As I was driving home from class yesterday, I caught a fascinating new show on NPR - Studio 360. I guess this was the first time it's aired on our local station, and it looks like a really cool addition to the Saturday lineup. It was very The American Life in that I caught about 2 sentences and was utterly hooked. If you have a little time, check out a segment or two - this particular show was all about life and art in present-day Japan. http://studio360.org/episodes/2009/02/06

jediwonderboy blogged about the new Star Wars book (Luke Skywalker and the Shadow of Mindor) a few days ago, and I found this on Tor today - a breakdown of, and background information on, the cover art. Wicked cool!

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=11084

I know many of the folks on my flist read the same blogs as me, but just in case you missed this one, I'm posting it here. A-Ha's Take on Me video...Literally.

Best. Video. Ever.

It happens every year - I get brilliant (brilliant, I say!) ideas for my NaNo story while taking a shower. I chant the gist of my idea, manta-like, until I can get out of the shower and dry off enough to write it down. Of course, the zen perfection of the bathtub environment - complete with water feature! - is gone, and usually, so is most of the idea.

ThinkGeek to the rescue!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/camping-outdoors/aa79/?cpg=80H

I think this is a fabulous gift idea for ML Appreciation Day (November 8th - mark your calendars ;) )

Just saw this on boingboing, and since it's reduced me to helpless giggles at work, I'm sharing it with y'all - The presidential campaign as a D&D session - http://somehedgehog.livejournal.com/245807.html

*snerkgiggle*

a sample:
KUCINICH: IM A BARD

OBAMA: That's nice.

KUCINICH: MY FAMILIAR IS A PURPLE SNOW LEOPARD

MCCAIN: Oh, Jesus.  Here we go.

KUCINICH: DID I MENTION MY WIFE IS A TOTALLY BANGIN DRYAD WITH 20 CHARISMA

HILARY: C'mon you guys, I've been playing this shit since Gygax was in eighth grade.  Why can't I be the party leader with the magic sword for once?

MCCAIN: Because no one wants to see you in a bronze bra.

OBAMA: Oh dude, BURRRRRNNNN.

For those so inclined, Amazon.com has the complete soundtrack album on sale now. $8.99 for DRM-free .mp3s :)

http://www.amazon.com/Horribles-Sing-along-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B001GUJD2O/ref=sr_f3_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1222815056&sr=103-1

Off to artificially inflate my stats in last.fm ;)

naamah_darling has been playing mama cat to a litter of teensy kittens, and she has a growing photo set on flickr to follow their progress. Anyone needing a dose of cute should check this out :) (There's also video and more pictures in her lj if you need a megadose of adorable)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/naamah_darling/2455737363/

Yep...Adagio, purveyor of fine teas and cool tea brewing toys, has created a Firefly blend.

Sounds...yummy?

You can't take the sky from me...

This is so Amanda and me :)

For those so inclined, today is Free Pancake Day @ Ihop restaurants.

http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/

They request you make a donation to the Children's Miracle Network, but a short stack o' buttermilk goodness is still 100% free :D

When I was in junior high, our band teacher's son was terminally ill and the teacher missed a lot of days of school. To pass the time, we watched a ton of movies. One of the most popular was a short lived series called Amazing Stories (a Spielberg thing from NBC). There was a cartoon short called "The Family Dog" that we watched over and over and over. The series died a quick death and was impossible to find anywhere...until now. The Family Dog is on Netflix's Watch Instantly! http://www.netflix.com/WatchNowMovie/Amazing_Stories_Season_2/70083657?trkid=201126

Oh dear. Do I watch it and risk damaging happy memories? *heh* Curiostiy wins out. I can't wait to see this again!

(I forgot to add that it's directed by Tim Burton and Danny Elfman does the music)

and especially the kidlit authors/afficianados:

http://community.livejournal.com/ya_fsf_con/570.html

Tamora Pierce and Julie Holderman are planning a convention aimed at YA authors and readers - the first of it's kind. As mentioned on boingboing, most of us came to Fantasy and SF through YA novels, but there hasn't been much attention given to YA over the years. Time for its own con!

I've been reading a new author blog lately - Walter Jon Williams. He's a mostly local sci-fi guy (lives in NM) and came highly recommended by another one of my favorite authors. Anyhoo, his most recent post cracked me up. It's very similar to what I go through every spring when I get the itch to revist a former NaNo and I start pouring over my notes from several Novembers ago...

http://walterjonwilliams.blogspot.com/2007/12/three-little-words.html

Tomorrow's looking to be pretty hectic, so in case I don't have a chance to get back here, Happy Holiday of your Choosing to all, and to all a good night :D

Woo! I was a finalist in Scalzi's LOLCreation contest :D

http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=144

(I'm "midwinter" over there)

...the LOLcat bible: http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

http://www.jonathancarroll.com/blog1/2007/09/carrollblog_921_1.html

"Still one of the greatest bargains around-- a pen and a blank notebook for less than the price of lunch. Buying them is buying pieces of optimism."

Read the whole post - it's a lovely sentiment :)

Well, maybe a few. As a child of the '80s and a geek for all things meme-ish, this made my day. A yard of orange-suited Filipino prisoners re-enacting the Thriller video. They're quite good, really :)



(found on boingboing.net)

My friend, jediwonderboy, just got this super-cool e-mail...I'm linking it here because I think my writerly friends will enjoy it :)

http://jediwonderboy.livejournal.com/833848.html

(Err...ok - that entry's protected - reposting verbatim here...)


So, this morning, I received... well, I guess kind of an incredible email (just cut and pasting here, so any writing errors are not mine):

"Hi,you don't know me, but I am in possession a poem you wrote in 1995. It was passed on to me from a friend, who had it passed to them from a friend who was in a writing class with you at the time, in Kansas City.I finally got around to googlng your name, and found your website which was very exciting for me. i wanted to let you know how much this poem has meant to myself and my wife. I read it at our wedding and we have it posted on our icebox. Its meant a lot to me over the years and am glad that this chance encounter with a fried allowed me to have a copy of it. i read this to my wife when i asked her to marry me and also a tour wedding. I hope this is the right "chadd Keim' and that this email reaches you. thank you again. I hope life is treating you well."



the email came to me from some address in the United Kingdom.

neat, 'eh?

Joss speaks on the upcomming 2-disc Serenity Special Edition release :)

http://whedonesque.com/comments/12606#164745

My favorite news:
"New Yub Yub, and Greedo shoots first. So does that kid outside the trading station, the pilot who destroyed Haven, and Kaylee. And Richard Dreyfuss goes INSIDE the mothership."

Can't wait!

(in random news, this reminds me I need to change the name of the mine in my '05 NaNo from Haven...chalk it up to way too frequent viewing of Serenity during November '05 ;) )

for your Monday night - Firefly done w/ Fisher Price toys (as seen on Whedonesque)



I have no words...