Archive for July, 2009

"Remains," the hauntingly beautiful song from the end of "Epitaph One," the unaired 13th episode of "Dollhouse," is now available for purchase at Amazon and Amazon.uk. It's not at iTunes yet but they usually release new stuff on Tuesdays, so here's hoping.

"Remains" was written and performed by "Dollhouse" writers Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon (who also wrote the script for this episode) and released on their "Nervous Circus" label. And it's gorgeous.

"Epitaph One," which was supposed to premiere at the San Diego Comic-Con next week, was leaked to the torrents last week along with the unaired pilot. You're on your own finding it, but if you do download it please buy it anyway when it comes out on the 28th. You'll also get commentary on two episodes, lots of deleted scenes, and several hefty features. Order it from Amazon for just $31.99!

burn down my home
my memories hardened in the brightest chrome
good times escape
while every mistake seems to be caught on tape…

And if you haven't yet voted for the winner of the Dollhouse Season One DVD set, please do! Ten entries were chosen for you to select from, and one random winner from all the entries will also be chosen. Vote!

A very familiar flying friend will make its appearance in cake form on the premiere of Ace of Cakes tonight at 10 p.m.

Read a description of the whole thing here, from the lucky Browncoat who received this amazing edible recreation, and check out the pics here.

This should not come as a shock to anyone, really. But author Bev Vincent — male author Bev Vincent — was just told by an editor that "she" couldn't write convincing male characters.

Two years ago Vincent was asked to write for an anthology. He did so, a very personal story closely drawn from his life, and his editor went over it with him and produced a finished draft they both liked. The contract was signed. Then, just weeks before the anthology was supposed to go to press, it was handed to another editor who sent it back with lots of criticism… of this female writer.

The editor says: “The story seems far too personal, introspective and emotional for a man . . . It is hard to imagine a fellow from a place like [the setting] uttering the following line.” The editor then provides three sentences from my story as examples. He or she continues, “And I can’t think of many guys from [setting] who call home every Sunday afternoon to talk to their family” [Emphasis his or hers]. Another brilliant insight: “Most men don’t think deeply about the dewy greenness of nature.” The ultimate conclusion: “She [sic] needs to write more convincing [sic] from a man’s perspective.”

Don't know why the work was passed to a second editor, although I'd suspect office politics. But I'll bet had it been submitted under "Hank 'Beefy' McMann" those crits would never have been made.

Go read his story, and how it ended, and try to act surprised. I can't.

The submissions for the Dollhouse Season One DVD contest are in, and I've selected ten finalists. And I'm really wishing I had hired a doll to help me do it. You people are creative.

Granted, the most common request was for a doll to help you win the contest itself. Then it was either for a doll to help you meet Joss Whedon, or to be Joss Whedon. Quite a few of you wanted to meet yourself, or  see how others see you. Several of you specifically requested a doll to go deal with Fox executives, either in a businesslike manner or with massive firepower. And more than a few stressed that you could not in good conscience ever justify hiring a doll, but you wanted to win anyway

Here's the ten I chose, more or less arbitrarily. They're either representative of many similar ones, or they offer unique ways to use a very singular resource, or they just caught my eye. Now I need you to vote for the ones you like, up to three entries per voter. Names of entrants have been left out for privacy, although if the entrants themselves want to go public, hey, go wild. Some of the entries have been edited slightly, for space.

You can vote till 9 p.m. EST Wednesday, July 22. (Updated, and here's why) After that the winner will be announced, and another winner will be randomly drawn from all the entrants. Good luck to everyone!

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And don't miss my mini-review of the set here.

Not really  a geek topic – although his impassioned "Go baby, go" during the Apollo launch still warms my geek heart.

But Walter Cronkite was a public figure unlike many others. He was what people wanted to be, for his generation. Honorable, intelligent, caring, trustworthy.

At one time, his audience was so large, and his image so credible, that a 1972 poll determined he was "the most trusted man in America" – surpassing even the president, vice president, members of Congress and all other journalists. In a time of turmoil and mistrust, after Vietnam and Watergate, the title was a rare feat – and the label stuck.

By the time I was watching the news regularly he was retiring, but he had already left his mark on me as to how news should be reported. Not hyped, not fancy or with its own theme music, and not with exaggerated even-handedness to produce "balanced" reporting or presenting events out of context to prove your already decided-upon point.

You just tell people what happened.

That's it. And that's what he did.

That's the way he was.

Clock's ticking! You've got til midnight tonight, EST, for a chance to win a copy of the Dollhouse Season One DVD set.

Just head here and tell me why you'd hire a doll.

Two sets will be given away; one to a random winner, and one to the entry you select from the best 10, which I'll be posting tomorrow.

Winners will be announced Tuesday, July 21, so folks going to Comic-Con will know if they should be trying to buy one or not.

Don't miss your chance!

Good news: Strangers in Paradise, the long-running, award-winning comic by Terry Moore, is finally being collected in one massive , two-book hardcover collection.

Better news: there's also a third book to the set, containing the artwork for all the covers.

Even better news: Moore has tweaked the stories so that everything runs in unbroken order, typos have been fixed, words have been uncensored, and the artwork has been checked page by page. This is the finest edition of these stories available.

Way cool news: The Omnibus is on sale now, although it will debut at the San Diego Comic-Con. You can pre-order it from the Strangers in Paradise site and pick it up at the con (in a cool Omnibus canvas bag to haul it around) or have it shipped afterward.

Limited edition news: Only 1250 of these will be printed; after that the 1st two books (but not the covers book) will come out in paperback. Copies are available through your local comic store, but don't dawdle to preorder, they're going fast.

Extremely limited edition news: a lettered edition, only 26 copies, has been created to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. This is the rarest Strangers in Paradise collectible imaginable and it comes with an original drawing by Terry Moore and a bottle of "Parker Lily," a fragrance based on Terry Moore's beloved epic created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, strictly limited to 26 bottles. And right now the CBLDF is offering the rarest SiP item of all on eBay — Letter A of this limited edition set, plus a bottle each of the two prototypes of Parker Lily, the same ones sent to Terry Moore for approval. Short of auctioning off Terry Moore himself, it doesn't get better than this.

Read the rest of this entry »

Remember the Operative sword The Prop Store of London offered, way back when? Possibly their very first Serenity prop?

The owner, faced with hard times, is selling it on eBay.

SERENITY / FIREFLY FANS! This is the item you've been waiting for! Unfortunately, for some (me) these fun (crap) economic times have lead to some interesting items coming out of the woodwork. I purchased this sword almost the instant it came up for sale. It was the very first Serenity prop to go through the London Prophouse. It comes with the certificate of authenticity and is in great shape. This was the stunt sword used in a lot of the fight scenes in the movie. You can trace a lot of the dings and scratches straight from the screen to the sword. Replicas are well and good, but this is your chance to own an actual piece of a very important movie. Can't stop the signal.

The latest in his "Internet Leaks" collection, it's an original this time. Available for download from iTunes and Amazon (DRM-free).

Browncoat favorite artist and legend 11th Hour, she of the guerrilla marketing posters for Firefly, the alternate DVD cover for Serenity, cover and interior design for the award-winning Serenity role-playing game, and creator of the Serenity-inspired T-shirt designs that were attacked by Universal-FOX as being infringing before they came to an agreement (coincidentally after a firestorm of fan outrage erupted, as well as some wise words from cooler heads higher up), has finally come to her new home: Quantum Mechanix, where she can now create licensed work and show Universal how it's done.

First up,  "Serenity In Flight":

The t-shirt combines both Eastern and Western-influenced design elements into a mandala with our girl Serenity featured prominently in the center. The design also includes the four Chinese characters which represent the phrase "Never Give Up" down the right side. It comes on a black 6.1 ounce, 100-percent cotton Gildan t-shirt, offering the same high quality QMx t-shirts have become famous for. It is available in men's sizes small to 3XL and women's sizes small to 2XL. (Note: all shirt sizes are available while supplies last.)

11th's work is truly amazing, inspired by the 'verse without simplyaping what's been done before. I love everything she's done and I hope to see many more designs coming.