Acknowledgements
There have been many famous people who have influenced and motivated me, from those I greatly respect and admire to those I despise as hypocritical puppets and fools, but I’d like to express my appreciation to family, friends, and the helpful advice of everyday, casual acquaintances for their moral support and vital feedback.
One of the side effects of becoming a social nomad is being dependent on advice from the kindness of likeminded strangers and friendly co-workers. People like security supervisor, Jonathan Chico, whose initial input gave me the validation I needed at a crucial time in this novel. Also, I want to thank Sara Cochinwala, Jolene Roper, Logan Goldstein and the boys (Angelo, Trey, & Bora) for helping me see after dark the light of life burning bright in their eyes, to Lindsey and the girls in the office for believing, to Al Festa for being the best man I know, to Delta (Dee Dee) Spaniol for seeing the light even on the darkest days, and to all the good Samaritans giving me hope in every strangers eyes, where I can see a reflection of myself.
While there have been many wonderful, positive, and good things inspiring us, I find what usually motivates people more than anything are the things that really piss us off. Even though there are many people who have irked my anger, I will not name them or give them credit here. And it may very well be the things pissing me off motivating my literary tongue to wag, it is the words and works of those I consider the best of the best stimulating me to express my creative desires in a way that will stand the test of time with the great masters.
One thing I have always been fond of saying, if you want to find the real truth in this world, get to the heart of the matter, forget about the news, the media, politicians, or world leaders, and go ask a comedian. Lenny Bruce, Red Foxx, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, pre-9/11 Dennis Miller, the brilliant façade of Stephen Colbert, Robert Schimmel, Stephanie Hodge, Andrew Dice Clay, Chris Rock, and many more, spew more truth with one joke than most news reports or political speeches ever will. But my real inspirational driving force was born from the works of authors, musicians, and filmmakers, who changed and touched my life with their creative craft and given me a unique insight into the world.
I consider William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to be the greatest piece of literature ever written, period. It is so much more than a ghost tale. My favorite musician is Roger Waters, even though Beethoven’s 9th is the supreme musical masterpiece of all time. I also like Roger’s solo work more than his famous outings with Floyd—oh, by the way, which one is Pink? As for film, there is only one master, Stanley Kubrick. Every film is among the very best of whatever genre he re-created with his visually profound commentary on the human condition. Recently, an unorthodox protégé, a true prodigy of the art, a Mozart of words and celluloid, has emerged in Quentin Tarantino. Nobody does it better now. However, my favorite film is still Bob Fosse’s 1979 masterpiece, All That Jazz, maybe because I saw it at young and impressionable age, like when only nine years old I saw Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch at a drive-in.
I must also tip my hat to Bob Dylan, William Goldman (Magic is one of the best novels), Sidney Lumet, David Bowie, Stephen King, Martin Scorsese, Neil Young, Harold Robbins, Sydney Pollack, Led Zeppelin, Edgar Allen Poe, John Houston, Jimi Hendrix, J.R.R. Tolkien, Orson Welles, The Who, Terry Brooks, Michael Cimino, Jim Morrison, Michael Crichton, Oliver Stone, Janis Joplin, George Orwell, Robert Altman, Blue Cheer, Ray Bradbury, Christopher Nolan (Memento is still his best), Eric Clapton, Paddy Chayefsky, Ken Russell, Mott the Hoople and many, many, more. Throughout this novel, I pay homage to these and many other great artists by way of direct quotes, referential phrasing, and allegorical metaphors.
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