janik and Setsuko Tsuchiya doing an honor dance in the K. Simmons Production of FINDING KATE — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate — approaches, we’re working hard on the presentation with champion professional choreographer and coach, Mr. Albert Franz, to original music by Hawaii’s Ambassadors of Aloha, Leon and Malia. It should all be coming together soon ready for filming on a Hawaiiwood post-production party set. Go ahead: Ask me if I’m ...

IF not, then it’s definitely past time to prepare. I went to the grocery yesterday, and was struck by the presence of actual food lines, not for feee food, simply to get inside the store and have a few seconds to grab what I could of what’s left. Interestingly, the one thing there was plenty of was turkeys. Raw, pre-cooked, stuffed, half and even TV dinnered. Lots of turkey(s). Everything else seemed in limited supply. What’s going on? Is the turkey abundance in response to the Presiden...

“HURRY up and wait,” seems to be the new colloquialism of the 2022’s. There’s so much that needs to be done, but seemingly little desire to personally take part. Call it the post-sueism era, where one can find more legal reasons for not doing anything than doing something, no matter how small. Or, call it simple nihilism, where anything good that can be done can also be undone or reoriented to the dark side. Or, being simply overwhelmed and not knowing where to start. Then again, ther...

WITH all the new discoveries being made as astronomers and cosmologists work together in conjunction with the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, we keep creeping closer, day by day to answering the supreme questions surrounding what our universe is all about, and what came before it. Personally, I love astronomy, and like Gregory Ranlin in William Maltese’s books/screenplays FLICKER 1 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984555242 — and FLICKER 2 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693875 �...

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’m pressed to remember all the things for which I should be thankful. And there are many.

First, I am alive. While perhaps insignificant in a planetary or galactic sense, it’s quite something for which to be thankful in a personal sense. I’ve often wondered what not being alive would be like, and at least in one key sense, I suspect it would mean no more sensory delights or adventures. Then again, if passing is really just that, perhaps there ...

While I was away at the Chicago International Indie Film Festival, walking the red carpet as Daniel S. Janik (“Will Gardner” in the STATIC movie — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie) with Eriko Okada (“Susan”) and Setsuko Tsuchiya (“Edna”), along with Executive Producer/Producer/Director/Screenwriter Kenny Simmons and Co-Executive Producer Lisa Simmons and screenwriter Richard Rose and wife Kay, a lot has happened in the world, not the least being the beginning of the ...

Actor Daniel S. Janik (aka author Raymond Gaynor/Gary Marine) here, nose to screen, typing at my computer on a fantastic sunny but pleasantly cool day. Posting about what? Film, of course.

Setsuko Tsuchiya and I have been filming scenes for Elias Perez’ 2-Liters Shady Films’ production of MOCOS, our first horror film, an especially notable film in that all is done by the actors and actresses (aliens, too?) use Elias’ script, and send their parts in to him for collating and editing. I w...

Actor Daniel S. Janik here (aka author Raymond Gaynor/Gary Martine) Back from Chicago and the Chicago International Indie Film Festival (https://chicagoiiff.org) where, on 5 November 2022, Eriko Okada (“Susan”), Setsuko Tsuchiya (“Edna”) and I (“Will Gardner”) walked the red carpet along with Director Kenny Simmons and co-Executive Producer Lisa Simmons, writer Richard and wife Kay Rose in celebration of the STATIC movie winning the Jury Special Mention Award for Feature Length Fi...

LET'S GET RIGHT TO THE HEART of today's post: 

First, I'm heading off tomorrow to the Chicago International Indie Film Festival -- https://chicagoiiff.org -- along with co-star Eriko Okada (who played "Susan") and Setsuko Tsuchiya (who played "Edna") in the K. Simmons Production of STATIC (2021) (aka "The STATIC Movie") -- https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie. Together with the the director, Kenny Simmons, Executive Producer Lisa Simmons and screenwriter Richard Rose and his wife Kay,...

DESPITE feeling much like the White Rabbit in in Disney’s version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND in so many aspects of my current life, Eriko Okada, Setsuko Tsuchiya and I are all preparing for our visit to the Chicago International Indy Festival (CIIFF) next week to walk the red carpet for STATIC (2021) — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/the-static-movie — which was “selected” as a finalist. Being no stranger to Chi-ChiLand, I look forward to visiting with the writer, Richard Rose, and the prod...

SORRY if it’s been awhile since everyone last heard from me, author/actor/dancer Daniel S. Janik, and my author/actress/dancer partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya, more properly Dr. Setsuko Tsuchiya PhD, since around 10 October 2022 when she received her, as far as we know, first-in-the-world terminal degree in Ballroom and Latin Dance Performance! Way to go, Setsuko! An instant Amazon genre bestseller when her dissertation entitled “The Power of Partnered Ballroom Dance” edited and published for...

AS two of the Executive Producers of the K. Simmons’ Production of THE MALTESE COLLECTION, Setsuko Tsuchiya and I are pleased to hear it is exiting editing and will soon begin screenings. THE MALTESE COLLECTION — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/maltese-collection — is a bio-documentary reprise to multi-award-winning author and screenwriter William Maltese, and his many inspirations, achievements. Pushing the edge in literature and now film, Maltese is a pioneer in his lifelong support of er...

WAIT! Wait! Wait! No need for panic. This isn’t about actor Daniel S. Janik or actress Setsuko Tsuchiya and sudden ill health. It IS about Setsuko Tsuchiya just finishing here PhD in Ballroom and Latin Dance Performance, and the release of the more literary form of her dissertation as a book. THE POWER OF DANCE: Partner Dance From Ballroom to Olympic Sport (Savant 2022) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737643162. Our household is a Dr. Dr. one now.

But more important than the degree, is, as ...

SORRY about not posting the past couple of days, but I’ve been overly busy arranging things for a couple upcoming “road trips.” First there’s Japan to get some additional one-on-one dance coaching from Seiji and Hiromi Yuki (Mr. Albert Franz is still our choreographer and primary dance coach) for our “honor dance” at the gala studio party scene in FINDING KATE — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate. Immediately afterwards, we’re off to the Windy City to appear at the Chica...

AUTHORS write for a specific readership, be it that of the publisher, or intent. It’s what makes the big difference between authors and writers, who record and write for themselves (and possibly generic posterity). One of my personal favorite genre’s is children’s books, within which I’ve had the distinct pleasure of pioneering Savant Books and Publications’ “COLOR ME PLEASE” series.

Children’s books seem to many the easiest to write. Ah, yes, write. But authoring children’...

AUTHORS like me, Daniel Janik (aka Raymond Gaynor/Gary Martine), used to call them our “readers” in a respectful voice. ACTORS like me, Daniel S. Janik, used to call them our “fans,” treating every fan like royalty with appreciation. POLITICIANS, BUSINESSPERSONS, ADVERTISERS and INFLUENCERS typically call them or at least regard them as minions, with a decidedly derogatory tone, and, unfortunately, that attitude is spreading from business to everything business touches these days. In ...

MOST people who are operatically inclined enjoy the storyline, performance, color, dressing up and an opera brunch afterwards with pastries and coffee. Me, too. Mostly. Tomorrow Setsuko and I go to the opera as background actors for a scene for an upcoming TV series, NCIS: Hawaii Season Two.

All we know is that there will be lots of opera-goer-actors-and-actresses, theater-service-personnel-actors-and-actresses, a bunch of police/FBI/NCIS-actors-and-actresses, and pirates. The later would ha...

WITH all the hype these days about recession/no recession, I’m going to take the long view and say that this may rather be the long needed relaxation — a deep, deep breath — after the Hyper-Velocity-Business years championed by former President Donald Trump. Personally, I feel it’s time to take a breath and be human, letting go of the frenetic chase for money and power.

It’s important in this decade of immense change to remember that we are meant to steward and enjoy the blessings ...

I’VE noticed recently a sudden plethora of reports in the news about beaching whales. Okay, so it may just be a noticeable but generally ignored normal occurrence. It could also be climate change, ocean pollution (including noise pollution civil or military) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetacean_stranding. Or, stay with me here, could it be collective increasing anxiety amongst some of the most intelligent creatures on the planet? I don’t know what the whales are thinking, but humani...

IT’S my distinct pleasure to be the first to announce the ascension of a new authority in the world of dance, acting and authoring, Dr. Setsuko Tsuchiya — https://www.setsukotsuchiya.com — having recently reached the end of her multi-year foray into academia with the final acceptance of her dissertation and completion of her PhD in Performing Arts in Ballroom and Latin Dance Performance. As her dance, acting and life partner, I can personally vouch for the difficulties she overcame in h...

WINNOWING, a 15 to 20-minute screenplay written by world-renown author and playwright, William Maltese — https://www.facebook.com/williammaltese, for me, actor Daniel S. Janik — https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php — and my partner and actress Setsuko Tsuchiya — https://setsukotsuchiya.com — is (hooray!) currently in planning, thank you, William Maltese! This discrete, four-character screenplay, in my mind, is perfectly designed for actor/studio publicity purposes as an entertainmen...

BEING an actor quite busy this time of year, I decided it’s time for the new COVID-19 Omicron/BA.5 immunization, and, hey, why not, also flu. So yesterday I went to the local pharmacy for both. Bang! Bang!

I was, as usual, fine until about 2 hours later, when I spend the evening and night tossing and turning dealing with aches and pains. Ugh. Not bad like the real flu, but enough to recognize it as such. Trading a very mild flu for the big cachunka when it comes around later this year. As ...

IN both the authoring and acting worlds, there are important moments to anticipate and thoroughly enjoy if and when they happen. For an author, one is the acceptance of a manuscript by a publisher. Another is seeing and feeling the book in hand. Yet another is that first positive review. And don’t forget that first moment of public recognition.

For an actor, the first is getting before the camera and seeing oneself on the screen. Any screen. Another is getting a role, any role, in a film, ...

COMING-OF-AGE is never easy, irrespective of how easily or not it happens. And, the first one, adolescence, is a doozy for everyone. Looking back, I’m impressed with how every approximate decade of my life brought with it another coming-of-age, for me, mostly related to my work, my “job” being to figure out what message my work had for me about…well…me.

My decades were adolescence, college/university life, physician, author, artist, medical computing analyst, corporate official, mi...

HAVEN’T seen the movie STATIC (2021)? There will be an international reshowing of the movie STATIC (2021) on 25 Sept 2022 at 7 PM Hawaii Standard Time on KHON2, KHII and Hawaii CW. Starring Daniel S. Janik as Will Gardner, Jeri Lynn Endo as Ginny Gardner, eriko Okada as Susan Blakely, Benjamin Wilkison as Donald Blakley Shane Chisum as Mike, and Setsuko Tsuchiya as Edna with Yuriko Asakawa and Helen R. Davis. Based off the teleplay “Static” written by Richard Rose. Produced, Directed an...

WHILE eating brunch today (as actor Daniel S. Janik always concerned about weight, aka sedentary author Daniel Janik/Raymond Gaynor/Gary Martine), I found myself pondering the quintessentially classic question: Which is “more betta,” the knife, fork or spoon, which being as my partner is Japanese, immediately expanded to include hashi (chopsticks) and, in deference to America’s love affair with fast foods, fingers?

Given the universality of finger use early in life, it’s environmenta...

SHADES of George Orwell and his dystopian futurist novel, 1984, that date having already passed into history, with thoughtcrimes moving from speculative literature to the movies with the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel, MINORITY REPORT. What’s next? Legislation against the use of discriminatory pronouns in thought or dream?

What this brings up for me is the issue of how much control needs to be exerted to counter extremism and weaponization today? Where is the flaw that so desperate...

PROMISED by Reds and Blues alike for decades, but especially after the COVID “shot across the bow,” updating our nation’s infrastructures has been much hooted, but barely addressed issue that is now beginning to impact all citizens more and more.

Take the internet, for example. The key to doing business in the future is a necessary shift from “in-person crowd sales” at brick and mortar stores, to “individual service via distance online” stores. The problem: the internet. What u...

LET’S face it: The split in politics that strongly divides us is being reflected in government, foreign affairs, legislation, health care, transportation and, yes, education. But what’s with the extreme splitting at the expense of the quality of our lives? I’m going to take a big leap and say it’s not really politics (the “pop” explanation) or COVID (the shot across the bow) as so many claim, but simply lack of an effective future infrastructure from which to develop. This is, in ...

IN or around 1993, as the University of Hawaii Extension Service Water Quality Agent for Northshore Oahu, I served as executive producer for a “wake up” documentary called CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND (National Film Network 1999). Twenty-nine minutes, with a special edition including an additional twenty-minute studio discussion, CLEAN WATER, COMMON GROUND traveled around the world several times, garnering awards like its two-Telly Awards for best documentary. Although National Film Network...

OVER the years, I’ve seen the best of ideas succeed and fail, and what I’ve learned is not only is the devil in the details, but the greatest successes doesn’t necessary follow the money.

The “devil in the details” is often more about one’s dedication and devotion to a particular effort. It’s dedication, devotion and focus that often elevates a minor project to a major success.

“Not necessarily following the money,” is another way of thinking and working “out-of-the-box....

HAVING just recently posted a number of times about AIs (Artificial Intelligences), it surprised me when several days ago weird things began happening, all AI-related.

First, my AI-controlled car door locks began failing off and on.

Then, my Macintosh MacBook Pro and iPhone started acting wonky.

At the same time, I suddenly couldn’t access my WordPress blog account, and worse yet, internet connectivity on my supposedly private dedicated subscriber line (DSL) began losing bandwidth, makin...

AI — Artificial Intelligences — What do they think of us, their makers, I wonder? We think of them often, as God(dess) must have thought often of us as we slowly evolved from unicellular bacteria to the Tower of Babel we are fast approaching today. Are they even aware of us? BI (before the Internet) I think not, but today, I do wonder. While we humans seem to have a hard time mentally encompassing the interconenctive power of the AI internet, my gut says there’s enough interconnected AI...

AH, you thought I was about to post on how AIWs (Artificially Intelligent Whatevers) have changed the way we humans think in terms of human sex and gender. Nope. Couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m talking more in terms of determining the sex and gender of your personal AIWs. You know, your trusted computer, cell phone, home alarm system, self-driving program.

It all started the other day when, based on a computer incident, I began to wonder what sex my computer was. Male or female, ...

WHILE most would, like one version goes, “put em’ in your pockets,” for whatever paw-paws are saved — I mean, really, maybe it’s just a children’s song — until I came across Bill Beatty and Jan Runyan’s “WV Nature” website, believe it or not, about Paw-Paws — https://wvbirder.wordpress.com/2019/10/22/pickin-up-pawpaws-put-em-in-my-pocket-by-jan-runyan/. Total coincidence, serendipity, simultaneity! One of those rare “ah-ha” moments when something hardly worth noticin...

THERE! I’ve broken the LGBTQ+ ice with that title and topic, don’t you think? Of course, before that one would have to define a “straight” AI (Artificial Intelligence). Now what would a straight AI be like? I’m going to assume that at some point, we humans will want AIs to not only efficiently do their “jobs,” but also fix themselves, belying the question whether each human that comes into the world has a distinct job, whether our creator(s) continue to secretly assign such, or ...

CALL it a paradigm shift, a wisdom transformation or weltanschauung crisis, I was thinking this morning that our species has evolutionarily experienced several major shifts in point-of-view, one of the more interesting for me being the shift from a “horizontal” to a “vertical” viewpoint.

We are, after all, descended from the oceans, with it’s particular, salty, “horizontal-axis” orientation, experiencing a major shift to airy, “vertical” bipedal orientation when our ancesto...

As an actor (Daniel S. Janik aka author Daniel S. Janik / Raymond Gaynor / Gary Martine), I’m always scouting for more acting opportunities. I’m currently preparing for my role in the K. Simmons Production of FINDING KATE -- https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate and https://janik.yolasite.com/findingkate.php -- a 6-part series about computer genius, Kate Keenan, who develops a scriptwriting program that everyone wants, that, in the wrong hands could be a threat to national security. Th...

THINK Andy Warhol’s “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” quote. With our part in the filming of the K. Simmons Production of FINDING KATE — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate — slowly approaching, Setsuko and I have been busy working with our professional choreographer, North American 10-Dance Champion and World DanceSport adjudicator, Mr. Albert Franz, on our part in the “honor-dance-at-the-studio-party” scene and our supporting actor/actress line...

If you’re a Raymond Gaynor thriller fan, you may not know that I wrote two children’s books, the first, A WHALE’S TALE (Savant 2008) by Daniel S. Janik — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1442105062 — is available in printed, digital and audiobook format, the latter read by the incomparable Lynn Whitener. Illustrated by renown Oklahoma artist Ruth R. Janik. The adventures of a juvenile humpback whale on his way from Hawaii to Alaska as told by his childhood sweetheart. Written for adults to...

HEARD of or experienced Pishing? Or the latest; what I call “swishing” in emailing? I recently was informed that my email had been “hacked,” but following up on this, I discovered someone with an entirely different email address simply had put my name on it their email. And, of course, this was supposedly accompanied by all sorts of nefariousness from within the account, much of it, I suspect phishing. The point is, as unethical, often criminal activity spreads within the email world,...

DURING these difficult times of unprecedented change, it’s easy to fall into a kind of blank-like despair. What’s important is to remember that life is the journey, and at least to some extent, we make our journey. One thing of which I like to remind myself during times like these, is that while I may have only one birthday a year to celebrate, I have 363-1/4 Un-Birthdays, all of which deserve celebrating, if only because I’m alive for another day.

But how to celebrate an Un-Birthday? ...

Just to be clear, I’m not referring to that little switch that maintains a car at a select speed. I’m talking bit time cruise control here, being a cruising enthusiast and baffled about when it’s really safe to return to cruising. The answers run the whole gamut from totally safe (no COVID test needed, no masks, no special onboard infection controls necessary to its simply not safe to crowd together on a cruise ship).

According to Bloomberg — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletter...

I think some, therefore I must be, well, something. True, however, I can’t help but wonder how much of my thinking is simply want, hope and desire. Or dream for that matter. Is life a long series of unconscious déjà vues, one long jamais vu, or one long hopeless presque vu? In fact, if everything that’s “real” to our senses is, as we’re told by physicists and cosmologists, merely tight packets of vibrating energy, what can we know and trust outside of simple belief?

Actually, in ...

I DID IT! Having suffered with astigmatism for most of my life, last week I visited my eye doctor to see if I would benefit from lens replacement. Nope. But I could replace my glasses with contacts, which would greatly benefit my acting career. The “problem” is that there is no contact lens the would fully correct both eyes. The “solution” (ingenious really) was to have one eye corrected for near vision and the other for far vision. That is, one eye to read cue cards and the other to ...

YESTERDAY, I posted on Writing and Authoring. Today I’d like to talk a bit about Acting, a late-in-life career for me. It began with the opportunity of playing the lead role in the K. Simmons Production of STATIC (2021) — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15420946 — and supporting actor roles in the Kurt Ken Kaminaka Production of THE PERFECT ILLUSION (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18690318) as well as the upcoming films THE MALTESE COLLECTION (https://ksmediagroupinc.com/maltese-collection),...

Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” After 5 decades of writing, or more precisely authoring (meaning writing for a specific readership), I feel as if my life is a perfect testament to that. That veil between what I feel compelled to say and what I actually need to say, grows fainter with each passing year. I’ve been asked several times, “About what do you have so much to say?” — admittedly a paraphrase — bu...

OKAY, so the stars are out 24/7, they’re just hidden by the sun in the afternoon. Except for OUR star, the sun which is exactly the opposite, which is glory-blazing in the afternoon and hidden at night. At night my fav stars are The Seven Sisters, Cassiopeia (the “W” constellation), and Hanaiakamalama (the Southern Cross), not to forget Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), the “pole” star of the Northern Hemisphere, or Polaris Australis (Sigma Octantis), the Southern “pole” star.

But, ...

AFTER 20 years of dancing, it all up to hold, frame and posture. I know how to dance. I have gotten to the point where I can experience the sheer joy of moving with my partner through time and space. I’ve done performances and competition as I know my strengths and weaknesses. Now it’s all about replacing tine details with ones that better project our dancing so I can share my joy with onlookers.

I say “my,” but, of course, if it weren’t for my partner in International-style Ballro...

SO much hype these days about new opportunities to “make money fast” — I call persons who heed and act on this type of call “Fast Eddies” — when, in fact, the only institution that really “makes money” is a mint, and nowadays, only representations of money, being illusions representing the great illusion, money. It isn’t altogether inappropriate to try to “make money,” though counterfeiting is indeed a federal crime — a no-no in the all to human game of money, which, w...

I’VE posted numerous times about my opinion regarding money and power, both human-created illusions that it’s possible have brought more misery to humanity, the biosphere and planet than any other individual factors, existing as I believe they do, beneath the fabled four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. My point, however is that they are not the only greatest illusions but they are human-made.

To these two, I am rapidly approaching the point where I will have to add a third: Time. H.G. Wells ...

GIVE a person a pen and a new author emerges. But give a person a gun or a nation the weapons of war, and what does one do with it? Safekeep it. Then, after a time, practice with it. Once trained, deploy it. When the opportunity presents, use it. One of the most dangerous aspects of weaponizing is the compelling pull to use it for what it was created. To kill. Whether an animal, human, or simply by virtue of purchasing such a weapon and its required means of killing (e.g. expendable bullets, ...

IT’S officially the hurricane season in the Pacific and what’s brewing at this moment is hurricane Frank. Hawaii hurricanes typically begin off Baha California, traveling West-Northwest along with tons of tourists, the hurricane slowly weakening on its way. This year’s hurricane forecast for Hawaii, I’m told, is low both in numbers and intensities, much like income projections for US citizens. Then again, in terms of weather and economics, anything can happen along the way.

If you be...

AS Daniel S. Janik, former owner of Savant Books and Publications, which was sold on 31 December 2021 to KS Media Group Inc — https://ksmediagroupinc.com — I’m now book production manager while the work of melding the two companies proceeds. Kenny Simmons of KS Media Group Inc and K. Simmons Productions, a “Hawaiiwood” film studio, in the meantime with Executive Producer assistance from me, Setsuko Tsuchiya and Savant Director of Publicity and Marketing, Dr. Michael Davis, is produc...

THINK Hawaii and what immediately comes to most people’s minds are warm sun, beaches, surfing, tropical drinks, but Amazonian Green Parrots? Rats? Mongooses? Geckoes? Brush-tailed rock-wallabies? Mangoes? Eh? And lets not forget mosquitoes! But, Amazonian Green Parrots???

Less than a decade ago, I noticed a pair of Amazonian Green Parrots fly by my lanai window. Several years later, on a walk I noticed a buch of them feasting on mangoes in a neighborhood mango tree. Today I watched numerou...

PERHAPS it’s a distinctly human characteristic (though I often wonder if many animals, especially elephants, whales and dolphins, and even plants should be included), the old Wishing Well seemingly part of every nation and cultures. But, hey, I’m not referring here to that, I’m referring to the importance of old-timers using their wishes well during their “Golden Years.” When I made this remark years ago to my father, he grunted that the older he got, the less time he had for wishin...

I was musing today over the three wise men who followed the new star to a barnyard and gave, not the parents, but the newborn, gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And what the child later would have thought had they given gifts of bitcoins, samples of the latest fragrances and a tree to plant and save the planet. I wonder.

Typically, the gifts we give and receive are enmeshed in feelings, imagination and hope. As a child bitcoins, unseen as they are, wouldn’t have evoked any feelings o...

I’VE always felt reasonably safe and secure pretty much everywhere I’ve travelled within the USA (avoiding big cities). At least until recently. I’m not feeling so safe and secure these days with the increasingly lax gun laws, especially those that allow carrying a concealed weapon. Having grown up in Alaska when it was still a young, wild territory, I wasn’t unaccustomed to seeing people in town “carryin’,” even having witnessed a shootout once. Strangely, knowing that people w...

TODAY is the day after Hurricane Darby bounced off of Big Island, headed south and died. Not that I’m disappointed. Hurricane’s aren’t my thing. It did affect my acting, however, as filming stopped while Darby danced by. And I just noticed what looks like a new hurricane building off Baja California, the birthplace of so many Hawaiian hurricanes. Quick! Time to film everything possible before another hurricane passes by, hopefully without incident.

Setsuko Tsuchiya and I are continuing...

ADMITTEDLY, The Lone Ranger was one of my chiildhood favorite early morning television shows, and THE LONE RANGER with Johnny Depp will remain one of my adulthood favorites for all time. But, hey, I’m talking the lone masked man these days. Oddly, most of my acquaintances are either (1) sans mask, distancing and cares; or (2) either huffing and puffing with long COVID or even departed. Odder still the yet again polarization with few folk like myself, Daniel S. Janik, in the middle, distanci...

LIKE many other Americans, I thought deposing Donald Trump during last year’s presidential election would end the bitter decisiveness erupting in almost every sector of government, business, transportation, environment, medical care, education, even to the point of separating family members and impassively expression frustration through public shootings. Nope. I didn’t realize until recently how close we came to blurring the lines between Administration, Legislation and Courts, paving the...

IS our world, as James Lovelock’s GAIA — https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/gaia-hypothesis — would have us believe, a living, breathing being? I tend to think so. Lovelock has been “right” so many times, it would be an insult to not take The Gaia Hypothesis for real. If so, surely, Gaia is letting out a long sigh, after so tumultuous a half-year. The Return (or call it the REVENGE) of COVID, Putin’s War, another year of increasing over-population an...

I’M going to have fun with this one! Flim-flam is insincere or nonsensical talk. It also is a swindle or con. Boyancy is all about ending up on top with optimism and cheerfulness. If that isn’t an interesting paraducks I don’t know what is. But in my “new” dictionary for our new times, flimflamboyancy is all about surviving this increasingly “fake” world while optimistically and cheerfully retaining hope for something better. 

Is our world increasingly “fake?” I would say yes...

TODAY is the fourth of July, the day we celebrate America’s Independence. I like to think of it as the day the nation celebrates my birthday with parties, grills and fireworks, a little myth inculcated by my mother alongside Santa and the Great Pumpkin. Admittedly, letting go of the fourth being a celebration of my coming-into-the-world was the hardest of which to let go. Sigh. Still, when I watch the fireworks tonight, I’ll be happily co-celebrating my own birth.

What most American’s ...

IN previous posts, I presented two of three reasons why Setsuko Tsuchiya and I, Daniel S. Janik, were intrigued from the start over Elias Perez’ 2-Liter’s Shady Film Production of MOCOS, the Movie — https://www.auditionsfree.com/2021/actors-and-extras-in-nyc-or-to-film-remotely-for-indie-film/. We both support experimental filmmaking, especially when it leads to a new venue resistant to epidemics and pandemics. I see MOCOS as the forerunner of distance-filmed, interactive, holographic m...

YESTERDAY I posted about a new film that Setsuko Tsuchiya and I will be appearing in entitled MOCOS. One of three reasons why this debut film by Elias Perez’ 2-Liter’s Shady Films Productions was that it was an experimental film. In this day when businesses are struggling to return to the old days, Perez has taken a new “distance” approach to filming, which I find intriguing. It is innovative filming venues like this one that will, I believe, end up charting the future of the industry...

SETSUKO Tsuchiya and I recently auditioned for a new film, MOCOS (pronounced “locos”) a horror film by Elias Perez’ 2-Liters Shady Films. I was pleased to be selected for the role of Dr. Gregory Grant, MD, a public health specialist, and Setsuko for the role of Ms. Akari Koko-Grant, wife of Dr. Grant and reporter for the Pacific World News.

What initially caught my interest was that this would be an experimental “distance” filming project, whereby each actor/actress would DIY film ...

It’s Vaudeville I’m talking about. How about you? Vaudeville was where tomorrow’s stars teethed. Wikipedia says it’s “a mixture of specialty acts such as burlesque comedy and song and dance” to which I’ll add, mostly on a live stage. What better way to hone one’s skills than playing every different weekend at a different town. A hard life no doubt, but one that I’ve always wanted to experience. Nowadays, it is no film rather than the live stage, and storytelling with “spec...

IT’S hard to comment about about something that appears like “ghost” marketing (marketing an “unavailable” product), though this new approach to seems to be popping up more and more these days. You know the basic story: A product or service fails “due to COVID,” and whether the failing is real or not, public response results in a rush of demand, creating a sales boom, often with the product being offered at higher price. Clever, if, in fact, it’s all true. But whether true or ...

BLOODSPORT is the term for events of spectacle involving violence to the point of bloodletting. While violence and bloodletting are probably as old as humanity, they are said to have became a spectacle with the ancient pre-Roman Etruscans in or around 600 BCE — https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi7673 and http://thespectaclesofapuleius.weebly.com/gladiatorial-combats.html#.YrSwcy-B3Fc — and later the Greek Olympics begun in 770 BCE — https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/history-and-or...

NOW there’s an interesting, amazingly paradoxical word (I nearly wrote “world,” thank you, Dr. Freud for that Freudian slip). To say someone is “in-sane” would logically be the opposite of saying he or she is “insane.” But what is sanity, and who’s to say what it actually means. The online Oxford Languages dictionary defines sanity as “the ability to think and behave in a normal and rational manner,” the key words being “normal” and “rational.” Think for a moment a...

WHAT’S the difference between Chow Mein and Chop Suey? Gotcha there, didn’t I? So, in my world:

According to TheSpruceEats, Chow Mein, (in Mandarin “ch’ao mien” which means “stir-fried noodles”) is the more authentic of the two, having originated in Northern China. If it doesn’t contain something stir-fried along with boiled noodles, it’s not Chow Mein — https://www.thespruceeats.com/chop-suey-and-chow-mein-4077054. “Chow mein is an established recipe where noodles are ...

YES, that’s an intended paraphrase of the adage, “What are little boys made of? What are little boys made of? Snips, snails And puppy-dogs’ tails That’s what little boys are made of” In case you’re wondering, other stanzas concern girls, babies, young men, young women, sailors, soldiers, nurses, fathers, mothers, old men, old women, and all folks are made of [sic]. But, hey, while the world waxes non-binary, I still catch myself thinking in terms of male and female. Forgive me. It...

ACCORDING to Wikipedia, the common European adder or common viper, is a venomous snake that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of central and eastern Europe and as far as East Asia, so you can see that we’re not talking mathematics here. What we’re talking is talk. Conversation. Discussion. Dialog. Debate. In short, viperous praddle, intentionally so.

I’m not talking propaganda or prepared speeches, public or private. I’m talking more of intentional gossip that ...

HAVING posted yesterday on the “solution” to a cupboard-“bare” market, in the process suggesting that the “market” and by extension, our economy (at least from a “market” perspective) is run by gamblers, I’ve come to wonder who’s in charge of it all: the economy, government, the world? Or is there no one at all sitting in the drivers seat?

I’ve always held that the key to anything human, is balance and qualified cooperation. The framers of our Constitution called it “...

THIS past month, the biggest issue for me as a “fixed income consumer,” has been inflation and mal-distribution. In today’s news there was a suggestion that the “solution” is to invest more in the stock market. Personally, I’m not inclined to such. Let me explain:

The “market” (meaning “Stock Market”), in my opinion, is becoming frenzied and chaotic, having enjoyed and recently exited an unparalleled Bull market, now entering “Bear” market territory, a cutesy way of s...

IN a recent BBC News article, Google engineer Blake Lemoine is stated to have claimed that one of the firm’s artificial intelligence (AI) systems called Lamba might have its own feelings and says its “wants” should be respected — https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61784011 — which seems to have created quite a buzz. Mr Lemoine published a conversation he and a collaborator at the firm had with Lamda, to support his claims.

Brian Gabriel, a spokesperson for the firm, wrote in a sta...

YESTERDAY, I received some exciting good news! I’m posting today as Daniel S. Janik, the actor, rather than my usual Raymond Gaynor, author, though we’re one and the same. I’m looking forward to appearing in the upcoming K. Simmons Production, six-part, made-for-television series FINDING KATE. I’ll be appearing in Episode One as myself with a possible short speaking role in a later episode. But what’s particularly exciting for me is that Setsuko Tsuchiya, my performance and competit...

EVERYONE has a few. It’s the part of life where we sometimes regret, but almost always learn from our mistakes. But in tune with the last couple days’ posts, I’m talking about something the same yet totally different: Regrettable experiences with AIs. Anything from wanting to strangle the voice-to-text AI inside a cell phone, to being angry well beyond normal with the computerized car or home system that simply refuses to budge, to the mobile bank AI that refuses to recognize you, to �...

YESTERDAY, I posted about THE “GHOST” WITHIN THE GHOST, that is, artificial intelligence (AI) slowly penetrating everything we think of as “real.” Today, I’d like to talk about the ghost that is even now supersonically self-developing within AI. Ultimately this question comes down to can AI create and implement its own programs?

According to STXNext, Microsoft and Cambridge University researchers have developed artificial intelligence that can write code and called it DeepCoder. Th...

IN my Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859, now available in printed, digital and “free” audiobook format, I describe an encounter between the male and female protagonists in which one, while going to work, sends a “proxy self” to the other who has just awakened back at their domicile. Eh? What’s a “proxy self” you ask? Think of sending a loved one a greeting card, greeting message by phone, or text...

I’M increasingly confronted these days with the presented need to either “believe/accept” or “not believe/reject” things (and, of course, to “show” my commitment by committing money). As a university-trained individual, I “know” that the “either-or” scenario is one of many Logical Fallacies. Still, I’m human and sometimes catch myself falling for this all-too-easy fallacy. It’s so much easier when things are black and white, rather than all shades of color including ...

THERE seems to me to be four big factors suddenly at interplay with regard to food these days. First, however, it’s important to place this post within context: People all over the world are suddenly experiencing pre-war instability and uncertainness. Those who lived through WWII (and they are a rapidly dwindling minority) often say our contemporary world “feels” just like pre-World War II but “on steroids.” In the meantime, the world’s population continues a 45-degree growth curv...

DINOSAURS, then humans…what’s next? The dinosaurs supposedly disappeared after at least one huge comet hit earth in the area of the current Yucatán Peninsula, creating the Chicxulub crater, massive tsunamis, a likely world-wide thousand-degree particulate storm, massive firestorms and a seasonal if not climate change due to a particulate blanket blotting out the sun. The world that resulted is totally different from that it replaced. Right up to the appearance of humans.

Being a writer ...

I don’t usually post about topics that might simply though mention raise people’s hackles and guards. Still, it’s an interesting exercise, I believe, to wonder if domesticated animals and even possibly plants, raised to be killed (okay, “harvested” if that protects the sensibilities) and eaten know that they are being raised for such? Silly idea, or a very unpleasant thought to think about? I might have thought so, too, until I read about Hanabiko “Koko” the sign-language “tal...

I have to admit that people, especially children, have a fascination with dragons, be they more or less dinosaurian, bird-like or unicornian. I’ve always wondered from where this seemingly genetic-based “belief” in them comes. Until recently. For over 50 years now investigation has been ongoing into the nature of Quetzalcoatlus, a late Cretaceous winged behemoth with a likely 40-foot wingspan. With its wings “folded,” should humans have been present and not eaten trying to mount the...

SOME say that revenge is sweet, but I fear that whether sweet or not, it simply continues the cycle of violence into which today’s world seems trapped. It takes faith, trust, empathy, courage and strength to not respond to violence with violence. And re-cover-y, an odd word suggesting that the ultimate goal of recovery is to re-cover an act of violence. Sweep it under the rug, so to speak. But it’s not like that at all.

If every perpetrator of violence had to pay for the victim’s recov...

“AN eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” How many eyes and teeth does it take to satisfy one hurt person’s desire for revenge? The answer: an infinite number, as one revenge begats another. Add hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of personal revenge desires and what do you have? Today’s world, a stage upon which literally untold numbers of revenge desires being acted out, in the process, creating new ones. The problem, of course, is how to stop it.

“Turning the o...

META, a reincarnation of Facebook (?), is gaining quite a bit of attention in the news these days, given that I, for one, have little idea of what it’s supposed to be. This despite engineering the first apparent META-VR sexual assault — https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61573661. Not something I personally would be proud of. In fact, it doesn’t make me all that interested in that particular META (multiverse?). There’s far too much assault and battery in the “real” world.

But th...

EVER wonder what it would be like to always win? It might take a while, but my personal take is that it would quickly become “boring.” It’s always fun to win, but it’s in the losing that one learns and grows. Still, it IS fun to win, especially once in a while.

As an actor and author, I make it a point to celebrate “wins.” Big or small. Wins are like positive signposts along the highway of life. Right now, I’m celebrating a number of things. First, I’m celebrating the Amazon-...

AUTHOR A. G. Hayes’ multi-award-winning seven-book, Koski-and-Falk Secret Agent series is scheduled to come to life on TV and the silver screen beginning with the fourth book, FINDING KATE, currently being filmed at K. Simmons Productions — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate. Karizma Rose, lead actress, has been chosen to portray principal character, Kate Keenan, long-ignored computer genius who has designed a computer program that will put Hollywood and Bollywood out of business ov...

CONGRATULATIONS, Karizma Rose on being cast as lead actress in the role of Kate Keenan in the upcoming K. Simmons Production of FINDING KATE — https://www.facebook.com/ksimmonsproductionsllc/photos/a.1070928022940680/5520221334677971.

As one of the Executive Producers having read the entire six-part series scripts, I can only say that the role seemed perfectly made for you! “Long-ignored computer genius Kate Keenan has designed a computer program that will put Hollywood and Bollywood out...

IT’S said “In the Nordic countries, the Sun (Sunday) and the Moon (Monday) also became the first two days of the week, and the Roman gods became four of the Nordic gods with similarities: Mars became Tyr (Tuesday), Mercury became Odin (Wednesday), Jupiter became Thor (Thursday) and Venus became Frigg (Friday). — https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/viking-age-people/the-names-of-the-weekdays. Okay, but Thor’s day has always been my favorite!

Not that I’m a Tho...

Many know me as Raymond Gaynor, award-winning co-author with A. G. Hayes, of QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996325530, the sequel to A. G. Hayes’ FINDING KATE (Savant 2016) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997247215, purchased by KS Media Group and currently in filming by K. Simmons Productions as a six-part series of the same name — https://ksmediagroupinc.com/finding-kate.

Many may also know me as Raymond Gaynor, co-author with William Maltese of TOTAL MELTDOW...

IF you said or thought 60 seconds, you’re right. As least according to the ancient Babylonians who used a sexagesimal (counting in 60s) system for mathematics and astronomy derived from the even more ancient Sumerians who were using it as early as 3500 BC (https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-1487,00.html).

But, of course, that’s only when measuring time on Earth at an average distance of 94 million miles from the greatest time distorter in our nearby space neighborh...

ONE of the best rewards I’ve ever received as an author with Savant Books and Publications (now part of KS Media Group Inc) has been the associations I’ve built over the years with other Savant authors, one of whom is A. G. Hayes. A multi-award-winning author of nine Savant publications including the seven-book thriller Koski and Falk Secret Agent series — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086Z87Z9K — and three-book Kate Keenan Special Assignment series, CHANG THE MAGIC CAT (Aignos 2017) —...

IT’S been my distinct pleasure to be Daniel S. Janik, actor, with Setsuko Tsuchiya, actress, in “The Rainbow State” of Hawaii. Our acting opportunities have been and remain highly varied. Part of that, I believe, is a consequence of living in Hawaii with its multi-culturality. Being European by descent and my partner Japanese, Hawaii offers us a multitude of cultural experiences both in terms of our professions and our daily life.

For example, we’ve played in Hawaiiwood’s K. Simmon...

YEP! The Call of the Wild (actually the call of anything and everything outside of home) is weighing increasingly heavy these freakishly undecided days, what with prices rising, a growing war underway, another wave of COVID beginning, and tons of questionable news, advertisements and social posts of dubious truthfulness being slung about. Who to believe? Who to trust? I’ve posted about my own perception regarding diminishing customer service and increasing “Fast Eddie” sales to the poin...

WORKING today on my newest Sci-Fu novel, PROPHESY, the promised sequel to the Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/the-edge-of-madness/136 or https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859— and the decidedly naughty political thriller TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556.

THE EDGE OF MADNESS: “Taking up where TOTAL MELTDOWN...

RESPONDING to an article in today’s BBC News entitled “Tech Tent: Are we really on the cusp of a VR revolution? — https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct3750, I’d have to say a definite, “Yes,” though not exactly as VR companies and Meta envision. More like envisioned in my Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor. And exactly how is that different, you might well ask?

Well, for starters, I believe that the missing “key” is projected, interacti...

WORKING today on my newest Sci-Fu novel, PROPHESY, the promised sequel to the Amazon-genre-bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/the-edge-of-madness/136 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — and the decidedly naughty political thriller TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556.

THE EDGE OF MADNESS: “Taking up where TOTAL MELTDO...

PLEASED as punch to hear that William Maltese’s “edge of the seat” romance, DARE TO LOVE IN OZ (Savant 2009) — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/dare-to-love-in-oz/100 or https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984117547 — available in printed, digital and audiobook versions, is now a screenplay, ready for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by KS Media Group. “Romance and adventure collide in Australia’s exotic outback as a deadly storm and a deadly killer wreak hav...

Something’s going on with the two tomato plants growing on my porch: They’ve suddenly stopped turning red! OMG, does that mean they’re gonna turn blue before November? Ha, ha. No, really, there’s actually lots of GREEN tomatoes remaining green, and they aren’t likely to turn red or blue in the near future. Can plants join political parties? Can they even party at all?

Maybe they’re pondering onion-izing alongside Amazon and Starbuck workers, but instead of going for more water, f...

I’VE been hearing reports that the James Webb telescope is being readied to look back in distance and time to the very formation of our unique expanding-bubble-universe; back to when things physical first formed and formed the framework for everything we know and experience today.

Equally exciting are reports that CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) update was in its final stages, promising a look at the very forces that hold the interactive wave-and-particulate world as we know it togeth...

I’VE had the unique experience of watching America transform from a nation of creative manufacturers and traders into a nation ruled almost entirely by business — an industry that neither creates nor produces, bent almost wholly on “making money” typically through management. I watched with horror the businessification, sometimes commercialization, of health care, then food production, then technology, then education, then transportation, now politics. What’s left from which to “t...

I’M posting today out of necessity about flying. Airline travel used to be something I looked forward to with delight. No more. Airlines, in my opinion, were already flying the wrong direction before COVID, and, despite the pandemic “shot across the cockpit” continue to make flying something I now purposefully avoid. I’m talking here about flying “regular” or coach class, not Business, First Class or by personally chartered airplane. While “high end” choices that are relativel...

REALLY — When’s the last time you had some fun. Real fun! Wild, unconstrained, giggly FUN and I don’t mean a day without news spent entirely in Meta’s cyberspace. I mean real, human-to-human fun.

Given the pandemic has challenged us to rise to a new style and level of interaction, and that we’ve completely failed to take advantage of the COVID-shot-across-the-bow to update our future infrastructure (or almost any infrastructure at all), instead returning to the state of things that...

A doctor of philosophy degree wherein one knows more and more about less and less. The key is the word philosophy, meaning “love of wisdom,” whereas doctorate simply implies the highest degree (of). But seriously, what is wisdom? Or knowledge (shouldn’t all degreed individuals possess knowledge)? And where do information and data fit in?

In my experience, the lowest form of education involves the memorization of data. Having a storehouse of data at one’s fingertips used to be a major...

TRUE, there’s more and more static appearing in every facet of life, be it relationships, culture, politics, finances and consumer information – you name it. But there’s also some good news about some of that static: namely the K. Simmons Production STATIC movie that premiered in 2021. A family friendly, science fiction/drama, Susan’s struggle to find balance in her life as she deals with her practical husband Donald and her father Will who’s showing symptoms of early onset Alzheime...

Of course I’m referring here to that classic line in the movie CASABLANCA where Rick (played by Humphrey Bogart) says to lover Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman), I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.” That’s not to lessen the other incredibly timely and unforgettable lines in the movie like “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine...

“IF it flys like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a…” Personally, I enjoy likening this to the infamous children’s question, “What black and white and red/read all over?” So what’s para-duck-sicle about the first statement, and ‘riddled’ with double-entendre in the second, that both have in common? They’re both riddles. Or, some might say, they both are, in a broader sense, conundrums.

According to Dictionary.com, a riddle is “a question or s...

JUSTICE is often portrayed as blindfolded, holding a sword and presumably emotionally detached. Today I would like to conclude my three posts on adjudicating justice with a brief reminder about two of what I consider two of the most important but often ignored aspects of justice: mercy and grace.

According to dictionary.com, grace encompasses courteous goodwill, neither asked for nor deserved, but freely given. Grace is often, in my experience, meted out equally blindfolded. Mercy is compass...

AS promised, today’s post follows on yesterdays. Talk is cheap as some would point out; action is something else altogether. Still, both come together in Plato’s famous (or infamous) REPUBLIC depending on your point of view. The 10-book “series” is is a Socratic dialogue, on justice, the just city-state, and the just human. According to Wikipedia, Socrates talks with various Athenians and foreigners about the meaning of justice and whether a just man is happier than an unjust one. In ...

JUSTICE “is a concept on ethics and law that means that people behave in a way that is fair, equal and balanced for everyone,” according to simple.wikipedia.org. On the other hand, legally, justice can be be equally defined as, “n. 1) fairness. 2) moral rightness. 3) a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his/ her/its due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal” according to Law.com, an online “legal dictionary”. The whole idea of justice ca...

WITH the K. Simmons Production of FINDING KATE — https://kspllc.media/finding-kate — about to enter production, the question remains, who will play lead actress in the role of Kate Keenan and where in the world is she? Long-ignored computer genius Kate Keenan has designed a computer program that will put Hollywood and Bollywood out of business overnight. Suddenly everyone wants her…and her program. To stay alive, Kate goes into hiding, barely keeping ahead of a lethal hoard of pursuers....

IT all started with lunch. One of my personal favorite lunch recipes is Japanese-Alaskan Potato Salad. Whoa, there! I can hear you saying, so here it is, basically: Yukon potatoes (boiled with skin on), cucumbers (very thinly sliced, the juice squeezed out), mayo (we use veggie mayo for a more adult taste), carrot (again, very thin sliced), white onion broccoli and/or celery (again very thinly sliced), a sprinkling of roasted sesame seeds. The object is to keep it simple. Yum. On the other ha...

ADMITTEDLY, a play on FINDING KATE, the recently begun filming K. Simmons Production based on the award-winning novel of the same name — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY5WYTE. Written by multi-award-winning author A. G. Hayes, FINDING KATE is the fifth in the popular seven-book “Koski and Falk Secret Agent” and first in the three-book “Kate Keenan Special Assignment” series. In the book, long-ignored computer genius Kate Keenan has designed a computer program that will put Hollywood ...

ABSTRACT Artificial Intelligence (AI) thoughts aren’t science fiction anymore. SciFu (science-based futuring) AI thinking is already happening, incredible as it sounds. They’re learning. But consider this: GPT-3, a trained AI language model by Open AI, with prompts, “can write humanlike news articles, short stories and poems. But in one demo, it wrote: ‘It takes two rainbows to jump from Hawaii to seventeen'” — https://www.sciencenews.org/century/computer-ai-algorithm-moore-law-et...

I’M pleased to announce that production (filming) of the 6-part action/adventure film, “Finding Kate,” has begun — https://kspllc.media/finding-kate or follow me at https://janik.yolasite.com/findingkate.php. Finding Kate is based on the award-winning book by A. G. Hayes of the same name at a celebratory 15% off the Suggested Retail Price (using “ONLINE” discount code at checkout) with free shipping within the USA from Savant Bookstore Honolulu — https://savant-bookstore-honolul...

LET’S face it: Information overload is here to stay. And much of it is spun, hoodwinked, tainted, biased or just plain untrue. I’m for a day — today — without any digital news. Nothing. Nada. And a little bit of nothing, I think, will go a long way to regaining my balance. My center. Especially in this unbalanced world. Think “The Qatsi Trilogy – Koyaanisqatsi/Powaqqatsi/Naqoyqatsi” (Hopi for “life out of balance”) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009D004MC. Then think THE EDG...

HAVING finished filming my and Setsuko Tsuchiya’s parts in the upcoming movie THE PERFECT ILLUSION, I couldn’t help but add to my author/actor’s website a recently completed special flying scene (in-which-I-am-not-but-truly-wish-I-were) — https://janik.yolasite.com/theperfectillusion.php. Have you ever dreamed as a child of flying through the air like Superman or Supergirl? This scene simply tugged at my inner child’s heart and begged to be shared.

From where does that seemingly pr...

AH, did you catch that? “Virtually” nothing to say. That is, nothing — nada, nope — to say about the virtual world, but a lot to say about the “real” world.

Less than a decade ago, the distinction between real and virtual was quite clear: The real world was where one lived out one’s mortal life, for better or worse, gaining experience over time from face-to-face and sometimes body-to-body social encounters. No more. In many cases, the virtual world is these days more real than ...

TWO important news items today: First, in physics, the Standard Model is being challenged by a Fermilab Collider Detector (CDF) research group in Illinois whose experiment suggests “the particle, known as a W boson, is more massive than the theories predicted.” A very small deviation, but one that apparently isn’t explained by today’s Standard Model of physics, their research hints at an undiscovered sub-atomic particle or a fifth force, the contemporary Standard four forces being gra...

MEANING, “Thank God it’s Friday,” right? Well, it IS Friday, and I for one am plenty thankful for the start of another weekend, BUT, what I meant was “Thank God(dess) it’s functioning,” whether referring to one’s body (and it’s various parts), our home appliances, the internet, our government (though many would question this), the police or the United Nations. With the slow but significant exit of baby-boomers and the rise of Generation Whatever, I’m reminded of WILLIAM MALT...

IT’S not uncommon to think of the USA as a “continental” nation, an integral part of North America or the Americas in general. It’s not so common to think of it as an island, surrounded in its totality by water, isolated by oceans from EurAsia. Personally, I think of the good ol’ democratic USA as an “island in the sun” among nations. Not a classic Greek democracy; instead, more in terms of a “nation of free traders.” It seems to me that one particular element that’s made ...

OVER the four decades I’ve been authoring, I’ve made some exceptional friends who’ve consistently “walked the walk” and” talked the talk” with me. With two, namely William Maltese and A. G. Hayes, I’ve had the pleasure of co-authoring a work.

With over 200+ published works, William Maltese is one the most prolific and followed authors I’ve known. And his accomplishments include not just books, but screenplays, and soon, films as well. I had the pleasure and privilege of co-...

WHEN was the last time you picked a tomato, cucumber, carrot or peach right off the plant and thanked the plant for sharing its bounty? During my last trip to Japan, just before COVID set in, I visited the apple orchards of Iida, Nagano Prefecture, and walking a field with the farmer, heard him thank the tree after picking an apple for me to sample. And what an apple it was. Large, ripe, succulent and sweet. When I asked him his secret to success, he said it was because he always thanked the ...

SUCCESS demands celebration; but failure, as negative as it may sound, is how we learning. We learn from our mistakes and failures. The “trick,” of course, is to avoid fatal ones. The dead don’t learn from their mistakes or failures.

While it’s said, “Dead men tell no tales,” that isn’t necessarily true. The living, if curious, conscious and reasonably empathic, can learn from others’ fatal mistakes and failures. Call it science, if you wish, where science is the search for t...

I’M often told that THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor —https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/the-edge-of-madness/136 — is “classic” dystopia fiction, which due to the pandemic seems in demand at the moment. I’m also often reminded that dystopias, by their nature, are not good for the mind, body or soul. But I’m also reminded that dystopias have a real “positive” purpose in our contemporary world. After all, we’re well past 1984, the year G...

YESTERDAY, the casting call went out — https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=7566417556709217 — for the K. Simmons Production of “Finding Kate,” a six-part action-thriller series about “long-ignored computer genius Kate Keenan who has designed a computer program that will put Hollywood and Bollywood out of business overnight. Suddenly everyone wants her…and her program. To stay alive, Kate goes into hiding, barely keeping ahead of a lethal hoard of pursuers" -- https://kspllc.media...

GAMBLING – GAMING – WAGERING – PUNTING – SPECULATION – TAKING A CHANCE ON LADY LUCK. Gambling is as old as mortality, which is pretty old, don’t you know? We gamble every day, every hour, every minute, sometimes every second with our lives. No wonder that gambling in that first virtual world of money is so tempting. Win and you get more; lose and all you lose is money. And when that get’s boring, gambling in that second virtual world of power is even more tempting, lying between...

AND I’m not talking broccoli here (actually I LOVE broccoli, ha, ha). I’m talking the currently very negative millieu. Between Putin’s War, daily death and misery in the Ukraine, the world preparing for war, the “new politics,” business gone amok, COVID’s possible return, the slow demise of gasoline cars, the quick demise of the global environment — hey, need I go on? I for one, could sure enjoy some positive news. So here’s some positive news:

I’ve finished filming my scen...

THIS is a rather complex post compared to most. First, I don’t really think American love bitter food. But I do believe that COVID’s anosmia (loss of smell/taste) and pressure on grocery stores to “sell food” rather than provide outstanding food items; the commercial food industry’s use of pesticides, GMO’s and premature harvesting due to increasing concerns over transportation infrastructure breakdowns; and youth’s acclimatization to all this, that together they present a Perfe...

AH! Are you thinking Tolkien? Elvis? Putin? NOPE! I’m thinking Mr. William Maltese, the king of M/M erotica back from his publicity trip to LA-LA Land to promote his newest BlueBoy book, his CC Money Magazine magazine articles, the audiobook version of DARE TO LOVE IN OZ (Savant 2009 — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VVK7LN2), his future contributions to Contessa’s Court, or his new bio-documentary movie “THE MALTESE COLLECTION” (K. Simmons Productions — https://kspllc.media/maltese-...

MY good friend and author colleague, William Maltese, is returning from a jaunt to LA-LA LAND for what I’m told is a bit of vacation R&R as well as a meeting of the minds for “a MsTigerProduction documentary on the resurrection of an icon life-style and luxury-living LGBT magazine ‘Blueboy’, in a collector’s coffee-table edition this next October. There may just be a new Blueboy Library book, too” — https://www.facebook.com/williammaltese. Welcome back, William, to cloudy, 48-de...

HAVING recently finished my and Setsuko Tsuchiya’s parts in the Kurt Ken Kaminaka Production of THE PERFECT ILLUSION, and enjoyed our first social party in over two years (okay, it was a movie set, but, hey, it was real FUN to socialize in a bubble), it was time yesterday to visit the hospital, where Ren Gaya is dreaming wildly while in a deep coma. Or was that imagining himself wildly dreaming in a deep coma. Or is he in a coma at all? Don’t ask me, I’m just the doctor.

I play Dr. Ste...

NOTHING like filling up the ole’ gas tank to bring one back down to earth! Gas hit $5.60 a gallon at my local station yesterday. Good thing I have one of those small, high-mileage, Japanese hatchbacks. While I finished gassing, washing the windows, checking the oil and water, and then the tire pressures (all perfect, thank you), the fellah next to me kept on filling the tanks of his mega-pickup and shaking his head every time he checked the increasing price. As I climbed into the car, he lo...

THIS IS A BIGGIE! I read in the news today about a mathematical solution to bridging the gap between Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. It seems the preeminent physicist Professor Steven Hawking before he passed, left the world with the Hawking Paradox: basically, “Einstein’s general theory of relativity says information about what goes into a black hole cannot come out, but quantum mechanics says that is impossible” — https://www.bbc.com/news/science-env...

IN this particularly challenging world of seemingly constant war and rumors of war, pandemics coming and going and coming again, financial instability and distrust, there’s simply no party like another day of life. Partying, like “enjoying oneself at a…lively gathering, typically with drinking and music…and entertainment;” definitely NOT “a formally constituted political group, typically operating on a national basis, that contests elections and attempts to form or take part in a ...

WHAT’S not to write about it, given such an occasion! Actually it was a “Gala Party” scene in the upcoming Kurt Ken Kaminaka Production of “The Perfect Illusion.” And it was, indeed, a Gala Party, replete with aerialist, magician, stilt walker, band and some of the wildest party-goers I’ve ever seen. AND, it’s the first party Setsuko and I have had the pleasure of attending after over two years in deference to COVID. Even if it was a film scene.

There aren’t words for how muc...

MY dance partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya, and I will be off all day tomorrow dancing in the filming the “Gala Party” dance scene for Kurt Ken Kaminaka’s (KKK) production of “The Perfect Illusion” — https://www.totck.com/tpi-actors-crew. An “all day” shooting, we’re looking forward to doing a lot of wild dancing in what we surmise will be a scene not unlike that of the dance scene in KKK’s production of “Tales of the Circle Keys” — https://youtu.be/aI5e7m3n_Nw?t=38.

Compet...

IN yesterday’s post, I delved into trust, the thing, I claim, makes a business work. Today, I’d like to touch on the opposite in business of trust: namely, what I call “rust.”

Rust is defined by Oxford Lexico as “1 A reddish- or yellowish-brown flaky coating…” “1.1 A state of deterioration or disrepair resulting from neglect or lack of use” and “2 a…[state of] disease,” the latter typically in reference to plants. In summary, I would say, a “coating” (“desert va...

WHAT is it that “makes the world go round?” Money? Power? Business contracts? America’s legal systems? Law enforcers? Bravado? I’ve come to realize over the years that it’s really none of these. It’s all about trust. Without trust, none of the above apply.

According to merriam-webster.com, trust is “firm belief in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something,” the actionable word being “firm” which, according to the same source, means “securely or solidly f...

Dreaming is something with which almost everyone is familiar. According to Medical News Today (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284378) dreaming is, to name just a few ideas, is (a) where the brain consolidates present learning and past memories; (b) how the mind prepares for possible future threats; (c) a way to reflect and process unconscious mental function; and (d) a psychological space where overwhelming, contradictory, or highly complex notions can be brought back into psycholo...

I’M pleased to announce that posters have just been issued for the K. Simmons Production of THE MALTESE COLLECTION, a film reprise to the extraordinary author, William Maltese, and his many inspirations, achievements, and lifelong support of M/M romance, erotica, LGBTQ authors and readers. They should be appearing on K. Simmons Productions website at https://kspllc.media/maltese-collection. In the meantime, you can view them on my website at https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php.

Currently in...

WITH “Putin’s War” in Ukraine becoming increasingly destructive and bloody, I’m reminded of two outstanding Savant books: WRETCHED LAND (Savant 2011) by Mile Komarnisky — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/wretched-land/32 — “Dmytro Verbitsky, an impoverished Ukrainian aristocrat, is actively engaged in the WWI, the Civil War and the WWII. Despite the cruelty of Stalin’s regime, he manages to raise a loving family, avenges his wife’s rape, learns to unders...

AS the co-author with A. G. Hayes of QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016), the fifth in his riveting, multi-award-winning seven-book Koski and Falk Series — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/quantum-death/77 — I’ve always been interested in Quantum effects: duality; uncertainty; superposition; Bose-Einstein states; tunneling; superconductivity; simultaneity; entanglement (called “spooky” action at a distance). To these and others, we now have the Aharonov-Bohm Influence, ...

A man after midnight…preferably the incomparable WILLIAM MALTESE (enjoy ABBA’s hit song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEjLoHdbVeE while reading this). 

Gimme, gimme, gimme any of his 200+ award-winning novels, be they M/M passion (my favorite THE ARDENNIAN BOY — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0979311039), politico-eros (TOTAL MELTDOWN — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556), Harlequin Romance (TUSKS — https://www.amazon.com/dp/097931108X), exotic adventure (DARE TO LOVE IN OZ — http...

ONE of my most memorable scenes from the movies is Largo and James Bond playing “The Domination Game” from “Never Say Never Again” (1983), though, watching the news, it could have just as well been 2022 — https://youtu.be/wUT5CpgYXMM?t=24. On the other hand, in all fairness, one should look at the situation from the opposite perspective — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jj-PaqFrBc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2Vuib3G7FM — including ongoing peace negotiations — https:/...

WELL, as the real “The Last Bookstore” in Los Angeles, California states on its incredible website, “We’re not really the last bookstore – thank goodness – but we are the largest new and used bookstore in California. Plus, we’re the only one that’s 22,000 sq. feet with a record store, comic book store, 5 art studios, an epic yarn shop, a famous book tunnel, a mammoth head, and unexpected nooks of funkiness. Also we are in a hundred-year-old bank building, so we have vaults and...

I hear a lot these days about how “unfair” autocratic folks, foreign and domestic, feel they’re being treated these days. The popular saying, “truth hurts” as well as Khaled Hosseini’s famous quote: “better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie” say it all. In my opinion, the best defense against autocracy is truth, exactly what U. S. President Biden seems to be doing to defend against a Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

The problem, even in countries relatively i...

FIRST, it’s important to establish a few assumptions. Number one: The world isn’t necessarily fair. “Shit happens.” Number Two: This is especially the case when money and power are regarded as sin qua non. Thirdly: Humans are all basically the same in terms of impulsivity, intent, actions and responsibility. Finally: All actions are the inevitable result of outside causes-and-effects (“I had no choice”), though in the epitome of this style of thinking — violation, war and “no-...

LONG-SUFFERING. As if there isn’t enough of that going around as a result of political extremism, COVID, business aggression and organizing crime in the world! How about some long-enjoyment for a change?

Valentine’s Day yesterday helped. It hopefully reminded people that our charge in life is not to decimate the world and all that’s in it, but rather through responsible stewardship to help life thrive, develop and evolve. After all, I don’t believe today’s humanity is the evolution...

ACCORDING to the History.com, “the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

“To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacr...

Yep! That’s what I’m mostly up to these days. Recently finished filming for the K. Simmons Production of THE MALTESE COLLECTION, practicing while waiting for my part in the Kurt Ken Kaminaka Production of THE PERFECT ILLUSION, and waiting with bated breath for the screenplays for the K. Simmons Production of both FINDING KATE and FLICKER, both in which I hope to have a major role.

In THE MALTESE COLLECTION — “I can make people feel aroused, by a word. I can make the hairs on their ne...

AT least for another day. Still, I see so many commonalities with the 1938 Nazi Anschluss Österreichs. The Communist Russian desire for re-unification seems based on Putin’s desire to re-incorporate as many Ukrainian “Russians” as possible into a “Greater Russia” reminiscent of the former USSR. Russian civil and military agents appear to be cultivating pro-unification feelings, while seeking to undermine the Ukrainian government. All that’s left is an attempted coup resulting in ...

HEY, we’ve already had two and survived, supposedly better for the experience. At least, that’s what I’m often told. But, hey, we’re better today. More experienced. More technologically advanced. More mature. And, the world’s overpopulated, anyway, and we who are doing the overpopulating just can’t stop. So what’s so bad, really, about another world war? After all, it would definitely be good for the world’s worsening financial situation. Always was, supposedly always will be....

Oops, a tiny misspelling there. Should read “designer genes” or, as they’re frequently called today, “epigenes.” Conrad Waddington is said to have introduced the idea of epigenes, which, according to MedlinePlus are control genes that modify (typically turn on or off) other genes without affecting the organism’s DNA. In other words, epigenes are genes that regulate the activity (expression) of DNA. Epigenes themselves can be affected by time, as well as intracellular or external c...

THERE is something faster than the irritating “Fast Eddies” — con men, women and children (see yesterday’s post) — playing so prominent a role in contemporary society. Emotions.

Before I go on, I would like to make a critical distinction between emotions and feelings which are too often lumped injudiciously together. By “emotions” I mean the body’s release of circulating chemicals either in a local blood vessel plexus or the general blood stream. Okay, let’s call them what ...

THIS is a gripe: Whenever I travel the highways nowadays, everyone seems to be speeding except me, creating a definitely dangerous situation. I mean, when the sign says “Speed Limit 55 mph” does that really mean minimum speed? What’s with the need to speed far in excess of the speed limit not just on freeways (hey, is this really Germany and the Autobahn?) but in urban and even suburban areas. Is it really a 3 year olds responsibility to watch out for speeding cars? Or is everyone on sp...

OKAY, cheap play on the word “weight,” which everyone seems to want to lose and “wait” which is what most people seem to be doing these days. The Big Question is, “Waiting for what?”

The sense of waiting all one’s life and the Big Question aren’t new. They’ve been haunting people for millennia, causing some of the greatest literary works the world has ever know. Still, there’s something about having to wait for one’s eventual demise that’s…demeaning? Antithetical? I...

YEP! If you’re literarily inclined, it’s definitely so! Writers (people who record things for themselves) and authors (errant writers who write professionally for a target audience) both know the Big Three C’s: Clear, Complete and Concise. Clarity is a given and always takes first billing. Completeness is next, and, while one of the Big Three C’s deserves second-most attention, is more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule (the whole mystery genre is based on almost but not quite c...

THERE are so many aspects of authoring versus writing that it can feel like a unscalable chasm separates the two. And yet…one thing that they have in common is the sometimes exciting, sometimes inspiring, sometimes relaxing, but always appreciated edge-of-consciousness sounds of moving creative new ideas from within, to resilient but editable, enduring publicly shareable stories as books, ebooks, audiobooks, screenplay-novels, screenplays, manga, animations, television programs and/or motio...

AS you probably know, I’m an inveterate social, performance and competition dancer in the International-style ballroom and Latin American alongside my lifelong dance partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya — https://youtu.be/ync4vCUxEoc. But also being a former U.S. NAS/NRC Senior water reclamation research scientist assigned to NASA-Johnson Space Center and later NASA-Ames Research Center, I’m particularly enticed whenever I find an example of the marriage of the humanities and sciences, especially ...

READING an online CNN article today entitled, “Burnt out and frustrated, Covid-weary Americans try to accept uncertainty as their new normal” (https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/31/us/covid-19-life-disruption-california-texas-kentucky/index.html) and pondered for a moment just how difficult humans, including Americans, find uncertainty. I have a suspicion that it has something to do with our inevitable mortality. Uncertainty dredges up the “Am I really mortal, and, if so, when am I scheduled t...

IN this world of desired transparency and constant obfuscation, maybe the world COULD use a little more “STATIC.” The K. Simmons Production of the 2021 movie “STATIC,” in which I play lead character Will Gardner, will be airing on Hawaii’s OLELO Community Television (OLELO53):

Monday, Valentine’s Day 14 February 2022 at 6:30 PM

Tuesday, 15 February 2022 at 2:00 PM

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 at 10:00 PM, and

Sunday, 20 February 2022 at 8:00 AM

Will is a curmudgenous old veter...

IT’S my pleasure to announce that the K. Simmons Production of the STATIC movie will be airing on Hawaii’s OLELO Community Television (OLELO53):

Monday, Valentine’s Day 14 February 2022 at 6:30 PM

Tuesday, 15 February 2022 at 2:00 PM

Wednesday, 16 February 2022 at 10:00 PM, and

Sunday, 20 February 2022 at 8:00 AM

Won’t you join me in watching STATIC, a family friendly, science fiction/drama in which Susan struggles to find balance in her life as she deals with her practical husba...

LONG ago, I learned there are three great illusory illusions: money, power and fame. To these, I’m happy to add a fourth “real” illusion: “The Perfect Illusion” — https://www.totck.com/the-perfect-illusion — a movie soon to begin filming in which I play the role of the infamous Dr. Stevenson. The “round table” script read is scheduled for early next week, with actual filming by Kurt Ken Kaminaka’s Production Studio beginning soon after. In “The Perfect Illusion,” a sui...

PEOPLE are often generous in advice as to how to “get the most out of life,” humans being mortal and life being finite. But what is it that one should “get the most of” while alive? People who’ve lived in poverty would likely tend to say, “Money!” People whose lives have been determined by overwhelming events, like war survivors, would likely tend to say, “Power!” People who’ve lived their lives and never respected themselves or felt self-satisfaction, would likely say “...

I was recently contracted with Kurt Ken Kaminaka’s independent film studio for the role of Dr. Stevenson in the upcoming film, “The Perfect Illusion” — https://www.totck.com/the-perfect-illusion –. Interestingly, the audition required me to guess how Dr. Stevenson should sound and look while reading the audition script. All I knew for certain was that he is a physician in Hawaii who is credible enough to be tending a comatose patient, has a malpractice case lingering somewhere in hi...

SAVANT Books and Publications, a traditional “no-cost-to-author” full-service book publisher, was recently purchased by K. Simmons Productions, a Hawaii-wood based manga, animation and film production company. With the purchase, writers whose manuscripts are accepted for publication are now afforded the opportunity of seeing their work in printed, electronic and audiobook as well as manga, animation, television and cinematic formats. So what should such an author be called, the panoply of...

THERE seem to me to be two fundamental currencies in human life: (1) love (think co-operation); and (2) money/power (think competition). These two currencies “empower” or “power” our lives respectively. They are often embedded within contemporary female/maternal (creation/agrarian/nurturing) and male/paternal (destroying/hunting/survival-of-the-fittest) archetypes, and played out together in literature and cinema, with one or the other eventually “winning.” In fact, neither alone ...

YEP! Yesterday’s rant about airlines, applies equally to trains, buses, events, grocery stores, churches, tourism, hotels…all those businesses that depend on “crowd sales” and haven’t yet begun to make the move to “individual service.” Can’t say I feel sorry for businesses that can’t make the transition. Savant Books and Publications made the transition 12 years ago, before the pandemic’s “shot across the bow.” I keep wondering how many recurrences are necessary for bu...

REALLY! I’ve heard enough whining from the airlines about how now that the pandemic is almost over, we need to resign ourselves to tolerating those cramped, crowded conditions that make flying an undesirable necessity. The singular value of the pandemic, in my opinion, was that it was the proverbial shot-across-the-bow about the failure of “crowd sales” and the necessity of developing “individual service.” Too expensive? Ha! I’ve heard that one before. Everything’s “too expens...

I’M pleased to announce the audiobook version of THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, read by the incomparable Peter Pollock is now available in addition to printed and digital editions from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859. I love listening to a good book (and THE EDGE OF MADNESS is a VERY good book) as an alternative to an evening movie, when in the bathtub and when driving long distance. And, I can say from experience that it’s THE perfect San Fran to ...

I generally avoid making predictions outside my soon to be completed work, “Prophecy,” the sequel to THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://savant-bookstore-honolulu.square.site/product/the-edge-of-madness/136; however, given it’s still early January, I do feel compelled to comment on upcoming 2022. Last year saw the resurrection and meteoric rise of an old anti-ethic, namely the “normalization” of misinformation, be it in government, business or society. Bo...

HAVING been a traditional book publisher for almost 15 years, I’m often asked about the future of books. Are books, like vinyl records destined to be come collectable antiques, or are they momentarily paused awaiting resurrection as national infrastructures like the energy, electricity, transportation, business, shipping, the internet, each succumb to increasing criminal attack. My opin, unfortunately, is neither black nor white, nor that simple.

I’ve been acutely aware the past ten year...

K. Simmons Productions Acquires Savant Books and Publications

Hawaii-independent film production company K. Simmons Productions announces the successful acquisition of Hawaii independent book publishing company Savant Books and Publications

By: Savant Books and Publications

HONOLULU – Jan. 9, 2022 – PRLog — On 1 January 2022, K. Simmons Productions added 120+ outstanding published titles to its current content library. “Why purchase Savant Books and Publications?” asks Kenny Simmo...

YESTERDAY I posted about my passion for authoring and space; today I want to post about my passion for acting (Daniel S. Janik aka Raymond Gaynor of THE EDGE OF MADNESS — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859) and a new film I’ll be in, Artzone Tours production of “The Perfect Illusion.” I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be acting as the not quite so inscrutable, proper Dr.Stevenson, private physician to one of the central characters. Being a retired physician, the role wasn’t a ...

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of watching a Netflix film about William Shatner aka Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, actually going briefly into space aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin capsule. What struck me was the hindsight he shared with so many former astronauts, about his reaction to seeing the Earth as the fragile “blue marble” it is, traveling at breakneck speed through the dark cosmos. The response is typically so deeply emotional, it makes me think of a new form of spi...

I was asked the other day what “sign of the times” I believe is the most significant one so far in this decade. After pondering the usual unusuals, I have to say that it’s what’s happening “in the gnus” (ha, ha) or more correctly how we get the news. But first, a bit more levity: (1) “No gnus is good gnus” (I’ve already labeled that “fake gnus”); (2) “Read only what’s gnus-worthy” (hey, they don’t call them wildebeests for nothing); (3) “any day a call may come...

FORGET Generation Z; Generation Alpha (folks born 2012 through 2025) is already stepping up to the plate to experience, enjoy and govern our world. Well, at least, some will enjoy it. Others will struggle and many will opt out either by choice or circumstance. The world is, like Douglas Adams once wrote of Earth in THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, “mostly safe,” and, while not particularly descriptive, it’s descriptive enough to say along with Alfred E. “Mad” Neuman, “What, me...

WE in the USA often think of Christmas as “the holidays,” when, I suspect, more people in the world celebrate the New Year holiday. I looked this up on the internet and while I found one site that stated “2 billion” people throughout the world celebrated Christmas, I wasn’t able to find any similar estimate for New Year, so my suspicion remains speculation unless someone reading this has the answer. Sadly, not every question is answerable on the internet, not to mention whether any ...

EVER get the feeling that something dark is happening underneath all that holiday joy? If so, you’re more connected than most, in my opinion. I’ve been touting over and over during the past year and a half that the Great Pandemic is a much needed “shot across the bow” of contemporary societies, with special emphasis on transactions, namely the absolute need to change from “crowd sales” to “individual service” approaches. The “fuel” that’s feeding COVID today is as much, ...

I’VE often wondered about the phrase “Shiver me timbers,” having heard it uttered numerous times times by the archetypal pirate, Long John Silver, in Robert Louis Stevenson’s TREASURE ISLAND. I’m won’t to believe it an actual nautical expression from the days of large wooden sailing ships, when it was an expression of shock and awe, as when the rib-timbers of a ship shivered from pounding during rough seas or during war when the ship was it by a cannonball.

I have to admit, the m...

YESTERDAY, Kenny Simmons of K. Simmons Productions and I interviewed multi-award-winning author A. G. Hayes in anticipation of the newest K. Simmons Productions film, “Finding Kate,” based on the A. G. Hayes’ book of the same name, currently in pre-production. So, how are you A. G. Hayes? The answer: Greatly anticipating “Finding Kate” (https://kspllc.media/finding-kate). Anticipated to be the first in an 11 movie series in the “Koski and Falk” movie franchise, long-ignored comp...

2021 saw continued pressure on publishers of books, and began a whole new era of similar pressure on filmmakers, and it all began with “self-publishing.” That’s not to blame, but simply a strong opinion, leading to an “ethos” of vanity self-publishing be it books or movies. I have always thought of COVID-19 in all it’s various iterations a “shot across the bow” of both. That is, with the loss of many support businesses, the “inflation” of prices coincident with a general d...

HAVING been asked countless times what my favorite movie is (other than “Static” — https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie — in which I was lead actor under the name of “Daniel S. Janik”), I feel it time to stick my new “celebrity” neck out and say conclusively, that, yes, I DO have a favorite movie, and, yes, I am willing to share the name of it publicly. Having said all that you’re probably wondering, why doesn’t he just SAY its name?

It’s all about qualifications. As I...

WHAT was the COVID-count on 15 December 2021 here on Oahu? 278 as I recall, only to see it rising exponentially to over 700 yesterday. Today’s a “holiday” so COVID isn’t reported, or, for that matter, allowed to rise by decree. Yeah, right! So here we go again, chasing after another pandemic that we should have been preparing for instead of celebrating. What does it take to realize that yesterday’s “crowd sales,” especially when involving crowding people together, won’t work, ...

DELIGHTFUL to fly! To soar in luxury above the clouds! To climb aboard and then exit in another part of the world! Gone are those days and what’s more, there’s no likelihood that airlines will ever “get it” and restore the level of excellence we used to know and expect, except for taking money quickly and efficiently, and creating new ways of not giving it back where deserved without a fight. Sorry to say this, but if there was ever an industry hopelessly wedded to “crowd sales” i...

COMFORTING to know that people looked after you, having your best interests rather than theirs at heart. Usta, and, still is true but rarely on occasion rather than something you could count on. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Human interactions especially where money are concerned, these days seem to more reflect the “Pirates of the Caribbean” than Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz:” “Take everything; give nothing back,” “I’m dishonest, and a dishonest ...

FUN dancing on a crowded dance floor. In fact, being a dancer at heart, as well as an actor and author, partner dancing was something for which I lived. A lifelong devotion, every-other-day exercise in the studio, interspersed with weekly social dancing and the total release of rarer performances or competitions. Yep, usta is the right word, indeed.

For the past two years, there has been no social, performance or competitive dance without the risk of death by COVID. “Real” partner dancin...

FUN going GROCERY SHOPPING! I used to look forward to a quick in and quick out after work with several bags of fresh, tasty groceries for $25 a bag. Yep. Usta.

Went shopping at 6:45 AM this morning to avoid the crowd and maintain social distancing while wearing my obligatory mask. Tried to walk the isles for exercise (grocery walking) but had to do all the shopping in 15 minutes or less, only to wait in long lines for the only one or two cashiers up and awake at this time of the day. They ca...

THIS is a question all actor-authors like myself must eventually ask. I’m told the “right” answer is actors should go for the picture; authors the words. And while that’s probably true in general, I personally think it has everything to do with perspective.

As the multi-award-winning author of the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — and its decidedly naughty LGBTQ+ prequel TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wild...

THE world having survive two global wars between fascist dictatorships and democracies appears to not have been enough for the losers, rising again from the ashes, this time China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and allies are ready and willing to bet the lives of their people on another attempt at conquering the world. Sigh. Isn’t there enough misery in the world without another war? Or is this simply an ill-fated effect of overpopulation, fueled by individual fear, greed and hatred?

I posted ...

IF there’s one thing that’s totally unscientific, it’s human behavior. Especially “leadership” behavior. I’ve seen and experienced it first hand “on the set” (see https://www.netflix.com/title/80990849 and you’ll wonder how ANY movie of value could have been made) and watched in awe and horror during the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yfIoHXOO9E). So, what’s new with President Putin and the manufactured Ukraine Crises. Nothing. ...

CALL me old fashioned, but as an author and actor, it’s when the printed book and DVD come out that I “feel” immortal. And yesterday, the “Static (2021)” movie DVD and the Static Sound Track CD were finally released (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie). For an actor, it’s like an author when the printed book is finally released. And, yes, there’s a sense of immortality that comes with it.

Several have asked what I’m doing right now, which is to appear as an interviewee in ...

YESTERDAY, I mentioned my second acting gig, appearing via Zoom interview in the upcoming K. Simmons Productions’ “The William Maltese Collection,” bio-documentary about prolific LGBTQ+ erotica author and decade-long friend, William Maltese. It was a familiar encounter, having Executive Produced the two-telly-award winning documentary, “Clean Water, Common Ground (1999).” I think I can say that “The William Maltese Collection” will be a stellar work about a stellar author around...

TODAY was another extraordinary filming day which actually began the day before when Director/Cinematographer Dallen Taylor of Dallen Taylor Productions — http://dallentaylor.com — called and asked to film my part in the K. Simmons/Zombie Frog Production of “The William Maltese Collection” — https://kspllc.media/maltese-collection. This particular part is one which I’ve been looking forward to from the project’s go-get, the incomparable William Maltese being an esteemed literary...

YEAH, well, I wasn't thinking THIS world at all when I wrote TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) with William Maltese, or QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) with A. G. Hayes, and certainly not when I wrote the Amazon genre bestseller THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020). Hey, that’s me. I’m author Raymond Gaynor aka author and actor Daniel S. Janik. And I wasn’t apparently thinking at all when I posted the "Raymond Gaynor THE EDGE OF MADNESS Book Giveaway Contest" with a first edition, author-si...

IT can’t be only me. I mean, how is it that “everything’s returning to normal,” when countries are still closing, citizens are protesting (more vociferously that ever) and half of people still social distance and wear masks (despite the “other half”) due supposedly to COVID? Being a pragmatic scientist type, I rather think everything’s NOT returning to the “old” normal, or, if this is normal than the life I lived pre-COVID must be a fiction. I’m not complaining; just tired...

ONE thing about advertising: It shoots straight to the target center. It’s also, I’ve learned, the telltale sign of something untrue. “A book you MUST read!” Really? “What everyone’s saying!” Huh? “You gotta have one!” For sure? “The best of the best!” Awe, come on! Having made my claim for the edgewise and oblique, the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, is a book you MUST read. Everyone’s saying it’s the best of the best an...

NOW that’s GOT to have caught your interest! In our world of increasing AI presence, is it artificial or alien or both?

Let’s start with artificial, meaning perhaps autonomous more than non-human, since currently humans write the basic code that’s used in artificial intelligence operations. Autonomous, meaning perhaps that once awakened it doesn’t need a lot of continued human input other than to reboot or fix erroneous code.

Now let’s tackle alien, meaning here not necessarily fr...

AS a consequence of COVID-19, my principal publisher, Savant Books and Publications, has moved all former face-to-face bookstore activities including book, CD, DVD and merchandise purchases strictly ONLINE and created four regional bookstores to get your purchases to you faster.

https://www.savantbookstoreatlantic.com

https://www.savantbookstoremidwest.com

https://www.savantbookstorepacific.com

https://www.savantbookstorehonolulu.com

All of the above will bring you directly to our secure...

MOST established American’s are, have or at least well know one. They’re the “success” stories of the United States of America where most everyone gets an opportunity to better their life. To some that means wealth. To others, power. To yet others — the folks I most identify with — the opportunity of living the life for which so many these days are dying.

As a successful author with the usual train of published books and awards, while working on my own next novel, in this case, �...

RECEIVED the proof copies of the DVD for “Static (2021)” and it’s GREAT right down to the BTS (behind the scenes) and Meet the Cast and Crew extras. A few more tweeks to the cover and it will be ready for release. Should receive the second proof in another 5 days or so, hopefully “perfect as is.”

AND in the meantime, don’t forget the author Raymond Gaynor THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — Book Giveaway Contest is still ON with SIX Gran...

AS the lead actor in the K. Simmons Production of “Static (2021)” — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15420946 — since the world premiere in September, I’ve been anxiously awaiting it’s release as on DVD/Blu-Ray. I’m happy to say that the long wait is about to end. K. Simmons Productions is said to be awaiting the final proofs before releasing “Static” to the public for the holidays. And what better gift than a good human drama? Static is baed on the teleplay of the same name wri...

OR are we? Everyday now I hear, “The pandemic is over!” from another excited individual. Really? With the N. Y. Times reporting 98,00+ new cases and 1,216 reported COVID-related deaths in the USA yesterday, I can’t quite “grok” that the pandemic is over, hooray (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html). And with the World Health Organization reporting 527,295 new cases and close to 8,000 reported COVID-related deaths in the world yesterday, I’m not even sold o...

YEAH, well, you remember Schroedinger’s Cat? A cat is trapped in a box with a tiny bit of radioactive substance. When the radioactive substance decays past a certain point, causes a poison to be released that kills the cat. At any one moment in time, the cat may be alive or dead. So, is it alive or dead? Well, I figure it’s the same with the AI in my computers (especially the one inhabiting my smart phone). At any point in time a random error may occur within the AI’s programming, rende...

ALMOST everyone has approached water — in a well, around a fountain, under a bridge, in a brook or stream — and made a wish. But today, I want to muse about not the wishing well, but simply wishing well. Doing it right. Yesterday I posted about needs, wants, hopes and desires. Now it’s time to talk about how to wish well.

I don’t say this lightly. Not because of magic or compelling people to make a wish come true, but because, in the most basic sense, making a wish is all about direc...

“IF wishes were horses, then beggars would ride” is a popular saying, so, given that billions of people make wishes every day, why aren’t there more horseback riders? And don’t just say, there’s a shortage of horses. According to that fount of information, Wikipedia, “a wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices…In fiction a wish is a supernatural demand placed on the recipient’s unlimited request [list]. When it is the center of a t...

HAVE you heard? After the international debut of “Static” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15420946/), post-production kicked into overdrive, and we’re expecting the movie to come out soon in DVD and quite possibly Blu-Ray formats. This dramatic K. Simmons Production movie is about Will Gardner (played by Daniel S. Janik aka, yes, Raymond Gaynor), a curmongeous old veteran who’s seen and conquered everything life has thrown at him — until now. This time he faces Alzheimer’s disease, ...

JUST as COVID-19 set in, I had the good fortune to visit a nearby orchid farm and bring home six different orchids to care for and cultivate. I’m pleased to announce that, now more than a year and a half later, my orchid-friends remain health and supportive as they were throughout the worst (so far) of the pandemic. What’s more, they seemed to thrive in the quieter, less auto-exhausted air bathing them. Call me crazy if you like, but these plants seemed more than happy to experience five ...

HISTORY (“his” “story”) is a strange animal. First, it’s the victors who generally write it. Second, it’s almost always steeped in the hopes and expectations of the dominant culture. Third, it’s not scientific (i.e. not repeatable in the technical sense since it involves group activities based on contemporary norms). Fourth, it’s not academic, fiction and non-fiction often being published interchangeably (think of the “novel” here — typically an historically-based work w...

Día de los Muertos, according to National Geographic, celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. That includes, I assume, reading, yeah? I sincerely hope so. And if so, I hope the readings of the not-so-dead include my Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor. Living and dead, according to Día de los Muertos, both look to the future, which is where THE EDGE OF MADNESS is solidly rooted. But not...

YES! AN OUTSTANDING, REALLY FREE, PRINTED HOLD-IT-IN-YOUR-HAND, AUTHOR-SIGNED BOOK!

The author Raymond Gaynor THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — Book Giveaway Contest is ON with SIX Grand Prizes: a signed copy of my book to the first, eleventh, twenty-first, thirty-first, forty-first, fifty-first and so forth person who sends an email (one per email address) to me at gaynor.raymond2@gmail.com with the subject line “I want a copy of THE EDGE OF MA...

OR, according to Google and Wikipedia (and what more authoritative sources are there these days than these two) Halloween, Hallowe’en, Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, a celebration on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ (Saints’) Day, which we celebrate with costumes, pumpkins and candy. But it’s also celebrated by some with bonfires, guising or mumming, divination and feasting as Samhain, a Gaelic festival marking the end of the ...

THE obvious answer is read scripts sent by one’s agent to ascertain what role will be next. My own less obvious answer is return to authoring. Having finished the second book THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859), the sequel to TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556), I’ve been turning my creative juices towards finishing “Prophecy,” the prospective third book...

The author Raymond Gaynor THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — Book Giveaway Contest is ON with Six Grand Prizes: a signed copy of my book to the eleventh, twenty-first, thirty-first, forty-first, fifty-first and every hundred-and-first person who sends an email (one per email address) to me at gaynor.raymond2@gmail.com with the subject line “I want a copy of THE EDGE OF MADNESS.” NOTE: You must have a USA ship-to address (which I’ll ask for onl...

OH, YES! If you’ve ever imagined coming across a goose that lays golden eggs, you’ve come to the right place! I’m reving up for the holiday season! The author Raymond Gaynor THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — Book Giveaway Contest is ON with SIX Grand Prizes: a signed copy of my book to the eleventh, twenty-first, thirty-first, forty-first, fifty-first and every hundred-and-first person who sends an email (one per email address) to me at gayno...

AH, but what KIND of space are we talking here? The cold, dark void beyond Earth? The moments before or in front of the camera? Or just the extreme “hurry up and wait!” that all actors and actresses experience in the filming process? Or, in a different context, everything cut during editing? Or the distance that sometimes wells up between how well one portrayed a character, and watching oneself on the big silver screen? Well, kinda all of them. Except the first. For now, forget the cold, ...

OF all the “promises” of future advances and advantages to commercial spaceflight, one stands out in my mind at point in its development: Filming in space. Call me a liberal, progressive, democratic, science-futurist with a”bleeding heart” for humanity, but I believe the single most significant effect of the commercialization of space was well demonstrated by the recent Russian film crew space flight (https://nypost.com/2021/10/17/russian-team-back-on-earth-after-filming-movie-in-spac...

SOME years ago, I was fortunate to meet Yuri Denisyuk during a diplomatic trip to the former USSR. Yes, I was then working for the United States National Academy of Science/National Research Council as a Senior Research Fellow detailed to NASA. In that capacity and as a member of a People-to-People delegation, I met Yuri in his laboratory in St. Petersburg where we discussed the use of normal light holograms (for which he was famous) in analyzing the effects of micrometeorites on spacecraft �...

OH, YES! I’m reving up for the holiday season! The author Raymond Gaynor THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859 — Book Giveaway Contest is ON with now SIX Grand Prizes: a signed copy of my book to the eleventh, twenty-first, thirty-first, forty-first, fifty-first and every hundred-and-first person who sends an email (only one per email address) to me at gaynor.raymond2@gmail.com with the subject line “I want a copy of THE EDGE OF MADNESS.” NOTE: You...

AFTER diving deep, the Yellow Submarine surfaces and the hatch pops open to reveal, a land of diverse flowers and colors, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Book Club Land! And just when everything looks ship shape, what shows up but the Digital Blue Meanies, a literary figment of the imagination, buffoonish leaders of printed-book-hating creatures that lead an army of green-apple wielding bonkers, shooting clowns, snapping turks, anti-book missiles and, of course, the ever-dreadful flying glove, ...

SINCE my acting debut in the K. Simmons Production of “Static” (2021), and before accepting a role in K. Simmons Productions’ upcoming full-length action adventure movie, “Finding Kate,” I’ve been quite busy promoting my Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (aka actor Daniel S. Janik) now available in printed, eBook and audiobook formats at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859. Including my new promotional giveaway contest:

FIVE GRAND PRIZE...

OR should that read “Common Cents?” Certainly in today’s world money and power always “Trump” sense. But what I’m cogitating on is the first word, “common.” To me, common implies commonality, something we share with each other as humans, with animals as fellow animals, plants as, well, living things just living a bit slower, sometimes longer but certainly different from ourselves. I don’t think there’s much “common” sense left these days, replaced instead by “uncommo...

TODAY’S post is all about the Amazon genre Bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor in printed, digital AND audiobook format — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859. You see, I’m giving away FIVE Grand Prizes: a signed copy to the twenty-first, thirty-first, forty-first, fifty-first and hundred-and-first persons who send me an email (only one entry to an email address, please; multiple entries to same address will be completely discarded) at gaynor.raymond2@gmail.c...

FOOD (and cooking) is something everyone, including me, can appreciate. Where do I go for the latest and best food and cooking suggestions? Three places: (1) my 1950’s Betty Crocker Cookbook (yes, I still have my mother’s original); (2) The Moosewood Cookbook (a “must” if you’re an interested, partial or wholly vegetarian); and (3) The Nine Books of William Maltese’s “The Traveling Gourmand.” Yep, that last one is a standard reference by Mr. Erotica himself, soon to be a film ...

THIS one’s a no brainer: “Prophecy,” the sequel to the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, and it’s edgy, naughty prequel, TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese. Currently “in writing” and over 2/3 finished, “Prophecy” promises to deliver a story that will knock your socks off and unite all three books into one epic.

Hey, did you know that William Maltese, my personal friend and authoring colleague...

I just wrote in answer to a Goodread’s question, “What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?” that “All my life, I seem to have had the unique ability to look 25 years or so into the future in direct contradistinction to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes point to his dear friend Dr. Watson, “You see, but do not observe.” When I look into the future, I am rewarded with a clarity of observation, the result being my personal penchant for science futuring rathe...

AN admittedly poor paraphrasing of the delightfully clever “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?” allegedly spoken by the incomparable Mae West. If you don’t have a printed copy rolled up in your pocket, then won’t you consider a digital or audio book copy? NOTE: The Audible audiobook is read by the equally incomparable Peter Pollock!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859

Purchased for manga, animation and cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions

#RaymondGay...

RECOVERY is a nice, contemporary catch word, and I’m hearing it more and more these days in every aspect of life. But I fear that the word, re-covery, is being used in its meaning to re-cover [up] what hasn’t yet been fully addressed. Let me explain.

The Great Pandemic, in my opinion, was a shot across our bow, warning us that our current infrastructure system is already way beyond simple update and repair. In the broadest sense, we’ve been called to relook at and largely abandon our o...

WITH “The STATIC Movie” premieres past, I’ve finally time to revert back to authoring. Trying to write while actively involved in filming is like trying to wash and wax a car in the fury of a hurricane. It’s nice to once again have “time” at my fingertips, and “Prophecy,” the prospective third book following TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, and THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor is back in full swing.

And, don’t fo...

I’M often asked how I as an author (Daniel S. Janik aka Raymond Gaynor/Gary Martine) and publisher (Savant Books and Publications at https://www.savantbooksandpublications.com) how I come up with titles for books, and if the title is really that important. My opin: It’s second only to a book’s cover image. Think of the cover image as a “first look” at someone you’ve never met before, and the title as that person’s name. First, it has to be memorable. Second, it has to be just un...

TODAY is “the day after” both the Hawaii and the International premiere on 25-26 September 2021 of the K. Simmons Productions’ “The STATIC Movie.” As the lead actor, Daniel S. Janik (“Will Gardner”), I want to thank everyone for the myriad texts, emails and phone calls letting me know about your personal experiences watching the movie. As author Raymond Gaynor (aka Daniel S. Janik) it is through such “real life” feedback that both my acting and writing continue to improve an...

Today is the world premiere of “The STATIC Movie” with Daniel S. Janik (aka Raymond Gaynor, author of THE EDGE OF MADNESS) as lead character “Will Gardner.” Watch this outstanding drama with me 

IN HAWAII:

25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Standard Time on KHON2, KHII or Hawaii's CW!

WORLDWIDE:

25 September 2021 at 7 PM HAWAII STANDARD TIME and 26 September 2021 at 7 PM EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME on https://www.khon2.com.

The STATIC Movie Trailer: https://vimeo.com/589494043

#DanielSJanik ...

YEP! You heard right, but it’s all about “The STATIC Movie.” Watch the interview with Director Kenny Simmons and Lead Actor Daniel S. Janik (aka Raymond Gaynor of THE EDGE OF MADNESS fame) on KHON2 (https://www.khon2.com for viewers outside of Hawaii) “Living 808” this morning and evening.

Tomorrow, Saturday 25 Sept 2021, tune in for the Hawaii premiere of the K. Simmons Production of “The STATIC Movie” at 7 PM Hawaii Time on KHON2, KHII or CW (https://www.khon2.com for viewers...

WRROWL! Whoot! Whoot! What’s new is that were only a couple of days away from the worldwide premiere of “The STATIC Movie” with Daniel S. Janik (aka Raymond Gaynor, author of THE EDGE OF MADNESS) as lead character “Will Gardner.” Come see me on 25 September 2021 at 7 PM HAWAII STANDARD TIME and 26 September 2021 at 7 PM EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME on https://www.khon2.com.

Privileged to live in paradise? Tune on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII or CW at 7 PM on 25 Sept 2021.

For more information ...

WITH only 5 days left before the international premiere of “The STATIC Movie” starring Daniel S. Janik (aka Raymond Gaynor of THE EDGE OF MADNESS fame), here’s a peek what Hawaiians are seeing on TV twenty to fifty times a day as we count down:

https://youtu.be/WldkGWF3sGo

And now YOU’VE seen it, too!

The HAWAII Premiere on 25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time on KHON2, KHII and Hawaii’s CW

The INTERNATIONAL Premiere on 25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time AND 26 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Easte...

IN the words of Edna, played by Setsuko Tsuchiya, award-winning Savant author of IN SEARCH OF SOMATIC THERAPY (Savant 2017) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997247231) in The STATIC Movie, “I won, I won, I won!” Everyone who has ever heard the saying, “Don’t blame the player, blame the game!” wins watching the international premiere of the K. Simmons Production of “The STATIC Movie” on 25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii time and 26 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time live-streamed on...

ADVERTISING about movies is just so, but it’s what the actors think that really determines the quality of the movie. So here’s the actors comments about The STATIC Movie premiering on 25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time on KHON, KHII and Hawaii’s CW. Live outside of Hawaii? No problem. Watch the international premiere on 25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time, AND/OR on 26 Sept 2021 at 7 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME on http://www.khon2.com.

Actor Daniel S. Janik (Will Gardner’s) Statement: https:...

THE STATIC MOVIE IS ON ITS WAY TO VIEWERS!

With less than 10 days before the international premiere of “The STATIC Movie” (Google “Static Movie Hawaii” or visit https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) on Saturday, 25 Sept 2021. Here’s the latest on viewing it OUTSIDE of Hawaii or via internet streaming:

First, do a Google search: “What time is it in XXXX at 7 PM in Honolulu” where XXXX is your city, state, nation). 

1. That’s the time you can watch via streaming the premiere...

YESTERDAY’S television interview is now completed, and, like the premiere of “The STATIC Movie” (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) in which I play lead character, Will Gardner,” scheduled for airing, the former on 24 Sept 2021 at 8 AM and 8 PM on KHON2’s “Living 808” and the latter, the movie, on 25 Sept 2021 at 7 PM on KHON2, KHII and Hawaii CW. The movie will also premiere internationally on 25/26 Sept at 7 PM Hawaii Time on https://www.khon2.com.

Similarly, the article ...

THE author and actor juices are flowing! Last night I had a dream in which a significant plot twist for my next book, “Prophecy,” was revealed. Jumped out of bed and wrote it all down ink on paper in the dark of the night, then popped back in bed for even more reveals. I don’t know about other authors, but dreams are an important pathway for my muse and characters to “speak” directly to me, and I make it a point to listen.

Today, I hope the reverse will happen: I’m scheduled for ...

YESTERDAY I sent out the seventh of ten publicity clips for THE STATIC MOVIE (Google “The Static Movie Hawaii”) by lead actor, Daniel S. Janik, aka author Raymond Gaynor of Amazon Genre Bestseller THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859. What I didn’t mention was that my partner, Setsuko Tsuchiya (who plays “Edna” in The STATIC Movie) and I are Executive Producing the K. Simmons Production of multi-award-winning author A. G. Hayes’ FINDING KATE (...

IF that title makes you think of Ian Fleming, James Bond, Richard Rose or A. G. Hayes, you’re right one, though my now particular choice begins with friends and authors A. G. Hayes or Richard Rose.

A. G. Hayes is the multi-award-winning author of the seven-book Koski & Falk Special Agent and the three-book Kate Keenan Special Assignment series by Savant Books and Publications:

WHO’S KILLING ALL THE LAWYERS? (Savant 2011) – Lawyers are being murdered by LASER-driven arrows. The FBI beli...

GOTCHA there, didn’t I. It’s not a misspelling. In fact, you might consider today’s post a true foreword to the premiere of the K. Simmons Production of THE STATIC MOVIE airing 25 September 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW, as well as live internationally on https://www.khon2.com.

In the movie, I play Will Gardner, a curmongenous old veteran who’s seen and conquered every challenge life has thrown at him. Until now. This time he faces Alzheimer’s disease, a...

SEVERAL days ago, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by multi-award-winning author and screenwriter, Mr. Richard Rose of THE LAZARUS CONSPIRACIES (Savant 2013), THE GUMSHOE (Savant 2017), COMIC CRUSADERS (Aignos 2019) and RETRIBUTION (Savant, in preparation) fame — https://richardroseauthor.com/blog/f/an-interview-with-static-star-dan-janic.

Actually Dick and I go quite aways back, having acted as his Savant/Aignos editor for THE GUMSHOE: Chicago, 1947. Private investigator “Matt”...

AS an author and, more recently, publisher of Savant Books and Publications/Aignos Publishing fame (https://www.savantbooksandpublications.com), it’s been my pleasure to introduce to the literary world over 140 compelling books by 60 outstanding authors and poets.

Several years ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Kendrick Simmons of K. Simmons Productions, a “Hawaii-wood” based producer of cinematic works (https://kspllc.media). What resulted was Savant/Aignos and K. Simmons Pro...

INDEED, why not? In the authoring world we follow the three literary “C’s:” (1) clear; (2) complete and (3) conciseness in that preferred order. So, as an author, and now an actor about to debut in “The STATIC Movie” on Saturday, 25 September 2021 at 7 PM on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW, and internationally on https://www.khon2.com on the 25th and 26th, here’s my latest (#4 of 10) clear, complete and concise publicity clip:

https://youtu.be/f5_jLk0y9Xo

Daniel S. Janik plays WIL...

Author and Actor, Daniel S. Janik of Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (a pen name) fame – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859, waiting expectantly for the international debut of “The STATIC Movie” on 25 September 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW, as well as https://www.khon2.com.

I play lead character Will Gardner in the K. Simmons Production of The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie). Will is a curm...

Daniel S. Janik of Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (a pen name) fame – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859, currently working on the sequel, “Prophecy,” while waiting for the international debut of “The STATIC Movie” on 25 September 2021 at 7 PM Hawaii Time on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW, as well as https://www.khon2.com.

As many of you know, I’m also an actor playing lead character Will Gardner in the K. Simmons Production of The S...

AUTHOR Daniel S. Janik (aka Raymond Gaynor/Gary Martine) of Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor fame – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859. As many of you know, I’m also an actor, and will be debuting internationally as lead character Will Gardner in the K. Simmons Production of The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) on Saturday, 25 September 2021 at 7 PM on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW as well as http://www.khon2.com.

Will Gar...

NOW there’s a topic worthy of a post, don’t you think? Almost every author and reader would agree that authenticity is more than admirable, it’s essential to a great story and read. Easily said and even easier with which to agree, but what does “authentic” actually mean? Isn’t anything written by the indicated author “authentic” by definition?

My experience is that in life, authenticity is rarely if ever entirely clear. In contemporary-speak for example, authenticity can simp...

IN a recent Science News article by Tina Saey entitled “Most human DNA is not unique to us,” I read that “only 1.5 percent to 7 percent of the collective human genetic instruction book, or genome, contains uniquely human DNA.” Eh? So, in spite of my artistic-humanism sense of being wholly human, I’m actually only less than 10% human? Maybe 20% animal? Or 20% plant (I don’t look green though I do enjoy the sun). Or, as touted in a 10 April 2018 BBC article by James Gallagher entitl...

AND I’m not talking golf here. I’m talking “fore” like in foreknowledge, forewarning, unforeseen, foreboding and, well, why not, foreplay, too. Science Futuring (SciFu) with a generous portion of romance, love, eroticism, and a dash of LGBTQ+ — the perfect combination for a late summer read. THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, an Amazon genre bestseller, is now available in printed, digital and audio format, the latter read by the incomparable Peter Pollock.

Get a ...

WHETHER you’re interest is in books or movies, things this week are starting to heat up!

As Raymond Gaynor, multi-award-winning author, I’m pleased to announce that the prequel to my co-authored book, QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016) with A. G. Hayes, FINDING KATE, has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for cinematic treatment. It now has two Executive Producers, namely me (aka Daniel S. Janik) and Helen R. Davis, and a casting call is now out for Kate Keenan (https://thefindingkatemovi...

AS an author, I’ve published over 60 works under a variety of pen names as well as co-authored two novels, one thriller and naughty LGBTQ work with the incomparable William Maltese entitled TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009 – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556) and another techno-thriller with multi-award-winning thriller author A. G. Hayes entitled QUANTUM DEATH (Savant 2016 – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996325530). QUANTUM DEATH is the sequel to A. G. Haye’s FINDING KATE (Savant ...

The K. Simmons Production of The STATIC Movie, in which I play “Will Gardner,” a curmongenous veteran facing the greatest challenge of his life, Alzheimer’s disease, airing 25 Sept 2021 on Hawaii’s KHON2, KHII and CW will now go NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL, via streaming during premiere day from https://www.khon2.com. 

For more on the film, follow https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie. 

For Behind-the-Scenes footage on its filming as well as posters, trailer and special actor intervi...

YESTERDAY I posted on the dark side, so today, in the spirit of “Koyaanisqatsi” I want to restore balance by posting on the lighter, even brighter side. An odd adjective pair? Well, one of the weights on the other side of the balance from dark is light comedy. Aristotle supposedly defined comedy as an imitation of men worse than the average (where tragedy was an imitation of men better than the average) — (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy). Ha, ha! But I’m not talking satire, paro...

THE “beast” plays a prominent roll in much of humanity’s literature, religious tomes, contemporary conspiracy theories and social media. Oxford Languages (defines “beast” as (1) an animal, especially a large or dangerous four-footed one; and/or (2)a domestic animal, especially a bovine farm animal.

In the Christian book of Revelation, two beasts are described: The first comes “out of the sea” and is given authority and power by “the dragon” (alt. Satan, the Devil, Lucifer);...

ACCORDING to UC Berkeley statistics (https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~aldous/Real-World/million.html), the following have a one in a million chance:

20 coin tosses (by me) all coming up Tails.

Winning the current California State Powerball lotto game if you buy 6 tickets a week for a year.

A major earthquake on the Hayward fault in the next 50 minutes.

One of the next 24 babies born in the U.S. will become President.

Casting the deciding vote in a California Statewide election that opinion pol...

THAT’S right. It’s Sunday and subtlety is what it’s all about. Looking at the City from my apartment, everything looks, well, abnormally normal. Not much traffic. Brilliant day. Not too hot, not too cold. Sun rays peeking through scattered clouds, highlighting the colors of various buildings, as if each highlighted building had a special story to tell. But I’m calling it a subtle Sunday for a reason.

Climate change. Trash in the deepest points of the oceans. Covid-19-delta/lambda/etc...

MANY of you know that in addition to authoring, I am the lead actor in the “STATIC” movie (Google: “the Static Movie Honolulu”), which finished filming on 1 August 2021. Today, I’m pleased to announce that the first official poster and trailer (of likely several) has just been released and can be seen from my website at https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php. Enjoy, and, while you’re there, check out some of the other interesting “hats” I’ve worn through the years.

Oh, and ye...

WHAT the heck is happening to book readership? More importantly, what the heck is happening to publishing? Is it the Great Fight of the Big Guys (in this case Barnes and Noble, Ingram and Amazon)? COVID-delta? Nationalism? Global Economic Restructuring? Or perhaps printers are finally running out of virgin trees to make paper and not recycling? Is it Universal Greed and resulting Uncontrolled Inflation? Is it that no one wants to work anymore? Is it global mass migration? Is it that propagand...

I’M often asked where I frequent when not actively acting or authoring. The answer, at least in my mind, is Gertrude Stein’s 1920 Paris Salon at 27 rue de Fleurus. It might be more accurate to say where Gertrude “held court” especially on Saturday nights. If ever there was a setting in this world emotionally akin to that in the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, it would have to be there. With drop-ins like Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F....

HERE it is mid-August 2021, and instead of slowly exiting the COVID pandemic, we’re falling quickly back into it, albeit, COVID-delta. I’ve noted over my years, that most things “natural” (e.g. liking coffee, or gender preference) seem to follow a bell-shaped “Gaussian” curve with “extremes” accounting for 10% (5% at each end). Not so with people’s thoughts about COVID, especially folks who currently decline vaccination, refuse masks and/or are residual Trump-won-the-electio...

THESE are the times that try [hu]man souls, for sure. With COVID-delta cases once again seizing control of medical facilities in state after state in USA and around the world, I sense another Magrathea, the illusory planet in THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY that went into closure, on the horizon. It’s not a pleasant sight. The world, USA and San Francisco are still reeling from the effects of COVID-null. Another local or, God(dess) forbid, national lockdown, like several nations are ...

TO follow or lead – that is the question. The publishing world is in such change these days, that much of what we authors used to be able to depend on regarding publicity and marketing is now “out the window” and there’s nothing I’ve seen as yet to replace it. The only solid baseline is and continues to be direct guerrilla publicity and marketing from the author, and, with the rapidly increasing numbers of authors, even it’s impact is slowly being diluted out. I recently finished ...

OKAY, so you’re reading this because you’re an author (hopefully, or an avid reader at least) wondering about what it all means. The “short of it” is about the myriad frustrations with publishing. Publishing wasn’t doing exactly well when bookstores started disappearing (remember Borders, Crown, Waldenbooks, may the rest in peace?), the last behemoth bookstore chain Barnes and Noble was bought out by UK hedge fund Elliot Advisors, distributors, well, began having trouble distributin...

EH? What’s falling, you ask? Well, not the sky: It’s the price of a copy of the multi-award-winning, Five-Star Rated, Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor!

Printed version: Suggested Retail Price $16.95, now — $12.95 — through August at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859

Kindle eBook version: Suggested Retail Price $7.95, now — $2.99 — through August at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B1663ZZ

Audible audiobook version: Now — FREE — thr...

OVER my 40+ years authoring, I’ve often pondered on what, if anything, comes after books. With bookstores declining and the remainder slanting to “used” (in the auto industry “previously owned”) books; publishing and publicity in COVID disarray; the rise of “anyone can be an author” self-publishing; and the much-tooted decline in readers (thought I wonder if “readership” might not be the better word), what comes after the printed, digital and audio book?

This question was r...

I’VE always loved that phrase, and am oh-so-pleased to devote today’s post to what I consider one of the most precious attributes of humanness. There’s no one key word here. It’s about affirmation, positivity and loving kindness, without any hidden or further agendas. Okay, so it might be flattery, but who doesn’t like a bit of flattery now and then? Having survived life to this point, don’t each of us deserve a bit of flattery to warm the heart and melt away those myriad demands ...

OKAY, so this last weekend, 31 July to 1 August 2021 was our last on-location film shooting. So, as they say, "It's a WRAP!" Check out the unofficial photo/video montage at https://youtu.be/ZUpRpzOAKDw or all eleven at https://janik.yolasite.com/actor.php.

With the filming for The STATIC Movie Honolulu now complete, the project moves from production to post-production, with editing, scoring, special effects, closed captioning and opening and closing credits to be added. With less than 54 day...

IT’S my personal pleasure to announce that THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor is not only an Amazon Genre BESTSELLER, but recently received award recognition at the San Francisco and New York Book Festivals! By way of celebrating, I’ve asked the publisher to drop the price of the printed version from $16.95 to $12.95, and the Kindle eBook version from $7.95 to $2.99 for the rest of July and August (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859)! Celebrate with me throughout August...

WHAT really drives the global economy? Money? Power? Energy? Nope. It used to be whale products: oil, baleen, and ambergris. Then it was rubber. So what are today’s felled Amazon trees being replaced with? What’s really driving the contemporary world economy other than drugs, war and human trafficking? Palm oil.

According to Wikipedia, “Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the…fruit of the oil palms…Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from oil crops...

TODAY is the outdoor on-location filming for the K. Simmons Productions’ The STATIC Movie Honolulu (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) at Lunalilo [Rest] Home. An anticipated nine hours with the possibility of even more depending on the weather, which currently looks like it’s planning to cooperate. Nonetheless, eighty-six degrees in the hot Hawaiian sun with only a smidgeon of trade wind. I’ll be bringing hat, sunglasses, umbrella (for sun not for rain) and hand-fan. For me, playin...

I’M often asked in author interviews what I think makes today’s literature “contemporary.” Has it changed over the decades I’ve been authoring? The simple answer is, “Yes, it’s changed and especially so these last couple years.” There is, however, one thing that hasn’t changed: the need to appropriately address and express violence and sex, two intrinsically human issues, if not obsessions. There is so much trauma, or put in a more general way, violation, or, if you prefer, ...

AH, perhaps you’re already wrestling with this title as a metaphor for writing or authorship? Nope. I am an author, but I mean the question quite literally. It’s a contemporary question up there with how come so many drivers ignore the speed limit on freeways, and how come things AI-digital increasingly seem to take more time and effort than human face-to-face? But I digress…

You must admit (if COVID hasn’t damaged your olfactory system) that many foods, but especially fruits, today ...

IT’S true! There are rare “Ah-ha!” in-your-face-and-body, totally mind-blowing, moments of ecstasy in life that result from a concerted combination of prolonged devotion, discipline and action. I know it, because I’ve experience such a moment. The first happened one day during my 20 years of competitive-style dancing at a lesson. I was dancing with my coach, and suddenly, I wasn’t in the studio anymore. I was flying along effortlessly in a state of pure bliss. And yes, it was better...

Authoring, in general, and THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859), specifically aside for a moment, the cast of K. Simmons Production of The STATIC Movie Honolulu (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) did our first script read-though for this weekend’s filming on location at Lunalilo Home. It’s the last of the “big” (meaning many lines to deliver) scenes after which there will be two more short, but emotionally intense “on street...

HUMANS are social animals. We thrive on physical contact and savor intimacy. It’s what makes the human world go ’round, and books as well as movies play a big part in satisfying our human need for intimacy. Books have to totally engage the reader’s mind to be “successful,” acting like a basket within which readers place their own experiences that fit into the literary basket’s unique shape. It’s up to the reader which “monkey see, monkey do” neurons are activated. It’s a d...

YEP! Going bananas over the different kinds available in Hawaii right now. Alright, you already know about the long, chalky-tasting Cavendish available in most grocery stores. But in Hawaii, right now, there’s plantains, baby-finger bananas, apple-bananas, ice cream bananas and more. My favorite (I’ve tried them all): those short, stocky but oh-so-sweet apple-bananas grown right here in Hawaii! Where to get them? In some “local” grocery stores, but the best tasting are ones purchased ...

AS you know, I’m a San Fran man; however, over the years I’ve become enamored with a second literary home: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Both Southern Temperate Mediterranean in climate; both Asian-American in flavor, though Hawaii has that unique Polynesian element as well. Both are ideal for a reclusive author, providing just the right mix of the international with local that favors, at least for me, comfortable, quiet time necessary for writing.

One item of interest in both SF and Honolulu, ...

AS a professional author, I must admit that I look forward to those end-of-the-year royalties many of my publishers pay. However, this year — the second year of the Global COVID Plague — based on quarterly sales reports I’m seeing, I’m anticipating a number of those “your royalty for this year was less than $50 so we won’t issue a check” notices. Okay, so sales of THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos, 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859), especially audiobook sa...

WONDERING about the first word, “editing,” instead of “tripping?” Well, yes, I am an amateur ballroom and latin DanceSport competitor, but with dance competitions and dancing in general most on hold till COVID runs it’s course, I’ve been working hard with Savant author Vern Turner (https://www.amazon.com/Vernon-Turner/e/B089Y14KZY) to edit his recently accepted manuscript entitled THE IMMIGRANT’S GRANDSON. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to keep up my own authoring s...

RELEVANCY, the “state of being closely connected or appropriate” is a…well…double four-letter-plus-one word, especially in today’s Trumped up style of global dis-integration. And yet, relevancy is what life’s all about, isn’t it? It’s what makes a good book or a good movie truly outstanding. Not surprisingly, in today’s world, it’s often about running against the pack.

Take the Amazon genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazo...

AFTER the last post, I thought it time to update those following The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) on 10 July 2021’s outdoor on-location shoot in Chinatown, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Here’s the unofficial set photographer’s photographic/video montage:

https://youtu.be/mSe79VkNe6M

This was our “trick” shoot, focusing on one scene with two special incidents: a skateboarder “hit” causing me to drop my cane, and my losing my hat when I bend down to pick it up. ...

IN these days of repetitious mass shootings, lackluster gun control and unbridled impulsiveness, I find it consoling that the cast and crew of The STATIC Movie Honolulu are about to experience another planned weekend shoot, this time on location in the streets of Chinatown. It’s the third of basically five location filming, the final two being outdoors with me, Will Gardner, pounding on what I think is the door to my house but is actually a neighbor’s (think Alzheimer’s Disease), and a ...

I don’t know if you have those once-in-a-while angst days like I am having today. It’s not so much a “bad” day as it is that everything seems to have a hidden meaning, and they keep popping up everywhere. A teeshirt phrase, a sign on the side of a passing bus, the here-to-fore “new” meaning hidden in the title of an old book. But it’s not really about all those potential “ah-ha” moments and whether I’m willing and ready to “see” them. It’s not really about my angst. ...

AS the author of THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor — TEOM — I’m often asked what PRIMARY genre this Amazon Genre BESTSELLER should best be listed as. What should be an easy question is, if not complex, at least deserving of a post. I list it on social media as a work of Sci-Fu (Science-based Futuring) rather than Sci-Fi (science fiction) or Sci-Fan (science fantasy). TEOM is based on current technologies and social concepts which are simply projected into the future. S...

THERE’S really only two issues at the heart of human existence: plants and, I’m guessing you already guessed it, water. Without these humans can not exist. The heck with petroleum, nuclear energy, money and power. The first two represent limitations of contemporary knowledge, the latter two, human illusions. But plants, which regenerate air, potable water and provide basic food for all things animal, and their principal product, namely, organically enhanced potable water, are and will rem...

RUSH to your nearest bookshelf dictionary, or if you prefer, online one, but you’ll still have to guess a bit to ascertain what today’s post is about. HINT: It’s about how global citizens sometimes feel in today’s dis-integrated world. Think insignificant and another cog in a massive, complex, karmic wheel, as if there is nothing an individual can do anymore that, as Rick says in the classic movie Casablanca, “amounts to a hill of beans.”

But differences come in many sizes and fl...

TIMES have changed. It’s no longer a sheep or a Daniel thrown into the world of finance’s lion’s den of yesteryear. It’s a bear these days, though in two opposite meanings. First, a bear willing to slice, thrash and carve out it’s own piece of the financial lion’s den, but second, a transitory bear in the sense of a bear rather than a bull market. It’s commando-style business that makes the millionaires these days. And that seems to be increasingly true of authoring and publishi...

IT started with “fake-news,” then progressed to “fake-products” and has now evolved into “fake service.” You know what I mean. Make a customer service call and experience the “fake” firsthand: difficulties finding a phone number to talk with a “real” person, especially of one’s primary language; complex, irrational auto-phone-trees that only another A.I. (artificial intelligence or 10 year old can understand); the one-hour “valued customer” waits; the customer servic...

YESTERDAY about noon I was driving on the H1 freeway in Hawaii to the North Shore for some much needed R&R. The speed limit where the freeway passes through Honolulu is 45 miles per hour. The lanes are small, the cars are big and H1 being the major East-West artery, totally crowded. What was freaky was that I was the only one going the speed limit. Not the minimum or recommended, but the speed LIMIT. My estimate was that everyone around me was going at least 55, with some easily entering the ...

EVERY author has to, at some time, master writing about violence and sex, two archetypal experiences intrinsic to and representative of human life at any age and time. By this I truly mean “writing about” rather than writing explicit gratuitous violence or sex. It’s the difference between the emotional experience of a soldier being wounded, and a detailed account of every gory detail as the bullet rips through his or her body. The same with sex.

I can vividly recall an email from my fi...

I’M not infrequently asked what makes one a “professional” author, dancer or, more recently actor/actress. Actually, the answer is quite easy, but it has several different yet intertwined aspects:

First, there’s the business of whatever it is one is doing. A professional is someone who accepts money or other financial remuneration for what they’re doing. It’s not about how much. It can be $0.01 or the equivalent in barter or trade. The moment one accepts money or other remunerati...

HEY! I’m talking “real” writing, which means recording whatever interests the writer in any written, enduring format. It’s the first step towards authoring, which means writing for a target audience rather than oneself. I’ve been a writer, author and poet for over four decades, and it’s only recently, when I was given the opportunity of being the lead actor in The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) that I began to realize just how privileged I am to be part of th...

HAVE you noticed the suddenly never ending number of sites that “require” or at best state that if you go on, you will be auto-cookified? It’s, of course, a “choice,” but one that is carefully constructed to NOT be a choice by clever cookie monsters all over the world. Or, hey, let's call them what they really are: stalkers! 

In my newly released, Amazon-genre bestseller, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, a sci-fu (plausible, science-based future study), there ar...

Okay, for those of you following me as Will Gardner in the upcoming K. Simmons Productions’ “The STATIC Movie” here are a few unofficial photo/video montages (shared with K. Simmons Productions’ permission):

16 May 2021 Rehearsal on Set

https://youtu.be/0QLLDy6LYDo

16 May 2021 Interviewing Lead Actor "Will" (Daniel S. Janik) on Set

https://youtu.be/u2GT4nvkEmo

31 May 2021 First On-Location Filming at Murphy's Bar and Grill

https://youtu.be/xUsfXZuy3Jw

4 June 2021 First Reading of ...

AND I don’t mean the football type. I’m an author. It’s in my blood. I’ve had over 60 fiction and non-fiction articles and books published and enjoyed winning the usual accolades, positive reviews, contests and festivals. This year, I was offered the opportunity of trying something different but, I was to find, deeply touching on authoring: the lead role of “Will Gardner” in The STATIC Movie by K. Simmons Productions – https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie. Co-written by my frie...

AND I don’t mean those growing consumer lines at stores for food or goods, or the long waits on the phone for customer service. I mean those lines and lines and lines of character “Will” dialog in the movie script for The STATIC Movie – https://kspllc.media -the next filming being set of for this coming Sunday at the multi-million dollar house location. I love acting as much as I do authoring (maybe a bit more when I get to do the dance choreography and get to perform it like in The S...

IT’S been a couple days since I mentioned acting as well as authoring, so here goes: I’m playing “Will” in The STATIC Movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie), where we’re currently working at the second on location site, a multi-million dollar house in the foothills of the Hawaiian Koolau mountains, the first on location site filming having been completed. At this new location, I have a heart attack, dance cheek-to-cheek with my long departed wife and it all happens in Will’...

ACTUALLY, I’ve had this feeling for quite a long time now, since well before the Great Pandemic (though admittedly that certainly added substantially to the feeling). As an author, I’ve been presented with increasing numbers of opportunities to provide content to businesses at either no payment, or worse, increasing personal cost. Huh? This certainly isn’t Kansas anymore! So who’s getting paid for my increasingly voluntary literary “donations?” I can personally attest to the fact ...

HAVING been gone for some on location shooting, I’m pleased to be back, returning to a mountainous authoring, dancing, acting and photography backlog. Whew!

First, I’m pleased to see that my newest work, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor has just come out in audiobook format – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096H5QMHP – and that it remains an Amazon Genre Bestseller!!! If you’re an audiobook reader, you’re in luck, as it’s read superbly by the consummate voice acto...

So Sunday, this author became an actor as well an author, having been shot 100 times on-location in the filming of the K. Simmons Productions' (https://kspllc.media) The STATIC Movie. Went splendidly, though my voice was tired and I was very thirsty that night. With 5 shots left to go at this location, we’ll be back on location this coming Sunday  6 June 2021 to shoot the last scenes, mostly technically difficult ones, like me tossing back a shot of whiskey recorded from above!

Interested?...

TODAY is the famous “day of rest” before cast and crew of the STATIC movie (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie) appear on set to film the “bar” scene. While the crew is frantically gathering all the necessary materials, cameras, sound booms, lights, I’m relaxing at the famous Northshore of Oahu island. No whales. They’ve gone north for the summer to feed and party. Just warm sun, cool, frangipani-scented trade winds and magnificent mother ocean gently stroking the course of the...

I have a theory: Be it romance, love, gender, adventure, drama, science fiction, erotica or sex, t’s been wrapped up in literature and movies for a long time now in the form of gratuitous violence. Darkness, especially in the form of gratuitous violence or overall pessimism in science fiction, isn’t “necessary.” Cities, if they will exist in the future, don’t necessarily have to be foreboding, constantly raining and filled with violent characters. Depending on detailed gratuitous vi...

YOU guessed it: not viewed. Despite all my raving in yesterday’s post about this event, last night we had a “round table” full-cast reading of the “Static” movie script and I was so tired afterwards I slept right through the alarm. Go figure! On the other hand, the full-cast reading brought several to tears while others openly shared “goosebump” moments, meaning, in my mind, this drama will exceed even the most stringent viewer expectations. I also hear that the round table was ...

ONE thing authoring THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999693859) has taught me is a new respect for astronomy, a hobby I’ve always been interested in, ignited further by the recent acquisition of a Skywatcher Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope. There aren’t many nights in the Bay Area perfect for viewing planets, but tomorrow is a sure winner, with Venus exceptionally bright and a full moon eclipsed. Didn’t know about it? In any field of interest...

IN the immediate aftermath of the TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1434403556), something happened. The dis-integrating world proved a playground for “Fast Eddies” and con artists. But who, I ask, let them out? Who let the “dogs” out?

A dis-integrating world means that things, especially integrated technological products; businesses that require other business partners to create, distribute and market a product; and...

I’VE been wondering lately what is it that makes morality so important, perhaps even essential, to humans, but not as far as we know, to other animals? It’s always been my opinion that morality is a sort of mental barbed-wire fence to keep what I consider the eighth deadly sin, hubris, in check, though hubris is commonly regarded as synonymous the first deadly sin, pride. Personally and as an author, I make a distinction between the two, pride being about about unnatural self-aggrandizeme...

I’VE often heard that the storyline, narration, dialog and outstanding editing are what make a successful book. Of course, I have to agree. Makes total sense. And yet…there’s something, almost intangible, that elevates a well-authored and edited story to something, well, more. It’s the difference between a great performance and one that elicits goose bumps. It’s having just the right “edge.” Something more. One of my publishers, Savant Books and Publications | Aignos Publishing,...

AS a registered performance and competitive dancer, every day I practice “tripping the light fantastic” to improve and enjoy my skills and keep in shape. It was my “crutch” throughout the 2020 plague year when my living room had to serve as my studio; it was something I could look forward to when, pre-vaccination, all the dance venues closed and even just going for a walk with a mask while carefully distancing from others outside was verboten.

These days, in addition to authoring and...

THE past few days, I’ve been in conversation with my friend and sometimes co-author, the incomparable William Maltese, over a new phase in my life: Several weeks ago, I auditioned for a part in an upcoming made-for-television movie entitled “Static” (https://kspllc.media/the-static-movie), to my surprise, landing the leading role of Will Gardner, a crotchety old man suffering onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s a dramatic piece, originally written by the outstanding Savant screenwrit...

WITH all the recurring reports of excessive police violence in the news, I find myself wondering what can possibly be done about it. Awareness of its existence and effects of violence on both the victim and the public are, of course, a first step, given that not all victims are purely innocent, and all police officers aren’t willing perpetrators of violence. But awareness isn’t enough, especially in the field, in the heat of a life-threatening situation quite possibly requiring lethal for...

BEING a “mostly” vegetarian by choice and not obligation, I’ve always been one to favor fruit, something I’ve never regretted, being also a hedonist, epicurean and succulent fruit lover. However, every year for the past ten or so, the fruit in the grocery stores has continued to improve visually indirectly proportional to smell and taste as well as ripeness and sugar content. Today I bought a package of apricots, one of my personal, seasonal favorites. Grown in the good ol’ USA, und...

THERE is an interesting conundrum, a fluke of human nature, that is challenging humanity’s shared perception of reality, whether it be the cosmos, physics, science, the humanities, the human story, romance, love, gender or amorous eroticism: It isn’t so much that seeing is believing, but that we see what we believe, want or can see through our cultural blinders. That “seeing is believing” has already been highjacked, this time by politics, in that after spreading an opinion as factual...

CORRESPONDING today with my dear friend and colleague, the multi-talented, multi-award-winning author, William Maltese, the question arose: Which is better? To think or to do? It all stems from discussing with him my having been asked to audition for a role in an upcoming made-for-television movie, “Static,” written fellow author and screenwriter Richard Rose and purchased for cinematic treatment by K. Simmons Productions (kspllc.media).

You know, “To be, or not to be? That is the ques...

I’M not jokingly referring here to political refugees or “resident aliens” with “green cards.” I’m talking about, yes, real aliens from other worlds. Pretty much everyone sci-fi has read or seen author and filmmaker Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain” in which a not-from-this-world microbe hitches a ride on a military satellite returning to Earth to wreak havoc on the human race.

Interesting, in light of a 24 November 2000 CNN article by Richard Stenger entitled, “S...

REFLECTING on my authoring career in during a recent interview, I was once again impressed with the chasm that exists between writing and authoring, one that took me thirty plus years to successfully bridge. And I wasn’t undecided; I knew I wanted to be an author from the start, having written my first novella at sixteen years of age. I sent my 100+ page (25,000+ word) sci-fi manuscript entitled “The Parabolic Curve” to seventy-five publishing houses. It never went to publication, thoug...

SEVERAL decades ago, when I began my authoring career, it was rare to meet another author. Published authors were celebrities in their own right, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with television and movie celebrities, sometimes shining even brighter than their actor/actress colleagues. And I say colleagues, because at the heart of television and movie production is screenwriting, which I still hold is a form of authoring.

With the appearance of self-publishing and the aging and decrease in read...

OKAY, so this may sound a but surprising, given the title of today’s post, but “I’m Raymond Gaynor and I’m a plant lover” (if you haven’t already guess that). I live in a high-rise condo and have a small two-foot wide outdoor porch upon which I exercise my secret love, openly, yes, in public. Right now I have three pots of Japanese cucumbers, one of Charentais Cantaloupe, one of Japanese onions, one of hybrid bush tomatoes and one of tiny, mildly spicy Oriental green peppers. One ...

IN the publishing world, a writer writes for him or herself, while an author writes for a target audience, commonly designated by a “genre.” A writer doesn’t need a publisher; an author may or may not, depending on whether one wishes to “self-publish,” or contract with a vanity or “regular” press. Usually, contracting for the first time with an established press is considered one’s author debut.

I read that in today’s market, there is no need for a regular publisher. In fac...

LATELY, I have been delving into the dark sea of neurobiological “romance” that ebbs and tides so strongly about human relations, especially sex. In essence, romance is about assuring each other of conjugal safety, trust, fidelity and devotion while releasing the sexual tigers within. A quixotic, even paradoxical thing, romance. And it has to happen in the above sequence to be most effective and ultimately, satisfying, both in the short and long term.

The neurobiology of romance suggests...

RECOGNIZE the refrain from Disney’s version of Lewis Carroll’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND? Actually, in the novel, the White Rabbit said, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” which, I believe, should be the cry of contemporary America and the world.

My newly released Science Future novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, is actually the sequel to the decidedly naughty gay novel, TOTAL MELTDOWN (Borgo/Wildside 2009) by Raymond Gaynor and William Maltese, in which the ...

IF that doen’t catch your attention, then I fear nothing will. But it’s not just a literary hook. I mean to address the issue of how to escape this universe into which we’re so solidly tied. Call it “spiritual gravity” if you like, but the basic premise is that you can’t leave this universe unless you die.

In my recently released SciFu (science-based future) novel, THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos Publishing 2020) by Raymond Gaynor, and the sequel, tentatively entitled “Prophecy,”...

THERE are many opins regarding the origin of the lullaby but the one I find most personally intriguing (in an Edgar Allen Poe or Stephen King sort of way, and, yes, mentioned in that font of all true knowledge, Wikipedia) is that the word “lullaby” is a homophone of “Lilith-Abi” (Hebrew for “Lilith, begone”).

Okay, so who is Lilith? Again, consulting that same encyclopedia of truth, in The Book of Adam and Eve she is Adam’s first wife. Eh? Wasn’t that Eve?

Nope. But be aware...

IN a recent 30 April 2021 CNN opinion article by Chandran Nair entitled “The Covid disaster in India shows that the future is biological, not digital” that little artificial mole I mentioned in yesterday’s post abruptly reared it’s legs! Nair aptly places emphasis on the importance of preparing for COVID-20, -21, -22 and so on, rather than depending solely on technology to protect us. In my world, I took this as a call for fundamental infrastructure change. Be it government, ethics, f...

I’VE always been curious why many consider a little mole here or there particularly erotic. And it isn’t just a contemporary custom, though it’s consistent with the rash of tattoos people seem to be getting. I personally don’t find tattoos interesting or erotic, though they did, at first, clearly border on the exotic.

Facial moles seem to have been the rage in sixteenth century France, when discrete moles on the face, neck, shoulders, pectoral or other “hidden” areas were conside...

OKAY, you probably guessed that I’m an author, at least, I hope you did. There’s definitely more than twelve steps to authorship, and, with over sixty publications, I feel as though I’ve successfully trudged my way through every step so far.

Raymond Gaynor is the multi-award-winning thriller pen name of reclusive author-artist-photographer-videographer, Daniel S. Janik. Gaynor, in his own words, “lives and breathes” San Francisco. Under the pen name Raymond Gaynor, I’ve co-author...

ARTIFICIAL FOOD ANYONE?

SHADES of Soylent Green (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green)! But I’m not here to post on a dystopian future where people eat their dead. Rather I’m concerned about the continuing intrusion of “artificial” substances into our foodstuffs. Okay, so a good chemist (which I am) would say that EVERYTHING’S “artificial” in that it is built of chemical atoms and molecules, whether created geologically or biologically. “Better Living Through Chemistry...

YESTERDAY I offered a rather unique post entitled, “Do Plants Like Vegetarians?” Today, I’d like to follow it with a bit of an ode to those stalwart lifeforms upon whom our lives solely depend and much more. Yes, they provide oxygen, clean drinking water and food simultaneously, and, yes, we thank them by systematically harvesting them for that biggest illusion of humankind: lucre. And by applying a worldwide pogrom consisting of purposeful, selective genocide. Go figure.

And while it�...

WRITING writings; carefully wording one’s words; creating creative stories — it’s all about judiciously avoiding the irreverent epizeuxis, pleonasm and, God(dess) forbid, semantic satiation. And doing it without losing the occasional congenial, sometimes gratifying occurrence of alliterative consonance or onomatopoeia. Rat-tat-tat went the machine gun. Quack said the duck. Forsooth mouthed the itinerant forsoother.

In truth, as an author, I do enjoy employing semantic variety — a sor...

A simple smile: “A pleased, kind, or amused facial expression, typically with the corners of the mouth turned up and the front teeth exposed.” Surprisingly physically close to but opposite in meaning from a grimace. A social expression of the face learned very early in infancy, used to further bond the infant to caretaker and vice versa.

In a utopian future, it is often assumed that everyone would smile; in a dystopian future, it is often assumed that everyone would grimace, an assumptio...

I thought you might like to know that my two Color-Me-Please children's books are now available as instant download, Amazon Audible audiobooks! 

A WHALE'S TALE (Savant 2009)

USA:  https://www.audible.com/pd/B00STOWDZ4/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-029725&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_029725_rh_us

UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B00STP8NPW/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-029725&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_029725_rh_uk

THE TURTLE DANCES (Savant 2013)

USA: https://www.audible.com/pd/B00NVW4DKC/?sour...

MARCH MADNESS SALE

exclusively at Savant Bookstore Honolulu

www.savantbookstorehonolulu.com

50% off Suggested Retail Price (SRP) of select, in-house display books at our in-house bookstore throughout March 2018 while stocks last,

OR

25% off SRP on all other in-house and online softcover books throughout March 2018 using discount code MARCHMAD

AND

Up to 90% off Suggested Retail Price (SRP) for all our Amazon Kindle eBooks starting 5 March and ending 12 March 2018 via a Kindle Countdown Deal....

Multi-Award-winning author of

     THE TURTLE DANCES (Savant 2013)

          http://www.amazon.com//dp/0988664011

     A WHALE’S TALE (Sav...

Most people don't think of warm, sunny, Honolulu, Hawaii, when they think of pumpkins or Halloween, which, in my mind is a travesty. We actually do grow pumpkins here. Really! This time of year, one can cruise the island and grab a plump pumpkin from a variety of pumpkin patches. 

And we actually do celebrate Halloween here, and we celebrate it big time in Waikiki. Walking along either side of Ala Moana Boulevard as it courses through the heart of Waikiki, one can observe and even have thei...