I ask Fwooshmembers questions.
They answer them.
Dormammu "I salute everyone who wants to explore."
Stats?
White. Scottish-English-Irish ethnicity. Mid-30s. Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. I’d rather not talk about my day job; it’s mostly boring but not all physical, nor regularly back-breaking. Victoria is a great place to live, but very expensive too. My job pays enough to get by okay, and gives me enough time off to write and goof around. I’m trying once again to generate interest in the novel I wrote. It’s a difficult process to find the right literary agent because they’re so specialized and unwilling to take a chance on a new guy with new ideas.
How long is your book? How long did it take to write it?
The novel is roughly 380 pages. It wasn’t written in a normal one or two year period, like how most others are written by authors with time and expertise. Instead, not initially realizing I would get more serious about it later, I wrote it in little, inspired chunks, mostly on weekend nights or infrequent days off when nothing was else was going on. It took many, many years of sporadic writing and re-writing, but during that period, I actually only spent about 1% of that time actually working on it. The rest of the time was taken up by a full-time job, going to university, trying to have a social life, and being recreational and lazy in between. Did I mention lazy too?
Have you any others?
I wrote two novellas in my early 20s. They’re goofy and experimental and would definitely require new drafts to get them in shape for publishing. Looking back, however, I marvel at how energetic those 2 stories are. They might suck, but hey, at least they move well.
Do you travel alot?
Not really at all. I love my Island a great deal.
Are there alot of homeless people in BC? Do you talk to them? I’d like to be homeless there for a bit.
BC does have a fair amount of homeless. There’s 3 main reasons for that. First, the climate is fair, and you can survive on the streets rather well in Vancouver and Victoria nearly all year round, as opposed to most other places in Canada. Secondly, our provincial premier (like a state governor) closed down several mental institutions and a great number of emotional damaged people ended up on the streets. Third, there’s a fairly serious drug problem in Vancouver, and a lesser extent, the smaller towns. Where there’s hard drugs, there’s some homeless who’ve felt the devatasting effect of heroin, meth, etc..
What do you think of Americans?
I think Americans are like most any other people, too diverse and obviously human to sum up. A lot of times the differences between Yanks and Canucks are really overblown. Other times, the differences exist, yes. But in the end we’re all just people.
Is there anything physically wrong with you?
Like many people, I have minor struggles with joint pain, and have inherited some potential to develop arthritis. So I feel stiffness in areas where I felt a previous injury. Also, I strongly suspect my internal biological clock is a bit different from most other folks. I’m very tired and lack energy in the morning (essentially I’m half-asleep), but I gain high energy in the afternoon and at night. I could easily stay up to 2:00 AM every night, if I had the opportunity. For instance, it’s midnight as I type this and I’m 100% awake.
Where do you get your information?
TV has pretty much gone downhill. Years ago, I aced my cable altogether. So I try to read as many books, essays, and news articles as possible. While some would have us think otherwise, the internet, for the most part, is a cool source of information, with some of the biggest and brightest organizations across the globe posting info. That you can access most every newspaper around is pretty incredible. I try to see as many documentaries as possible too.
When it comes to politics and history, I get most of my info from mainstream news sources, investigative journalists, academics, or declassified government documents. How people receive this information I blab about might say something about them as well. I like to pass things on — things that might be shocking, true. The famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung once said, "People cannot stand too much reality." I happen to believe he’s somewhat correct. Then again, a lot of people these days are cutting through the crap and learning a lot these days. There’s a feeling in the air that we have to learn more, in order to navigate an uncertain future, and try to glimpse behind whatever curtain we might come across, even if what we see might be momentarily alarming. I salute everyone who wants to explore.
What type of writing interests you?
I’m split right down the middle between fiction and non-fiction. I’ll read anything with some cutting edge power to it. With respect to fiction, comics and novels are great. Early on, I got heavily into fantasy and sci-fi, reading stuff by great authors like Tolkien, Donaldson, Moorc0ck, Herbert, Barker, Howard, King, Gibson, etc. I also enjoy realistic works even though they still had a fantastical aspect — stuff by guys like Gardner, Findley, Ellis, Palahniuk, Orwell, and so forth.
I’ve always had a strong desire to understand what the hell was going on in the world, so I majored in history at university, taking lots of political sociology and psychology as well. After university, I’ve tried to read a lot of non-fiction books that help to fill in all those holes in my "Swiss cheese" education. Basically what I’m saying is, you can get a good history education in school, but profs often won’t officially teach or sometimes won’t even informally discuss a lot of realistic, important things that took place in the last 100 years. Trust me, there’s a lot of overlooked, even suppressed, information out there, and it’s worth researching if you suspect some official interpretations of history are lacking.
Who is Donaldson?
Stephen R. Donaldson is best remembered as the author of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" and "The Gap" books. Above of all, he was the novelist who I learnt the most from when it comes to writing a story.
What music do you enjoy?
I’ll listen to all kinds, from old symphonies, to the latest heavy foot-stompers, even to clever hip-hop originating from a certain Fwoosh forumite from Maine (love those rhymes, dude). I really had a thing for bands that started gaining speed in the 90s: Alice in Chains, Tool, Radiohead, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Sons of Freedom, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Oasis, RaTM, Reverend Horton Heat, Matthew Good Band, Big Wreck, etc..
Who is your favorite comic character?
I like most comic characters in general, especially all the villains. Collecting Marvel Legends has been a real treat because seeing all the villains together on my shelves is just too cool for school. For a long time, Conan and Dr. Strange have been my favourite comic heroes. My favourite teams are the Defenders and Avengers, but I’m also really warming to the Justice League. For some reason, I also have a thing for flashy costumed androids like Vision and Red Tornado.
Who is the baddest bad guy in marvelverse?
I’d say Dorm, of course, but he doesn’t get enough love from the Marvel writers. I don’t have a favourite villain really. Maybe Dr. Doom or Ultron, for just being sufficiently diabolical.
Do you bicycle everywhere when possible? Do you live a relative green life?
I bike for recreation only. I live close to my work so I walk back and forth every day. It used to be a minor source of embarrassment, but now the people who thought it was funny aren’t laughing anymore, and are jealous due to the money I save on gas. I also walk to most places to get groceries and stuff, and bus sometimes if I need to shop for something specific. I have an old truck, which I would normally drive only 2 to 3 times a week max, for short trips, but since it’s currently in need of repairs, I’ve been off-road entirely for almost three months. Since traffic is getting more mental in my town, I’m not missing it at all.
As for a green life, yeah green is good. I hate the fact that there’s pollution in the air, water, and sometimes the food. On the other hand, it’s my sincere belief that the latest green hype about global warming, carbon footprints, and so forth is more propaganda than sound science. Many experts have said as much, and more are coming out all the time (and they’re not all on the payroll of big oil). There seems to be multiple reasons for this propaganda, but that’s another story best told elsewhere.
Could you touch upon the subject a little more?
First of all, I don’t want this to be black and white, and say no human-caused climate change is happening whatsoever. Instead, I want to talk about how the elite have distorted and propagandized this issue, and turned it into hysteria, with ulterior motives in mind.
Al Gore, who joined the Establishment elite and married into their ranks, says that the ultimate cause of climate change is really overpopulation. The elite, so many of whom support everything green, truly want at least two billion less people on this planet — ideally four billion less. Some even only want 500 million human beings on Earth. Many of the Western elite promote(d) the eugenics movement, abortion, war in the Third World, over-working, birth control in all its forms, alternative life styles, and everything else that limits population growth.
In addition, the global warming hype — the sin — will bring about higher costs for food, energy, housing, and perhaps even new carbon taxes, all of which will amount to more income for the rich and more incentives for average people to not have many kids, or any at all. In the future, elite power might gain more ability to designate more areas of land to set aside for parks, fresh water, wildlife, etc., to stop human sprawl, and instead pack everyone into unhealthy, massive urban areas, where people naturally have fewer kids.
Also, the climate change/global warming thing is already creating pressure on Third World nations to NOT industrialize further — in terms of creating their own factories and modern farms. Nations that can produce a lot of food at home can grow in population and deny foreign imports from the West. Through its globalization tricks, Western corporations really want to penetrate more foreign agricutlure markets and buy up infrastructure, to make emerging countries dependent.
Don’t get me wrong. I hate pollution and love the Earth. But most people don’t even realize the goofy focus on CO2 really won’t be aimed at the huge polluters that are wrecking our Earth with emmissions and slop far worse than CO2. And if the focus is shifted to the big polluters, the costs will be transferred to the consumers and taxpayers instead. There’s much more to it, but that’s what I’ll say for now.
What do you drink when you are thirsty?
SunRype pure unsweetened apple Juice from Kelowna, B.C. mixed with cold tap water.
Everyone likes water.
I love water. All my life, I’ve lived within walking distance of the Pacific. There are rivers and lakes all over the place here on Vancouver Island, although I do most of my swimming at a private pool. The best part of every morning is the shower. I could stand under the hot water for an hour; that is, if I had the time and the hot water. Pedestrians scatter when it rains. I like to walk in it, if it’s not too cold or windy.
Could you or would you live in a desert?
I’m not sure about living in a desert, though I would love to see some serious desert action. The Painted Desert. The Kyzyl Kum. The Tarim basin. The Libyan Desert. The Empty Quarter. And so on. Yeah, I’m a West Coast guy who’s always lived around rainforests, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. But there’s something about deserts and wide open drylands that’s really fascinating. Maybe the desert represents an exotic, alien landscape that brings about a certain unique state of mind. Or maybe it brings about a sense of being so small and self-less on a plain that goes on forever, from horizon to horizon. Or maybe it represents a true human challenge, a gauntlet to test your endurance. I’m not sure yet, but I want to find out.
Which Think Tanks do you follow/read up on?
Everyone should educate themselves on the Council on Foreign Relations, which is based in New York City. The private CFR thinktank is so powerful, with so many US statesmen and corporate heads as members, that it has been described as an unofficial fourth tier of the US government. Most every elite in US federal politics is either a member, or somehow associated with the CFR. It formulates a number of big policies, promotes them through the government and media, and most everyone in the world is unaware of this process. The CFR doesn’t control everything, but it sure is simply more than your average thinktank. It’s more of an elite constituency.
I perused the Terror Timeline website, good stuff.
Excellent, thanks for checking it out. Now and again, keep randomly reading articles from the Terror Timeline, and other websites that explore what happened on 9/11. One thing will lead to another, and soon you will be able to prove to anyone by using North America’s best sources that the official story of 9/11 is riddled with controversies, unanswered questions, and outright lies. Repeat: the official story is false. That’s disturbing, yes. More importantly, it’s also the truth, and it’s always best to look for the truth and speak it, even if it clashes with things you previously believed.
What is the best unsubstainsiated conspiracy theory out there? Meaning you can’t prove it one way or the other.
Hmmm, I try to stay away from theories that have no evidence behind them. I’ve read that the highest of the Western elite are called the Illuminati. I’ve looked into this and it all appears extremely unsubstantiated. In fact, it appears to be total nonsense. The elite are shrewd billionaires and managers, many of whom have their money & power carefully "stealthed" into hundreds of organizations. They are not Luciferian magicians.
Do you practice Buddhism?
No, but I’ve studied the basics. I don’t think most modern Buddhist scholars and figureheads truly believe that reincarnation exists, or that the soul literally travels through different planes of consciousness. Instead, it’s metaphorical teaching designed for life and death here on Earth. The same could be said for most any religion or philosophy.
What are some of your fears?
While many people fear being alone, I fear not being able to find time alone, at least temporarily. I really appreciate the people in my life, and would do just about anything for them, but they respect that I need space. When we meet again, I’m genuinely happy to see them, and really look forward to more social time — that is, once I get another dose of space in between.
Dr. Jack Kervokian is out of prison he said he is done with suicide assists but did not or will not change his position that led him into jail. Are you pro Kervorkian?
Having an agent of death around like Kevorkian is a big reminder that we need far more emphasis on health care, and life in general — creativity, fitness, happiness, and all that. I don’t think Kevorkian should be severely punished, despite his unhealthy preoccupation with death. Nor should he ever be praised as ‘rescuing’ a victim. He kills people, with their permission, because they apparently ran out of options, and that is just plain sad. But he isn’t the big problem; he’s simply a sign that we failed.
Let’s stop wasting so much money on war, death, and helping the rich get richer. Let’s put that energy into life and creativity instead.
Thanks Dormammu!
