violentnight

2007-10-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

THE SONGS OF THE NIGHT

Leonard Ramblin knew that this music would be the “siren call of the Harvest.” These are the “Songs of the Night.” They are:

“Eli’s Coming,” “Liar,” and “One” by Three Dog Night
“Somebody to Love” by Jefferson Airplane
“Temptation Eyes,” “Feelings,” “Wait a Million Years,” “Midnight Confessions,” and “Live for Today” by the GrassRoots
“Paint it Black,” and “Gimmie Shelter” by the Rolling Stones

(“I Want You / She’s So Heavy” is not one… when the Temple Shadows gang hears that, it’s too late.)

These songs were not chosen. They just are. It is the musical quality that makes them songs of the night. They’re not cheery. Their melodies are dark and foreboding.

The Songs of the Night do have some curious things in common:

All of these are still performed in concert. I had no way of knowing that when Violent Night was written.

They are often rated as favorites among pop/rock fans, even though none have topped the Billboard charts.

All of the studio recordings use a similar reverb technique to give the vocals a “large empty gymnasium” quality, a technique often used by Led Zeppelin.

An unusual number of these have lyrics that suggest possible Apocalyptic connections… “Eli” is a name sometimes given to the Antichrist. “Paint it Black,” “Gimmie Shelter,” “Wait a Million Years,” “Midnight Confessions,” and “Live for Today” all have titles that take on a different meaning when applied to the Harvest. Even “Somebody to Love” sounds like a warning: “You’d better find somebody to love!”

2007-09-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

BUSTER MURPHY: THE CARDBOARD CHARACTER

Author Ted Magnuson wrote in his review of VIOLENT NIGHT that Buster Murphy is a “detestable cardboard character.” That’s not a nice thing to say. Especially when he made those comments four days shy of Buster’s birthday.

But Mr. Magnuson is correct. Buster is detestable. And, when he enters the Apocalyptic stage, he is very flat cardboard. I wrote his character that way on purpose. Buster is evil, and evil has only one focus in being: kill, pervert, and destroy. Period.

Destruction is relatively simple. One doesn’t have to be careful about it. One does not have to take responsibility for any collateral damage. It wouldn’t take much to program a robot to destroy. C:\\ RUN \ DESTROY \ ALL.

Creation is much more complex. It requires skill, care, and attention to detail. Success depends on how well the creation functions in its environment. The creator seeks to love the creation.

What evil does is nothing compared to what good does. What Satan does is nothing compared to what God does. This is why Buster is cardboard and the Temple Shadows Gang is dimensional.

Most readers who know the Bible get it that Buster Murphy is a parallel to Saul who converted to the apostle Paul. Saul was cardboard, too. But not Paul.

When you reach the end of VIOLENT NIGHT, the Lord begins to fold this cardboard Murphy character into something new. What will the new Buster be like?

2007-08-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

THE GATHERING:

W.S. CREED'S CHRISTIAN ADVENTURE RUMBLES ON

After giving William S. Creed’s first book in this Christian adventure series a well-deserved 5 stars on Amazon, I had to eagerly wait two years for the sequel to come out.

COMES THE END was indeed a thriller, but this second book, THE GATHERING, does not stand alone without the prequel. The tail end of this book begs for the third in the series to come along and bring back the thrill of the first book. What’s left is essentially what’s between the beginning of the end and the end of the end.

THE GATHERING picks up immediately where COMES THE END leaves off, with Andy and Stephanie following the Lord’s subtle but convenient directions to a new calling. Other than one close call with the “alien” Brothers, there isn’t much meat in the middle of this trilogy. Stephanie and Andy fall in love, rather predictably. A few characters from the previous book appear for cameo rolls. It does have some suspense, but seems to pull back from a climax several times. Creed is laying the groundwork for what I hope is a Biblical-size confrontation yet to come.

The author’s military experience is evident in this book as it was with the first. Military settings are described in loving detail. The place they call Camp Noah is easy to picture. I wish the characters were a little deeper, though. The text flows well, but is plainly written.

A peculiar surprise occurs near the end of this book that will leave you scratching your head. If that makes you curious, go ahead and read the book. If you liked COMES THE END, you’ll enjoy THE GATHERING also, although it's a little like eating tofu after you've had steak.

2007-07-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

eWAR

If you’ve looked at what’s in your spam folder recently, you know that the immoral juggernaut (we call it Satan and his minions) has moved far beyond the physical realms of earthly cesspools like Las Vegas. Checked out MySpace or YouTube lately? Much of what I find there is overwhelming, discouraging, and, ultimately, frightening. It’s hard to be an eChristian in such an environment.

Search the Net a little harder, and I can find groups of eChristians sharing both messages of hope and messages of warning to each other. Credibility in their world hinges on one’s ability to throw timely Bible verses into the discussion. This is so intimidating for newbie Christians!

We need to stop playing Bible trivia with each other and get on places like MySpace and fight moral decay. Otherwise, should we wait for it to come to us—in our churches?

2007-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

WHY DID I WRITE VIOLENT NIGHT?

The genesis for this version of the Apocalypse has been part of me since the beginning. My earliest memories date back to when I was about four years old, yet the memory of that day was there even then. As I grew older, I began to realize that this particular memory I possessed—the time, the people, the places, even the smells and the music—was of a place and time I had not witnessed. Many of the things about this memory, which were new in 1961, appeared old to me in the memory. I remembered music that would not be released until decades later. On several occasions I searched in vain among the “oldies” for a title I eventually found in the current Top 40.

The day of the Apocalypse left a strong impression. Nowadays I think of it more like an epic movie that I’m dying to see again, but when I look on my video shelf, I know it was never made. I remember it like I’ve seen it a thousand times, yet I learn to experience it again. I have scores of books and movies that come as close as I can get. Disaster flicks like Earthquake, Twister, Airport. I have the “Left Behind” series, and the prequels to the “Left Behind” series. Oddly enough, none of the Apocalypse films: Armageddon, Seventh Sign, End of Days, etc. capture anything significant about this coming great event.

My desire to revisit the day of my memory—the end of the worldly days and the beginning of God’s new world—remained unsatisfied. So I put it in a novel and named it VIOLENT NIGHT. I long to feel the suspense of knowing it’s coming, the wild ride that is the event itself, and the ultimate joy and peace in the new world beyond.

If I had one wish, should I die before that day comes in real life, it would be to see the VIOLENT NIGHT movie… again.

2007-05-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

THE STORY BEHIND THE HURRICANE THAT ENDED THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

Hurricane Damien. A fictitious hurricane from the book "Violent Night." The "mother of all hurricanes." How does it happen? Global warming?

Nope. In recent years, late-season major hurricanes have become common: Mitch, October 1998, and Wilma, October, 2005, for example. But Hurricane Damien didn't form out in the Atlantic, where the media would have a two-week fetch to obsess over. He began as an upper-level low-pressure system, not asscociated with any weather front and non-tropical. Upper-level lows sometimes stall in the Houston area, causing torrential rains and flooding. But when this low drifted out over the warm gulf, he was thirsty for warm water. Earth is in a warm cycle at this time, so Damien drank of the 91-degree salt water. The added energy transformed him into Tropical Storm Damien overnight.

Not so long ago, 1.2 million Houstonians found themselves stranded on the highways trying to run away from Rita. Desperate, they were forced to urinate and defecate along the roadsides and carry gasoline in cupped hands. Rita decided to make a mockery of Houston by bypassing the city to ravage the Piney Woods instead.

Therefore it was no surprise when the public ignored Damien (who had to play second-fiddle to the World Series), and it was further understandable that emergency management didn't react to Damien. Besides, having formed in the Gulf like he did, there wasn't time to evacuate anyway. The lessons of Hurricane Alicia were forgotton. 1983 was a long time ago.

Then an angel of the Apocalypse appeared and poured forth the bowl of wrath fortold in the book of Revelation. There were earthquakes in various places. A small fissure opened in the Gulf, and beneath the waves, molten rock began to heat the water in a area that Damien passed over. The energy allowed him to grow from an infant pissant depression to a monster Cat 5 hurricane in just 24 hours.

In the dark night of October 24, Damien began his trek toward the Texas coast...

2006-09-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

RICK WARREN NOT SO BAD AFTER ALL

After our church, Westminster, "did" Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life" program, I responded to that torture by writing Warren a one-star review on Amazon.com. What discredited the book for me was Warren's assertion that his Saddleback Church was the chosen venue of worship for a number of CEOs whose God-given purpose in life was to become rich, where they could do their part for the Lord's kingdom by writing checks. Gathering excessive wealth for one's self (while the people at the bottom end of the ladder in their company struggle to make ends meet) is greedy. The writing of checks is not DOING God's work, it's FUNDING God's work.

TIME magazine ran an article this week on what is now called "Prosperity" teaching: that God wants me to be rich, a message touted by preachers a la Joel Osteen, who has his name boldly emblazoned on the front of Lakewood Church. As you can guess, I don't subscribe to this materialistic blasphemy. God doesn't bestow luxury on us just because we want it. It's about what GOD wants, folks. As Jesus said, "The poor will always be with us." If we're all writing checks, who's going to take care of the DOING?

Much to my surprise, TIME quotes Warren opposing the prosperity movement. I still think his book is repetitive, boring, and ineffective, but I give the Reverend credit for choosing the right side on this one.

2006-09-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

VAMPIRE BOOKS ARE STUPID

I signed up at this thing called Reader Views. They send you a few pages of a book each day for a week, so you can try books you wouldn't see otherwise.

Last week they sent me a book titled "Avengers." The first two days of it were intriguing: a cruise ship rescues two half-starved, dehydrated people found standed on an undamaged boat. There is something mysterious about the couple.

Then, on the third day, I realize the full title is "Necroscope: Avengers." The couple turn out to be vampires. The quality of the writing dives from golden to garbage. Gross violence is an understatement. What I learn is that vampires can do anything except sunbathe. They are infinitely strong, infinitely smart, infinitely skilled, infinitely disguise-able, and infinitely invincible (which makes them infinitely un-believable). Therefore, it is a foregone conclusion that when vampire vs. man, vampire wins. What else is there to say in such a book? What kind of person salivates over the endless gory details to follow? I've read a few of these books before. They are very pro-vampire. It's as though the authors aspire to be one!

Vampire novels have about as much redeeming social value as kiddie porn. And yet there are fans of this genre. I know some that fritter their nights away on role-playing games about this stuff. Full-grown adults, no less.

Hey vampire wannabes: that flashing thing in the mirror is your idiot light.

2006-08-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

ANY PUBLICITY IS BETTER THAN NONE...

So "Violent Night" receives a not-so-glowing review from Jason at Atlantic Book Review. He says the conversations between the members of the Temple Shadows Youth Group are far from realistic. So far from reality, in fact, to be overwhelmingly annoying!

Of course, I know most of you who read the book will disagree. Jason's observations don't upset me, but my curiosity burns: what reality is Jason living in? Are my youth unrealistic because they don't have potty-mouths? Is this evidence of a cultural or regional difference? Could this attitude be borne from liberal (blue state) bias?

Read his review while washing your hair, because it's a real head-scratcher. Your scalp will never be cleaner.

To those teenagers who were involved in the editing process for "Violent Night": You are out of date according to Jason at Atlantic Book Review.

We could always send Buster over there to learn him somethin' 'bout Texas teenagers...

2006-06-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

IN THE TIME OF CHICKEN LITTLE

We were on our way to church this morning, innocently, when one of our passengers exclaimed, "Wow! There's a hurricane coming!"

At first I couldn't imagine what this observation could possibly be based upon. I did know that a poorly organized tropical depression might become the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season today, and might be named Alberto. Might. Then I saw what they were looking at. In the newsstand next to the bus stop were several newspapers with a front-page photo of a mature hurricane--a Cat 5 with a perfect eye.

Albert? No, it was a picture of Wilma from the 2005 season.

Why do you suppose they put a picture of Wilma on there instead of Albert? Probably because Albert isn't very impressive. He doesn't even look like a tropical storm in the satellite photos.

We live in the time of Chicken Little, where everything is a crisis, whether the actual facts bear that out or not. If there's a forest fire, it's global warming. If there's a blizzard... you guessed it... Global warming. If there is a major hurricane, even though we are in a natural active period for hurricanes... Global warming.

The emissions from my car cause global warming. The emissions from Al Gore's private jet do not.

I saw the same picture of Wilma on the news last night. (Wilma is history. Honest! I can remember 2005.) I also learned that there is a child predator on every block. Hey, do I exaggerate? Isn't showing a picture of Wilma when one is talking about a piss-ant tropical depression an exaggeration too?

This brings to mind a different time, early in the 20th century, when forecasters refused to call the 1900 storm that swept through Galveston a hurricane; how cavalier officials were about the icebergs prowling the North Atlantic when they declared the Titanic to be unsinkable.

What a difference there is between the time of denial and the time of never-ending crisis.

2006-06-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

WHY PEOPLE LEARN KARATE

The other day I visited a public school. I was surprised to see a number of the classrooms being used for karate instruction, despite the fact that it is religion to some people. I suppose the students get P.E. credit for taking it.

I know more than a few young people whose parents spent $$$ on karate. If I ask them why they learn karate, the answer is often "so I don't have to use it." Huh? The second most common answer is "to build self-esteem."

I have observed many teenagers in the current crop (the generation not officially named yet) who have way too much self-esteem to begin with. I'll call them the Spoiled Generation. What they really need is a good a$$ kicking by someone who took boxing. Then they will think twice before using their karate.

Remember that whatever your techique is for defending yourself and your loved ones, Force still equals Mass times Acceleration. Don't kid yourself into believing a P.C. sport offers more than an ego boost. Evil is aggresive, focused, strong. And doesn't have to play by your rules.

Walk into the valley of the shadow of death with Faith and the Word instead.

2006-06-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

6-6-6

So here it's almost midnight on 6-6-06 and I'm still waiting for the world to end. Was that what it's supposed to do? Oh. Right. This is the day the Antichrist is born. Or is it the Beast? What is the difference between the Antichrist and the Beast?

If I were going to pick such a day based on numerology, I guess I'd go with June 6, 1966. The Antichrist, or the Beast, would be 40 years old- a Biblical number- today. Happy Birthday.

My sarcasm is intentional. I don't believe in numerology any more than I believe the so-called "Holy Grail" protected by the Da Vinci Code would threaten the faith of Christians... Because Christianity isn't about that. The best theory I have read is that Israel represents the "fig tree" in prophecy, and that the "fig tree" put forth its leaves in 1967 and further in 1973. The number 40 is prevalent in the Bible: 40 days it rained in Noah's flood, 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert, etc. Following that logic, if you're a believer in numerology, ignore what Christ said about no one knowing the day or the hour of his coming and leave the porch light on in 2007 or 2013.

The important question is: How old will the Antichrist be when Jesus returns for the Rapture?

2005-10-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

WILMA, RITA, & KATRINA: WHEN WILL WE GET THE MESSAGE?

When I wrote about the fictional Hurricane Damien in my novel "Violent Night," my friends thought I was doing a "412." (Over-acting, for those who remember "Dragonnet.") Damien would be an October hurricane. He'd achieve a central pressure of 840 millibars. Winds of 270 m.p.h. Damien would be not the birthpangs but the birth of the Apocalypse.

Impossible? This morning, October hurricane Wilma reached a record of 887 millibars, one millibar lower than Gilbert in 1989 who had winds of 240 m.p.h. on his best day. Wilma, Rita, and Katrina ALL grew from tropical storm to Cat 5 in 24 hours. So would Damien- except he forms closer to the coast, so evacuation of Houston is out of the question.

Now we know this could really happen. Three warnings. Three birthpangs, as the Bible calls them, in less than two months! And what are we going to do? Use our tax dollars to rebuild and improve GAMBLING CASINOS!

Hey, if you read my book, you know the only thing remaining between Wilma and the ultimate disaster are some computer model forecasts. By the way, the Astros are in the playoffs, so no one is paying any attention. Sound familiar?

When the fig tree drops its leaves, we know winter is coming...

2005-10-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

WILLIAM BENNETT, 1984, AND THE ELEPHANT

America is a free country, right? Maybe not for long. If you watch news, you know by now that William Bennett said on his radio show that crime would go down if you aborted black babies. He then went on to say such a thing is not acceptable.

Of course, in the P.C. world we live in, the comments have raised a predictable firestorm of protest. Okay, I think the comment was insensitive, inappropriate, possibly even bizarre. I can see why it would offend some people. But I was offended by a sitcom I saw tonight, too.

I am not going to write a letter my congressman about it, though. I read the Constitution, and I didn't find a guarantee in there protecting me from being offended. But I do have a power switch on my TV and radio.

There are poeple calling for Mr. Bennett to be banned from broadcasting. Huh? If you're going to do that, please ban all of these gangsta-rap songs that cuss, promote hate, and offend women. When we remake our society so no one can be offended, we've brought Orwell's book to life.

What really bothers me is what Bennett said is probably the truth- even as offensive as it is. Should we regulate spreading of truth? If there is a bright pink elephant in our living room, are we not supposed to mention it? Get a grip, people! It's understandable to be offended, but it isn't your right to police what people think and say... yet.

2005-10-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN PIE: A PROPHECY?

Don McLean wrote that song in 1972. I was a Boy Scout then. We used to sit around the campsite and pick the lyrics apart, line by line, and figure out what each item meant. On the surface, it was an easy thing to pick out the references to dead and defunct pop musicians. "The day the music died." Simple.
Too simple, perhaps. Many people who wrote the music died, all right, but not their music. Back then, talent went a long way. You could record a song with your friends in your garage, send the records to radio stations across the country, and have a hit. It was even possible to make it with just a single song (one-hit wonder). No video. No agents. No Hollywood.
Radio stations back then weren't so stuck up. The news followed by "Rainy Days and Mondays" (The Carpenters), then "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin), possibly "Kiss An Angel Good Morning" (Charley Pride), and a seasonal "Monster Mash" (Bobby Boris Pickett) thrown on top. All of it part of the American Top 40, shared by everybody at the parks, in the restaurants, at parties. Just a great big wonderful music melting pot. Pop artists even had the audacity to sing about Jesus Christ.
Fast-forward thrity years. Now we have niche music. We're supposed to like what is shoved down our throats. First, the promoters decide what group we're in. Chick-rock, hip-hop, country, Christian, jazz, alternative, classic rock, oldies, the eighties, reggae, screw music, what-have-you. We must only have music appropriate for our group. Have you ever heard "screw music"? It's somebody else's music played s-l-o-w. Lotsa talent there! There isn't a variety radio station. My car radio has 18 preset buttons. You'd think by pushing random buttons I could get variety, but it seems ClearChannel owns most of the stations so they all play the same commercials at the same time. I can't find much new music, and even when I find something I like, no one I know has heard of it. If fact, even the kids I know have just given up. They listen to "oldies"! Surely talent still exists, but it's trampled down by an industry that demands videos, tours, agents, and sex appeal. The music is dying. Is this what Don McLean saw coming?
Warning: this is the scary part. Think about Hurricane Katrina. See if the lyrics take on a deeper meaning now...
"...the men there said the music wouldn't play. And the three men I admire the most: the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost-- They caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died. And they were singing: 'Bye, bye this American pie, drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. And good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, singin' this'll be the day that I die."

2005-09-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

VIOLENT NIGHT BLOG LAUNCH

What strange timing. My book, Violent Night, is about a hurricane plowing through my city--Houston--at the time of the Apocalypse. The book was at the printer when Hurricane Rita approached! I have to add the reference to KatRita (that's what a lot of people are calling it, Katrina+Rita=KatRita), and send it to my printer for revision.
Now Violent Night isn't about Hurricanes KatRita. Katrita is not, nor never was, the hurricane I called Damien in the book. It's not a sign of the end-times. It's a warning. And it's a perfect set-up. A million people spent 12 or more hours stuck on a freeway in 100+ degree heat, without air conditioning, without gas, without a bathroom, to escape the ultimate disaster. Many of them are coming home to find a few leaves on the ground--practically the only sign that Rita was here. Next time they may just sit at home. But the next time might be the big one.
The Bible talks of "birthpangs" of the last days. The Christmas tsunami, Katrina and New Orleans, Rita... it seems these disasters are more frequent. But unlike the tsunami, the worst that could happen with the hurricanes didn't. Rita lossed strength and turned eastward, into less pupolated territory. Katrina did the same, missing New Orleans. Yes, both were bad enough, but not as bad as they might have been. The tsunami couldn't have been worse--an 8.9 earthquake! (Did you know they had an 8.7 quake in the same place the day after Easter, but without the tsunami? Are these signs?) In my lifetime, America has set forth a Christian example and supported Israel. Is that why the ulimate disaster didn't happen? What happens if we reject God from our culture, as some want to do?