A Blasphemous Collaboration (Guest Post By Kyle Gilbert)

Today's guest post is by Kyle Gilbert, a person who - unlike some of our other recent guest bloggers - may or may not be from an alternate plane of existence. No one really knows for sure. What we are sure of, though, as most of you who read this blog already know, is that Kyle is the drummer for Second Player Score, the band that I play guitar for. What you may not know is that Kyle is also an avid and talented homebrewer (of beer. Just thought I should make that clear.)

In this post, Kyle will not only tell us the story about how he got into homebrewing in the first place, but also about a very special show that Second Player Score will be performing in November. Because this post talks about beer, I first want to stress that we here at the Brian Tashima blog strongly encourage all of our readers to make responsible life decisions, do everything in moderation, and listen to your parents and teachers. And second, before you can read the post, you will have to swear that you are twenty-one years of age or over. So, sorry Joel and Felicity, you guys are gonna have to wait until next week. (Felicity's note: who cares)

Did you swear? Okay, good. So now, Kyle will take it away...after the jump!

Give More 24! And B-Fest!

Today is Give More 24! What is that, you ask? Why, it's 24 hours in which you can make a positive difference in the world by donating to one of 125 nonprofit organizations based in the Southwest Washington area. "Sounds great," you say, "but which organization should I donate to?" Well, each organization is definitely worthy of your support, but allow me to make a suggestion: Autism Empowerment.

Why, you ask? Well, because not only are we dedicated to improving the quality of life for people and families in the autism community both locally and worldwide via our various programs, support groups, events, resources, and more, but also because we promote a global culture of acceptance for people of all abilities.

If that sounds good to you, then simply go this link and make a donation. Even just the minimum of $10 will be greatly appreciated. All donations are 100% tax-deductible, and best of all, giving feels good! I know this first-hand, because not only will I be donating today, but I also donate to Autism Empowerment (on an ongoing basis) one dollar for every Joel Suzuki book that is sold.

Speaking of Joel Suzuki, this Saturday afternoon I will be at the Barnes & Noble in Vancouver as the featured fiction author for the annual B-Fest Teen Book Festival! The event - which is family-friendly and free to attend - will not only include Joel Suzuki, but also writing workshops, trivia, games, prizes, and local poet Shaindel Beers. The fun starts at 1pm and lasts until 6:30 or so (I'll be leaving at around 3 or 4, so get there early). The store is located at 7700 NE Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver WA in the Vancouver Plaza. Hope to see you there!

Casting Call

In this Spectrums Magazine interview from last winter, I was asked "Why is it important to you that autistic actors be cast in some of the leading roles (of a possible Joel Suzuki movie adaptation)?" Part of my answer included me saying "I'd like to give people in the autism community the opportunity to show off their skills and break into an industry in which people with disabilities in general have been sorely underrepresented." I also said "It would be really cool if Dan Aykroyd and Daryl Hannah, both of whom are on the spectrum, would play roles in the film versions of my books. They're not quite the right fit for Joel and Felicity, of course, but we'd find roles for them for sure!"

So this morning, while thinking in the shower, I asked myself, "Well, what roles would those be? And who else would make a really cool addition to the cast?" Here's what I came up with.

Dan Aykroyd: Chief Raintree

Chief Raintree is the amiable leader of Spearwind village in Spectraland. He appears in all three books so far, and supports the Wavemakers during their conflict with the Silencers. He's not comic relief, but he does have a humorous nature that I think Mr. Aykroyd would be able to portray quite nicely.

Daryl Hannah: Guider of the Worthy

Guider of the Worthy (or just "Guider") is the leader of the Redivision movement in Volume Three. She's strong, fair, and authoritative - qualities that I think Ms. Hannah would have no problem bringing to the role.

Jonathan Cormur: Whitenose

Formerly known as Jonathan Murphy, this is the brilliant young man who narrated the audiobook version of Volume One. Check out his website here. I'm sure he would have no trouble playing a number of different characters from the Joel Suzuki series, but the one that I picture him as most for some reason is Whitenose, the Silencer guard who has a pretty major role in Volume Two and also makes a cameo appearance in Volume Three.

Mickey Rowe: Windblade

The first actor on the spectrum to be cast as Christopher in the stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mickey Rowe seems like he would be a good fit for Windblade, one of the members of the Wavemaker Order. As a bonus, he's from Seattle, which is where Joel Suzuki and his family currently reside.

Paddy Considine: Thinker of Deep Thoughts

An English actor - and a musician - who was diagnosed as being on the spectrum at age 36, he has a long list of credits that includes The Bourne Ultimatum and Hot Fuzz. His Wikipedia entry says that "he has played a number of dark, troubled, and morally or mentally ambiguous characters." So let's turn that around and cast him as Thinker of Deep Thoughts from Volume Three!

That's what I have so far. If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments or email me at joelsuzukiseries@gmail.com!

Joel Suzuki, Volume One: Secret of the Songshell
Joel Suzuki, Volume Two: Mystery of the Moonfire
Joel Suzuki, Volume Three: Legend of the Loudstone

Volume Four Update: Over The Hump Edition

Four is a pretty important number in music - the 4/4 time signature, the Four Chords of Awesome, the Fab Four. There are also a lot of famous foursomes in fiction: the four houses of Hogwarts, the Fantastic Four, the four quadrants of the galaxy in Star Trek, the four main villages of Spectraland, the four...oh, but wait, this isn't an essay about the number four. This is a Volume Four status update!

At the time of the last update three months ago, I was at 28,000 words and said that "I stand an outside chance of finishing the first draft sometime before the holidays." Now, I don't really believe in jinxes anymore (except when it comes to watching professional sports - speaking of which, holy pigskin, Batman, it's football season again), but soon after I said that, some changes in my life occurred which made finding time to write a bit more challenging. Nothing bad or major, mind you, but nevertheless, it did throw a wrench into my normal schedule.

So at first, I'll admit, I was flailing a little. Volume Four went untouched for a while as I tried to adjust. I knew that somehow I needed to find a way to get back to it. I found myself wishing I had a Time-Turner or a TARDIS or a DeLorean or a Power Glove, which was funny because - sneak preview alert! - there's a time-travel element to the plot of Volume Four.

But since I couldn't find any of those things, I had to resort to more down-to-earth techniques. I used one that I had previously employed called "writing in my head." I made adjustments to my attitude and my personal routines. I brought in special guests, from this plane of existence as well as others, to fill in on this blog. I sacrificed a few personal enjoyment activities that were basically just self-indulgent time-wasters, like watching the last episode of Doctor Who's season 10 over and over and over again (although I still managed to binge-watch the new Tick, which is hilarious and amazing - the show, that is, not the fact that I binge-watched it). And really, I just kind of doubled down on the self-discipline.

As a result, I was able to mostly get back on track, and so now the first draft of Volume Four stands at - insert drum roll here - a healthy 44,444 words (kidding - it's actually 45,275). I passed the halfway mark in the story outline, which officially puts me over the hump. Finishing the draft before the holidays as I had previously hoped will be a stretch, but the main thing is that it hasn't been derailed altogether. With any luck, I'll be able to finish it before the end of the year, which still puts me comfortably ahead of schedule. That said, though, I would like a time machine anyway, mainly so I can watch "The Doctor Falls" a few more times (I've only memorized about 85% of the dialogue). Can someone help me out with that?

Felicity Tries To Explain Television To Fireflower

Hey, Felicity here, filling in once again while Brian is off doing who-knows-what. Anyway, my friend Fireflower happened to be visiting this week, and she asked me if I could introduce her to some popular Earth-style recreational activities. So I figured, what's more popular than watching TV? And besides, she already gets enough outdoor exercise back in Spectraland running away from elephant-sharks and other assorted beasties.

Felicity: All right, so this is how we do it. We plop ourselves on this thing called a "couch," turn the TV on, and bam. Away we go. Super easy.
Fireflower: And...what did you say this beverage is called, again?
Felicity: Diet cola. Delicious, right?
Fireflower: Um...if you say so.
Felicity: Okay, so this is one of my favorites. Joel likes it too. It's called "Doctor Who."
Fireflower: Remind me again, please, what "it" is.
Felicity: Oh, right. By "it," I mean a show. A program. Which is like a story, but with pictures.
Fireflower: Moving pictures. With actual people.
Felicity: Right. But they're not actually doing whatever it is they're doing.
Fireflower: It seems to me as if they are doing things. Are you trying to tell me that that man is not running away from those...whatever those are?
Felicity: Daleks. And no, yeah, he's really running, but he's not actually in real danger or anything like that. He's acting.
Fireflower: Acting?
Felicity: Pretending. Don't you guys have story time in Spectraland? Like, when someone pretends to be a slimeback or something?
Fireflower: We do, but this looks so...real.
Felicity: I know, right? That's what's awesome about TV. They have, like, props and special effects and makeup and stuff.
Fireflower: I see.
Felicity: Okay, here's another good one. This is the new version of "DuckTales."
Fireflower: Those...those are not real people.
Felicity: Yeah, I know. This is a cartoon.
Fireflower: A cartoon?
Felicity: Animation. It's like when you draw lots of pictures and then show them all in a row, it looks like they're moving.
Fireflower: But the pictures are speaking. And rather oddly, I must say.
Felicity: Only Donald talks like that. Anyway, actual people do the speaking. Someone records them and then they play the recording along with the pictures.
Fireflower: And they are able to match up the words with the movements of the pictures?
Felicity: Yeah.
Fireflower: That is impressive.
Felicity: I guess it is. Oh, here's something else I wanted you to see.
Fireflower: What show is this?
Felicity: It's not really a show. It's a baseball game.
Fireflower: And are those people pretending?
Felicity: No, this is for real. It's a sporting event. Like, you know how you have those wavebow duels back in Spectraland? It's kind of like that, but someone is broadcasting it, showing it to everyone who wants to watch it.
Fireflower: Ah, I see. Quite amazing. So these are two teams competing against each other?
Felicity: You got it.
Fireflower: And based on what I have learned of your written language, it appears as if the team called the "Mariners" is currently losing?
Felicity: Um, yeah. Don't get me started.
Fireflower: Well, Miss Felicity, I thank you for this introduction to your "television" device. Based on what I have seen, I can certainly understand how your people are able to spend many hours watching it.
Felicity: No problem. And hey, if you think that's cool, wait 'til I show you this next thing.
Fireflower: Oh?
Felicity: Yeah, it's called video games.
Fireflower: How exciting. And I think I will have another one of these "diet colas," after all.
Felicity: Now you're really catching on.

Editor's note: we here at the Brian Tashima blog do not endorse prolonged physical inactivity and would recommend a regular exercise routine as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle

Felicity's note: yeah, whatever

Summer of Joel: A Recap

Anyone familiar with the episode of Seinfeld titled "The Summer of George"? Well, this summer has been kind of like that for Joel Suzuki and company, except that we've been super busy while George Costanza basically just sat around in his pajamas the whole time. So I guess the two summers really aren't similar at all. Anyway, on to the recap!

On July 15th, I took part in the inaugural Words and Pictures Festival at Cascade Park Community Library. I did a presentation and a reading and got to meet some really cool fellow authors as well as the fine folks from Vintage Books.

The following week, Joel, Torin and I traveled down to Eugene, Oregon for Family Literacy Night at the Eugene Barnes and Noble. While I was there, I learned that Timothy Zahn, the author of the Thrawn books for the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now called Star Wars Legends), lives in the area and even did a local author visit to the store!

Besides geeking out, I also had a great time hanging with my good friend and fellow author Roslyn McFarland, her daughter (also an author!) Gwendalyn Belle, and Ben Brock (also an author!) from Barnes and Noble. Be sure to check out their books when you get a chance.

Then on August 1st, I got the great news that I'll be a panelist at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs' annual conference in Tampa, FL next year! I'll be joined by three other terrific authors (Naseem Jamnia, Beth Vrabel, and Melissa Hart) and we'll be talking about disability in children's literature. Can't wait!

A couple of weeks later, we headed out to Camp Odakoda, a summer camp for children on the autism spectrum. I did a little introduction and then we were off to the races, because everyone had so many questions! The campers were all so smart and inquisitive, it was really awesome.

A few days after that I took a trek over to Lewiston, Idaho, where I was a featured speaker for The Green Apple Project's Speaker Series at the Lewiston City Library. The Green Apple Project is a wonderful non-profit organization that, similar to Autism Empowerment, strives to promote autism awareness and acceptance through support groups, education, special events, and more.

I really can't say enough about how fantastic everyone I met over there was. Their kindness and generous hospitality really made me feel welcome, and they shared the same passion that I have for creating a culture of acceptance for people of all abilities.

And it's not over yet! This weekend I will be at the US Autism and Asperger Association's annual conference, which this year is taking place right here in Portland, Oregon. The conference is open to all, so come on down and check out Autism Empowerment's exhibitor booth.

So as George Costanza might say, "I'm busting, Jerry, I'm busting!"*

* Which, if you're not familiar with the show, is what he would say when he was happy or excited

Reader Feedback

Enough of me talking. Today it's your turn!

If you've been following this blog for a while, then you know that I tend to write about a wide variety of subjects, including music, writing, parenthood, and more. So my question to you is this: is there anything in particular you want me to write about more often? Less often? Should this blog be all about one topic, or is it fine just the way it is?

In case it helps, here are the all-time top five posts in terms of number of views:

5. Happy 5th Birthday, Autism Empowerment!

4. Secret of the Songshell: Celeb Comps

3. Rockin' With Ian

2. Status Update!

1. Status Report!

Based on this, it would seem as if posts that update you on things I've been doing are the most popular...or maybe people just like Star Trek pictures?

Anyway, let me know what you think. There are three ways you can do that:

- Leave a comment on this post
- Email me at joelsuzukiseries@gmail.com
- Contact Joel via Twitter at @joel_suzuki (he'll pass the messages on to me)

We'd love to hear from you!