No Surrender, No Retreat (Movie/Show Review #2)

by Leave a Comment

I want to primarily write about entertainment that I love on this blog. On Twitter, I also post shorter reviews of films and shows I’ve recently seen. But here, it’s about building a map to the good movies.

To kick things off, I recommend a movie from the 1980s—one of the very first movies I ever watched. I remember coming home from kindergarten at age five. My brother had gotten No Surrender, No Retreat on VHS, and we watched it on a rainy afternoon.

In Germany, the movie was actually sold as Karate Tiger. But no matter the title, it’s the flick that launched Jean-Claude van Damme’s movie career. It also introduced me to Bruce Lee and, I believe, inspired my own interest in martial arts a couple of years later.

The plot is simple: a lost boy is rejected by friends, society, and family. But he finds meaning and confidence in martial arts, guided by Bruce Lee’s ghost, who teaches him that martial arts are not just a sport, but a way of life. Along the way, the movie also introduced Van Damme’s trademark split.

One standout aspect of the film is its music, which perfectly complements the training and fight scenes. The choreography still holds up today, as all the side characters clearly had solid martial arts experience.

The movie was a low-budget production, but the director made the most of limited resources. Sure, the dialogue can feel cheesy at times now, and the plot is paper-thin, but the film has a remarkable ability to motivate you to work out and practice fighting. If you have a young son, show him this movie—and maybe get him into kickboxing the next day!

IMDb rates it only 5.6 here. Likely because No Surrender, No Retreat is a classic “boys’ movie,” a type of story that isn’t really told anymore today.

By the way, the movie is currently (as I’m writing this post) freely available on YouTube: Watch here

Rest in Peace, Prince of Darkness

by Leave a Comment

Man, what a ride this guy had through life. Ozzy Osbourne was one of rock’s greatest voices—if not the greatest of them all. Today, he sadly passed away at the age of 76. Just two weeks ago, he played his final concert, bringing together some of the biggest names in music for one last, unforgettable hurrah.

I remember hearing him for the first time—falling in love with that kind of music and his unique voice. Later, I saw him on that MTV show, The Osbournes, which in Germany only aired with subtitles. My English wasn’t good enough at first to understand everything, but after watching rerun after rerun, not only did I get why so many liked it—I also came to love Ozzy Osbourne the person.

He always struck me as a great guy with a kind heart. And he managed to do what many men strive for: he stayed true to himself and lived his dream all the way to the end.

His music with Black Sabbath made me pick up a guitar. His work with Randy Rhoads is rock history at its finest. And his solo career later on produced hit after hit—for good reason. My father loved his music so much, he wanted Ozzy’s song Dreamer to be played at his funeral.

A man can’t live forever.
But his work can.
RIP Prince of Darkness.

Get July’s Short Story Book For Free – The Last Portrait

by Leave a Comment

This is my first full month launching my free short story promotion. My plan is to publish a new short story on Amazon every month and offer it for free during the promotional period. Each story will be between 2,000 and 10,000 words, and the free offer will run for as long as Amazon allows—5 days.

July’s short story is titled The Last Portrait, and it’s available for free until Sunday.

If you read eBooks on Kindle, be sure to grab your copy while it’s free. And if you enjoy the story, I’d really appreciate a review on Amazon—thank you!

Here are the links:

After the promotion ends, both versions will be priced at $0.89.
If you don’t want to miss future free promotions—I’ll be doing them regularly—follow me on Twitter and join my newsletter.

Take care!

Get My Latest Book For Free – Black Market Dreams

by Leave a Comment

One of the strategies I want to try for building a readership is to give away as much content as possible for free. In addition to publishing short stories on this website, I also plan to release stories on Amazon — either at the lowest possible price or completely free.

If you’re not familiar with how Amazon works: there’s a limit on how many days you can offer a book for free. However, I can run a free promotion for up to five days per book.

My idea is to write a new short story each month, between 2,000 and 10,000 words, and use these free campaigns to attract readers. Giving away books is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to get people interested in what I write.

The first test of this approach is now live and available for free on Amazon:

It’s a quick read — about 5,000 words (19 Kindle pages) — but I think it’s a strong story and a good example of what you can expect from my future work.

So if you’re curious, feel free to check it out!

(Keep in mind, though, that the free campaign will only last for 5 days. So the book is going to be 99 Cents after June 25th.)

Blogging in English or Your Native Language

by Leave a Comment

If you’ve read any of my articles before, you’ve probably noticed that English is not my native language. I make mistakes—more than I’d like—but with every article I write, I get a little better. Despite the challenges, blogging in English has too many advantages for me to stick to my native language instead.

Writing in a Non-English Language

I’ve run several websites in the past, most of them in German. Writing in my native language had its benefits: I could express myself more precisely and made fewer mistakes. It also felt easier and took less time.

But I quickly discovered the limitations of blogging in German. Back then, I ran a niche site that built a small but dedicated community. Still, compared to similar English-language sites, the reach was modest. Over time, it felt like I had already reached the maximum possible audience. In short: I peaked early.

Part of that was due to the niche I was targeting, but it was also because writing in German limited my potential audience.

Now, I’m in this for the long run. I plan to create content online for the rest of my life. My basic needs are covered, my bills are paid, I’m debt-free, and I even have a bit of “fuck you” money saved up. That gives me the freedom to think long-term. And long-term, the audience for English-language content is hundreds—if not thousands—of times larger than for German content.

Writing in English as a Non-Native Speaker

Making mistakes doesn’t look great. I understand that hiring a native speaker to polish my writing would seem more professional. But there are also benefits to making mistakes.

Learning – You can’t improve without making mistakes. Of course, mistakes alone don’t guarantee progress, but if you never act out of fear of getting it wrong, you’ll never move forward.

Personality – One of the best things about blogs is the personality behind them. Big corporations may deliver flawless content, but readers know there’s a faceless entity behind it. Blogs are different—they’re personal. A one-person show creates a direct connection between the writer and the reader. Mistakes can actually enhance that authenticity. They reflect honesty and vulnerability.

AI – In the near future, the only way to tell if content is written by a human might be the presence of small mistakes. AI will produce perfect output. We may end up in a kind of reverse Turing Test, where imperfection becomes proof of humanity.

The Trap of Perfection – Striving for perfection can paralyze you. As a hobby fiction writer, I get stuck in endless revision cycles. Even after five rounds of editing, I still want to tweak sentences. But perfection isn’t the best goal when publishing content. Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto the page matters more—even if it means making a few mistakes along the way.

Will English Always Dominate the Internet?

The Western world is going through a period of change. The Arab world and China are gaining influence, while America’s dominance appears to be waning. It’s possible that one day, Arabic or Chinese could rival English as the dominant language online.

But for now, English remains the global standard. Most people in the Western world learn English in school, at least to a basic level. Any significant shift in language dominance—where Arabic or Chinese are taught globally—will likely take decades. And who knows? The West could still experience a renaissance that boosts its global influence even further.

For the foreseeable future, English will remain the language of the internet.

So if you want to grow online—write in English.