Haus of Rhi

Once upon a time, tanks could dance. One of my favorite parts of creating the world in Piaffe revolved around the insigni. I'll admit that my inspiration was born in Vienna, Austria at the Spanish Riding School where, at the age of five, I had the pleasure of straddling the back of a Lipizzaner mare. She was huge. Enormous. Fluid. Exploring the abilities of the mundane horse, the years of training required to perform complex maneuvers which the Spanish Riding School teaches, and extrapolating the possibilities of combining those with a sharp intellect and an aware mind, led to the evolution of the equine soldier. Forging that image in the reader's mind was a bit of a challenge. I see their towering presence in my head, but how could I convey it? I could see them moving in my head, but how does one describe it?

(L to R) Mary-el, Lumina, and Deviant Moon tarots. Love's a state of mind. "This is the story of an old Welsh witch." Do you know that song? In the society and time from which tarot originated (to our best estimations), arranged marriages were a norm. Marriage was a contract for political or financial gain. Lovers were an expense, a luxury, a potential weakness for exploitation, an opportunity to further one's interest, garner favor, and increase power. The Lovers is a card associated with the element of air. I also associate this card with Gemini, the Twins, as well as Yin and Yang. I see it as an allusion to balances of power between myself and others, about power plays and relationships and connections, none of them necessarily romantic or sexual. This card speaks to me of othila  and ehwaz , of group souls, and links between people -- the ancestral connection, the collective unconscious.

(From L: Mary-el, Arcana, Lumina, Darkana, Wooden) The Wheel of Fortune in the traditional tarot structure is customarily portrayed as a wheel construct or form. The cyclic nature of life, of seasons, the constancy of only one thing -- change -- is inherent in this card's meaning and interpretation. For me personally, this card evokes a theme introduced early in life while still beneath the influence of religious upbringing. And despite the deviation of my spiritual path away from those teachings, I find that some truths are simply universal and cannot be claimed, contained, or constrained by any particular faith or path. In Hinduism, it is dharma, the principle of cosmic order. In the West, it is Ecclesiastes 3, written by Solomon, recognized as a king of Israel by both Muslims and Judeo-Christians. There is a time and a place for everything, a season for everything under the sun. The Wheel: Fortuna, the heartless and unbiased goddess of Luck and Chance. The Orbweav...

I figured I should offer an update on what's going on over here in the mayhem that is my Writing Corner. Well, I was feeling slumped and distinctly lacking motivational drive to work on the WIP projects that were on the top of the "To Do" list. It was that "ehhh" sensation, where as a writer or artist, it's best to step away from a project and focus on something else. Or take a break completely, a vacation from effort to rediscover some vigor. And then my dear friend, the Wielder of Claymores and Hand Grenades, sent me a catalyst of sorts.

Although much of Blacker Than Black  was created with trance music for my writing space, there are a number of songs that resonated with the story and with certain scenes or muse-moods when I was struggling through a certain passage of prose. Without further ado, I give you the music of BTB:

I've still four pages of transcribing to complete to get caught up. Some days it's a more daunting task than it should be. I procrastinated with constructing an Eclectic Playlist the other day.(It's hard work, trolling through five decades of BillBoard chart-toppers.) And discovered a very old song that, oddly, I recalled from my childhood and didn't realize was an actual song . When I was a wee mite of a thing, back in the day of Troglodytes and Tyrannosaurs, I had this clunky wind-up music box thing. It was designed to withstand the abusive adoration and overuse that a child like me would give it. It had cartoon pictures of bumblebees, and doves, and apple trees...

It's official: Black has found a home at Riptide Publishing . A newly formed, not-yet-launched small press, Riptide has gathered together a bevy of reputable names for its stable in its first-round selection. There's no such thing as open subs at this joint. It's by invitation or referral only. And Black is sitting pretty over there, grinning like a loon and feeling a tad bit out of place to say the least. Sort of like the college quarterback that gets picked up as a first-round draft pick by the team they've grown up rooting for. Then again, seeing as how I  am one of the first-round selections... perhaps that isn't an entirely accurate analogy. But it's kinda how the "n00b" over here feels. Just a wee bit. I mean, check out that list of authors! It's like a who's who in M/M. Makes me feel a little... well. A few different songs come to mind.

This must be the theme song for my muses. They never end up being what I expect them to be, and sometimes I wonder if people will like them for what they are. To say they are a strange, off-the-beaten-path group is an understatement. I know I'm not the only writer out there who has these types of muses. Who feels the need, occasionally, to tone back a little in order to not offend the entire readership base. I get that readers want to read what they like. Totally. And publishers only want to print what's going to sell. As I see it, though, the problem becomes then -- who pushes the envelope? Who writes that book that encourages the reader to see things from a different perspective, to think outside the box, to understand something beyond their comfort zone? Readers don't often read to be challenged, though. They do it for escapism, or to pretend they're in the story. Well, I do too... but my escapism stories would have most other readers pissing their pants, I imagi...

Toward the goal of delving into the facets of the soldier's psyche, I've been wanting to watch the film "Restrepo" for some time. Limited theater engagements meant waiting until the movie released to dvd. It was a long wait, but well worth it. Ironic that, as with CSM Prosser's valiance being witnessed and recorded by embedded journalist Michael Yon in 2005 , and subsequently recognized and rewarded, Giunta's actions were likewise witnessed and recorded. The Sal Giunta Story from SebastianJunger/TimHetherington on Vimeo . Giunta makes a very valid statement in this interview. "Fuck you," he says. Every soldier he's served with, he explains, deserves the recognition for their service that he's received. I watched the movie, earlier today. Many poignant moments trapped on film, and no doubt I'll watch it many more times, to view them again and again. The movie isn't filled with graphic gun-fighting though. And that's not ...