Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas, birthdays and blogging

The simple answer is: they don't mix!
But that's okay. Normal service will resume shortly. Lots of juicy tidbits to share but for now I will leave you with this little snippet. The Guild Wrap Party videos have been posted by the lovely Kenny (Behind The Scenes film-maker for The Guild) and they make wonderful viewing. Enjoy!

And while you are on The Guild Community site join and then add me as a friend :)



http://community.watchtheguild.com/video/the-guild-karaoke-wrap-party


Friday, December 19, 2008

Birthday wishes and exciting announcements!

Yes, I am very definitely over the hill 
And you know what? I could care less! This year has been momentous with highs and lows, beginnings and ends and all manner of wonderfulness in between. I'm going to do a reflective look back for New Year, so for today this is a little post to say how much I appreciate all the friends I've made online in the last year. Thank you all for the support, well wishes and fun! Even those people who visit here and never comment - I know where you live, remember, and I appreciate you popping by.

So, what's the news?
There's tons going on and I have some very special announcements to make before I head off for some birthday fun:

In January I'm going to writing for PINK RAYGUN!
Ever since I first visited Pink Raygun I've been enthralled. I always spend much longer over there than I intend because it is packed full of fanly-goodness! From the hilarious comic strip, Intergalactic Law to the reviews of all your favourite TV, Film, books and web content, there is something for everyone (yes, even boys are allowed). Pink Raygun: Lisa Fary, Julianna Weiss and John Dallaire were on my list of people to queue to see at Comic Con so when they said they wouldn't mind if I wrote for them I was over the moon. 

The format's still to be decided but there will be interviews - lots of lovely interviews. So, who would you like to see given the full Higlet treatment? Felicia Day seems to have survived the ordeal ok, and Kim Evey and Vince Caso are recovering, but who will be the next victim? If you have anyone you would like me to interview let me know. I have some ideas....

The Streamy Awards are announced!
In a very exciting move Tubefilter have teamed up with NewTeeVee and Tilzy.TV to present the Streamy Awards. Tubefilter have all the details on their website, and this is what the awards are all about:

"Anyone can nominate their favorite web series, stars and creators starting today at Streamys.orgin any of the 25 award categories. From the nominations, an independent non-profit organization called the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV), will select the final nominees in each category. The most-nominated entries in each category will automatically be one of the final five nominees. There’s also an Audience Choice Awards that will go to the web series (of any format) that receives the greatest number of public votes. The winners will be announced live at the 2009 Streamy Awards Ceremony held in Los Angeles on March 29, 2009."

This is going to be a huge event and we have a say in who wins! Now, who are you going nominate?

Evil WorldofHiglet is set to return
Well, the news from the Evil League of Evil Applications Processing Office (that is such a catchy title, don't you think?!) is grim indeed. Evil WoH finds out whether her application has been accepted or not and there's the ELE Christmas Humbug Party to deal with, too! I'm actually slightly afraid for Goggle-head - I can't see how this is going to end well...! If The Guild can do a Christmas special (which is very, very funny) then I'm sure Evil WoH is up to the challenge. More news to follow soon - betcha can't wait :)

And finally....
I hope you all have a great day, weekend, festive season, etc. Thanks again for all your kind words and I'm off now to have some Birthday Fun!

P.S.
Thanks to Soma, who added a Forum topic on The Guild Community site about my birthday - and to everyone who commented. And to Edgar who wrote a touching blog post, too. You guys are AWESOME!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Battlestar Galactica Webisodes Premiere This Week

How can you not be excited?! From the article:"Starting December 12th, SciFi will begin "airing" a 10-part series of Battlestar Galactica webisodes before the show's return...[on] January 16th.Each episode will be three to four minutes in length with two episodes released weekly until the final season begins...first episode is co-written by Jane Espenson"

read more | digg story

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Bagpuss and Ivor creator dies. Oliver Postgate, RIP.

From the BBC Article:

'Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has died aged 83, his family has confirmed.Postgate, who lived in Kent, created some of the best-loved children's TV series including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog.

His work, screened on the BBC and ITV from the 1950s to the present day, was often in collaboration with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin.In a poll earlier this year, Bagpuss, a saggy pink cloth cat, was voted the best TV animal of all-time.

Postgate's partner, Naomi Linnell, confirmed he died at a nursing home near his home in Broadstairs in Kent on Monday.Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy. Friend and colleague, Sandra Kerr, has been paying tribute to "a creative and eccentric talent".'

Anyone growing up in the UK from the 1970s onwards would almost certainly have seen at least on of the series he created. I remember them vividly and fondly. They were gentle, humourous and intelligent. His work enriched my childhood and this is sad news. RIP.

read more | digg story

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

The Guild Season 2 - Episode 3: Quest Accepted!

Zaboo begins his journey on the road to manhood; Codex learns more about Vork than she'd ever want to know. And in this episode I absolutely guarantee that Felicia Day runs around naked! This is a brilliant episode and the outside sequences add a great extra dimension. Love this webseries!

read more | digg story

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Dr Horrible, The Guild and Contagious

I'm sure you know this already but just in case... 
The Dr Horrible DVD is now available for pre-order from Amazon.com. And the great news is that there have been so many pre-orders already that the price has been reduced twice and is now $9.99. Please use this link to Amazon.com because if you do, Joss and co get a referral fee. You will also be able to view the original trailer and a sneaky-peek of the extras in the form of Neil Patrick Harris talking about Dr Horrible. And the even better news is that the CD is also available for pre-order at Amazon.com. Looks like it's going to be a Horrible Christmas...

The Guild Season 2 finishes filming
...very soon. As Felicia said in her recent interview (!) they are five days of filming to finish up Season 2. They have up to Episode 7 in the bag already and now they are completing the season. they started yesterday and they have had some special visitors to the set. Cricket Lee, who kindly gave us the great interview after she went to the Dr Horrible/The Guild Whedonopolis Halloween event, and Edgar Garcia, the 'Edgar of all trades' who is also Webmaster for WatchTheGuild.com and Felicia's website. Cricket is going to be an extra and hopefully we are going to see Edgar on the screen as well. With any luck, we will hear more from Cricket soon!

Soma, from the WatchTheGuild.com Community site, set up a group campaigning for Edgar to be on The Guild. Felicia has said how important Edgar is a number of times (although don't spread that around - his ego doesn't need to get any bigger) so this is a brilliant example of how doing something good can be rewarded. Not that Edgar asked for a reward, but it gives you a warm feeling to know that people appreciate what you do. I may have teared up when I realised he was going to be there...yes, I am soppy, so sue me!

News from the set
Well one thing is certain - no spoilers are going to be posted around! This is for two reasons: Felicia has said that she doesn't want any spoilers released and no-one wants to upset Felicia (remember my Kim Evey interview? You don't want to get on the wrong side of Felicia...). Seriously, though, I am very happy about this and I'm sure that the reason we haven't heard any rumours are that people respect what Felicia is doing and do not want to ruin it. In this cynical world that's a great thing. But we do know that Sandeep had an action-packed day yesterday. And we also know that Felicia, generous soul that she is, has passed her cold on. You might say she was Contagious...

News from the Sigler
And as if to help me with linking this eclectic post together, Scott Sigler has posted Episode 1 of 'Contagious' as a podcast today. Contagious is the follow-up to the supremely horrible 'Infected'. And by that I mean that 'Infected' was gory, suspenseful and full of horror. Contagious is due for release on December but, as with 'Infected', Scott is giving it all away, bit by delicious bit. But you'll be buying the book. Believe me, you'll be buying the book! Mr Sigler is a very fluffy bunny of a person (he loves people referring to him like that) and gets his kicks knowing that he is doing good works. Which is the only explanation that works when you consider that he is giving it all away on his site this Christmas! Yes, you can make your own deliciously spine-tingly gifts  courtesy of the Future Dark Overlord (tm). Get your arts-and-crafts hats on because here is all you need to create a DVD for your friends containing over 50 hours of unabridged audiobooks in MP3 format:
  • EARTHCORE
  • ANCESTOR
  • THE ROOKIE
  • NOCTURNAL Episodes 1-5
  • BLOODCAST SEASON #1
How cool is that?! Go to his website and there are instructions and even a DVD insert and label designs (yes, you need to supply your own gluestick and blank DVDs, don't be a cheapskate!).

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Guild S2, Ep2 now up and more Felicia Interviews

Maybe I can learn to love MSN Video. 
It could happen. At the moment this is how I am viewing The Guild Season 2, so I'm getting used to it, at least. I could use XBox Live but that would mean getting off the computer (not happening at the moment!) or, if I have had one, a Zune. But it's MSN Video at the moment and, you know, it's not that bad, just very different to YouTube. It looks slicker and the difference in the sound and picture quality is very noticeable. Episode 2 is now released and...well it had me laughing out loud and I have my new catchphrase! I'll share it later once you've seen it - it's up on MSN Video and if you lose the link just look for 'What's Hot' - it's bound to be there! And I've just noticed that it's also now available directly from the WatchTheGuild.com front page - sweeeeet :)

Felicia on The Game Show from thestream.tv
Ms Day was a busy lady last week (you know, for a change!) and did lots of interviews (ahem), including a live interview. Now think about that for a moment. It's one thing to do an interview where you can ask for edit or brush your hair if you need too but live - pretty much anything can happen. It was broadcast on thestream.tv live and the great thing about it was that not only was it live, anyone and everyone could participate, ask questions and make comments because of the nifty chat feature that is available during all the live broadcasts. 

Wrath of The Day
There is now an edited version available to view or download entitled 'Wrath of The Day' (think about it) and I recommend it. The Game Show is about gaming and there is discussion about World of Warcraft but lots and lots more. Like how Felicia angered Neil Patrick Harris during a signing session, saucy Cheetos revelations and who the top 7 red-headed game characters are (some surprises there - no Amy from Sonic, for a start!). I was introduced to thestream.tv recently by my Guildie friend Cricket Lee and it's really growing on me. I used to love live shows on Tv when I was young because of the excitement of knowing you didn't know what was going to happen next (Tiswas - I heart you!). Add to that the fact that it's on your computer AND you can participate and it is a tempting proposition. These are professionally produced shows and it's worth having a look through the wide variety that's on offer.

The Desert Bus For Hope
Felicia also did an interview with The Desert Bus who are raising money for Child's Play Charity. It is the second year that LoadingReadyRun.com have done this event and they have already raised $50,000. They took questions from people to ask Felicia, including one from a certain Edgar Garcia...I am going to listen to the rest of the interview later today but the bits I've heard so far have been very funny (how much rivalry is there between Felicia and Jeff Lewis?!). You can Digg their attempt, too - the more people know about it, the longer they will be out there...

Monday, December 1, 2008

No-one expects the Fannish Inquisition!

Did I mention I interviewed Felicia Day last week? I did?
Blah blah blah I've been really busy - yeah, I know you're bored with hearing that so here's a post that isn't about me writing my book, doing interviews and hanging with the stars like Felicia. Instead, this is about two great interweb events you may have missed.

And now for something completely different
Monty Python is now officially on YouTube! As they have put on their channel:

"For 3 years you YouTubers have been ripping us off, taking tens of thousands of our videos and putting them on YouTube. Now the tables are turned. It's time for us to take matters into our own hands... 
We've launched our own Monty Python channel on YouTube....
But we want something in return.
None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years."

Yay for the Great British Compromise! 

Fannish Inquistion? Shurley Shome Mishtake!
And one of their great sketches (which isn't yet officially available but you can find easily if you look...) is the Spanish Inquisition. Were you expecting that? In a clever twist there is a relatively new site that has nothing at all to do with Monty Python but everything to do with the news that matters most - Sci-fi news! The Fannish Inquisition has been going for a few months and already there is some brilliant coverage of Firefly and Stargate conventions including lots of interviews, podcasts from the events and photos.

Creation Con in Burbank, LA 
The latest reports are from the Stargate and Firefly Conventions in Burbank which were held on Nov 21-23 2008. There is so much to read about the event! I am totally in awe of the attention to detail, depth of interviews and reporting and the quality of the photos. Stunning. Plus there are podcasts interviews, too! Ron Glass, Jewel Staite, Adam Bladwin, Summer Glau and Gina Torres were all at the event and I a sure that you won't find better coverage than this. You know I've been busy but I couldn't help but spend far too much time reading up on what my favourite stars have been up to! So for everyone who, like me, didn't get to go, this is the next best thing.