Ephemera 2009 (6)

--Explanations in PLAIN ENGLISH. I do like Common Craft.

-- Sweet Frakkin' hotcakes 0n BSG's "No Exit" ep. I seriously look forward to the equivalent episode on Lost. Yes, sometimes you can puke up five years worth of exposition and it can be satisfying. You can also enjoy the semi-serious discussion on "why Tom Zarek was right" here. Be sure to hit the "BSG" tag for more feedback from various contributors.

-- Dear NBC: Kings is the best thing you've made in, say, five years. Please stop fucking up the marketing. It works both as sci-fi and/or biblical allegory. Seriously. You're shanking it.

-- My, that Kindle post got you riled up. I'm actually going to do a follow-up (and yes, Mike, we'll talk about the Sony Reader), but in the meantime this article is a good start. Substitute "horse" and "car", indeed.

-- And smoothly transitioning, I'm pretty impressed by the online presence of both Tor books and Subterranean Press.

-- Bought The Translated Man off Lulu, and I'm digging it immensely. There's an interesting discussion to be had (and I may have it with Lee Goldberg when I have lunch with him soon) about self-publishing. One one hand, we're pushing independent film production. On the other, we're highly ambivalent about novels that have not gone through the traditional editorial process. (Bonus points: I really can't get over how much i09 should suck, when it sucks much less than that.)

-- On the other-other hand, collections of posts & memoirs such as Wil Wheaton's Sunken Treasures fall under a different category perceptually.

-- Sure, Watchmen will be shiny. But the movie I'm most anticipating in 2009?



Go to Apple for the mind-blowing high-def.

-- The intersection of gaming and storytelling is heating up, and I have to admit that although there are tech-ier sites out there, I kind of like the noob friendly vibe at Gameplaywright.

-- All right, everyone's blogging about this ...



... and I'm pretty much in line with Bill Cunningham here. Longer Post Later -- we're due for a major review of 4th Generation Media theory, and how it now combines with open source insurgency theory -- but this is how it's going to happen. Pros dabbling, and stumbling into the new world. This is the "viability" demonstration of the insurgency. No, this is in no way a viable product. But it's the structure of a viable production.

-- In the Comments: your favorite podcast. Mine is still Planet Money. I adore people who can take complex ideas from a field I know absolutely nothing about and explain them so cleanly and entertainingly. Fiction podcasts also allowed.

LEVERAGE post tomorrow. Realized I couldn't have the discussion I wanted without spoiling.