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 ...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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? ...

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, ...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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) —...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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, ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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’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...

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...

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. ...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Multi-Award-winning author of

     THE TURTLE DANCES (Savant 2013)

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

     A WHALE’S TALE (Sav...