What a crazy group of 200,000 people that was.

The exhibitor hall was the geek equivalent of Valhalla, where you could find anything from vintage comics to upcoming movie sneak previews to World of Warcraft arena tournaments to fantasy art of exotic topless nymphs. There were t-shirt vendors selling 500 different designs. A pirate-centric online game. Anime and manga that made you stop and stand in the middle of a jam-packed crowd just to stare at the three-minute scene over and over.

And of course there were the costumes. Stormtroopers, Jedi, Spider-Man, Captain America, Captain Jack Sparrow, Silent Bob, Spongebob, Hello Kitty, Catwoman, Cylons, Optimus not-so-Prime, Some Chick With Blue Skin and Orange Hair, and lastly, Random Anime Character. The ratio was about 1:10 when it came to people who actually fit well in their costumes : people who were twice the size of the body intended for their costumes. I stood by a Captain America in very baggy cotton costume with a cardboard shield and watched him argue about dinner reservations on his cell phone.

Most surreal were the ones whose gender you couldn’t exactly determine. Ones who were dressed up so ridiculously you weren’t sure if they represented some fictional character or just mixed and matched from their psychodelic sock drawer and hit the streets.

Also, the lines. About ten thousand people stood in line to get into a ballroom that seated 1,000 for the “Heroes” TV sneak preview. The same went for the Iron Man presentation and a few other events. It was just. Too. Crowded. And the lines formed for everything — overpriced food, bathrooms, ATMs, autographs, free shirts, etc.

That said, it was a sight to behold and I’m glad we went. Maybe next year I’ll actually be working a booth instead of rubbernecking at one.

Here we are, two photos of me at the meteor crater near Flagstaff, as taken by my wife. (Click to see larger versions.)

The crater: A really big hole in the ground. Who knew?
Click to see larger version

Is it a painting, or a window?
Click to see larger version

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Just watch and be amazed.

Goosebumps, seriously.

Today’s Hollywood Reporter has an article talking about the recent sale of Inhuman.

And also, remember the “Stranger Adventures” website? I wrote an episode for that mystery-puzzle anthology a year ago. Well it seems I’m now an Emmy-nominated writer. Yeah, it’s the New Media Emmy, but hey. Still counts, right?

Huzzah.

Now and then I’ll post little tiny stories or snippets; pieces called “flash fiction” for their tiny word count. Some pieces clock in under 250 words, but the smallest morsels I’ve seen collected online are 50-word stories. That’s like fiction’s finger food. Here’s one of my tries at this micro market:

Been taking Akatinol for my Alzheimer’s. If I don’t use a day-of-the-week box I’ll forget when I last swallowed one. I can’t tell the boss. Got to manage this myself.

I’m staring at the glossy photo of a man, the dismantled rifle. Trying to remember if I’ve already killed him.

Comments are temporarily disabled here because the spam bots have gotten to the site in the last 48 hours and flooded me with a mountain of — well, they aren’t ‘comments’ as more ’spamments.’

I’ll flip the switch back on when I think it’s safe again. Meantime, if you want to drop me a line, most of you already know my email address.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Inhuman sold. Deals are still closing, so I’ll give you a more detailed post once I know all systems are go.

In even other news, I might sell a Sci-Fi Channel miniseries next, based on something I wrote on spec.

Yeah it’s been busy.

Got some great news on two of my embryonic projects. Will share once all the deals have closed. Fingers crossed.

Next Page »