Hey, You Know What? Have A Pimp Thread
Posted on November 14, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 133 Comments
It’s been a bit since we’ve done a pimp thread here, in which folks do call outs to the things they or others are doing that they think the rest of you will want to know about. So let’s correct that: Please share with the class something you think is cool. Is it something you are doing? Excellent. Something someone else is doing? Excellent too. Hey, the weekend is coming up, we all need to be entertained.
One reminder: If you load in a three or more links in your comment, it’s going to get sent to the moderation thread, so either keep the links down to one or two per comment, or try not to panic when your comment doesn’t immediately show up. I’ll liberate it sooner or later.
Now: What have you got for us?
Just to note that http://chromebits.net is my (non-commercial) blog on science fiction, roleplaying, MMOGs, Web 2.0, and their intersection.
I’d love to see you folks there!
I’v updated the convention finder: Find local conventions by zipcode: http://containment.greententacles.com/.
SpaceWesterns hit 100 articles, and celebrated by putting Bruce McAllister’s “Kin” in the 100 slot. We also just hosted the Carnival of Feminist Science Fiction and fantasy on our Sideshow (i.e. the blog in the side bar). http://www.spacewesterns.com/
Yo! Yo! Yo!. My hoes the best. Check them out. Fine booty.
Give me a call. Finest ho’s in the town.
And for you ladies. I gots me some fine studs for you!
Just visit My Fine Pimp Service
No need to rush. I has plenty for everyone. Has a party!
Damn screwed up the link
http://www.horseysites.com/stud.html
Check it out, Hubble saw a planet around a star 25 light years away! http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/extrasolar-planets-imaged-by-hubble-and-gemini/
I think there’s something the Hubble folks aren’t telling us though…
http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/lidless-and-wreathed-in-flame/
The fifth issue of my zine, Kaleidotrope is now available, featuring sci-fi/fantasy goodness from writers like Mark Rich, Eric Del Carlo, and Rachel Swirsky (among many others). Submissions, too, are always welcome!
I’ve got an online ebook, digital comics and artwork community and marketplace going on over at:
http://www.literatemachine.com
I made a Portal gun. N.B.: you’ll have to supply your own baby to drop through the portals.
How about this flying fish?
Soldier’s Angels Valour-IT is having their Veteran’s Day to Thanksgiving Day fundraising competition. I’d prefer that you donate through the USMC team, of course, so I’ll point to FbL at the Army’s Castle Arrrrgh! if you need more convincing.
Any of the teams would be acceptable, of course, or no team at all. Rumor has it that there will be auctions of signed books and other things as Turkey day approaches.
Thanks for the slot, John.
I’m posting a video (mostly) every day during National Novel Writing Month over at http://www.thegavinshow.com !
And, if you ever wondered what those orange-and-black bugs are that try to get into your house in the fall, they are these.
Blendtec, blend anything
particularly recommended are the glow sticks and bic lighters
Thanks John.
I’m recording a series of short ghost stories in the character of southern 1930s pulp-horror writer named Tipton Peyregne.
http://www.strangetastic.com/podcast
@tceisele (#12)
Yes! How do I get rid of them!
Saturday night is the last bout of the season for the Sonoma County Roller Derby. If you are in the area it is great fun. Womens flat track derby goodness. Really how can you beat women in fishnets and short shorts pushing each other around. Check it out or if your not in your area, google for it in your area. It is the fastest growing womens amature sport in the US.
Here is the myspace page: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=178514318
and here is the official site that is currently having issues but should be working soon.
http://www.sonomacountyrollerderby.org/
I present to you Team Lioness “Lioness” is a new Indy film making the rounds at film festivals and, apparently, PBS.
These women served in Iraq back in 2004 and their story is now getting told. More people should hear it.
For Philadelphia area people: Philcon is being held next week (November 21-23) in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Thanks John,
I do Photoshop and light database development work for Oriental Trading Company. We sell tons of value-priced toys, often-times in bulk!
http://www.orientaltrading.com
In particular, check out all the varieties of rubber ducks you can buy:
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?No=0&D=duck&Ntt=duck&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=searchMain&x=0
Well seeing I’ve spent most of this week pimping my new book, I thought I might as well continue doing that here.
Out this week:
“JAMES BOND: The history of the illustrated 007” is published by Hermes Press (ISBN 1-932563-18-0), price $29.99. You can take a quantum of solace in knowing that you can buy it through Amazon, and all good bookstores.
The book uncovers James Bond’s secret history by examining the untold story of his 50 year portrayal in comic books and newspaper strips from around the world.
As well as a history of Bond in comics, the book includes a detailed look at over a hundred Bond stories published in the comics medium, interviews with various Bond comics creators and a look at many of the Bond spoofs. The book is lavishly illustrated with examples of comic book covers from around the world, artwork from comics and the newspaper strips, and sketches as well as a variety of movie posters and first edition book cover art.
I’m working on another parser. Hope to have it ready for another release by the end of this weekend. It’s written in perl. But it doesn’t use perl’s regular expressions. Just subroutines and my own parsing engine. I call it “Gnaw”.
Here’s the old, out of date rev:
http://search.cpan.org/src/GSLONDON/Gnaw-0.12/README
Oh, and I still get emails about my “Impatient Perl” book, so that’s kind of cool.
http://www.greglondon.com/iperl/index.htm
I’m in my university’s Gilbert & Sullivan society (stop sniggering!) and we’re doing a fundraising calendar this sunday. As in, a Calendar Girls style pretty-much naked type calendar.
And there are going to be about 3 times as many girls doing it as us lads.
http://www.mugss.org/calendar/
My Thursday Thirteen for yesterday was Thirteen Extrasolar Planets.
Stay tuned for today’s Danger Gal Friday profile, which should be up later this afternoon.
For the last three years, Caitlin R. Kiernan has been producing a monthly short fiction release. Once a month she sends out ‘Sirenia Digest’ in PDF form to her subscribers ($10/issue). Each issue is of variable length – the last five have ranged from 22 to 57 pages. In addition to new original short fiction, she’s included chapter previews from her upcoming novels, a new piece of artwork in each issue from Vince Locke, and has recently started adding interviews with artists whose work she admires.
CRK’s writing has won all sorts of awards, and she usually has at least one of her stories in the ‘Best Of’ lists and books at the end of the year. She advertises Sirenia Digest as ‘A Monthly Journal of the Weird and Weirdly Erotic’. It’s definitely NSFW, but if you are okay with that aspect, it’s a chance to read some of the most intriguing writing currently being produced along the horror/fantasy/sf arc. Some of Sirenia Digest has been collected by Subterranean Press, but the bulk of it is only available to subscribers.
Details on subscribing (you can also purchase single issues) can be found here:
http://www.caitlinrkiernan.com/sirenia.html
I’m not associated with this – just a happy reader. This November is the third anniversary, and the 36th issue, so she’s been consistent in producing great fiction specifically for her fans. You can’t ask for more than that!
I’ve just launched a new business (today!), so thanks for the chance to pimp it, John (*does the gratitude dance*).
http://www.humansatwork.com
Humans At Work is an intensive program that teaches new managers the basic skills to manage people well. The company slogan is “Work is a human thing. Let’s treat each other that way.”
I’m making the entire program content (nearly 400 pages) available free under a Creative Commons License.
And ’cause I’m a writer, I’ve written a manifesto:
http://www.humansatwork.com/a-leaders-manifesto/
If you’ve ever had a Boss From Hell, there’s something here for you.
Dorkasaur that I am, I recently proclaimed (and verified) my love for my girlfriend over at my journal comics blog:
http://mylifecomics.wordpress.com/
http://sheltonclothing.com/
Shelton Clothing is owned and operated by a friend. Good customer service and quality clothing. Sells at a kiosk @ South Street Seaport on the weekends (for those of you in NYC).
A pimp thread! What a fine present, Mr. Scalzi – how did you know my birthday was coming up?
Anyway, I got requests for copies of “Collect All 21” from Ireland and Australia this week, which was pretty cool: It’s on Amazon here – http://tinyurl.com/6k9asa
Or through Lulu here – http://www.lulu.com/johnbooth
It is your duty as na American to help fix the economy by buying some crap from my recently-redesigned website!
http://www.coopstuff.com/
My first book, The Presidential Book of Lists: From Most to Least, Elected to Rejected, Worst to Cursed: Fascinating Facts About Our Chief Executives, has been on the stands for three weeks now, and is starting to garner some notice and positive reviews. To support it, I’ll be on a short signing tour in northeastern Massachusetts Thanksgiving weekend, and then a longer trip to southwestern Ohio (and Kentucky and Indiana) the first two weeks in December. I’ll have full tour details on uspresidents.livejournal.com soon.
I’ve got a story appearing in the forthcoming anthology Cinema Spec: Tales of Hollywood and Fantasy. Not until next year, though. (Note to self: remember to pimp closer to release date.)
In the meantime, I sometimes write over here.
Can I pimp a friend? New trail building company in Texas. If you want trails to run/bike/walk dogs in your neighborhood, these guys specialize in making lovely trails in tiny pockets of between development wild lands. They also make long distance trails where there’s long distances to be had: S&S Trails
Aphelion Webzine has provided a community for amatuer writers to share original fiction and hone their craft since 1997. Every month features original SF fiction and poetry, a lively forum to discuss the contents and give immediate feedback to the authors, and is absolutely free and without advertising.
http://www.aphelion-webzine.com/
I’m working on the New England Science Fiction and Fantasy Events blog, http://nescifievents.org. Informants in the northern states are needed — surely there must be more geekery happening in Vermont and Maine somewhere!
Ooh. If anyone’s interested in helping a fellow (paleo)blogger snag a little extra cash for his education, Brian Switek of the Laelaps blog could sure use your help.
I pimp it!
I might be doing this a bit wrong, but anyway, I found this little funsite yesterday :D
http://www.dubyaspeak.com/
Read what a physicist from across the pond (i.e. I) thinks about Veterans Day:
http://borislegradic.blogspot.com/2008/11/veterans-day.html
and patriotism:
http://borislegradic.blogspot.com/2008/07/patriotism.html
Agree? Disagree? Tell me why I am right / wrong / a moron!
I shall take Mr. Scalzi up on his kind offer with this thread to say that I have sold my first ebook to Drollerie Press. About which I’m all AIE! *^_^*;;
On a related tangent, I shall also plug Closing Arguments by my good friend Sarah Avery, also through Drollerie. Y’all go check her out.
Thanks for the soundoff opportunity, John!
Just what the world needs, another eCommerce site. Anyway we are trying to launch in the next 7-10 days, so maybe check it out. http://www.eliteboutique.com
The twist is we have built a Personal Shopping Assistant that tries to match your preferences with products in the system that are close to what you are looking for. Rather than sites that ask what you are looking for and they either have it or do not, we try and match you with stuff that may be close. As well you can build profiles for spouses/children/friends and have it suggest stuff based on their tastes.
Work in progress, but check it out.
For those of you in the Tri-State area, I want to mention an organization I’m involved with, Mechling-Shakley Veteran’s Center (http://www.268center.com/). MSVC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission of assisting and rehabilitating homeless veterans with substance abuse problems. We’re a typical non-profit – always underfunded, always looking for volunteers, and always worth it.
I have a blog. It’s about business. Some people tell me they like it. It’s here:
http://www.hooversbiz.com/
Occasionally I even quote our esteemed host, for instance on the business of movie marketing.
Please do feel free to drop by.
I run a weekly podcast which I think is pretty rocking.
My new thing is somewhere between a publishing house and a translation company: I’ve started a department in my translation company dedicated to translating blogs.
The thought process is this: anyone who makes money with their blogs (either by selling advertising or by offering products, services, or ideas to the web) and restricts themselves to English is losing about 70% of the Internet’s attention.
Spanish, for example, is used by 35 million people in the US and 350 million worldwide. The Russian blogosphere is in the tens of thousands. Why would anyone ignore that kind of a market?
The way I see it, blogs are like books, in terms of the kind of translators they need – you need a long-term commitment to do a tiny bit of work every day, but you want to maintain style, register, and sound. In this model, a blog translation company would provide some of the function of a publisher (vetting submitted blogs for content and commercial viability – you can’t translate everything!) but not others (bloggers are their own publishers in terms of presenting the product visually and commercially).
I’m writing a blog about putting the company together, and I need translators and editors as well as clients.
Thanks for the opportunity to pimp the idea!
(I’ll go relurk now)
Because it’s never too early to start publicizing a science fiction convention:
My local SF/F club, the Washington Scoence Fiction Association (WSFA) has author Harry Turtledove and editor Sheila Williams as the guests of honor for Capclave 2009, which will be held October 16-18, 2009 at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. The hotel is right next to the Twinbrook stop on the metro red line. Memberships are $35 through the end of the year; $45 January 1-July 1, 2009; $55 July-October 1, 2009; and then $60 at the door. For more information on Capclave go to http://www.capclave.org and for more information on WSFA go to http://www.wsfa.org
Wow, I’m not used to pimping myself so blatantly. I’m kind of nervous.
I realize this has nothing to do with writing or books, but I also make jewelry (http://byzantiumlotus.etsy.com), and I’ve been hosting a special Rainbow Jewelry Drive on my journal, selling very inexpensive, handmade “rainbow” themed pendants and earrings with half the proceeds to be donated to the ACLU, which is actively fighting Proposition 8 and several similar measures around the US.
My intention was to close the drive down after this weekend, and so far we’ve raised $170. My goal had been $300, and it would sure be nice to reach that. :)
Link: http://rhienelleth.livejournal.com/486104.html
Note: these pendants and earrings are meant to be reminiscent of a ribbon or logo one would wear in support of something. Simple and small, hence the inexpensive price.
*end pimp*
my wife and I do life coaching, either for individuals or couples.
http://www.camelotcoaching.com/
Oh, and I forgot my book on copyright law, “Bounty Hunters”.
http://www.greglondon.com/bountyhunters/index.htm
I’m pretty happy with this panorama I took in Charleston, SC last week.
If you’ve got a story of Southern fantasy, sci-fi, or horror burning a hole in your hard drive, check out the submission guidelines for my upstart zine, The Gun, at http://www.thegunstories.co.cc
If you’re in central Ohio and are a fan of knitting, awesomeness, or you know a knitter, you should check out WonderKnit, the pretty much sweetest yarn store (soon to be) around (Columbus).
No website yet, but here’s the
store information on the owners’ blog. And just in time for next Easter, one of the ladies has a book on knitting coming out called Pints and Purls.
Check ’em out.
A friend and I are working on a writing project: a D&D based fantasy short story series called the “Wanderer’s Guild”. It’s organized as if the stories are episodes of a TV series. We’d appreciate anyone checking it out and giving feedback at the forum we have there:
http://wanderers.byethost2.com
Note: the forum doesn’t like IE very much, so betters to use…well almost anything else or the forum will look funky. The rest of the site works equally well on all.
My webcomic about the Mechanical Turk, Clockwork Game, is still plugging along. Been up since April 1st, and it hasn’t missed an update yet. We’ll see if I can still say that after the holidays….
Like words? Of course you do. Then check out a place to glory in multisyllabic glee: wordporn.net. Enjoy!
FEED, by MT Anderson. A really sharp, unblinking novel about consumer society and technology. It’s aimed at YA but smart enough to shake up anyone. Dystopian in the best, most eye-opening sense.
I make Kindle-compatible (and anything that reads Mobipocket) eBooks for projects that will allow me to.
http://www.spontaneousderivation.com/downloads/
You can find:
– Magic for Beginners
– Shadow Unit, Season 1, complete with all links and extras (it’s like having the website on your Kindle! With images!)
– The Annotated Watchman (no comic pages, just annotations), also available in large PDF and Sony Reader optimized PDF
– Wodehouse books in the public domain
I’ve also done The Ant King and Mary Robinette Kowal’s Free Fiction bundle.
I’d do more books, but even most Creative Commons licenses don’t allow me to—converting free documents to different eBook formats is considered derivative work.
People ask “So what do you do differently? Why should we care what you offer us?” The answer is that I actually don’t simply cram eBooks into the Mobipocket creator like so many people do. This is what I think about and do. You can find other articles in my blog related to such things.
I like making eBooks more than reading eBooks, and I like reading quite a bit.
I am taking submissions for the first issue of a poetry and prose zine: http://rumbullionmag.org.
I have three links to pimp today, two of which are charitable.
First, I am participating in National Novel Writing Month, so I started a donations page for The Office of Letters and Light, the group who puts on NaNoWriMo. They support reading and writing programs all over (not just NaNoWriMo), so if you think reading and writing are important, go here and donate: http://www.firstgiving.com/davebessom
Secondly, I am running a 5k later this month (the 22nd) which is benefiting The Arthritis Foundation of Virginia. You can donate for that here: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=278027&lis=0&kntae278027=3147835604654328A858A341E1BBBF5D&supId=196051845
Yes, my team name is The Brandy Snifters. It’s an inside joke, but if you donate, I’ll explain it. Also, since I made this offer on my blog (http://davebessom.tumblr.com/), I will make it here as well: If you donate to the NaNoWriMo charity, I’ll put your name in the book (a character, pet or inanimate object will bear your name). If you donate to the Arthritis Foundation, I’ll write your name on my body (arm or leg, perhaps freshly-shaven head if you donate enough) when I run the race.
Just email me at: davebessom[at]gmail[dot]com so I can confirm the donation and verify your name.
Thanks for the opportunity, John!
Cheers all,
Dave
I just submitted my first-ever shirt design to Threadless. It’s still waiting to be approved, but I don’t want to miss out on the pimping, so maybe you would like to see it anyway? Here is where I put it up for critiquing. If you really like it, maybe you can vote for it here in four to eight days. Maybe!
What could be a better gift than a signed, personalized, slightly sexy, award-finalist, critically-acclaimed, epic family Sri Lankan saga? Nothing, that’s what.
For a limited time only (from now until December 15th), I’d be pleased to sell a hardcover copy of Bodies in Motion to you for a mere $10 + shipping ($3 U.S., $5 international). If interested, please drop me a line with the details of how many you want, how they should be inscribed, and where to send ’em.
Also for sale, The Poet’s Journey, for a mere $10 as well! That’s two bucks off the Amazon price, plus, did we mention, signed and personalized to your desires? What little munchkin or aspiring poet in your life wouldn’t love a story of poets, princes, dragons, unicorns, talking animals and wise old trees? Plus, the pretty pictures, by the inimitable Kat Beyer!
And I even have a few copies of A Taste of Serendib for, you guessed it, $10! Signed! Personalized! With extra exclamation points!!! (Or none at all, if you prefer.) Learn how to make Sri Lankan curry powder, and all the delectable dishes that go with it. Appropriate for novice or experienced cooks, whether or not you love spicy food (although, I admit, the recipes taste better if you use a heavy hand with the chili powder).
Oh, so many fabulous books, only $10 each. Plus just $3 shipping ($10 international), no matter how many titles you order. What a deal!
But wait, there’s more! Consider the special all-Mary Anne-all-the-time bonus package, in which you get, for a mere $75 + shipping:
Bodies in Motion (1)
The Poet’s Journey (1)
A Taste of Serendib (1)
hand-crocheted scarf (adult or child-size) in the color of your choice (1), OR
amigurumi (animal-type to be agreed upon between us) (1)
Realistically speaking, I can only manage three of those before the holidays, I think, so e-mail quick if interested!
i just signed the contracts for a single author collection “Echoes In The Darkness” from Arctic Wolf Press. It will have fourteen reprint and two orginal stories and hopefully will be out in the late Spring.
Issue #14 of Farmerphile, the Magazine of Philip José Farmer is on sale now: http://www.pjfarmer.com/farmerphile.htm
A limited number of copies of the first thirteen issues are still available and this fanzine is not to be missed. But, don’t just take my word for it:
“Looking issues 4-10 over, I just have to say how truly impressed I am. What a magnificent thing you have done/are doing. I don’t know of anything else in science fiction that can touch it. I only hope one day someone will accord my own work half as much love, respect, and hard thoughtful tasteful work! On behalf of Farmerphiliacs everywhere, I say: bless your heart, spleen and endocrine system…”
–Spider Robinson
It’s worth mentioning that, shortly after I had the idea for my design yesterday, I was going through the archives here and discovered Scalzi’s meditation on Chester Chipmate. His passion for cereal mascots is what inspired me to push forward and finish the design.
Lorraine Garland aka The Fabulous Lorraine is doing a fundraising thing to benefit The Great lakes Bengal Rescue.
Make any donation to the above, and she’ll send you some of her CD’s which are great. She’s opened for Warren Zevon-with Emma Bull, so 10 for 10 on the coolmeter, and is in general an amazing magician. And Neil Gaiman and Jane Yolen have written songs for her. Details here.
http://www.lorraineamalena.blogspot.com/
I’m pretty happy that my first full length play, “The Weird Sisters” (it’s a prequel to William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”) will be getting it’s world premiere in New York this December: http://www.east3rd.org.
My friend and I are working on a Star Wars fan film called – wait for it – “Fan Film, The Movie”. Check out the trailer: http://fanfilmthemovie.com/
Not really a pimp of a *thing* exactly…
but I’m 45,000 words into the rough draft of my second novel, which is almost halfway!
And it feels damn good.
Last time around, I hyped myself… this time, I want to draw attention to Matt Maxwell’s super-cool supernatural western graphic novel, “Strangeways: Murder Moon.” That’s available in paperback, and the sequel, “Strangeways: The Thirsty” is running as a weekly webcomic.
Werewolves and vampires and grizzled gunslingers, o my! Nifty stuff, and worth a look. So look, and buy.
My concept art portfolio.
I’m looking for freelance work doing concept art and other sorts of illustration, possibly including book covers. I like drawing spaceships very, very much.
Also, my webcomic.
I have begun my own “web log” in which I write about whatever interests me. Lately that seems to be libertarian politics, law, and what makes a good zombie film as opposed to a bad zombie film. In short it’s like every other blog, but it’s mine.
I’d also like to promote the blog of Ken, who comments here from time to time under another name. It’s much better than mine.
I’m a busy bee. Just started a new web site:
http://www.lookwhatifoundtoday.net
I’ll be a guest at The Leap Back 2009 in March. Right after that will be the release of “Two of the Deadliest: New Tales of Lust, Greed, and Murder from Outstanding Women of Mystery,” edited by Elizabeth George. I’m very honored to be among a stellar group of writers.
This isn’t a pimp per se, but I just wanted to say I think Jeff Zugale’s work is pretty kickass.
(Or, maybe, this is sort of pimping. Can I pimp more than one thing? Is there a pimp limit?)
For those of you in Arizona looking for something to do, check out the http://www.azsf.org website along with the AZ SF Blog at http://azsf.wordpress.com . Link to various Arizona events including upcoming signings at local bookstores, the Star Trek Exhibition at Arizona Science Center starting this weekend, The Phoenix ComicCon (with Wil Wheaton) in January, The Tucson Festival of Books in March, FiestaCon (WesterCon 42) in July (with Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden as Toastmasters), and the North American Discworld Convention in September.
Outside of the area, I’d definitely recommend attending LosCon if you are anywhere near Los Angeles. It’s a fun convention and having Scalzi will make it even better. If you are a Doctor Who or Torchwood fan, make sure you get to Gallifrey One: 20 Years to Life in February in Los Angeles. I’ve been to the previous 19 editions and this looks to be the biggest one ever!
My novel Starstrikers is now available in Trade Paperback on Amazon.com. You can also get it on your Kindle and a couple short stories as well.
The official book website is: http://starstrikers.ning.com
and the Amazon link is: http://www.amazon.com/Starstrikers-Galaxy-Collision-Ken-McConnell
I’m sitting on tenterhooks (isn’t that what they’re called?) waiting for the January rerelease of P.C. Hodgell’s first two Jamethiel Dreamweaver novels as an omnibus (this time called The Godstalker Chronicles) by her first big publisher BAEN (who already offer all the current releases in ebook format) not just as a hardcover, but as trade paperback.
I so hope they sell well, so that she not only sells the newest book in the series (which ought to be delivered to the publisher sometime next year), but gets additional contracts for more in the series, now that she’s not tied down with a regular day job anymore. She’s been writing them since the 80ies and I think of her as one of the best epic female fantasy authors that no one knows (because her previous publishers were very small or – like Meisha Merlin – went out of business).
So I spam threads like this whenever I get the chance, in case people haven’t heard of her yet.
What can you say in Six Sentences? We wanna know!
http://sixsentences.blogspot.com
All are welcome to read, comment, and submit!
I don’t have anything of my own to pimp, so I’ll pimp this interview with my younger, more accomplished brother:
http://www.sans.edu/resources/securitylab/doug_brown_leader.php
Hey, I’ve actually (sort of) got something to pimp! I’ve just started a personal blog after many years of prevaricating and need motivation to keep it going. If I could reach even 0.0001% of Scalzi’s traffic I’d consider that a success! And I’ve recently posted a request for reading material suggestions, so I’d be honoured and delighted if you could spare the time to visit. It’s at jimmillen.blogspot.com – hope to see you there.
Hmmm, not a great start when I can’t even linkify correctly – lets try again:
jimmillen.blogspot.com
Fingers crossed that works… If not, then please use the link from my name in the comment!
What a miserable FAIL. Sorry internet. I hang my head in shame! One last try for the proper link – that last one is very wrong. Here goes…
A link to my new blog
Oh please let this work and save further embarrassment…
Looking for something new to feed your podcatcher? Check out the first episode of Jay “Kingfish” Lynn’s new audio comic, Metamediocrity, a tale of what happens when the guy next door gets superpowers.
Working-class superheroes not your bag? How about beards? November is How Not To Grow A Beard Month. Two weeks ago, eight guys shaved their cheeks ‘n’ chins bare and took a solemn oath that they wouldn’t pick up a razor again until the first of December. Daily photos of scruffiness and scraggle have followed.
Y’know how a couple of days back John said he really wanted to write a video game? Well I’m trying to pimp my connection to the president of a fairly big video game company. If John will drop me a note, I’ll try to connect the two of them, and maybe his wish will come true.
Stephanie Svan and I will be moderating a session at ScienceOnline09 about science fiction as a tool for science communication. We’re looking for input on the topic and to start an online conversation between science fiction writers and science bloggers.
If you are interested in participating in the discussion you can get the details on our blogs, Almost Diamonds and Biology in Science Fiction.
Cool – I am holding a “Win an Amazon Kindle contest” on my blog. As the kid’s used to say “It don’t cost nothin.”
http://rwridley.wordpress.com/im-giving-away-an-amazon-kindle/
No catch. No strings. I’m just a crazy self-published author shaking up my promotions at the end of the year.
I’ll just pimp my game – http://www.OrcSports.com/ It’s a free fantasy sports site that’s fantasy-based. Orcs are your players. You are the overlord/coach putting the team together. Teams play each other. Geeky fun!
Please consider making a monetary or in-kind donation, or a donation of time, to a non-profit that serves the homeless this holiday season. Things are getting pretty bad for a lot people out there, and we all need to share the burden. Thanks!
Frederick the Great is a webcomic about The King of Prussia travelling thru time and fixing things that have gone wrong. Kind of like Quantum Leap, but with more bumbling and foppery.
Currently, we’ve just finished up a long story about the Civil War, but Frederick has just come under an attack from Ethan Allen and his Ticonderobots.
Hmm. I’ve never tried this form of marketing before; it felt too much like spam. However, given the invitation by the host:
In my business life I’ve been doing <a href=”http://www.stevetimberlake.com free-lance research projects, but I can and will proofread manuscripts, reports, or almost anything else (not programs! I never want to see source code again!).
Thanks for the opportunity, Mr. Scalzi.
I’m holding a contest over at my blog to see who can come up with the best rewrite of Roy Batty’s dying speech from Blade Runner. There are actual prizes and everything!
The context is explained in the post–
http://hominysnark.livejournal.com/250356.html?nc=4
Tracey C. here…
My fabulous new food blog, SugarPunk, has been live for a month now, and is doing very well! In it I write about recipes I’m testing for the new baking business, things I find interesting, etc. It has pretty pictures of food.
You can also acquire said food either by delivery (Triangle area of NC) or mail order, via the brand shiny new website.
Just started a blog for up and coming genre writers to contribute called, Genre Benders. Come on by and check us out. Our first post is from Horror writer Matt Mitchell.
http://genrebender.wordpress.com/
Wow, that is a coincidence, Lisa. For some strange reason I have had Roy Batty’s dying speech in my head the whole day now.
Anyway I want to pimp the bookstore where I work at:
The American Book Center – http://www.abc.nl/
One of the largest English bookstores in Europe.
If you ever happen to be in Amsterdam and want some good SF this is the place to go. And if you mention bacon I might even give you a discount.
I’m doing a local event at a new jazz club where a bunch of people get together and have a round-table discussion about the future of newspapers, journalism, and publishing:
http://eatsleeppublish.com/the-pitch/
I’m still completely amazed that people are actually going to show up for it.
My first foray into the world of podcasting can be heard as the character of Sonja on the current story at Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine. Check it out and laugh at my accent:
http://dunesteef.com/2008/11/13/page-31-the-seas-of-castle-hill-road-by-rick-kennett/
I have a short, short story, SUCCESSFUL SURGEON, appearing in the WINTER ’09 edition of SPINETINGLER.
http://www.spinetinglermag.com/
For a $5 donation to the American Cancer Society, the Rocky River Relay Neighborhood Team will contact Santa’s elves and ask them to draft a letter for Santa to sign.
How to Order
Go to http://main.acsevents.org/goto/kramer
Make a $5 minimum donation
Include child’s name, address & recent accomplishment in the “personal note” section.
To ensure North Pole postmark, the deadline for orders is December 10.
Happy birthday to me!
December 15 is Buy “Pandemonium” To Make Daryl Gregory’s Mom Happy Day. If you haven’t bought a copy of this excellent debut novel, do it on the 15th. If you’ve already bought a copy, get another one. Not for Daryl, you see, but for his mom. More info on the (fan-created!) Facebook group.
And I made a sale to Futurismic last month. That was cool.
I discovered today that a friend of mine has not just a blog, but a truly marvelous blog. His entry on kitchen exorcisms is absolutely wonderful:
http://bloofox.livejournal.com/6043.html
Hi all,
My partner and I have just started a new company building sustainable recreational trails down here in Texas. Actually, we’ll work anywhere, so keep that in mind. We’ve been professional trail builders for over 7 years, and S&S Trails is just our latest effort to build trail in Austin, TX. Thanks for the clicks!
http://www.sstrails.com
Let’s see, two things –
– I have short story up (Chains of the Past) on amazon.com for the kindle. (http://tinyurl.com/67zjv2)
– I’m finally working on the 2nd Terra/Nova SF book (not a direct sequel but related to “Face of the Enemy” (http://tinyurl.com/5rdj3g).
Let’s see, two things –
– I have short story up (Chains of the Past) on amazon.com for the kindle. (http://tinyurl.com/67zjv2)
– I’m finally working on the 2nd Terra/Nova SF book (not a direct sequel but related to “Face of the Enemy” (http://tinyurl.com/5rdj3g).
I’ve been encouraging everybody in the world to go to Zooborns (www.zooborns.com). It is my favorite site in the world these days.
A couple pimp threads ago, I self-pimped Solutions non satisfaisantes , an anatomy of Robert A. Heinlein (in French) I co-authored with Ugo Bellagamba (Les Moutons électriques pub., 2008).
And you know what ? It just got a “Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire” award at the Utopiales Festival, in Nantes !
(by the way, John — any chance to see you there again ?)
I’ve started a site called shoestringliving.com designed to share money saving tips. I’ve got a few week’s worth of posts on a variety of topics and I would love submissions, which can be in the form of tips or actual ready to go posts. There’s a contact form you can use to submit so you don’t have to try and spell my name.
There are a lot of mortgage related topics this week but that’s because I work for the mortgage division of a financial media company. Any and all topics are welcome.
Thanks very much.
The URL is here.
http://shoestringliving.com/
I want to pimp the Classic Tales Podcast (http://theclassictales.com/). If you like classic stories, or even if you don’t, B.J. Harrison is the narrator for you.
He had me hanging on his every word during his reading of “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” Before I heard his recording, I always snickered to myself at the thought of long poems like that.
Good stuff. (No affiliation.)
For the fifth time in four years, I will be diving into cold water in the Northeast to raise money for Special Olympics.
The dive in into Lake George in upstate New York on Dec. 13.
If you can help, here’s the donation site:
http://polarplunge.kintera.org/lakegeorge/billtoscano
This year I had my first invite to submit to a closed antho, invited to be a panelist, and (while I don’t have the contract in hand, was told to my face by the editor) I sold that story to that antho. For a year without getting many words down, doing pretty good so far.
I have nothing to pimp but, what the hell: I’ll put in a dumbass comment anyway . . .
My on-going efforts at Best Online High Schools now has had over 150,000 visits to school listings.
Now – ahem – I just need to finish the second edition of the book. Oh my.
I’m happy as a clam (why are clams happy, anyway?) to announce that two books I wrote with my lovely and talented wife, Dori Smith, are now or very soon to be available at Amazon and the other finest booksellers in the land. The two books are:
JavaScript & Ajax for the Web, Visual QuickStart Guide, 7th Edition
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321564081/
and
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4: Visual QuickStart Guide
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321573528/
Previous editions of both these books have been bestsellers.
We’re currently working on a book about CSS, which will arrive in stores in January.
Pimpingly yours,
Tom
Thanks for the opportunity to pimp! I’d like to point out the SFNovelists group blog, where a bunch of published authors post regularly on writing, editing and the industry in general:
http://www.sfnovelists.com/
And for self-pimpage, I’m happy to announce that my publisher recently asked me for two more novels in the Hal Spacejock series: Book 5 is due Nov/2009 and book 6, Nov/2010
Still a way off the fifteen I intend to write, but I can’t write them any quicker.
Home page for the series: http://www.spacejock.com.au/
I’ve got nothing, but I love to find out about all of you. Thanks for your generosity John.
Thanks for the chance for self-promotion! My third published short story “Scatter and Return, the Eyes of the Princess” appeared on Fantasy Magazine this week:
http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=1006
Everybody should check out the episodic games from Telltale Games, for PC and Wii.
I’m currently working on Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, and earlier this year we finished Sam & Max Season Two. More news related to Wallace & Gromit games should be coming soon.
Our goal is to pull in a more “casual” audience than your typical videogame crowd or even the typical adventure game crowd. So try out a demo or a free episode of Sam & Max Season 1 (it’s called “Abe Lincoln Must Die”, about halfway down the page).
Uh. I did a long rambling blog post on science fiction books that involve the simulation of human brains and minds in computers including “The Android’s Dream” by some interesting writer. It can be found here.
Also, I’ve been reading lots recently. Just finished Zoe’s Tale.
Good book, that.
My audio article, “Jim Sawgrass and the Family Bulbs” on StarShipSofa’s Aural Delights No. 36: http://www.starshipsofa.com/podcast/StarShipSofa_Aural_Delights_No_36_Paul_Di_Fillippo.mp3
After considering that I run into the same damn problem each year, I’ve _finally_ build a little website that randomly suggests gift ideas. I’ve built it mostly for me, but it’s open for everyone.
I’ve spent a number of days working on it, and I think it came out well, and that pimping it is okay. So there.
http://random.li/
This site is not mine (wish it was!) but you all need to read it: http://badscience.net
I enjoy writing my blog @
http://theworldaccordingtotoph.com/wordpress/
I am not trying to sell anything or promote anything except that I am always looking for more readers and folks who will point their finger at me and laugh.
Hope you enjoy.
http://www.startsnoring.com
Yes, you heard right.. learn to snore in five easy steps. Take revenge on your bed partner. Show them how loud YOU can snore. :D
I make (when I’m not working like a dog) holograms in my own home mad-scientist lab
http://www.dragonseye.com/blog/categories/1-Lasers-Holography
I’ve started up a sf webcomic:
Sunset Grill
If you’re struggling to keep up your adrenaline after the elections, my friend Dennis has a political blog called “NJ Tax Revolution“. I blog there occasionally as well. During the election season it has dealt with national politics more as well, but its main focus is… well… tax policy in the Soprano State. Go figure.
I’m writing 512 Words or Fewer of flash fiction every Friday, and also posting audio of myself reading each story. Read on the web or listen via podcast!
Cheers,
~CKL
Blogging about the financial crisis.
http://crimson.nowrench.com
I’m writing a cool column called “Shelf Life” for http://www.bookballoon.com — which is itself a very cool site for those who love books.
I hope it’s okay to pimp someone else’s project.
Jay Lake is officially launching the Campbell fundraiser to pay for pins identifying Campbell Nominees, and generally promoting the award:
http://www.jlake.com/2008/11/15/writing-officially-launching-the-campbell-fundraiser/
I think it’s a great idea, and a unique pin design.
Blogging SF&F in all its forms at Grasping for the Wind (http://otter.covblogs.com), with the occasional foray to The Fix (http://thefix-online.com/).
Fun mathematics! I hope that the audience here will have a few people excited by that and a few more willing to give it a chance. My thoughts on mathematics, art, and communication (with lots of pictures) at:
http://maxwelldemon.wordpress.com
well, i only lurk here, but you asked, so here goes:
my new graphic-novel-memoir of being an angsty immigrant secretary in the israeli army is up on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/jobnik-Miriam-Libicki/dp/097842770X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226394311&sr=8-2
i think it’s pretty good!
How about Mysterius, by Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler? You can see a bunch of the artwork on Fowler’s blog.
I have no personal stake whatsoever in its success, aside from knowing one of the creators. I just think it looks damn cool and want to pimp it.
I missed this post when it happened, so have probably missed out on the benefits of mentioning anything here, but:
Elephant Words continues to have great daily fiction writing, as it has every day – excluding Sundays – since July 2007.
The premise is simple – every Sunday, one of six writers posts an image, and then each of those writers takes their turn, Monday to Saturday, to write something inspired – loosely or literally – by said image.
I set the site up, and am one of the contributors, so obviously I’m biased, but I think some of the work that we do over there is awesome, and I encourage you and your readers to have a look:
http://www.elephantwords.co.uk
We welcome your comments!
[Deleted because just because this is a pimp thread doesn’t mean you can post actual spam. Also, the formatting was all messed up — JS]
Hello all here…, Recently I read this line about Shakespeare “Shakespeare could not have written any plays, he was just a cover man for Francis Bacon, the true author” in Shakespeare’s Truth by Rex Richards with facts proving this line. This novel contains so many surprising truths about Shakespeare, Queen of England and murder mystery of Prince William. If you enjoy books by people like Dan Brown, John Grisham, Ken Follett, Bernard Cornwell, and you want a page turner with serious food for thought… I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy reading Shakespeare’s Truth!.
I have posted the amazon link for the book details.