Previous 20

Nov. 23rd, 2009

[info]cute_overload

Come Tuesday, She’ll Take a Different Route


Perhaps looking somewhat thuggish, they still seemed gentlemanly enough, so when Clarice Starling spotted them on her way to work, she didn’t think twice about it.

As she passed them, she gave them a shy smile. And when she received a smirk in return, she realized the worst: They were mockingbirds. Roosting over a construction site.

“Hey, chick! Nice flanks – they could kind of use some work, dontcha think? And what kind of flight feathers are those? You know, in some human worlds, they’d call your tarsus a cankle! Anyone ever tell you your rump is bigger than a toucan’s mandible?”

Eating crow is hard to swallow, B.J. P.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Birds

[info]animenewsnet

Fire Breaks Out at Offices of Da Capo Developer Circus

Fire station still accessing cause, damage, but says building is "half damaged"

[info]whedonesque

Producers Guild to honor Joss.

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/producers-guild-to-honor-joss-whedon/

"Joss Whedon has mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award".

[info]animenewsnet

Funimation Starts Initiative for Co-Producing Anime (Updated)

Chris Moujaes to head effort to acquire, develop titles based on properties

[info]animenewsnet

2009 Space Battleship Yamato Film Has 2 Endings Made

Preview screening audience to vote on which ending will be in theatrical print

[info]cute_overload

THIS JUST IN: Skateboarding Bulldog


Over at Gizmodo, half the peeps are all like “Dude, that’s so fake, that dog isn’t really playing that game,” and the other half is all like “Yeah, but he thinks he is, he’s like totally rockin’ it,” but we know you’re gonna be all like “Awwww, puppeh” and stuff.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Pups, This Just In!

[info]mangablog

Deep thoughts for Monday morning

CaseClosed1At Good Comics for Kids, Robin Brenner looks at circulation statistics for the graphic novels in her library’s collection and draws some surprising conclusions—including the fact that Case Closed circulates more than Twilight. Also, Lori Henderson checks out this week’s kid-friendly comics and manga.

Also at Good Comics for Kids, we are giving away five sets of Kim Dong Hwa’s lovely manhwa trilogy, The Color of Earth, The Color of Water, and The Color of Heaven. Go, click, enter!

Once again, Lori Henderson rounds up the week’s manga news in handy digest form at Manga Xanadu.

Japan Focus has an interesting essay about two manga creators, Kōno Fumiyo (Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms) and Nishio Yuka (A Summer’s Afterimage: Nagasaki – August 9), both of whom take the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their aftermath as their subject matter. Among other things, the essay deals with the problem of writing about atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) when the writers themselves did not live through the bombings.

The Mainichi Daily News interviews translator Simona Stanzani—in a butler cafe.

pic_dhc_01Gina Biggs originally developed Red String as an entry in Tokyopop’s Rising Stars of Manga contest; now it’s a long-running webcomic with four volumes in print. She tells Wolfen Moondaughter all about it at Sequential Tart.

The latest New York Times graphic books best-seller list is up, and Vampire Knight tops the list.

David Welsh’s latest license request is a good one: the yokai series GeGeGe no Kitaro.

Jake Forbes posts the cover art for the fourth volume of Return to Labyrinth, which will wrap up the series, at Gobblin.net.

Tokopop’s next webinar, scheduled for November 30, will feature Stu Levy talking about the past, present, and future of the company.

Manga Jouhou is looking for reviewers.

News from Japan: Evan Miller reports in from Comitia, and he has photos. Ristorante Paradiso creator Natsume Ono has a new series in the works, while Hisachi Ichii is taking a break from Nono-chan while he recovers from an unspecified illness.

Reviews: The Manga Recon team starts the week with a fresh set of Manga Minis. Other reviews of note:

Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of 07-Ghost (Manga Xanadu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of 20th Century Boys (Comics Worth Reading)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Akira (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Connie on vol. 4 of Arm of Kannon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Jason Yadao on Bat-Manga and vol. 1 of X-Men: Misfits (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Connie on vol. 8 of Black Jack (Slightly Biased Manga)
Gia on Brave Story (light novel) (Anime Vice)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Butterflies, Flowers (Kuriousity)
CATPARADISE_2David Welsh on vol. 2 of Cat Paradise and vol. 4 of V.B. Rose (Precocious Curmudgeon)
Theron Martin on vol. 15 of Claymore (ANN)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Dragon Sister (Okazu)
Danielle Leigh on Exotic and Delicious Fate (Comics Should Be Good!)
Emily on Himegimi to Sanbiki no Kemono (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 17 of Hikaru no Go (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 1-3 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Comics Worth Reading)
Tangognat on Liberty Liberty! (Tangognat)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Love*Com (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 1 of Nabari no Ou (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Oh! My Brother (Manga Bookshelf)
Zaki Zakaria on Oishinbo: Fish and Sushi (The Star of Malaysia)
Erin Finnegan and Sam Kusek on vols. 5 and 6 of Oishinbo (Manga Recon)
Julie on vol. 7 of Parasyte (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 6 of Pluto (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 13 of Reborn (Slightly Biased Manga)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 1 of Spice & Wolf (light novel) (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Bill Sherman on This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (Blogcritics)
Melinda Beasi on The Way to Heaven (Manga Bookshelf)
Connie on vol. 7 of Wild Ones (Slightly Biased Manga)

[info]matociquala

matociquala @ 2009-11-23T08:42:00

I have a post up at Storytellers Unplugged today.

It's on writing sex scenes, sorta.

[info]whedonesque

Felicia Day is the Geek You're Looking For.

http://www.starwars.com/fans/rocks/20091120.html#rss

According to StarWars.com.

[info]cute_overload

Hamster for a Day!


Call your travel agent:  A hotel in Nantes, France lets guests feast on hamster grain, run in a giant wheel and sleep in hay stacks in a suite designed to resemble a hamster cage.  Judging from these absolutely-100-percent-genuine-no-honestly-would-we-lie-to-you photos, the level of detail is amazingly lifelike.

Photos of “Gadget” from Arlene F., who’ll be getting extra mints on her pillow.

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Pocket Pets

[info]crack_impala

Monday - Gen

The Mountains In Reply
[info]unoshot | PG-13 | Season 5 spoilers
Castiel is standing six inches too far inside Dean's personal space, and the two of them are playing intenser-than-thou while Sam fidgets impatiently with the strap of his bag and thinks about how it's a hell of a lot drier inside the car.
The author expertly gives life to the how and why of Castiel's presence in the lives of the brothers. So compelling, it'll trick you into thinking its canon.

The one hundred and forty-four thousand people of Israel
[info]lemanya | R | AU, Season 5 Spoilers
Where was I? Ah right, we're all going batshit crazy in the same house 'cause we lived through the end of days.
An outsider's POV that breathes; the voice is rich with emotion and resonates with love and hope.

[info]antipope_fd

A message from our sponsors

Just in case you thought I'd given up writing novels for good to switch to blogging full time, a little bit of news: FedEx just delivered a box this morning, and it contains my author copies of the Ace mass market edition of The Jennifer Morgue. Which, according to Amazon, is officially published on January 9th ... but if I'm getting the copies it's already printed and in the publisher's warehouse, which means it'll be arriving in regular bookstores in the next two weeks.

I've pretty much finished the copy-edits on book #3 in the Laundry series, "The Fuller Memorandum", which is due out in hardcover from Ace around July 1st next year (and in paperback in the UK from Orbit).

And I'm finally free to announce that an option on the TV and film rights to "The Atrocity Archives" have been sold to an outfit with an address in Beverley Hills.

(Disclaimer: This does not mean that a film or TV series is going to be made — it merely means that a production outfit likes the idea enough to pay a relatively small amount of money to hang onto the rights while they try to raise finance and work on a script and generally put the wheels in motion. In case you were wondering, a three year film and TV option pays about as much as a midlist paperback deal: you don't get to give up the day job at this point. But: at least it's a start. As they say: money talks.)

[info]questionablerss

There Really Are Hot Ones

Oh, Hampshire.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT HOLIDAY SHIPPING DEADLINES FOR QC MERCHANDISE!

See you tomorrow!

[info]whedonesque

iFanboy podcast discusses Dr. Horrible one-shot comic.

http://www.ifanboy.com/podcasts/audio/11_22_2009_-_Episode__211_-_The_Flash__Rebirth__5

40 minutes and 45 seconds into the Pick of the Week podcast, a user submits their review, resulting in opinions expressed about the comic and the video itself.

[info]animenewsnet

Nana Mizuki to Sing in New Year's Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Updated)

Voice actress/singer in Japan's #1 music TV program with AKB48, Angela Aki, Arashi, more

[info]apod

Light Echoes from V838 Mon

What caused this outburst of V838 Mon?  What caused this outburst of V838 Mon?


[info]pbackwriter

For the Writer on Your List

Ten Things That Make Great Gifts for Writers

Books: We write them, we read them, we love them. There isn't a single book gift I've received that I haven't wallowed in during the holidays, especially when it's a surprise book. One year a friend of mine filled a stocking with a mug, some packets of hot chocolate mix and some new mystery paperbacks she thought just sounded cool; I discovered three authors (Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein and Sue Grafton) I still read ($7.99 for most new paperbacks; B&N.com has free shipping for orders of $10.00 or more for their members)

Bookseller Online Gift Certificates: Hands down the most painless for you/most welcome for them gift for any writer on your list. You purchase and e-mail it to them and you're done (B&N.com offers them in amounts ranging from $10.00 - $250.00)

Healthy Cooking X 2: Cooking Light Magazine is offering a 2-for-1 holiday gift subscription where you get 1 year/12 issues for your writer plus a second subscription for you. ($24.00 = $12.00/subscription)

Just for Journaling: For the writer who doesn't put everything on their blog, Vera Bradley Frankly Scarlet Flexi 6" X 8" Journal has 160 lined/lightly decorated pages and a closure band ($10.36/$9.32 for B&N.com members)

Levengers: With a catalogue writers and readers have been known to drool over, and some very dreamy but extremely expensive items, Levengers is definitely dangerous. But they also have a sales section that usually has some decent buys under $25, like this Notable Impressions Notebook and a colorful collection of Wordsmith's Rubber Bands and Clips, each marked down to $9.95 (various prices)

MagPo: I absolutely love Magnetic Poetry, and there are all kinds of editions for everyone on your list (most are $19.95.) For writers I like to give the Writer's Remedy ($14.95) or The Poet Edition ($19.95.) I admit, the one I still play with most is the little kit in the back of The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry ($13.95/$11.92 for members at B&N.com)

P&W: It might be stuffy at times -- okay, most of the time -- but the monthly, extensive listings of contests, open calls, grants and other writer sub ops make the print version of Poets & Writers magazine worth the annual subscription rate (currently $14.97/six issues)

Shakespeare's Den: For those classic lit-lovers and calligraphy nuts on your list, I recommend having a look around the unique offerings over at Shakespeare's Den. They always have some cool stuff in the sales and clearance section; I like this stylus and nib set for a very reasonable $9.95 and this very unusual musician's writing set for $19.95 (various prices)

Smithsonian Online: The virtual gift shop of the Smithsonian Museum is where I go when I need a gift for a hard-to-shop-for writer. Like Levengers they can be very pricey, but they run weekly web specials during the holidays and have a decent selection of gifts under $25.00. Two that appealed to me are a set of six Cloisonné pens for $24.00, a set of six Cloisonné kitten bookmarks for $15.99, and a calligraphy letter holder for $14.99 (various prices)

Thesaurus & Art: Thinkmap's Visual Thesaurus is one of my favorite gifts to give to writers; they offer a free 14-day trial if you want to test drive it first, and they also have a couple of subscription options, including online access on a monthly basis, which you can cancel at any time ($2.95 per month as you go, $19.95 for an annual subscription, and $39.95 for CDs for the software.)

Have you guys found any great gifts for writers or readers out there? Tell us about them in comments.

Nov. 22nd, 2009

[info]animenewsnet

Zac Efron: Death Note Remake 'Not on the Front Burner'

Actor acknowledges having meeting, but says remake is not "coming up soon"

[info]animenewsnet

Leiji Matsumoto Animates Music Video for U.K.'s Queen (Updated)

Mixes "Bohemian Rhapsody," Koshika space opera from Yamato creator

[info]crack_impala

Sunday - Sam/Dean Porn

A Thousand Touches
[info]cha and [info]brie | NC-17
Sam stopped talking when he was a kid. Dean just got used to it, after all, Sam's his kid-brother. Their relationship is based on notes, nods and touches. But there are thousands of touches in a lifetime - and just maybe that changes things.
Sam's muteness and Dean's unwavering devotion to Sam are touching and heartfelt. The slow, solid transformation from brothers to lovers is tender, but never overwhelming the foundation of their relationship, of them being brothers.

The Last Sweetness
[info]folkhore | NC-17 | Spoilers for 5.10
There's a first time for everything, and their last night on earth is as good as any. Maybe it's been too long coming.
Sweet, hot and intense missing scene. The emotions in this really jump off the page and make for so much more than just really good porn.

Previous 20