Saint Nickanuck of the Tundra

Mur Lafferty will be having a book signing event this coming Saturday, May 10, at Constellation Books in Reisterstown, MD. Festivities start at 3:00 PM, and will include a live recording of her award-winning podcast, I Should Be Writing. It looks to be an awesome time, so I heartily encourage anyone in the Baltimore and DC metro areas to stop by and meet Mur, and pick up a print copy of Playing for Keeps (if you have not already done so, for some negligent or shameful reason).

Frequent readers of this space will already have heard from me about Mur’s authorial excellence, as exemplified by her novel Playing for Keeps, and her Heaven series of novellas. Constellation Books is a great independent bookstore that has a particular love of genre fiction, and recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

Make plans to come out and join in the fun! Directions via Google Maps are here.

And as Mur said, if you stop by, you just may learn something cool…

It’s been quite a busy month, even by my own standards. Clearly, I’ve not been totally successful in keeping with my theme for the year. I have some more cogent ruminations on that coming down the pike in a few days.

In a brief bit of site news, I have resurrected the Gustatory Libation Front from a period of neglect (although it has suffered from the same update-paucity of late). While I’ve enjoyed putting my beery ponderings up on Saint Nickanuck, it has become evident to me that said commentary appeals to a slightly different audience, so having its own forum is worthwhile. I’ll be putting some culinary and beverage observations from my recent travel to New Orleans and Chicago there shortly.

But, first - this weekend is RavenCon at the Crowne Plaza West in Richmond, VA! The convention is in its third year, and I’m pleased to say that this will be the third year that Laura and I will be participating as guests on the science track. Past experience has shown this con to be well-run and an absolute blast, so if you aren’t already planning on attending and happen to be within striking distance, I encourage you to stop by and check it out.

Laura will be doing a number of panels relating to space science, including the latest on her work at NASA and the International Space University. As to my own schedule, it is as follows:

• Thirteen Dooms (Friday, 11pm, Potomac) - A multidisciplinary science panel addressing the various ways in which all life on earth might be eradicated. Bwa-ha-ha!
• Live Recording of Mr. Adventure (Saturday, 11am, James) - I’m uncertain as to what role I’ll be playing, but I understand it may be evil and nefarious. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!
• The New Reds Deaths (Saturday, 2pm, Potomac) - In which I will consider many horrific and interesting diseases, from Poe’s Red Death to the latest modern day terrors. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!

What? You sense a disturbing theme? No… I think not. But, that means you’ll just have to come out and see for yourself.

BWA-HA-H- uh… sorry.

And lo, there was great rejoicing throughout the whole of creation, for today Wasteland is released!

Wasteland is the fourth season of Mur Lafferty’s continuing Heaven series of novellas, following up on the excellent previous entries of Heaven, Hell, and Earth. The story of the first three novellas follows best friends Kate and Daniel, who after their untimely deaths, come to discover that heaven is a far different thing than they expected it to be. It seems that the afterlife is a connected patchwork of the gods and myths of every human belief system, and events are in motion to bring about the end of not only the earth, but the balance of heaven and hell as well. Daniel and Kate soon realize that whether they like it or not, they have a pivotal roles to play in what is about to unfold, and the decisions they make will determine the fate of all reality.

Sounds suitably epic in scope, eh?

While I won’t spoil the specifics of the first three parts of the series, I will say that this tale has been both riveting and brilliant from the start, and has continued to reach a new level of awesome with each episode. Having just digested the entirety of Wasteland, I am pleased to report that it only gets better. The official blurb:

Daniel has been forced from the afterlife to be exiled in the wasteland, with nothing but his misery and Kate’s dead body. But he is not without power entirely, and he begins to make his way in this world that looks less like a wasteland and more like another world. But the volatile power of the wasteland still touches this new world, and Daniel and his friends must not forget the trouble facing Heaven and Hell.

In Wasteland, Mur dials everything that’s made this series superb up to 11. The core of Heaven has always been how Kate and Daniel’s deaths and new roles in the afterlife have forced them to re-examine who they are now (and were in life) as individuals, as well as the truth of their relationship with each other. Season four finds Daniel finally coming to terms with past failures and his present role, and it’s great to see the resumption of his growth into a more assertive and likable person. Mur explores darker and more complex themes in this outing, and watching what Kate and Daniel discover they are capable of when faced with blind, powerful injustice is both exciting and a bit shocking. That said, Wasteland is also the most humorous entry thus far - I had a true “laugh out loud” moment at least once in every episode. Also, there’s plenty of action, including some awesome “vehicular” combat, and more than a few pleasant surprises along the way.

Bottom line: Wasteland, as with the previous seasons of Heaven, is highly recommended. All four novellas are available for free in audio format via podcast at Podiobooks.com, and Wasteland is also being released as daily episodes on Mur’s shiny new website, the Murverse. For more information, check out the Murverse Heaven project page.

For Heaven’s sake! What the Hell are you waiting for? The Earth to dry up, and transform into a Wasteland?

Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 - March 4, 2008) was best known, along with Dave Arneson, as the creator of Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. In fundamentally expanding the mechanics of standard wargames into something new and brilliant, his creation ended up spawning a new perspective on social gaming, not to mention an entire industry and cultural phenomenon.

I first stumbled across D&D while in high school, and it has strongly informed my creative pursuits ever since. While I imagine that I’d be in the same place today professionally had I never discovered D&D lo those many years ago, my life would otherwise be fundamentally different - the interests that sprung from my enthusiasm for that game have led to some of the closest relationships and fulfilling experiences of my life, that continue to this day. At the very least, Gary’s work has brought me both immense joy and personal growth.

*with gratitude and respect, a glass is raised*

• a bibliography of Gary Gygax’s work
• a recent interview with Boing Boing
• and in a brief audio memoriam, Paul Tevis encapsulates my sentiments, and those of many others, perfectly

Your Next Fix is coming.

Parsec Award-winning author Matt Wallace is legendary for his science-horror-fiction work in the podcast realm, both with the acclaimed novel The Failed Cities Monologues, as well as excellent short pieces released through the Variant Frequencies podcast. Some say that once you listen to his work, you get hooked…

…and it’s time for you to get your Next Fix. The Next Fix is Matt’s first print short fiction collection, and is available today for pre-order from the Apex Book Company as either a trade paperback or a limited edition hardcover. Each copy of the latter will be personally autographed by Matt. I don’t think he’ll be using actual blood, although he has promised to craft an original dirty limerick if requested.

Matt’s work is delicious, fantastic stuff, and if you are a fan of edgy scifi-horror, then I guarantee you will find epic greatness contained therein. But, don’t just take my word for it - here’s some verbal testimony from some of the best authors of podcast fiction.

Go there, take your hit, and order it now!

I had the pleasure of attending the Farpoint Convention for the first time this past week. Though personal circumstances permitted me to only attend part of the con, what I was present for was an excellent time.

Farpoint bills itself as a “science-fiction media convention,” meaning that it’s focus is on genre television and film in terms of its main guests and panels. Normally, this is not the type of con I’m greatly interested in going to, as it represents a side of fandom that I’m less involved in. However, Farpoint has been expanding its new media track of late, and several friends who are podcasters and authors attended and were involved therein. It also has the advantage of being a smaller gathering, compared with the absolute zoo that is Dragon*Con, or tamer chaos of Balticon. As a result, the panels were cozy and relaxed, and the after-hours socialization was brilliant. If I were to attempt to list all the wonderful people I got to hang with, I will invariably leave someone off, so to everyone I reconnected with or met for the first time - it was awesome to see you all!

I was able to make three of the panels, all of which were highly entertaining:

• New Media Author Readings - This was the last panel of the track for Saturday afternoon, and featured readings and discussion from four exceptional new media authors. These included the original founder of Farpoint, and current architect of the new media track, Steven Wilson (of Prometheus Radio Theater), who read from his novel Taken Liberty; Tee Morris (of Imagine That! Studios, and numerous podcasts, novel series, and projects) orating from Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword; and J. R. Blackwell (of the 365 Tomorrows flash fiction project) and Jared Axelrod (of the Voice of Free Planet X and Aliens You Will Meet podcasts), both of whom spoke from stories-in-progress. The panel was an entertaining hour of storytelling, and a great way for me to start the con.

• Sci Pie - This was the showcase panel of the track on Sunday morning, and an interesting idea. Devised by Paul Fischer and Martha Holloway (of the ADD Cast and the Balticon Podcast) along with Tee Morris, Sci Pie was conceived to be a segment conducted regularly at conventions, where guests at the con are interviewed and pie is eaten. The intent is to record these live and release them as a video podcast series. Despite some communications issues and guest illness, the hour came off rather well, with actress Erin Gray (most remembered for her roles on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Silver Spoons), podcaster Marc Bailey (of Grailwolf’s Geek Life), and author Terry Lee Rioux (author of the Deforest Kelley biography From Sawdust to Stardust). Tee did an stellar job of assembling the accompanying visuals, including the incorporation of an excellent introduction to video podcasting by Earl Newton (of Stranger Things). The dessert involved was a wonderful pumpkin cheesecake and a delicious gluten-free pecan pie, provided by “Mrs. Command Line.”

• What’s On Your Mind? Blogging, Audio Blogging, and Podcasts - Some excellent discussion was engendered on this, the last new media track panel for the con. Participants included Thomas Gideon (of Command Line), Paul Fischer, Steve Kramer and Lisa Mendel of The Secret Frequency, and Michele and Brian of the Galactica Quorum. Afterwards, J.R. and Jared spontaneously orchestrated the following image:

L to R: Paul Fischer, Martha Holloway, J.R. Blackwell (standing), Heather Bailey, Thomas Gideon, Steve Wilson, Tee Morris, Jared Axelrod, Laura Burns, myself, Marc Bailey

Finally, I met two people for the first time who deserve particular mention. The first was Marc Okrand, who I was introduced to by Marc Bailey (clearly, there’s some sort of “Marc” club thing going on) as the con was winding down on Saturday. Okrand is the inventor of the Klingon language and the author of the Klingon Dictionary, among many other accomplishments. While my Star Trek geekery of days gone by has long since waned, the sheer academic coolness of his contribution to Trek lore is such that this was a definite “squee” moment. The second person was Brand Gamblin of the Calls for Cthulhu video podcast series. Calls for Cthulhu is hilarious fun, and it was great to meet the main architect of the show and find him to be a nigh-scary fit into our podcastery collective. Brand currently plans to do a live episode at Balticon… attendance on my part will be quite mandatory.

I happened across this brew the other night at Calvert, which had just been released by Stone as their current seasonal offering.

Vitals:

• Name: Old Guardian Barley Wine, 2008 Release
  

• Brewery: Stone Brewing Company

• Style: American Barleywine (Category 19C, BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines)

• Alcohol: 11.26%

• Serving: 22-ounce bottle, chilled, served in a freezer-stored “Playing for Keeps” pint glass

Scoring (in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy):

• Appearance: 6 - Pours a strong copper that is initially hazy, but gains clarity as it warms. Topped with a white effervescent head that slowly fades to a lacy sheet.

• Aroma: 5 - Predominantly malty, with a hint of fruit and spice. More subdued than expected.

• Taste: 7 - Strong malt flavor upfront, accompanied by fruity and spicy notes. Hop bitterness becomes more assertive in the center. Alcohol notable, but not overwhelming. Lingering bitterness and bready notes in the finish.

• Mouthfeel: 7 - Moderate but not quite full-bodied, with notable alcohol warmth. Slight dryness to the finish.

• Holistic: 7 - Tasty, but “less extreme” of a take on this style than I was expecting from Stone. The nose was slightly disappointing.

• Overall: 32 - A great offering. Beats many barleywines I’ve tried, but doesn’t unseat the Dogfish Head Olde School as my favorite of the style.

Through fortuitous circumstances, two cases arrived at Calvert (one of my three local Beer Meccas) the day before I stopped by. As I’ve been looking forward to this new release from Dogfish Head, as previously described, I walked away with a nice supply.

Vitals:

• Name: Santo Palo Marron (”Holy Tree Brown”)
• Brewery: Dogfish Head
• Style: Wood-Aged Beer (Category 22C, BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines) - aged in 10,000-gallon Paraguayan Palo Santo wood brewing vessels
  
• Alcohol: 12%
• Serving: 12-ounce bottle, chilled, served in freezer-stored “Celebrating 25 Years of Palladium Books” pint glass

Scoring (in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy):

• Appearance: 9 - Pours a completely opaque dark brown that is nearly black, and impenetrable to light. Topped with a thick, sudsy brown head that fades slowly to a thin lace. Looks beautiful!
• Aroma: 7 - Malty, with caramel notes, and a surprising lack of alcohol for its ABV. Tempting, but relatively mild.
• Taste: 8 - Sweet and malty, with predominant caramel and vanilla notes, with a slight hint of coffee. Notable but mild smokiness appears midway. No lingering aftertaste.
• Mouthfeel: 8 - Moderate to slightly heavy, but not cloying. Very smooth.
• Holistic: 8 - Tasty, very well-balanced, and more subtle than expected. If it’s possible for a brew of this strength to be smooth and balanced enough to be a session beer, then this is it.
• Overall: 40 - I am very impressed. Dogfish Head has pulled off subtle artistry where I was expecting something more pronounced, and in a beer style that’s not my first choice. I’ll definitely be seeking out the Palo Santo Marron when it’s available.

I had the opportunity to see Genius Party last night at the Kennedy Center with Tom, who was generous enough to hook me up with his second ticket. Genius Party is an animated film anthology that made its American debut last night as a part of the Center’s Japan! culture + hyperculture Series. We arrived several minutes late, and so caught the tail end of a recorded video introduction from executive producer Eiko Tanaka, followed by a live introduction by the director of the last short in the anthology, Shinichiro Watanabe. The films:

• Genius Party (directed by Atsuko Fukushima) - In hindsight, this is is difficult to describe. The program description calls it a “unique piece [that] expands from a theme based on the birth of an image.” I can tell you there were replicating spherical mud-sphere creatures, the chasing and consumption of glowing hearts, and a profound sense of whimsy. Good stuff.
• Shanghai Dragon (directed by Shoji Kawamori) - A perpetually drooling, snot-nosed boy in a small village discovers he is the only human capable of using an alien artifact that summons into reality whatever is drawn with it. Then, giant robots attack. Yes. Very much an action-comedy piece, and great fun.
• Deathtic 4 (directed by Shinji Kimura) - Undead child superheroes go on a quest to save the only living thing in their world, a frog, from hordes of tricycle-riding zombie police. I really don’t think anything else needs to be said. Hilarious.
• Doorbell (directed by Yoji Fukuyama) - A high school student discovers that there is another him, that seems to arrive before him to his destinations. As a result, his friends and loved ones don’t detect his presence when he finally arrives. Gently philosophical and entertaining.
• Limit Cycle (directed by Hideki Futamura) - We renamed this “Intermission,” because several people around us got up and left during it. Brilliant visuals and music, but a completely nonsensical mash-up of existential monologue and imagery that was far too long, and epitomized the phrase “bad poetry.” The only poor short of the bunch.
• Happy Machine (directed by Masaaki Yuasa) - A baby discovers the falsehood behind the perceived reality of his home and mother, and the fantasy world that underlies it. And a loyal urine and defecate-consuming dog-plant. Bizarre, clever, and humorous, we both thought this was the best of the anthology.
• Baby Blue (directed by Shinichiro Watanabe) - A love story about two high school students who skip class on the eve of a life changing event, and the childhood secret they share. Very touching and funny, and an excellent way to round out the films.

This was an excellent anthology, showcasing some brilliant storytelling, with the exception of Intermission. I’m hopeful that this is made available for purchase soon, as this collection is an great showcase of the medium for general audiences, and a must-see for animation enthusiasts. On the basis of this, I look forward to catching Genius Party Beyond at some point as well (a separate anthology world-premiering tonight at the Kennedy Center, that I’ll miss due to attending Farpoint).

Rating: a high **** (easily ***** if Intermission was purged from the bunch)

• Genius Party official site (yes, it’s mostly in Japanese)
• Anime News Network’s coverage of the Genius Party debut, with further details about the directors and creators involved

The Amazing Pulp Adventures Starring Mister Adventure is an excellent audio series available free via podcast. Expertly penned by Davey Beauchamp and skilfully produced by Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit, the show is simultaneously a comedic parody of, and a homage to, the pulp adventure radio dramas of decades ago. Set against the backdrop of World War II, it follows the exploits of Mr. Adventure and his heroic allies as they fight to defend Sapphire City from the schemes of nefarious arch-villains, such as Dr. Zhou and the Master of Zombies. I had the pleasure of contributing to two episodes just released over the past couple of weeks:

• Tour of the Future Stop 2: Balticon was recorded in front of a live audience at Balticon 41 in May of 2007, and just made it out into the feed this week. (Hey, cut him some slack… Rich is quite the busy guy!) This is second of a four part story arc, each of which were recorded at one of four summer 2007 conventions; the first stop was at RavenCon, and entitled the Master of Zombies Strikes Back. In Stop 2, Mr. Adventure and his companions continue their fight against the Master of Zombies, with rather “explosive” results. I had a blast (heh) portraying the evil Zombie Master himself.
• The 2007 Christmas All Star Spectacular was released into the feed a couple of weeks back. It is the follow-up to last year’s Christmas Spectacular. This year, Mr. Adventure and friends contend with the machinations of the thieving Abominable Snowman, in order to save Christmas once again. Continuing my willing typecasting as a super-villain, I lent my voice to the Abominable Snowman.

Check out the above episodes, as well as the previous excellent releases, at the official Pulp Adventures website! Be sure to explore Rich’s numerous other awesome projects at Outcast Multimedia.