Seasons Picks! All I want for Christmas...

Isabelle illustrates the opposite of my last few weeks

'Tis the Season to make lists!
I actually enjoy making lists. To illustrate that fact, here's a list of the lists I've made recently:

• Things To Do. 
• Christmas Things To Do.
• Really Important Things To Do.
• OMG IF YOU DON'T GET THESE THINGS DONE TODAY THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL END!!!!! TO DO.

One of the items on all the lists was 'do some frakking blog posts you lazy frakker'. This is really unfair because:

• I've been really busy and not at all lazy
• calling yourself names when making lists is probably a sign of mental distress
• the distress being caused by have too much to do, which underlines the fact that I'm not lazy. 
• Meh
• I have a cold *cough* *cough* 

EDIT: I started this yesterday and our interview with PopCultureMonster has since come out so here's another category: Something to Read: Interview with Higlet Films.

Back to the lists...
I have some wonderful seasonal diversions and gift suggestions that might have passed you by and I'm going to try something new - the 'Something to watch/Something to buy/Something to listen to/Something to support' list. If it works out I may do more - so let me know. YOU'RE WELCOME!


Something to Watch
Sean Becker. Jeff Lewis. Assorted Guildies and associates. Mix, lace with profanity and serve shaken, not stirred, over a humorous bed of NSFW. That is the The Jeff Lewis 5-Minute Comedy Hour.

Here's the latest (shot on location) - Episode VI: Hawaii


Something to Buy:

"Songs The Brother's Warner Taught Me" - this album from the indomitable Megan Lynch (@may_gun) is a Christmas Gift winner on many levels (warning, new list ahead):

• So many memories from a youth spent glued to the TV watching Loonie Tunes
• A wide range of styles and moods all brought together in one delicious album
• A unique collection of songs, many of which have no other recent recordings
• Supporting a truly independent and hugely talented artist
• Bonus tracks if you download/buy NOW!

I reviewed the album here and you can find out about her Holiday Giveaway on her site.

Something to listen to:
I'm going to cheat on the list straight away and recommend 2 shows. I don't always get time to listen to longer podcasts so they are stacking up at a rate of knots. This week I listened to:


New Mediacracy Episode 18
Zadi Diaz, Steve Woolf  and Chris McCaleb are joined by Barrett Garese, Brett Register, Craig Frank and Jamie Blair and chat about what web video entertainment is/should be/could be/isn't. Fascinating debate from this all-too-infrequent podcast.

Indie Intertube Episode 48
This weekly podcast is broadcast live (usually on a Wednesday) and has an active online forum. Destini and Shadhavar are great hosts with an encyclopedic knowledge of the webseries community: the people, the shows and the gossip :) Last week covered lots of webseries including Pretty, Diary of a Single Mom and Hard Drive 13. Plus they usually devote the second half to call-ins and this episode includes Joe Wilson (Vampire Mob). You can tune in this week for more updates and guests.

Something to Support:
Ok, cheating again as there are two causes you should know about, and you can vote daily for both:


Knights of The Guild - Podcast Awards: Entertainment category
Kenny. Jenni. Guildies. News. Views. Interviews...this show has everything if you are even remotely interested in The Guild, so vote for them because they are awesome.


Browncoats: Redemption - Mashable Awards: Most Creative Social Good Campaign
There was a write up of the award today, and if you don't know about Browncoats: Redemption, the fan-made film set in the Firefly/Serenity 'Verse that is raising money for charity, then get over to their site and order your copy today! Mine has pride of place :)

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.

The Guild, Sean Becker and Mind My Brains, Darling! updates...

The Guild Season 4 over already?! Say it ain't so!
Episode 12, "Guild Hall" is out and..well, watch it and see for yourself:



It was a great ending to a fantastic season, and congratulations to the whole team! Because of my VCON duties with "Mind My Brains, Darling!" I didn't get chance to post the Episode 11 review before the finale came out, so there is a bumper review on PinkRaygun.com this week covering Episodes 11 and 12.

Jeff Lewis and Sean Becker - back next week!
Although The Guild has finished you can still see new Jeff Lewis next week as his new show "The Jeff Lewis 5-Minute Comedy Hour" starts then. Here's the new promo (NSFW):



Sean Becker is the Director/Editor and we'll be seeing a whole new side to Jeff, so make sure to tune in Next Tuesday (Oct 12th) for the first episode.

HigletFilms at VCON 35!
We attended VCON 35 in Vancouver last weekend to promote our new webseries, "Mind My Brains, Darling!" and had a wonderful time. I've written about it on HigletFilms.com. Our fundraising on Indiegogo is going well. and a huge thank you to everyone who has donated and spread the word. We haven't quite reached our total yet but there is still time. We released the second teaser last week, and here it is:



Let us know what you think!

The Guild, Comic Con, Browncoats: Redemption...Mega-post!

Codex remains unconvinced by Bladezz suggestions, and suggestiveness

The Guild at San Diego Comic Con
Excitement is building about what is going to be revealed at Comic Con this year by The Guild. With Season 4, Episode 2 out this week, the Knights of The Guild CompanionCast out now and my review out soon on PinkRaygun, it's already a Guild-filled week.

But wait - there's more! Today PinkRaygun.com have published the first part of "Homecoming: The Guild at San Deigo Comic Con 2009". This is a chapter from my sadly as-yet unpublished book, "From Cheetos to Stripper Bus: The Ultimate Fanguide to how Felicia Day built The Guild Empire Level by Level", and is a great primer to what might happen at SDCC this week. Parts 2 and 3 will be out tomorrow and Friday.

The full schedule of The Guild activities is on WatchTheGuild.com. If you are lucky enough to be at SDCC then make sure you get to signings and the panel early because it is going to be BUSY!!

What do you do when you have too much to do?
Usually I panic for a bit, make a cup of tea, think about doing a list and then get on with the easiest bit. The whole 'eating a frog' thing is good in theory but I don't often practice it. And sometimes I do completely the opposite and invent more things to do because they are more fun. And this is what happens then: (Greg Benson from @mediocrefilms is to blame for this -and here's the proof).




There's so much to get through here that I'm keeping it as brief as possible!


Celebrate The Web at San Diego during Comic Con
Since Jenni Powell and Kim Evey organised the first Celebrate The Web event after The Streamys this year, the idea has really caught on and even after releasing extra tickets, the events are sold out. But never fear - there is a wait list. The Second CTW has been orgainsed by Jenni Powell, Taryn O'Neill and Stephanie Thorpe and is being held in San Diego on Saturday. It is jam-packed with web video goodness. Be sure to keep checking CelebrateTheWeb.com for updates!

Jeff Lewis 50-minute Comedy Hour during Comic Con
I received my invite to this event yesterday on Facebook and sadly I had to decline, but - wait! The Celebrate The Web even is being STREAMED LIVE so no one has to miss anything!

Article on Whedonage about Comic Con
Whedonage.com has been offline for a couple of days in preparation for....something :) They will be covering lots of Whedon-related happenings at SDCC and you can follow them on Twitter @whedonage. When the site is back up they'll be something from me on there, too.


Browncoats: Redemption interview with Michael Dougherty - who is at Comic Con
I had the very great pleasure of interviewing Michael Dougherty last week all about the upcoming film, Browncoats: Redemption. All the information and links to the videos are on PinkRaygun. I'm so excited for this film - thanks for a great interview, Michael!

Goodnight Princess and the Vimeo Awards
We submitted Goodnight Princess to the Vimeo Awards this week and we're hoping it will do well. I posted about it over at HigletFilms.com. If you've not seen out micro-shortform internet play yet then please do - we are very proud of what we acheived.


New Webseries - now in pre-production!
As I said, we're busy! It's all coming together really well and we'll be able to tell you more about it really soon.

Monetising my ELE videos
YouTube have told me I can make money from the Evil League of Evil webseries I did - I wonder if Joss will mind? So far no one seems to have a clear view either way - what do you think?

Whatever you are doing have a great week. I'll be back as soon as I get another minute!

Cocktails with Felicia Day and The Guild - TONIGHT!

Dark Horse Weekend at GoldenAppleComics.com in LA

...and meet Zach Whedon tomorrow!
Of course, to do so it would help if you lived in or near California, but fear not if you don't because Kenny from the Knights of The Guild (KOTG) podcast will be there to record a microcast, so we will be able to get the highlights from tonight's festivities. Once again KOTG deliver the goods!

The whole Guild cast will be there from 6:00 PM: Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, Jeff Lewis, Robin Thorsen, Amy Okuda, Vince Caso and Kim Evey, the Producer, will also be there. It should be some party. If you manage to get there don't forget to pop into The Guild chat afterwards (or even during!) and let us know how it went.

The Guild Comic #1
Sales of The Guild comic appear to have been brisk with many Guildies reporting that they have been sold out in local comic stores. And reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. On release day I popped into The Guild chat and people who had managed to get hold of a copy were really happy with the whole package:

Tarseith: I'm pleased on how it was done. From a comic, artisitic, and a Guild point-of-view - In short it is definitely a welcome addition to the Guild Universe

Osiromon: I can quote my local comic book dealer.  Lucky you pre-ordered, we're sold out.

These are the first editions, folks, and apart from being part of The Guild story, are something to tell your kids about (just make sure you get proper protective covers and don't, whatever you do, let you kids actually touch them! :)).

In completely unrelated news did you see that the First Superman Comic sold for $1m on 22nd Feb 2010?

First Superman Comic sold for $1m via BBC news

Makes you think, huh.....?

Lil' Guildies!?!
And we have to mention yesterday's shock announcement. Apparently someone let the cat out of the bag a day early about an animated Guild Series. Get all the details from WatchTheGuild.com and enjoy this amazing new creation here:

The Guild: News Round-up!

The Guild Season 3 DVD available on Amazon.com

It's the 3rd of March already!
It was hubby's birthday yesterday (Yay! Cake and cookies!) so HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY (for yesterday). Anyway, it always amazes me how quickly we get to March and so much has happened over the last few weeks with regards to The Guild that I thought some clip notes might be helpful. You know, in case Felicia rings up one day and asks you if you've seen her  latest BrownCoatsMovie interview and you didn't know anything about it - imagine how embarrassing that would be!

Streamy Nominations....all SEVEN of them
After the live online announcement of the Streamy Awards nominations I posted a list of all The Guild's nommies. Congratulations to the whole team for a fantastic effort.

Comics, Covers and is it March 24th yet?

The Guild comic #1 is out on 24th March and Scott Allie is looking for feedback letters to feature in #2, so check out the 6-page preview and send your email to scotta at darkhorse dot com.

Interviews with Felicia

Browncoats movie


@osiramon has posted a multitude of excellent vids on his corpus D YouTube channel, like this one:



Knights of The Guild - powered by Unicorns
Kenny and Jenni continue to provide us with amazing podcasts - and videos! - choc-full of Guildie goodness with their podcasts and website. It was recently their one year anniversary and as a treat they threw a huge party and invited all the Guildies - fans, cast and crew - to attend. Those of us who couldn't attend in person (and some fans did make the trip) could watch online on Ustream. It was a great party! The full video is online, too (password is available from the Knights of The Guild website).

The best thing is to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode. With podcasts, microcasts and videos being released there is never long to wait for a new installment.

Codex's Staff Auction
Have you been following Greg Aronowitz as he tests Felicia's handiness as they make a Codex staff together? Greg has been posting amazing details about how he constructed the staff along with some brilliant videos of him and Felicia in perfect harmony. Part 3 is now up along with some exciting news. The staff they expertly made is up for auction! This is a one-of-a-kind piece made by Felicia (with some small help from Greg) and is sure to raise a lot of funds for The Red Cross.

Sean Becker and Jeff Lewis: a new collaboration
With a World Premiere tonight at the 'Shorts 'n' Spirits Showcase', the brand new series from Becker (Director of The Guild) and Lewis (Vork from The Guild) is set to hit an unsuspecting audience in Glendale. Titled 'The Jeff Lewis 5-Minute Comedy Hour' this series promises to show a whole new side of our beloved Guild Leader. When I interviewed Sean last year he said that people were going to be blown away by this series and that Jeff's writing was more than adequate. In an interview for Tubefilter as part of their article about the 'Shorts 'n' Spirits' night, Jeff Lewis was similarly enthusiastic, saying

"I had done sketch comedy in theater for many years and always wanted to widen my audience to the entire world. Sean was the fourth person I thought of.”  

Emerald City Comic Con
Some of the cast and crew of The Guild will be headed over to Seattle for ECCC and will be there on March 13th and 14th. Check the website for full details about when they will be appearing. Felicia Day will not now be appearing due to something or other, what was is now...erm....OH YES! She's landed a starring role in a movie!!! Gratz to Felicia and hope we find out more soon!

Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em Improv

Felicia Day flaunts her moustache while Jeff Lewis checks the loot

If you want to see some free-forming Improv that features some of your favourite webseries stars then you should make you way over to the Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em Improve Ustream site. They stream live thanks to the miracle of the intertubes and are frantically funny. Past shows are there to view on Ustream.

That's my little round-up - what did I miss? Please let me know what I've left out and I'll add it. Bye for now, Guildies!

And the Streamy Nominations are....

Dr Horrible screenshot from Streamy Awards Nominations live webcast this morning

Online excitement this morning!

The highly anticipated announcements for the 2010 Streamy Awards came this morning in a live broadcast on uStream (with a simultaneous broadcast on Justin.tv). The show started with a montage from last year's award ceremony and the acceptance speeches from Felicia Day and Joss Whedon. By that time the chat was raring to hear the nominations and what a lot of categories!

Calendars cleared for April 11th 2010
The Award ceremony is on April 11th and you can find a full list of the nominees on streamys.org but here's some noms of interest:

The Guild
SEVEN nominations this year:

• Best Comedy Web Series
• Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series: Sean Becker
• Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series: Felicia Day
• Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series: Sandeep Parikh
• Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series: Felicia Day
• Best Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Web Series: Vincent Caso, Felicia Day, Jeff Lewis, Any Okuda, Sandeep Parikh, Robin Thorsen
• Best Guest Star in a Web Series: Wil Wheaton

Legend of Neil

THREE nominations this year:

• Best Comedy Web Series
• Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series: Sandeep Parikh
• Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series: Tony Janning, Sandeep Parikh

...and Nathan Fillion is up for Best Guest Star in a Web Series for PG Porn (against Wil Wheaton, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Courteney Cox and Chris Hardwick).

The Crew, Epic Fu, How It Should Have Ended, Happy Tree Friends, Buck Hollywood, Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, Auto-tune The News and many others were also nominated, so check out the complete list and see if your favourite is up for an award!

People's Choice - coming soon...

It's not all down to the International Academy of Web Television. WE get to vote in the People's Choice Award - and that will be announced shortly. I tweeted @MarcHustvedt asking him when we'll find out and this was his reply:

Lots to look forward to in the coming weeks!

The Guild S2, Ep 7 Panic Attack on YouTube (plus Pax and Dragon*Con)

Relive the wonder of Season 2 on YouTube!

Season 2 continues to be posted onto YouTube with Ep 7 going live today. As ever, you can comment, rate and link if you would like - Felicia has always stressed how much she enjoys reading the comments.

I think Vork pretty much steals this episode - what do you think?

Pax 09

Tomorrow sees the start of Pax and some of The Guild crew are heading there already. Sadly, I won't be going (even though it's only 2.5 hrs drive away). Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Jeff Lewis (Vork) and Kim Evey (Producer) will be there though! Full details of their appearances are up on the Pax website and I put them up here a few days ago. Keep checking on the Pax site, though, just in case things change. Kim broke her foot recently while on holiday with her husband, Greg Benson (from Mediocre Films and so much more), so if you see her hobbling around make sure to give her gifts and sympathy. And go to Kim, Greg's and Sandeep's panel on Making a hit Webseries.

Plus, Wil Wheaton and Cricket Lee are already in Seattle for Pax! So many reasons to be there....sigh.

Dragon*Con 09

Meanwhile Felicia Day is going to Dragon*Con. I'm still not sure of what she is doing there but if I get a definitive answer I will let you know. Plus don't forget to find Jeff Carlisle, the brilliant who created some wonderful art for The Guild like this:

His work is many and varied - check out his website for more details. If I was going to Dragon*Con I would make sure I went to see Jeff.

And, of course, don't forget that Browncoats: Redemption will be premiering their trailer, too. I did an interview with the co-creator, Michael C. Dougherty on Whedonage.com last week and this promises to be a great event, so miss it at your peril!

Interview with Felicia Day on Knights of The Guild Podcast

(Knights of The Guild cool graphic - says it all! Used with kind permission from the KOTG website.)

Kenny and Jenni are back together again!

It's great to hear them both in Ep 7, Part 1 which is now up on KnightsoftheGuild.podbean.com (and can also be downloaded from iTunes). Jenni was absent for the last microcast and Kenny did a brilliant job on his own, but I missed the banter and it's great to hear them together again! Please leave a comment or even Digg the episode if you enjoyed it :)

I spoke to Kenny earlier about the show. It ranked #3 in the iTunes top 100 TV/Film audio podcasts today. That's a great achievement for a show that is barely 7 months old! And there's is plenty more coming to entertain and thrill us. Lots of interviews and discussions coming up. Plus - there are no details as yet - there is a possibility of some live broadcasts in the future. Yay!

Shocking revelations

Prepare to be shocked, though, because this podcast contains information of such magnitude that you may have to lie down afterwards. And I'm not talking about Jenni giving us the inside story of the stripper bus, or Felicia herself talking about the "Do You Want To Date My Avatar" video, or Poknish revealing that there are some people who haven't seen The Guild yet or even all Season 3 goodies. No, something MUCH MORE SHOCKING was revealed. I can't bring myself to tell you what it is, so you'll have to listen for yourself.*

And more to come!

Next week, starting tomorrow, is another bumper Guild-related week. On Sunday Jeff Lewis (Vork), Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo) plus Alexal Bretch and others will be performing in Improv at 8 PM (see the "Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" Facebook page for details). Not only that but "Do You Want To Date My Avatar" is on general release on Monday (see The Guild's Facebook page for the details). And on Thursday Season 2, Episode 6 will be released on YouTube. Episode 5 is now up:

- you can Digg it here if you like!

And if that wasn't enough, Part 2 of Ep 7 KOTG podcast will be released next Saturday, with the second part of the interview with Felicia Day.

Talk about a packed week! I think I need a lie down - now, where did my gold coins go?

(Felicia relaxing her Avatar on a nice comfy bed of gold coins. Taken by Kenny and used with kind permission from the KOTG website.)

*You know I said there was shocking news on the KOTG podcast? Well I don't want to type the words but this tells you all you need to know:

'A' is for Avatar, 'X' is for Xbox and 'N' is for Neil: Monday's Legendary Guild!

WUT?!?

Okay, maybe 'Z' is for titles so enigmatic Google won't know what to do with it. Nevermind. If I wanted this blog to be in top 100 I would...do the opposite of what I do (apparently). What I mean is tomorrow is going to be a great day if you have an internet connection and an Xbox.

Let's start with the 'A'. And the 'X'.

Tomorrow the 'Do You Want To Date My Avatar' video is released on Xbox live. You won't need a code anymore, just go to the marketplace and click...easy! And if you don't know what 'Do You Want To Date My Avatar' is then:

1) Where have you been?!?

2) It's the stunning new music video by The Guild starring all the cast: Felicia Day (Codex), Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Amy Okuda (Tink), Jeff Lewis (Vork), Robin Thorsen (Clara) and Vincent Caso (Bladezz). And they are all in FULL AVATAR COSTUME!

I reviewed the video last week and I can tell you - you will absolutely love it! And if you haven't got access to Xbox live you only have to wait until a week tomorrow to see it. If you can't wait to get your Sandeep and Felicia hit then this will please you mightily:

Season 2 of Legend of Neil has started!

Episode 7 (which is S2, Ep 1) was released on 27th of July (warning: NSFW!):

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

sucked into the world of video game, Zelda (yeah, you don't want to know how...that won't stop you from finding out, though). People lucky enough to be at the LoN panel at SD Comic Con were treated to the first 3 episodes. And the word is - OMG it's awesome! (Yes, that's 3 words. Sue me). To read a first-hand account you would do well to visit Dani Figueiredo's Comic Con reports on the Guildies Posterous blog. There are reports from other Guildies, there, too. They capture all the excitement, wonder and sheer joy of CC. She talks about the LoN panel in Part 5, but I recommend reading all of them. They are long but well worth it.

Episode 8 of LoN is released tomorrow and then every 2 weeks. I can't wait to see what going to happen!

Coping with GDS (Guild Deficiency Syndrome)

The Guild end of Season 2 uStream appearance

EDIT: The Guild Season 5 is NOW GO!

Are you feeling too tired/too hot/too bored/too meh?

If the answer to any of these (or any other affliction currently assailing you) is yes then the problem is most likely to be GDS (Guild Deficiency Syndrome). It's sweeping the globe faster than swine flu and is almost as potent. Read on to find out more about this debilitating condition and what you can do to protect yourself against its onslaught.

Symptoms

These include fatigue, loss of interest, restlessness,  waning enthusiasm for everything (even the Internet!), weight gain, weight loss, spots, freckles, shouting "Vorktanimo" at strangers....These are just a few of the many, many symptoms of GDS.

A Doctor testing something. 

Causes

First documented last year, scientists believe that these disparate symptoms are all part of a single condition, GDS. After baffling the lab geeks for a several weeks, an alpha geek realised that he, too, was suffering from the same symptoms. After stringent self-testing and cross referencing with available data Dr H, as we will call him, came to the unshakeable conclusion that it was directly caused by the lack of new episodes of The Guild. The data showed that between the end of Season 1 and the beginning of filming of Season 2 there was a massive increase in the number of geeks calling the 1-800-ihavetoomuchtimeonmyhandsandhavesearchedallthemedicalwebsitesandthinkimreallyillforsure

 nerdline. 

Diagnosis.....GDS

Doctor H developed a simple test to confirm whether a patient is suffering from GDS. Subjects were wired up to brain scans and shown a series of images. All those subjects reporting GDS symptoms showed massive brain activity when exposed to images from The Guild - yet failed to show any noticeable brain activity at any other time. Proof, Dr H concludes, that The Guild, or more accurately the lack of The Guild, is to blame.

The Guild Season 2 DVD cover

Cure

While there is no actual cure, Dr H did suggest some ways to relieve the symptoms. These steps will give temporary relief and should be repeated as many times as necessary to enable the sufferer to have some semblance of a normal life.

• Watch Season 1 and Season 2 of The Guild on rising in the morning
• After breakfast watch the End of Season 2 uStream 
• Before lunch watch Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh's uStream appearance
• Search in vain for video from The Streamy Awards 2009
• @kimevey to see if Felicia has finished writing Season 3 yet
• Content yourself with official pics from The Streamys instead (or my unofficial ones)
• Watch Season 1 of Legend of Neil (NSFW) for a Sandeep and Felicia fix
• Get annoyed that the Dr Horrible Paley panel is not available in your country
• @feliciaday directly to see if she's finished writing Season 3
• Soothe yourself with Felicia Day's new photoshoot
• Listen to "The Knights of the Guild" podcast
• Watch Season 1 and Season 2 of The Guild on DVD while eating dinner
• Delete your @feliciaday tweet for fear of annoying her
• Watch all the special features and work out if there are Easter Eggs or not
• Watch Felicia Day at E3 (so proud of her!)
• Check up on all the Guildies on Twitter and Facebook to see if there is any word of Season 3 yet
• Watch Jared live the GDS life on video
• Retire to watch Season 1 and 2 as you fall asleep
• Dream about how cool it would be to appear in Season 3
• On rising, start process again.

Caution Required!

Dr H is at pains to point out that reducing your exposure to The Guild to the levels prescribed above might be too little, too soon. He recommends that if, for whatever awful reason, you have to be away from your computer or DVD player that wearing a Guild teeshirt and holding a bobble-headed Edgar can relieve some symptoms temporarily.

Support groups

Watchtheguild.com has updates, all the episodes and some bonus videos online. You will be able to find support from fellow Guildies (as sufferers call themselves) on The Guild Community website. Here you can set up your own account and chat with like-minded individuals on weighty matters of the day: is Sandeep a zombie, does Felicia really turn up on set swearing and drunk, and will there be a DDR dance-off between Codex and Stupid Tall Hot Girl...

Hope for a cure?

Dr H was optimistic that once Season 3 starts shooting sufferers will find their symptoms lifting: "We found that last year, when Season 2 started production, calls to the helpline lessened as people started to anticipate the coming season. And I - and I mean they - felt more able to sleep at night without worrying about when I - they - would get a new fix."

Felicia Day - all her fault?

While it would be all too easy to lay the blame squarely at the young multi-talented, award-winning writer/creator/actor/producer surely we can't blame her completely? Dr H, disagrees: "No - it's completely all down to her. Sure - Kim, Sandeep, Jeff, Amy, Robin, Vincent, Edgar, Dani - all played their parts, but really it's all down to her. She never knew what depths I had, what a glorious future we could have..." At this point the Dr appeared to remember he'd left a bunsen on somewhere and hurried away. With all the work he's been up to recently, helping the victims, working on a cure, it's not surprising he's a  little distracted. It has obviously been a huge strain because when he left the offices and saw a large, dark horse that happened to be intently watching the building for no apparent reason, he started violently and ran away shouting obscenities. Poor guy. GDS must really have a hold on him.

UPDATE:

Fellow sufferers unite! We now have a new group on http://community.watchtheguild.com. Join us and share the pain :) [And kudos to Soma for the spiffy logo:

The Guild Season 2 DVD: Pre-order now!

Don't fret - Felicia and Kim have delegated at last!

Last summer, after The Guild Season 1 swept up awards and garnered praise and fans in vast amounts, thoughts turned to a DVD release. Amazingly as it might seem, all the posting, shipping and handling for the Season 1 DVDs was done by Felicia, Kim Evey and anyone else Felicia could rope into helping. This was a massive undertaking and Felicia posted an impassioned blog entry about the horrors of businessing (yes, it must be a proper word - Felicia used it!).

This year, Amazon.com is taking the strain

But there is no need to worry about Felicia and the Post Office 'assistant' this year because all the orders are being handled by Amazon.com. Season 2 is available for pre-order with a release date of 19th May. There is also a special offer on at the moment:

Amazon Exclusive DVD + Digital Bundle

Pre-order The Guild - Season Two from Amazon.com and watch it for free on release day from Amazon Video On Demand. Here's how (restrictions apply). And find out how it all started: pre-order your copy of The Guild - Season One today. 

You can also order Season 1 - well worth it to see how it all began! 

Amazon.com Associate

You might notice that there is a new widget at the side of my blog today - one advertising The Guild Season 2 DVD as an Amazon Associate. I took the plunge to do this just to see how it might work out. The returns are small (especially as my bank is not in the US!) so this is an experiment. If you click on it an purchase during that 'session' I get 4% back as a voucher for Amazon.com. 

Win Signed Photo of The Guild - and Support Kids Need to Read

Talk about a Win-Win! 

There's a new auction up on the Kids Need to Read website today, and you could win a signed photo of the award-winning webseries The Guild featuring the all six cast members and their signatures: Felicia Day (Codex), Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo), Vincent Caso (Bladezz), Amy Okuda (Tink), Jeff Lewis (Vork) and Robin Thorsen (Clara). You can bid for this item on eBay now!

About The Guild

The Guild webseries follows a group of online gamers and who meet in real life - with hilarious and sometimes heart-aching results - has won many awards, most recently three Streamy Awards. The Streamy Awards celebrate the best in Web Television and the live feed was a huge success - I blogged about it last week. The Guild is written by and starring the gorgeous and versatile Felicia Day, whom Joss Whedon has credited as his mentor for getting Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog webseries off the ground. And yes, Felicia starred as Penny in Dr Horrible, too.

About Kids Need To Read

KNTR is a literacy foundation set up my award-winning author P J Haarsma (The Softwire books and creator of the Dr Horrible Remote) and actor Nathan Fillion (Captain Hammer in Dr Horrible, Mal in Firefly & Serenity and currently starring as Castle in, er, Castle!). 

Their mission is clear:

    *  To purchase books by raising funds through auctions, sales of merchandise and other available means

    * To provide books to libraries, schools and other institutions in need

    * To provide books to children through established institutions

    * To foster a love of reading in all children

    * To encourage reading among reluctant readers

These are great goals and any support you can give them will be gratefully received. You can check out where they have made donations and read the inspiring donation stories on their website.

The Streamy Awards 2009 - oh what a night!

I have seen the future

But at first I could only hear it. The Streamys Red Carpet started at 6:00 PM (Pacific) and I duly tuned in to the Streamys' website but there was no feed. A quick check on Twitter confirmed that I wasn't the only one in the dark. After some delays, though, the live streaming started in time for the Awards. And what a ceremony it was!

The Felicia and Joss show

No long after it had started I realised that I take screen grabs, which sent me into a frenzy. The picture - live streaming on my 15" Macbook screen - was brilliant. So I was there, trying to follow Twitter, The Guild chat, the Streamys, making comments and taking screen grabs. Next year I will deploy more screens! 

And the first hosts are - Sandeep and Felicia!

It opened with two very familiar faces. Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh were the first presenters and set the tone for the whole night - funny, snappy, professional and awesome. Sandeep hammed it up magnificently and it was great to see the obvious chemistry between these two friends.

It gets a bit blurry

As I said, I was approaching systems overload with the monitoring so many things at once while coping with the emotions of seeing people I have been following not just receiving the recognition they deserve, but showing why it is deserved. If you were following my Twitter stream last night I apologise for the disjointed nature of the posts!

Some highlights

• Neil Patrick Harris' speech where he dissed Nathan Fillion and asserts that he "...pads his junk..." 
  
• Felicia's speech where she thanked everyone who had ever rejected her and forced her to do it for herself. And the way she thanked her boyfriend. And Kim Evey (who was sadly absent). And all the fans....it was a great speech
  
• Joss' speech where he thanked Felicia for being his mentor
  
• Jeff Lewis' speech where he thanked the fans. Over and over again. In hilarious fashion. Also, he was nervous (Jeff we love you!) and Vince looking fab (I just wish Robin Thorsen and Amy Okuda had taken the stage too)
  
• Cameos from Felicia and Kim Evey (as Kiko) in the 'How to make a web video' short - hilarious!
• Maurissa Tancharoen receiving the Dr Horrible award 
• Jane Espenson's speeches and how much effort they put into making sure the BSG webisodes were complete pieces of art and not just tacked on for the sake of it (she put it so much better!)
  
• Lisa Kudrow - I'm not sure what was going on but it amused me!
  
• Felicia almost not getting onto the stage for the Best Comedy award because she was behind scenes having a drink
  

There were many other great moments. For better and more complete coverage please see these:

Official Streamys lists from http://12seconds.tv/streamys

Post from LG15 - great rundown of the event awards and some fun pictures

Post from Storygas - interesting mix of tweets!

Live tweeting from the event - @KnightsofGood (Jenni Powell) and @Tabz

More pictures on Flickr

I've put up the screen grabs up on my Flickr account - there's 46 of them. There are probably more, so I'll check later and upload them. And tag the ones that are there.

Summary

The future is here. And it's web television! The Streamy Award ceremony was awesome. I need at least a day to recover, and I wasn't even there!

Vork+Speedos= The madness must STOP!

The Superbowl

Apparently there was some sort of sporting event going on in America yesterday. Something that seemed to be little more than an excuse for broadcasting porn and other inappropriate content to swathes of the US and beyond.

First, the pr0n

Comcast outdid themselves by managing to beam highly inappropriate content to their users. If you want to know more about this (you know, in the interest of science) then you can find out more and maybe give a Digg, too, if you feel the need.

Even more inappropriate

Disturbing as that might have been for the viewers, it was almost certainly broadcast in error. However, there was something FAR MORE disturbing broadcast during the Superbowl. Brace yourselves, folks. Someone who has previously kept themselves thankfully buttoned-down in some rather fetching smart/casual combinations has now jumped the shark, dress-sense-wise. It pains me to say this but live-action sequences of VORK IN A SPEEDO were broadcast in full-colour to millions of viewers:

It gets worse...

And if that was not bad enough, there is now a Facebook widget-thingy that lets you send Vork to each other. The madness must STOP! Felicia has inadvertently ensured that every single person who has friended her on Facebook will now send her one (as of about 2 hours ago she had been sent 25) but please - think before you send! Is this what we want cluttering up the information superhighway? Really?? Won't someone think of the children.....?!?

P.S.

Dear Jeff,

It's not you, it's me. Really, you are a fine example of manliness, really you are. It's just...well, you know...well...Gee, did I mention I think you are a fantastic actor and totally outdo Sandeep in every scene?!

P.P.S.

Dear Sandeep,

Hey, as the founder member of the 'Zombie Zaboo' group on The Guild community site you know how much respect I have for you. I even said nice thing about you on the effinfunny website. I really think it's the combination and chemistry between you and Jeff that makes every scene you do together awesomesauce and you are totally great as an actor. I was just trying to make Jeff feel a bit better about everyone hating on his near-nakedness. You understand these  things....

Season 2 - Episode 7: Panic Attack

Next Episode is now up!

Codex deals with yet another Guildie on her doorstep. More laugh out loud traumas with Codex and her 'friends'. Juggling everyone's neuroses is a difficult business!

Season 2 - Ep 7

Season 2 - Episode 7: Panic Attack

The story is hotting up and there are great preformances and new catchwords! Plus the return of a old friend...?

read more | digg story

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...

Battlestar Galactica and The Guild Improv...make your choice!

Of course, you could always do both!
Tonight sees the last episode of BSG Season 4 to be shown this year. Think about that for a minute. We're not even half-way through 2008 and after tonight we'll be kept in suspense for at least another 6 months. Cruel? Some would say so! Why has this happened? Well according to Wikipedia only these first 11 episodes were completed before the WGA writer's strike so a decision was made to split the Season. The final 10 episodes are completed, though, so it's hard not to conclude that scheduling plus the desire to keep us all in suspense is the reason. Jane, I thought you were our friend! Can't you get them to reconsider?! And to show it on a Friday the 13th....someone has a very dark sense of humour.

To celebrate/commiserate tonight, there is a special gathering in Vancouver
The 13th Colony is meeting tonight at 5.30 (local time) for the 'Frakkin' Cliffhanger! Season Ender Party'. You'll have a chance to have dinner before the episode airs and can share the joy/pain of what will undoubtedly be a nail-biting cliff-hanger of rollercoaster.

The Guild - at ComiCon!
Now I promised myself I would go to a Convention this year, as I have shamefully never been to one (what sort of geek am I? Guess I should be joining Numfar in his dance...). I've read and drooled over the San Diego ComiCon - it's the stuff of geek dreams, I kid you not. The guests, the panels, the oceans of like-minded humanity. But it's so far away and not what you'd call a cheap weekend! And now, as if to rub salt into the wound, The Guild have announced that they are going to be there July 24-27th. And they are going to be sharing a booth with the California Browncoats. The California Browncoats are a magnificent group of shiny Browncoats (Firefly/Serenity supporters) that take fandom and fundraising to the next level. Imagine - Nathan Fillion supporters on a booth with Felicia Day. And Doctor Horrible (which stars them both) is to be released just before then. I have literally had to lock my credit card away so I can't book a place.

The only consolation I can muster is that the pain of not going to ComiCon will hopefully distract me from having to wait for BSG. It's not much of a consolation.....

The Guild - in Improv!
And don't forget that tonight (Friday 13th June) and next Friday (20th June) you can see Felicia Day, Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh (Codex, Vork and Zaboo from 'The Guild') in the Improv Group called 'Being Humans'. Performances start at 10.30 pm. Go to 'WatchTheGuild.com' website for full details. It's not often you get the chance to see talented stars live and any Guilder who goes will get a very warm reception from the cast.

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.