With the economics not necessarily being in my favor, why do I write stories? Why do I write novels? ...

"As Brett Strongchin watched the Dark General fall, he knew now the world was safe, the Evil Army would be destroyed, he'd get the girl, and all would be well."

Wait a second here . . .

"Kono pointed his finger, and released a blast of Psi-Ki energy equal to 20,000 nova-ing stars, and decimated his opponent. This was easily accomplished, without fears of gravitic distortion, radiation poisoning, control, or a source of energy."

These are hideously egregious examples ...

Years ago, someone told me Star Trek was racist.

This, of course, stunned me. The original series broke down barriers. It dealt with racism. The Next Generation series dealt with issues too, and . . .

No, said this person, the racism was directed towards aliens, many of whom were stereotypical in some way. Humans were diverse, aliens were very much alike, in this persons opinion, each having a set of stereotypical qualities. In short, stereotyped by the writers the way some people may stereotype ethnic groups.

This got ...

I enjoyed talking with my grandfather on many occasions prior to his death and, not surprisingly, our conversations often strayed into the realm of his greatest creation - Dune - and its marketing to the general public. There were many times when Grandpa laughed about this, because he saw Dune as something unique and far removed from the marketable world. Later he began to realize Dune wasn't just unique but was a parable of human life that would endure ...

"Greetings Readers, Watchers and Players alike. Nice world isn't it? Nice that some talented people have poured forth their imaginations and their brilliant minds to create a scenic and deadly world for us to exist, evolve and experience. The world of life ?(i hear myself say). Not so, at least in the proverbial sense anyway. ...