Lovers in the tower: the moon and sun divided, @outshine smiles…

Monday August 3:

[Quote for the Monday] “Democracy is the superior form of government, because it is based on a respect for man as a reasonable being.”

[Source] John F. Kennedy (1917 — 1963) / 35th President of US (1961 — 1963) / Why England Slept.

Tuesday August 4:

A bottom-heavy zooo where songs w/o 6-string guitars convince as much as animal pictures instead of lyrics: dark, groovy, disturbing, gritty.

[#SoundBytes] Heavy Zooo by Beehoover / http://www.beehoover.com/ / Exile on Mainstream Records: http://www.mainstreamrecord… .

Wednesday August 5:

The moon rises, white and full. I stand by the red tomatoes on top of our home and wave. Mom promised to look down.

[Bio] Brenda is a futurist, writer, and tech geek from the Pacific Northwest in the USA. www.brenda-cooper.com.

Thursday August 6:

Paint faces on paper plates, sail them about, make explosive sounds—that’s better special FX than in this movie, and much more entertaining.

[#Spitballs] GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra / Directed by Stephen Sommers / http://www.hasbro.com/gijoe….

Friday August 7:

[Quote for the Friday] “Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, a good cigar, a good woman—or a bad woman; it depends how much happiness you can handle.”

[Source] George Burns (1896 – 1996) / U.S. comedian and actor / Interview on NBC television.

Saturday August 8:

Professor Jim Burns, retired head of immortalRwe, turned to his teary wife at his hospital bedside, “I should have spent more time at work.”

[Bio] @meika loofs samorzewski no longer writes for humans and lives in Tasmaniahttp://meika.loofs-samorzew… .

Sunday August 9:

At first glance another capes comic, then a cop thriller…and really a story of a superhero breaking under the onset of PTSD. Interesting.

[#ShineComics] ABSOLUTION #1 by Christos Gage (script) and Roberto Viacava (art); Avatar, 2009, $3.99.

Out of the great nothing, @outshine came without fail…

Monday July 27:

[Quote for the Monday] “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

[Source] John F. Kennedy (1917 — 1963) / 35th President of US (1961 — 1963) / Inaugural address, January 20, 1961.

Tuesday July 28:

Ambitious and complex progressive metal début; too ambitious for the UK, maybe, but Europe will love it. A creative journey at every level.

[#SoundBytes] Evolution: Creatio Ex Nihilio by ENOCHIAN THEORY / http://is.gd/214Wj / Anomalousz Music Recordings – http://is.gd/214YC .

Wednesday July 29:

The surgeon embeds artificial nerves in her prosthetic hand. She can feel a handshake, a fire burning, the color of rain.

[Bio] Carma has been reading/writing science fiction & fantasy for (mumble, mumble) years. Her writing group’s website: breakthruwriting.com .

Thursday July 30:

Paul Giamatti stores his chickpea-shaped soul and later learns it was mislaid or stolen. Less Kaufman than Woody Allen. Funny but uneven.

[#Spitballs] Cold Souls / Directed by Sophie Bartes / http://coldsoulsthemovie.com/.

Friday July 31:

[Quote for the Friday] “Well I know that, wey I figure seh, maybe things get worse for the better?”

[Source] Bob Marley (1945 – 1981) / Jamaican musician, singer, and songwriter.

Saturday August 1:

The cybercat on metal paws stalks cyber-savvy prey. The übermouse’s EMP, though, lets it slip away. A better mouse: the lab’s cause célèbre.

[Bio] Cliff Winnig (@winnig) writes and plays sitar. He has stories in the Cinema Spec & Footprints anthologies.

Sunday August 2:

Five issues of increasingly bloody , incoherent and pointless mayhem that concludes in a Xanatos Pileup meant to set up an Ultimate reboot.

[#ShineComics] ULTIMATUM #1-#5 by Jeph Loeb (script) and David Finch and Danny Miki (art); Marvel, 2009, $3.99 each.

Living in a world where you’re safe from reality, won’t you take a chance and follow @outshine…

Monday July 20:

[Quote for the Monday] “Peace of mind is not attained by ignoring problems, but by solving them.”

[Source] Raymond Hull (1919 – 1985) / Canadian playwright, screenwriter and lecturer.

Tuesday July 21:

Shoegaze revival – myth or fact? Once you’ve listened to this album of densely beautiful narcotised soundscapes, you won’t care either way.

[#SoundBytes] Three Fact Fader by Engineers – http://www.kscopemusic.com/… / Kscope Records – http://www.kscopemusic.com/.

Wednesday July 22:

An accident, the combine ate the farmer’s arm. An invention, the pharm’s bio-lattice grew him another. Come harvest, the farmer gave thanks.

[Bio] William T. Vandemark chases storms, photographs weather vanes, and writes speculative fiction. http://www.williamtvandemar….

Thursday July 23:

Vampire priest bites abused wife—they kill abuser, wife goes batshit and bites damn near everybody. Almost as cool as Oldboy…and bloodier.

[#Spitballs] Thirst / Directed by Park Chan-wook / http://is.gd/1TUZ3.

Friday July 24:

[Quote for the Friday] “In the best comedy, there’s clearly something wrong, but it’s secret & understated—comedy is the public version of a private darkness.”

[Source, slightly shortened and paraphrased] Paul Theroux (1941 – ) / U.S. writer / My Secret History.

Saturday July 25:

The sun is bright

the air is free

the Martian men

don’t bother me.

The soil is red

the sky is wide

I’m proud to be

a Martian bride.

[Bio] Amanda Davis is a Pittsburgh engineer with a green thumb and a taste for horror movies. She blogs at http://tinyurl.com/ddvpvj .

Sunday July 26:

Every Legionnaire ever in a massive time-swept conflict that unfortunately centers on the silly Superboy-Prime. Noise & fury to no good end.

[#ShineComics] FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF 3 WORLDS #1-5 by Geoff Johns (story), George Perez (art); DC 2008-2009, #3.99 each.

In the distance

Always calling

@outshine

It beckons play

Monday July 13:

[Quote for the Monday] “The Looking back is memory; the looking forward is creation.”

[Source] Elsa Barker (ca. 1869 — 1954) / American novelist and poet / Letters from a Living Dead Man.

Tuesday July 14:

Jagged proggy post-hardcore meets fragile folk-tinged indie somewhere in Glasgow. Looks awful on paper, sounds super on your stereo. Buy it.

[#SoundBytes] The Lamps of Terrahead by El Dog – http://www.eldog.co.uk/ / Lo-Five Records – http://www.lo-five.com/.

Wednesday July 15:

A woman grafts a miniature, nano-engineered breed of fruit trees to people’s skin. Orchards travel the world and seed onto garbage heaps.

[Bio] Alex Dally MacFarlane (http://is.gd/uIUg) wants a cheek-tree. Find her work in LCRW, Electric Velocipede and, soon, Clarkesworld.

Thursday July 16:

Cute little Esther’s rotten with evil and does bad things to mommy and daddy. Sound familiar? By the artiste who directed House of Wax.

[#Spitballs] Orphan / Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra / http://is.gd/1BjY6.

Friday July 17:

[Quote for the Friday] “It is hope that maintains most of mankind.”

[Source] Sophocles (496? – 406 BC) / Greek playwright / Fragments.

Saturday July 18:

For three months, my android’s gone to school for me, dated my girlfriend and done my chores. Nobody’s noticed. Now to make my sister’s.

[Bio] @ficklefiction is actually @fickledeity. Just your average Sri Lankan girl with dreams of changing the world for the better.

Sunday July 19:

The first part of Dick’s original novel, complete, threaded through comic illustrations – a storyboard for readers, though puzzling.

[#ShineComics] DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP #1 (of 24) by Philip K. Dick (novel), Tony Parker (art); BOOM!, 2009, $3.99 .

Degrees of sanity—all alone, lost unknow—@outshine whispers in your sighs…

Monday June 29:

[Quote for the Monday] “Development requires democracy, the genuine empowerment of the people.”

[Source] Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 — ) / Burmese political leader and human rights activist / The Times (London).

Tuesday June 30:

A strong dark midnight trip at a smoked-out squat party on the Haight; moody modern post-psychedleica at its fuzzed-up languid apex.

[#SoundBytes] THE MIRROR EXPLODES by THE WARLOCKS — http://www.thewarlocks.com/ / TeePee Records — http://www.teepeerecords.com/ .

Wednesday July 1:

Victory: I did it. The vaccine that will prevent AIDS. No one will ever have to watch someone die like that. Like Marie. My Marie. Like me.

[Bio] Mark Best has had short fiction published in various genres. Complete list at http://is.gd/1kQji .

Thursday July 2:

Vampire hottie carries a cool katana, but two cool fight scenes do not a good movie make. In this instance, blood is thinner than water.

[#Spitballs] Blood: The Last Vampire / Directed by Chris Nahon / http://is.gd/1lHsU .

Friday July 3:

[Quote for the Friday] “I have a simple philosophy. Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. And scratch where it itches.”

[Source] Alice Lee Longworth (1884 — 1980) / U.S. society figure.

Saturday July 4:

“How far does it go?” she asked as we fell through the subspace burrow. I shrugged apologetically: “Theoretically, forever.”

[Bio] Gareth’s stories have appeared in 20 mags and 10 languages. He drinks lots of tea.  http://www.garethdjones.co.uk/ .

Sunday July 5:

It’s all about time, it’s all about space, it’s all about Captain America not being dead but temporally adrift. Familiar, but interesting.

[#ShineComics] CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #1 (of 5) by Ed Brubaker (script), Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice (art); Marvel, 2009, $3.99 .

[Ed] Because of the general sluggishness — I blame the heat, not the Hoegaarden…;-) — an extra ShineComics, courtesy of David A. McDonald:

The Atom pulls a Jack Bauer and Green Lantern gets dominant (and Green Arrow submissive) as the JLA goes all 24. Art’s good, script’s not.

[#ShineComics Extra] JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #1 (of 7) by James Robinson (story), Mauro Cascioli (art); DC, 2009, $3.99 .

@outshine is small in your eyes, but great is your worth, and you can do this right: This is your life!

Monday June 22:

[Quote for the Monday] “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

[Source] Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) / U.S. president / Speech at Bloomington, Illinois.

Tuesday June 23:

Still holding the flag for politics in old-school punk – but how revolutionary is it to ask the same questions as the newspaper pundits?

[#SoundBytes] THE PEOPLE OR THE GUN by Anti-Flag – http://www.anti-flag.com/ / Side One Dummy Records – http://www.sideonedummy.com/.

Wednesday June 24:

Footfalls, sunlight, waves, wind, and heat—we used it all. But it wasn’t until we used life itself that balance returned to the planet.

[Bio] Ben White doesn’t have enough hours in the day, not even close: www.benwhite.com.

Thursday June 25:

Find out whether two hours of watching a giant lawnmower sport-fucking a helicopter makes you a nicer person or lowers your verbal skills.

[#Spitballs] Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen / Directed by Michael Bay / http://www.transformersmovie.com/ .

Friday June 26:

[Quote for the Friday] “Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, sickness, of captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable.”

[Source] Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) / British lexicographer and writer / The Rambler..

Saturday June 27:

Blasted alien technology! Mary sighed and prepared for a day of déjà vu, after accidentally setting her new alarm clock to yesterday.

[Bio] Bio Deborah Walker can often be found in the British Museum nicking ideas from ancient cultures.

Sunday June 28:

An intriguing beginning for Batwoman’s major debut, backed by excellent artwork; the Question backup seems more by the numbers, however.

[#ShineComics] DETECTIVE #854 by Greg Rucka (story), J.H. Williams III (art, Batwoman) & Cully Hamner (art), The Question; DC, 2009, $3.99.

@outshine can’t believe it took so long for us to turn around the future, by standing up for what we all believed in all along:

[Ed] @nelilly from @thaumatrope interviewing me, tweet style:

• Part 1: http://is.gd/18xli
• Part 2: http://is.gd/18xnd
• Part 3: http://is.gd/18xq9
• Part 4: http://is.gd/18xrM
• Part 5: http://is.gd/18xtL
• Part 6 wasn’t posted, so I’ll post it here for you:

Overcome the relatively narrow focus by publishing top quality work. Excitement and exuberance. Hope to reach people outside SF fandom.

Monday June 15:

[Quote for the Monday] “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”

[Source] Reinhold Niebuhr (1892 – 1971) / U.S. theologian / Children of Light and Children of Darkness.

Tuesday June 16:

Their sixteenth studio album, but still fresher than bands a tenth as old. Breaking the rules never sounded so beautiful, so effortless.

[#SoundBytes] THE ETERNAL by Sonic Youth – http://www.sonicyouth.com/ Matador Records – http://www.matadorrecords.com/.

Wednesday June 17:

She spoke for the first time.

Roses fell from her lips.

Pearls.

Her body turned into luminescence and butterflies.

It surprised no one..

[Bio] Mercedes M. Yardley loves beautiful things: http://www.abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com/ .

Thursday June 18:

Nazi zombies, sex-mad teens, cheap laughs. It’s like a Beach Boys’ song, lame as your grampa, but hey…the cool Nazi Zombies a doo run run.

[#Spitballs] Dead Snow /directed by Tommy Wirkola / http://www.deadsnow.com/.

Friday June 19:

[Quote for the Friday] “The comic is the perception of the opposite; humor is the feeling of it.”

[Source] Umberto Eco (1932 – ) / Italian writer and literary scholar / Travels in Hyperreality.

Saturday June 20:

Dad’s alive again – simulated from memories fed into a machine. He’s happy: 404 errors are rare and he can claim he’s younger than me.

[Bio] Aaron is currently traveling the world and writing on planes, trains and buses. He’s forgotten that he ever lived any other way.

Sunday June 21:

A spin-off from THE BOYS, the story takes a distant back seat to Ennis’ penchant for juvenile sleaze, while the art is unexpectedly rough.

[#ShineComics] HEROGASM #1, #2 by Garth Ennis (Script), John McCrea and Keith Burns (art); Dynamite, 2009, $2.99 (Mature Readers).

Finally, via Lou Anders of @PyrSF, this . Or, to quote:

“…although I like a well-crafted dystopian story as well as anyone else, the balance has swung too far in that direction, and nihilism, gloom, and black despair about the future have become so standard in the genre that it’s almost become stylized, and almost default setting, with few writers bothering to try to imagine viable human futures that somebody might actually want to live in.”

Bleakness, despair, doom? Save it, keep it off @outshine’s wave:

Monday June 8:

[Quote for the Monday] “Optimism is an alienated form of faith, pessimism an alienated form of despair.”

 [Source] Erich Fromm (1900 – 1980) / German-born U.S. psychoanalyst and philosopher / The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness.

 Tuesday June 9:

Punk’s not dead – but it’s bloody tired. A limp record that exemplifies the trap of retrospective authenticity and hackneyed iconoclasm.

[#SoundBytes] LET THE DOMINOES FALL by Rancid – http://www.rancidrancid.com/ / Hellcat Records – http://www.hell-cat.com/ .

Wednesday June 10:

Silent, drafted blind worms burrow

Decomposing, circles closing

Garbage eating, circles meeting

Biocrafted Ouroboros.

[Bio] Rajan Khanna writes about beer and wine in addition to fiction. You can follow him @rajanyk or http://www.rajankhanna.com .

Thursday June 11:

Causes one to have fond memories of Pluto Nash. Ere long we’ll see Eddie in rehab with Dr. Drew or as the host of Celebrity Wiretapping.

[#Spitballs] Imagine That / directed by Karey Kirkpatrick / http://is.gd/Z7yc.

Friday June 12:

[Quote for the Friday] “Improbable as it is, unlikely as it is, we are being set up as a beacon of hope for the world.”

[Source] Desmond Tutu (1931 – ) / South African clergyman and civil rights activist.

Saturday June 13:

Single 500 yr old Martian seeks Single Earth Female 18-32, for alien abduction and impregnation roleplay. No cold or flu carriers.

[Bio] Paula R. Stiles, at: http://is.gd/kLAu, has sold SF, fantasy and horror stories to Strange Horizons, Jim Baen’s, Futures and others.

Sunday June 14:

Ex-Robin Tim Wayne adopts an identity used by two former Robins and turns into an angry young man. We’ve been here too often, unfortunately.

[#ShineComics] RED ROBIN #1 by Chris Yost (script), Ramon Bachs (art); DC, 2009, $2.99.

I am made from the dust of the stars and @outshine flows through my veins:

Monday June 1:

[Quote for the Monday] “Challenging the status quo has to be the starting point for anything that goes under the label of strategy.”

[Source] Gary Hamel (1954 – ) / U.S. management writer.

Tuesday June 2:

Non-ironic roots Americana blues from a gravel-throated angel; the most beautiful and soulful record I’ve heard so far this year. Buy it.

[#SoundBytes] NEW MOON HAND by Willem Maker – http://www.makerworks.com/ / Fat Possum Records – http://www.fatpossum.com/.

Wednesday June 3:

met bureau reports: blue skies are gonna cheer us

rain in catchment areas

finally

they’re doing something about the weather.

[Bio] Amanda is a Melbourne-based writer and poet. She is a graduate/survivor of Clarion South 2009. Website http://amandale.net.

Thursday June 4:

Lovecraft meets Moe Howard in this un-scary ichor-fest. What’ll Christine swallow next? For maggot lovers everywhere, this grub’s for you.

[#Spitballs] Drag Me to Hell / directed by Sam Raimi / http://is.gd/Orqh.

Friday June 5:

[Quote for the Friday] “When hope dies, what else lives?”

[Source] Ama Ata Aidoo (1942 – ) / Ghanaian writer / Our Sister Killjoy, or Reflections from a Black-Eyed Squint.

Saturday June 6:

A cryogenics capsule malfunctioned. The body was crammed into another’s tank. An icy embrace, the couple was together again.

[Bio] Peter Keller is a hemophiliac on the cutting edge of twitterfiction. http://twitter.com/wordshiv .

Sunday June 7:

And the story ends in silence, violent consequences, and heartrending loss, with Bendis providing a surprising twist – no dialogue at all.

[#ShineComics] ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #133 (final issue) by Brian Michael Bendis (script) & Stuart Immonen (art); marvel, 2009, $3.99.