Black Friday - shop online with KNTR and make a difference!

The Kids Need To Read Holiday Shop is open

....and they have a wonderful selection and many items have 25% off during their Black Friday sale event. This event runs from November 28th and November 30th - it's on NOW!

The have books, audio books, jewellry, games, plushy toys, bath sets...lots of choices and every item you buy goes towards funding the work of Kids Need To Read. The work they do as a Literacy Foundation is simple but so powerful. From their mission statement:

"There are great numbers of schools that have not been able to buy new books for their students to read for years. Kids Need to Read was established to fight this disaster by sending exciting new books to under-funded schools and libraries across the United States, as well as to other institutions that serve children, particularly disadvantaged children whose gift from Kids Need to Read is sometimes the first book they have ever owned."

The foundation was set up by award-winning author P J Haarsma (who writes the fantastic 'Softwire' books) and actor Nathan Fillion (who starred as Captain Hammer in Doctor Horrible and as Mal in Firefly and Serenity). The KNTR Holiday Shop also has signed items such is this whole set signed by Alan Tudyk (Wash from Firefly/Serenity) which you can 'Buy it now' for only $80! 

This has three great signed items - that's three presents sorted out for $80 and you don't even need to leave the house or the warming glow of your computer monitor! Plus you know that you have supported a foundation that is helping to bring the gift of books to children (from the KNTR Mission Statement):

"Reading – it is the single most important skill children must learn to be productive members of society. Books open their minds, inspire their imaginations and stimulate their intelligence. As budget cutbacks increase, funding for libraries is often the first thing to go, especially in failing school systems."

Go and visit the KNTR Holiday shop now! It's open until Christmas but the special Black Friday offers end on November 30th.

Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show: Now with added Wash!

TCMS Season 2 is well under way....

And the latest episode stars a familiar face - Alan Tudyk! I'm a HUGE fan of GTCMS a weekly webseries starring Kiko, whose infectiously happy mangling of the English language is a real pleasure to behold. Each week a guest (or victim) visits with Kiko and her happy band of, er, friends and chaos ensues. In the latest episode lobster fisherman Girly Boy (or Gary Boyd, or Wash!) finds himself in mortal danger. Only the collective strength of Team GTCMS and their balls can save him. 

Who is responsible for this medley of manic madness?

Kim Evey is writer, producer and also stars as Kiko. Ms Evey and her husband Greg Benson also produce a number of other webseries including 

Retarded Policeman (perhaps not what you are expecting and all the better for it)
Two Hot Girls in the Shower (definitely not what you are expecting and infinitely funnier)
The Guild (oh yes! I may have mentioned The Guild before a few hundred times!)

Where can you see this fantastic webseries?

On the Intertubes, of course! You can either view on YouTube or directly at the Crackle.com.

And they are on Facebook, too. I've embedded Season 2, Episode 7 (with Alan Tudyk) here:

What are you waiting for? Watch them all now!

Anything else?

Unicow (he's a unicorn cow), one of Kiko's friends, has his own series with episode 1 called 'Unicow gets laid'. And this is exactly what you would expect. I confidently predict that you won't have seen a funnier deadpan performance from anyone in a Unicow costume before. Enjoy!

More Monkey Business - Wash goes Bananas!

Alan Tudyk signs up for more Monkey Magic

Remember those cute Space Monkey that Kids Need To Read auctioned some time ago? Well, they have a new auction with this cute little fella:

This one-of-a-kind Space Monkey's wonderfully bright shirt has been signed by Alan Tudyk (who played Wash in Firefly and Serenity) and it also comes complete with the essential accessories: a KNTR button and plastic dinosaurs. See the full details on the KNTR website and then fly, leaf on the wind-like, over to eBay and place your bid. You've got until August 6th, so you'd best hurry....

Browncoat Bonanza! - KNTR have all the books....

Thought you could only get your Firefly/Serenity fix via your TV?
Think again! Apart from being able to see 'Serenity' on the big screen at a location near you soon, thanks to 'Can't Stop The Serenity', there are also six official books that can expand your understanding and appreciation of Joss Whedon's 'Verse. Kids Need To Read are now auctioning all six of these books - and every book has Nathan Fillion’s and Alan Tudyk’s signatures inside! Imagine having all those books and each signed by Mal and Wash - incredible! Now, this is going to be a mega-auction so I would strongly suggest you think about how much you are getting. Six books for yourself - or - you could have six Browncoat friends forever in your debt by distributing them has highly-prized Christmas/Birthday presents. There have already been 7 bids, so get over to eBay before 15th June to get your bid in.

The Guild updates
Jeff Lewis (who plays Vork in The Guild) has written a movie called 'For Christ's Sake' that will be premiering at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival this weekend. It has an 8/10 rating at and a good review at Rotten Tomatoes, so it would be well worth checking out. WatchTheGuild.com has full screening information. And Jeff Lewis, along with Felicia Day (Codex) and Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo) will be performing with 'Being Humans', and Improv group for the next two Fridays in LA. A great opportunity to see these rising stars live - go to WatchTheGuild.com for all the details.

The Guild, Dollhouse and Buffy Paley updates

Episode 9 - Owning Bladezz
Felicia Day has updated her blog with news that the next episode of her webseries 'The Guild' has been posted on YouTube. Needing to deal with the video problem Bladezz left them with, the rest of the gang found the lever needed to convince him to capitulate. Another funny gem from the team! I watched it first this morning and there were already 10,000 views. Going back 2 hours later and there are more than 13, 000 views. If you haven't seen any of them yet try WatchTheGuild.com for links to all the episodes plus news, awards and message boards.

Dollhouse - new cast member
The Hollywood Reporter has Alan Tudyk in it's headlines yesterday because he is to star in a new, as yet untitled, ABC comedy pilot. Among the other news in the article is the update that Harry Lennix has joined the Dollhouse cast.

Buffy Reunion at the Paley
There are now video highlights for all the PaleyFest events on the Paley website, including the Buffy Reunion. It's a short clip but it does feature a little footage of the stars taking the stage and Joss and Sarah talking about the show. News also on the Paley site is that the whole of the Buffy Reunion event including 'Once More, With Feeling' and the Panel is going to be shown at the New York Paley on Friday, April 25; 6:00 to 8:15 pm. There is free entry for Paley members who RSVP and tickets are on sale for $10. A great opportunity for any Buffy fans in the area, check the site for details.

Joss Whedon's Journal
With the WGA Strike grinding on, Joss is still on the front line

--------------------

Joss' Journal February 7th
It a good thing to be on the picket line. Well, not a good thing in that we shouldn't have to picket, but, you know what I mean. Everyone has been so supportive and so good to see the troupes (geddit!) turn up. But the interviews! Man! I love to talk, sure, but I'd rather hear the Other Side doing some talking of the good variety instead of me getting all worked up. And it leaves little time for other things.

But I did A Good Thing, held up my Board and helped a potential to make their debut. It was a small enough thing and I'm happy to spend my picketing time doing something useful other than interviews, autographs (I got some good ones!), eat pizza. And doughnuts. And ...well, you get the picture. And I'll be there again for the Sci-Fi day, the Why Don't They Just Listen Day and the Better Agree Soon day.

--------------------

Nathan Fillion - the Repo Brothers rise again

You tend to remember a guy whose eyes bleed.
The being cleft in twain made an impression, too. I was first introduced to Nathan Fillion via Buffy Season 7, where he played Caleb, a defrocked preacher far south of normal with an unhealthy appetite for The First Evil and an unholy sideline in misogyny. He was quite magnetic and, at the time, I wondered where this actor had come from and why I didn't know him from anything else. The final episode of Buffy Season 7 starts with Caleb, bleeding darkly from eyes, nose and mouth, being rendered impotent (as an enemy) by Buffy slicing him in two with her neat new toy.

Oh, the irony
Of course, Nathan had been busy working away for many years before Buffy. Including a starring role in another of Joss Whedon's quality products, a little-known space/western. You might have heard of it: Firefly. In fact, Mr Fillion has been working his butt off (I refrain form any further comments in this direction because I know it is not a subject that he wishes to be discussed) on lots of projects, films, voice-overs etc. For a very complete run-down of his many works try NathanFillion.org or the Internet Movie Database.

Nathan Nation
And now he has added another string to his bow. The pilot for 'Repo Brothers', written by the man himself, has been picked up by ABC. Apparently the idea came to him while he was demonstrating his lock-picking abilities to Alan Tudyk (yes, Wash from Firefly) in his front room... See NathanFillion.org for more information. What I'd like to know is will Nathan return the favour and ask to cast Joss Whedon and his brothers Zack or Jed in the roles?

More Nathan!
Kids Need To Read, as if anticipating a Nathan-heavy news week, have an auction of a 'White Noise 2: The Light' DVD signed by Nathan. The auction is on ebay until 4th April, so you need to hurry on that one.

More Auctions!
Kids Need To Read are also auctioning a signed photo of Ashley Cole, the rightly-famous football (ok, soccer!) star. Any Chelsea or England fans should go to the KNTR website or head over to ebay. This one finishes on the 6th of April. And remember, if you want to support KNTR but don't think you could use any of the items up for auction, think about Christmas /Holiday / Birthday presents.

Joss' Journal
Will return tomorrow. Is the strike going well, and have the Minions revolted for the last time?

Jewel Staite(s) the case for more Firefly!

Good news, everyone!
Serenity2.net has a great post this morning about the Supanova Expo in Melbourne this weekend. Included is a brilliant videoclip of Jewel Staite (Kaylee from Firefly and Serenity) talking about Kaylee and news that there is going to be a special edition of Firefly released later this year. Fly over to Serenity2.net to find out what Jewel would like to see happen for Kaylee in any future Serenity/Firefly...

Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion, reunited again
Thanks to Felicia Day for putting me onto Google Alerts in her blog. I don't know how I managed to fill my inbox without it! But it did bring me news of some great photos from a recent 'Halo 3, The Show' taken by danregal. There are 118 photos of the panel, with a concentration of shots of Nathan and Alan. The accompanying description is short but sounds like a good time was had by all, especially the Browncoats.

Latest news on Joss and Nathan

Happy birthday dear Alan....
It's Alan Tudyk's birthday today so lots of birthday best on it's way to him. Maybe Joss will reward his unending plugging of a Serenity sequel with some special news. Or maybe just cake. Yes, probably just cake.

Does Joss ever sleep?
That's something not addressed in his journals so far, but I reckon that if he does sleep it can only be for five mins per night, and even then his brain is hooked up to a thought-processor so that he can still churn out killer dialogue and fantastic plots unabated. His minions must have been on overtime for the last few months because quite apart from the X-men, Buffy, Angel and Firefly comics Joss has been working on a musical! No wonder he said in his Journal (see previous editions) that he had been spending time on his guitar...! Add that to the Dollhouse work he has now started up again after the strike and that's one busy bunny.

Dr Whatsit's thingummy who-now?
The musical has the catchy title of 'Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' and stars Neil Patrick Harris as Doctor Horrible. I'm a big fan of Mr Harris (loved Starship Troopers) and he has some experience of playing doctors (he'll always be Dougie Howser to me...). It also stars NATHAN FILLION (sorry, the caps lock must got have stuck on there) as a superhero Captain Hammer. It is going to be Internet-based, it's a Joss-family collaboration project, is filming now and will be out soon. How great is that?! Plus, Cap'n Tightpants is going to be back in action - let's hope that he has to sport a suitably snug-fitting-spandex-type superhero costume. Ah, yeah!

Paley BTVS Reunion to be streamed online
And just to prove Whedonesque is a truly a great source of everything Joss-related to cap a wonderful news day the upcoming Buffy Reunion is going to be streamed live. I've sent my questions to the panel so don't miss your opportunity to ask the Buffy crew a question. The lineup is amazing and to anyone who has a ticket - you are lucky indeed.

Joss' Journal - Jan 02nd 2008
"Dear Diary, Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy. Today we were kidnapped by hillfolk, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever!"

Can't say fairer than that. Substitute 'minion' for 'sister', 'pompous' for 'creative', 'adoring fans' for 'hillfolk' and that's about it. Gonna sleep now.