Kevin J. Anderson Signs Hellhole Awakening

Kevin J. Anderson signs copies of Hellhole Awakening at Barnes & Noble this Wednesday night March 27, 2013, at 7:00 PM. He has written books for the Dune series, Star Wars, and Superman franchise. He co-writes this series with Brian Herbert. I’ve got the first in the series, Hellhole, but I’ve not gotten around to reading it. Yeah, I’m a little slow. Who all has read the first one and what did you think? Will you be getting the new book? Tell me your stories!

Kevin J. Anderson signs Hellhole Awakening at Barnes & Noble

Awesome Comic Book Collector Show in Richardson Sunday March 24, 2013

The Doubletree Hotel in Richardson will host the Awesome Comic Book Collector Show this Sunday March 24, 2013. There will be tons of comics from all the different ages, a lot of small press comics, and drawings for prizes!

The Texas Paranormal Unity Fest in Waxahachie Saturday March 23, 2013

Waxahachie Civic Center will play host to the Texas Paranormal Unity Fest this Saturday March 23, 2013. This is an event to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The following personalities will be in attendance and two ghost hunts are scheduled, but unfortunately, the one on Friday night at the Twisted Frog is already sold out. That means that there are still tickets available for the Catfish Plantation hunt.

 

Check out the guest list here and then the links below for more info.

• Dead Air Paranormal Radio – George Lopez
• Author – David Rountree
• Ray Psychic – Tracy Ray
• Psychic Medium – Dakota Lawrence
• Author/ Photographer – Michael Graves
• Author – Martha Hazzard Decker
• Author – Dr. Rita Louise
• Cryptozoologist – Ken Gerhard

Texas Paranormal Unity Fest 2013 – Paranormal Underground

Texas Paranormal Unity Fest 2013 Tickets

Catfish Plantation Events

RiffTrax Far Exceeds Goal to Riff TWILIGHT Live!

With seven days to go as of this posting, the folks at RiffTrax have exceeded their goal by over $180,000 to secure the rights to riff TWILIGHT. They are hoping to have it in theaters for one night in August 2013. “The only way it could have gone any better was if we had come up with the idea to riff the Veronica Mars movie,” says the update on their Kickstarter update. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett were all members of the award-winning TV series MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000, and they carry that tradition on with the RiffTrax series.

If you’ve never seen them riff a movie live or via simulcast at your local theater then you are missing out. So far I’ve watched PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE, and BIRDEMIC. I’ll let you know if this one comes to fruition.

 

MORE POSTS:

RiffTrax and ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ Redux

Veterans of MST3K Bring You RIFFTRAX LIVE: BIRDEMIC

RiffTrax.com Presents MANOS, THE HANDS OF FATE

Texas Theatre Begins Limited Run of THE NEVERENDING STORY

Who doesn’t love THE NEVERENDING STORY? Okay, if you don’t, keep it to yourself, we don’t care! Atreyu is played by Noah Hathaway, Boxey from Battlestar Galactica (The Original), who was also at one of the cons here in the last year or so. You’ll also recognize Mr. Teenie Weenie as Deep Roy from CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005). The Texas Theatre will be showing it starting tomorrow March 22, 2013 for a limited time. Go to the Texas Theatre – THE NEVERENDING STORY link for more details and tickets.

Red River Regional Steampunk Expeditionary Host The Time Traveling Troubadours

The Time Traveling Troubadours will play the Marshall Elks Lodge in Marshall, Texas this Saturday, March 23, 2013. This is a fund raiser for the Aeolo Expo on May 4, 2013. I posted this because I’m oblivious to Steampunk in East Texas and would love to hear from others about it. So, if you live in East Texas and are into Steampunk, let me know how ya’ll are doing! Also, check out The Red River Regional Steampunk Expeditionary Society on Facebook.

The Red River Regional Steampunk Expeditionary Society Presents The Time Traveling Troubadours.

Charlie Gentry & Joe Ramer in Concert
Marshall Elks Lodge
411 East Austin Street
Marshall, Texas

Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm
Tickets $10 in advance at www.aeoloexpo.com or $12 at the door

Buy Tickets at www.aeoloexpo.com

AggieCon 44 Brings George R. R. Martin to Texas

If you are a fan of GAME OF THRONES or the A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE series of fantasy novels, then you may want to head south. George R. R. Martin will be attending AggieCon 44, as well as Ernest Cline, author of READY PLAYER ONE and screenwriter of FANBOYS. They are only two of the guests that have been invited by Cepheid Variable, “the Texas A&M Student Organization devoted to the support and promotion of all things science fiction, fantasy, horror, science, and technology, and the support of the community that grows around them through an atmosphere of acceptance and kinship.”

Has anyone ever been to one of their events? If so, what did you think of it? If you haven’t been, would you go, why or why not?

A Reader’s Guide to Science Fiction by John DeNardo of SF Signal

This is an older article, published on the Kirkus Reviews website in Spring 2011, but it still holds up and is very relevant to anyone who is interested in science fiction, be they long-time readers or just starting out. It is written by John DeNardo of SF Signal.

In this six-part guide, DeNardo asks the question, “what is science fiction” and then takes us through the genres, samples, the different awards offered up each year, and a list of ten books that are perfect for beginning readers. I’m ashamed to say that in the list of ten books, I’ve only read two of them and have pledged to read the rest of the list. He suggests using award lists such as the Hugo awards and the Nebulas to find other gems. I tried this by reading a book from the Hugo list and that was also one of his genre samples and it didn’t quite work out for me. I picked “A Canticle for Liebowitz” by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Uh, unless you grew up Catholic, you might have a problem with this one. But, that doesn’t mean that the whole list is bad. It just means that it was probably not for my tastes.

John DeNardo also includes a very good list of magazines and e-zines that publish short stories. It’s a great place to find some great reads if you’re short on time. Last but not least, is a list of books that show the changes in science fiction history. From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (yep, more sci-fi than you think) to Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, you can see how the writing and the technology changes.

Kirkus Reviews – How To Start Reading Science Fiction by John DeNardo of SF Signal

1. What You Need To Know
2. 10 Accessible Science Fiction Books
3. Award Winners
4. Short Stories
5. A Sampling of Genres
6. A Reading Trip Through The History of Science Fiction

All in all, a great series and I highly recommend it to everyone. Have you got a book to add to the list? One that you think shouldn’t be on there? Let me know, and be sure and drop DeNardo a line also!

Fathom Events With PaleyFest Presents the Cast of BIG BANG THEORY One Night Only!

From the Fathom Events Website:

Date: Wednesday, March 13

Time: 10:00pm ET/ 9:00pm CT/ 8:00pmMT/ 7:00pm PT/ 6:00pm AK/ 4:00pm HI

Run Time: 120 minutes
Scheduled to appear*:
Chuck Lorre, Creator & Executive Producer
Bill Prady, Creator & Executive Producer
Steven Molaro, Executive Producer
Johnny Galecki, “Leonard Hofstadter”
Jim Parsons, “Sheldon Cooper”
Kaley Cuoco, “Penny”
Simon Helberg, “Howard Wolowitz”
Kunal Nayyar, “Raj Koothrappali”
Mayim Bialik, “Amy Farrah Fowler”
Melissa Rauch, “Bernadette Rostenkowski”

Bazinga! On March 13th, the stars of TV’s hit comedy series “The Big Bang Theory” are coming to select movie theaters nationwide for a LIVE interactive experience as part of the ultimate ♥TV fan festival – PaleyFest. In addition to a special sneak peek at an upcoming un-aired episode, this one-night event will also provide the exclusive opportunity to interact with the star-studded cast, who will be taking questions LIVE from the studio audience in Los Angeles as well as movie theatre audiences across the country. Make sure to arrive to the event early for details on how to submit your questions and join the conversation!
*Talent subject to change

Click Fathom Events THE BIG BANG THEORY for more info and tickets.

Stephanie Meyer, Jake Abel, and Max Irons to Autograph for THE HOST movie

Tomorrow, Tuesday March 12, 2013, at 2pm you will be able to meet bestselling author Stephanie Meyer and actors Max Irons and Jake Abel. They will be signing THE HOST and THE HOST: THE OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED MOVIE COMPANION at the Lincoln Park Barnes & Noble at 7700 West Northwest Highway. The movie will be in theaters on March 29, 2013. 

Barnes & Noble Event – Stephanie Meyer THE HOST

Movie Review: OZ—THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Hooked up with a my friend Les from The Fellowship of the Geeks and hit the Spring Valley Studio Movie Grill today for a matinee. Today we saw OZ—THE GREAT AND POWERFUL and was pleasantly surprised.

Going into this, I didn’t really know what to expect as far as storyline except what we know from the original books, movies, and commercials. The wizard is a huckster that gets to Oz by balloon in a thunderstorm. Once there, the citizens believe he is a great wizard who is there to fulfill a prophecy.

I won’t go into the actual story so as to not reveal any of it, but it is an interesting one and should delight a lot of folks. The beginning introduces all the characters and does so in black and white, just as in the original movie. You’ll find other little easter eggs throughout if you keep your eyes open. One other bright spot was the addition of Danny Elfman as composer for the score. Not usually seeing him on anything without Tim Burton, he was a welcome addition here. Speaking of Tim Burton, there are parts of the film where it seems that Tim may have had a hand in it’s creation. What does come out as Sam Raimi is the occasional odd camera angle. Not too much to make you leave, but enough to make you ask why it was even added. The visuals are stunning and some have said that it’s better than Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but I wouldn’t go that far. There were a few scenes where it was obvious that they were standing in front of a green screen.

The characters are fun, though James Franco and Mila Kunis could have added a little more acting. You’ll understand when you see the movie. If you don’t get it or don’t want to see the movie, just email me and I’ll tell you. Rachel Weisz was a little better, but Michelle Williams was hands down my favorite actor our of all of them and it doesn’t hurt that she is beautiful. You’ll also get a double dose of cute from the little China Girl. And if you watch it in 3-D, watch out for the flying baboons! You might wanna take a change of underwear. And on that note, it might not be appropriate for children under the age of five or six. There are some scary scenes and the baboons and witches can be downright terrifying. Tracking in at over two and a half hours, be sure and potty first or get the small soda.

All in all, an entertaining movie but not one that I would have to add to my collection. For that, there is always the 1939 classic! Enjoy, and let me know what you thought.

All-Con 2013: Pre-Con Events

Not ever having the time to check out a Con the night before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Word about the ‘net and on the newsletter hinted at antics, so I went to the Crowne Plaza early to check it out.

I hung out in the bar for about forty-five minutes checking tweets and Facebook nursing a Coke. A table of 501st members eventually came in and sat down at the table next to me. Not in uniform yet, but wearing their logoed t-shirts, they were probably getting ready for a little meet and greet. I also spotted some Starfleet members and upon doing so, headed up to the Oak Ball Room to see if the “Buzzed Off” contest had started.

As it sometimes happens, something happened to cause a delay in setup and the contest got postponed. When I eventually left at eleven o’clock or so, nothing had happened. Until then, we sat around with JediCole and others while people were assembling the stage and watched a compilation of Youtube and other assorted videos to pass the time. Joining us during this time was Mr. Camden Toy who seemed to enjoy the videos as much as anyone else. Before it was all over with, I was able to exchange pleasantries and a handshake. I’ll get a photo on Friday or Saturday.

On the way out, some folks were already setting up in the dealer room. I ran into Tiffany Franzoni from Roll2Play setting up her booth. She was in good spirits and looking forward to the weekend. I’ll have to stop by her booth and see what the shop has to offer. If you can ever get over to Coppell, check out her shop. They run all kinds of events, and they are preparing for a big bash on March 30th. Check out her Facebook page for more info.

One thing that you’ll definitely want to have with you at the Con, if you have a smart-phone, is the All-Con Mobile link added to your browser book marks. This will come in very handy during the run of the show. I’ll be prowling the show taking pictures, so be sure and check back to see what I’ve added throughout the day, and send me links for yours!

All-Con Hours

Friday: 10am-2am
Saturday: 9am-2am
Sunday: 9am-6pm

All-Con 2013

The online box office closes tonight at midnight central time, so if you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, you better get on it! This is shaping up to be a pretty big show. Yes, we lost Sylvester McCoy to a bigger engagement and that does hurt, but just the shear number of events going on makes up for it, to me.

Straight from the news blog at the All-Con, you’ve got the 501st Charity Drive, Swap Meet, crafting sessions, a drawing class presented by Terry Naughton of Disney, an art show/art auction, Rocky Horror, Ms. Star Wars costume contest, Super Hero Sunday, Top Zombie, the world-premiere of the complete Pink Five saga, and yes, even more!

Oh, and there will be celebrities. Katy Coleman, who played Holly Marshall on Land of the Lost, was the first guest announced here. Marilyn Ghigliotti of CLERKS and ALIEN ARMAGEDDON will be greeting and signing, as well as, Camden Toy, Tim Taylor, Trey Stokes, Stephen Stanton, Rick Fitts, Michael Gregory, and many more.

This is one of those cons where you will have to master your time very well or you could end up missing out on something. So, have you got your tickets yet? Going? Why not? Send pictures!

A Galaxy Called Dallas at All-Con 2009 – the show that spawned this website.

All-Con 2013

John Scalzi’s RED SHIRTS To Be Discussed At Lewisville Science Fiction Book Group

The Lewisville Science Fiction Book Group will meet Friday March 8, 2013 to discuss John Scalzi’s RED SHIRTS. As they do every second Friday of the month, they will meet at 7:30 PM at the IHOP in Lewisville, located at 2345 S Stemmons Fwy.

I haven’t had a chance to attend in over a year, but I will do my best to be there this Friday. So, as I type this, I listen to Wil Wheaton read RED SHIRTS and I have to say that I’m enjoying it. I hope to see some of you there, because even though you may not have read this or finished it, you are still welcome to and sit with us.

What are you reading (or listening) right now?

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