Archive for the ‘Geeking’ Category

More goodies up for bid in my ongoing "I Need Money and Want to Be Able to Walk Through My House Without Turning Sideways" auction. This time we have:

Strangers in Paradise "Abbey Road" T-shirt: This is the limited edition Wrap Party version of this shirt, only available by buying tickets to the Strangers in Paradise Wrap Party and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund event in NYC in 2007. It has the Abbey Road image of the SiP cast on the front and the wrap party tour dates on the back. There were 100 made; this is #2 (marked thusly, under the tour dates). Black, Adult XL, Hanes Heavyweight. Never worn.

Mal and Zoe dog tags from QMx: QMx had some dog tags made for Sgt. Malcolm Reynolds and Cpl. Zoe Alleyne, 57th Overlanders, Hera, to give out as promos at events and conventions. Brand new, made of high-quality metal plate with enamel, they measure approximately 5 cm x 2.5 cm. A black rubber silencer and chain is included with each.

Vertigo Tarot: This is a beautiful thing. Released when people couldn't get enough Sandman and Vertigo Comics, this stunningly illustrated tarot set uses characters from Sandman, The Books of Magic, Swamp Thing, and Hellblazer for the Major Arcana. Illustrations are by the amazing Dave McKean. Also includes a 128-page hardback guide to the Tarot by Rachel Pollack with introduction by Neil Gaiman. This is not the reissue or the 20th Anniversary set, this is the original 1995 box set.

Much more to come, and don't forget the items from the first load that are about to run out. Good luck!

Been waiting to see this hit the stores for a long time, now.

QMx has just released the Serenity Architectural Cutaway Poster Set, a set of four extra-large, 32" x 24” full-color lithographs depicting our lady in all her glory. Lovingly hand-painted by sci-fi technical illustrator John Mullaney, it's packed with more goodies than you can imagine.

As one of the QMx Brain Trust that helped answer John's questions about layout and details from the show and movie, I've been fortunate enough to see the different incarnations of this over the last three years as it developed and I've been in awe every step of the way. (My critiques consisted mostly of "Oh my God," and "Wow, just wow," along with some vague mumblings about Early's airlock.) He put his heart into this, and it shows. The diagrams include Serenity coming and going, the shuttles and the Mule. It's a wonderful match for the Serenty Blueprints and should just about take care of that last little bit of blank space on your wall.

In addition to all the technical detail exposed in these 3-D cutaways, every inch of Serenity is decorated with the possessions of her crew. You'll find hundreds of personal effects throughout the ship – from Jayne’s Vera to Inara's favorite incense holder – it's all here, in meticulously hand-painted detail.

The set runs $39.95 plus shipping from QMx or $35.95 plus shipping from TFAW.com. Wherever you buy it from, stop by QMx, watch the making-of video, and download John's sketchbook so you can see what I've been drooling over since 2007.

Along with all the other wondrous things to see at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA, this weekend — an amazing collection of stars, writers, artists, musicians, and a few zillion people just as passionate as you are about the same things you love — Marian Call is putting on a concert and wants you there!

Marian performs an intimate show at a private warehouse space in Atlanta the weekend of Dragon*Con, at 236 Marray Drive, Atlanta, GA 30341. Tickets are $15, $10 for students, seniors, military, disabled, or starving artist (honor system). Please purchase the appropriate ticket. In order to increase capacity, some strapping able-bodied fans may be asked to enjoy standing room; be kind and plan to take turns or leave seats for those who need them.

The concert is at 8 p.m., Friday night, Sept. 3, at The Warehouse Therapy Band Space, and tickets are available at her website (at the top).

Marian also will be making other appearances in the area this weekend, check her site for details.

I love the Internet. And not platonically, either.

Time to help raise make-the-CD money for great geek singer Marian Call! Or, to put it another way, time to use this excuse to buy some stuff you'd probably want anyway.

Marian Call — she of the angelic voice and the silly-haunting-emotional-upbeat-really-hard-to-pin-down genre — has stuff on sale and stuff up for auction, and you want all of it. New stuff for sale includes T-shirts, autographed and personalized tour posters (did you know she's touring all 50 states?), personalized voice mail calls, photo prints, and CDs in bulk.

Stuff in the auction is even cooler. Handwritten framed lyrics, an artisan typewriter necklace, first drafts of original Marian Call songs, limited edition 1st run Vanilla CDs, and a set of QMX's Serenity Blueprints signed by Geoffrey Mandel, Timothy Earls, Nathan Fillion, and Alan Tudyk.

And everything goes toward supporting a talented indie artist and her upcoming CD. It's for the arts!

Check out mariancall.com for details and pics.

Seen at SpoilerTV.com:

NBC has a comedy pilot about "a group of sci-fi fanboys in a small town who shoot their own version of a canceled tv show" titled "Our Show".

That is an amazingly cool and funny idea, rife with possibility for twists and insider geek humor! I wish I'd thought of it!

Oh, right. I did.

So do I root for it to succeed so we get more fan-themed media out there, a la Big Bang Theory? Or do I go with the they-stole-my-idea route that hardens and eventually embitters me into creating an armored suit with plasma-powered whips so I can have my greasy-haired revenge by going to Monaco and trashing NBC's race cars during the race? Does NBC even have cars in that race?

Hmm. Tough call. I'll get back to you.

Need to know where you go, out there in the black? Ben Mund and QMx have got you covered, at least as long as you stick to the New Canaan run.

The New Canaan run is favored by captains flying light- and mid-bulk transports for its diverse markets and exports. And for those who must occasionally live on the raggedy edge, its varied levels of law enforcement are a plus, as well. The route described in the 26 full-color pages of the Atlas spans 11 planetary systems, crossing from The Core through The Border to The Rim and back.

Using the same format as the successful Serenity Blueprints Reference Pack, the Atlas of the Verse includes maps and info about Londinium, Persephone, Beaumonde, Silverhold, Harvest (and Higgins’ Moon), New Canaan (and Lilac), Hera, Shadow, Ariel, Osiris and Sihnon, plus lots of "local color" for each. Learn about the ceramics available from Higgins Industrial, check out satellite maps of Eavesdown Docks, get a copy of the tactical map from the Battle of Serenity Valley and a lot more.

I've been privileged to see this developing over the last 2 years and I can tell you the attention to detail borders on the psychotic (but in a good way). Tons of insider easter eggs hidden among insanely detailed renderings and artwork. Ben has done an awesome job.

Available now for $39.95. 26 pages on 100-pound 12"x16" stock, spiral-bound.

You can get Browncoat money for free, though. As a nice little promotion for the Atlas, QMx is offering a PDF of the scrip paid to Independents during the war. Print all you like!

So I checked the mail today and found a package from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories. This is not a usual thing for me.

I opened it to find that I had received a small chunk of aerogel as a result of filling out a survey on NASA's new Stardust-NExT website, a new site about our exploration of comets. Answer some questions about the site's usefulness and you might get a prize! I filled it out and forgot about it. Until today.

Aerogel is the lightest solid on earth. That's not hyperbole, it's listed with Guinness. Invented in 1931 to win a bet, it's what you get when you replace the liquid in a gel with a gas, and it's also incredibly strong, extremely resistant to heat, and 1,000 times less dense than glass. NASA uses it to insulate spacecraft (39 times more insulation than fiberglass) and they'll be using it on the Stardust spacecraft to capture comet particles. It's been used for the Mars Pathfinder and other rover missions, and it has a variety of earthbound applications such as skylight insulation, drug delivery, heavy metal absorption from water, and tennis racquets. Also, it's freaking amazing stuff to play with.

It's like it's not there. It's clear and weighs effectively nothing, like solid smoke. On a dark background it glows faintly blue due to the way its honeycomb structure scatters visible light. The edges just fade away to nothingness, it's like looking at a hologram. The accompanying letter explained all the reasons I shouldn't touch it — it would absorb the moisture from my hand, leaving an imprint that can't be removed, any point pressure can scratch or chip it, etc. — but a small chunk had already come off in shipping so I gave that a feel. It's dry to the touch, like brittle old Styrofoam, and it crumbles very easily. You can see the crack mine has through the middle. But it can also handle very high surface loads, bearing 4,000 times its own weight (just don't poke it).

The trickiest thing about aerogel? Photographing it with a digital camera. Try as I might I simply could not get my camera to focus on it, or on anything else if it was in the frame. Something about the way it reflects light confuses the hell out of my poor camera; I had to focus on something the same distance away and then face the aerogel with my finger on the button. So keep in mind that the real stuff looks approximately 20-25% cooler than it does here, you just can't see it.

Now to figure out what to do with it so it won't get messed up. How do you display solid smoke?

Oh, and when NASA asks you to fill out a survey, do it.

OK, not only is QMx offering preorders of their teased Firefly keychain — solid metal, pewter finish — for just $9.95, but if you order one before March 31 you'll get a chance to win a chrome one.

The Firefly Replica Keychain was created using the TV series' special effects files and carefully scaling them down to just over two inches. The keychain is cast in solid metal with a pewter finish and contains an incredible amount of detail – leaving no doubt that when you travel, you do it in Firefly style.

This is the first item QMx has prioduced with their new Firefly license (as opposed to their Serenity license) and it's seriously cool and very affordable.  You're gonna order one anyway, you know it. Might as well get in on a chance for an even shinier one.

DriveThruRPG.com has announced an amazing charity drive: Gamers Helping Haiti. Donate $20 to Haitian relief and get a coupon code for free copies of over 100 different RPG book downloads, including Margaret Weis' award-winning "Serenity."

DriveThruRPG announced a major incentive to the roleplaying gamer community today to incite donations to aid in rescue and recovery in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Called the "Gamers Helping Haiti Bundle," the product includes over a hundred products totaling over $1000.00 in retail value. For a simple donation of $20 – all of which goes to Doctors Without Borders to support their post-earthquake Haiti relief efforts – RPG fans can have this once-in-a-lifetime collection of gaming products.

Click here for more details. This is an incredible deal, and a great way to help out.