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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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, ...

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...

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...

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...

“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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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 ...

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, ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

“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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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 ...

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 ...

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...