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2012-12-07 20:07:03 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Introduction
I'm Johne Cook, itinerant wordsmith and Overlord-in-hiatus. I like prog rock, film noir, space opera, and the Green Bay Packers. I've sold some SF/F short stories and have a novel in progress. For seven years, I've been a founding editor of Ray Gun Revival magazine. I do technical writing during the day and watch movies and play PC videogames in my free time. I'm active in my church but don't push my beliefs down your throat. I'm told I'm a friendly, regular guy by people who don't actually owe me money. I usually have a miniature doxie in my lap when I'm home or a grandson on my knee when I'm out. In other news, I'm old enough to have two young grandbabies (but age and maturity are not mutually exclusive, heh.)

2012-12-07 01:46:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

If you missed it, here's the Press Release for the upcoming Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For A New Age edited by +Bryan Thomas Schmidt:
http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/2012/11/18/announcing-raygun-chronicles-space-opera-for-a-new-age-contributors/

2012-12-07 01:44:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This artist / image looks familiar... We conducted an interview with Jacob Charles Dietz as our Featured Artist this past February...
https://plus.google.com/110980858757137478851/posts/1wWZifC2dVT

2012-07-26 15:21:25 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Inklewriter is a new HTML5 app that allows writers to create "Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books" with minimum fuss. Everyone can write and publish stories on the platform, while exercising their creative writing skills and playing with the new mix of interactive technology.

Start writing and branch off into new directions, then share the final story with whomever you like. http://writer.inklestudios.com/

Via +Fast Company 

2012-07-26 00:16:36 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

This sentence structure struck me as awkward: "Immediately he began to look around nervously." I could understand 'Immediately he looked...'

2012-07-25 19:00:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Have you ever had a hankering to drink Klava, the drink of choice from Steven Brust's Dragaera novels? Now you can make it yourself from this simple recipe (scroll to the bottom of the page for the French Press version).
http://foodthroughthepages.com/2012/07/24/klava-with-honey-vlad-taltos-series/

2012-07-25 16:22:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

You have to read today's post about The Spiritual Villain. (For starters, this explains why Heath Ledger's Joker was more sinister and fearsome than Tom Hardy's Bane.)
http://www.speculativefaith.com/2012/07/25/the-spiritual-villain/

2012-07-25 14:10:44 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Bryan Thomas Schmidt reviews Thieftaker and adds yet another book to my to-be-read pile.

2012-07-25 02:46:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2012/07/13/the-25-greatest-unscripted-scenes-in-films-video/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_26181

2012-07-24 21:46:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The Christoper Nolan / Hans Zimmer collaboration (with a huge nod to James Newton Howard for BB and TDK) was my favorite part of the trilogy.
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/christopher-nolan-on-hans-zimmers-contribution-to-his-dark-knight-saga

2012-07-24 21:11:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I support Senator Tim Cullen's bid to become an Independent in Wisconsin. During the budget fiasco, he stood out as someone trying to achieve real change with the Republican-controlled Senate, and won great respect from me. He's going to take a lot of heat for his convictions, and this may turn out to be political suicide, but Sen. Cullen's personal integrity spoke volumes to me.
http://www.gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2012/jul/24/sen-cullen-leaving-democratic-caucus/

2012-07-24 20:18:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

QOTD: "People ask if we'd always planned a trilogy. This is like being asked whether you had planned on growing up, getting married, having kids. The answer is complicated. When David and I first started cracking open Bruce's story, we flirted with what might come after, then backed away, not wanting to look too deep into the future. I didn't want to know everything that Bruce couldn't; I wanted to live it with him." Christoper Nolan
http://blastr.com/2012/07/check-out-christopher-nol.php

2012-07-24 20:11:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Paleo guru Robb Wolf pops up on podcast interview at Boing Boing (+Tom Jordan, this one's for you).
http://boingboing.net/2012/07/24/gweek-062-the-paleo-solution.html

2012-07-24 18:53:44 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Hot Off The Press

The #GoogleTV #VizioCoStar is now available for preorder!

To preorder go here: http://goo.gl/CMiAI

2012-07-24 18:34:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Lookout, Mike Portnoy - 7 year phenom's coming after you!
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Fortney+Calgary+drumming+prodigy+wows+Today+Show+with+video/6952392/story.html

2012-07-24 17:29:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I’m working a lot of hours lately at work and have gotten a little punchy. This morning, while going through an engineering specification doc, I saw a new check box I didn't recognize named Locum Tenen. I looked through the Spec and didn’t see the check box defined anywhere so I did a quick Google search to see what came up.

It’s Latin for ‘place holder.’ 

I laughed for a good five minutes. Thanks. I needed that.  ;)

2012-07-24 16:41:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Today's been kind of dreary and stuttery. I've got just The Fixx for that...
The Fixx : Anyone Else

2012-07-24 15:23:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Here's all you need to know: Edgar Wright, J.J. Abrams, mysterious new Sci-Fi film. Whatever it is, I am so there.
http://blastr.com/2012/07/edgar-wright-team-with-jj.php

2012-07-24 13:33:16 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"People don't stop killers. People with guns do."
A column from 2007, after the Virginia Tech murders.
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/people-dont-stop-killers-people-with.html

2012-07-24 05:05:01 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

This may be the weirdest story of the day:
http://gawker.com/5928425/is-a-computer-worm-causing-iranian-nuclear-facilities-to-blast-acdcs-thunderstruck-at-night

2012-07-24 00:25:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"...but I doubt I'll ever forget My Dinner With Andre dinner with Abed."
http://www.hulu.com/watch/225304#play-queued-show-by-original_premiere_date-asc
#community  

2012-07-23 22:30:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Kevin Smith gets it, too.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dark-knight-rises-kevin-smith-spoilers-353103

2012-07-23 21:28:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Here, a couple of days too late, the physics of firewalking:
http://io9.com/5928230/the-physics-of-firewalking

2012-07-23 19:47:50 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

The best part of The Dark Knight Rises may well be its triumphant Hans Zimmer soundtrack:
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=34498

2012-07-23 16:52:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

As an admitted cover art snob, I love reading about how great character covers are created.

2012-07-23 15:52:33 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

A friend was wondering how you do Word 'Track Changes'-like functions in Scrivener. Author David Hewson has the answer: combine Scrivener's Snapshot feature with it's Compare function.
http://www.davidhewson.com/blog/2011/1/24/revision-and-change-tracking-in-scrivener.html

2012-07-23 14:01:05 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Finally got around to making some much-needed coffee, and all the half&half is gone. And so is the milk. KHAAANNN!

2012-07-23 13:21:26 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

QOTD: "I come to them not so much as president as I do as a father and as a husband."
Well, what was he supposed to say? If you think Obama has exploited the Aurora murders, you have to posit an alternative response that would have been both nonexploitative and duly presidential.

ADDED: Romney says Obama did "the right thing." And saying that is also the right thing. What else could he possibly have said?
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/i-come-to-them-not-so-much-as-president.html

2012-07-23 12:57:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My friend Cathi-Lyn Dyck has some great thoughts here:
http://scitascienda.com/2012/07/23/50-shades-of-dysfunctional-womanhood/

2012-07-23 00:43:17 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

So many from my generation have never read Alfred Bester. That's a crying shame.
http://www.loa.org/sciencefiction/appreciation/gibson.jsp

2012-07-22 21:35:14 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"I'm Batman."
http://io9.com/5928043/everyone-wants-to-be-batman-in-this-i-am-batman-supercut

2012-07-22 13:26:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I agree with most of these but would have dropped Batman Returns and added Hellboy, and switched #2 and #1. Was glad to see The Rocketeer make this list.
http://www.hitfix.com/news/the-10-greatest-superhero-movies-of-all-time

2012-07-21 22:28:16 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

I just gained a load more respect for Craig Ferguson. 

2012-07-20 23:27:01 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 4 +1s)

Chris Nolan gets it."Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to  know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families."
more »

2012-07-20 22:22:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

On this day of tragedy and blameshifting, here's to the memory of better days and some good old fashioned American heroes.
http://boingboing.net/2012/07/20/the-eagle-has-landed-reme.html

2012-07-20 15:25:25 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

QOTD: As a fan of these films, one desire I had for this final chapter was to see consequences for the previous actions of characters. As Nick Olson wrote in a Christianity Today essay, a common theme in Nolan's work is the necessity of belief. But over and over, Olson writes, Nolan's "object of [that] belief is a lie." I wanted the lie at the foot of Gotham's new peace to be rooted out. Shown that it can't stand. And it is. In fact, one could argue that all the pain inflicted on Gotham here extends from Gordon and Wayne's past battles, actions and decisions—proving that defeating evil is not a one-time proposition. It is relentless and will just keep coming. And so, good must be persistent as well. The movie also touches on themes such as why we wear masks, self-destruction, class warfare, self-sacrifice, and fear of death.... more »

2012-07-20 15:07:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Today seems like an ideal day to blast some Mad At The World:
http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/Boomerang.asp

2012-07-19 18:27:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

A nice obituary for Blade Runner's 'Holden.'
http://blastr.com/2012/07/memorable-actor-who-accid.php

2012-07-19 13:28:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My favorite neologism of the day is 'wubba,' the sound a Poloroid used to make.
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/photographic

2012-07-18 22:32:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Roger Ebert's review of The Dark Knight Rises is up. It's about what I expected, an honorable finale but ultimately doesn't quite capture the lightning-in-a-bottle of its predecessor.
http://www.rogerebert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120717/REVIEWS/120719981

2012-07-18 19:37:01 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Sorry, if you're looking for salient political commentary from Comic Con, well, you get you pay for. I don't look to Comic Con for political insight, and I don't look to Congress to dig into the intricacies of the Star Wars universe.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mark-hamill-mitt-romney-not-human-350434

2012-07-18 17:01:11 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I haven't quoted the amazing Katherine Coble in a few days. Rectifying now...

"The CHURCH is individuals. It isn’t an organisation. We as individuals are mandated to do those things Christ calls us to do. Feed the hungry, clothe the poor…that is for you and me. The antiseptic approach of joining a club–a church or a political party–and appointing a sort of amanuensis to do your tasks for you is not really what Jesus expected."

http://mycropht.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/getting-things-off-my-chest-2/

2012-07-18 16:39:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is extremely amusing. What's with the stallions yo?

2012-07-18 15:37:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I am amused when Amazon tries to suggest things "Similar to  to Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas" because there's really nothing quite like it.
http://www.amazon.com/Redshirts-A-Novel-Three-Codas/dp/0765316994

2012-07-18 15:11:02 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Every time I see somebody credit something to author E.L. Doctorow, my first thought is "they misspelled 'C-o-r-y.'" And then I remember they're two different writers. #randomthoughts  

2012-07-18 14:15:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Tone-deaf Rush Limbaugh is tone-deaf.
http://io9.com/5926874/the-batman-villain-bane-is-a-conspiracy-against-mitt-romney-hypothesizes-rush-limbaugh
#withgreatpowercomessomethingsomething  

2012-07-18 13:48:16 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

SF master Timothy Zahn interviewed today at Ray Gun Revival magazine!
http://www.raygunrevival.com/sffwrtcht-interview-author-timothy-zahn/ #sf/f #starwars #RGR

2011-12-29 22:20:28 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Here in WI, my happy-go-lucky grandson (11 months) is a picture of health in all ways but he won't eat. He drinks juice and formula but resists eating. My daughter and son-in-law are concerned. Any ideas?

2011-12-29 21:59:30 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Observation: If you're going to say 'kick-ass,' just say kick-ass. Because 'kick-butt' just looks silly. And dadburnit, if there's one thing I find humorous, it's dad-gum minced oaths.

2011-12-29 18:58:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

For those using Hulu / Netflix / Playon, is is possible to play TNT shows on your TV?