Final Top25 of the year

Here's how the Top25 Most Played in my iTunes Player looks to finish out the year:

1. Vanity Fair ~Mr. Bungle 42
2. fear regret and hope ~Jack Mangan 35
3. Myself Within Love ~jack mangan 34
4. One With the Stillness ~Jack Mangan 34
5. temple of earth and sea ~jack mangan 34
6. Is There Love In Space? ~Joe Satriani 30
7. Organ Donor ~DJ Shadow 27
8. Earth Time Pigs Fate ~Jack Mangan 27
9. Wine ~Jack Mangan 27
10. Saddam A Go-Go ~GWAR 25
11. Dad and Dog ~Fredo Viola 24
12. Black Circle Remix ~Jack Mangan 22
13. Dog Diary ~Jack Mangan 22
14. Did My Time ~KoRn 22
15. Rumble ~Link Wray & His Ray Men 21
16. Miss Misery ~Elliott Smith 20
17. Spirit Man ~Mango 20
18. playing with spiders-skullkrusher ~Overkill 20
19. Tears of Liquid Mercury ~Jack Mangan 19
20. Defender ~Manowar 19
21. The Enemy ~Anthrax 18
22. Slaughter of the Soul ~At the Gates 18
23. Waltz #2 (XO) ~Elliott Smith 18
24. Hallowed Be Thy Name ~Iron Maiden 18
25. Watch The Children Pray ~Metal Church 18

These three songs also had 18 plays:

Time Is Running Out ~Muse
West End Girls ~Pet Shop Boys
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ~Roberta Flack

Note that there's nothing even remotely new in the list, except for the Muse song and my own personal mashups, which are techincally just fusions of old stuff all assembled together. Is this because I'm getting old and creaky? Possibly. I just find so much new music boring, boring, boring. There are some artists who are doing innovative and exciting things, but for the most part -- I've heard it all before.

OK - well happy new year, folks!!

Hello Strangers!

I hope your holidays were all happy, i.e., not too stressful..........

Spherical Tomi Podiobook, Episode 8 Status: DELAYED. It's recorded, edited, mixed, and all set, but because of the problems they're having, I haven't been able to upload it. Sorry, gang. It's that time of year when vacations delay resolution of technical difficulties.

OK, well, it won't be another 6 days between posts.

-
Jack

Spherical Tomi Episode 7 released

See? I told you Chris is the man.

Episode 7 of the Spherical Tomi Podiobook has been released. I hope you'll be listening to Episode 8 by the new year.

Happy Whatever.

Keeping in touch

OK, so I haven't posted in a few days....

Check out podiobooks.com -- A few other titles have had new chapters added today. . . I've submitted the latest ST, and hope to see it up there soon. Don't misconstrue this as any complaint against the folks at podiobooks, by the way. Chris has lots of other obligations, and along with Evo and Tee, has done a pretty bang-up job with the site, in my opinion.
Anyway. As soon as Tomi Episode 7 is ready, I'll post here. Episode 8 should be right on its heels.

Whatever you celebrate in December, I hope you enjoy it.

New review up at SFReader

My review of Bill DeSmedt's novel, "Singularity" has been posted over at SFReader.
Been awhile since I contributed anything there -- it's good to be back.

I've got a little black book with my poems in

Got a bag with a toothbrush and a comb in.

Sometimes, Pink Floyd The Wall needs to be heard in its entirety.

The New Duel of the Fates 8

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the 8 characters set to appear in Duel of the Fates 2, as nominated and voted by you:

1. Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)
2. 6 Million Dollar Man
3. TD0013
4. Thor (Norse Mythos and Marvel Comics)
5. Ash from Evil Dead*
6. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (BSG 2005)
7. Gandalf*
8. T-800 Terminator (Arnold)

Sadly, Connor Macleod and Conan the Eliminated remained in 9th and 10th place, and did not make the cut. Regretfully, Mansquito will also be left out. The first round matchups will be:

Dr. Evil vs. The Terminator
Six Million Dollar Man vs. Gandalf
TD0013 vs. Starbuck (the new one)
The Mighty Thor vs. Evil Dead Ash

Thanks to all of you for your votes!!! Time for another big announcement... This time, you can also help determine the outcomes of the Duels! If you care, then go ahead and tell me who should win in the first round. Send your suggestions to the same e-mail: duelofthefates aaaat gmail doooot com. I'll honor your votes when determining each battle's outcome. If you don't care -- then don't worry. I'll figure it out.

Polls close at Midnight

Yes, today is the final official day to cast your votes for the DotF 2 tournament participants. I've said that the polls close at midnight tonight, but really, all votes will be counted until I post the Final 8 here, some time over the weekend.

FYI: The Top 10 haven't changed too too much since I posted them on Wednesday.

Interzone #202, coming soon!

Interzone #202, featuring my short story, "The Unsolvable Deathtrap", will be available in January, according to their website. I'm proud as hell of "The Unsolvable Deathtrap"; I'm honored to be in there, and very happy to have such a great venue for that story. Judging from the ToC, it appears to be in good company, too.

Also-- check out the snazzy front cover!

And if you scroll down on that page, you'll find a link to artist Rik Rawley's homepage. There, you can catch a glimpse of the art he provided for "Unsolvable". This guy's obviously an edgy, brave, professional talent; he's apparently been commissioned to create images for a number of mid-to-high profile record labels, bands, and magazines. He seems to have been an inspired choice to do the artwork for my story. I have yet to see the full thing for myself -- I can't wait.

Top 10 for now

Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)

TD0013 (cranky stormtrooper)

Thor (Norse Mythos and Marvel Comics)

6 Million Dollar Man

Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (BSG 2005)

Gandalf*

Ash from Evil Dead*

T-800 Terminator (Arnold)

Connor MacLeod (Highlander)

Conan (of lit -- and Arnold)

People, people --- Six Million Dollar Man??
Who's next -- Horshak? Jim Street from S.W.A.T.?

Two more late suggestions

I received this e-mail today:

"Here are two characters you need to add to the list:

Dirk the Daring (from the Dragon's Lair games)

Voltron - the defender of the Universe!!!"

(thanks Andre!)

Voting closes Friday at midnight.

Top 25 candidates for DotF 2

These 25 are still in the running to become America's next top Duel of the Fates champion. It's never too late for new character suggestions, but the polls close on Friday, 12/16, so you'd better make it quick. This list is in order as decided by you, the voters (and OK, a little GOP-style behind the scenes vote-tampering, but nothing too serious... It's a joke. Fanatics, don't send angry e-mails) Only the Top 8 will get in, though! So if your fave is hovering somewhere at or below 8th place, then cast a vote to secure their position. The race is still tight -- Even Dr. Evil isn't 100% secure in the number one spot. E-mail your votes to: duelofthefates at gmail dot com.

1. Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)
2. TD0013 (stormtrooper – heard periodically on the Dragon Page)
3. Gandalf*
4. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (BS:G 2005)
5. T-800 Terminator (Arnold)
6. Connor MacLeod (Highlander)
7. Thor (Norse Mythos and Marvel Comics)
8. Conan (of lit -- and Arnold)
9. Ash from Evil Dead*
10. 6 Million Dollar Man
11. Molly from Neuromancer*
12. Aslan
13. Dirk Moonfire (from Jack Mangan’s brilliant novella, “Dirk Moonfire & the Nefarious Space Women”)
14. Smaug (from The Hobbit)
15. Beastmaster (not Arnold -- Marc Singer)
16. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)
17. Buzz Lightyear
18. The Borg Queen (Star Trek: First Contact)
19. Spock
20. Yoda (Star Wars)
21. Dr. Who
22. Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
23. Hulk (Lou Ferigno)
24. River (from Firefly)
25. Catwoman

The '*' means that they've dueled once before.

Check out TD0013 jumping up to 2nd place in the voting!! For those who don't know, TD0013 is a rather ornery stormtrooper in the service of the Empire who can often be heard giving a "diff'rent point of view" on the Dragon Page Wingin It! podcast. Notice also that there are a few women in the Top 25, but only one in the Top 8.

Spherical Tomi Episode 7 - not yet

Did you all have a good laugh with episode 6.5? Good. I still can't believe I released some of those outtakes...
Anyway - I'm posting here to apologize (yet again) for the delay in releasing ST ep 7.
It's being held up in the edit stage because I've hit a section of long conversation.
That stretch of dialogue is fine in the text version (I hope), but I think it needs a trim for an audio version. So I'm doing some minor abridgements, and even adding a few brand-new lines to grout and smooth over the holes from the cuts.

So there you have it. Nothing essential will be cut or changed from the original story, of course; but as of episode 7, the podiobook and e-book versions will have distinct differences.

****MINOR SPOILER ALERT****

Those of you who've read the entire e-book know that there's another long conversation at the end. As of now, I'm not planning on abridging one word of that, but we'll have to see how it feels once it's recorded.

Spherical Tomi podiobook episode 6.5 released

We've reached the halfway point on the Spherical Tomi storyline, and to mark the milestone, I've released a special, non-story episode. Not 6, not 7, but 6.5.

From the site:
Six minutes of discussion about how the Spherical Tomi book began, along with a few acknowledgments, shoutouts, and funny, mildly embarassing recording outtakes. This episode is not required to follow the story.

Duel of the Fates 2 - updated poll results

Below are the Top 50 vote-getters so far for the DotF 2 tournament. I'm going to close the polling stations next Friday (12/16), one week from today. Still plenty of time for things to change! E-mail your votes to duelofthefates at gmail dot com. The numbers are still close enough that anyone in the top 50 can make the Final 8. It's not even too late to for your new suggestions to get in, so don't be shy with your character ideas. One thing to clarify though - I appreciate your suggestions for matchups, but I'm really just looking for individual characters for the DotF 2 tourney.

About the list:

I've added some thingies after the names; here's the symbols' legend:
* Was in a Season 1 Duel.
** Was in the Duel of the Fates: Battle Royale live event at Coppercon 31.
### Mike and Evo. I don't think I'm going to have these guys in the tournament. Same goes for the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas. Mike and Evo have received a few votes, but I think ultimately it's funnier in theory than in practice. . . To all of you who voted for them, I still appreciate your suggestions! And I suspect that the Mike and Evo characters will make some kind of appearance during the season. . . I'm not going to exclude TD0013, however, since he is a fictional character.
1-8. These numbers show the 8 characters who'd be IN if the season were to start today.

And finally, here's the list:

1. Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)
2. Gandalf*
Evo & Mike###
3. T-800 Terminator (Arnold)
4. Connor MacLeod (Highlander)
5. Thor (Norse Mythos and Marvel Comics)
6. Conan (of lit -- and Arnold)
7. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (BS:G 2005)
8. Ash from Evil Dead*

Six Million Dollar Man
Molly from Neuromancer*
Aslan
Dirk Moonfire (from Jack Mangan’s brilliant novella, “Dirk Moonfire & the Nefarious Space Women”)
Smaug (from The Hobbit)
Beastmaster (not Arnold -- Marc Singer)
TD0013
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars Et Al)
The Borg Queen (Star Trek: First Contact, Voyager)
Tomi (Spherical Tomi – LOVE the Podiobook!)
Data (Star Trek; TNG, Generations, First Contact, Isurrection, Nemesis)
Jayne (Firefly)
Yoda (Star Wars)
Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
The One Ring (Lord of the Rings)
Teal’c (Stargate SG-1)
River (from Firefly)
Ender
Hoban Washbourne from Firefly/Serenity
Sharon 'Boomer' Valeri from new BSG
Wedge Antilles
King Kong
Zombie number 1 (from Dawn of the Dead)
Evo Terra###
Gully Foyle (from Stars My Destination)
Voldemort
Spock
William Shatner (Kirk was in the first season - - not Shatner himself)
Jenna Jameson (from. . . oh you know exactly which movies she’s been in)
Dr. Who
Buffy
Spike
Man from Atlantis
Ed (from Shaun of the Dead movie)
Underdog
Arthur Dent
K!@%& Reeves
Hamlet (hey, he saw the spectre of his dad -- the play has Spec-Fic elements)
Leia Organa Skywalker Solo (Jingleheimer-Schmidt)
Catwoman
Dr. Frank N. Furter (from Rocky Horror)**
Emperor Palpatine**
Ripley (from Alien)

Fantastic Four

I had a subscription to FF comics for one year, back when I was about 12. I was a huge fan of the John Byrne era. I think Dr. Doom is one of the richest comic book characters, possibly the best comic book villain of all time.
So what went wrong with the Fantastic Four movie?
I'm not going to write a review; I don't have the time or inclination to critique all of its flaws. I'm just expressing my disappointment. I think the movie-making forces behind it had no concern for making a good film; they were apparently only interested in cashing in on the superhero movie trend. I hurried to return the disc to Netflix ASAP, before its badness could infect the other DVDs in my home. . . The hilight of the thing for me was Stan Lee's cameo. Could Roger Corman's infamous low-budget, grade-Z FF movie of the 90s have been that much worse??
I encourage you to read Fantastic Four comics. And I encourage you to rent or even buy this film -- not to watch it for enjoyment, but to ensure that it makes enough profit to warrant a sequel.
And then -- let's get it right in Fantastic Four 2.

At last! New ST Episodes

Episodes 5 and 6 of the Spherical Tomi Podiobook have been released!

A thousand apologies for the delay.
Check your podcast feeds, go subscribe, or go tell the Podiobooks engine to manually download Episode 5 and Episode 6. We're back on track -- and I plan to upload the next chapters by the end of the week.

DueloftheFates Season 2 voting. . .

. . . so far.

Below is a long list of the character names that have come up for Duel of the Fates 2. The first round winners from the first tournament (Tomi, Kirk, original Starbuck, and Godzilla) are ineligible for season 2. Sorry Sphericalheads.
This list is in a kind of order, though nothing is carved into stone yet. You still have time to cast your vote and affect the Final 8 for DotF 2. Choose from the list OR send me new ideas. No characters have received enough votes yet to clinch a spot -- your good idea may end up in the tourney. . . maybe even winning the whole thing. . .

The List:

Molly from Neuromancer*

Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)

T-800 Terminator (Arnold)

Hamlet (hey, he saw the spectre of his dad -- the play has Spec-Fic elements)

Leia Organa Skywalker Solo (Jingleheimer-Schmidt)

Ash from Evil Dead*

Connor MacLeod (Highlander)

Boba Fett

River (from Firefly)

Ender

Hoban Washbourne from Firefly/Serenity

Sharon 'Boomer' Valeri from new BSG

Kara 'StarBuck' Thrace

Wedge Antilles

Aslan

King Kong

Zombie number 1 (from Dawn of the Dead)

Evo & Mike

Evo Terra

Dr. Who

Buffy

Spike

Man from Atlantis

Ed (from Shaun of the Dead movie)

6 Million Dollar Man

Underdog

Arthur Dent

Jack Flanders (from the radio serial 4^th Tower of Inverness)

Voldemort

Spock

Cthulhu

Elvis

Gandalf*

Darth Vader*

Batman*

Harry Potter*

Gort (from The Day The Earth Stood Still)

Pinky (from Pink Floyd The Wall)

Pinky (of Pinky and the Brain)**

Dr. Frank N. Furter (from Rocky Horror)**

Emperor Palpatine**

Paul Muad’Dib (Muad’Dib Muad’Dib Muad’Dib Muad’Dib Muad’Dib!)**

Captain Mal (from Firefly)**

Eddie (Iron Maiden’s Mascot)

General Zod (from Superman 2)

The Shrike (from Hyperion)

Dirk Moonfire (from Jack Mangan’s brilliant novella, “Dirk Moonfire & the Nefarious Space Women”)

Zhang Ziyi

The Iron Giant

James Bond

Prospero (from “The Tempest”)

Slash (Guns N’ Roses)

Agent Smith (Matrix)

William Shatner (Kirk was in the first season - - not Shatner himself)

Jenna Jameson (from. . . oh you know exactly which movies she’s been in)

Ged

Loki (Norse Mythos)

Thor (Norse Mythos and Marvel Comics)

Hercules (Greek Mythos)

7-of-9 (from Star Trek Voyager)

Otto (from Repo Man)

Smaug (from The Hobbit)

Catwoman

Conan (of lit -- and Arnold)

Beastmaster (not Arnold -- Marc Singer)

Darth Maul

Wesley (aka the Dread Pirate Roberts)

Ripley (from Alien)

Dr. Peter Venkman (from Ghostbusters)

Alice Cooper

*This character participated in a duel during Season 1.
**This character participated in the "Duel of the Fates Live: Battle Royale", at CopperCon 31, September 2005 in Phoenix, AZ.

Did ya hear me on Slice of Scifi?

I also sat in for an episode of Slice of Scifi while at the Draco Vista studios. They released it two days ago for your listening pleasure. Fun show!