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KRAD's Inaccurate Guide to Life
ramblings from a mad fedora'd writer
kradical
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spoiler-filled preview of Farscape #2
Farscape #2 will be released to comic stores on Wednesday 16 December, but Comics Continuum already has a preview, which, naturally, I'm reproducing here....

SPOILERS! and big images behind the cut.... )

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: "First Snow on Brooklyn" by Jethro Tull

kradical
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Animal, the Swedish Chef, and Beaker do "The Carol of the Bells."

Thanks to [info]karistan and [info]yendi for the heads-up.....

Current Mood: silly
Current Music: "Right Hand Man" by Joan Osborne

kradical
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As Season 0 of the audio drama HG World barrels to a conclusion, 3015 North Studios is presenting the final three parts of the season in the final three weeks of the year, starting tonight with the fifth episode, "All the Greenery is Comin' Down, Boy." The sixth episode, "And Shadows Still Remain," will go live on 18 December, with the season finale, "It's a World of Dread and Fear," hitting on Christmas Day. (Then, of course, Season 1 starts in January 2010......)

The United Nations heads north to HG World. Refugees run from a guerrilla attack into the arms of a mob of eaters. Hicks' fate is revealed. Inside HG World, tensions rise as the lockdown continues and accidents lead to tough choices among the staff struggling to keep up appearances. A separate group of survivors tries to hold off Eaters from a mountaintop church.

Starring:
Shane Harris as AUGGIE
Dustin Shanafelter as DAVID
Mark Zaricor as DAWKINS
Lee Sands as DOGBERRY
Tracy Hall as DOREEN
Steve C. as FISH
Michael L. Stokes as GRANT and JACK
Stacy Dooks as GRAY
Glen Bartram as HARRIS
Ryan Smith as HICKS
D.T. Kelly as JEB
M. Sieiro Garcia as JENNY JO and SARGE
Lance Shoenberg as KRANTZ
Shane Harris as MAYOR
Ayoub Khote as McINNES
Dustin Shanafelter as PIMPLES
Cheryl Malcom as REGINA and SHELLY
Becca Rinas as RONNI
Carole Stokes as RUBY
Dayton Ward as SHEMP
Eric Avedission as THOMAS
and
Keith R.A. DeCandido as TODD RAGE

The episode was written and directed by Jay Smith, edited and engineered by Michael Stokes.

HG World is produced by Jay Smith & Michael L. Stokes, with production assistance by Martha Linbo-Terhaar and Carole Stokes. Production logo and additional art by Adrianna Linbo-Terhaar.

This show was edited with Reaper Audio Editor with some Sound Effects from FreeSound.org. For a full list of FreeSound contributors, please visit us at GoodMorningSurvivors.com.

Jonathan Coulton appears courtesy of the Creative Commons License. Visit JonathanCoulton.com for music downloads and concert information.

HG World is a production of 3015 North Studios.

You can download the episode from iTunes, or go to GoodMorningSurvivors.com or podOmatic's HG World page. And please do comment on the HG World message boards.

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: "Don't Do It" by The Band

kradical
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first review of D'Argo's Quest #1
From Comic Book Resources "Buy Pile," where it once again goes in the "read pile."

Money quote:
"Farscape: D'Argo's Quest" #1 introduces more characters and expands the world framed by this quest for vengeance, reinforcing the casual xenophobia and complicated social strata of the Farscape universe. More "TV good" stuff from Boom! that probably electrifies the fan base.

It'll do....

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "5.15" by Roger Daltry w/orchestra

kradical
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Both Editor and Publisher and Kirkus Reviews are shutting down. This sucks on several levels, but the one that irks me most is that [info]girasole and the Infomancer both reviewed for the latter publication, so they've been denied a source of income, something that's happening way too often to too many people -- including me. *sigh*

English Whisky bottled for the first time in a century. Drunks Discerning drinkers everywhere rejoice.....

The Fun Theory, a site dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. I like the way they think.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder

kradical
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Also in comic stores this week (besides Farscape: D'Argo's Quest #1, which, of course, you all bought, right????) is Assembled! 2: The Unauthorized Guide to Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Their Foes, edited by Van Allen Plexico, and featuring a ton of spiffy essays about Marvel Comics's premiere super team. Among the essays is my own overview of the Avengers in prose.

Proceeds from the book benefit the Hero Initiative charity.

So check it out, a'ready!

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: "Baba O'Riley" by Roger Daltry & The Chieftains

kradical
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"If you ever need a reason to further appreciate New York, spend a few days in Indianapolis."
---Joseph Pawlikowski, who just returned from Major League Baseball's winter meetings in the latter city, River Avenue Blues

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "The Body of an American" by the Pogues

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Looked over the Dragon Precinct story, and realized it needs a buttload of work (an assessment seconded by [info]girasole), but the editor ([info]damcphail) has generously given me to the end of the year.

Had to do a final pass on D'Argo's Quest #4, and also did final revisions to the mystery proposal. Did a couple of online interviews that should show up on the web some time soon. Also been getting in touch with editors, doing the trolling-for-work thing.

Did up the latest "Couch Potato Salad," which is a review of Alice that'll be on The Chronic Rift next week. Also recorded something for HG World (about which more in another post....).

I started doing the research necessary for the historical fantasy I want to do. I know which historical figure I want to focus on, and the commencement of the research has come with it a notion as to what the fantasy element will likely be.

Had lunch with my old buddy Glenn Greenberg today. He works at Scholastic, and afterward I walked up Broadway for a bit into NoHo. Was depressed to see that the old site of Tower Records is still for rent. The excellent independent bookstore Shakespeare & Co. is still there, though, and I picked up a couple things there.

(In general, I've been trying to do more stuff. Lately I've been to the Cloisters, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bronx Zoo, and Columbia University (the latter for the Al Jaffee talk last night). Plans are afoot for the Whitney (wanna see the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit) and the New York Annex of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (before it closes).)

Now I'm working on Farscape #6, which I'm running late on. Tomorrow is the monthly lunch with Dave Mack and Marco Palmieri and dinner with the Forebearance.

Looking ahead to the rest of December, I want to get at least three chapters of the urban fantasy written. I also need to rework Super City Police Department (remember that?). By the time I get through that, I should have done the research necessary to at least plot out the historical.

In the midst of that will be more Farscape scripts, of course. And I'm hoping other work becomes real between now and then......................

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "To Cry You a Song" by Jethro Tull

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A thread on Terra Firma (the most active of the remaining Farscape boards) about the guy who played Crichton's friend DK (who had a tiny role in all of three episodes) gets six replies.

A thread on the release of D'Argo's Quest #1 has yet to garner a single reply.

Sigh.

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: "Teacher" by Jethro Tull

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Still need to do a full IITF, but I wanted to mention that La Agent sent a proposal for a mystery to an editor.

Good wishes, please, if you can spare them. This would be wonderful if it sells. I am absurdly nervous about this.....

Current Mood: nervous
Current Music: "The Twelve Days of Christmas" by Bob McNally

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Bad-Ass Faeries review
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Tonight I saw Al Jaffee of MAD Magazine fame give a talk at Columbia University. It was magnificent, and you can see some pictures on Facebook. He told some great stories, ranging from growing up in Savannah, Lithuania, and the Bronx; being one of the first students (along with future fellow MAD artist Will Elder) at the then-new School of Music and Art; working in the early days of the comics industry (which was mostly run by Jews, and so didn't have the anti-Semitism that other illustrative fields were choked with); to working with Harvey Kurtzman on the short-lived Trump and Humbug; to his time on MAD; to the creation of "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" and the fold-ins; to the entire staff of MAD converging on the home of their one subscriber in Haiti, who hadn't renewed.

Jaffee was delightfully crotchety, funny as hell, and still is at the top of his game. In short, I want to be Al Jaffee when I'm 88.

But afterward, I needed food. I found a place called Koronet Pizza on Broadway & 110th, which has the biggest fucking slices of pizza I've ever seen in my life.

Naturally, I had to take a picture, because would you believe me otherwise? )

It was yummy....

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Teidhir Abhaile Riú" by Clannad

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in stores today: D'Argo's Quest #1
Farscape: D'Argo's Quest #1 by myself and Caleb Cleveland hits comics stores today, as we find out what D'Argo was up to between the third and fourth seasons. His quest for Macton -- his wife's killer -- leads him instead to ... Raxil? The little troublemaker from "Scratch 'n' Sniff" is back, and she's who D'Argo needs to trust to find Macton....

Comics Continuum has a preview, but I've also provided it for you here....

Lotsa graphics behind the cut................ )

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: "Good King Wenceslas" by Bob McNally

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"Skullcrusher Mountain" as a Doctor Who fanvid
A series of clips from Doctor Who, focusing on the Master, to the tune of Jonathan Coulton's "Skullcrusher Mountain."

Roger Delgado, Anthony Ainley, Geoffrey Beevers, and John Simm are all represented. Peter Pratt is not, but Decrepit Master is covered by Beevers. Neither is Eric Roberts, which is fine -- but neither is Derek Jacobi, which is the one and only flaw in the vid.

Anyhow, it's fun stuff -- check it out! Thanks to [info]scarlettina for the link.

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" by Bob McNally

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British artist Neill Cameron has been doing a fun advent thing: a new Santa every day. Thus far we've had Pirate Santa, Full of Existential Dread Kitten Santa, BatSanta (or, the Dark Knight Before Christmas), Toddler Santa, Santa Raptor, Toshiro Mifune Santa (my personal favorite), Santa Who (David Tennant version), and Santa Cthulhu.

Today, though, is the classic Reanimated Killbot Hello Kitty! Revenge Santa!!!!!

Hee!

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Pavane" by Ian Anderson w/orchestra

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The Chronic Rift Spotlight: Robert J. Sawyer
John speaks with Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer, discussing both the TV show Flash Foward, based on his novel, and his new trilogy.

You can download the episode from iTunes, from the Rift web site, or from Mevio's Rift page. Comment on the web site or leave a message at 888.866.9010.

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: "Strange Avenues" by Jethro Tull

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Thomas Edison made the first known sound recording by reciting Mary had a little lamg into a phonograph (1877)


PRESIDENTS, &c., ON BANK NOTES

Portraitbill
George Washington$1
Thomas Jefferson$2
Abraham Lincoln$5
Alexander Hamilton$10
Andrew Jackson$20
Ulysses S. Grant$50
Benjamin Franklin$100
* William McKinley$500
* Grover Cleveland$1,000
* James Madison$5,000
* Salmon P. Chase$10,000
*+ Woodrow Wilson$100,000


* These notes are no longer in production.
+ Wilson $100,000 bills were produced 1934-35 and were issued by the Treasury to Federal Banks based upon held gold bullion stocks; they were used only for official transactions.


A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: "Gimme Shelter" by Patti Smith

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After 13 "dry" years, America officially repealed Prohibition (1933)


THE RED PHONE

During a visit to China in March 2007, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace announced that Washington and Beijing were considering installing an emergency hotline between the leaders of the two countries. Such hotlines tend to be known as "red phones," after the U.S.-Russia link established in 1963, following the potentially disastrous failures of communication during the Cuban missile crisis. (For example, it reportedly took the U.S. c.12 hours to receive and decode Khruschev's first settlement message, and the Soviet ambassador later disclosed that he handed messages to a bicycle courier, who in turn sent them via Western Union.) The "red phone" was actually used for the first time in 1967, when it helped prevent the Six Day War from escalating into a global conflict.

Initially, the "red phone" consisted of a set of teleprinters connected via transatlantic cable. In the 1970s, the teleprinters were replaced with actual phones and, later, satellite communications and facsimile transmission. Why the phone is "red" is the subject of some speculation. Moscow apparently called their side of the connection "the red telephone"--though whether this was because of its actual color, the urgency of its function, or a humorous allusion to political ideology, is unclear.


A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Thomas Edward Brown (1830-97)

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones

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President George H.W. Bush ordered 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia (1992)


EU'S 50TH BIRTHDAY CAKES

On 25 March 1957, the Treaty of Rome was signed, creating the European Economic Community (now the European Union). To celebrate 50 years of this treaty, all 27 member states were asked to bake two cakes traditional to their country for a party in Berlin. Below is a brief description of some of these European birthday cakes:

Cakecountry
description
TikvenikBulgaria
pastry made with sweet pumpkin
SavarinFrance
cake rin soaked in rum and filled with cream
Frankfurter KranzGermany
crown-shape cake filled with buttercream
Porter cakeIreland
fruit cake with Guinness
Ciambellone tradizionaleItaly
ring-shape butter cake
Tarta de SantiagoSpain
almond cake
Pehtranova poticaSlovenia
cake falvorerd with tarragon and nuts
Hot cross bunUK
traditional Easter spiced bun


Most usually our virtues are only vices in disguise.
Duc de la Rochefoucauld (1613-80)

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: "The Sound of Silence" by Paul Simon

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"You wish to interview a creature that is thousands of years old, refuses to have any congress with any other races, and could kill you with a simple exhalation?"

"That sums it up, yes."

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Life in the Fast Lane" by the Eagles

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"I don't know how people pissing on my face will help me sell Lou Ferrigno's house."
---Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), I Love You, Man

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: I Love You, Man on DVD

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The New York annex of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is closing.

I can't bring myself to be surprised. The museum is way off the beaten path (so walk-in business is nigh impossible), the admission price is very steep, and the economy sucks. It's too bad, as it's a magnificent museum, a treasure trove of New York music arcana and tchotchkes.

Thanks to [info]karistan for the heads-up....

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: "Straight to My Heart" by Sting

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A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway (1947)


PROTECTING THE PRESIDENT

After the assassination of President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, by Leon Czolgosz, Congress charged the Secret Service with protecting the President of the United States. Nowadays, the Secret Services is mandated by law to protect:
---the president, th evice president (or other individuals next in order of succession to the office of the President)
---the president-elect and vice president-elect
---the immediate families of the above individuals
---former presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes, except when the spouse remarries (in 1997, congressional legislation became effective limiting Secret Service protection to former presidents for a period of not more than 10 years from the date the former president leaves office [Bill Clinton will be the last president to enjoy lifelong protection])
---children of former presidents until age 16
---visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad
---major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses, within 120 days of a presidential election


I am willing to love all mankind, except an American.
Samuel Johnson (1709-84)

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: "Rocks on the Road" by Jethro Tull

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The U.S. Senate voted 65 to 22 to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy for conduct unbecoming of a senator (1954)


SOME MOON SUPERSTITIONS

The 1865 edition of The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities lists some once-popular moon superstitions, including these: It is unlucky to kill a pig in the wane of the moon, or the pork will waste in boiling.

It is unlucky to see the new moon for the first time through glass.

A Saturday moon, / If it comes once in seven years, / Comes once too soon. (In other words, if the new moon is on a Saturday, the weather will likely be bad for the ensuing month.)

To see "the old moon in the arms of the new one" is a reckoned sign of fine weather; and so is the turning up of the horns of the new moon. In this position it is supposed to retain the water that is imagined to be in it, which would urn out and fall to earth as rain if the horns were turned down.


Sport strips away personality, letting white bone of character shine through.
Rita Mae Brown (1944-)

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Two Short Planks" by Ian Anderson

kradical
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buy MY STUFF for Christmas!
Don't know what to get your loved ones as holiday presents? Try MY STUFF! There's lots and lots of MY STUFF available at your local bookstore and/or comic book store, or online from such dealers as Amazon.com, TFAW.com, and so on.

They include:

A whole mess of MY STUFF behind the cut..... )

So what're you waiting for? Go out and buy MY STUFF! *grin*

Current Mood: silly
Current Music: "Baby Gonna Leave Me" by Tom Waits

who is this guy?
Keith R.A. DeCandido
User: [info]kradical
Name: Keith R.A. DeCandido
Website: DeCandido.net
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