Surprise! It’s Open Pimp Thread Time!

Posted on November 18, 2010    Posted by      258 Comments

Someone recently asked me on Twitter when I was going to do an Open Pimp Thread again, because it’s been a while. I told him “NEVER.” Why did I do that? To lull him into a false sense of security, that’s why. So that when I did do another one, he would be, like, totally surprised. So HAH, Twitter person! Bet I just made you spill your coffee all over yourself. What a rotten bastard I am.

For those of you new to Whatever or otherwise totally forgetful, an Open Pimp Thread is when you — yes! you! — recommend something for other people to be excited about. Could be a Web site, could be a new book, could be some other sort of awesome project. It could be something you’re doing, or maybe something a friend of yours is up to, or maybe it’s done by people you don’t even know, but is still so cool you’d like to share. So share!

How to do that: in the comment thread, tell us about the cool thing, and then leave a link. Easy. Note that if you do more than a couple of links in a comment, you might get the message punted into the moderation queue. I’ll be checking that queue from time to time today to release those messages, so don’t panic if it doesn’t immediately post. I recommend one link per comment, and making more than one comment if you have more than one thing to suggest.

So: what do you want to tell people about today? In this surprise open pimp thread?

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258 Comments on “Surprise! It’s Open Pimp Thread Time!”

  4. Grant Stone has a brand new e-pub only fanzine out called b0t. You can download the first issue here: http://b0tzine.com/

    In the interest of full disclosure, this is kind of self-pimpage as well, as I’ve got story in there. Awesome cover by Ashley Storrie and articles by other science fictiony folk as well. Hope you enjoy!

  7. Check out ResAliens Issue #4, which I guest edited. E-versions are just $2 for this collection of seven “spiritually infused” stories. (This does not mean this a Christian magazine, far from it, merely that thematically it includes elements beyond the ken of science).

    http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/resaliens

    Reviews:

    http://logankstewart.blogspot.com/2010/11/residential-aliens-speculative-fiction.html

    http://opionator.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/resaliens-issue-4/

  10. When I got that response from Scalzi (yes, it was I who asked about the pimp thread on the twitters), my reaction was anxiety. Crap! I thought. I’ve pissed off the Scalzi! He’s replied NEVER in all caps, which means I must be a bad person for even asking him about such a thing.

    As you can see, I suffer from self esteem issues.

    So, meanwhile, I’d like to use this opportunity to pimp my new short story, In Memory Yet Green, which appears in this anthology: http://amzn.to/cfOzzs.

    I describe it more on my blog: http://thatneilguy.blogspot.com/2010/11/in-memory-yet-green.html

    The story’s about the nature of memory, about writing and guest stars Isaac Asimov.

    Thanks!

    Love and kisses, @thatneilguy

  13. Two pals of mine have recently started writing blogs, and they are both excellent. Amy Sundberg’s Practical Free Spirit

    http://practicalfreespirit.com/

    and Miranda Suri’s Comedy or Tragedy?

    http://mirandasuri.wordpress.com/

    are both letter-perfect examples of good blogging. Deep, thoughtful, well-written essays of interest to anyone interested in creativity in general and writing in specific. They’ve both started recently, so if you start reading now, you’ll be able to say, “Yeah, I was there, back in the day.”

  16. After a period of scant writing, by co-blogger and I have been writing up a storm about the new TSA security measures.

    My opening post with lots of links to TSA problems and incidents;

    My co-blogger Patrick’s post about the TSA foolishly threatening to investigate a blogger who refused to submit to groping;

    My post about how we are conditioned to participate in the invasion of the privacy of our fellow citizens — for example, by reporting a guy as “suspicious” just because he’s a hipster with “atom bomb” tattooed on his hands.

  17. Hello Mr Scalzi, thanks once again for this opportunity for pimpage. It is, as always, greatly appreciated.

    I am a writer trying to go pro – I write a blog about my exploits, and post microfiction on Twitter.

    I also run a website for emerging authors, comics creators and journalists. The writing on the site has an edgy, post-everything feel. We’ve got some great stuff going on – a new webcomic, an interview with Alan Moore, and a ton of great fiction. The site is called Weaponizer.

    In my spare time (ha!) I also curate a netlabel, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. We have about 25 bands, making everything from hip-hop to dubstep to experimental noise. Check out Black Lantern Music – all of our 27 releases so far are completely free.

    Thanks again John, and thanks to YOU, dear reader, for clicking through! I’m sure you’ll have a good time.

  18. My friend (and occasionnal co-author) Ugo Bellagamba just got a second major French award, the “prix Utopiales”, for his medieval uchrony Tancrède, an uchrony about the First Crusade : what if the Norman Prince Tancred of Hauteville, who conquered Jerusalem, then converted to Islam ?

  20. Here’s an upcoming multi-blog celebration that might interest you. The same group of “kidlitosphere” bloggers who puts together the Summer/Winter Blog Blast Tours to celebrate authors and illustrators has set aside a week in December–the week of the 13th–to celebrate, review, and discuss great books with steampunk and alternate history themes. We think that a lot of great steampunk/fantasy/alternate history books for younger readers deserve a bit more attention, and that’s the primary motivation for this project. We’ll be talking about authors like D.M. Cornish (THE FOUNDLING trilogy), Jenny Davidson (THE EXPLOSIONIST), Cherie Priest (BONESHAKER), and Ysabeau Wilce (FLORA SEGUNDA) and trying to bring all these books to the attention of a few more readers. We’re kicking it off with a cover contest, and folks are invited to recreate steampunk/alt. history book covers for already published books to their own satisfaction. Winners will receive three books: one Cornish, one Davidson, and one Wilce (winner’s choice of specific titles). It’s just for fun, to promote writers we appreciate, and we hope people will join in.

    Thanks for the pimp spot. :)

  22. If you happen to be in the Portland, ME area any of the first three weekends in December, it would tickle me sideways if you would come to the Acorn Productions presentation of The World of Sholom Aleichem by Arnold Perl. It’s a little play – actually, three little plays strung together, portraying different aspects of Jewish life in turn-of-the-20th-century Eastern Europe – but it’s got comedy and drama to spare in its tidy 90-or-so minutes. I happen to be acting in the thing, and, well, you know actors. We simply crave your attention.

    Linkage here: http://www.acorn-productions.org/pages/StudioTheaterSeries.html

  26. I’ll put in a plug for PS Publishing, who’re releasing some of the best small press books in the market now. I’m especially looking forward to the new Cathrynn M. Valente short story collection ‘Ventriloquism’ and the ‘Cinema Futura’ collection (edited by Mark Morris) that has dozens of essays on significant movies (Joe R Lansdale on Invaders From Mars! Lucius Shepard on Alphaville! Alastair Reynolds on Silent Running! and dozens more…). Check them out here: http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/

    No affiliation – just a happy customer…

  27. Artists! I’ve been working on building an online community for artists called Art Made Daily. Our mission is to create a website community and software service that allows artists to promote, share and sell their work easily. It’s free to join but we do charge a 3.5% transaction fee on sales, which helps us keep the lights on. We’re constantly working on the software so I would love to hear any feedback you have.

    Art Made Daily

  28. From an earlier thread this week, I finally read The God Engines, and I can’t help but think of it as an animated short appearing in 1981’s Heavy Metal. I’m gonna snag me some PowerBall tickets, and if I win I’ll have my people talk to your people about it.

    Here’s some Taarna from Heavy Metal:

  30. Our indie film “Bonnie and Clyde Vs. Dracula” now has distribution, and will be available for rental next spring!

    It has gotten phenomenal response at festivals, it’s a lot of fun and we’re very proud of it.

    The film’s site: http://www.bcvdmovie.com

    If you’re at all interested – heck, even if you’re not – put it in your Netflix cue, and pass the word!

    Thanks for the pimpage, John!

  31. Well this is kinda old news now since it happened back in July, but just take a look at this landing of the 787 Dreamliner with our all electric braking system that we’ve been working on for, oh 4 or 5 years. Have you seen a more perfect stop or what?

    The new news is that we have just passed FAA certification and we now have Black Label software.

    I should mention that the 787 is the first commercial aircraft to have electric brakes.

    Go us!

  35. I’ve written a whole lot of books and comic books. Several of them are taking up valuable space in my garage that could be put to much better use for, say, old VHS tapes I’ll never watch again but can’t bear to part with.

    Furthermore, there are apparently people out there who actually like my writing. (I was just as surprised as you, believe me.) In addition, some of those people seem to think it’s incredibly cool if I scribble my name in a barely-legible manner on the title page.

    So pursuant to that, I’m making all these extra copies of my books and comics available to you (and also to you, and even you!). For detailed information, go to this incredibly handy blog entry that I wrote, which will tell you all about it.

    And hey, you could read my blog generally. I sometimes say interesting stuff. Not as interesting as Scalzi-Face up here, but still sorta kinda interesting.

    Really. Honest. Would I lie?

    —Keith R.A. DeCandido

  37. I’d like to pimp my recent interview with Jack Campbell/John G. Hemry, as well as his The Lost Fleet book series, which he discusses further in the interview here. Find out some of what’s coming next for Lost Fleet characters, and learn why there’s a specific tone to the warfighting in those books.

  40. I just moved my blog on space exploration over to the American Geophysical Union’s shiny new blog network! Recent posts include a review of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and some hot-off-the-presses photos of comet Hartley 2. If you don’t want to read my posts about sci-fi and planetary science, there are also blogs on things like volcanoes and landslides and soil science and other good stuff.

    http://blogs.agu.org/martianchronicles/

  41. If you like kids that like bugs, please check out my greeting cards at auntiecards.etsy.com. If you want some and convo me that you saw it on Whatever I’ll kick in a surprise.

    Seriously, I’m looking for my first stranger sale … you’d totally make my day.

  42. @ #8 by Allen Cook

    SMAC/X represent! I’ve been playing this game almost daily since I got the Mac version in 2002. Currently, the University is slowly grinding down my Gaians. Sucks having landing sites next to each other.

    As for pimpage, my friend, Holly, is a great artist (Roycrofter) and currently working on really cool prints and such. Here’sher blog; The Aerie.

  43. I work with the mother of the singer for the following band, The Angry Orts. I just got their first CD & liked it & would like to pass their site around.

    http://www.theangryorts.com/

    Hope you all like the music as well. I’m sure they’d appreciate the extra web traffic.

  44. Hm. I would pimp myself more but … probably enough. Instead, 3 links to my reviews of audiobooks I’ve enjoyed the absolute hell out of over the past 3 months:

    1. The Magicians by Lev Grossman, narrated by Mark Bramhall:

    http://www.audible.com/review-by-author?customerID=AB93LXWMCWM6H&asin=B002UZJIF6

    2. Finch by Jeff VanderMeer, narrated by Oliver Wyman:

    http://www.audible.com/review-by-author?customerID=AB93LXWMCWM6H&asin=B00400A8YY

    3. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor, narrated by Anne Flosnik:

    http://www.audible.com/review-by-author?customerID=AB93LXWMCWM6H&asin=B003XO3RKK

    I owe the original METAtropolis a review. But instead of that, here’s Jason Erik Lundberg’s review of Lewis Shiner’s COLLECTED STORIES (published by Subterranean Press) at Strange Horizons:

    http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2010/10/collected_stori.shtml

    Which is a great book.

  45. Two pimps. First, a semi-self-pimp – the publisher of my forthcoming novel Pirates of Mars, Hadley Rille Books, is having a book sale and contest to celebrate their fifth year of publishing. Details (although, alas, not of my work, due out November 2011) available at Hadley Rille Books.

    Second, ISFIC Press just released Assassin and Other Stories, a new novel and short story collection from Steven Barnes. The title story, Assassin, is a wonderful novel about the people who gave that word to English, and well worth the price of admission.

  47. Crazy, campy, superheroes in a horror milieu web-show thing: Deathless!

    http://watchdeathless.com/

    An insane friend of mine convinced me and another buddy to write a bunch of episodes, then convinced an instructor at our University to make it part of a directing class.

    It was a great, maddening, intense experience, and I think I’m a better writer for it, but it almost killed me and my friends.

    Enjoy the fruits of my pain!

    My pain fruits, if you will.

  49. I’m going to be livewriting an novel starting November 26 (next Friday) for three straight days. You can stop by and antogonize me, as I take suggestions from the audience. Like written improv. The story is called “Polarity”, a sci-fi thriller about politics and law enforcement and asteroid piracy.

    http://3d1d.1889.ca is where the fun is!

  51. Well, hell. Since it’s a Twitter-birthed pimp thread, here’s an open invitation to follow me on Twitter.

    twitter.com/hentosz

    I don’t post too much (I even go weeks without a peep), my interests are wide-ranging, and if you follow before tomorrow midnight I’ll waive the fee!

  52. One thing I’ve heard (a lot) from my cohort of new and fledgling authors has been “Where do we find freelance editors/artists/people who know what authors need”.

    I’ve set up a website to help provide a Ralan-esque kind of setup: http://www.authorsandfreelancers.com. So those of you pimping your artist/editor/wev friends in this thread, please have them stop by and let me add them. Maybe nothing will come of it, but at least it’s free advertising.

    Authors: You might find someone you want to work with when/if you put any work of your own up independently (for example, a short story or novel where the rights have reverted to you). All the kids are doing it – I helped Jim C. Hines convert his first novel Goldfish Dreams into an eBook earlier this year.

    BIG CAVEAT: Authors & Freelancers is a one-guy show. I know there’s some web-side stuff that needs cleaned up and clarified. There’s seven or so entries that need added, so please be patient. Thanks!

  53. I would pimp myself again but … instead here are links to my reviews of three audiobooks I’ve enjoyed the hell out of over the past few months:

    1. Finch by Jeff VanderMeer, narrated by Oliver Wyman:

    http://www.audible.com/review-by-author?customerID=AB93LXWMCWM6H&asin=B00400A8YY

    2. The Magicians by Lev Grossman, narrated by Mark Bramhall:

    http://www.audible.com/review-by-author?customerID=AB93LXWMCWM6H&asin=B002UZJIF6

    3. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor, narrated by Anne Flosnik:

    http://www.audible.com/review-by-author?customerID=AB93LXWMCWM6H&asin=B003XO3RKK

    And while I owe the original METAtropolis a review, instead, here’s Jason Erik Lundberg’s review of Lewis Shiner’s COLLECTED STORIES (Subterranean Press, 2009) at Strange Horizons:

    http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2010/10/collected_stori.shtml

  55. Thanks very much to our gracious host!

    I write the webcomic Cold Iron Badge, an urban fantasy/procedural about the cops who patrol the border between our world and Fairyland in the aftermath of the dramatic return of magic and the Little People. It’s a fairy tale. But nobody lives happily ever after.

    We just posted page 142 of our ongoing story on our website, or you can read the story from the beginning here.

  57. Sure, Breast Cancer Awareness Month was October, but I’m of the firm opinion that if you’re only aware of breasts for one month out of the year, you’re doing it wrong. The second annual Beards4Boobs fund-raiser is now in progress and will run through the end of November. Twenty of the most manly men on the planet shaved on October 31st and haven’t touched a razor since, all in the name of kicking breast cancer’s ass. So, please, visit Beards4Boobs or HoNoToGroABeMo—that’s How Not to Grow a Beard Month, for the Novemberically-challenged—have a look at the beards in progress and fertilize one with your lovely, green donations.

  59. I’ve just recently started to write music, using MuseScore, the free, open source, multi platform score wriiting program. And it’s fun + brilliant! Just wanted to say that.

  60. I recently bought an awesome book edited by David Malki!, Matthew Bennardo and Ryan North called “Machine of Death.” Not only is it a great book, filled with excellent stories, but they managed to take a book that publishers wouldn’t bite on and take it to the #1 book on Amazon.com in a single day. AND the icing on that delicious cake is that they beat down Glenn Beck’s book, which was released the same day.

  62. I have two things to pimp, and I’m conserving bandwidth by putting them into one comment. Thanks for the opportunity to do so, John!

    I have a workshop/website dedicated to helping writers write better action scenes, with opportunities to have your scenes critiqued. For more information, visit http://www.writebetteraction.com.

    Also, I am the author of the longest-running superhero webcomic done entirelt in LEGO. Check out The Adventures of the S-Team, now in its fifth year, at http://www.ianthealy.com/comic.

    Thanks! Hope to see you all there!

  63. Well, since Cthulhumas & other solstice holidays are just around the corner, I shall pimp my crocheted Cthulhus, which make excellent presents (though why give them away? they make even better presents for yourself). There are some for sale in the store, a few that don’t yet have good enough listing photos here, and I make custom orders/will be doing gift certificates. Because everyone needs a little Cthulhu.

    [actually self-pimping w/o feeling guilty is hard…this is the first time I’ve been able to use the open pimp thread!]

  64. Here, in the Port Hope/ Cobourg region of Ontario, we’re trying to get a community radio station happening. While we’ve got a slightly out-of-date website happening (http://smalltownradio.ca/), the real news is that I put together a first hour of programming to let people know what the station might sound like. The result can be downloaded here:
    http://www.mediafire.com/?fht1pv8y673qgyf
    It is, I hope, an hour of good local radio. It’s a 78 Mb download and contains live material from poet Tanya Davis and singer Catherine MacClellan.
    Please listen.

  65. Burlesque, baby! Not that namby-pamby, movie-like thing coming out next week, but real pasty-twirlin’, nearly naked live entertainment in beautiful San Francisco at the Hubba Hubba Revue! Friday, November 19th at the DNA Lounge!

    This month’s show is… Secret Agents! Boris & Natasha… 86 & 99… heck, even Secret Squirrel & Morocco Mole will be gettin’ their super spy groove on! Slip on the tuxedo, swank up your slinkiest evening gown and join the fun. The passphrase is “$10 before 9:30 pm”!

    http://www.hubbahubbarevue.com

  68. Ooh, self pimpage: Y.A.B.A.N. (Yet Another Blog About Nothing). Occasionally, there’s a NSFW pic (usually art or funny vintage pic) but is mostly just a catch-all for stuff I find interesting on the web: web comic links, animal/caption/meme pics, Krugman reblogs, etc.

  69. In 2011, I am chairing Capclave, the SF convention produced by the Washington (DC) Science Fiction Association.

    Our guests of honor for 2011 are Catherynne Valente and Carrie Vaughn.

    The convention will be held October 14-16, 2011 at the Washington DC/North Gaitherburg Hilton, 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD. Memberships are currently $40.

    For more information, go to http://www.capclave.org

  72. The ebook of my first novel, The Chosen, is available through the end of November for only $.99 on Kindle.

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Chosen-ebook/dp/B0041HXLXQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1283441111&sr=8-5

    It’s a contemporary fantasy novel featuring biblical characters in modern settings, teaming up to save the world. Kinda like a Sunday School Marvel Team-Up issue, with beer and strippers. Because Marvel Team-Up would have been vastly improved with beer and strippers. The book has been positively compared to Good Omens and The Life of Brian, but I think I’m only about half that funny. But for a buck, half that funny is pretty good.

  73. In the category of “things I have nothing to do with, but which look very cool anyway”, I was recently pointed at an intriguing new Webcomic called Namesake. It’s new enough that you can very quickly get caught up on the story, and involves (among other things) teenagers, fairy tales, and the things that happen when you land in other people’s stories.

  76. The lovely people over at Penny Arcade have just launched this season’s Child’s Play campaign (http://childsplaycharity.org/index.php). Born out of a desire for some positive coverage of gamers and the games they play, the charity provides video games, systems, DVDs and books for children’s hospitals around the world. From the map on their front page you can find your local hospital and either donate monies or go to their Amazon wishlist page and purchase the game/video/book of your choice.

    Definitely a worthy cause and my favourite charity!

  78. This is not my project, but I am a big fan!

    Spots the Space Marine is an online novel, which is currently rushing headlong to its thrilling conclusion. It is written in a sort of screenplay-esque format, which I thought at first would not work, but it does.

    Spots is a woman who served her time in the reserves, but is called back to duty when an alien threat arises. Her squad is surprised to be serving with a cookie-baking mom, and she brings a new perspective to the fight and to relations with another group of aliens.

    http://stardancer.org/spots/

  80. A flash fiction story of mine “Dragon at Two Past Seven” appears in Daily Flash: 2011 being published by Pill Hill Press. A flash fiction story written by Jenifer Wallace, “Girl’s Best Friend,” also appears in the collection. Jenifer is moving in with me in January, so this makes the collection somewhat special for us.

    For you — because most of you don’t know us from a hill of beans – it’s a hefty volume containing 365 flash fiction stories. Most if not all in the speculative fiction genre. Each page has a different date of the calendar on it as well! (If you hadn’t guessed.) It’s perfect to put in that place where you spend a few minutes each morning – and would like something to read while you sit.

    http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Flash-2011-Days-Fiction/dp/1617060100/

  82. The Curious Cook, by Harold McGee (sorta out of print but readily available). His On Food and Cooking is compendious and invaluable, but The Curious Cook is about the sheer delight of scientific discovery, in terms that anybody can understand. Does a baseball cap help keep bacon fat off your eyeglasses when you’re frying? McGee does the experiment!

  83. Two musicians:

    Jesca Hoop. After two commercial CDs and a few private releases she’s already a cult figure. Her Kismet is one of my contenders for CD of the decade for 2000-2009. An amazing breadth of style, lyrical complexity and depth second to none, and a delivery that has to be heard.

    The other contender is Abigail Washburn’s Song of the Traveling Daughter”. She cooks up a hybrid of American roots and Chinese folk music that’s just awesome. Every ‘Firefly’ fan who’s heard it agrees: this should have been the soundtrack music.

  84. Here’s a self-promotion of great magnitude: I am in the middle of running a Kickstarter project to build a text adventure for iPhone. Real, serious, kick-ass, full-length interactive fiction. With dragons and starships.

    (Non-iPhone versions of the game available as Kickstarter pre-order rewards. There’s a game demo on that web page, if you want to see what kind of game I’m planning.)

    I say “great magnitude” because the Kickstarter goal has been reached — on the *first day*, and is now o’ertopped by a factor of three — which gives me some hope that this will be a seriously *commercially* successful text adventure, the likes of which has not been seen since 1990 or so.

    If so, there will be more of them.

    My goal for November is spreading the word. It’s been around the gaming-industry press, and I’m hoping that SF fandom will be equally interested. And so: the self-pimping.

  85. Love this… way too cool!!

    I’m kinda a new to this bloggie thing, but I had so much fun here, I decided to try my hand at it… and, of course, I still have dreams of becoming rich and famous just like my hero, J Scalzi!! Please help me reach this lofty goal and go here:

    http://fmcola.wordpress.com/ or just click on my name\link above…

    leaving a comment would really be even more fantabulous and very much appreciated… thanks in advance!

  87. Here’s the website of a little old club I’m a member of in Los Angeles. If you live near or are passing through some Thursday night drop in and say hello: http://www.lasfs.org/

    The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS) has a great library, a computer room, many places to chat, and a large meeting room.

  91. I’m building a computer game! It is called “Welcome to the Dungeon”. You know all those lovely RPGs out there where you play the role of a hero and descend into a dungeon and obliterate the inhabitants and take their stuff? Well, I thought it would be fun to make a reversal of that — you’re in charge of the dungeon, and you’re trying to lure heroes in so you can kill them and take THEIR stuff! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

    Turn-based strategy, more like a Civ or a SimCity than anything. Concept art coming soon from Tom Fowler, who did a Big Idea piece on here a while back for Mysterius.

    http://welcometothedungeongame.blogspot.com/

    Very early stages yet, but I’m hoping to have a playable alpha out by Christmas.

  93. A bunch of us Pagans started a pop-culture blog this past Beltane. Since there’s an above average interest in SF/Fantasy, we do often address those subjects from a Pagan perspective at The Juggler where “Blessed Be” meets “Live Long and Prosper”.

  94. Check out intelligent, perhaps inflammatory, rap about Evolution, Chaucer and Healthcare by Baba Brinkman http://babasword.com. You can download the Rap Guide to Evolution for free, but it’s worth paying for!

  97. Since everyone else is doing it…why not check out my book?

    See more here: http://shadowofdracula.blogspot.com/

    DRACULA LIVES! is an homage of sorts to spy novels, Hammer Horror films and the seminal Tomb of Dracula comic book from the 1970’s. If you enjoy any of those things, you’ll likely enjoy thIS book. If you think you’d enjoy a book wherein Dracula rips out a man’s spinal column and uses it to slap around zombies, then you will also likely enjoy this book, or possibly just the sequel, due out in October 2011.

  98. I keep a book review blog, which covers all sorts of books (because I read pretty much everything that holds still long enough to be read), but mostly covers fantasy, horror and science fiction:

    http://www.readingtheleaves.com

    Canny readers will note that there are an awful lot of posts that start with the words “Writing Metrics.” That is John Scalzi’s fault. He wrote a post awhile back in which he said that anyone who wanted to call him- or herself a writer had to write every day, at least 250 words. It was an inspiring post, which followed a lot of other inspirations and proved to be my tipping point. I resolved on the spot to write about 250 words every day, minimum. I *always* hit that marker if you include my legal writing, my daily blog post about my writing, and writing on other internet forums about politics, but that writing doesn’t count: only words expended on book reviews and my creative writing count. And it’s sort of working. So thanks, John — I’ll send you a copy of my first article when it gets published.

  99. Like Shakespeare? Like Twitter? Try Such Tweet Sorrow, a hilarious adaptation of Romeo and Juliet performed live over a 6-week period this April by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Mudlark. Archived in chronological order at http://bleysmaynard.net/suchtweet/

    It appears that their official site is down now, regrettably.

  102. I’ve given notice at my cube-land day job and am starting up an urban farm (aquaponics) business in Minneapolis. Fresh, organic, sustainable food, as close to local as you can get without growing it yourself!

    http://www.howlingmoose.com

  106. I just started a new website for my nature photography business. I’ll be showing spiffy pictures of landscapes, wildlife, flora, and so on. I’ll also be regularly posting articles about nature photography from various perspectives – art, science, philosophy, business, etc. I just added an article, last night, about how to fight back against online copyright infringement of your pictures. Go, look!

    http://naturography.com

  111. err, let me try that again.

    Because no one else seems to have done it, I’m going to pimp this great pimp thread!

    (I’d also like to pimp a “Delete comment” button…. *sigh*)

  112. What great timing!

    I want to pimp out Desert Bus for Hope. It’s this charity that runs each year at this time, and it’s starting this Friday night. Long story short, a group of Canadian comedians torture themselves by playing the WORST video game ever made in an online telethon to raise money for Child’s Play charity (which buys toys for children in hospitals around the world). And it’s just about the most fun you’ll have watching live online video. They’re a blast.

    They’ll be running from Friday until at least next Wednesday (the more that is donated the longer they run). And Ken “Value-Added” Stacey may show up again this year and auction off more original 1980s era Star Wars concept art (used for everything from toy packages to cereal boxes) and other fun stuff for Teh Childrens. For insane amounts of money that make Graham have a stroke on camera. Be there.

    http://desertbus.org

  114. I’m working on a photography project in which I take and post a new photo every day for a year. I’m an aspiring film maker, so the idea was to strengthen my compositional skills. So far the project is at day 211. The last couple weeks have been much tougher, as I’m also attempting NaNoWriMo (28,500 words as of last night). You can find the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebelshea/sets/72157623887353396/

  119. While I’m thrilled that Matt pimped b0tzine, he seems to have forgotten this is self-pimping blog. Therefore, I’m pimping for him.

    Check out Matt’s mirth-flinging podcast Beware The Hairy Mango.

    http://bewarethehairymango.com/

    It’s so much funnier than that thing you found in the fridge. What did you end up doing with that anyway?

  124. All-Star Superman. Glorious over-the-top fun with absolutely no taint of ‘realism’ or ‘continuity’. Perfectly crafted superheroics.

  126. I sold my debut YA novel, ASHFALL, to Tanglewood Press for publication in October 2011. Fifteen-year-old Alex Halprin struggles to survive and reunite with his family in the wake of a cataclysmic supervolcano eruption. I don’t have an author website yet, but I’ll announce it on Twitter when I do: http://twitter.com/#!/Mike_Mullin.

  127. The Brooklyn Paper just started running my new comic strip, Bar Scrawl, and I’m super-excited about it!

    It’s a bar review comic strip – I get to visit bars, then draw comics about them. Best gig ever!

    I guess this is bragging, rather than pimping. Sorry.

  128. Okay, for sheer awesomeness I’m pimping Journey Planet Issue 7, now available for free at eFanzines. JP won the Nova Award for Best British Fanzine last weekend, and John has contributed to this fanzine in the past. Full disclosure: I’m the editor for this issue. Enjoy!

    PS. It features a specially written article by Alastair Reynolds on Hard SF, if you really need an extra incentive…

  130. How about a webcomic as old as Whatever? If you like hard SF and smart, attractive talking wolves, check out Freefall, called by Winchell Chung of the Atomic Rockets web site “…one of the most scientifically accurate web comics.” Freefall began publication in March of 1998 and it takes forever to get caught up on the story.

    But you won’t regret it.

  132. So after the game Mass Effect 2 came out, somebody started recording all the in-universe news updates on a website. And before you knew it, people started building out the world, and having a lot of fun doing it! Check it out at CerberusDailyNews.com and the expanded CDN forum.

  143. I ring in a community handbell choir. It’s one of the most awesome instruments ever. No, really! We perform kickass music like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Wizards in Winter, plus other fun and challenging pieces both sacred and secular.

    Not convinced? Check out this video of us playing the William Tell Overture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82tgQ-2ufVQ

    We have five performances coming up in the mid-MIchigan area:
    – Sunday, Nov 21, 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm, Haslett, MI
    – Friday, Dec 3, 7:00 pm, Lansing, MI
    – Saturday, Dec 4, 7:00 pm, Haslett, MI
    – Sunday, Dec 5, 4:00 pm, Muir, MI

    All concerts are free. For more information see our website: http://www.capitalcityringers.com/events.html

  145. Oh, pimpage! Yay!

    I do not know Randy Ingermanson, but I like his Snowflake method for story development. He is also the co-author of the comprehensive “Writing Fiction for Dummies” – and it is free on Kindle until tomorrow, November 19:

    http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Fiction-For-Dummies-ebook/dp/B002XGICAO

    You are the opposite of a “dummy” if you read Scalzi’s blog, so maybe this book isn’t for you — also, not everything Ingermanson recommends works for me. But I confess to getting a free copy for myself and liking it so far :)

  147. National Novel Reading Month will be this year, starting Dec 15th through Jan 15th. Four books, four weeks. For most of you, it may not sound like much of a goal, which is why you are also encouraged to discuss in detail and in public one of those books, if not all. Or select several books from genres/authors you wouldn’t normally read. That’s what I’m doing; anybody up for a little western fantasy?
    I’m excited; I’ve got a handful of other WriMos excited, and I’m kind of hoping for a few more excited readers to read with me during NaNoReadMo. :D

  150. Thing 1: The Portal

    In the last weekend of October, I launched The Portal, a new online review site of short-form genre fiction from around the world at the World Fantasy Convention. Our mission is to is to benefit authors, editors, bureau heads, coordinators, reviewers, and fans around the world.

    Our first issue includes articles about Russian, Bolivian, Danish, French, Brazilian, and Francophone Canadian science fiction, as well as reviews of Shimmer, Sybil’s Garage, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Bull Spec, and Ideomancer by folks including Alison Sinclair, Fábio Fernandes, René Walling, and more. So come take a look and find out more about us at sffportal.net.

    We’re still recruiting reviewers, Bureau Heads, and Coordinators, so if you’re interested, take a peek at our “Writing Guidelines” and “Join Us” pages as well.

    Thing 2: “Burning Days”, by Glenn Grant (with an introduction by Bruce Sterling)

    A terrorist targets the cybernetic community of a teeming and diverse metropolis. Mecha gladiators battle in a decaying factory. Nomadiks, dodging desertification and the law, set up thriving temporary market towns. Rising seas and obsolete skills lead unemployed laborers to the darknet. A space colonist revives after a blowout and discovers disturbing changes. A prisoner of war rows to the rescue of his captors. In six stories (one previously unpublished) about people on the edges of a violent and rapidly changing society, Glenn Grant explores how we survive, how we grow, and how we betray ourselves.

    In his introduction, Bruce Sterling states “… if you add Glenn Grant to the rather more loquacious figures of William Gibson and Cory Doctorow, a tipping point arrives. It becomes pretty clear that cyberpunk actually is primarily Canadian.”

    “Grant’s work paints a future that is odd (and oddly stylish), often (intentionally) funny, and sidewise.” – Cory Doctorow

    “Gleefully wicked fiction! Grant is a bricoleur at play in the pre- and post-apocalyptic fields of our self-destructive, ineluctable global catastrophe.” – Paul Di Filippo

    “Brilliant! Wonderful prose, nice world-building-in-teensy-increments.” – Peter Watts

    Praise for the title story:

    “I love a story that goes right through exploring what it means to be male or female and ends up getting at what it means to be human. This is a stylish, action-laden science fiction story, not a navel-gazer.” – Cecilia Tan

    “A well-plotted story in Hardboiled Mode … has an original twist in the emphasis on the desire/compulsion to reproduce one’s kind.” – Ursula K. LeGuin

    Thing 3: That game/interpreter project that post #83 is pimping really rocks.

    Andrew/Zarf is an amazing writer, and you really ought to try out his other interactive fiction as well.

  153. Yay! A pimp thread!

    I have a podcast – The Labyrinth Library, wherein I review books once a week. Simple, fun, easy, proven to enlarge your brain and make you into a better human being. And sexier – did I mention it would make you sexier? Well, it will. No, I can’t release the data on that, just trust me.

    Come listen!

  157. My all-time favorite author Michael Moorcock has just released a new novel featuring Doctor Who, The Coming of the Terraphiles, which to me is the Sci-Fi equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate coming together. And it is the first book I put on my shiny new Kindle. My joy is full.

  158. “The Outer Alliance is a group of SF/F writers who have come together as allies for the advocacy of LGBT issues in literature. Made up of individuals of all walks of life, our goal is to educate, support, and celebrate LGBT contributions in the science-fiction and fantasy genres.”

    Their blog often includes interviews with “allies who are active in supporting and celebrating LGBTQI speculative fiction”, and interviewer Julia Rios (friend of mine) just started an OA podcast! The mailing list also often mentions calls for submissions that specifically request queer authors or content.

  162. I just released a story under CC-license. It’s called “Travel by Night” and it takes the idea of the one-way trip to Mars and plays with it. You can read it hear, and look at pretty NASA pictures I used to gussy it up.

    My first nonfiction book comes out in Feb 2011. It’s a guide to designing library spaces for young adults/teenagers called “Make Room for Teens!” Great for librarians, community centers, and teachers.

    My film company is 812north.. We’re shooting a feature on HDSLRs his winter and have a few shorts for your perusal. Drop us a line if you’re in Chicago and interested in making movies.

  165. Why thank you, Mr. Scalzi, don’t mind if I do. Because it so happens that I have just started an online bookstore, specializing in ebooks. I’ve also been talking about the philosophy behind it here, here and here.

    The short version is: “no DRM, yes you can buy from anywhere in the world, and money flows mainly to the creators.”

  166. My first original novel — the SF thriller Amortals — just debuted in the UK earlier this month. It’ll be out in the US on December 28, and people worldwide can buy the ebook right now.

  167. I feel a tad guilty pimping this here, but I did just release Distant Star, an old-school 4X space game for the iPad. It’s heavily inspired by the games I loved when I was a kid, classics like Master of Orion and Spaceward Ho!.

    Oh, and I couldn’t help sneaking in references to just about every piece of SF I’ve ever read, many of which are probably quite familiar to the other lurkers around here.

  168. Thank you kindly, sir. Instead of pimping my own blog (which is still receiving traffic from your “hat tip” of several posts ago!), I would like to promote that of my good friend Kate, who reviews books and talks about other things on her website, utter randomonium.

  169. about a week ago i got a score of 964780 at bubble bobble, the number 5 score at twingalaxies.com is lower then that and has not been updated since the 80’s.

  171. Hand-made Pens.
    Obviously people here are readers, but if any of you are writers, specifically HAND-writers, take a look at some of my work. I hand-turn these pens from many different materials. I have many more pens that are not on the site and I also do custom orders. Hit me up via the email link on the site if you are intersted.

    http://www.signaturepenworks.com

  173. Two things:

    1. http://io9.com Go there for awesome articles on sci-fi, science, mad science, and genre television.
    2. If you’ve decided you like io9.com, click on the Observation Deck link (or go there directly: http://io9.com/tag/observationdeck/) and become part of the community. It is where the cool kids hang out. We also do a lot of science fiction and fantasy writing in our Thursday Tales and Saturday Short Stories, so come participate.

    Also, thanks, Mr. Scalzi. I have a bevy of awesome stuff to look at now!

  175. Ok, so you like Harry Potter . . and you’re also a raging geek/sci-fi fan? This is the story for you:

    Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
    Harry Potter’s Aunt Petunia married a professor, and Harry grew up reading science and science fiction. Then came the Hogwarts letter, introducing strange new opportunities to exploit. And new friends, like Hermione, and Professor McGonagall, and Professor Quirrell.

    Yes, it’s fan fiction, but it’s written by a published author and noted AI researcher and rationalist Eliezer Yudkowsky. Frankly, it’s probably written better than the books on which it’s based. He has great character development, lots of humorous observations which riff on the source material, and more subtle pop-culture and Anime references than you can shake a stick at. Best of all, the characters are smart. Voldemart has read the Evil Overlord’s list. No comic-idiot villains here. Check out the authors “Theory of FanFic” on his author page.

    It’s not done yet, at ~330k words, and I eagerly await the release of the next chapter.

  184. Today, I’m pimping The Boss because this song has been in my head for weeks. And now it will infect your brain as well…like those worm things from Wrath of Kahn. Enjoy.

  185. Read my freakin’ novel while it’s still free. Yes, the FAQ sheet says it’ll be free until 2012, but that’s only because I haven’t updated the web site yet to reflect my “retired” status. I’m changing ID’s and genres, embracing my birth certificate and writing about FTL flight and futuristic stuff.

    So read this last piece of Jim Winterania and find out what a DEA agent named Scalzi looks like in a Hawaiian shirt before I upload the damn thing to Amazon and start charging for it.

    http://www.roadrulesnovel.com/

  186. Since among the readers of this blog there’s quite a few aspiring writers, I’m pimping some software you may find useful when it comes to writing. Scrivener is word processor-like program for Mac (now also available as beta for Windows, I think) which allows you to keep your related articles and other resources handy when you’re writing. You can import files from your computer into your “project” so you can check them easily without having to dig around in your document folders. The downside of this is, of course, that the temptation to import lots of pretty pictures and stare at them instead of actually, you know, writing, is almost irresistible. But hey, such is the price of progress. Here’s the link: Scrivener Website

  187. Brand new books from Twelfth Planet Press:

    The Company Articles of Edward Teach/The Angaelian Apocalypse – out later this month: http://www.twelfthplanetpress.com/the-company-articles-of-edward-teachthe-angaelian-apocalypse

    Covers for our next double early next year: Above/Below http://www.twelfthplanetpress.com/abovebelow

    Also, we announced the first title in the Twelve Planets Project – Nightsiders by Sue Isle http://girliejones.livejournal.com/1652297.html

  188. I’ll second Trepp@182 on the pimping of Scrivener.

    Awesome writing application. I got a copy in September and haven’t looked back.

    Mac version is at 2.0. The Windows version is at 1.1. If you’re wondering why the version discrepancy it’s because the Mac version was originally developed by one guy. Then someone contacted the developer and asked if he could port it over to Windows. The new programmer ported 1.1 from the Mac.

    Check out their testimonials and you’ll see at least a couple of pretty well known Hugo/Nebula award nominated/winners who apparently like it a whole lot.

  190. Hmm, and one more. Love Has Fangs, is a webcomic about vampires quoting Baudelaire, drooling over fabulous shoes, writing erotica, wearing eyepopping outfits, and experiencing poignant personal tragedies, presented with lovingly constructed and customized 1:6 scale miniatures and action figures.

    In its creator’s own words: “Being undead is the least of Anneka Richardson’s problems. There’s her 140-year-old boyfriend, Will, who borrows her makeup, the weirdo customers she encounters at her bookstore job and, to top it off, her beloved grandmother’s slow death by Alzheimer’s.”

    “Love Has Fangs” is a sequel to “(Un)Real Life”, which lasted nine seasons.

  191. OASIS 24 is a traditional SF convention produced by the Orlando Area Science Fiction Society,.

    Our guests of honor for 2011 are David Drake (writer), Tommy Castillo (artist), and Carla Ulbrich.

    The convention will be held May 27-29, 2011 at the Orlando Downtown Sheraton, 400 W. Livingston Street, Orlando, FL. Memberships are currently $30 but will be $35 on January 1.

    For more information, go to http://www.oasfis.org/oasis

  194. The limited edition hardcover of my novel Napier’s Bones is now available for pre-order at Horror Mall here:

    https://www.horror-mall.com/NAPIERS-BONES-by-Derryl-Murphy-signed-limited-hardcover-p-21450.html

    That’s the pimpage that my publisher wants me to do, but I also wanted to tell you that this edition will also include a new short story by me, written especially for the 150 people who buy this version, as well as (and to me this is even cooler) some interior art by Martin Springett, the man who did the cover art for the first edition of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry. Martin’s been sending me jpgs of his thoughts and ideas, and I’m absolutely thrilled that he’s not only involved, but that he’s enjoying the book so much that he’s taking it further than any of us had anticipated.

    And for those of you who are interested but don’t want to buy the limited edition, there will also be a trade paperback and a DRM-free ebook, all coming in March of 2011.

    D

  195. Thanks, John ~ What a nifty idea.

    Do you know anyone currently in the military with small children? If so, the award-winning books “Daddy’s Boots” and “Momma’s Boots” on deployment are the essential Holiday present!
    Written by Sandra Miller Linhart with charming illustrations by the talented Tahna Marie Desmond, these books are sure to be timeless treasures in any home library:

    http://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Boots-Sandra-Miller-Linhart/dp/0984512705

    I’ll bet you can’t find the teddy bear on each and every page.

  196. Ooh, pimpage. Such a deal.
    Let me promote the writings of my son’s spouse, by name Jesse Hajicek. Lulu-published book, The God Eaters (older than, and no relation to, our host’s recent title); graphic novel in progress, Metanoia; assorted LiveJournal publications, including Summerlands — I love Summerlands! Connecticut Yankee fetches up in elvenland? If you like steamy gay male romance and scifi, take a look. Erm, one link? Try this for the Summerlands index: http://gomichan.livejournal.com/185409.html but you can Amazon the novel.

  197. Jesus, I’ve spent (was gonna say wasted) a whole day browsing through all the great links from this thread… diabolical Scalzi at his best…. I feel like a kid in a candy store…

  199. A self-publishing collective that I’m a part of is launching with:
    – one gay SF romance
    – one poetry chapbook on chronic illness and the strength of the human spirit
    – one novella for young writers

    …and much more to come when the full website goes live December 1. I hope you’ll swing by and check it out.

    http://www.turtleduckpress.com

  200. A chance at some shameless self-promotion? Woot!

    I recently began writing fiction and have linked to the stories that have been published so far from my (mercifully brief) blog. Like any writer who is just starting out, I crave readers and feedback, so if you have a few minutes to kill, please click below and follow the links to read the stories.

    http://alexshvartsman.livejournal.com/

  201. Nothing to pimp. Sorry. But I am curious. Evil types lurk on the internet. What is to keep one such from posting here today and leaving a link, which when accessed downloads a very evil virus or bug to the person checking out the link? Firewalls while tight are not impervious to such attacks, right? Just curious John.

  204. I admit I am fairly proud of my blog. I am going on two years without missing a day. I write about politics and things that make me laugh. Although my geeky side slips in all the time. I am always hoping to find new readers to leave me comments about my ridiculousness.

  205. This time around, I’d like to pimp out Starship Artemis, the game that allows you to live out your greatest nerd fantasy. Commanding the crew of a starship and/or being the crew of a starship.

    Please watch the videos for the game in action!

    http://artemis.eochu.com

    Full runs of this game will be at Arisia (Boston) this year, as well as other Midwest and New England conventions.

    Thanks!

  206. Anyone in the Boston area? The Wellesley College Shakespeare Society’s doing our last three shows of OTHELLO this weekend.
    http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/shakespeare/
    Enjoy the historical inversion of a completely female ensemble acting Shakespeare, rocking dance numbers (it’s a modern update), and a set with subway/road signs that I spent twelve hours painting the Friday before last. >.<

  207. Some friends and I are trying our hands at building mobile apps, Android for now, iPhone at some point. Check them out at http://www.jebsapps.com

    We’ve got Today In Geek History, to provide a few bits of geeky information, and Golden Pic, to help out the photographers.

    Consider them pimped.

  209. Hi,

    I’m a PTV (Pimp Thread Version) but I really wanted to pimp my little indie game website.

    It’s: http://www.thataussiegamesite.com.au

    I’m quite depressed at the minute as nobody is visiting us these days. The website looks pretty slick thanks to the designer Mick who put the whole thing together. We’ve got a few ‘for the love writers’ but I contribute about 75% of the content and our page views are down to about a 100 just now which is bumming me out.

    If you’re interested in games please head over and click a few pages and have a nose around.

  212. I second the vote for Hyperbole and a Half. Hilarious blog!

    If you’re a digital reader, there are some fun adventure books available at a great price right now. The Blades of the Rose series by Zoë Archer is an alternate history fantasy series that I think a lot of readers might enjoy. Just good fun, like the Mummy movies or Indiana Jones, or even pulp adventure novels from back in the day. They are classified as paranormal romance, and there is definitely a romance plot in each book, but the overall story arc is pure fantasy, and the extreme hero-villain contrast is as strong as Star Wars, John Carter of Mars, and lots of other examples of fantasy fiction.

    All four books are available as a bundle for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Blades-Rose-Bundle-Scoundrel-ebook/dp/B004CLYLRG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1290150982&sr=1-1 and for Nook http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Blades-of-the-Rose-Bundle/Zoe-Archer/e/9781420122954/?itm=1&USRI=zoe+archer+bundle for just $10.

  214. Scientists discovered a new species of squid! In 2009, during a scientific cruise in the Indian Ocean, nearly 7,000 specimens collected from seamounts. The seamounts blog is back up, as scientists begin the process of identifying the creatures that were retrieved. Some of them are really creepy, some of them are kind of cute. Either way, if you’re interested in seeing the process unfold, blog posts are being routinely uploaded with lots of pictures at the 2009 Seamounts Blog.

  217. It’s holiday shopping time! Support your (not-so-) local small artisans:

    The Faultless Pajama Foundry

    Jewelry, mostly earrings and necklaces, with some other craftwork as appropriate. Free shipping inside the US; very reasonable shipping outside the US. Lots to choose from, from semi-precious and precious gemstones to hardware/steampunk type stuff.

  218. I have recently been hired by a company that sells classic video games–rather like GameTap, of which our proprietor here is fond–called Good Old Games. I’ve been a fan for theirs for about a year before they hired me on, so I’m possibly remiss in not pimping them out before now. If you are in the market for a fantastic game but your budget is sadly anemic, check out http://www.gog.com to buy the best classic video games of the late nineties and early naughties, all for under ten bucks.

  219. In one week, the Writers StackExchange will be in public beta, it will hopefully turn into a valuable resource for current and aspiring writers.

    I’m just a beta-tester, so I have only the hoof of an imaginary horse in this race.

  221. If anyone in the Annapolis area is interested in Tibetan Buddhism, there is an excellent teacher there. He is a lama from Tibet. He is teaching in Indonesia right now, but will return to teach here again. For more information, check the web site:

    http://www.gampopacenter.com/

  223. I have my first-ever photography show, “Walking Through Greenbelt,” coming up! It will be at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, MD, USA, from 4 January through 28 February 2011. There will be a reception at the cafe on 9 January 2011 from 7-9 pm. All are welcome, and there will be free food and music! Bring your friends! Especially if they happen to be well-heeled art collectors looking to get early works by an exciting young (What? 36 is young!) photographer on his way up in the art world!

    To see my photos, some of which will be on display at the show, check out my website.

  225. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality of some of the other books that my small press publisher, Yard Dog Press, produces. Some of the best books are in the Double Dog line (Like the old Ace Doubles, there is a short novel on one side. When you finish that book, turn the book over and read a second short novel).

    Two of the doubles that are extremely well written in one collection are Saber Dance/The Lunari Mask (A female musketeer sent undercover as a belly dancer to rescue a princess from a harem/Pirates Vs. Witches)

    http://www.yarddogpress.com/Double%20Dog%204.htm

    Another two are House of Doors/Jaguar Moon (Every door in the house leads to another planet and every night is an alien invasion that the homeowners must fight off./A ghost hunter teams up with a monster hunter to rescue the girl and save the world.)

    http://www.yarddogpress.com/Double%20Dog%205.htm

  230. Thanks John! I’m trying to help my kids (both lost their jobs last year in the meltdown) afford to keep their apartment! My photography is available for sale at http://teenolan.imagekind.com/
    Lots of beautiful nature shots, including spectacular moon shots. Thanks to anyone who purchases – you’re the best!

  235. If you’re in the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey area (or, hell, even if you’re from further afield!) you might like to attend Dorian’s Parlor, http://doriansparlor.com, a monthly steampunk event showcasing music, fashion, performance, and art! This month’s event, on November 27, features darkwave band Ego Likeness, opera singer Katie Kat, fashion by Delicious Boutique, DJs Johanna Constantine and Kiltboy, the short film “Tesla Experiment”, Celtic Dance by Eye of Isis, and a reading by Dianne K. Salerni. All in one night!
    The door to the parlor is open. Won’t you come in and stay awhile?

  236. I loves me some free advertising! Please check out my weekly humor column, draped up in the finery of a blog. And then subscribe, because that makes me happy. Might just make you happy too.

    mattbaxx.blogspot.com

  237. I would like to pimp my first book WHICH COMES OUT ON BLACK FRIDAY WAGGA WAGGA! Sorry, going a little bit nuts…

    Choose Your Doom: Zombie Apocalypse is what happens when you cross zombies with the Choose Your Own Adventure books, and you can find out more (and click through a few choices) at http://www.doompress.com.

  239. Of course you put out a pimp thread just as I’m spending two days moving all my data from my old laptop to my new one, so by the time I learn of it all the excitement is over. In all likelihood no one is even going to read here about the 50% off sale we’re having on Farmerphile when you buy a copy of The Worlds of Philip Jose Farmer 1. Oh well…

  240. Really? An open pimp thread!?
    John, you are the man!

    Ok, here’s my pimp:
    http://www.cubicle-lawn.com

    That’s right, a Cubicle Lawn. Makes a great stocking stuffer for the CubeJockey in your life. Fulfills your $10 limit gift duty for the office Secret Santa too, just wrap the box it arrives in. How easy is that?

    I have pledged $.50 from each sale to Randy Pierce and the 2020 Vision Quest team over at 2020visionquest.org too, so part of the sale is going to an awesome charity.

  241. Check out my friends’ CD: “Simple Math.” Their band – The Real Jane Martin – plays in clubs around Chicago, and they are back in the studio right now recording their next album. http://www.realjane.com

  242. Wow, so much cool stuff here! Allow me to make a wee contribution of my own pls? Kthnx. :D

    My picture-every-other-day, sometimes-interrupted-by-things-like-poems, probably-quite-silly little blog:

    http://snapshotpoetry.wordpress.com

    Backstory, if anyone cares:
    One of my hobbies is photography, which means I run around a lot with a big fancy DSLR camera. After a few years of this I realized I started to think too much in “how to take a good picture” terms. My brain started getting tired. So I took a break, put away the DSLR, took out my lowest-quality camera (in this case my phone) and went around taking snapshots of anything and everything in daily life that I found interesting, with emphasis on NOT making a big fancy photoshoot out of it.

    Today I broke the “picture rule” (which never was more than an assumption anyway) and posted a poem, but mostly it is just pictures. Hope y’all like. :-)

  246. Do you have a Wikipedia page about you or your product? Keep tabs on it for changes. You never know when someone will alter the truth about you on the site Google tracks as a respected authority on nearly every subject!

    Perfect for authors, editors, and creative types, oh, and politicians.

    Visit wikiPatrol.com today

  248. You Know what this Pimp List really needs? Custom Leather Goods!

    go to http://www.pmleather.com to check out the range! things go from “kinda Metal” to “pointy and eye gouging” depending on your tastes!

    Also you may spot certain well known SF Authors in the Fan pages who’ve been given their own belts by obsessive fans!

  249. Ken Scholes writes the best fantasy I’ve read in years–unique ideas, engaging characters, painful choices. Check him out, starting with Lamentation, which I couldn’t put down.

  251. I am a lowly drummer, playing in my friend Brian McKenzie’s band. He is a singer/songwriter from good ol’ Rhode Island. He performs music in the americana/country vein, but they’re just really good songs with very personal lyrics. We’re trying to get as many people as possible to listen and enjoy his music so I figured that this very pimp thread would be a great space to share some good music with you fine folks.

    please enjoy, and he’s got songs and a new video posted on his website: http://www.brianmckenzie.com

    hopefully you like it, and if you love it, there’s a link to CDBABY where the songs are available for digital purchase.

    my personal favorite is “Because of You” and “Summertime without you” (full disclaimer – I played drums on the ‘summertime’ (other drummers for other studio songs) hence it being one of my favs. tee hee)

  255. THE HUMBLE INDIE BUNDLE PART 2!!!!!!
    http://www.humblebundle.com/

    If you know what the humble bundle is you know that this is automatically at least the second most awesome thing ever!!! If you don’t then it’s 5 indie games for whatever you want to pay, price split between developers and two charities (Electronic Freedom Foundation and Child’s play) however you want.

    Games are:
    Braid
    Machinarium
    Osmos
    Cortex Command
    Revenge of the Titans

    It also includes the sound track for Machinarium and Osmos.

    For the past bundle they added an extra game for everyone later on, and they also gave everyone a Steam activation thingy for Steam people to do something with, so if you buy now, it will probably become even more awesome later.

    All games are DRM free, allow offline install, and you can re-download whenever you want.

    All this, for the low low price of…

    WHATEVER YOU WANT TO PAY!

    Can’t beat that. It only lasts a week, so hurry.

    (sorry to internet shout there. In my defense, I’m shouting in real life, too.)

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