Archive for October, 2009

So it's Halloween night, National Novel Writing Month just began, and I'm thinking about… caps.

Specifically, flat caps. Also called ivy caps, cabbie caps, golf caps and driving caps. Popular since 14th century Britain and Ireland, where they were mandatory. Also popular among some rock stars, actors, rappers and skin heads. And, lately, me.

I've seen them in stores and though I kinda liked the look on me, I also thought they'd make me look like I should be stalking the moors or leaning over the seat to ask some tourists if they want uptown or downtown. Instead I wore baseball caps for shade and rain cover, but I've finally come to grips with the fact that I'm simply not a baseball cap person. Nothing against baseball cap people, mind you, they're fine people, won't hear a word against them, some of my best friends wear baseball caps… but as I do not look as if I would be remotely interested in either throwing a baseball or watching one being thrown, I never felt comfortable in a baseball cap. I knew that at any point someone — and here I'm thinking the hat police, or possibly an armed federal milliner — would unmask me as an impostor and I would be publicly decapitated and ashamed.

I admit I like the Indiana Jones style of fedora, but that looks even more ridiculous on me, try as I might. Bowlers, while suited to my face shape, only work well for carnival barkers and Magritte paintings.

And then a month ago I was killing time wandering around Burlington Coat Factory while Teres browsed everything they had ever even thought of carrying, and I found a flat cap marked down. And, like always,  I tried it on. But this time while I can't say it looked good on me — nothing that still permits my features to be seen can be said to look good on me — it looked less bad. (That's the hat, seen on my head, on the right. On the left is Jason Mewes, which is enough reason to post the pic all by itself. Mewes, man!) Since then I've added a black one for variety and I have my eye on a charcoal gray one for formal occasions.

I've also discovered that there are flat cap communities out there. Flat cappers get intense about their hats; what time of the year is right for wool, whether it's permissible to wear them backwards (never under any circumstances unless you are delivering a calf or you're Samuel L. Jackson), what it means to wear fluorescent patchwork tweed (mostly it means you're a prat), etc.

I get some odd looks, but no more than usual. My head remains dry and unsunburnt. I have something to doff at ladies. The average flat cap can easily be crumpled and shoved into a pocket or backpack without damage. I'm almost but not quite trendy, which is as close as I've ever been. Other men who wear them nod silently at me, as if welcoming me to their sensible number. My older son, visiting for his birthday last week, mentioned that he's started wearing them himself independent of my discovery, which was kinda cool. And now my friends and family have a new thing to buy me too many of for holidays, so I've got that going for me. I have found my hat.

And now I must stalk off to the moors to start my NaNoWriMo novel.

Formerly only available at BlizzCon and PAX conventions, now you can preorder your own copy!

For a limited time, get the 'Spires of Dragonor' poster which features original artwork by Jeff Carlisle. The 'Spires of Dragonor' is a fictitious expansion to the MMORPG game played by the Knights of Good in the web series 'The Guild.' This artwork was commissioned by 'The Guild' for Season 3…

The poster is 11×17" and printed in the US in full color on 100# white book gloss paper.

The $30 poster can be ordered for $27 until Oct. 30. Ships in November. Limit one per person, only.

And don't miss Season 3 of The Guild, going on now.

To celebrate the release of Terry Pratchett's 37th Discworld novel, "Unseen Academicals," Harper-Collins has placed the first Discworld book online for free.

The Colour of Magic introduces the Discworld as we know it, with Rincewind the "wizzard" shepherding about the Disc's first tourist and his homicidal luggage. It's much more obviously a parody of fantasy novels than the later, more satirical books became, but the style and hilarity are there in big lumps.

"Unseen Academicals" is out in hardback, as low as $14.95 at Amazon, although you can get the ebook version for just $9.99 at Barnes & Noble.

Tonight the surviving members of Monty Python's Flyng Circus reunited on the stage at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York (with a cardboard cutout of the late Graham Chapman) to answer questions from the audience. Which they did, in one or two instances, but only when they couldn't ignore them outright, make up different questions entirely, or mock the questioners and each other. My only complaint is that it was too short, but it was great fun watching them crack each other up.

The Inara Shuttle ornament from Dark Horse is seriously cool and great for your desk, shelf or Christmas tree, but if you really want an authentic model there's only one place to go (besides Joss' house): The Prop Store of London.

This is a model of Inara's (Morena Baccarin) shuttle from the 2005 science fiction movie Serenity. [...] This model has been scratch built from resin and styrene, and crafted with incredible detail: painted silver with small, colored accents; doors, windows, and valves etched into the model; and the words "Firefly Class Shuttle" written on the side. There were three of these shuttle models created for the production, but this one was not used. The model measures about 19" x 8.5" (48cm x 21.5cm) and is in excellent condition. This item is presented in a custom-fabricated acrylic display case, with a laser-cut mat featuring the film title and movie images.

Granted, it is a bit more expensive than the ornament — by about $4,470 — but it's a beautiful piece of the show and I hope if you buy it, you'll let me look at it and sigh wistfully.

OK, these are just cool.

I was wandering around the Showtime store — just yesterday I broke down and ordered my first premium cable channel, Showtime, because I don't watch a lot of TV but 3 of my favorite shows are there and the DVDs were getting expensive — and because Bon Jovi's documentary "When We Were Beautiful" is airing there first on Oct. 24 and Teres has been hinting strongly, and by hinting I mean the sort of gentle encouragement that would be prohibited by the Geneva Conventions — and I checked out the Dexter section. Lots of shirts, DVDs, expensive Decter-themed jewelry, the strangely popular bobble heads… and these.

A set of four coasters, complete with blood drops, stored in Dexter's iconic slide tray. Tell me the thought of serving drinks on top of a serial killer's souvenir blood doesn't cheer you right up!

They ain't cheap — $44.99 — but they are seriously cool. They're also evidence, so watch it.

I posted a review of Jeff Lindsey's latest Dexter book "Dexter by Design" and the new Dexter iPhone game here, by the way.

Remember Neil Cameron's "A-Z of Awesomeness" project, where every day he would draw a representative picture of a letter of the alphabet based on his readers' increasingly bizarre suggestions? He sold out of his limited edition prints of the final result, and mine arrived. Buyers could request a sketch for the top. I asked for "What, No Naked Neil Nattering Naughty Nonsense?" Sadly, I didn't get a naked Neil Gaiman to match the print's naked Joss Whedon (and everywhere, fanficcers just spasmed over their keyboards) but I did get a cool sketch of Neil Gaiman and a wonderful print to utterly befuddle anyone walking down my hall.

Although come to think of it, Neil could just be wearing the black jacket. That would be fitting, in a really odd way.

See all the artwork at his A-Z blog.

Bon Jovi redesigned their website. getting ready for the new album and tour, and there's a contest to choose a new logo for the members-only section. A contest, do you say…?

Most of the entries so far seemed to be variants of the existing one — many of them submitted by the same few people — so I decided to go a different direction with just an image depicting his trademark white mic stand.

Winner gets a T-shirt with the new design, signed by Jon. In my case, winning would mean an ecstatic Teresa, which is way more fun. We'll see if this is anything close to what they were looking for.