Chaos in Death by J. D. Robb

I told y’all I wasn’t done with J. D. Robb. Nope. Not at all. I have one more Robb session before Devoted in Death comes raining down in September. So that means for the rest of the summer my posts should be Robb free. (Sure. Totally commited to that idea.)

Nonetheless, for this final time, I want to talk about another Robb short, Chaos in Death. If you look closely at the image, you’ll notice that I checked out the large-print edition from my local public library (yay for using those facilities). It was the only copy they had of the anthology that contained the short story. So I figured why not.

Chaos in Death (In Death #33.5) opens with New York homicide lieutenant, Eve Dallas, reporting to the scene of a triple homicide.  Said homicide consists of three junkies, once squatting in an abandoned building where their bodies are found. Each appear murdered by three different methods–giving Eve the feeling there was possibly more than one murderer. Additionally, each of the three respectively have an ear, eye, or tongue removed. The connection between the junkies and the abandoned building leads Eve to a rehabilitation clinic, where she learns the three were having treatments for their drug addiction problems. Further inquires into the clinic uncovers the development of a treatment concocted to combat drug addiction, via a natural-based serum.

Before long an eye-witness turns up claiming to have seen a goblin-like creature prancing and skipping away from the crime scene.  With a sketch of the creature in hand, Eve’s investigation takes on a darker turn.  Now she suspects this natural serum created in the clinic may be the source behind the chaos she’s officially stepped into.

Buffy Season Ten Still Tops!

My love for Buffy and friends is never ending. Since I was fourteen, she’s been my best friend–and I’m glad to say she’s still managing so even in comic form. Now with that little gush out of the way, let’s get into my itty-bitty thoughts on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer Season Ten Volume Two, I Wish.

Per graphic novel standards, I Wish follows immediately behind the previous entry, New Rules. We learned that at the end of Season Eight, Buffy destroyed the existence of magic on the Earthly plane. By the end of Season Nine, she restored magic to save her sister, Dawn. However, the restoration of magic comes void of rules, leaving Buffy and her friends to rewrite its laws.  But there's a large catch. Rewriting the laws of magic is privy to creating a “monkey’s paw” effect. What is that you ask? Well, it’s having a wish granted with some ugly–many times drastic–side effects. (Background: The term “monkey’s paw” is derived from a short horror story of the same name, written by W. W. Jacobs. In Jacobs’ “Monkey’s Paw," a sergeant of the British Army is given a magical monkey’s paw that grants him three wishes. Wary of the consequences, the sergeant tries to relieve himself of the paw. Unfortunately, his family obtains it and proceeds to have their wishes granted. In turn, this leads to… well… I'll let you discover the rest.)

Nevertheless, drawing back to my point, Buffy and her friends are aware of this (they've had years of experience with the repercussion of magic). So given the power to recreate the rules of magic, without careful and hyper-unambiguous wording on their part, could obliterate everything they’ve worked so hard to protect.  Seriously, Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles were the guardians of the Hellmouth back when Sunnydale was sunny.  Now they've graduated to guardians of Earth where the stakes are too astronomical to even think about.  Obviously no one is touching rewriting magic before all thoughts of reason are considered, assembled, and re-assembled by all parties involved (which includes every filum of monsters outside of the Slayer's nucleus).  Until then, creating the rules of magic is off limits.

Except Buffy and her friends aren’t so free of the beneficial possibilities and potentials recreating the rules could have on their personal and individual circumstances. Nor is the new trio of mega-Big Bads trying to pick Buffy's team off to rewrite their own, destructive rules. And this is where I Wish truly, and I mean truly, earns its title.  Simply stated, I Wish maintains the character-driven atmosphere loved most inside the Buffyverse.

Help Me Utilize Laura's Couch

I have to find a good place to start with how I concluded my experience and understanding of How to Rule the World from Your Couch by Laura Day.  Without rambling, of course.  

I picked Couch up from my public library’s self-help section. Now did the “self-help” in self-help apply once I finished reading it? I’m… honestly… not sure.  I’m leaning toward accepting it has, considering I read the book cover to back without skipping any pages. So I was dedicated and invested, though not totally convinced of Day's self-help methodologies. Conversely, in a subliminal pull, I kept reading because the cover seemed so comfortable and promising in itself.  Don't you agree?

Nonetheless, let me run down Day’s unique (though not nearly so) approach to self-help.  She insists on the highly necessary use of our natural intuition to supply the assistance we need to produce positive changes in our lives. According to her, we could use our intuition to manifest (though she may not use that word) financial, relationship, and business changes. Furthermore, her definition of intuition comes sub-categorized and packaged into applications of mediumship, telepathy, body heat telepathy, remote viewing, precognition, and healing. I know, right. Sounds a little too supernatural and occultist. Personally, these subjects aren’t new to me.  I spent my teens researching all things related, and my 20s consuming books written by famed psychic, Sylvia Browne (God rest her soul). Nevertheless, it appears Day takes the psychic/supernatural element out of these subjects and rearranges them with a less than esoteric definition.

Let's Play The Evil Within - The Consequence

The is the last portion of The Evil Within’s Juli Kidman’s DLC.  It’s all over at this point.  Her tie with MOBIUS has come to an end after she decides to turn against them for the protection of her partners and her retrieval assignment, Lesley.  Watch me replay and finally conclude (although it’s a replay) her story.  Additionally, finally squash the monster Shade.  I’m going to miss my time with Juli.  I really, really enjoyed our time!  Even those stressful moments!

~7. Back 2 High School - Towel Style ~

And for the next batch of pages from my junior year comic....  Confrontations and battle scenes.

Rhonda Byrne's Hero

Okay. So let’s keep it 100% funky. You all know about Rhonda Byrne. If you were alive in 2006, and well outside of pre-school, then you’re familiar with this lady. She’s the creator of The Secret–both the film and book. And while her philosophies, ideas, and self-help methods were nothing new (start by looking up Ester Hicks); it ushered in a tsunami of law of attraction seekers looking to reclaim their lives with the power of positive thinking. From Oprah to the New York Times bestsellers, Byrne and her Secret were everywhere. She became global, with her book translated in over 50 languages while selling double-digits by millions. Naturally, when someone reaches an audience this wide and varied with a belief so nonconformist, controversy comes intact. Therefore, while those following Byrne believed they could create change in their lives with positive thinking (financial or otherwise), there were those who felt Byrne's belief created harm by deluding those who followed it.

When it comes to self-help and positive thinking, I take a more Louise Hay approach. However, that’s not to negate that I didn’t find Hay via the popularity of The Secret. I was working at Borders in 2006; I saw the crowds, processed the orders, stocked the shelves, and shared conversations with excited consumers of The Secret. I even fought with a manager about The Secret’s relevance and system. So, yes, I indulged in The Secret's fame and ideas.   I believed that maybe I could find my way into an art school, own a reliable laptop, and find a better job by applying Byrne’s borrowed principles. Except for one other desire, that I shall not name, I can say eventually the things I wanted to create happened. Was it The Secret? I can’t say because they all happened in their own time.


Nonetheless, I lost touch with The Secret as I moved into Louise Hay’s territory. I even sold my copy of the book to put gas in my car for a trip home. A couple of years ago, I restocked my shelf when I found it at a used bookstore. Just for safekeeping, I suppose.

I don’t like to make any claims without specific examples. I don’t like to push, but rather suggest.  But what I will say, and stand behind as it concerns The Secret, is that life is so much better when you at the very least give yourself some kind of hope and will to believe. So I may not quite realize whether positive thinking can bring me a bouquet of flowers, but I can appreciate rearranging my thoughts and emotions outside of the doldrums of negativity.  Negativity is poison.  And if you dislike being around someone who wallows in it, then chances are that sometimes include yourself.  


This leads me to Byrne’s latest (I think out of four publications), Hero. It became my bedtime read, or something to relax with.  What Byrne and her new team of influential people do in Hero is map readers along a path headed toward his or her personal idea of success. It’s nowhere near as industrial or even utilitarian as it sounds, so don’t expect anything close to something written by Robert Kiyosak or Napoleon Hill. No, Hero is a lot softer; but, frankly, heavily clichéd. That’s not to say it isn’t inspiring–as the true gem comes from Byrne’s success team sharing their personal stories. However, as the material goes, I would file it under a “heard it all before” heading. Though worth the retelling, I should add. Seriously, this stuff never gets old.

Byrne splits Hero into parts, and uses the Hero’s Journey monomyth as the layout to deliver. So there’s the induction of you–the hero–being called to adventure (realizing your dream).  From there you'll refuse the call, take on tests and tasks, gain allies and make enemies, and then hit the road back home to help others. All of this, once again, implemented with stories and ideas relating what we face on the path toward our dreams. And like I said, it’s all very cliché. Anyone picking up this book should know by now the importance of being true to yourself. Or following your bliss toward success. The same can be said for the importance of practicing gratitude in the face of adversity. As well as believing in yourself when the “chips are down.” (See what I did there?) The chapter on naysayers and allies breeds the same overused message of ignoring those pesky negative Nancy people, and fostering good relationships with those who are in support of you.  So like I said, all of this and more are present and in use here.  Also, there are no definitive tools and exercises given to either combat obstacles or uphold your stance on staying on the "hero’s path."  However, there are suggestions–though what I saw as light and apparent ones. 

There are no degrees to reading and applying self-help books.  So I saw Hero as something more for those dedicated to Byrne post The Secret, or those new to self-help as a whole. Then again, it’s perfect for people like myself that need a burst of motivation during a trying time.

And in saying that, I must share my favorite passages from the book before I have to return it to the library.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

When we see someone follow their dream, we can get the mistaken idea that they must have had privileges to be able to do it.  In fact, it happens the other way around; it's when you decide to take the leap into the Hero's Journey that the privileges come.  When you commit to your dream, it's as though any person who can help you with your dream is summoned by the Universe to be right there for you with everything you need at the exact time you need it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

If your commitment begins to waver at any time on the Hero's Journey, through disappointment, rejected, or something that didn't go the way you thought it would go, those are the times when you need to remind yourself that you are always being moved to your dream in the way that will bring about the greatest outcome.

 ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Unless you want to wake up and do the same thing every day, you need to be a fighter.  You need to be a warrior if you want to make a difference, if you want to be significant.  I wanted to be significant.  I wanted to do things that would change my life, and would change people's lives.  I cannot be ordinary.

  ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

When your work is your bliss, you will be happy.  Doing a job you think you should do instead of doing what you love is leading a false life.  So many precious people are living a life that has been put upon them by well-meaning parents, teachers, or society, or even by a friend or partner, and they're miserable.  We're seeing the evidence of the misery in people through the alarming increase of mental health problems in the world.  Shut out what everyone else thinks, have the courage to follow your own bliss, and you will be immensely happy.

 ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.  And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  If you haven't found it yet, keep looking and don't settle.

  ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Many people give up on their dreams or don't even begin to pursue them because from where they are standing they can't see the whole path to their dream.  You will never see the whole path ahead, and so you will never know how your dream is going to come true.  No successful person has ever known how his or her dream would happen.  They simply believed that it would happen, and did not give up until it had.

 ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Let's Play: The Evil Within ~ The Assignment

I’m always hyped and down for a strong female lead in any form of media. So without a doubt, one of the best sources of such is in video games. That’s why I’m really loving The Evil Within’s Juli Kidman, and is extra pleased that she has received two DLC (downloadable content) packages to further her character, as well as the core game's story.

Now I don’t want to get into talking about The Evil Within too much. My brief history is that I finally played the game back in December (picked it up in a Redbox first) and thought it was awesome. Except for a handful of technical and story flaws, it was a thrilling entry in the survivor horror genre. I found myself so wrapped in it that I felt that teenage nostalgia series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill built in me. When I upgraded to a PS4 in February, I decided to get The Evil Within again (there’s nothing really out there to play anyway). So I enjoyed the game a second time. Whether it’s surviving zombie hordes, upgrading for bigger battles, or collecting trophies, The Evil Within remains an unforgettable experience. And that’s how I like my games. I need plenty to go after and strong replay value.

As for the newly release DLC, we switch from the core game’s protagonist, Sebastian, and step into his “partner” Kidman. And she is a treat, stomping around with a hostler and stilettos within gameplay that damn near switches completely away from the core game's methods of survival.  Juli operates off stealth and a flashlight.  She's disarmed for most of her scenarios–while finding herself hunted by one of the most macabre game development creatures ever.  And said creature sends my blood pressure through the roof throughout each encounter.  Which only means I'm enjoying myself.  Still, seeing how one-sided Juli appeared as a character within the core story, her four-chapter package shines a light on how she should be recognized as not only a dynamic character, but also a viable hero to The Evil Within.  Honestly, alone, the revelation concerning her background and how she got into her current situation should breed some kind of sympathy for her. 

I knew there was something more too Juli from the jump.  I remember at her appearance in the opening sequence of the core game how I immediately blurted I'd prefer playing as her.  Her DLC package will do, though.  Here it is with the first part of her chapter, The Assignment. On to my replay of the experience…