podside stories

2010-01-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

In the 90's I sold a hone in SF for an embarrassingly small amount of money... in looking back I probably got shafted by the person that was my agent...

Not So Best Buy

2009-09-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you have been in to a local Best Buy to look at the Zune HD but I have and well its a real big let down.

Now dont get me wrong here - though I am no big fan of microsoft or windows for that matter but the Zune HD PMP is of interest to me and I am on the edge of getting one and was hoping to get some hands on to see how it feels. Seems that Best Buy has them for viewing but its not much better then seeing one on the internet or in a case. Hell is worse then seeing a video of it online since you get to touch it lashed to a post - powered if your lucky, I was not. How is this a way to sell a product, They pretty much insured I wont be getting one from Best Buy if I buy one and I won't be getting any games for my Wii from them either....

Just needed to vent....

Now by comparison I have to mention my experience at Borders the same day. I went there to look at a book about how we should probably change our diets by Mark Bitterman titled Food Matters (look here as to why) and I spotted the really good looking display for the Sony Reader... Hmmm they had two on display there marked with a warning that they were not working models... well I thought right that figures but as I was walking away a clerk told me that I could lift the reader to see a video presentation on the screen behind them and that after I asked that they were in fact working models.... well I did stop and toy around a bit and found that I liked the touch screen edition and feel really inclined to get one when I have the money....

That is a good example of the difference in a good display ... I had small interest in the sony reader but now may buy one while I had lots of interest in a Zune HD and still feel that I need a hands on to invest in one...

Food for thought...

and go check out the Sony Reader Touch... it may be B&W but it is a good item and with the opening of the drm its better then before... ...

Also still interested in an HD (hell Best Buy 's failings are not microsoft's fault) anyone know where you can test one....

quick sunday note

2009-06-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hey there....

Ever the social media experimenter JC Hutchins is playing with his listeners again - in his podcast feed that delivers Hey Everybody and PE: Sword of Blood he has send out a pretty fun looking printout to further promote the Personal Effects Dark Arts novel; hell makes me wish I owned a printer. The file is a number of black and white artifacts (images) to be used as a coloring book. JC even included a text only version of the cover - sort of a do it yourself version for your own dark art....visions of squids and tentacles come to mind but I'm a long time Lovecraft fan so what else might you expect....

Take care and have fun coloring if you do...and remember to get your copy to push JC into the book sales charts

change it is a coming

2009-06-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody (tm - JC Hutchins - Personal Effects D.A. comes out this tuesday)

Just wanted to blog about the day and try to make a habit of it for once.....

The news - I am not only out of the job/home hell that has plagued me this last year - hence no progress on any thing other then completing NANOWriMO - my partner and I actually have a home - so no homeless treking around the north west while our stuff is in storage.... some thing to be happy about at least

On to todays activities...

I went to the Rudy Rucker reading at borderlands (check their calander if you are or will be int the SF area) today and that was a great time - it pretty much is always a good time going there to see an author wether I am truly a fan or even just familiar with their work. I have been faminiar with his work since the days of cyberpunk being the buzz word of the genre.

If yo are unfamiliar with his work he has been writing in the genre since the mid 80's (I believe) and has written in various of the sub-genres including cyberpunk, steampunk and most recently singuliterrian (bad speller I am). Hearing him read his work and talk about his life as a writer was a pleasure and a great way to spend a nice san francisco afternoon. He read from his new book Hylozoic from somewhere about 2/3rds the way through; I expected something strange and interesting but witty and laugh out loud funny I was not. He is really a great presenter and that may come from having been teaching for 20+ years in math, computer science and philosophy (makes me wish I could have been a student of his). Though the book from his description to get us up to speed has lots of big ideas in it gleaned from science and the concept of hylozoic the book sounds to be about the lives of his characters wether they be human of alien pitchforks that have a deep south accent (I will miss his voice for the characer whe I read the copy I got)

the reading was something that I had said that I would want to go to but would not be unhappy to miss - well - I am really glad I went and - well - I did want to go - my intuition even made my feel it would be a good Idea.....

Things are looking up ---- I just need to see it more often....

thanks if you are reading this and let me know what you think if you do

take care

oh yeah I did want to post a link to the free download version of Postsingular the book that Hylozoic is a sequel to

Podcast - Book Trailers.......

2009-05-31T16:34:00.000-07:00

Ok Here is the deal...

When it comes to me I feel a "real" (yeas you have to imagine me making the air quotes morion here) advantage at least when it comes to me where there is a real artifact (read book where I say Artifact) us the connection I feel to the person I have been listening to...

I find that I am more liable to contribute to the success and further the career of creative persons that I have a perceived personal connection to then to great writers whom I feel I should read....

I feel I should read people like Neil Gaimen since he is one of the most inventive fantasist of the age but I am more compelled to actually buy books by Scott Sigler, Seth Harwood, JC Hutchins(I could go on but there is a partial link list on the sidebar f these cool people) if they ever gets a real book contract since I have heard them on a regular basis, had email contact or follow them on twitter. Though most of them I have never met or like Sigler and Harwood only briefly met and hung out with - I feel a bond to these people that is more then just the connection to reading their work.

I love these guys - This is a message to all you podcasters I listen to out there...

You may not know it but you help me every day and maybe someday I will be able to thank you ....

sound editing......

2009-04-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

Now I no longer recall what podcast turned me on to Radio Lab... I think that it may have been Victor Cajiao at the Typical Mac User I may be wrong and if I am I apologize to the party that I have now forgotten.

The podcast introduced me to the above mentioned Radio Lab which is a thought provoking combination of ideas and audio editing including well chosen bed music and sound effects to add to the discussed topics. Its sort of a mix of the sound of old radio drama and the contemplative discussion of Philosophy Talk (another show that I will write about in the future) and This American Life that probable need little if any introduction.

The hosts and creators of the show Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich at WNYC public radio create a few shows a season and have a library well worth looking into covering topics like stress and morality in their hour long radio episodes and have begun to do 15 to 20 minute or so podcast specific shows recently exploring big ideas like something they called the "Obama Effect", DIY universes, and the quality of silence. The discussions they have will keep coming back to you over time for more thought. The show is well worth your time and if you do give it a go and do enjoy it think about giving to your local public radio station - yeah I know I am pushing the podcast version but without the radio funding these great thought stimulating shows may go away and that would be a crime....

Go and check them out...add them to your list of weekend NPR shows they really do go well with This American Life....

take care

2009-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is the contents of the ol' shuffle today.....

Episode 29: Cutthroat Caverns Detailed Review and Interview, Adepticon 2009 D6 Generation
Escape Pod Flash: A Preference for Silence 6:01 Lucy A. Snyder Escape Pod
Idle Roomer by Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn (audio) 23:48 Clarkesworld Clarkesworld Magazine
ISBW #113 - Brett Savory and Paul Malmont Interviews 31:07 Mur Lafferty I Should Be Writing
ISBW Special Episode #42 - Kim Stanley Robinson Interview 25:31 Mur Lafferty I Should Be Writing
"The Lizard of Ooze" as read by Jay Lake 27:25 Jay Lake Lakeshore: Jay Lake and His Fiction
Lost Gods Part Fifteen 26:52 Drew Beatty Lost Gods
Midnight Podcast Episode 130 2:16:34 Corey Midnight Podcast
Morality (Rebroadcast) 58:59 Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich WNYC's Radio Lab
PC046: Secret Life 57:27 Jeff VanderMeer PodCastle
Pseudopod 133: Grave of Ships 17:06 Richard Marsden Pseudopod
Writing Excuses Season 2 Episode 27: Reading Critically 16:51 Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, Dan Wells
YOUNG JUNIUS - Episode 25 32:20 Seth Harwood

I can tell you that had me employer (I do work as a cleaning person for someone who is usually away) not been home I would have been more able to enjoy my morning and had less loss of sanity (see Call Of Cthulhu) ....as it was though I did get to listen to Writing Excuses without problem and enjoyed the comments about how to read for both enjoyment and analysis of the craft both; I barely got into Rafe and the guys on the D6 Generation before the berating and questions about my work started. I will need to go back and listen to the beginning again since I was lost in angry thoughts all through their coverage of Adepticon 09.....

I hope the post lunch shift goes smother ....... I really need to give my fight flight responces a rest - this is killing me

The day got better and I did get a good dead of enjoyment out of the D6 generation.....

Thanks

farewell Dave

2009-04-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today I saw thenews that Dave Arneson is gone. This I cought on Tabletop Gaming News and at Tor.com.Thought I have not actually roleplayed for a couple of decades (with the spotty exception of two games last year); I did for many years from my early teens into my mid-thirties and have kept my eyes on the growth and the changes in the industry since then. In the last year I recall hearing an interview with Dave I think on the Sons Of Kryoss when it was still just an audio cast or one of the other myriad gaming podcasts that I was listening to at the time(check the list to follow with links if possible) .......

Though I could not have told you the names of the men responsible for the hobby I loved then I know who they are now and I would like to thank Dave and gary both for many fine and fun memories I hope to retain till I shuffle off this mortal coil.....

If there is an afterlife I wish them an adventure there .......

Thanks Dave and good speed......

G.

The gameing Podcasts I have listened to and would recommend.....

The Sons of Kryos
The D6 Generation a warning they usually are about 3 hrs long.......
Durham 3 (I don't think they still record)
Stabbing Contest (hi Ogre)
Masterplan
2D6 Feet in a Random Direction
Voice of the Revolution

Most of these are focused on the "indy" game scene and reflect my interest in less main stream gaming...... though I have fond memories for D&D and would play it still - I love the new direction of the industry ......... if you have similar thoughts you need to check out and join StoryGames - its are very good and accepting community ..........

take care and see you

more great free fiction

2009-04-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ok ........

All you out there that have not heard of Lone Star Stories......go ahead and click that link ------ there are many fine tales there on a regular basis that are FREE......at least to us the reader they are free......

Eric T. Marin runs this fine internet magazine featuring the best of short speculative fiction these days and its amazing the authors that he gets to contribute........ and they have published a free yes FREE PDF
of past stories that you should really check out and download......hell you should even tell your friends about it........the more people seeing this the better chance that free content will continue to be a good working model for business.........

I have been looking at Lone Star Stories for a little over a year now and am amazed by the content that they get including the amazing Jay Lake and the equally amazing Ekaterina Sadia who wrote Alchemy of Stones that every Steampunk fan should read........

I got the notification from Jay Lake through twitter

anyway check out the links here in and let me know what you think......

I'm going to listen to some Worlds End Radio in a little .....I may no longer play but these aussies really have the spirit and make me wish I still did ....

take care

G

for sanity's sake.....

2009-04-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today was an ok day so far....... planning for tomorrows trip to the local fedex kinko's - I have a beta copy of the Grindhouse games Incursion rules and plan to print out the lot tomorrow for a playtest or three.....

On the shuffle for tonights drudgery.....

some fiction from Jay Lake from Clarkesworld magazine...a very fine and interesting online free magazine featuring cool cover art, some new fiction, a podcast of said fiction and an interview or two......sure I am only hearing the fiction story but its a great little production and well worth your time to check out.......really its a professional production and I would love to be able to put some work there myself If I get something worth printing......

Also I have

More form The Zombie Chronicles.... love my buddy James Melzer and his espionage action thriller with zombies........and I have to hope he gets his interview on The Hour so if you are listening to TZC give james a hand and get him the time on the CBC he deserves.......

since I expect to have about two hours of drudger tonight I have some. Mail order Zombie loaded up also - love the combination of Brother D and Ms Bren and their chit chat about the direct to video zombie films and small press horror genre........

Gotta give a shout to Fake Shark Real Zombie and Mz Ann Thropic also since their mentions on Midnight Podcast and The Zombit Chronicles respectively I have been listening to their fine thrashy goth alternative rock and getting some well deserved release from my daily grind.............

thanks all and someday I will get a podcast going to make my voice heard tooo.....

GL

Beachball of death

2009-04-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Getting into the habit of blogging about the things that are keeping me sane today.....

What's on the shuffle today.....

Right not I'm listening to the Typical mac user podcast with Victor Cajiao about the beach ball of death experience and the settings that can help with that.....

earlier while working I listened to - The Zombie Chronicles by James Melzer episode 19 - there are only 10 left till the end - I really need to write my fan fic and get it to him.......really good storytelling for fans of horror and thrillers.....

Later I have some Midnight podcast and Mail Order Zombie to listen to ...... you can see a pattern here I think.......

Alos I will try to get in a D6 Generation to get in some of my beloved hobby thoug I never game anymore.....

I hope to do some horror game reviews to send into the midnight podcast in the future....

have to combine my interests to get things dome sometimes....

peace....

Why have I been so lax in posting

2009-03-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ok....

If you look at the dates it has been a loooooong time since I posted and I feel that I should say what is going on if there is anyone that looks at this other then JC Hutchins (seems if he gets a mention he will check things out and he is such a cool guy he actually posts a thanks.) I should let you in on my laziness of late......

The last 6 months I have been working in a "labor for rent" situation that really seemed a whole lot more positive then it has turned out. I have plenty of free time but spend the great majority of it complaining about the employers and the work environment. I do have the free time to practice writing and do a podcast but am often too depressed to care about these things or too angry that I have been duped into this situation by the lure of free time.

I will not describe the position further since they may someday see this somehow and I cant endanger my place of residence.

I know it seems a lame excuse but I have had to go back into therapy recently further taxing my non existent income.

These are not the things that I hoped to do with my life and I think the more places that I post or relate my intent to get on with my life and stop wasting my time keeping my word to a pack of people whose word means nothing might sure me to quicker action.

Ok I know that if you are reading this for my thoughts on something that I have read or listened to I am sorry but I have to start my escape somewhere and here seems a good place to get my start.....

Canadian goodness

2009-01-14T20:35:00.000-08:00

A quick shout out to the two Toronto-ites, Torontarians......um guys from Toronto that help keep me from losing my mind....

I need to write a full review about the stories they are spinning but they are worth your time and harddisk/flash drive space

First to JJ Melzer and his story The Zombie Chronicles.....I'm still working on some fan fiction for him.....His take on zombie fiction has gotten me back into horror films and is keeping me coming back for more....cant wait to see the book in print

And secong James Melzer turned me onto a cool urban fantasy huckster tale in Lost Gods by Drew Beatty.....think the atmosphere of Neil Gaiman mixed with the street sense Jim Butcher and you have the right Idea....

anyhow check them out and let me know your reading....I'm trying to get better at posting.....

odd event

2008-12-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling like shit the last two days......

sick , feverish, flu maybe....

I could not get out to get my copy of Contagious but Borderlands called to tell me they had my signed copy there for me and with one short phone call to them to confirm I would be in to pick it up as soon as I was well enough .....and not by then end of the call I was feeling better and by ten minutes later I felt pretty much tip top...

so I know its a logical fallacy to infer this but I like the Idea that Scott Sigler's work can make you feel better even by proxy....

and I really like the idea that I feel better knowing that I have Contagious waiting to infect me soon...

thanks Scott....

and thanks tot the employees at Borderlands

Get your copy here and help the future dark overlord get on the NYT bestsellers list...

If you are in the SF bay area you Scott has two tour dates -----health willing I will be at the SF date on Jan 10th at Borderlands.....

2008-12-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

2008-12-19T19:10:00.001-08:00

Just finished listening to Nocturnal # 40 Damn what a cool year it has been being a Scott Sigler fan,.......

Here is the trailer for his second novel to be put out by a big publisher....

Check out the first two chapters of the podcast here for #1 and here for #2

You can get the podcast for Infected too on his feed along with all the other FDO greatness.....

Here's the deal....

2008-12-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

You will have to forgive my tome I have been listening to Seth Harwood's first Jack Palms book and well some of the crime fiction lingo is probably in my head but you know sometimes you have to just roll with it.

There are all these great cats out there that for the last three years and counting have been giving us the fruits of their imagination for free and hell I have loved all the stuff that they have been dealing into my ears. I have only been into this podcast thing for a year but have to say that its the best thing that has happened to me in a long time, my girlfriend not withstanding. I have to credit these people with the fact that I found out about NaNoWriMo, participated and finished a all be it bad novel and that I have the drive to try my had at some short fiction this month.

Now its time that I try to give back to them somehow....and having few funds to spare I have to just try this way - spread the word one possible reader at a time. If you have a commute to work or school give your mp3 space to one of them and hell you will find something you like out there -

Since I am listening to some Harwood I put a link to the opening of his first audiobook and hell its free so give him a listen....give him 4 episodes if you like shows like the Wire or movies like Snatch and Get Shorty. He is worth the time - hell I'm hooked and what do you have to loose all the his are free unless you find yourself wanting to step up and hook a brother up this next year. He's got a major publishing deal for himself.

Oh an if the show The Wire is your thing do check out Young Junius - it fills that need if you are missing the show...scroll to the bottom of the page to get a taste.....

Keeping me sane.....

2008-12-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

This will be my first real post talking about the podcasts that are as the topic states keep me sane in addition to a short story about how I got interested in this whole podcasting thing in the first place.

In the spring of 2007 I had yet to listen to this thing called a podcast in anything other then a passing curiosity. Working at the time at Privateer Press I gave the Warmachine/Hordes podcast - Fell Calls - and found that I enjoyed it but was not really called to listen more then just in passing. Then one of my fellow employees mentioned that he was listening to a short science fiction story podcast called Escapepod and that it was a great way to pass the time in the repetive job he did in the company.

I was curious but for some reason did not look into it just yet. Ogre then told me about there were some really good gaming podcasts that were out there too - I think he mentioned the Sons of Kryoss but I dont really recall. It had been years since I had gamed in anyway other then miniature wargames and had the urge to get back in somehow.

I don't recall how I got from what he mentioned to Voice of the Revolution it may haver been that I had found IPR since I had just found the game Burning Wheel; but this one fine show really got the ball rolling. My girlfriend was house sitting at the time and the voices that came over the Ipod and the computer speakers became my temporary companions. They joined me on the bus they kept me company when the amount of conversation was curtailed at work, they joined me for coffee in the morning and well entertained me a lot too. The list the follows are the game related casts that lead me into new media in the order that I recall hearing about them and adding them to my podcatcher.....

2D6 Feet in a Random Direction

Sons of Kryoss (first heard about but it took me a while to listen.)

Have Games will Travel

Fear the Boot

Ogre definitely clued me into:

Theory from the Closet

Masterplan

Dragons Landing.....

Durham 3

Now these were all well and good - it made me feel connected to the RPG game world and got me enthused about gaming again. I stared to listen to Escapepod too and really took a liking to it and its sister cast Pseudopod (I have been a horror fan since the 80's and my enjoyment of HP Lovecraft.... )

but ...... durring the winter slump I ran out of new things to listen to and through searching for Michael Moorcock info on google I found an interview on ...Adventures in Sci Fi publishing...and that is where the addiction really kicked in.....because I began to listen through Shaun's catalogue of great interviews I heard the one with Scott Sigler (hello FDO) and JC Hutchins ('hutchinsssss' copyright sigler) and if you are unfamiliar with then and you like suspence and great storytelling you must check them out. Needless to say I was hooked...yes i am a dirty junkie (co sigler) and a beta clone like so many others out here I suspect.

Listening to the chitter chat that they had before the episode or after along with their interviews (thanks Hutch) found more great content from people like Mur Lafferty, Jered Axelrod, Seth Harwood, Matt Wallace, Phil Rossi, Christiana Ellis to name just a few and it spreads in ripples from there - the more you listen to the more great content I find......I could keep naming them here but I will just direct you to the right column for the ear candy and encourage you to give a try to them......

Into

2008-12-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

This is my third attempt to set up a blog to promote the podcasts, writers, and blogs that I find worth my time and would like to have more people stumble upon or give a try. I have gotten sidetracked in the past and written personal messages and rants and hope to avoid this problem this time around. On the you will see a list of the casts that I find keep me sane when the hum drum of my life begins to get to me and I encourage anyone interested in fiction of multiple stripes to give a listen to; I will try to give some quick idea of the genre content of each...

Well hope you will find content here that appeals and helps mediate the insanity of this existence a little.....