Blessed be the Dunecat and all His cuteness. Bless the coming and going of Him, May His passing ease the world. May He keep the world smiling for all his people.

(via Dark Vision Hardware)

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Horrorfest III: Tales of Terror

A Second Life Convention presented by Bookstacks

Notice By Kghia Gherardi, Organizer

This month on the thirteenth, Bookstacks will commence Horrorfest III: Tales of Terror. You might not live to see the Ides of March this year! We will have a full schedule of events with numerous authors reading their works, including Mike Stackpole. The survivors will continue on the fourteenth when, amongst other events, Tobias Buckell will make one of his rare appearances in-world to read “Spurn Babylon.”

In other events you will be able to swap poetry with author Emerian Rich in the graveyard. Or learn about real life horrors with Mark Eller. Find out how to incorporate horror sound effects to your own shows. Sample Crap Mariner’s short shorts. Participate in a costume contest and attend a fashion show for the fashionably undead. And that’s not all! Bookstacks will be running all its normal events, usually with a twist…a twist of Terror.

Saturday, March 13
•9:00 am – Horrorfest opens with new and classic tales read by West of Ireland storyteller Gyro Muggins.
•10:00 am - Emerian Rich, author and host of the Horror Addicts podcast, hosts a workshop on creating horror sounds for podcasts…or simply to scare your friends next Halloween.
•11:00 am – Simeon Beresford serves as quiz master for a horrific game of Book Trivia. The winner of the game will take home 500 lindens, and the person in the best costume in the theme will also win 500 lindens.
•1:00 pm – Emerain Rich reads from the sequel to Night’s Knights
•2:00 pm – Science Fiction Saturday
•3:00 pm – NYT bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole will give you nightmares when he reads one of his scary tales
•4:00 pm – Join Emerian Rich for the annual sharing of scary poetry in the graveyard. There is more out there than “The Raven”
•5:00 pm – Crap Mariner offers his own take on terror with his 100 word stories and scary shorts
•6:00 pm – Author and host of the Hell Hole Tavern podcast, Mark Eller, will remind us that not all horror is fictional with his real life tales.
•7:00 pm – Live performance by Scream Machine*

Sunday, March 14 (please note: Daylight Savings Time begins in the US)
•11:00 am – Henry Snider reads from one of his stories about occult, parapsychology and esoteric studies
•1:00 pm – Off the Shelf interviews Mark Eller, author and host of the Hell Hole Tavern podcast
•3:00 pm – Poetry Libre’s Open Mic
•4:00 pm – Award-winning author Tobias Buckell reads “Spurn Babylon”
•5:00 pm – “Twenty Ten Horror and Chills Couture Event” – Fashion Show for the Fashionably Undead from the Infinite Focus Fashion Agency
* Scream Machine is brought to us by Grave Concerns Ezine

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In Bristol, England a bunch of Star Wars fans put together a flashmob for a huge lightsaber fight on February 13th 2010.  Watch the video below.

I love how this video has a Star Wars type intro though they left out the scroll which would have been a perfect place to put in the back story for the flashmob or to create some story to set up a bunch of Jedi and Dark Jedi fighting in Bristol, England.

The use Duel of the Fates for the soundtrack is a perfect choice for a bunch of lightsaber fighting.

(via /Film)

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Paul Jessup thinks he knows why Science Fiction is dying:

Heinlien. Asimov.  At the latest, Orson Scott Card (but mostly just for Ender’s Game). I don’t see anyone ever looking for something new…

This is why SF is spiraling downward in sales. It’s fans just aren’t buying it anymore. I’ve got mixed feelings about this. I love Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, etc. so I don’t mind that it’s popular and selling. But some part of me wonders- is SF meant to be kept in the past? Is that why Steampunk is so popular right now, because it’s an emulation of the past? I’m not sure. But this is a problem (Paul Jessup).

Is classicism the problem?  Well, it is part of it, but it is only one of many.

Lessons Lost

The biggest problem SF has is that the industry didn’t learn from the New Wave SF of the 60’s and 70’s.  These authors, most notably Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury, didn’t allow themselves to be constrained by the limits of industry enforced genre.  There stories were a little bit science, a little bit fantasy, a little bit horror.  The incorporated whatever they thought they needed into their stories to make them good.

Genre has become increasingly rigid.  Publishers forgot that Speculative Fiction is the literature of the imagination.  It once explored the question, “What if” without any limits save those of the author’s imagination.  As the genres stiffened, sales have continued to go down.

Lack of Imagination

This genre lock is not the only problem facing SF.  Have you seen any of the marketing for new fiction?  No?  You are not alone.

If a new classic is published and no one knows about it, will it make any sales?  Yes, among the author’s friends and family.  That is about it.

Publishers and authors need to find new ways to generate excitement about new titles, but that is not enough.  Fans need to find better venues to share and spread the word about their favorite new books.

Bless me, for I have sinned

I have to admit that I really haven’t read any new books in a long time.  With the exception of Night’s Knights, Brave Men Run, and Burning Skies.  These don’t count because I read them after meeting the authors.  I also don’t count the Harry Potter books or franchise fiction.  Personally, I find it too hard to find new books to read.

As a writer, I feel like I am confessing a mortal sin.  I want to read more, but I am not sure where to find new books.

I’ve thought about reviewing books myself, but I don’t feel like I have the time to wade through the weeds to find the books.

So, I ask you.  Where do you find out about new books?  How can we promote SF books better?

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Christopher Walken is a brilliant performer, dancer and has a great sense of humor.  The video below is yet another example of not only that brilliance but how a mashup can culturally make it even better.

A while back Christopher Walken did a reading performance of lady Gaga’s Poker face on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross BBC1.  This reading was very funny to watch leaving me chuckling and doing my own impression of Walken saying “P P P poker face… poker face.”  Then DJ Leekee took it up a notch with a video mashup!

Lady Gaga vs Christopher Walken-Poker Face(Mashup).  Watch the video below.

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Thanks John The Rogue Demon Hunter for this awesome Legend of the Seeker vid.  In under 3 minutes he captures the epic struggle of Kahlan and Richard against all opposition.  Watch the video below.

Find more videos like this on Project: Shadow

I like how the video starts out cut from one fight scene giving it a slow feeling matching the pace of the song then when the song speeds up the video matches.  The video cuts are tight and really fit the moments.  Lots of sword play, dagger play and other great fantasy combat moments.

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For years now I felt someone should make a toaster as the ideal merchandise for Battlestar Galactica.  Finally someone produced a frakkin toaster.  Thankfully it’s not the killer robot kind.

• $62.99 at the NBC store here
• LED Chrome Toaster
• Toasts a Cylon on one side and Frak Off on the other

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Oh My Goodness, what can I say it’s bohemian Rhapsody as you have never seen it before.  Watch the video above.

• Muppets!
• G rated lyrics
• Imagine Animal and Beaker Singing.
• I think most if not all of the Muppets make a cameo
• A great geek joke at the end.

All I could do is just laugh and enjoy the trip. Mahhhh Mahhh!

(Via Twitter Thanks tweeterism)

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ALL NEW! Star Wars Gangsta Rap: Chronicles

I think the Leia and Jabba parts are my favorites.  I am not sure this is as good as the original Star Wars Gangsta Rap, but it is funny.

(via Think Hero)

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There comes a time when we have to give up on what we love.  The trick is giving up on the right things.

The Time has passed

I miss fanzines.

When I first got involved in fandom, I built a large collection of fanzines.  I got to know the editors by name, and knew I would love the zines certain editors put out, and not others.  Now, with the exception of slash zines, the remainder of fanfiction has gone online.

The days of the zine are behind us, but their might be a new way to take the form into the future.

Look toward the new

Instead of trapping ourselves in the thought of what could be brought back, ask yourself how you can reinvent it, and move forward on that.

What have you decided to give up on?

And what can you reinvent it into?

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