Hello....sorry for crapness

I've not blogged for ages I know, life has been extremely hectic. Am going to try and blog a little more often though going forward. So geekwise what have I been up to? Main thing I guess is continuing the Cthulu game we started up....my main character Haifa went mad, annoyingly...(!)..if not surprisingly given the amount of tentacle-faced badboys she's been hanging out with... so now I have temporarily taken on a new character Gene, which is actually pretty good as he's more gun totin' than Haifa. You can check out updates here.

Other stuff, am fricking grumpy that Sarah Connor Chronicles got canned!! Just when it was sorting its life out and getting interesting! No fair. Now I'll never get to see what happened with the really strange robo-crush John had for Cameron. Ahhhhh Fox, you paineth me.

On the good side, Ashes to Ashes' second series was an improvement on the first, as as I liked the first was pretty damn happy quality seems to be going up. Only 8 eps though, and now I have to wait a year for the next lot! ARRRGH.

Reasons for busyness have been...trying to stave off redundancy and so far dodging it, training to be a part-time police officer (called a 'special' in the Uk. No giggling!) and buying a new campervan.

I'm gonna start up a new blog about the latter as its freaking great! Can't say much about the po-leece thing other than I'm now expecting my life to be similar to McNulty's from The Wire. If I'm not drunk every night and working against the system I'll be very disappointed.

Oh yeah, actually met the actor Dominic West who plays McNulty just a week or so back, at Glastonbury festival. Tried to bag a photo of him but understandably the poor chap wasn't too keen as he was totally shitfaced. Nice to see he goes into the Method style of acting. Someone should tell Dominic that the series is over though, he can stop now...

Franklyn the movie - review

We went to see a preview of Franklyn last night - http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/franklyn. Described as an urban fairytale is most certainly made the most of London whene it was filmed. As the director said at the preview normally London always ends up looking like a gangsters paradise in movies, but the architecture available equally lends itself to sci-fi and fantasy. All those lovely old Gothic and abandoned buildings from an industrial era...well, I say 'all those' but no doubt most of 'em have been turned into luxury apartments by now that no-one can currently afford to buy. I had a good couple of hours guessing where we were in 'my' reality!

Anyway back to the movie. Besides being impressed with, ahem, how cute is Ryan Phillippe in one of the lead roles, it was good to go to a film and wonder what was going to happen for more than 5 minutes. I mean, I understood broadly what the 'schtick' was about how the real and imaginary worlds were linked pretty early on but wondered who would 'save' whom and how the relationships intertwined. At the same time I can see perhaps how people will less patience than me might want answers slightly sooner, though.

Perhaps it wasn't always hugely original - Eva Green played her part brilliantly but she was still 'suicidal art student'. Religion got a bit of a shoeing, as it generally seems to these days in most 'liberal' art.

But all the characters were well drawn and everyone acted their socks off. And Bernard Hill was in it!! ('Gizza job').

Lone Wolf and Cub

I have been trying to expand my manga experience of late, having become quite an anime fan with my love all all things Studio Ghibli (come on people, Spirited Away!).

Thankfully my geek-husband as he will now be known - ghusband? - is also into this and lately bought some of the Lone Wolf and Cub mangas for us to peruse.

I think - I say think - this is where the Baby Cart series of films got their inspiration, as it follows the tales of a ronin and his baby son as they go around, generally making cash from being hired as assassins. I say assassins, as the baby does get involved from time to time (he may do more, but I'm only on the first book).

In a way it sounds preposterous, but the books are not only nicely drawn but the stories work!! The ronin gets his son involved in and witnessing regular horrible bloodbaths - okay social services might have a few things to say about that - but he does this on the basis that the bond of understanding between son and father is more precious than anything.

Thus, if the kid knows and understands his dad is a killer, and accepts this - somehow that makes it noble and their relationship all the more precious. I know...EH???

Anyway, its Japanese, so what do I know. Actually, would have been cool if MY dad had been a ronin, and I was a bit handy with a samurai sword at the age of three!!!

Kirill Uncovered....

So I've been asked to upload an ep from a new web series....am happy to do so, looks interesting. Once I've checked it out a bit more I'll give it a review...

EIT - had to de-embed the pesky vid as it kept crashing my screen. Head over to here to see what I'm yapping about.

The SouthPark World of Warcraft episode rocks!

Hey - I'm back and I'm gonna crank this blog back up! I finally got married, so I have a life that is no longer about organisation but can again run free to embrace all things sad and geeky!

To celebrate check out this South Park episode which is possibly the funniest thing I've seen in donkeys!!

Arrrghhh! DeathRay goes quarterly...and other stuff

Yes, my fave SF mag DeathRay is will be monthly no more!! Got the news yesterday with my latest issue ( which, related to my last post, includes a response to my Brainiac post about wedding readings!!! Best they could suggest was the wedding readings from Krull....I couldn't find the words on YouTube, but here's the trailer for that lovely movie..).



I'm not surprised in a way the mag is slowing its frequency - 'twas too good to last as it was, and at least the mag's not being totally binned. I suspect that it's too classy for your average person vaguely into SF, and thus doesn't bring in enough wonga - that, together with the fact there has been in the last year a surge of SF-related mags. Good news is apparently the publishers are bringing out some more mags, which I hope to be at least related in some way in subject matter.

Other news is, am going freelance in a couple of months - have finally tired of doing the same job day in, day out, and would like to use my (varied and not inconsiderable...I hope) skills to do a few other things. Do more project management-y editorial projects that involve more of my brain matter, do even more digital stuff (I've done a lot of web traffic strategy of late and I love it), plus try and find time to complete a couple of personal 'creative' projects....such as my TV script which is so very close to being done, and maybe even do a bit of voluntary work in my local area. Am offski in October, and admit, am nervous.

So what else? Have been continuing that game of Ctlhulu and am also reading the first Culture novel. Shocking I never have before - but bloody hell, its epic.

God, what's with a geek wedding..

Only now just over 100 days 'til I get married, which I hope explains my general rubbishness at posting. The theme is mainly based on my other great love, all things Western, although we are trying to add a bit of geekdom in there in our wedding readings.

I am clueless here however. What I'd really like is a reading from a SF novel that talks about the wonder of life and the world, rather than some vomit-inducing thing which makes the guests feel queasy. If we find anything, we'll let you know. Meanwhile, my life is taken up with details such as - what hurricane lamps to order for tables? What cake design? Being not a girly girl, it is somewhat confusing....

I'm still finding time for Cthulhu however of course...

My geek levels reach new heights!!

Okay, I 'fess up. I've not been blogging that regularly - but don't think for a minute I've not been geeking. If anything I have been plumbing new depths of geekdom. Yes, I've ventured into the (usual) man world of role play. EEK! Yes, I have been sitting in my front room with OTHER PEOPLE pretending to be someone else, armed only with DICE. All in the name of Cthulhlu.

It's my fault. You see when I discover other geeks I only want to encourage their geekiness. So when a friend admits he used to write role play and has an idea for a game, myself and my geek-love say, what the hell, we're up for it. So now I'm mid-geek game at yog-sothoth.

I'm Haifa in that game. And I can't say as I'm much cop at it, as am always too nervous and making decisions in case I get eaten and die, which can happen at any point with Cthulhlu. But what the hell, it's all imagination.

Anyway I feel better now I've admitted that. Does that make me an uber-geek? I remember the days when I used to feel guilty about Star Trek: TOS. That's like the boybands of geekiness now - so mainstream. Cthulhu is like prog-rock, with lots of long-haired weirdies.

What else have I been doing? I've been writing a TV script. No, it's not sci-fi, so doesn't count. I've been reading some new authors - this is a worse admittal, but I've only just read the Color of Magic by the godlike Terry Pratchett. My view? Not bad. Funny yes, but I'm a bit of a purist. Not sure I do SF to laugh, however cleverly. Am enjoying much more Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Much more miserable.

Guess its all that Cthulhlu influence. Not exactly cheery, old Lovecraft. So there you go. Good TV I've also been watching includes The Sarah Connor Chronicles. There have been around six or so episodes screened in the UK and generally I've enjoyed them all. Hope it gets a greenlight for more from the US.

Ashes to Ashes writers talk Series 2

I just popped back from a BBC organised chat with the co-writers of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes - very illuminating. The guys were Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham.

The chat was mainly about script-writing for TV as was aimed for budding TV writers - yes I am giving it a pop - but all the same I gleaned some titbits.

Matthew talked about the fact that they had aways wanted Series 1 of Ashes to be darker but had basically not been allowed; this was partly because Alex is supposed to be like the viewer and 'in on the joke' that she knows she is in a coma (Sam didn't know this for sure).

I think the Beeb wanted them to be more upbeat as a result where I think they wanted her to be more wry athough still 'playful'. I thought 'aha' as you can see these two different tones sometimes battling against each other in the first series.

In Series 2 however they are now freer and they promise it will be 'darker' and explore the 'bigger mysteries' of the characters and world. They were still talking about there being a third series and that they do have a three year plan. Undoubtedly they'll have a plan to merge Series 2 and 3 if it appears 3 isn;t needed/wanted though didn't say that much.

Really interestingly they talked about how much Philip Glenister shaped the role of Gene Hunt and really the whole of Life on Mars. They admitted they had not planned Mars to be a 'buddy' show at a until they saw early on that Phil was taking the character to another level, and they started to feed Gene better lines and stories, really on a par with Sam.

Perhaps not surprisingly they said as a result Phil realy quizzed them about what they had planned for Ashes as his character was now really the lead. "It could have been hard on Philip," said Ashley. "If it had failed it would have looked like he had failed because John Simm wasn't there," or words to that effect.

Series 2 will feature much more 'muscular' 80s policing stories he promised, and it appears that this will be central to the overall arc of Series 2.

In terms of all of our theories about whether the world of Ashes is different to Mars, he particularly noted that they had 'broken the rules' on all scenes having to have Alex in them in Ashes, whereas they didn't with Sam in Mars.

I didn't get any sense they have done this for any reason other than it's bloody hard to write a series with a single character in every scene. IE we shouldn't read too much into it.

There's more stuff that will probably come out in my time at the Railway Arms.

Death Ray vs SFX, Part II

Non-UK readers may wonder what this particular blog is about. In short, its about the two main SF mags that lurk in the UK at the moment. But just a year or so ago there was only one - SFX, following Dreamwatch's demise (never read the latter so can't comment). But with the rise and rise of New Dr Who suddenly a two others came out - namely Sci-Fi Now and also Death Ray.

And how lucky we are they did. Sci-Fi Now I don't feel is really worth mention - it's not written with the same love and verve as either of SFX and Death Ray. At the time of Death Ray's launch I decided to continue to read them both and come to a conclusion at a later date which I preferred. And finally I have come to a conclusion. Yes, okay, no drum roll - it's my only my opinion - but I totally LOVE Death Ray in a way I've not loved a magazine, well, ever.

Death Ray, let me tell you the reasons why I love thee:

• Your Deep Thought section makes me feel as if my brain is being used in the way it feels like it does when a read a great SF book; it makes me consider life, the world as it is now and its possibilities/threats;
• Your New Gods introduces me to what some really rather special people are up to that I would otherwise probably have no idea about who are really rather clever but in your mag that's something celebrated not something scary and to be avoided;
• You cover the populist stuff but in different ways - I have to say I am now rather sick of reading about Torchwood and Dr Who in SFX. Largely'cos I don't care for either of them which I know makes me probably rare and probably a bit grumpy but your take on Dr Who is as likely to cover the effects than yet another interview with Russell T. Annoying;
• You cover what is going on in comics land without succumbing to fanboy wank such as the US Wizard mag....Wizard, I'm so bored of skrulls and tit jokes. Death Ray's latest on Spider Man focused on a big comics issue and how the retcon on his marriage is out of order - in all, great stuff;
• Your great, in depth interviews. How cool and mad is Harlan Ellison? Why is it I've read so little Iain M. Banks; is it time to give up work to read more? Your mag makes me want to. Ditto for Terry Pratchett. Oh the shame;
• Your reviews are simply correct. Yes, Ashes to Ashes first few series have been a bit wobbly, good on you to say so but in a way that doesn't just succumb to 'well it was never going to be as good as Life on Mars was it...';
• The stuff you mention on The Rim is almost invariably other stuff I'm really into. The Wire?? I agree, one of the best TV shows going, and totally non-SF.

SFX, love you too. I think there is room for you both and my greater love of Death Ray is probably just a bit more to do with my age and the fact that my love of SF stretched further than Dr Who.

So I'm worried. As I've never loved a mag this most, I am convinced it's going to fold. The mag keeps coming out late; as a journo myself this makes me worry. My mag's never missed a publishing deadline in its life; Death Ray comes out later than it meant to a lot. So much so that the New Year issue had such a late review of The Dr Who Xmas special it was embarrassing. I actually wait for this mag to come through my door; I'm hoping it's going to last the distance.