EDIT: I've received some very helpful responses from folks who work at IPR in the comments. Some points:

• Publishers set prices at IPR, and IPR takes a 15% cut, which is smaller than a typical bookstore model.
• I've personally had very good experiences buying directly from indie RPG publishers, but that's not always the case. IPR is providing ( Read more... )

When I was in high school, Nick-at-Night started showing classic ('70s) SNL episodes edited down to half-hour best-of shows. (I bet NBC would have a hit on its hands if it did this with current SNL episodes... but I digress.) My favorite of all of these was George Carlin's appearance.
Other comedians go for the laugh first, and a few good ones ( Read more... )

Last year, I wanted to go to Go Play NW, but we were on the verge of Riley, so I didn't. As Riley's first birthday approaches, I got to thinkin', "Hey, I bet Go Play NW is coming up soon."
So I looked it up, and it was almost a month earlier than last year. It was May 31st through June 1st.
Man, I need to get on some kinda mailing list for this thing

I'm reading The Skylark of Space, and for some reason this passage struck me as especially iconic:For forty-eight hours the uncontrolled atomic motor dragged the masterless vessel with its four unconscious passengers through the illimitable reaches of empty space, with an awful and constantly increasing velocity.

I don't know why that passage ( Read more... )

A bit ago, I commented about science fiction not being part of the academic canon of literature. Today I stumbled across an exception, a collegiate course on science fiction, by Dr. Courtney Brown at Emory University. And it's a podcast. (Scroll down a bit, or track it down on iTunes.)
It's called "Science Fiction and Politics," and it's a social ( Read more... )

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I'm feeling a little ungeeky today.
It's because of podcasts. I listen to the Butcher Block podcast, which is dedicated to Jim Butcher stuff. At least, I did until yesterday afternoon. While I enjoy the Dresden Files books very much, and I liked the SciFi Channel show, I was seriously outgeeked by the last episode of the podcast. After the speaker ( Read more... )

My friend shadroe and I started up a local reading group for classic science ficion. We settled on the Classics of Science Fiction list to guide us, a compilation of several critical lists of the best and most important science fiction novels. While I consider myself a science fiction fan, I went through the list and checked off only about a dozen titles ( Read more... )

Dear CNN Headline News,
"American Idol" results are not news. Please devote the time you are planning to spend on this "story" in the future to instead covering meaningful world events. If you find yourself facing a slow news day, there's always a couple of wars you could mention now and again.
Thank you,
Mac

I admit it. I want this toothbrush.
It says it plays the "Star Wars Theme Song." But from which movie? After the initial fanfare (maybe that's the whole two minutes?), each movie varies quite a bit. What I really want is the Imperial March. If I could start every morning with the Imperial March, I would be a better man.
Y'know, maybe I just oughta ( Read more... )