Updates and observations: OH HAI INTERNET

Caution: Hubby at work!
So then, what's been going on with you? Seems like a long time since I wrote anything here but even I was shocked to see it was nearly 2 weeks! I'll be out of the Blogger's Loose Association with No Set Agenda at this rate. So - what have I been doing, I hear you ask? The answer is Pretty Cool Stuff. And because it is traditional for me to mark periods of not blogging with a megalistpost, here's a quick rundown:

• Building Sets & Polishing Scripts for 'Mind My Brains, Darling!': new posts up on HigletFilms.com about our progress. And don't forget that you still have 23 days left to help us raise the last $239 we need to reach our goal on Indiegogo.com. A huge thank you to all the generous people who have donated so far - you rock!
• Follow ups from VCON: We made some great new contacts at VCON and we're hoping to be able to share some more of this in the coming weeks. And I'll be publishing an interview with Alyssa Ciccarelli from Riese the Series on PinkRaygun soon. Riese is a Steampunk webseries that was launched in 2009. It has been picked up by Syfy.com and will be airing every Tuesday and Thursday on http://www.syfy.com/riese/
• Fighting GDS with Legend of Neil and Jeff Lewis 5 Min Comedy Hour: Guild Deficiency Syndrome can be temporarily relieved by ingesting quantities of these two shows, although 'ingesting' might not be the word to use given the last 'Jeff Lewis...' ep. And next week is the LAST EVER episode of Legend of Neil, which is a whole other type of syndrome waiting to happen. Will our suffering never end? Yes, because 'Knights of The Guild' podcast is still running with new shows and competitions! Guaranteed to cheer up the most down-in-the-mouth Guildie :)
•  IAWTV opens its doors to....everyone!: After months of debates, it seems the IAWTV has decided to allow anyone with an interest in webseries to register as a member. You might have missed this because it is not on the public IAWTV website or Twitter stream because there are issues in updating these sites. But Jack Ferry has done an admirable job of spreading the word, and it was this article by him that really got the ball rolling. Liz Shannon Miller wrote about the change on NewTeeVee.com and Tubefilter also reported on the changes. I think the challenges for the IAWTV are large but not insurmountable, and it will be interesting to see what happens. I think this a massive step in the right direction.
• Castle - must-watch TV!: Ah, there are only 2 things I'm watching on TV atm and Castle is one of them. Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic and all deliver a dependable dollop of pure enjoyment.
• Caprica - also must-watch TV!: From the ridiculous to the sublime? Possibly. All I know is that I love this show immensely and hope it is renewed for another season or five.

Countdown to Caprica: only 1 day to go!

(Image from the front page of The Caprican, where you can keep up to date with all the news on Caprica)

Yes, I'm excited!
Tomorrow on Syfy (and Space here in Canada), CAPRICA, the brand new series set 58 years before Battlestar Galactica, airs. I was undecided about Caprica until I saw the pilot. Once I had watched it I couldn't wait to see the rest of the series - and it's been a long wait! You do NOT need to have seen BSG to enjoy Caprica (as @Kimevey has also pointed out). If you were a fan of BSG, though, there will be some nods to the future. I don't think anyone is going to be disappointed.

For the last 12 days I've been counting down on PinkRaygun.com with a series of articles and in case you missed any, here's a complete list:

Twelve Tribes Not Feuding 
Eleven: a Parallel Universe?
Ten Lords a-Leaping 
Nine Ladies Dancing 
Eight Daggetts Missing
Seven Characters, Mainly
Six writers, writing 
Five Finals Beginning? 
Four Ladies Leading
Three Friends a-Plotting
Two Families Grieving
And one God to rule them all

Tomorrow my report from the Caprica Set Tour, including the Q&A with the cast, will be up on PinkRaygun, too. It was a great day and I hope I have the opportunity to go back there when they are filming Season 2.

With Dollhouse finishing next week, Caprica is my big hope for a new blockbuster series. Of course I'll still be watching Castle, too. Castle is the only other thing TV show I regularly watch at the moment, and I love it.

Dollhouse and Castle: They deserve another season (or five!)

It's the season climax tonight on Dollhouse...

And I won't be watching. Huh? No, it's true, I won't. It's not that I don't want to, but rather that Hulu has decided to lock down even more and so Hotspot Shield doesn't work. I've missed the last three episodes of Dollhouse, my DVR isn't working and so I am resigned to not watching because I'd rather wait for the DVD to come out (Miracle Laurie is my new favourite actor!). I'll be honest, the first few episodes of Dollhouse did not thrill me, which has been one of the reasons I've not really blogged about it.  But from episode 6, "Man on the Street" it became the show I always hoped it would be and I was hooked. I ordered the DVD because I also wanted to see the unaired Felicia Day episode, too. One day we will find out the whole story behind this season. I can wait.

Campaign to save Dollhouse

There is one, of course. There's rumours, counter-rumours and downright speculation over whether Dollhouse will be renewed or not. And what the best way to ensure it is. There are various campaigns and Whedonesque has some details. I would say one easy and effective way is to send a tweet to @Foxbroadcasting telling them how much you enjoy the show.

Castle

Meanwhile Nathan Fillion's hugely enjoyable new series, Castle, is also apparently under the threat of cancellation. Castle is entertaining, witty and has Nathan Fillion in nearly every scene. I don't think I need to say more! And Nathan Fillion is now on Twitter, which is interesting...And - have you seen the xkcd.com cartoons this week featuring Nathan? Well check them out - hi-larious!

Dr Horrible Awards, Castle etc....Another post of last resort *sigh*

I really haven't abandoned blogging

Everyday I think about my lovely little blog here and resolve to blog. But, gosh darn it, I am trying so hard to finish my book (116,500 words and counting) that I don't have the time to sit and blog. Normal service will be resumed very shortly.

In the meantime here's some things you might have missed:

The voting for the Horrible Awards is now open!

With lots of great people to vote for make sure you look through all the entries. If you wanted to vote for Evil WorldofHiglet (and who wouldn't!) scroll down to the 'Best Non-ELE' award. It's the first time I (I mean, my Evil twin) has ever been nominated for an award, so it would be great if I got more than one vote. No pressure. But if you wanted to spread the word then that would be cool, too. And Tabz is up for 'Best Non-Musical Vid' with 'The Destroyer - MyboyfriendCat'.

Felicia Day explains Twitter

Felicia and Tabz are the two people who got me into Twitter in the first place. 2600+ Tweets later and I love using it in conjunction with FriendFeed. Lots of people are confused by it, though, and Felicia has written a very good introduction to get you started.

Nathan Fillion talks Castle

The great Castle fan site http://castletv.net/ have a wonderful interview with Nathan Fillion today. Ahh, Nathan....er, anyway, it's well worth a look!

I'm hoping the first draft of my book will be finished by next week, and then we can get back to some sense of normalcy. Anyone know any literary agents.....?

ELE Applications close in 3 DAYS!

October 11th is the closing date

So you'd better get cracking or you'll miss the cut off for being considered for the DVD. The numbers of applications are rising, and if the amount of new posts on Wonderflonium.com this morning is anything to go by, the ELE (and Evil WorldofHiglet!) are going to have their work cut out for them looking through them all. All the rules and information are on the Evil League of Evil website so make sure you follow their instructions. I did a post last week with some pointers, too, and there is so much information on the Internet about creating videos that there really is no excuse to have a go. Come on - it can't be worse than this, after all!

My Evil Twin's ELE Competition closes on the 11th, too.

I've had several correct entries to the competition where you can win Evil WorldofHiglet assessing your application to the ELE. You don't need to have done a video and if you win you will get a video on YouTube critiquing your application in best Evil WorldofHiglet style. What? You're too chicken? Thought so....but if you decide to have a go all you need to do is identify all the DVD and the book in this picture. How could I make it more simple? (Note: I wrote 'simpler' first and then cringed and berated myself for such slack use of language. It's all about standards, people).

Stuff happened

And in more, related, news:

• Dr Horrible is finally available from iTunes in the UK and Australia
• Felicia Day has Twittered that Season 2, Ep 1 of The Guild now has a rough cut (very exciting!)
• Felicia has also Twittered that she is appearing in more than 1 episode of a new sitcom, Roommates
• A trailer (complete with spoilers) has been posted on YouTube for Nathan Fillion's new series, Castle which is due to be released in 2009.

And, finally

Dark forces are at work, my friends. A new Evil WorldofHiglet video is due at the end of this week and this one is not to be missed. I can't say anything else about it because it is filed under 'SuperSecretProject' but this is the one. Tell your friends.

PS

Kim Evey was chatting again on the Watch The Guild Community site a couple of days ago after a gruelling weekend of shooting The Guild. She said she still wants a Higlet and that she was going to go and watch the videos. Excited? I was so hyper I nearly forgot to do a screenshot! Hehe. Yes. I am very sad, but - Kim Evey! And anyone (Dani, Chris, Nas, Nathan or anyone else) who tells you I was starting rumours on the chat is completely wrong. It was a misunderstanding, nothing more.