[ 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.

Steampunk: The Anthology was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  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.

Check out a Ninja Warrior episode on G4.

[  Mood: Amused ]
A Poo-Flinging Monkey Cake!

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

I’m admittedly a little envious.

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:

My oldest nephew Alex, who will be eleven(!) next month, spent the weekend with me. Although I love all my sister’s kids (Alex plus eight year old twins– a boy Nicholas and a girl Natalie), Alex and I are particularly close. When my ex and I split, I ended up living with my sister, her husband, and the then eight month Alex for about three months. Since at the time I was editing full time for Mojo and therefore working at home, I spent an awful lot of time with the little guy. Matter of fact, my name was his third word, albeit a little bastardized to accommodate the eight month old mouth ("Unca Icky", much to the amusement of my friends and family). During that time we bonded. I introduced him to Godzilla, Batman, action figures, and other geeky things. He was doomed to a life of geekdom.

The irony that my sister loathes geeky things is not lost on me. As children we often fought over the TV. This was back in the 70s when households often had only one TV, five channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and an independent), and no VCR. After school we raced home. Whoever got the TV first could make a claim. Course it didn’t usually stop us from a pitched battle, but every day it was the same. On one channel they showed Looney Tunes. My sister in her insanity hates Looney Tunes. She preferred The Brady Bunch, which showed on another channel. UGH! It was even more crucial for me to get home on those occasions when the Million Dollar Movie had Ape and Godzilla weeks. You never knew when those gems might be shown again. For a while Friday nights were awful when for that brief period Quark ran opposite Donny and Marie. They canceled Quark and I went back to my reading while she watched the Dancin’ Mormon Happy Hour.

Whenever I spend time with Alex, I attempt to introduce him to some new geek element. I took him to his first movie (Iron Giant). I developed Alex’s love for the original 1933 King Kong, overcoming his resistance to b&w movies in the process. After Kong stop motion fascinated him, so we watched The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad together. We’ve seen countless cartoons together and I’m sure much to his mother’s shame, he loves Looney Tunes. He now knows the difference between Linux and Windows and he’s showing a growing interest in comic books.

Before each visit, I carefully plan out possible movie viewings, things I want to share with him. The last I saw him he mentioned how he had never seen the original Star Trek. That’s just criminal. Course I shouldn’t be too surprised. It’s another thing my sister can’t stand. ST:TOS holds a special place for me since my grandmother loved the show. By the time I as eight or nine, I must have seen every episode multiple times with her. The same is true for the Adventures of Superman, another favorite of hers.

When Alex arrived on Saturday, his first question was about Beverly Cleary’s incredible The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I previously told him about the adventure of Ralph S. Mouse. Sadly his school library only had the third book in the series. Luckily for Alex, I had picked up a neat book club hardback. I own another copy, SIGNED by Cleary, that I’ve had since I was eleven. No way he was getting that one yet and hopefully not for a long time. Anyway, he fell sleep Saturday night reading the book.

After going through some books and comics, we decided to watch some Star Trek. The geeks that Brandy and I are, we own the complete ST:TOS seasons one and three. Alex insisted that he wanted to see the first aired episode "The Man Trap." I tried to dissuade him since it’s not exactly the best nor most exciting episode. Alex claimed to enjoy it but didn’t want to watch another episode right then.

After some dinner, I slid Monty Python and The Holy Grail into the DVD player. Alex knew of Monty Python and even thought they were funny, but he had never heard of this movie. Uncle Ricky to the rescue! He was a little dubious about the false beginning but once Arthur clopped onto the scene with Patsy clapping coconut halves, he lost it. Many times, I had to pause the film so he wouldn’t miss anything from laughing so hard. It’s so much fun watching a movie you’ve seen a zillion times from fresh eyes. He thought it was one of the funniest movies he’s ever seen. I hope he quotes Holy Grail bits to my sister for months to come!

Alex then showed me the card game he designed. We talked about game play, rights, and some strategy. Not your typical eleven year old conversation.

Sunday started with another Star Trek selection, but this time I chose. While not necessarily the finest, "The Arena" may be the most typical and certainly one of the more action oriented episodes. Besides it’s based on one of the Fredric Brown‘s best short stories. Lots of lovable Shatner overacting with one of the stupidest-looking Star Trek humanoids. Spock is logical. McCoy emotional. Scotty worries about the engines. Like I said, had it all. And actually it was better than I remembered. Course the fact that Alex was enjoying it, may have colored my perceptions.

We ended the geek weekend with Alex’s first ever Jackie Chan film. Alex and I do differ on some geek subjects. One of Alex’s favorite funny movies Kung Pow: Enter the Fist is a decidedly unfunny mish-mash parody of kung fu movies. With Jackie Chan, I hoped to show him a truly funny martial arts film. We watched The Legend of Drunken Master. Alex was amazed by Jackie’s stunt work (who isn’t), especially after I told him all the stunts were real with no computer work. Again like Holy Grail, he laughed himself sick. The drunken fighting scenes remain some of my favorite martial arts bits.

My sister picked up Alex soon after and they headed home to Houston. I’m already planning his next visit.

The DCU in its current deplorable state takes itself way too seriously. Heroes and villains dying for absolutely no reason save titillation and sales. The revamps of characters just for the sake of change with no discernible purpose. This whole mess started before Infinite Crisis and falls squarely at the feet of Brad Meltzer and Identity Crisis . Talk about your retcons. [SPOILERS BEGIN] Suddenly the moralistic Zatanna alters memories. Sue Dibny dies for no reason least of all as a hero. The mental breakdown of Jean Loring serves no purpose but to create a new supervillain. [SPOILERS END]

Since the murky events of the recent Crisis, we’ve seen the rise of the dark Mary Marvel (an unforgivable sin in my book), a new Atom, loads of confusion surrounding Wonder Woman, and the death of the Ted Kord Blue Beetle who was immediately replaced by a new Blue Beetle. Not only was Kord, a perfectly fine and under utilized character, killed, but his buddy Booster Gold, an inane concept from the start, was thrust back into the limelight. The whole purpose of these revamps and restarts was to attract new readers to the confusing DC Universe. The project failed. The new series are either poorly crafted or so involved in current DCU wide plotlines to be unintelligible to all but the most versed fan. And sometimes both. After reading Countdown to Mystery #1, I found myself surfing the net trying to catch up on the storylines. In the Dr. Fate segment, the vagueness was a storytelling device, but with all the recent confusion, I could not be sure until after I did some checking. The research did help with the Eclipso tale. That’s way too much work to enjoy a comic.

I’m just barely touching on the problems. I haven’t even mentioned The Legion of Super-Heroes, Uncle Sam (and the other Quality characters), and many others. The biggest issue is that DC forgot how to have fun. Or so I thought until I picked up this intriguing piece of metafiction: Doctor 13: Architecture & Mortality.

Using Doctor Thirteen, the world’s foremost skeptic who denies that anything supernatural or unexplainable exists, as the centerpiece of a quasi-team of truly forgotten and often forgettable DC characters, Brian Azzarello scripts a surprisingly amusing and insightful treatise into the world of contemporary comics. Genius Jones (created by Alfred Bester!), I…Vampire, Anthro, the Primate Patrol (a team of intelligent Nazi gorillas!), Infectious Lass (of Legion of Substitute Heroes fame), the ghost of 19th-century Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart (from The Haunted Tank), and Thirteen’s magic-wielding daughter Traci join Thirteen as he challenges the mysterious Architects–the shapers of the universe–, who wish to retcon him and the others out of existence. Azzarello employs no subtlety or diversion here as events unfold quickly.

Artist Cliff Chiang’s clean lines and emoting faces further enhance the story. Chang clearly had fun here. What artist would not when drawing yetis, pirates, and apes? I’d have fun and I can’t draw a lick.

Thanks to Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, and editor Bob Schreck for putting some fun back into the moribund DCU. Maybe there is hope.

[  Currently: Watching Cubs-Diamondbacks game ]

RevSF editor and good pal Mark Finn mentioned it in his blog. RevSF Books editor Peggy Hailey and my sometimes co-writer Paul O. Miles both talked about it at our last Dark Forces Book Group meeting. Today, I signed up for goodreads.

Essentially a social networking site for book lovers, members are encouraged to share their love of reading with others by postings previously read, currently read, and plan to read titles along with a five star rating. The information can be shared through a network of friends, co-workers, and fellow junkies. It’s all quite easy and fun. And it’s pure evil.

I created my account early this afternoon. After posting 366 books along with ratings and often reviews, I realized my entire day was gone. Beyond a few phone calls, I accomplished nothing worthwhile. Yet, even now I find myself returning to the site, remembering a book that I want to review.

Goodreads spreads the joy of reading and books with others, simulating one of my favorite past times: recommending books to others. I encourage my fellow book junkies out there to sign up.

Just be warned: It’s pure evil.