Fairy Tale Spotlight: Ezekiel [Book Review]

"Ezekiel" is the twenty-sixth book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by Ezekiel himself. I always like it when that happens. I have a personal fascination about people who write their own stuff. I like to critique their writing styles. As silly as it sounds, I especially like critiquing writers of the Bible. I feel like I am doing something both wrong and right at the same time. It makes me giggle a little. Sorry.

"Ezekiel" is the personal prophesy of one of the "doom and gloom" prophets of the Old Testament that speaks of the fall of Israel at the hands of Babylon. Like in "Jeremiah," I celebrated this because they totally had it coming. Never in my life have I seen people so stupid... Actually I've seen them other places too... sometimes in modern day.

The thing that sets "Ezekiel" apart from other prophets is his very peculiar visions of cherubim. They are these strange 4-faced creatures that attend to God personally. They look so strange that Ezekiel stumbles over himself trying so very hard to make sure that the description is correct. A lot of people struggle to imagine a proper picture of what he saw, and I guess that means that it is just something so alien that... I guess you just had to be there.

It was very clear from the writing of this book that Ezekiel was seeing a vision. This means that he was not actually in the presence of these alien creatures but merely seeing them from wherever he happened to be here on planet Earth. God chose to let him see a number of things which included an exceedingly boring man made of brass. (More on that later.) There was also a vividly described field of skeletons that have all of there muscles, sinews, and skin slowly reform on them until all the people were revived. This was a parable prophesying the return of the Jews, but damn did it sound creepy! Like awesome in its creepiness! There were some top notch CGI effects used in that one!

The writing of "Ezekiel" is extremely precise even to the point of massive redundancies. It was not as bad as Moses, but I could tell that it was very important to the prophet to make sure everything was as accurate as possible. Many of his sentences have included redundancies as a means to make things ultra clear, and I'll give him credit for doing that. There is also an awesome repetition of "And they shall know that I am the Lord!" It solidifies the anger of God towards these idiots that just won't stop doing the horrible, stupid things that they are doing.

On the latter note, God's ire has pretty much topped off. Ezekiel seems to be the conduit for his anger. I can imagine the man did a lot of yelling. I bet he had some terrifying eyes just to make God's point. It would have interesting to hear his actual voice. I bet he sounded like Alex Jones.

As to the man of brass, he introduces the reader to the final section of the book which is a redo of the Tabernacle dimensions and the laws concerning sacrifice. I had to go through all this twice in the books of Moses, and I really did not need to go through it a third time. It was a pain to read and I was glad when it was over. No real ending to this book. It just stops, and I was glad when it was finally over. All the good stuff in this book is on the first half. The final part of this book is extremely boring and redundant, although that was not the fault of the author at all. It's just a mere fact for someone reading the Bible as a whole.

All said, I do actually recommend "Ezekiel." The first half is rife with strange imagery. And the anger of God is actually rather fun and full of masculine energy. But after you get to the man of brass, I wouldn't blame you if you just moved on. Unless you have an interest in ancient carpentry, there's nothing really here for anyone.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Over-Vilification of Lucifer

I randomly mentioned the title of this blog in my last blog "Misunderstandings About the Bible." If you actually read through the Old Testament, you might not actually feel too angry with Lucifer. Most of my ire went towards the Israelites who, over many generations, proved how stupid human beings as a collective species really are. And while I am really just flabbergasted how evil and horrible these people were, I wasn't really thinking too much about Lucifer.

Even in the Garden of Eden, I wasn't really mad at Lucifer for tempting Eve. If anything he was very helpful in showing a problem that was already brewing within the human race with the very first two test subjects! Thanks Lucifer! You made very clear we've all been dumbasses from the very first! It was a public service, I guess.

Now, just to be clear, Lucifer is actually evil. He is against the way of God. And God is far more righteous than he is by dint of Him being the Creator. If you are a timeless, immaterial being, you automatically get the supreme stamp of righteousness by simply being the standard by which all things come from. Lucifer, although a great angelic being, still exists on our level. He did see himself as getting a raw deal and wanted equity with God. That's bad. He messed up. Even so, he's just one angel. Think of all the billions upon billions of humans that have done the same thing without the help of Lucifer.

Lucifer did not make Eve do what she did. He merely tempted her to prove a valid point. She could have resisted that temptation, but she didn't.... because she was stupid. Adam was stupid too. They were all very, very stupid. You live in the Garden of God, a place of happiness and perfection... and you have one job: don't eat the fruit. Just don't do it. No. Lucifer did not cause the fall of Adam and Eve; he exposed the stupidity of humanity for what it was.

Stop blaming Lucifer for everything. Take responsibility for a change. If you keep blaming an unseen entity for all your problems, what incentive do you even have for improving yourself? Rise above your own failures before you can even bother dealing with the likes of Lucifer. Maybe if you actually do bother, you might actually get his attention, but I can guarantee that the angel doesn't even know who you are. He's not whispering in your ear. He doesn't have to. Most people are perfectly capable of being stupid all on their own. And when the day comes when you have cleaned up your act, and actually have bothered to improve yourself, he might show up and whisper those things. That's the real test. It's a test almost nobody ever gets. Honestly, other than Eve, I only know of Jesus at this point.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Misunderstandings About the Bible

Number 1: The Bible was written by actual human beings. Contrary to the popular belief of most churches, it was not inspired by God, but merely a record or history of events that took place related to the acts of God. (Minus "Song of Solomon" which was garbage.) The book is subject to the respective author's opinion and sometimes that opinion can be a bit ignorant. God did not give us this book, people did. Even so, that does not make the book any less important.

Number 2: Just because someone in the Bible says something, doesn't mean it has to be Christian Law (or a church tenant.) Case in point would be the Ten Commandments, which were intended for a race of people who were so incredibly ridiculous that they needed a list of things of what not to do in order to survive. (And even still they barely even bothered to follow this list.) Number 3 will better explain this.

Number 3: Be absolutely clear who is saying what in the Bible. Are the words coming from God, Jesus, or just some guy? If you are interested in what God the Father thinks, read the words of the prophets. If you are interested in what Jesus the Son thinks, read the Gospels. Anybody else is subject to scrutiny. It doesn't mean they are wrong, but if it doesn't line up with anything God said, then it's suspect. Take it with a grain of salt.

Number 4: Every passage in the Bible has context to it related to the time that it was written. Just taking one passage and interpreting it on its own (eg. John 3:16) is a ridiculous venture that will not fully give a person an understanding of anything in that passage. You have to actually read the passages around it to understand what it actually means. In fact, the whole book that passage is in should be read and understood  in full context. Single passages used alone are not scripture. The whole book is scripture. This is a silly tradition that Christians have perpetuated for ages.

Number 5: God is clearly not subject to your opinion of Him. How you think of Him does not change who or what He is. If you want to get some vague idea of how He operates and such, you can learn much about it from this book, but you need to take everything in and shun nothing that seems inconvenient to you. The Bible has a lot of things in it about God that most churches don't like to talk about (such as the brothel scene with Samson or God repenting of evil several times) but that doesn't mean those things are irrelevant or even unrighteous. Everything about God must be fully understood without overinterpreting it.

Number 6: When many people see something in the Bible they don't understand, they often try to interpret it in a way that has meaning to them. But honestly the way you should handle this is just by saying, "I don't understand this," and move on. Maybe it will come to you later. If you try and make stuff up in your head, you are more likely to create a fiction, and that helps nobody.

Number 7: Just because someone gives you an interpretation you like, doesn't mean its true. Even pastors and priests mess this one up. The best way to read the Bible is to read it yourself and do your best to understand it. There's nothing wrong with discussing it with others, but ultimately try and learn it for yourself. Be an individual.

Conclusion: The more and more I read the Bible, the more I feel like I was undersold the book in my Christian upbringing. It feels like adults are still spinning the nice and friendly "Sunday School" version of the Biblical story and such. It is an amazing book. I'm presently 71% through it. But actually reading it has proven that the story is so much greater than any church or Christian school has bothered to tell me in all my 40 years of living. I must say that God and everything about God is only interesting in this book, and Christians have been really good at making him a boring and pointless "Nothing Creature" suited to please our own egos. (Not to mention the over-vilification of Lucifer.) If you want to know what Christianity is really about, read the book. Just read it. Stop listening to ignorant people who are just copycatting what they hear in Church.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Lamentations [Book Review]

"Lamentations" is the twenty-fifth book in the "Holy Bible," and it was written by Jeremiah himself. It is a very short book and a sad one. It's very name is all about expressing one's grief.

In the previous book, we saw Jeremiah trying so very hard to warn people that God was on the warpath and about to take vengeance on his own people. Hardly anyone really listened to him, and, because of this, the action actually took place. But it is important to understand that Jeremiah did not want any of these things to occur. He was only a messenger.

Prophets historically are treated very poorly by their own country. They often don't approve of the things they are saying, even if those things are supposedly from God. People have a tendency to only listen to people who say things they want to hear, and that is exactly what happened. More so, Jeremiah was actually punished multiple times for just saying what God was telling him.

In the end, he got wrapped up in the same punishment that his people received with the loss of his country. I imagine this was a sad and painful experience that was likely worse than what the people went through. "Lamentations" doubles as both a vent of his personal grief and a lesson to be taken by the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem and its holy temple.

Most of the book reads like a sad prayer. Two of the chapters reads like poetry. It is very short and simple. Anything longer might not have sounded very sincere. It is grief in its purest form and that is all. Jeremiah had it bad, and I am glad this particular book was included.

I recommend "Lamentations" for no other reason that you understand what Jeremiah, a prophet of God, went through. It is important to understand that prophets don't always have a good life. They tend to be the most hated of all of His servants. It is a good thing to learn, I'd say.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Jeremiah [Book Review]

"Jeremiah" is the twenty-forth book of the "Holy Bible," and it was written by Baruch. Great book. This is pretty much the divine culmination of centuries of Jewish stupidity. God finally throws Babylon at them and tells them to just get used to the fact that the good days are over.

This book follows the prophecies of Jeremiah up until the point at which all the bad things happen. Weirdly, the last chapter of the book sounds more like one from "Kings II," even though that was written by a different author. This whole book is about prophecy and subsequent devine action based on those prophecies. It's as glorious as it is righteous. It hits hard, and it feels utterly deserved.

The ultimate sadness I felt from reading this 4 hour long book was Jeremiah himself. He's pretty much treated like shit for the entire book, because they don't like what he is saying. But what he says is ultimately true, and they are feeling it by the end of it pretty badly. But Jeremiah gets wrapped up in all of the punishment and has to see the fall of his own people as well. It sucks; there's no sugar coating it.

Despite this book being fairly long, it reads much better than Isaiah. It is the voice of God pretty much saying that He's had enough and is preparing to retaliate. You can either go with it (which is what they should have done), or you can fall victim to it and die. Great stuff. I was happy they got what was coming to them.

But the book doesn't just condemn the Jews; Jeremiah mentions why. He tells them all the things they did wrong multiple times. The chief among them being the service to false gods, with a very special mention of Moloch, to which they sacrificed their own children. Even while these prophecies were coming in, people ignored him and threw him in prison. Jeremiah never got a break.

I recommend "Jeremiah" if you want to see God at his angriest. It's a very long book, but if you understand the context of what is happening, it does not disappoint. Keep in mind that this is the same God who exists to this very day. Do you really want to piss Him off? I don't recommend it.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Headlander [Video Game Review]

"Headlander" is a side scrolling videogame released by Double Fine Games and published by Adult Swim Games. It was released in 2016. After playing it all the way through, I think I want these two companies to work together more often.

The whole idea of "Headlander" is absurd. You have a disembodied head in a jet-propelled space helmet that can suck off the heads of sentient robots, that used to be real people, and replace their heads with your own, controlling them. Apparently all the humans on earth replaced their bodies with robots and subsequently went a little insane because of it. They exist out in a space station and live for pleasure in their robot bodies, while an evil AI called Methuselah accomplishes some sort of plot against them.

Right from the get-go, the game has a very crass sense of humor. Space ships are penis-shaped, and there is a bunch of innuendo around every corner that you come across. It never ends. Also, the game has really leaned in on the 70's scifi esthetic. A lot of the rooms have shag carpet, everyone acts like they are on psychedelic drugs... and afros. Afros on the robots.

"Headlander" is a good example of bizarro fiction. There is nothing normal about this story. It is absurd in the extreme, but as you move through the game, you begin to realize just how seriously the writers are taking the story. I began to really care about the characters and even the fate of my own. By the end of it, I had a real vibe to take out the final boss. It felt like I was getting revenge, and I really wanted it.

The gameplay is entirely inspired by the Metroid series. Backtracking and map-use is a commonality. You are constantly perusing for upgrades to help you get stronger. New abilities get unlocked which allow you to fight harder and access new areas. It's entirely the same formula but done in a very unique way.

The ability to replace the heads of the various robots is a fun an engaging mechanic. Doing it to a heavily armed guard is fun, since you get to use his weapons. If you lose a body then you can just suck off the head of another and keep in the fight. It is a ridiculous yet strangely satisfying game mechanic that I never even once for tired of.

The game is very fast paced and a bit short. It took me a few hours to finish, but I was spending a lot of time looking for upgrades which is a mainstay in the Metroid-style games. It is a tried and true formula that has been used and reused in many games, and I found it very enjoyable.

If you like the 70's look and feel and are craving some off-the-wall goofy scifi with a surprisingly well-written story, look no further than "Headlander." I recommend it!

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Shore [Video Game Review]

"The Shore" is a video game created by a Greek developer called Ares Dragonis and was released in February of 2021. It's story is seated well within the world of Cthulhu created by H.P. Lovecraft. Despite this game getting very mediocre reviews, I think this may end up being the best Lovecraftian game I have ever played.

I don't think a lot of people have heard of this game. It doesn't seem to get a lot of press. The reviews for it have not been very good. When I first played it, I actually did not even know it was a Lovecraft game. I really just liked the cover art for it. It was this depiction of an old and warn lighthouse. For some reason, it just got my attention, and I sprung for it.

So now that we understand that "The Shore" takes place within the "Call of Cthulhu" universe, what type of game is it? This is actually the forth game of this story-type that I have played. The first one was a shooter, then there was an adventure game, and then I had a platformer puzzle styled game. So what is this?

"The Shore" begins as just a walking simulator. All you do is walk around and explore. There's not much to do but to listen to the narration and look at stuff. Then small puzzle elements begin to surface. And then it turns into a "run away from the monster" game. And soon after the latter is introduced, actual combat becomes the mainstay of the game. So, I guess it ended up being a lot of things.

The atmosphere of this game is the best it has to offer. Everything looks amazing, and the music is spot on. I was seriously drawn into its terrifying, moody environments as I was lead straight into the dark corridors of madness. I loved every moment of the experience.

The gameplay itself is fine. It worked well enough for what it was. I was occasionally stumped over some puzzles, but it did not bother me too much. Still, I'd say there would be room to improve. Most games hold your hand a bit to help lead your eyes to things you need to do. This game flatly does not. It's like I was actually there, and if I was actually there, I'd be walking around endlessly wondering what thing I am suppose to shove into some other thing to make a third thing start working.

There were occasional oddities that I think were unintended. A polygon in an object was missing here and there. A floating rock. A hovering seagull. It wasn't much, but they did slightly break the immersion.

The game does an amazing job representing the elder gods and the monsters of Cthulhu lore. Many of them are present, and you have to deal with them. Dagon, in particular, was a fascinating encounter. There were some, such as the Monolith, that I was not as familiar with, but their inclusion was fascinating even without knowing the original source material.

The further you play into this game, the worse the madness gets, but understand that this is not a game of choice. It is a very linier story that will always end the same way. And the ending of this one was... okay. It was satisfactory but not altogether the best thing I ever experience from these games. Nevertheless, I still consider "The Shore" to be my favorite game set in this particular universe.

Have you ever heard of "The Shore" yourself? Why not go check out the trailers for it. They are quite good, and they do a fine job selling the game. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the rather cruel reviews. A lot of them focused too much on the little mishaps from the developers and can make the game seem worse than it really is. Also they may have been for an earlier version of the game which really might have been worse than it is today.

I recommend "The Shore" to all Cthulhu lovers. This is a wonderful gem than should be played if you can. Dive into the madness!

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Berenice [Story Review]

[Spoilers]

"Berenice" is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. It was published in 1835. I almost did not write a review of it. My problem with Poe stories is that they are extremely overwritten and include important passages written in other languages with absolutely no translation at all. It's like he just assumes you know ten languages when you read his stuff.

"Berenice" can best be described as a psychological horror. It is about a man who has a condition where he is having trouble separating reality from the jumble of fiction and manias happening in his mind. The main character, Egaesus, obsesses to a very serious extent over his cousin, Berenice, to the point where things get very uncomfortable.

In particular, he obsesses over her teeth so greatly that it ultimately leads him to do something that even surprises him. I won't go too much into the grizzly details, but the main point of the story is that this character completely and utterly looses touch with reality. He literally gets disconnected with himself and the people around him.

The story refers to his problem as a Disease. Much of the story goes into extreme detail about how Egaesus' brain is malfunctioning. This extreme disconnect from reality does flow out of the story, and I think it was, to some small extent, intended to be confusing. It has much to do with man losing his ability to control his own actions, and this loss is the horror intended.

Despite the story being fairly good for a horror, I still have so many problems with Poe's writing. The man was so full of himself. I'm sorry, but he had too much of an elitist way of writing. I don't mind a little flowery language here and there for spice, but when it is the main course of the story, it can become a very taxing endeavor to engage upon. I had similar problems with Kenneth Grahame, although I think he did a better job of it. "The Wind in the Willows" is one hell of a good book.

As far as a recommendation, I can only really promote "Berenice" if you are willing to put up with this man's overly-flowery writing and random quotes in other languages. There is a good story in there... somewhere.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!

Fairy Tale Spotlight: MS. Found in a Bottle [Story Review]

[Spoiler alert!]

"MS. Found in a Bottle" is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe, and it was first published in 1833. It is not the first Poe story I read. That would be "Metzengerstein," a story of which I had little to no compulsion to write a review for. But here we have my first very interesting Poe story!

"MS. Found in a Bottle" is about a man who goes on a rather disasters ocean journey that leads to a very surreal and spooky ending. It's not entirely clear what happens, but it seems like the ship he was on travels into some sort of otherworldly void on the brink of an abyss. Yeah, this does kind of sound like a Poe story, I guess.

A lot of Poe's writings are so flowery that it is sometimes difficult to figure out what exactly is going on. At some point, the main character does seem to transfer to a large, what could be a, ghost ship... filled with old, possibly dead, sailors. They don't seem to care that he is among them.

Honestly that's some Grade A spooky bullshit right there. I was most definitely drawn into this surreal world. I guess the best thing about this story is that nothing in it is concretely explained. It's more like some guy just found something horrible and spooky, recorded it the best that he could, and that's it! It leaves a lot up to interpretation.

I did like this story a lot, but I should think the writer did better stuff than this. It feels more like a dark afterthought than a fully realized story. A good start though! I recommend it as a good starting place for reading the works of Poe. I honestly think "Metzengerstein" is skippable, but that's just an old reader's opinion.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!