Monthly Archives: September 2005

Two Days Two Days Two Days Two Days

Two days ’till the “Serenity”:http://www.serenitymovie.com/ premiere. My hopes of re-watching all the TV episodes before the movie haven’t panned out, but Suanna and I have been hitting the highlights. Saw “Out of Gas”:http://average-bear.com/firefly/107.html last night. TV doesn’t get better than that.

All we need now is a babysitter for Friday night . . .

Had a shot at seeing an early screening, thanks to a “Serenity Blogger Bonanza” program put on by an outfit called Grace Hill Media. (“Jim”:http://www.highclearing.com brought it to my attention.) Here’s part of the email I got back from them:

Congratulations! You are one of the lucky bloggers to be chosen and confirmed for the screening of SERENITY for the time, date and the number of guests that you have requested. Please note, this confirmation DOES NOT guarantee you a seat at the screening.

To significantly increase your chances of getting into the screening, you MUST do the following:

* You MUST include the film’s synopsis on your blog (synopsis below) and you MUST link your blog to the SERENITY website (which has the trailer and production notes) http://www.serenitymovie.com and featured artwork. After you have screened the film, please discuss it on your blog. Please provide us the links to all of your blog posts on SERENITY at serenity@gracehillmedia.com
* Print out and bring a copy of this confirmation.
* Arrive at the theater AT LEAST 45 minutes before the show begins.
* Upon arrival at the theater, please find a UNIVERSAL PICTURES representative and inform him or her that you are part of the SERENITY BLOGGER BONANZA. The Universal rep will then instruct you as to what to do next.
* etc.

Now, if I was going to whore myself out for anything, it’d be a _Serenity_ advanced screening, but something about the whole “do our PR for us and _maybe_ we’ll let you in” attitude rubbed me the wrong way. It’ll be funner to see it Friday with friends, anyway.

Nothing To Lose But Our Retail Chains

Big props to “Greg Costikyan”:http://www.costik.com/weblog/2005_09_01_blogchive.html#112751023848334701 for taking the plunge — he’s leaving his nice, stable job and starting to start a company, Manifesto Games, dedicated to supporting independent PC game developers.

He also plans to be open about the whole process, sharing the details of getting a startup going with the whole world via his blog. Should be interesting.

Kudos, Greg!

Small Press Expo 2005

The difference between attending a comics convention with a 9 month old and a 21 month one old is that with the nine month old, you can actually walk around, survey the booths, talk to people, and, y’know, _see_ stuff. With a 21 month old, though, you end up spending most of your time letting her burn off energy running circles in an empty conference room and trying not to lose sight of her as she follows the guy passing out free comics in an overcoat and rat mask all over the con. (Ella thought it was a bear mask, and so called him “Beah Guy.”)

So I didn’t experience as much of “Small Press Expo”:http://www.spxpo.com/ this year as I would have liked. Nevertheless, two purchases = two solid recommendations:

“Owly: Just a Little Blue”:http://www.andyrunton.com/ — Andy Runton’s second Owly volume. Both autographed for Ella, now, and while she’s still a little too young for them, I have no difficulty enjoying them in the meantime.

“Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective”:http://www.cammuso.com/ — Just what you’d expect from the title. Well, maybe a little racier. The four episodes Frank Cammuso has written so far are now collected in one volume.

Some Friday Humor

“President Bush was asked yesterday for his opinion on Roe vs. Wade. He said he didn’t care how they got out of New Orleans.”

Hat tip to Chad Engbers; I don’t know if he was passing it along or made it up. Wouldn’t put it past him.

Katrina

Many others have said things better than I could hope to:

“Making Light”:http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006666.html is an excellent source for info, links, and commentary.

See also “Fred Clark”:http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2005/09/the_poor_are_le.html on the predicament of the poor, and “Jim Henley”:http://highclearing.com/index.php/archives/2005/09/01/4579 uttering an inescapable truth: “Every level of authority has failed those trapped in New Orleans.”