RAYDENCRAFFT: ~an ^evolutionary^ fantasy novel~

Heroes:

Robert Francis Kennedy:
US Senator; New York "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."
At times such as these, I often try to imagine what the world would have been like if Bobby Kennedy hadn't died. Sure, it may have been exactly as it is now, but I feel in my very soul that Bobby would have made a difference...
Dr Martin Luther King Jr: "I refuse to accept the view...that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality."
Dr. King stood resolute in the wake of mounting adversity...and on that spring eve in Memphis, a brilliant point of light went dark...
Neil A. Armstrong:
LEM Commander; Apollo 11
NASA "It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small."
I often wonder what it was like 2B the 1st 2 step onto the desolate surface of the moon. Gazing @ the earth from the Sea of Tranquility must have been an unbelievable experience.
Nelle Harper Lee:
Pulitzer Prize Winner 1961 "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." - Atticus Finch
Never one to bask in the limelight of fame, Harper Lee shied away from the whirlwind that grew from her timeless story of childhood and bigotry in the deep south. A truly amazing novel...
Rod Serling: "I think the destiny of all men is not to sit in the rubble of their own making but to reach out for an ultimate perfection which is to be had. At the moment, it is a dream. But as of the moment we clasp hands with our neighbor, we build the first span to bridge the gap between the young and the old. At this hour, it’s a wish. But we have it within our power to make it a reality. If you want to prove that God is not dead, first prove that man is alive."
Peter Parker: No, not his alter ego...just plain old Peter Parker. Yeah, he may be a 'comic book' hero, but he carries all the angst of his generation on his shoulders...I just can't help but identify with his ups and downs.
Kudos 2 creators Stan Lee & Steve Ditko and to John Romita Sr. for carrying the torch with style!
Hayao Miyazaki:
Studio Ghibli; Co-founder "Creation is always a series of regrets, but Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (aka Spirited Away) was an exception. I felt really good when I was creating it. I'd always wanted to visualize a train running on the surface of the sea, and I think we came up with the scene that perfectly matches that image.
I'd also wanted to create an image of shooting stars falling in a blaze of light right from the time when I was wondering if I should become a manga artist or an animator. I achieved this visualization in Hauru. I have other images I'd like to visualize, too, but I'm not sure if I really can do so. I don't have much time left."
A few years back, I was @ the Spirited Away premiere @ the Egyptian Theatre N Los Angeles. By chance, I happened upon him as he was finishing up an interview.
Unfortunately, I can only speak a few words of japanese, so I stood there and sputtered out the words 'Konnichiwa, Miyazaki-san' and that was that! Oh well. ;-} Anyway, I think he's absolutely brilliant!
James Byron Dean: "To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty; to interpret it his problem; and to express it his dedication. Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have. Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done."
I once asked Mercedes McCambridge, who co-starred with Dean in the motion picture 'Giant', what Dean was like. Without a moment's hesitation, she answered "he was a genius."
J. K. Rowling: "I don't feel quite normal if I haven't written for a while. I doubt I will ever again write anything as popular as the "Harry" books, but I can live with that thought quite easily. By the time I stop writing about Harry, I will have lived with him for 13 years, and I know it's going to feel like a bereavement. So I'll probably take some time off to grieve, and then on with the next book!"
J.R.R. Tolkien: "I wrote the last (The Return of the King, originally titled by Tolkien as Book V: The War of the Ring & Book VI: The End of the Third Age)... in about 1949 - I remember I actually wept at the denouement. But then, of course, there was a tremendous lot of revision. I typed the whole of that work out twice and lots of it, many times, on a bed in an attic. I couldn't afford, of course, the typing. There's some mistakes too and also it amuses me to say, as I suppose I'm in a position where it doesn't matter what people think of me now. There were some frightful mistakes in grammar, which from a Professor of English Language and Lit are rather shocking."
Peter Jackson: "We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren't going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. What we were trying to do was to analyze what was important to Tolkien and to try to honor that. In a way, we were trying to make these films for him, not for ourselves."
Howard Shore: "The constant searching for new ways of using film music was one of things I was most interested in. I have tried more conventional forms as well, just for the fun of it. There is considerable dramatic latitude to writing film music but, in terms of pure music, of what you would write for a record or a concert hall, there's a lot more room."
Neal Adams: Artist and Illustrator
Neal Adams is one of the main reasons why I like to draw. From Batman to Captain America, Adams drew them all. He is a true comic book legend.
Steve McQueen: "I'm half farmer and half street people. I've been in jail...in reform school. I get goose-pimples every time I think of going back to jail. I haven't done bad for a kid from an orphanage."
Gene Roddenberry: "There is a tomorrow...we humans are going to make it...we're something. To any young-minded person, that's a very important statement."
In my mind's eye, Star Trek represents a collective, wondrous dream...a hope for a better future...
Sir Laurence Olivier: "If I wasn't an actor, I think I'd have gone mad. You have to have extra voltage, some extra temperament to reach certain heights. Art is a little bit larger than life - it's an exhalation of life and I think you probably need a little touch of madness."
Sir Laurence left his indelible mark on the world as one of the finest Shakepearian thespians of the modern age. Giving one brilliant performance after another, he walked with grace through motion picture history.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock: "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible."
What can I say? Hitchcock...a master of suspense!
Greg Bear: "In broad terms, science fiction and science have always danced around each other. Science fiction is the subconscious of science. It’s what scientists would do if they could - if they had enough grant money, enough time, and enough brains to do the wonderful things they would like to do. So they read science fiction. It’s a vicarious thrill."
Dave Stevens:
Dave's a fantastic illustrator and a pretty good guy to meet! His Rocketeer graphic novel series is phenomenal!
Thomas Harris: "Crawford heard the rhythm and syntax of his own speech in Graham's voice. He had heard Graham do that before, with other people. Often in intense conversation Graham took on the other person's speech patterns. At first, Crawford had thought he was doing it deliberately, that it was a gimmick to get the back-and-forth rhythm going. Later Crawford realized that Graham did it involuntarily, that sometimes he tried to stop and couldn't." - excerpt from Red Dragon
Bob Dylan: "I don't think that human mind can comprehend the past and the future. They are both just illusions that can manipulate you into thinking there's some kind of change."
Wow, whether you hate'um or love'um...he's still quite the poet!
VIDEO GAMING: the evolution of one rather 'picky' gamer...