TGIF 2012: Is This The End? Yes!

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been experiencing a strange sense of déjà vu as emails from various readers, friends, associates, total strangers, etc. have once again begun to clog my inbox with requests for my opinion as to whether or not I think the “end of the world” is coming.  Yep… I definitely have a suspicion that I’ve done this before… oh yeah... maybe it’s because I HAVE done this before… several times.  I also suspect this isn’t the last time I’m asked to cover this subject.

Or is it?

I have sat down many times to write this response.  What you’re about to read is by no means my first attempt.  I tried writing about how various doomsdayers have been “pulling the apocalypse fire alarm,” but it just felt like I was spewing out more of the same old rhetoric. 

Then I thought about discussing how afraid I am of people, more specifically those whose belief in Friday’s apocalypse could cause them to snap.  But… honestly… I think people have enough to be sad and/or worried about right now, after the events of recent days. 

Then I tried to just write up a generic “No” answer of some kind… to put it simply, that one really sucked. 

Then I tried to pen a more clever response as to why the world will NOT end on Friday, December 21, 2012… that one sucked even worse. 

Something just didn’t seem right about answering with my usual “No, the end is not nigh” response, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

Then I was struck by a new thought—“You know what? Why not say this IS the end?”

That’s right… I’m saying it.

The end is nigh, folks!  Armageddon is at hand!

Okay, it's probably not… but bear with me, here.  Don’t misunderstand… I’m not suggesting that you run out and spend your life savings on first aid supplies and canned meats.

Far from it.

I’m telling everyone to stop with the prepping… stop with the worrying… stop with the speculating… and get busy with the LIVING.  I think it’s totally irrelevant whether or not the end of the world is upon us, to be honest with you.

I mean… wouldn’t it be awesome if for the next couple of days we could all pretend that these are our last days on Earth?  Who cares if all this “TGIF 2012” insanity turns out to be “real” or not.  I’ve never been one to put much stock in “real” things.

Therefore… for the very first time (or is it the very last time?)… I’m not going to tell you all that this is not the end of all things.  I’m telling you we should just ACT like it’s the end.

What a beautiful thing it would be, in my humble opinion, if every single one of us could take this opportunity to live these next few days as if they are our last.  I can think of few things more joyous than to have the chance to live, for even but a day, as if there’s no tomorrow.

Between now and Friday… I challenge YOU, my fellow human, to live as you have never lived before.  Here are a few suggestions, just to get the ball rolling:

 

·         Take that risk you never took but always wished you had

·         Go on a trip to that place you’ve dreamed of visiting but have always postponed

·         Tell your children how much you love them and how proud of them you are

·         Make sure that the ones you love KNOW they are loved

·         If you don’t have someone to love… go out and find one

·         Give out free hugs

·         Forgive someone… and make sure they know it

·         For goodness sakes, call your mother!

·         Go talk to some old people… they have the best stories

·         Cross a thing or two off that bucket list of yours

I just cannot fathom how any of the above actions could do significant harm to anyone.  To me, these all sound like much better ways to spend your final days than buying more firearms, ammo, and cup ramen in preparation for an inevitable end that in reality you won’t be able to do a damn thing to stop.

Personally, if I flip on the news on Friday morning and Chris Hansen is telling viewers to place their heads between their legs and kiss their butts goodbye, I sure as hell don’t plan to waste another moment worrying about it.  Not… ONE … PRECIOUS… SECOND.  I will simply do as much living and loving as I am able in the time I have left.  The rest is up to God, as far as I am concerned.

[FYI – if you see me running by stark naked, wearing cheap sunglasses, carrying a large bottle of top shelf tequila, singing Bon Jovi’s ‘Blaze of Glory’ at the top of my lungs and heading for the nearest rooftop… well, you might (after you’re done recoiling in horror, of course) want to make your peace with whatever form of God you wish.  Or, for my atheist friends, just make peace.]

The nice thing is that we don’t even have to stop doing this after Friday!

If the day of reckoning comes and goes and all is the same as it ever was… just LIVE. Truly, passionately, and without reservation, I beg you to squeeze the very marrow of life from the bones of this existence with which we’ve all been blessed.

Live as you have never before lived, in the manner you have always wanted.  As long as it does no harm, then I say more power to you.

Love with all the passion in your heart… love until you’re exhausted.

And bollocks to all the rest.

I love you all… even those of you I’ve never met.

Now put down the SPAM, get off your butt, come out of your basement, and go do some living while there’s still living to be done!

I’ll be seeing everyone at the post-apocalyptic after party… again.  This will be the third time in my life that I’ve had the chance to attend a “Yay, the world didn’t end!” soirée.  And it probably won’t be the last.

The Mythology of Supernatural, Bargain Sale on Amazon (and some other minor news)

Hey Folks,

I have not had very much time to devite to the blog, lately... apologies. But I assure you that it is for good reason.  If you've been paying attention to my Twitter or Facebook posts, then you already know that I have been in the process of hammering out a book proposal and sample chapter for a new project over the last month or two.

I will be posting more details regarding the new project when/if everything passes muster with the publisher.

In the meantime, I just wanted to let everyone know that The Mythology of Supernatural is currently available on Amazon at a Bargain Price of only $6.00. From what I understand, supplies are limited so if you want one you should go get it.

Here is the link: http://amzn.com/B0085S1ECM

All my best and I'm sorry for not posting much lately... but I promise to start posting more frequently here on the blog very soon.

And, as always, thanks for everyone's interest and support.

Nathan

The Mythology of Supernatural, Reader Question Response(s) #5

This installment of my Reader Question Response will be a bit of an omnibus. There have been a number of general questions I have received from readers over the last few months that have fairly simple answers, and don't really warrant separate blog posts.

Since all of the below Reader Questions are actually consolidations of various but similar questions asked by multiple readers, I won't be crediting the questions to anyone in particular as I usually do.

So, if one of these questions was/is yours, please do not be offended that I didn't call you out by name. That is not my intention... and feel free to claim it in the comments.

So, without further ado ... here are my responses.

Question 1: Will there be a new version/update to The Mythology of Supernatural?
To my knowledge, there are no current plans by the publisher to have me write a new version of the book. This doesn't mean it won't happen. It just means they haven't asked me to do one yet. Anything is possible, I guess. However, this is why I decided to post the Supernatural Updates here on my blog... just in case they don't. Also, just so you know ... if the publisher does ask me to write a new version of the book, I promise I will say "yes."

Question 2: When is your next book coming out?
To be honest, this has been a slow year (which is kind of nice, since last year was a bit crazy for me). However, I do have at least one semi-new title scheduled for release this year. The book will be my commercial rewrite of a text I originally worte for an academic audience: The Rape of Lilith. I will be rewriting this book, which is a comprehensive timeline that examines the mythical figure of Lilith from ancient mythology to her depictions in modern-day pop culture. As of right now, I plan to release the rewrite of The Rape of Lilith by october 15th 2012. I also have a new fiction project I am currently working on, and it's a concept that I am very excited about. Unfortunately, it's a bit too early for me to discuss any of the details here on the blog. When I get a bit closer to having a finished manuscript, I will see about posting some more info about that project. So it may be a month or two before I can really talk about it on the internet.

Question 3: Why haven't you done many lectures/public appearances this year?
Last year I did nearly a dozen public appearances, interviews, lectures, etc. ... which was far more than I had ever done... and I mean EVER... more than I had done in my entire previous career combined. And it really wiped me out. It was a lot of traveling and a lot of prep work, which kind of cut into my writing time. So I am trying to take it a bit easier this year. For now, I only have one appearance scheduled, for A-Kon 2012 in Dallas, TX (I will post more details about this as we get closer to the date). There have been some whispers about me attending Comic-Con San Diego this year at the Penguin/Berkley booth... but since there have been whispers about this for several years, and I have never actually been given a slot, I am trying not to get my hopes up.

Okay folks... these are my Reader Question Responses for now. I actually have a pretty cool mythology-related reader question that I plan to address later in the week.

Until then, stay cool my little chik-a-dees! Be well! And remember...

If you ever find yourself wondering "Why is that frisbee getting bigger?"
Don't think too hard and just be patient... it'll hit you.

As always, questions about the Mythology of Supernatural book and/or the mythology of something they have done on the show can be submitted to me here in the blog comments, in the "Discussion" section of my Amazon page (http://amazon.com/author/nathanrbrown), or via Tweet or DM on Twitter (Twitter ID: NatRBrown).

Just Clearing Some Things Up!

Hello, folks.

So I am going to be posting a number of all-new, Supernatural related posts over the next three agonizing weeks, as we all wait for the show to return form yet ANOTHER break.

Is it just me, or have they done an unusually high number of breaks this season?

Anyway.

Lately, it seems there have been some rather interesting though somewhat incorrect things going around the internet regarding me. None of it is BAD, necessarily … and I certainly don’t want people to think that I get upset every time someone mentions me online. I do not. In fact, I encourage it.

By all means … mention my work online to your heart’s content.

Seriously, I can always use the publicity.

However, that being said, I do try to clear things up when things are posted online, about me or my work, that are inaccurate and/or misleading. Mainly because this prevents uncomfortable situations for me and my readers … especially in those times when I have been at public appearances and some poor misguide soul has stood up during the Q & A to blindside me with some weird question that I don't know how to answer without making him or her feel silly … which usually goes something like this:
“So I read this thing online that said you [insert rumor here]. Is that true?”

So … the point of today’s blog post is for me to clear up some of these things.

Misleading Internet Rumor #1: “Nathan Robert Brown is ‘close friends’ with Jensen Ackles.” (or “N. R. Brown works with Jensen Ackles”)
No … totally not true. I mean, I have nothing against the guy, but it’s not like the two of us hang out or have long chats on the phone.

I honestly think this rumor got started because, yes, I DID go to Apollo Junior High at the same time and in the same grade as Jensen Ackles. But that's where the connection between he and I ends.

When we were in the 7th grade, Jensen was a “cool kid” that the girls used to swoon over. And, back then anyway, I was a chubby socially awkward kid that the girls used to laugh at, if they noticed me at all. By the 8th grade, thank God, I had a growth spurt and did some weight lifting, and eventually managed to find a place for myself among the “metalheads” and misfits, whereas Jensen mainly hung out with the jocks and the “cool kids”.

So, even back in junior high, the two of us were not exactly friends. I have not even seen the guy since I was in the 9th grade, right before my parents shipped my trouble-making butt off to military school. And even then I just saw the guy in passing.

We are not buddies ... nor do we work together.

So ... please, please, PLEASE. Do not come to one of my appearances and ask me questions about Jensen Ackles (unless they’re related to the show or the book, of course). I have not seen him, aside from on a TV screen, in nearly 20 years … and I honestly have no idea what the guy is like these days.

I assume he’s still a good person.

Misleading Internet Rumor #2: “Nathan Robert Brown was once rescued from bullies by Jensen Ackles.”
Okay … this one is actually kind of true. But the whole thing was not quite as dramatic as it has been made to sound in most of the online forums.

Sigh … I guess I have no choice but to finally tell this story.

To be honest, I doubt that it was all that big of a deal to Jensen. But to me, at the time, it kind of was.

In the 7th grade, I was a new kid in a new school.

And it didn’t help that I was a chubby, socially awkward bookworm who spoke Japanese (in a place where NO ONE spoke it), talked about anime, and loved comic books. That was not a good year for me, needless to say. Pretty much the only thing I remember from the 7th grade is being “pantsed” in the hall, having my head shoved in toilets (“swirlies” they were called), and being a regular target for wedgies all the time.

And rarely, if ever, did anyone stick up for me.

Well, one day a group of jocks (who shall remain nameless) were in the process of shoving me into a bathroom stall, for yet another round of “Let’s stick the nerd’s head in the toilet and flush.”

At that moment Jensen and another kid, Chris Dowling (who, by the way, is now the director of the TV show Repo Games) just happened to be in the bathroom. Chris lived a few houses down from me back then, and I have to tell you that he is definitely one of the nicest and most talented people I have ever met.

“Come on, guys,” Chris said to them. “What are you doing to him?”

“We’re gonna shove his head in the toilet,” one of them replied.

“Why,” Jensen spoke up. “What did he do?”

“Nothing,” one of them laughed. “It’s just fun.”

“Let him go,” Chris told them.

“Seriously,” Jensen chimed in. “Five of you guys are gonna shove this poor kid around? What the hell? He can’t even fight back. That’s just stupid.”

Long story short … they let me go.

And that’s the story. Probably not quite as dramatic as what some people may be thinking. And, as I’ve already stated, this probably did not seem like a very big deal to either of them, Jensen or Chris. I highly doubt that either of them even remembers doing it.

But I have to admit that, at this time in my life, it was sort of a big deal to me… mainly because I was so grateful that I wasn't going to have to (yet again) go through the rest of my day with people asking me why my shirt was soaked.

Luckily, when I came back to school the next year I was nearly a foot taller, had been training to fight all summer, and was about 165 pounds of pure muscle. So I didn’t need much protecting by the time the 8th grade rolled around.

Misleading Internet Rumor #3: “Nathan Robert Brown is a ‘famous TV writer.’"
This is just completely untrue … I do not and have never written anything for television. It’s not that I am opposed to the idea or anything. I just have never had a reason or an opportunity to do so. Which is fine with me … I like writing books, because I know that people are going to read what I create. The only people who read what TV writers create are actors, producers, and the like. Nothing wrong with that...but I do prefer writing books.

In any case, I think I have finally figured out how this one got started. Apparently, a former student of mine (probably from back when I was a GTA teaching Freshman English at either Midwestern State or University of Texas Arlington) posted this on a Reddit forum.

I don’t think the student did this on purpose, though.

You see, I signed my contract to write The Mythology of Supernatural around the same time that I decided to abandon my plans to obtain a Ph.D., just taking the master’s degree I already had and running like hell.

I explained to my Freshman English students at the time that they would be my last class for a while, possibly ever, because I was leaving academia for a job in the private sector as a Tech Writer. I also told them that I had gotten a new book contract. Some students asked me what Supernatural was, and I explained to them that it was a TV show. Apparently, this particular student was confused and thought that I was leaving the university to go write for a TV show instead of just writing a book about a TV show.


Well…those are about as many internet rumors as I have the energy to address for now.

I will be posting both a reader response and a Mythology of Supernatural update later on this week.

As always … thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU.

Sincerely, thank you for the support and interest in what I do!

Sorry Folks

Hey everyone,

My most sincere apologies for not having posted a Mythology of Supernatural update in a while.

First, I realized that I didn't really have much to add to the conversation on the subject of Kronos... at least, not anything that couldn't be just as easily found with a simple google search anyway.

Then we had another hellatus.

And now that I need to research and write my post on the lore of Amazonian women, I am just really busy and preoccupied with other stuff.

So ... I am VERY, VERY, VERY sorry that I haven't posted that yet. I will try my best to get it posted up before tomorrow's new episode of Supernatural.

And I will even make a deal with you ... if I fail to post the new update tomorrow, I will post two updates next week as well as a Reader Question Response (I have a few of those that I have been meaning to answer, anyway).

So do we have a deal?

My thanks to everyone, as always, for your interest in and support of the work I do...whether that's Supernatural-related or just my writing/books in general. Without you folks, I would be out of a job. And you are VERY appreciated.

I am out of this hizzee!

The Mythology of Supernatural, Update #6: The Vetala

So, Bobby Singer is gone. RIP… idjit. (or please, please, please come back to the show, Jim! We MISS YOU ALREADY!)

But that is not what I am here to discuss. This week’s update will discuss the mythology surrounding the Vetala, the new baddie featured on last week’s episode.

Vetala are somewhat similar to a Chinese monster called the Chiang-Shih, in that both are angry spirits that assume physical form as corpses in order to drink the blood (or eat the flesh) of the living. However, the Vetala does have some unique points.

Unlike a Chiang-Shih, which is reanimated in its own corpse, a Vetala has the power to possess corpses in general (and apparently this includes the corpses of hot chicks, according to the portrayal on Supernatural). In other words, if you don’t gank one of these things the right way and instead just destroy the corpse by conventional means, then the Vetala’s wrathful spirit will just find another corpse to possess. This is probably why Vetala are often depicted as taking up residence in graveyards or funerary-related locations, since that offers a fresh supply of corpses to inhabit). These angry spirits, you see, are often said to be the result of a person not being given the proper funeral rites after death.

On Supernatural, they claimed that the only way to take one out was to stick a silver blade in its heart and twist … which turned out to be pretty difficult for anyone but Krissy (by the way, I’d like to give some props to Madison Blaine for doing such a kickass job as guest star).

In the Vedic mythical tradition, the only surefire way to send a Vetala packing was to find its original body and conduct a proper funeral. However, if the original body cannot be found, some Hindu stories seem to suggest that simply giving a proper funeral (burial or cremation) to whatever body the Vetala currently inhabits will also do the trick.

While the whole “silver knife stick and twist” method may not be part of the traditional Vetala myth, it does make a kind of sense in that silver is a pretty universal anti-monster-weapon material in mythical traditions in many different cultures, including Hindu.

One last note of interest is a similarity between Vetala and a particular aspect that is also found in Hebrew/Mesopotamian/Middle Eastern tales regarding the Jinn. Since a Vetala, as a spirit, has been freed from the confines of its physical body, then it possess “otherworldly” knowledge. This means that conjurers, necromancers, etc. went to great lengths in order to trap themselves one of these spirits. This was often done by chanting of special mantras or through the use of dark magic. This aspect of Vetala lore is comparable to available Judaic myths that portray sorcerers and/or practitioners of Kabbalah (such as the legendary King Solomon of Islamic and Judeo-Christian myths) using special spells, symbols, and/or incantations in order to trap and/or manipulate the powers of Jinn (or demons).

Well this is my Mythology of Supernatural update for this week!

I am going to try to answer as many of the Reader Questions I received over the holidays as I can in the coming weeks…so keep an eye out for those, if you’ve been waiting for me to answer one of your questions.

As always, questions about the Mythology of Supernatural book and/or the mythology of something they have done on the show can be submitted to me here in the blog comments, in the "Discussion" section of my Amazon page (http://amazon.com/author/nathanrbrown), or via Tweet or DM on Twitter (Twitter ID: NatRBrown).

I will see everyone tonight for live tweets during Supernatural!

As always…my most sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone in the Supernatural fandom for the support and interest so many of you have so selflessly given to The Mythology of Supernatural!