#4. Blog Bonus: Butter Coffee & Oop & Ed Profile

A bonus character profile for Oop and Ed (pic) & a coffee trend.

There is a new trend buzzing around the Internet circuit called, "Butter Coffee." Have you heard of it? I dodged traffic on Sunday's Memorial Day Weekend and got me a $14 little bullet blender, and tried it this morning. Here's the recipe:

Butter Coffee:

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

-1 (8) ounce of coffee (Quicker with Keurig Pod or brew a pot of coffee)

-1 Tbsp. Grass-fed butter (salted)

-1 Tbsp. Cashew Milk (I used Vanilla Almond Milk)

-1 Tbsp. raw organic honey (Substitute 2 packets of Splenda of Bariatric Patients/Diabetic)

-1 Tbsp. coconut oil

-1 Tbsp. Vanilla extract

* I also added a shake of cinnamon 

-IMPORTANT: USE A BLENDER!!!

Here's the link: Butter Coffee Yum!

What are the results?

On a funny note, if you make this in the morning, please be sure everyone is a wake, lol. I woke up my beautiful 3yr old daughter and then my wife.

So blending it makes it super frothy (1.5 thick) at the top, and it tastes like salted caramel latte. Grass fed butter is better than regular butter, because he cows produce vitamin K, which clears out the arteries in your heart and coconut oil helps in health thyroid function.

While your sipping on your newly made Butter Coffee, please enjoy the character profile on Oop & Ed located in the picture above. I am getting excited as the editing process to my book gets closer to the end. My next step is to figure out a release date/place for the book signing.

To all the families enjoying Memorial Day Weekend, Stay safe, and have fun!

~Dustin

#3. Character Profile of Dustin & Panda

Every so often, a character profile from the story will pop up in this blog. For the readers best interest, the main characters from each book always make the great impressions first. My I introduce Dustin and Panda from my book, "The World Is Rigged."

Name: Dustin "D" Rigg

Age: 16

Height: 5'5

Weight: 140

Birth Place: Michigan

Dustin persona is a confused one, and hard to understand. He truly is a great little guy! A heart of gold, and always willing to help those in need. A nature comical genius, the kid really knows how to get a stranger to crack a smile. Dustin lives a simple life. He could easily kick back underneath a tree with an otter pop and a bean burrito and just chill all day long. "D" is truly a light worker for society, an example of how we all should live our lives. So, how is he so hard to understand?

Jealousy. There are other peers in his school, which see Dustin for who he is and takes advantage of his kind heart. Over the years, this made Dustin grow a short fuse and speak up, and at times physically defend himself from predators (bullies). Due to his dyslexia, Dustin usually gets shut down by the school administration to explain his actions and ends up taking the blame. It is only time when this boy is seen as a soldier. A person who fights to show the truth in himself and in others.

Name: Panda

Age: 250

Height: 12 ft (adjusts his molecular structure to Dustin's head)

Weight: 555

Origin: The Pandorniian Galaxy

Panda is a humanoid Panda that has been looking to escape an intergalactic war fought just outside our solar system. During the battle, his cruiser got blasted out of orbit and crash landed on Earth just outside D’s house, while searching for Oop and Ed. Not being able to breathe the atmosphere, Panda symbiotically fused to “D”. Luckily, D came outside at the right place and at the right time. Now Panda is fused to D’s head in the shape of an animal beanie. Panda deep down is “D’s” self-conscious, life coach, and team player. When “D” is down for the count, Panda is there to boost his spirits.  When he’s in a sticky situation, Panda is there to give him ideas. If you want anyone to be in your head it’s Panda, until he gets annoying with his sarcasm After fusing to “D’s” head as a symbiotic host, both eventually gain the power of Psychokinesis. Together, can literally bend the laws of physics: teleport anywhere in a blink of an eye, pick up any object, and well you get the point. On another joke, the two have the ability of speaking to one another through thoughts. As an example, “D” could be talking to a girl, and Panda could say some inappropriate things at the same time. Well, you see how annoying that could be while keeping a straight face…right?

#2. Earliest Childhood Memory

In relation to the start of my "Rigged" series, one of my biggest childhood memories was getting kissed by Shamu in Sea World. Another memory that could slide in would be interrupting the Disney parade when I was 2 years old. I'll share that story another time...

1982 was an odd time, but a fun place to be. The decade was changing from people looking like (picture above) the comedian Gallagher, and evolving into the 80's hairspray band.

On with the story...

I was a typical 6 yr old excited to go to Sea World in California. Any child is excited to go to the zoo and passionate about animals, and excited to have a rare chance to see these amazing creatures here in this safe environment. Being just a little guy, it made my world to hug the glass and watch dolphins and a beluga whale interact with animal trainers during my visit. The trainers are passionate about the well being of the animals they interacted with.

In the end, it was always the focus about seeing the one show. Watching Shamu explode from the water, belly flop near the edge, and soak the visitors sitting in the zone. Knowing this, my mom had us all sit in the top far left field of the bleachers. There was also an extra added bonus I was not aware of. One lucky kid would be chosen in the audience at the time to get kissed by the one. The only, Shamu. I didn't think I had a chance, and I was seriously bummed out. I had hope, and I did not give up. When the time came, the announcer asked, "For the students in the audience who would like to get a kiss from Shamu...Please raise your hand!" You bet your assets, I rocketed my arms and hands in the air. I looked around and saw everyone bone stiff raising their hands. The trainer below (pictures above) cupped his hand over his eyes to block the sun, and took a good look. He then saw me, the only child in the audience jumping, waiving his arms fiercely back and forth, and hoping to get this one in a million chance for a one on one with Shamu. The trainer then pointed at me from down below. The crowd lowered their hands, and looked up at me. I continued to bounce around unaware. After a second it clicked, and I stood motionless. I knew I had been chosen. My mom shrugged me to run (walk) to the trainer. The announcer asked everyone to congratulate me as I began heading down to the splash zone. The families clapped regardless who I was, because in a child's world, this was bigger than life, which I will explain in the very end. 

The interactive experience with Shamu...

The trainer shook my hand, and gave me the explicit instructions. Believe me in this moment, being 6yrs old, he had my 130% attention on what happens next. I was to stand next to the edge of the wall and look off to the side of the water (as pictured above), and he would signal Shamu to come up and give me a kiss. Now! Being a little tyke, do you think I listened. Hell no! I wanted to look Shamu in the face and say, "Hello." The trainer stood by me as another staff was standing ten feet away to take a Polaroid picture of this amazing event. "Are you ready?" stated the trainer. I shook my head yes. The signal went up, and I noticed the water on the surface move. I knew then Shamu from below was moving underneath to secretly surprise me from above. I was so excited, that I quickly faced the water (big mistake) to greet the star of the show. A second felt like an hour, and I was anticipating our face to face introductions. Then it happened, that seconded I love and feared. I saw a mouth opening the size of an SUV filled with 48-52 four inch teeth in total. In a flash, my body quickly turned in the correct position as Shamu smacked me in the face with his pink, blubbery, wet tongue.

Mission completed! I survived, and got a keepsake to have when I get old. This moment was bigger than life. Why? One, There are "NO" more kisses given by killer whales to this day! Here's the link:

www.chicagotribune.com

I show this to the students at the schools I teach art at during the week, and they are all inspired places like this use to do this back in the day! Then the questions come from the students: Were you scared? What was it like? What did you see? That was you as a kid? Then they called their friends over for them to see, because they think students are lying to them. And honestly...its sad. It really is sad, because these kids in today's society will probably never will get to experience this like I did. Is this the reason why I painted my daughters room in an ocean theme? Is this the reason why I blew up this picture and hung it in her room. A part of me needs to think, "Yes."

In relation to this novel(s), I felt a need to create a new childhood memory for them to remember. An adventure like no other, and heartfelt characters children, teens, and adults can relate to. I understand my stories are make believe, but the characters are related to people and family I know. Some experiences in the book itself are in relation to actual people. Easter eggs that adults could only find and understand, but will be goofy to children reading the story. 

I seriously...seriously can not wait for this book to be published! It is going to be amazing to listen and read comments from all of you on your experience. When this happens, you all will be the first to know when the release date will be!!! Happy memorial Day Weekend! Be safe.

Stay tuned,

Dustin

The next blog will be a character profile

#1. First Post: The World Is Rigged

I am so excited to share with you my new series entitled, "The World Is Rigged." This first story is about three alien refugees escaping an intergalactic war and use Earth as a safe refuge. Both, Oop and Ed find themselves crash-landing in the back of the trailer of the main families diesel truck, the father is driving. Meanwhile, Panda uses a tracker to find both Oop and Ed on Earth just before his battle cruiser crash lands near their location that night. After waking up, Dustin sneaks out of the house and runs up the hill only to find himself confronted by Panda. Unable  to breathe the planet's atmosphere, Panda merges himself to Dustin's head. In time, the two realize their merged DNA which has given them both psychokinesis abilities.

Oop, Ed, and Panda escape an intergalactic war to ironically help Dustin defend his world from Santa Skulls sending his demonic henchmen to exterminate him and the world itself.

I need to share these stories is just the start of a wondrous multiverse! That's right, the characters that Dustin and Panda interact with in their adventure have their own concurrent fables happening at the exact same time as their own. There is a convergent in the end, where everyone is destine to meet and form an alliance and stop the universal apocalypse. 

Easter eggs will be spread through out the series. It is up to you to spot the iconic scenes! Easter eggs can be in the form of songs, movies, people, and etc. The experience in finding them will be exhilarating, and memorable.