Sensory Deprivation

Sensory deprivation tanks and more


If you have ever wanted to float on your back in the Dead Sea or get out of gravity and become an astronaut, you’re going to love today’s podcast. Sensory deprivation tanks are slowly growing in popularity again. If you can get to one, or if you are Joe Rogan and are lucky enough to have one in your basement, it might help you with stress, sleep disorders or even chronic pain.

On today’s podcast I discuss my experience using sensory deprivation tanks. I also want to say little bit about stress relief, vegging out and watching old movies. Finally, I have an update on the latest addition to the SleepCycle app.

Sorry for the delay releasing this ep of the All That Chazz Stress Relief Podcast. Between some issues with technology and broadband costs, I could not publish a podcast last week. To contribute to this podcast, please click the “Become a patron” button at AllThatChazz.com. There are various rewards for sponsorship from free books to advertising.

Catch Phrase Contest

This podcast is still desperately in need of a catchphrase to finish the show. Send me your suggestions at expartepress@gmail.com. The winner will get a free paperback copy of Do the Thing!

Here is the obligatory disclaimer:

Do not take medical advice from a podcast. If you need medical attention or if you are not sure whether you need medical attention, get medical attention.

The obligatory come on:

On this podcast I discuss a variety of topics related to reducing pain and stress while better managing time and energy. For more on these topics, I suggest you pick up my book Do the Thing, available on Amazon in paperback or e-book. Do the thing and start managing your life better right away. It is the last stress busting book you will ever need.

Life management skills.
Do the Thing! Get your copy today.

~ Robert Chazz Chute is primarily a science fiction writer. He also writes crime thrillers, urban fantasy and some nonfiction. From May 4 to May 6 you can pick up his time travel novel, Wallflower, for free on Amazon.

 

Writing Music & Workout Music Braingasms

(And by writing music, I mean music to write to.)

I’m on hiatus from one of my jobs and my other work is slow this week. Concentrating on publishing since I have so many manuscripts banked. I’m going to be be doing more book and life updates here, so don’t forget to subscribe, please.

I’m aiming to finish revisions on the next book in the Ghosts & Demons Series (which will all be rebranded The Dimension Wars.) Long story for another post.  What’s much fun is discovering new music for the soundtrack of my life.
I can get a lot done with various versions of Mission Impossible playing constantly. For working out, the soundtrack to Suicide Squad is damn cool even if you didn’t like the movie. (I did.) Try Work This Body by Walk the Moon, too.

For writing, I’ve discovered some songs that are new to me but are a lot of fun. Sweep the Leg from No More Kings is fun, especially if you, like me,  can’t let go of the movie The Karate Kid.  I’m also a new fan of Jim’s Big Ego. The Ballad of Barry Allen is a haunting take on the Flash. Stress is hilarious and true and I love Jonathan Coulton’s Code Monkey. The clever but yearning tone reminds me of Hackensack by Fountains of Wayne.

Check ’em out. I’m sure you’ll find something to tickle your ear bones.

#Chazziness

Music in the video kicks in at 3:01.

Elon Musk: Humanity risks ‘summoning a demon’

After a week of illness that kept me on my back, I got out to see Ex Machina. I won’t spoil it for you, but it is a thought-provoking horror movie that will remind you of Skynet becoming self-aware , that Elon Musk quote (above) about the dangerous possibilities of Artificial Intelligence and what monster slavers we could will become when we create convincing sexbots. Musk might not be wrong, but we are also demons. Right now. As you’re reading this.

Mostly, Ex Machina is about how dangerous we are and our place in the continuum of existence. The self-awareness of AI will make you uncomfortably self-conscious of the evil we can do long past the time your popcorn runs out.

I loved the writing. The slow, grim foreboding builds and the villain of the piece is perfect. One thing I really enjoyed was that we got through the entire movie without speaking the word slavery aloud. There are no extra words in the script and it relies on the audience being smart enough to fill in the blanks. That’s kind of rare, isn’t it? Writers are often too deathly afraid of the dough heads in the audience saying, “I don’t get it.”

I also didn’t recognize a single actor. The Hollywood machine pumps out sequels with faces you’ve seen before (and that’s not all bad), but it was refreshing to see something original, intelligent and well…new.

You’ll see Age of Ultron. Make sure you catch Ex Machina, too.

I am almost fully recovered from my illness and I’m looking forward to sending you updates about my next book, a fresh podcast and the latest developments over the next week. Until then, don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter. We’ll talk.

(And, yes, I want to write about AI and cool robots, too!)

Podcast: Weight Loss for a Loser

Hey, gang! It’s the heartfelt confrontation with life and its challenges we all knew was coming. 

In this ep, I talk about a new direction for the podcast. What? Again? Yeah, well, it’s always adapt or die around here and a fresh bout of knee pain has spurred me to make this podcast about weight loss and health and fitness (both physical and financial.) Because I have neither yet, that’s why!

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I don’t think it’s an oncoming train. Have a listen as shit gets deep and real. Welcome to my world…and let’s make it better.

Oh, and join me on the journey.

I’ll be posting again soon. You can click the BETTER LIFE tab for an awesome almond milk recipe that tastes like ice cream.

Subscribe and MUCHO IMPORTANTE:

Click the pre-order button on The End of the World As I Know It, coming in April! It’s a lot of fun with ghosts and demons and a very Buffy girl out to save the world. She’s just like me.

Thanks for listening. If you like the new deal, vote Roosevelt…no, I mean leave a happy review on iTunes. “Hey! Another weight loss podcast! Great! Because we don’t have enough of those!…”

Cheers!

Chazz

 

The Choir Invisible is Recruiting: The End of the World As I Know It

NEW G & D COVER

 

The End of the World As I Know It hits at the end of April. Are you ready? Click the draft cover above to pre-order the ebook.

Meet new allies, fresh and deadly enemies and a hunky love interest for Tam. Armageddon is going to get hot. Hell hot.

What’s next?

In the follow-up to The Haunting Lessons, Tamara Smythe has more to say about how to survive and thrive in the coming Armageddon. Unfortunately, experience comes from mistakes. The Choir Invisible is recruiting and the Keep is under attack. Expect lots of jokes, surprises, swordplay and magic action in Book 2 of the Ghosts & Demons Series.

NEW THL COVER JAN 2015 COMPLETE

The Pain and My New Commitments to You

In this post, I’m going to cover a couple of cool things you may want to be involved in. It’s about a new show, a new book and a new life for both of us.

What you might now know about me is, in addition to writing crime novels and dark fantasy, I’m a Registered Massage Therapist with over 20 years experience in injury rehabilitation and the treatment of disease conditions. (See?)

I work at being an RMT part-time to cobble together an income that finances my writing. At the moment, I’m working very little and things are looking pretty bad. It turns out, I have to work on myself to save myself from myself. I’m going to help you save yourself, too. Here’s what happened:

The Twist

A couple of weeks ago I was home alone. Naturally, since no one could see me, I cranked up some tunes and worked on getting some exercise. Writing is incredibly sedentary so I have to work out when I can. Two minutes later, I twisted my knee by dancing too hard.

Ow. How ridiculous. And OW!

So…shit. Now what? I suspect it’s a medial meniscus tear. Basically, that’s the cushion in the knee and my cushion isn’t working right. The pain has been so bad sometimes that I sweat. Sleep is elusive. When the pain gets intolerable, I use a cane.

Next on the menu: painkillers, ice, chiropractic, exercise, alignment techniques, manual therapy, bracing, cupping, heat and kinesiotape. Turmeric supplements (and lots of the natural spice) helps with joint inflammation. Analgesic creams aren’t touching the pain at all. I can normally squat the whole rack at the gym but I don’t dare do that right now. In fact, the stairs up to the weight room are intimidating and I have to be very careful.

I saw the doc today.

An X-ray and MRI is scheduled. It’s up to me to rehab my way out of trouble before a surgeon decides to get in there with flamethrowers, holy water and hot pokers. There’s ultrasound at my clinic and my friend the chiropractor is excellent, too. Arthroscopy isn’t as popular a solution as it once was, but I’m hoping the answer to my pain will be nothing more than rehabilitative exercise. Fortunately, I’m an expert in that.

Working my way out of pain is one of my part-time jobs now.

It doesn’t pay, but it’s going to feel great to be healthy again. In fact, I’m aiming for more than just going back to normal. I want to be super again. Doesn’t everybody want to feel super? My goals include weight loss (also great for knees and osteoarthritis) and a healthier, more active lifestyle. That can be hard for a writer who often sits still for hours at a time. However, I’ve got a plan for that and it’s already in action. No whining necessary!

I’ve still got writing projects going and collaborators and readers depending on me. My collaborators are patient, but I’m not.

A couple of part-time gigs are in the works to try to make ends meet. Standing at a massage table all day is too much pain at the moment, so I’m off that work for now. I’m dedicating a huge chunk of each day to try to fix my damn knee quickly. However, my plans are bigger than one knee. I’m thinking about your knees, too.

THE PROJECTS

Book sales have tapered off lately so I have to get the next book in the Ghosts & Demons Series revised, edited and beta read etc. and out there! I’m pretty close to finished with the book. Number two in the series is called The End of the World As I Know It and I’m really happy with it. It’s got jokes, action and swordplay galore. Very Buffy.

I am asking for help, but I also plan to give more help. (More on that below.)

If you can spot a typo at arm’s length or shoot an arrow through a plot hole at twenty paces, please join my Steel Falcon Beta Read Team. You’ll get a first look at what happens to Tamara Smythe in the demon apocalypse and laugh your ass off, too. If you want to join the Choir Invisible, just email me at expartepress [AT] gmail [DOT] com with the subject line: STEEL FALCON.

Please note: If you haven’t read The Haunting Lessons (the first book in the series) yet, that’s okay. Your help as a beta reader is appreciated immensely and you’ll get acknowledgement in the book, too.

Now, about that love and joy I’m going to spread around:

Very soon, I’ll launch a health program with daily updates for anyone who cares to follow. I’m hammering out details now, but this is about exercise, eating right and accountability. It’ll involve reports on my progress, exercise tips and tricks to get healthier. This is for me because I need to get on track, but it’s also for readers, viewers and a lot of people I don’t know. Everyone needs to eat and act healthy. I’ll lead by example and report the truth of my successes and failures. I’ll measure every mile of the journey. The reports will keep me on track and I hope they inspire you.

Soon you’ll see posts from me on Vine, Instagram and here, at AllThatChazz.com. Subscribe if’n you ain’t already!

If you’re on the Fitbit, go to Fitbit.com, find Chazz (me!) and be my friend there to kick things off.

This commitment will bleed over to the All That Chazz podcast, as well. This post is already too long, so I’ll talk about that in the next podcast.

How about it?

 Join the fight to live healthier every day. Join me. I’ll share my struggle and encourage you in yours. Soon, I’ll get my health, my job and life back. This isn’t the end. It’s the speed bump before a new beginning. I believe in beginning again. Do you?

~ Steel Falconers: email me at expartepress [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

The rest of you, get a good pair of sneakers out and get a fitbit. First goal: Get at least 10,000 steps every day. I’ll catch up to you soon, and I won’t be hobbling around on a cane!

#Podcast: Wombats and Brickbats


Meet Joe Contradiction! He’s a sweet old guy, and by that I mean his blood sugar is alarmingly high. Have some sweet tea, listen to the crickets and enjoy!

This podcast is sponsored by Kit Foster of KitFosterDesign.com, who is not in any way responsible for any content that crosses your eyes, sets your hair on fire and makes you uncomfortable. For all your graphics needs, check out Kit’s portfolio at KitFosterDesign.com.

It’s Feb 3, 2015 and seven of my books are marked down to 99 cents within the next 24 to 48 hours. It’s a pulse sale. That means the deals won’t last long. Head to AllThatChazz.com and click the affiliate links in the sidebar to the right to get your next book of fun, fantasy and danger cheap!

If you enjoy the new format for the show, please leave a review so more people can find the  my new weird.

Cheers and thanks for listening!

~ Chazz