The Wanted movie trailer was posted yesterday. Although it seams to have little to do with the original comic, which is a dark twisted affair, the movie looks interesting. Sadly, it appears Angelina Jolie will NOT be donning the "Miss Fox" suit.
| Quote: |
| Recent observations from NASA and Japanese X-ray observatories have helped clarify one of the long-standing mysteries in astronomy — the origin of cosmic rays. Continued… |
Now if they could just explain how cosmic rays created the Fantastic Four…
[ 
Currently: Watching Red Sox-Rockies game ]
On October 27, I began my guest blogging stint for Jeff Vandermeer on his very popular Ecstatic Days. My tenure started with a reprint of my rarely seen 2003 Hellnotes self-interview complete with commentary and updates. My guest stint extends through November 11. I will attempt to maintain both blogs during the two weeks.
Hope to see y’all there as well.
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Currently: Listening to Social Distortion ]
Among ape collectors, Gil Brewer’s "Gorilla of the Gasbags" is a Holy Grail of sorts. The legendary cover of the June 1929 Zeppelin Stories tantalizes with a gorilla and a man fighting from the ladder beneath a flying dirigible! I’ve longed to read the story, but not only have I never actually seen one, I know of no one who has read the story.
Shockingly, a copy of the much sought after pulp recently sold on ebay for the astronomical sum of $3,183.33! Oh, to find one at a garage sale someday!
Remember that my 40th birthday is rapidly approaching. Just an observation.
[ 
Mood: Shocked ]
On his blog, Jeff Vandermeer released a rough of the cover to his (co-edited with his wife Ann) forthcoming anthology Steampunk. Contributors include Michael Moorcock, Joe R. Lansdale, Neal Stephenson, Michael Chabon, Mary Gentle, and others. Actually one of the others happens to me. I’ve contributed an essay about pop culture and steampunk.
Table of contents:
“Preface,” Jeff and Ann VanderMeer
“Introduction: The Nineteenth Century Roots of Steampunk,” Jess Nevins
“Steampunk in Pop Culture,” Rick Klaw
“Steampunk in the Comics,” Bill Baker
“Benediction: Warlord of the Air” excerpt, Michael Moorcock
“Lord Kelvin’s Machine,” James Blaylock
“The Giving Mouth,” Ian MacLeod
“A Sun in the Attic,” Mary Gentle
“The God-Clown Is Near,” Jay Lake
“The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down,” Joe Lansdale
“The Selene Gardening Society,” Molly Brown
“Seventy-Two Letters,” Ted Chiang
“The Martian Agent: An Interplanetary Romance,” Michael Chabon
“Victoria,” Paul Di Filippo
“Reflected Light,” Rachel E. Pollack
“Minutes of the Last Meeting,” Stepan Chapman
“Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of the Tribes of the Pacific Coast,” Neal Stephenson
I’m jazzed about this book. Especially after seeing the cover and the people that are in the anthology. The piece I most look forward to is Jess Nevin’s "The Nineteenth Century Roots of Steampunk." For the uninitiated, Jess produced the two amazing League of Extraordinary Gentleman companions (Heroes and Monsters and A Blazing World) plus the incredible The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana. Needless to say, Jess knows his stuff.
Look for the book in May, 2008.
A Japanese obstacle course competition, Ninja Warrior (Sasuke in Japan) begins with 100 challengers, who attempt to complete four stages in hopes to be crowned Ninja Warrior. Most are eliminated in the first round (six or more advancing to the 2nd round is a lot) with even a faster attrition rate on the later rounds. More than one challenger for stage four is unusual with three the record. Only two people in the nineteen Ninja Warrior tournaments have finished the entire course.
In Japan, Sasuke events are edited down to a three hour special and air approximately once a year (19 shows since 1997). Shown in the UK in 20 minute episodes and in the US as 30 minute shows, Ninja Warrior evokes memories of the nineties combat/reality show American Gladiator and the 1970s sports program Superstars. The difference being that AG and Superstars featured competition between individuals, the latter featuring professional athletes. (Though a handful of pro athletes have appeared on NW, most notably US gold medal Olympian gymnast Paul Hamm and his brother Morgan Hamm.) On Sasuke, individuals compete against the course.
Here in the US, Ninja Warrior airs nightly at 6PM and 10PM EST on G4, a network that focuses primarily on the video gaming aspect of geek culture. While I have nothing against video games, I stopped playing them well over a decade ago and the current crop holds little interest for me. I used G4 primarily for their Star Trek reruns. That was until Brandy and I discovered Ninja Warrior.
The showmanship of the participants, competing on this outdoor course often in the freezing temperatures before a live audience, creates a carnival atmosphere to the proceedings, which only enhances the enjoyment. Some of the competitors are clearly there just for the spectacle, but many are gifted and talented athletes, who are there for more than their 15 minutes and a check (currently finishing the 4th stage nets ¥4,000,000, around US$32,780).
On November 14, G4 celebrates this cultural phenom with two Ninja Warrior specials: a behind-the-scenes episode and a tribute to the winner of G4′s American Ninja Challenge winner. The night concludes with three all-new episodes! I can’t wait.
[ 
Mood: Amused ]
A Poo-Flinging Monkey Cake!
| Quote: |
| Build spring-loaded monkey arm. Cover with gum paste and frosting. Load it up with Raisinets. Cake-monkeys poop Raisinets, fyi. But everyone knows that. |
Sweet…
(Thanks to La Gringa at Swivet for sharing.)
I’ve never wanted to live in L.A. and I’m rarely jealous of those that do, but when my buddy, Danger Boy scribe Mark London Williams, begins his latest blog entry
| Quote: |
| So — earlier today Eldest Son and I made it down to the Fox Studios for a "table reading" for the Simspons show. The table reading being the first joint read-through of a script by the cast (an old theater tradition transported over to film and teevee). |
I’m admittedly a little envious.
| Quote: |
| So two of us navigated a hellbroth of El Lay morning traffic to get to the Murdoch studio in Century City, checked ourselves in, and walked to "Building One" (a.k.a "The Bochco Building") where we found coffee, bagels, and a "script in very seat" (including for guests), who could follow as the Simpsons cast (with Hank Azaria "phoning it in" — literally — via speakerphone from NY, where he was doing a play), as well as James Brooks, Matt Groening, and the writers, all listening, taking notes — with a "timer" in the corner; a gal w/ a stopwatch, already "timing" the episode (which won’t be finished or seen for about another year…)
We settled in, got quiet, and reading — for an episode that won’t see airtime for about a year — commenced. It may be that hearing a Simpsons "live" as it were, may be even funnier than watching one on the tube — the actors play off each other (sometimes their silent "takes" to each other add to a line), plus there’s live laughter! |
Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, and Matt Groenig(!) even signed a copy of the script for Mark’s son.
I met Groenig at the 1996 San Diego Comic Con. I was there hawking the recently released Weird Business, when Groenig approached our table to buy the two other Mojo Press books (Creature Features,Tell Tale Heart). He apparently had already bought a copy of Weird Business and was so impressed that he had to pick up the other Mojo books. Made my convention.
Mark’s day ended with a special screening of Eastern Promises with a David Cronenberg Q&A afterwards!
This would all make living in L.A. almost palatable.
[ 
Mood: Confused ]
Who exactly was clamoring for the return of Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, the mediocre 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rip-off?
Can the return of Naive Inter-Dimensional Commando Koalas, Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils, Boris the Bear, and Gnatrat be far behind?
It’s bad enough that DC tried to recapture the 80s with the failed Infinite Crisis, that 80s music plays at the grocery store, and that the Republicans are trying to find the next Ronald Reagan, but do we really have to live through a second anthropomorphic super-hero revolution?
Britain’s Lessing wins Nobel for literature
By Sarah Edmonds and Niklas Pollard
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – British novelist Doris Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature on Thursday for a body of work that looked unflinchingly at society’s ills and inspired a generation of feminist writers.
Continued…
Lessing is the first writer, who actually wrote and was marketed as science fiction, to win a Nobel Prize.
Very interesting Harvey Blume interview with Lessing where they discuss her career especially her views on science fiction.
Doris Lessing:
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| What they didn’t realize was that in science fiction is some of the best social fiction of our time. I also admire the classic sort of science fiction, like Blood Music, by Greg Bear. He’s a great writer. |
