One major rule: no fanfic ideas here, please. You put me in a bad position if you do post them here, and will force me to delete the post. Thank you.

If you want to post fanfic ideas, please start your own LJ.

Ladies and gents, RUSH is on The Colbert Report tonight!


TOM SAWYER!!!!!!! *unintelligiblesqueeofbliss*

Sorry, the song that got me hooked on the band. It's still in my top 5 of their stuff.

And I'm adoring the spinning Neal statue beside Geddy's keyboard.

Friday, July 11:
Meet the Pros: 10:00 until we drop: Hunt/Valley corridor

Saturday, July 12:
"Cool Stuff on Sci-Fi: Stargate, BSG, Eureka, and Beyond": 10:00 a.m., Salon A

"Doctor Who: The Quality of Leadership": 3:00-5:00 p.m., Salon A

Sunday, July 13:
"Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures": 10:00 a.m., Salon F

I'm probably on this one on Sunday, too, considering that Malefictorum is finally seeing paperback release in October, but I haven't seen the panelist listing yet:
"S.C.E.: Corps of Engineers": 12:00 p.m., Salon B

live in a world without George Carlin.

I never wanted to live in that world.

Now we all have to figure out how to do just that.

The world is just as funny and stupid and asinine and idiotic as it was, now we just have to learn to be better observers of it ourselves.

I'm going to leave this one open and public. Feel free to post your favorite Carlin quotes, stories, or observations.

Here's one of mine:

"Religion convinced the world that there's an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do. And there's 10 things he doesn't want you to do or else you'll to to a burning place with a lake of fire until the end of eternity. But he loves you!"

Rest in peace, George. Ya done good.

If there are ever books for In Plain Sight, I'm in.

Mary Shannon may be my favorite new regular character on a series since Elizabeth Weir.

Unreality SF has reviewed The Quality of Leadership, and I could absolutely not be more chuffed by the review:

Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen is a splendid Fourth Doctor trip by Terri Osborne. Concerning the Doctor and Romana's encounter with Boudicca, it starts off as an ostensibly innocent but interesting yarn, before becoming something genuinely surprising and potentially-controversial towards the end, with a fantastically innovative and daring twist. Additionally, Osborne's portrayal of Romana is arguably the most successful characterisation of the entire anthology, and the author's passion for the character really shines through in the pitch-perfect dialogue. Superb.

All I can say is thank you.

I'm going to dig into my old fogies file here. Some of you may recognize bits of this, as I have cannibalized this story for some Trek work since it was rejected from SNW, but here we go, in its original kinda glory: Impact Zone, a Star Trek: TNG story that never was.

All copyrights are fully acknowledged, no infringement is intended. Although CBS/Paramount now never gets to own the Angians since I've already got them in another story waiting for a plot.

The cover for WOUNDS has been released, the collection will have my first S.C.E. story, Malefictorum, and will be available in October:

The Station Family Fund.

A lot of us rockers out there remember the fire at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island back in 2003. We remember how many people tragically lost their lives that night, but what we don't necessarily remember are the families left behind: the parents who lost children, the children who lost parents, the survivors whose lives were changed forever by going to a Great White gig. Some of the survivors are still living with scars from the burns over portions of their bodies. Others are forced to wear wigs for the rest of their lives because of the burns. This is why I think you all should know about The Station Family Fund.

The Station Family Fund Mission Statement

The Station Family Fund was founded by survivors and family members affected by The Station Nightclub fire of February 20, 2003. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that received approval from the IRS on November 4, 2003 to operate as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.


Every dollar raised by the Station Family Fund, Inc. will go directly to address the needs of the survivors and the families of victims catastrophically impacted by The Station nightclub fire. Administrative and overhead expenses will be paid solely from donations solicited for this specific purpose.

Our services include assistance with identifying and accessing resources available through federal and state agencies or other non-governmental organizations. We also provide financial grants on a case by case basis. Commencing January 1, 2007, our financial grants will give priority to bridging gaps in care for those who suffered catastrophic injury in the fire.

I'm leaving this public. Folks, feel free to link to it if you want.

Jericho - The Second Season

Season 2 just became available for pre-order on Amazon for $27.99. It's going have an MSRP of $39.99 on release, at least according to Amazon.

Excerpt is the first two scenes of the story, so I'm putting it behind a cut.

The Doctor, K9, Romana and the TARDIS are all copyright 2008, BBC. :) ( A snippet of 'Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen' )

I've just been given permission to excerpt "Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen."

Time to see what would work best. *cue evil laugh*

For those interested in the idea that I floated in kradical's LJ yesterday, I'm currently trying to contact Operation Paperback with our specific plans to see what we can do.

As soon as I have more information, I'll let you know.

ETA: I have created the sceforthetroops community to allow all of this info to be centralized in one location.

As announced by Jeff Ayers on TrekBBS today, from the mouths of Certain People:

"Star Trek ebooks are taking a hiatus beginning in April. Ebook editions of our print books will continue to be released."

So, I've written, for the time being, the last Corps of Engineers installment. I've known about this for a while, obviously, and it's been a weird thing to handle, in the middle of everything else that's gone on with me and the Trek program over the last few years. The idea of potentially ending a line is one that definitely makes me feel a little creeped out, even though Keith and I approached the rewrites to Remembrance knowing it would at the very least be the last installment for a long time, and maybe how the line itself was going to go out. I think when you get to that in the reprints, you'll all be satisfied, but hopefully wanting more.

Folks can backtrack how long I've known about this, because that's about when I started confronting people with the "What will you do when there are no more eBooks to reprint?" question.

However, I'd like to put this request to everyone out there. I don't do this very often, so please bear with me if it's a bit awkward. If you liked the Corps of Engineers, please, support the paperback reprints that are left as best you can. We would like to prove that there is still an extensive market for the crew of the good ship da Vinci. If we can do that, maybe we can somehow convince the higher-ups that the hiatus was a stupid idea.

Hell, I'd like to write the Andor story I set the groundwork up for in Remembrance, but there's no chance of it as it stands now.

So, please, I know I've got S.C.E. fans reading. I don't mean to sound like a PBS pledge drive, but if you like what you've been reading, please support the reprints when they arrive at your local bookseller. I know many of the authors want to resurrect the line, as does the editor. And a show of support from the readers would do wonders to help back that up with sales figures.

Thank you for your attention, everyone.

Friday, March 14th
8:00:00 PM Mianus River
Title: In Case of Emergency
Description: Apocalypse is just around the corner. What are you going to pack? How will you modify your pack for each possible end-of-the-world scenario? Worst yet--how do you decide which books to leave behind? There is no track 51. Move along.
Participants: Amy Chused[M], Daniel Kimmel, Terri Osborne,

9:00:00 PM Mianus River
Title: Time Management for Writers
Description: One of the most common excuses would-be writers give for not writing is that they don't have time. Busy writers sit down and tell you how they juggle full-time jobs, part-time jobs, families, and multiple deadlines.
Participants: David Mack[M], Virginia McMorrow, Terri Osborne,

Hey, infinitydog, we should have a blast scaring the small children with this.

Saturday, March 15th
3:00:00 PM Odelle
Title: How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and Love the Post-Apocalyptic Story
Description: John Varley said "We all love after-the-bomb stories. If we didn't, why would there be so many of them? There's something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell's pork and beans, defending one's family from marauders." Why *do* we all love after the bomb stories? What is it that makes them so compelling? Subconscious cultural anxiety? Is it Thanatoses, schadenfreude, or something else entirely? There is no track 51. Move along.
Participants: John Joseph Adams, Rosemary Edghill, Terri Osborne, John J. Pierce[M],


9:00:00 PM Birch
Title: Fandom as a Job
Description: In the wake of events like Steve Vander Ark of the Harry Potter Lexicon being sued by J.K. Rowling, there's increasing scrutiny on those fans that are able to parlay their fannish obsessions into (sometimes lucrative) jobs. In some cases, these fans themselves begin to acquire fans. Is this good or bad for fans as a whole? What are the pitfalls of being a professional fan? How do you become a professional fan?
Participants: Racheline Maltese[M], Terri Osborne,

This should be interesting. I'm a professional fan, but not quite in the same way that I think they're thinking here.

Sunday, March 16th
12:00:00 PM Grand Center
Title: Spinning off the Doctor
Description: Fans were thrilled when Russell T. Davies brought back Doctor Who. In a bid to show that sometimes too much CAN be a good thing, we also get to enjoy Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. How are these shows affecting the Doctor Who 'verse? And are they good enough to stand on their own merits, instead of hiding behind the Doctor?
Participants: Kathleen O'Shea David, Keith DeCandido, Amy Goldschlager[M], Terri Osborne, Lisa Sullivan,

1:00:00 PM Boton
Title: Talk Nerdy to Me
Description: Science Fiction and Fantasy can be found all through mainstream culture these days. It's in the movies (I am Legend, Jumper, and Dark Knight), on TV (Heroes, Flash Gordon, and Bionic Woman, just to name a few), and even at our jobs, with the most mundane coworkers getting in trouble for playing World of Warcraft on the job. Heck, we're importing it from the BBC and complaining it's not coming here fast enough! Just what is behind the influx of geekdom in modern America? Is it just the media realizing how profitable catering to our demographic is, or is dorkiness really becoming cool? If so, are we sure we want this newfound popularity?
Participants: Keith DeCandido, Bob Greenberger[M], Glenn Hauman, Terri Osborne, Karen Sullivan,

Piecing it together from the current grid:

Friday
8:00 p.m.--In Case of Emergency (Mianus River)--For the record, the description of the panel:

Apocalypse is just around the corner. What are you going to pack? How will you modify your pack for each possible end-of-the-world scenario? Worst yet--how do you decide which books to leave behind?

This is gonna be fun. :)

Saturday

3:00 p.m.-- How I Learned to Stop Worrying, and Love the Post-Apocalyptic Story (Odelle)

Sunday

1:00 p.m.--Talk Nerdy to Me (Bolton)


That's what I know about now. There are several panels I look at wonder WTF I'm not doing on them, but hey, I'll have plenty of time to write if this is my final schedule.

Since we'll only be around on Saturday, my schedule for Saturday:

10am-11am: An hour with yours truly, Salon A
1-2pm: "The Quality of Leadership: a Doctor Who anthology," Salon F
5-7pm: autographing, Hunt Valley hall

I may crash the SG:A panel on Saturday at 11 in Salon B if I'm feeling up to it after the hour-long panel, haven't decided yet.

As for that hour with yours truly? And there might be some reading, maybe, of something that might interest some people.

Maybe.

Gotta give people something to say thanks for getting up that early on a Saturday, no? :cue raised eyebrow:

Schedule for Arisia 2008 in Boston January 18-21.

Saturday
2:00 p.m. Wouldn't You Like to be a Superhero?

New shows like "Heroes," "The 4400," and "Painkiller Jane" show us that it's not always pleasant. Why has this become a popular idea? Is it that we like imagining what powers we'd get? Or is it saying something darker about losing our control of the world?

6:00 p.m. The Doctor Is In

How do Doctors Nine and Ten compare with the previous eight? This is NOT your mama's Doctor Who.

Sunday
10:00 a.m. 10 Years of StarGate

A discussion and farewell to StarGate SG1. How did it affect SF television? Will Stargate:Atlantis have similar long legs? What of other SciFi series like Eureka, Flash Gordon, Painkiller Jane, etc.?

All points considered, that Sunday panel should be interesting. Painkiller Jane is already dead. The only thing saving Flash Gordon is the fact that it's cheap to produce, and the only real even marginally-successful series that Sci Fi has outside of Atlantis right now is Eureka. I have a feeling that the writer's strike will come up here.

BTW, I'm planning to bring a surprise for the Doctor Who panel. I might even be able to talk about something by then, I don't know yet. :)

The air date for the second season has finally been set.

Jericho returns on Tuesday, 12 February, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern

A couple of months ago, I proposed Happiness is a Warm Blanket Day.

Here is the original proposal:

I am hereby starting a new ritual. From this point forward, "Happiness is a Warm Blanket" day (paraphrased from the great Charles Schulz, yes) shall be celebrated on the man's birthday, November 26. The only requirement is to snuggle with your favorite blanket, and your favorite warm, fuzzy Snoopy stand-in critter for a little while. Stuffed animals *are* an option for those allergic to dogs or cats. Spouses, not so much. This is, after all, an honoring of the late, great Charles Schulz. Therefore, it's warm fuzzy critters only. Snoopy would probably like it better that way, no?

Yes, pass it forward, my friends. The world needs snuggles right now, eh? :)

So, when you can, find your best fuzzy friend, a nice comfy blanket, and have a good snuggle. :)