In addition to my Iron Man review, there are two additional Klaw pieces to mention.

The latest edition of “Graphica Nexus” appears at SF Site.

Steampunk with my original essay “The Steam-Driven Time Machine” should either be on the stands or out any day now.

Shameless plugs was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
So P&G got back to me and this is what they said.

My response? I find it fascinating that it is somehow my or my child’s fault that we had repeated leaks.

We had no leaks with the Huggies newborn product that were given to us as baby shower gifts by other parents. Clearly these people already knew what we have discovered; which product is superior.

I am also baffled by the reference to the gel in their response. I mentioned nothing about a gel in my letter. This leads me to think that they have had many complaints about this product and have simply developed a generic response to deal with them.

That tells me all I need to know.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
These diapers are, quite frankly, crap. (If you want to look upon that as pun, go ahead.)

Yesterday I put my newborn son in Pampers Swaddlers for the first time. Since the he has managed to pee the bed four times. We have had to change the sheets twice. We are now out of sheets. We are also out of sleepers as he has managed to soil those.

Pampers did nothing to stop or slow down the process.

I get to do even more laundry, despite the fact that I did laundry yesterday and should have had a day’s grace. I also have the joy of working on less sleep, because my son kept waking up soaked! And don’t think that I can catch up today. Remember that laundry? Yeah, that will cut into my rest time. Not to mention dealing with a cranky two week-old, who didn’t get enough sleep either.

This is the last time I will buy a Pampers product. The advertised quality is just not there. And believe me, I plan to share this info with my fellow new mothers. Back to Huggies for this family.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
A.K.A. Three Martini Play Date – A Quick Review

This book is a refreshing look at the art of raising children. Author Mellor’s tongue in cheek look at parenting is refreshing. She advocates not spoiling children, rather giving them chores to do. She also thinks that children should have some unstructured time, that mommy’s job is not to chauffeur the little mites to every lesson/club/meeting/event known to man.

Her sarcastic sense of humour makes this book move along quickly. My fave? The reference to the turtle as a piece of sculpture. She calls it the "Japanese performance artist of the pet world".

Very funny. Pick this up!

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
(A.K.A. Moon Called – A Quick Review)

Okay, so when I got this book, I looked at the cover and said, WTF? Is this Poison Album or an Urban Fantasy novel with a strong female protagonist?

Luckily for me (and you) it is the later.

Patricia Briggs has created in Mercedes Thompson, an interesting taking on the Werewolf ethos. Mercy, her nickname, is a skinwalker, a native shapeshifter who takes the form of a coyote. She was abandoned by her mother when very young and fostered by a werewolf pack.

A VW mechanic by profession, this first novel of the series, finds her being pulled into a fight when the local werewolf alpha is attacked and his daughter is kidnapped. She is forced to reach out to old friends and allies and negotiate with the local vampire group (kind of like the supernatural mafia) in order to save the day.

Good book, moves well and doesn’t get bogged down in sex like some other contemporary offerings. This is one case where you shouldn’t judge the book by its cover.

The fine folks over at Moorcock’s Miscellany have reprinted my 1998 article “Michael Moorcock and the Comics of the Mutliverse” from Michael Moorcock’s Multiverse #6.

(I really didn’t plan on two Moorcock entries in a row. It’s just the way it worked out.)

Michael Moorcock and the Comics of the Mutliverse was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

This is not one of the better James Cawthorn‘s covers. Elric looks like a Catholic priest. If it wasn’t for the black sword, I’d never have know it was Moorcock’s famed anti-hero. (Science Fantasy, vol. 19, no. 55, October 1962 Image courtesy of the Pulp of the Day)

Compare it to this far superior Cawthorn cover to the first edition of Stormbringer (Herbert Jenkins, 1965)

Even the inferior 1962 Cawthorn was a massive step up after Brian Lewis horrible cover to Elric’s first appearance (Science Fantasy, vol. 16, no. 47, June 1961)

Elric looks like some dandy from an Errol Flynn movie not the fierce stealer of souls, agent of chaos and destroy of worlds, that we all know and love.

Early Elric Covers was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: In Love ]
Some of you may wonder why I have been so quiet. Or since you are all smart peoples, you may have figured it out. And then there are those of you that all ready know.

I had the baby on Friday, April 18 at 9:23 am. Geeklet turned out to be a boy. We have yet to buy him a black shirt, but we are working on it.

They called me in on Tuesday to be induced a mere one and a half hours prior to the shower the teachers at my school had organized. Given how long the whole process took , I probably could have gone to the party – but then you know what they say about hindsight.

I will spare you all the details at this time, suffice to say that the beds in labour and delivery are not meant to be slept on and that epidural = my new best friend. I will tell you that the delivery room I had was about the size of my classroom and had a two-person jaccuzzi with a shower. The staff were insistent that this was the Princess Margerite (Dutch Princess born in Ottawa during WWII – long story, fascinating, another time) suite. Given my heritage and family’s involvement in WWII, I would have loved for it to have been, but that part of the building is just not old enough for it to be that suite.

The boy was 6lbs 14oz and 48 cm long. He has very long arms and legs and has already lost his umbilical cord. He has very striking blue eyes. HusbandUnit and his mother see HusbandUnit’s father in his face. And, no surprise to anyone of you, when he is not happy with a situation anyone within a hundred meters can hear about it. Wonder where he gets that from? I think he is adorable, but then I am biased.

No pictures yet, but HusbandUnit is working on a secure site, when he is not helping me clean the house so the public health nurse doesn’t faint when she sees the living room and kitchen. Being in the hospital for a week and having me on restricted duties the week before due to increasing blood pressure meant the house took a beating. A huge thank you to the friends and family who have come in for a few hours to clean.

So while I will not be very active for the next little bit, I am thinking of you and wanted to let you know that the blessed event has occured.

[ Mood: Amused ]
The summary of this article pretty much says it all:

Both fun AND good for you was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

When Jeff VanderMeer asked me to guest blog for him back in October, one of his requests was to continue his recently started series “Conversations with the Bookless,” discussions with short story writers who had yet to have their own books. My first interview was with Scott A. Cupp. Not only did Scott fulfill the criteria but he was one of the more unique and creative talents that most people had never heard of. I wrote this about Scott:

Nothing has really changed except now Scott has a webpage with a complete bibliography and links to online stories. If you’ve never experienced the artistic joy that is Scott A. Cupp, now is your chance.

Frequent RevSF contributor Scott A. Cupp now has a webpage was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon