World's Finest

Had this Darjeeling at Vi's the other night. It was fine for a cup of tea produced from a teabag instead of leaves, and brewed by dipping the bag into warm water (rather than pouring boiling water over the bag). But "the finest the world can produce"?

I think Bigelow should consider a softer sell. :)

Underwater hatch & the truth about Hanso

Here are some links to clips of the San Diego Comics Con LOST panel with Jorge Garcia, Daniel Day Kim, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, and Bryan Burk.

Introductions
What's the deal with the underwater hatch? Do Rose and Bernard work for Dharma?
Relationship questions: Kate+Hurley and the death of Jack
Theories and clones
Hanso=Bad
Huggable Jorge

Still no re-emergence of the Klugh clip. The LOST choose-your-own-adventure game continues apace.

Quote of the day

From Steven Grant, via his weekly column, Permanent Damage:

"War is the happy place of fundamentalism of all stripes."

Remember Aurora

"The Girl with the Half-Moon Eyes," my story from the Spring 2006 issue of On Spec, is eligible for the Aurora Award in the Short-Form Work category. I love being on lists!

squid-related

Did I ever mention that I have a story in issue #2 of Space Squid? Well, um, I do, and it's called "Into the Slipstream." Here's a taste:

The box contained a pair of flimsy cardboard glasses and a piece of paper with the address of every place Peter had ever stayed. Each address had been scratched out with a green crayon but the last, which corresponded to his cubicle.

Peter picked up the glasses, recognized the black-and-off-white hypnotic swirl. “My X-Ray Specs!” he exclaimed. “They finally arrived!”

Four facts argued against these being the genuine article: 1). Pete had sent away for the glasses twenty-three years ago, when he was seven years old; 2). he had not included any money; 3). The stamp he salvaged from a letter from Grandma had already been used; and 4). there was no such thing as X-Ray Specs.

Heart beating a little faster, he put the glasses on and looked around...

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And in other literature/squid related news, Greg van Eekhout's chapbook, Show and Tell and Other Stories, is available for pre-order from Tropism Press. I'm sure you'll dig it.

Universe Pathways

Issue #2 (double-sized for the summer) of Universe Pathways magazine is out now, featuring a reprint of my story, "The Case of the Martian Ambassador," published originally in what turned out to be the final issue of venerable internet magazine Would That It Were.

"Martian Ambassador" is the second story in the Thompson Tang Gao cycle: the first story, "The Creatures From Planet X," is available in print in Amazing Heroes v1, or free right here on my blog, and the tenth tale, "Negation Elimination," appears in All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories.

Universe Pathways #2 is the first time "Martian Ambassador" appears in print.

Elf-Help 31

Only seven more episodes to go!
episode 31/episode 1/about

How to stop worrying and love red lights

I haven't been driving long, but I just discovered this:

Having a to-go Edo Japan sukiyaki beef container within easy reach on the passenger seat actually makes you look forward to getting stopped at red lights.

Bob

Strange to think that I (and you, and everyone else alive right now) is living at the same time as Bob Dylan. As an historical figure, he'll be considered a Mozart or better. Much better, probably.

I've only seen him perform live twice, but you never know -- he may come around again. :)

Twenty Epics

Twenty Epics is now available to order, and co-editor David Moles is hosting a virtual launch party on his blog to help get the word out. I've been looking forward to this one for quite a while, partly because David's taste in stories tends to run quite similarly to my own, partly because of the authors involved, and partly because of the concept behind the anthology:

Epics have lost their charm. There was a time when you finished an epic. When an epic left you feeling not discontent and exhausted, but joyous, melancholy, rejuvenated, satisfied -- left you feeling that you were a better person for the experience. TWENTY EPICS will bring that feeling back. In ten thousand words or less.

In what way is that not cool?

In addition to being the first print venue to feature one of my stories within its pages, the previous tome from All-Star Stories, All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories, also partly inspired the Zeppelin, a hero from the 40s who is still running around today in the pages of OLD SCHOOL, the comic series I'm developing for Arcana Studio.

I haven't read Twenty Epics yet (just ordered my copy this evening), but I imagine anyone who liked my Dead God stories will enjoy it.

My Famous Friends

Up and coming writer Andrew Foley's anti-vampire vampire series Done 2 Death hits very soon from Markosia Enterprises. If you like vampires -- and especially if you hate them -- you'll want to catch this series, and catch the creators at one or more of these in-store appearances:

July 18, Noon to 1:00 PMCollector’s Choice, 1746 Churn Creek Rd, Redding, California
July 24, 10:30 to 11:30 AMGolden Apple Comics, 7711 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, California
July 25, 4:45 to 6:15 PMDanger Zone, 1071 Commercial St SE, Salem, Oregon

Here are the Diamond order codes (so your local comic shop can order you copies): DONE TO DEATH #1: MAY06 3281, DONE TO DEATH #2: JUN06 3248, DONE TO DEATH #3: JUL06 3304 -- and here are links where you can find more information on the series: preview, D2D forum, Andrew's journal.

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Martin Morazzo and Carolina Cesare (the artistic duo behind Elf-Help) are teaming with Sundown: Arizona writer Jay Busbee to create The Network. Look for this one to drop in 2007, and watch Jay's website for further updates.

He-Man getting a little chunky?

No! It's Elf-Help episode 30, silly (now with 40% more vomiting frogs!!).

New to Elf-Help? Check out our press release and synopsis at SBCB and our spotlight at The Pulse, then head on over to the very first episode.

tags: comics, frogs, webcomics, He-Man, sexy

Now It Can Be Told: OLD SCHOOL!

Coming 2007 from Arcana Studio.

Various + Sunday

Elf-Help #29 is finally up at komikwerks (give it a look).

- ****

I have expanded the LOST: Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game.

- ****

Anyone interested in owning great, original art should check out the Panday charity art auction (see the pieces and bid using this thread on Digital Webbing). Norm Breyfogle, Dario Carrasco, Pop Mhan, and others have contributed fantastic original artwork.