Weirdly, I want to try this...

Ah the glory of the internets...

Fire extinguisher vs flamethrower - who will win???

These guys both look like extras from the X-Files... seriously; I can totally see them holed up in a farmhouse killing people with shovels...

Dancing Pigeons - Ritalin from Blink on Vimeo.

Steampunk Thursday: #1 What is Steampunk?

Steampunk, you say?

I've lost count of the amount of times I've tried to explain it to housemates, friends, relatives, co-workers... sometimes with visual aids, others with gestures and mention of goggles and cogs. It took me quite a while to get a feel for steampunk in the beginning, so what the amazing Amy (aka geek with curves) and I will be attempting over the next few weeks is to provide you lovely people with a no-nonsense Introduction to Steampunk for the Slightly Perplexed.

We'll be covering some key areas, such as books and film, steampunk communities in various countries and a guide to the various elements of going steampunk; costume, jewellery and the all important rite of passage - goggles!

Hopefully by the end you'll have a clearer idea of what steampunk is and means, and if you're interested in knowing more, you'll have picked up a few tips, met some people and have plenty of links to check out for more information!

Onwards, good folk!

So what is all this 'punk' business about anyway?

Steampunk is many different things to many different people, but the original term derived from the cyberpunk movement, with which steampunk shares some similarities.

To put it simply; steampunk is Victorian science fiction. The basis is the Victorian look and the idea of the steam powered era - but really this is just a springboard for almost any kind of speculative fiction and so many different styles from around the world - from Gotham to geisha - have been adapted to create a steampunk look that it is the ideal playground for the creative. In terms of appearance, the look is incredibly flexible. Steampunks often add a modern twist to traditional Victorian fashion, with much shorter skirts and modified corsets than would have been around at the time. Diverse is definitely the word to apply to both the steampunk look and attitude and you'll be hard put to find a day when people aren't producing new and awesome twists on the genre.

In terms of lifestyle, the steampunk community is a wonderfully varied one; combining those who chose to live and dress as such all the time, and those that do so only on occasion. Many steampunks create a character for themselves, such as an airship captain or an explorer, to which they then tailor their costume and name accordingly. Here is a fun Steampunk Name Generator so that you can discover your own!

Victorian values are definitely at the forefront on many online communities and polite language is a must! The community also brings together a fantastic diversity of people; young and old and from literally all walks of life.

The universal invariant in the steampunk community is the warmth, friendliness and enthusiasm shared by everyone. There is a genuine creative spirit that brings people together, and all are more than happy to share tips, ideas and helpful insights, whether you are crafting your first pair of goggles or just trying to find a shop that will sell you some old watch cogs!

Steampunk is a creative outlet, a way to meet some fantastic people, and genuinely a hell of a lot of fun! Most importantly; it is accessible. So much more than you might think. You don't need to have a lot of money, you don't even need to live in a big city. Both on and offline, there is a thriving and growing steampunk community involved in a massive variety of activities and events and there is always an opportunity to get involved.

So welcome to Steampunk Thursday! I hope you'll be joining us over the next few weeks! We'll both be on Twitter, and you can use the #SteamThursday hashtag to fire some questions our way or to share the steamy joy!

Wishing you well,

Captain Mary Frances Pott

Images from TyrusFlynn.com

The Zombies Ate My Chilean

I know that I promised you guys more on these awesome comics and it has been *ages*; sorry! However, this time I come bearing actual NEWS!

For starters though; a recap on TZAMC. In issue #1, the guys (and girls!) woke up the morning after Richard's birthday party at the Camden Palace with absolutely no idea of what had happened the night before... and not the regular kind of drunken selective memory; this was total collective blackout! When their friend Dave goes from missing to dead, the group begin to suspect they may have gotten in over their heads.

Issues #2, #3 and #4 saw the gang re-visit the Camden Palace - the club from the night before - to get some answers, swarms of the undead engulfing London and some more traumas a little closer to home. As for the Chilean in question? Well, you'll have to read to find out!

As you can tell by my rubbish review, I'm really keen not to give too much away! TZAMC is not the fastest paced comic book in the world, but I don't think it suffers at all for that, because the artwork is the best I have EVER seen in an indie comic and the only direction the standard seems to go is up! It has a really fun sense of humour - even more so in the intros and concluding notes than in the text itself, hilariously enough - and lots of good, old fashioned shovel-to-the-head zombie action! There's even a cameo from who I suspect may be Doc Brown from Back to the Future!!!

I really, really urge you guys to check these comics out! I have absolutely no doubt that they could find a publisher at the drop of a hat - get in there before they're all famous and whatnot ;)

So, just how can you get your eager hands on them you ask? For those of you fortunate enough to be floating around the London area; Orbital Comics stock all 4 issues.

They do offer shipping both within the UK and to Europe and North America - you would probably need to call up and get them to quote you for these specific comics as they're not listed on the website. Alternatively; just ask me and I'm totally happy to grab some for you and mail them - we can figure out some kind of Paypal arrangement!

I had a chance to actually chat to Alex at London Film and Comic Con and the website is apparently all set and ready to go - his friend just keeps messing around, trying to make it more shiny and then crashing the whole thing. Tech geeks, eh? :p I will let you guys know as soon as it goes live.

In the meantime, I leave you with the blog, which has an exciting preview of cover #5, and another example of just how fantastic this artwork is - which also doubles as a consideration for my next Halloween costume! Now, where can I get a bloodied shovel?

New Harry Potter Jackets!!!

This may be old hat to some of you - and embarassing for me if it is - but I just bought in the new Harry Potter covers for November today and was made aware of two astonishing facts;

1. That there are new Harry Potter covers. Apparently this has been news since March, but I managed to miss it.

They are VERY beautiful! I am personally very attached to the old covers on a sentimental front, but objectively they are rubbish - especially the Deathly Hallows one. The new ones are much more dressed down, a little less childish and very, very gorgeous!

You can see all of them on the Bloomsbury website (you'll need to search for 'harry potter') - I haven't been able to find them elsewhere online.

My insider publishing gossip is that JK Rowling apparently commissioned these covers and they are not just - as news reports are claiming - an attempt by Bloomsbury to rejuvenate the franchise. I'd stake a lot on that being true, which secretly makes me happy.

2. That they are permanently replacing the old covers in paperback. As in, the dodgy, wonderful, frequently disputed covers that I grew up with won't exist anymore! I have to laugh at myself for getting sentimental about an everyday reality of publishing, but never the less...

So, like it or not, squee or cry, it's goodbye forever to these guys... *removes hat sadly*

UK Film Council Axed

I'm generally very proud of living in the UK. Our government doesn't like to pass laws about what scarves people can or cannot wear in public, the police actually make me feel safe, we are a society entitled to completely free speech and - until now - the government has actively promoted the arts in Britain.

Now I'm not naïve. I knew that the arts were going to be hit hard with the new budget cuts, but the news that the UK Film Council is to be abolished left me reeling.

The UK Film Council is (was *sniffle*) a government-backed funding body created 10 years ago to support and revitalise British film. Run by experienced industry staff, the Film Council not only funded new and upcoming film-makers, massive hits such as Bend it Like Beckham and The Last King of Scotland, but also funded the introduction of more digital screens in the UK and ensured that many foreign language films such as Let the Right One In were able to be screened widely throughout the UK.

They also funded the BFI London Film Festival and a fantastic programme called Skillset which provided training for many people wishing to enter the film industry. Diversity was also high on the list, and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, National Schools Film Week and many other projects encouraging a diversity of people reflective of Britain's current population to both discover and create film came under the Council's umbrella.

The government has claimed that the funding provided by the Film Council will continue to be distributed by other bodies, but it is undeniable that in disassembling such a vital component of the UK film industry, the industry itself will suffer - in a year when it has grossed more than ever before. Such a diversity of projects and innovations will surely flounder when left without a single regulating body to administrate their funding and/or planning.

As stated by Tim Bevan, current Chairman of the Council:

"Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation. People will rightly look back on today's announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK's more successful growth industries, deserves better.

"Our immediate priority now is to press the Government to confirm that the funding levels and core functions that are needed to underpin British film are locked-in, especially at a time when filmmakers and film companies need more support than ever as they make the challenging transition into the digital age. To that end, we will work with the DCMS over the summer to identify how they can guarantee both continuity and safe harbour for British film."

This is merely the latest in a stream of frantic and senseless government cuts that show a complete lack of measured thought and structured planning for the future. My regret lies not only as a film viewer and a UK resident, but as a voter. I cannot help but feel that we have ushered in an era of unprecedented lack of imagination, and the UK's thriving and beautiful arts industry is bound to continue to come under fire.

Something has changed within me, something is not the same...

There comes a time in every geek's life... the tv shows, the movies, comic books; they've all been fun. But there has always been that lingering emptiness, that sense that there was something more to life...

I've always been a skeptic. I've scoffed at the idea of true love as often as my friends have claimed to have fallen in it.

Today, good people, I am here to tell you that I am changed. It was the last thing I expected, but it has overwhelmed me and I cannot deny it.

I have found Geometry Wars 2 and it was definitely love at first sight.

I ask you, have you ever seen such a beautiful game? (If you have, please share!!!)

Spinning in a circle, shooting everything in sight, a dance music track that's oddly addictive and even some maths in later levels... what else could you possibly ask for?

We've spent several evenings together already, and I find myself thinking about it at random times of the day. Sometimes I even hum the music. It's exactly my brand of heroin. I feel that I may definitely be looking at my first long term gaming relationship.

Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man

I had the pleasure of attending a talk (which he was not even told he had to give!) given by William B Davis at London Film and Comic Con yesterday.

He fielded a lot of hilarious questions with good humour and has clearly put a lot of thought into the themes and issues in the X-Files, in part because - as he regularly reminded us - he is in the process of completing his memoirs at the moment. If the book isn't called Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man (or Pontiff!), I will be sorely disappointed.

Some of the geekier Philes out there will know that Davis is himself a keen water skiier, and the possibility of CSM water skiing has always been the source of much hilarity in our house. However, it would seem that Chris Carter - ever the surfer boy - was actually determined to work this into the show somehow and when Davis wrote an episode (Season 7's En Ami) it originally included a scene in which the Cigarette Smoking Man teaches Scully to water ski. Apparently Chris was quite downcast when the other writers talked him out of it.

I did manage to restrain myself from asking whether he actually smoked, but someone else brought up the fact that he had given up smoking before starting the show. Indeed, 17 years before filming the X-Files, he had smoked his last cigarette. When offered the part, Davis was given a choice between real and herbal cigarettes and being, as he described it "a real actor", he opted for the real ones. Not long after shooting the second episode he found himself sitting at home thinking "When are they going to call me for that x-Files show??" and decided herbal might be the best route in the future.

The talks were ridiculously short, and I felt that he could have said a lot more about the themes in the X-Files and how it really captured the zeitgeist of the 90's. Indeed, it seems that he does give talks in this vein and has even defended the show against attacks from Richard Dawkins! Having almost 60 years of experience in the industry and having worked as an actor, director, teacher and writer both in film and theatre, plus having spent several years with two of my favourite FBI agents, William B. Davis' memoirs are definitely going to be on my to-read list as soon as a publication date makes its way into the public domain.

If half of his charm and humour comes across in the book, I will be very excited!