Wednesday Night Blog #3 August 20, 2014

Everyone it's good to be back blogging this week. I apologize for not posting a blog a week ago. I was in a vehicle crash where I suffered a back injury and $6200 worth of damages to my car. My back is still hurting since I have a lumbar strain and a fractured disk/vertebrae (I was not a good science student so my terminology is not at its best) as well as arthritis in my lower back. After a weeks worth of exercises, doctor's appointments and PT, I'm beginning to get used to what is now the new normal for the time being. I definitely miss running with Fleet Feet Sports Rochester. They have become like a sort of family to me. The people at Fleet Feet as well as my running crew have been very encouraging.  This was definitely a pick me up for sure. My buddy Ray who is also my boss at work has been very encouraging as well while giving me timely advice regarding back injuries since he had a back issue a year ago.  The injury couple with the writing sabbatical that I'm going to be on until November has turned into a "Wake up and smell the roses moment" for me.  It seems that I haven't been enjoying life like I should and am now starting to do so once again.

Well I'm following baseball in full throttle mode while picking up some autos in stadium and in person and making trades/purchases of sports cards on line and in person.  I'm now working on 2014 Allen & Ginter Baseball, 2014 Upper Deck Goodwin Champs and 2014 Panini Golden Age sets. They have an awesome historical feel to them. I'm also in the process of trying to complete insert sets for Topps Series I & II baseball. The inserts are limited print cards that are issued in Topps packs. Also the 2014 Bowman Baseball both base and prospects as well as 2014 Topps Pro Debut are on my list of sets that I am trying to complete.  I have a couple of baseball card shows in my area to check out this weekend as long as my back is able to hold up. They will be the first ones since June.  I even made a killer find at a flea market Sunday.  I picked up four small boxes of cards and a bag of 100 nine pocket sleeves.  Needless to say that a Ken Griffey Bowman rookie from 1989 and a racing autograph were my top finds.  Today I bought a few packs of 2014 Topps Football. I'm going to collect only the rookies and trade the rest of the cards.  Well once again card collecting has helped me keep my head on straight during trying times.  It is a therapeutic activity for me along the lines of FDR and his stamp collecting that helped him forestall a nervous breakdown.

As for my writing, I have seventy three days left on my writing sabbatical.  When it ends on November 1 at 12:00 am, I will immediately begin to write Gladio for my National Novel Writer's Month project.  As NaNoWriMo approaches I will discuss Gladio more.  It has been nine days since Deception has been published and Trafford Publishing has approached me about doing a book to screen event in Los Angeles at the end of September.  They would like me to go there and pitch both Black Friday and Deception to Hollywood producers.  I tried that route with Black Friday last year and although I had a great time in New York, the attempt to turn Black Friday into a movie was a failed one.  The prices for Pitch Fest as it is properly called are outrageous and I refuse to do it again at this time.  Some of the story lines for Deception are actually being played out in the news these days.  Between the mass immigration of Mexicans (Arabs in Deception), rioting (See Ferguson, MO) and the Caliphate (ISIS) it's hard to ignore what has been transpiring in the news as of late.

With the mass immigration of Mexicans, it's hard not to ignore the fact that there is a possibility that al-Qaeda or some other terrorist group had its members enter the United States through the Mexican border while blending in with the immigrants or even Mexican citizens converting to Islam and then crossing the border into the USA.  That's one diabolical way of carrying out a terror plot.

The events in Ferguson, MO are disturbing to put it mildly.  With the different accounts of what occurred, if Michael Brown was in fact rushing for the officer's gun, the officer should have fired bullets into Michael Brown's leg or arm or even both.  With the two bullet wounds in his head and four in his arm, it was a Marine style shooting according to a friend of mine who served in the Marines.  One shot to the head and then two to the body.  The fact that the Ferguson Police Department has been very slow in releasing the details and key information regarding the investigation and what occurred that day makes me question what really happened to Michael Brown.  Although there was audio/video about the shooting, if it was audio I would question it and if it was video I would accept it.   It's frightening that the protests and rioting could spread nationally.  I'm convinced that we need to brace ourselves for the possibility.

With ISIS, they desire to convert the USA to Islam and put a black flag on the White House while establishing a Caliphate.  The methods that are being employed by ISIS have outraged a lot of people.  One Syrian Christian was kidnapped and tortured to the point that he rejected Christianity and converted to Islam.  After he said an Islamic prayer, he was beheaded! What a humiliation to be stripped of your faith, your salvation and then get beheaded! That was ISIS' plan with him all along.  They have also kidnapped Christian women and are using them as sex slaves.  If this is the future of Islamic terrorism, then we need to go all out and fight ISIS until they are no more. I think that they are the grave threat these days.

Enough on this blood boiling issue.  These issues have been swept aside by the deaths of both Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall as well as he ALS ice bucket challenge.  We have lost two movie icons a week ago.  They were tremendous talents who have left an unforgettable impression on us.  The ALS ice bucket challenge has swept the nation by storm.  With my back injury, I know that I would make one awkward movement and make the injury worse.  That is why I will donate from my heart and not be told how much to donate.  I videotaped my neighbor doing the ice bucket challenge last week.  I think that it's very admirable, the tactics could use a little fine tuning.  How about donating what one can afford.  I think that would put more people at ease about the whole thing.  Enough said about that.

It's hard to believe that another summer is about come to an end.  Time flies these days especially as everyone gets older.  I have no question that we all must take advantage of what the waning days of summer has to offer.  That is what we must do especially in the next week.  With that it is time for me to close this blog for the week and take advantage of what summer has left to offer!

Take Care,

Tom

Wednesday Night Blog #2

Wednesday Night Blog #2

August 6, 2014

By

Tom DiCaprio

 

Everyone, since the first blog worked out well; I thought that I would do this again tonight.  Deception has been published as of yesterday.  Deception is about a Saudi plot to take over the United States and Western Europe and convert them into Islamic nations.  Mohammad abd Ibrahim grew up resenting the Western nations splitting up the Ottoman Empire while making false promises to the Arabs.  Ibrahim was further incensed over the setting up of a Jewish State in Palestine.  After the Islamic Revolution in Iran in which it became in Shi’a Islamic State, Saudi Arabia was now feeling threatened over the possibility of the fact that the Islamic Revolution will spread there as well.  Mohammad abd Ibrahim then began a chain of events that would lead to disenfranchised citizens of five different nations who would be on the brink of becoming their leaders while the reestablishing of a Caliphate in Saudi Arabia would occur.  Ibrahim would pay for the college educations of the disenfranchised citizens while choosing five of the students whose college educations that he paid for and groom them to become leaders in the process.   A condition for accepting the scholarship was that the person who accepted must convert to Islam.

One candidate is Darryl Jeremiah Gant who was repeatedly denied a scholarship to pay for his college education.  Gant who resented the Caucasian race for their racism towards minorities was befriended by Ibrahim who paid for his scholarship and is now being groomed to someday become President of the United States.  Gant meanwhile continued on with his resentment of the Caucasian race which results in a series of violent encounters through the years. 

CIA Agent J.T. Vincent proceeds to discover bits and pieces of Ibrahim’s plot in the weeks leading up to the 9/11 attacks while investigating another crime involving a bodyguard for now-Congressman Gant.  When Gant and his bodyguard Quinn Sanders are questioned, the Attorney General’s office proceeds to stop it and Agent Vincent is transferred to Washington, D.C. where his superiors would keep a close eye on him. 

Years later, Congressman Gant becomes the Vice President while Agent Vincent continued on with his investigation of Gant and his ties to radical Islam.  Mohammad abd Ibrahim gives the approval for the final stages of his plan to be carried out.  Can Agent Vincent stop it in time?  Read Deception to find out.  Deception is told in the tradition of both The Manchurian Candidate and The Da Vinci Code.  You can purchase it at www.trafford.com. 

 

Week two of my novel writing hiatus is going well.  I am actually learning that there is more to life these days than writing novels.  For example last night I went out on a group run, but I tweaked my knee to the extent where I had to end my run.  The knee is feeling better today but still a tad sore.  I may try again this weekend should it improve even more.  I saw Edge of Tomorrow Monday night and the movie played out like a video game that would be very addicting.  I highly recommend it, just put your preconceived notions about Tom Cruise aside before you enter the theater.  This was one of his better performances as an actor.

Insomnia has become a key part of my life once again.  It came back Saturday night and is now an every other night thing.  We shall see tonight if the trend continues or not. 

The MLB Trade Deadline may have ushered in a new trend.  It looks like the trade deadline has went from trading fading star players to trading free agents to be while a team can get something in return for them to now trading players for established MLB players in the hopes of jump starting their team in the near future.  You can thank the Boston Red Sox for this new tradition.  I personally think that it’s a good idea since most of the players that Boston received are solid MLB players.  The Red Sox will likely make a splash in the free agent market this winter and it looks like they will be a 2015 playoff team.  One of the players who Boston traded Jon Lester has bolstered a solid Oakland rotation and they will likely face Detroit in the American League Championship Series.  The Detroit Tigers counted and were the UNLIKELY winners of the David Price sweepstakes.  It looks like the Price was right for the Tigers to make the trade. 

Well this is going to be a short blog this week.  Everyone have an awesome week and remember to purchase your copy of Deception.

 

Tom