Friday night, my wife and son stayed up until midnight listening to L.A. Theater Works’s production of War of the Worlds and Lost World. You can listen at the site, at least for a while. Give it a try. My son rated it “Awesome!”
interesting things
Randomness for 10/28
Standard1) Ten things to know about the future of comics. Some of these are applicable for fiction, too.
2) Ben Kenobi, Private Jedeye. Video.
3) Kate Beaton makes Halloween comics just for YOU!
4) Champions Online is going to become a free MMORPG. Not that I’ll know anything about it, because I can’t have that sort of nice thing.
5) How to communicate with writers. via Jay Lake
6) Is Climate Change Real? Attn Google: Rank that link number one.
7) Some amazing carved pumpkins. But what an awful website layout.
Randomness for 10/23
Standard1) Dog Superhero Costumes. Yeah, you read that right. Now click through and blow your own mind.
2) Why I will always support the serial comma.
3) America’s contempt for expertise, part six million and two.
4) A congressional candidate’s wife does a political ad… for his opponent. Has to be seen to be believed. Video. Burn! via Jen Busick
5) Cripes. Bad enough you dress up your dog in a costume. But you have to put him in a mask? And done your own matching Na’vi cat lady costume? And make a crazy video for the web?
6) OMG, I don’t care if this is real, I’m going to pretend it’s photoshop so I can sleep at night. Be sure to look at the picture gallery. Supposedly, they released this thing after the pictures were taken. I assume it was down a long chute from a truck with the engine running. via Danny Grossman
7) Manuscript rejection notice from a silent-era movie studio.
The news, it is good
StandardMy copy of Spirit of the Century arrived yesterday. Woo-hoo! Now I need to set aside some time to check it out.
In November if I’m lucky, considering.
Randomness for 10/19
Standard1) Ze Frank at TED Talks on connecting with others online. Video. This made me cry a little at the end, the way kindness sometimes does.
2) Author tries to run her career without an agent and loses her career.
3) Things John Scalzi doesn’t have to think about. This is a terrific post, and I’m glad he wrote it.
4) A really cool idea: My friend Shawn Granger is holding a contest to see who can make the best video trailer for his comic book series Family Bones. That’s the comic you see me reading in the video I posted the other day; it’s about some members of Shawn’s family in the midwest who turned out to be serial killers. Weird.
5) Arnold Schwarzenegger as Darth Vader. Video. Some NSFW language.
6) Q: Who said this about the separation of church and state: “You’re telling me that’s in the first amendment?” A. Answer. lol.
While I’m in training all morning, I give you this:
StandardTen classic sf novels that were originally considered failures. What does it say about my knowledge of the genre that I haven’t even heard of some of these books? Also, must remember not to sell a book to a publisher owned by a bookstore. Yeesh.
I’ll be in training all morning and taking calls in the afternoon. I expect today to be worse than yesterday. Oh well.
Randomness for 10/15
Standard1) A terrific book trailer for Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. Video
2) Where good ideas come from. Video.
3) ‘Damn. Are we that different from people?’ I can’t think of any way to summarize this profile of Insane Clown Posse except to say that it’s really, really interesting. They’re evangelical Christians? (Added later: the SNL parody. Video. My reaction to that spoof: SNL is still on the air?)
4) Buy artificial hands to touch your baby. Hey, it’s not as creepy as this teddy bear made from a placenta! Hello, horror movie that is the real world.
5) Animator vs. Animation III. Video.
6) McDonald’s burgers can TOO grow mold on them, says McDonals.
7) Sir Ken Robinson talks modern education. Video. This is another RSA Animate video, and I love it. (Let’s ignore the Ritalin error)
Bitten by Books
StandardOn Monday the 18th, I will have an article on Bitten By Books as part of their new “Authors Speak Out” series. At least, I think I do. I sent the essay, but haven’t heard back whether it’s acceptable or not. Yes, I’m a pessimist. It’s how I survive. Update: It’s acceptable and will run next week. Yay!
However! If any other UF writers out there want to take part, you should contact the good folks over there. It’s a pretty active community. C.E. Murphy is currently talking about whitewashed covers. Check it out (and maybe win some free books).
Randomness for 10/12
Standard1) Random House UK will publish novelizations of new and old Hammer Films. A fine idea, if you ask me.
2) My wife and I saw this guy’s art on the First Thursday Art Walk. Beautiful and fun.
3) Keep it classy, Europe! Mom discovers her missing daughter has been found dead on live TV, while standing in her killer’s dining room.
5) Look at yourself. Now look at Grover. Back to yourself. Now back to Grover. Video.
7) 14 Inflatable Buildings. Maybe it reveals a flaw in my personality, but the urge to puncture the wedding chapel and have it deflate on the whole wedding party would be intense. Via Martha Wells.
Randomness for 10/8
Standard1) Chicken McNuggets are made of this pink goop. Oh, lame-ass standup comics of yesteryear, the truth is so much worse than you imagined! By god, industrial food is repulsive.
2) “If you do this in an email, I hate you.”
3) Ten greatest all-nude fight scenes in comics. So… yeah, it’s funny and dopey and juvenile, but it’s funny. Also, the comments are hilarious.
4) I was pretty stupid when I was younger, but never this stupid. Video.
5) SF Signal has done a “mind meld” about the idea of a Star Wars reboot, and most of the writers say “No,” “NO!” and “Don’t bother.” Of course, I planned out a Star Wars: A New Hope reboot last year.
6) “First with my son, and now with my new love, I was learning that conspiracy
and dominance are not the only ways to be close to someone.” This essay/memoir/confessional is a few years old (ancient in internet time) but still powerful as hell. Carver is a terrific writer.
7) Sucking air through clenched teeth alert: Woman mistakenly uses super glue instead of eye drops. Note to self: move all butcher knives out of the prop knife drawer.