Ernest Solar's Blog
June 29, 2016
Spirit of Sasquatch
My publisher, Zharmae Publishing, asked me to write a blog post for the upcoming release of my new book, Spirit of Sasquatch. Below is the link for your reading pleasure!
https://zharmaeblog.wordpress.com/201...
https://zharmaeblog.wordpress.com/201...
October 8, 2015
H. Naledi & Bigfoot Behavior
One of the main points from non-believers is why remains of a dead Bigfoot are never found? We can argue that the carcass of a bear is never/hardly ever found in the forest to justify why a dead Bigfoot is never found. But let’s be honest, I am sure a hunter/trapper/tracker/hiker at some point in time has probably stumbled across the remains of a dead bear in the forest. (I for one know of a tracker who has the skeletal remains of a black bear that he found in Southern Virginia.) The reality is, using the example of never finding a dead bear’s body in the forest is not a good argument to justify why researchers are unable to find the deceased body of a Bigfoot. However, indirectly the Bigfoot Research Community may have been given the answer to why a deceased body of a Bigfoot is not found in the forest through the discovery of Homo Naledi in Southern Africa. As reported in the October 2015 issue of National Geographic, in September 2013 two cavers discovered the remains of a potentially new species of early man. The discovery has posed more questions than answers.
The skeletal remains of H. Naledi were found in a cave that is devoid of evidence suggesting that rushing water deposited the bodies in the cave or that the bodies were brought to the cave via animals. The skeletal remains show no evidence of teeth marks from scavenger animals or erosion from water. Which potentially leads to the indication that the bodies of H. Naledi were placed in this cave on purpose which if that is the case suggestions an “advanced behavior” of H. Naledi that is unknown in “other primitive hominins”. Unfortunately, in many research paleoanthropology circles this theory is dismissed as not providing enough evidence or proof. National Geographic writer, Jamie Shreeve, writes “Disposal of the dead brings closure for the living, confers respect on the departed, or abets their transition to the next life. Such sentiments are a hallmark of humanity.” (p. 53). The lead researcher, Dr. Lee Berger stated in the same article that H. Naledi “was not human, which makes the behavior all the more intriguing.” (p. 53). Berger continues by stating, “It’s an animal that appears to have had the cognitive ability to recognize its separation from nature.” (p. 53).
Within the Bigfoot Research Community we often argue what is Bigfoot? An animal? Or a species of Man? Maybe Berger provided the Bigfoot Research Community with the proper definition, Bigfoot is an animal that has the cognitive ability to recognize its separation from nature. Therefore, isn’t it plausible that Bigfoot Researchers cannot find the dead remains of a Bigfoot creature because they “dispose” of their dead similar to H. Naledi, in a cave? Or something similar? I am in no way suggesting that Bigfoot creatures are a form of H. Naledi; however, I am suggesting that the behavior of H. Naledi’s disposal of dead bodies could be similar to what Bigfoot creatures may practice.
Nature does not “reinvent” the wheel with each creation. That is Man’s folly. My suggestion/theory of the disposal of dead bodies does not prove the existence of Bigfoot or even answer the question of why we cannot find a dead body. However, I hope that my thoughts trigger an idea that does lead to the discovery of a Bigfoot body part. According to the same article about H. Naledi, “teeth alone are often enough to identify a species.”
The skeletal remains of H. Naledi were found in a cave that is devoid of evidence suggesting that rushing water deposited the bodies in the cave or that the bodies were brought to the cave via animals. The skeletal remains show no evidence of teeth marks from scavenger animals or erosion from water. Which potentially leads to the indication that the bodies of H. Naledi were placed in this cave on purpose which if that is the case suggestions an “advanced behavior” of H. Naledi that is unknown in “other primitive hominins”. Unfortunately, in many research paleoanthropology circles this theory is dismissed as not providing enough evidence or proof. National Geographic writer, Jamie Shreeve, writes “Disposal of the dead brings closure for the living, confers respect on the departed, or abets their transition to the next life. Such sentiments are a hallmark of humanity.” (p. 53). The lead researcher, Dr. Lee Berger stated in the same article that H. Naledi “was not human, which makes the behavior all the more intriguing.” (p. 53). Berger continues by stating, “It’s an animal that appears to have had the cognitive ability to recognize its separation from nature.” (p. 53).
Within the Bigfoot Research Community we often argue what is Bigfoot? An animal? Or a species of Man? Maybe Berger provided the Bigfoot Research Community with the proper definition, Bigfoot is an animal that has the cognitive ability to recognize its separation from nature. Therefore, isn’t it plausible that Bigfoot Researchers cannot find the dead remains of a Bigfoot creature because they “dispose” of their dead similar to H. Naledi, in a cave? Or something similar? I am in no way suggesting that Bigfoot creatures are a form of H. Naledi; however, I am suggesting that the behavior of H. Naledi’s disposal of dead bodies could be similar to what Bigfoot creatures may practice.
Nature does not “reinvent” the wheel with each creation. That is Man’s folly. My suggestion/theory of the disposal of dead bodies does not prove the existence of Bigfoot or even answer the question of why we cannot find a dead body. However, I hope that my thoughts trigger an idea that does lead to the discovery of a Bigfoot body part. According to the same article about H. Naledi, “teeth alone are often enough to identify a species.”
September 14, 2015
Breaking Into Social Media
According to literature, I am considered a “digital immigrant” because I was not born into the digital age. Whereas my children are considered “digital natives” because they were born in the digital age. I can remember our first personal computer displayed on the kitchen table for three weeks as if it was a trophy. Or the school policy that if a student brought a Pager to school they would be suspended for being a drug dealer. Or the first appearance of a cellular phone used by Mulder on X-Files, the thing was as big as his head. Now I tease my students that I’m waiting for the day that the government installs a chip in my arm to transmit all of their email messages straight to my brain. (Little do they know if that day comes I’m hiding in the woods!) But in reality, I’m actually old school in many ways. I still like handwritten notes and letters (even if I detest my own handwriting), talking on the phone in order to hear the person’s voice, and time away from a “screen”.
However, I am quickly learning the importance of social media in order to “promote my brand”. First off, I didn’t even know I had a brand. But I’ve learned that who I am as an author is my brand. And in order to sell books, people need to know who I am. Yes, I admit that I have been “fighting” the whole social media idea of pushing my book, because I am old school. As naïve as this sounds, I thought people who find my book and read it. Love it. Pass it on to friends. But in reality, there are millions of books on Amazon and in book stores. So how can they find my book if they don’t know about it? Hence, social media. I’ve quickly learned over the past couple of months that social media is the marketing tool of the 21st century. Through social media people will learn who I am, like or dislike “my brand”, become interested in my book, and hopefully buy it, read it, and review it.
Yes, of course I want people to buy my book, I’m the author. But I don’t want people to buy my book in order to sell it or become a bestselling author. I honestly want people to read the story. To read between the lines and get the meaning behind the words. To put the book down and think differently about their own lives or to look deeper into aspects of their own life. I want them to put the book down and smile and think, “that was kinda cool.” I want them to tell a friend it’s a book they should read. As I’ve said before, I’m a storyteller at heart. I want the story to be heard by as many people as possible.
Maybe help me out with this social media thing ….. Follow me on twitter @ErnestSolar. Like Two Moons Rising Facebook Page. Follow me on Goodreads.com. And please leave a review on Amazon, B&N, or Goodreads. Or … as in the old days … tell a friend about me or the book Two Moons Rising.
Okay, enough of my shameless plug ….
Have a great day and go for a walk in the woods ….
However, I am quickly learning the importance of social media in order to “promote my brand”. First off, I didn’t even know I had a brand. But I’ve learned that who I am as an author is my brand. And in order to sell books, people need to know who I am. Yes, I admit that I have been “fighting” the whole social media idea of pushing my book, because I am old school. As naïve as this sounds, I thought people who find my book and read it. Love it. Pass it on to friends. But in reality, there are millions of books on Amazon and in book stores. So how can they find my book if they don’t know about it? Hence, social media. I’ve quickly learned over the past couple of months that social media is the marketing tool of the 21st century. Through social media people will learn who I am, like or dislike “my brand”, become interested in my book, and hopefully buy it, read it, and review it.
Yes, of course I want people to buy my book, I’m the author. But I don’t want people to buy my book in order to sell it or become a bestselling author. I honestly want people to read the story. To read between the lines and get the meaning behind the words. To put the book down and think differently about their own lives or to look deeper into aspects of their own life. I want them to put the book down and smile and think, “that was kinda cool.” I want them to tell a friend it’s a book they should read. As I’ve said before, I’m a storyteller at heart. I want the story to be heard by as many people as possible.
Maybe help me out with this social media thing ….. Follow me on twitter @ErnestSolar. Like Two Moons Rising Facebook Page. Follow me on Goodreads.com. And please leave a review on Amazon, B&N, or Goodreads. Or … as in the old days … tell a friend about me or the book Two Moons Rising.
Okay, enough of my shameless plug ….
Have a great day and go for a walk in the woods ….
August 21, 2015
What’s the Point?
Hi!
So a few things, things Blog is geared towards my life as a reader and a writer. In order to be a good writer, you have to be a reader. Reading and writing are imperative to being a thinker! Reading introduces you to new and old ideas. Writing helps you process your thoughts and put them in an order that makes sense and can be communicated and shared with the rest of the world. My Father used to tell me, if you can write you can do anything! So true he was! On the plus side, I like to write. But I’ve already discussed that in a similar post when I was a guest blogger on Blog Z a few weeks back (check out my first blog post for that link.)
The idea of a Blog page has always been interesting to me, but I struggled with what’s the point? Does the world really want to hear my thoughts? And what would I write about? Who am I to make a difference? I won’t lie, I still feel that way. These are thoughts I have struggled with since writing my dissertation. Who am I to think something I do, research, or write will make a difference or change the world? However, in my profession, as a Professor, that is our job. To add to the knowledge base of our society. It’s a scary thought and I think humbling.
With the idea of being transparent, part of the reason for the Blog is to generate interest in me as a writer in order to sell copies of my book. Which, sounds horrible. But at the same time how are you, the reader, going to know anything about my book, if you don’t even know it is out there? There are millions of books on the market. As of writing this, my book is ranked 517,423 on Amazon.com’s list of over one million books. So this Blog and other small things I do in my free time (and my wife calling around to snag book signings for me) is my attempt to say:
“Hi world! I got a cool story to tell. Want to read it?”
Therefore, periodically, I will discuss my thoughts on reading and writing. And I am sure thoughts and feelings about being a Father and a Professor will creep into this from time to time also. If anything, I hope I can at least bring as mile to your face.
Lastly, I wanted to share that I signed up to do a reread of Elfstones of Shannara and you will be able to see my weekly comments (http://www.tor.com/2015/08/19/welcome...).
Have a great weekend!
So a few things, things Blog is geared towards my life as a reader and a writer. In order to be a good writer, you have to be a reader. Reading and writing are imperative to being a thinker! Reading introduces you to new and old ideas. Writing helps you process your thoughts and put them in an order that makes sense and can be communicated and shared with the rest of the world. My Father used to tell me, if you can write you can do anything! So true he was! On the plus side, I like to write. But I’ve already discussed that in a similar post when I was a guest blogger on Blog Z a few weeks back (check out my first blog post for that link.)
The idea of a Blog page has always been interesting to me, but I struggled with what’s the point? Does the world really want to hear my thoughts? And what would I write about? Who am I to make a difference? I won’t lie, I still feel that way. These are thoughts I have struggled with since writing my dissertation. Who am I to think something I do, research, or write will make a difference or change the world? However, in my profession, as a Professor, that is our job. To add to the knowledge base of our society. It’s a scary thought and I think humbling.
With the idea of being transparent, part of the reason for the Blog is to generate interest in me as a writer in order to sell copies of my book. Which, sounds horrible. But at the same time how are you, the reader, going to know anything about my book, if you don’t even know it is out there? There are millions of books on the market. As of writing this, my book is ranked 517,423 on Amazon.com’s list of over one million books. So this Blog and other small things I do in my free time (and my wife calling around to snag book signings for me) is my attempt to say:
“Hi world! I got a cool story to tell. Want to read it?”
Therefore, periodically, I will discuss my thoughts on reading and writing. And I am sure thoughts and feelings about being a Father and a Professor will creep into this from time to time also. If anything, I hope I can at least bring as mile to your face.
Lastly, I wanted to share that I signed up to do a reread of Elfstones of Shannara and you will be able to see my weekly comments (http://www.tor.com/2015/08/19/welcome...).
Have a great weekend!
August 17, 2015
Making Things Right …
At least I hope … let me explain …
Maybe I am paranoid (slightly), or highly-sensitive to other peoples’ feelings (Wonder Twin Powers Activate: Empathy), or aware of other peoples’ reaction to words written or spoken (Curse of a Special Education teacher), but I recently wrote something that has been eating at me, that my words may be misunderstood by the world masses or even just one person in particular, my friend “Tom”.
I shall explain …
I was recently asked to post a blog for Blog Z of Zharmae Publishing. I willingly jumped on the opportunity. The overall gist of the post was for readers to climb inside a writer’s head and give them an understanding of our thought process (well at least my thought process). In that post I wrote and I quote my own words:
“Walk up to them and say, “Hey Tom, I believe in aliens and they are currently living on a second moon that orbits around our earth and is suppressing the sight of this second moon through our souls.”
Or, “Hi Anna, I met an Elf that gave me a great wild herb recipe to prevent sunburns.”
After those words leave your lips wait for it. Wait for the jokes. Wait for the wisecracks. Wait for the feeling of being indirectly ostracized and privately ridiculed from your friends and your neighbors. Feel the flush of heat that rushes to your cheeks and then the cold, wet, heavy, rain fall on your bare skin as you watch the door of the society close in front of you.”
After rereading my post for the six thousandths time, I was struck like the AT-ST Walker in Return of the Jedi when it gets smashed by the logs released by the Ewoks, that my friend/neighbor “Tom” may think or feel that I was implying that he “ostracizes” me for my crazy ideas. And that is the farthest from the truth!!!!! (Yes, “Tom” is not his real name, but please don’t confuse him with my other neighbor, who is also a Tom. Augh .. the hole only gets deeper Alice! Double Augh … she is my other neighbor …. Quickly I shall move on … ).
“Tom” in the quotes has always been kind and encouraging to my thoughts and ideas. He has been supportive and excited in every step of the way with my life events from my first book being published, my job as a professor, and my wedding. Even though “Tom” started off as a neighbor, he has become my friend. When I wrote the first draft of this blog, I used “Tom’s” real name, but changed it later to “Tom” to protect the innocent. I used his name as a sense of pride because I love that he is my neighbor AND my friend. In my mind, I was referring to “neighbors of society” in the blog post, not specifically “Tom”, and I used his name as a sense of pride. (I hope that makes sense, it does in my head.)
So “Tom”, I was not implying that you ostracize or ridicule me for my thoughts and ideas as a writer and I apologize if you took it that way. From the deepest parts of my heart, thank you for being who you are and your amazing friendship. If all “neighbors” of the world were as awesome as you, our world would be at peace!
And one last thing …
“Tom”, I still believe those “screams” at 4 am were from Bigfoot and not Owls mating!
Maybe I am paranoid (slightly), or highly-sensitive to other peoples’ feelings (Wonder Twin Powers Activate: Empathy), or aware of other peoples’ reaction to words written or spoken (Curse of a Special Education teacher), but I recently wrote something that has been eating at me, that my words may be misunderstood by the world masses or even just one person in particular, my friend “Tom”.
I shall explain …
I was recently asked to post a blog for Blog Z of Zharmae Publishing. I willingly jumped on the opportunity. The overall gist of the post was for readers to climb inside a writer’s head and give them an understanding of our thought process (well at least my thought process). In that post I wrote and I quote my own words:
“Walk up to them and say, “Hey Tom, I believe in aliens and they are currently living on a second moon that orbits around our earth and is suppressing the sight of this second moon through our souls.”
Or, “Hi Anna, I met an Elf that gave me a great wild herb recipe to prevent sunburns.”
After those words leave your lips wait for it. Wait for the jokes. Wait for the wisecracks. Wait for the feeling of being indirectly ostracized and privately ridiculed from your friends and your neighbors. Feel the flush of heat that rushes to your cheeks and then the cold, wet, heavy, rain fall on your bare skin as you watch the door of the society close in front of you.”
After rereading my post for the six thousandths time, I was struck like the AT-ST Walker in Return of the Jedi when it gets smashed by the logs released by the Ewoks, that my friend/neighbor “Tom” may think or feel that I was implying that he “ostracizes” me for my crazy ideas. And that is the farthest from the truth!!!!! (Yes, “Tom” is not his real name, but please don’t confuse him with my other neighbor, who is also a Tom. Augh .. the hole only gets deeper Alice! Double Augh … she is my other neighbor …. Quickly I shall move on … ).
“Tom” in the quotes has always been kind and encouraging to my thoughts and ideas. He has been supportive and excited in every step of the way with my life events from my first book being published, my job as a professor, and my wedding. Even though “Tom” started off as a neighbor, he has become my friend. When I wrote the first draft of this blog, I used “Tom’s” real name, but changed it later to “Tom” to protect the innocent. I used his name as a sense of pride because I love that he is my neighbor AND my friend. In my mind, I was referring to “neighbors of society” in the blog post, not specifically “Tom”, and I used his name as a sense of pride. (I hope that makes sense, it does in my head.)
So “Tom”, I was not implying that you ostracize or ridicule me for my thoughts and ideas as a writer and I apologize if you took it that way. From the deepest parts of my heart, thank you for being who you are and your amazing friendship. If all “neighbors” of the world were as awesome as you, our world would be at peace!
And one last thing …
“Tom”, I still believe those “screams” at 4 am were from Bigfoot and not Owls mating!
August 15, 2015
Mind Blown!
Hi ... My publisher, Zharmae, asked me to write a blog post for Blog Z. I was honored and jumped on the opportunity.
You can read it on Blog Z @ https://zharmaeblog.wordpress.com/201...
This whole experience of being published has been amazing and at times unreal! (Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I'm afraid I'll wake up and this will all be a sick joke!) But ... it's real!
Dreams coming true are possible ... to quote Shel .... and his opening poem in Where the Sidewalk Ends ....
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ..
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
Please join me weekly (I hope) to climb inside my head and learn more about me as a writer.
You can read it on Blog Z @ https://zharmaeblog.wordpress.com/201...
This whole experience of being published has been amazing and at times unreal! (Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I'm afraid I'll wake up and this will all be a sick joke!) But ... it's real!
Dreams coming true are possible ... to quote Shel .... and his opening poem in Where the Sidewalk Ends ....
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ..
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
Please join me weekly (I hope) to climb inside my head and learn more about me as a writer.
