Inner Peace Is For Losers

Annoying friends and strangers alike, 140 bytes at a time.

• 20:13 I'm talking Trek with the @seattlegeekly podcast! #
• 22:01 @kevindilmore Lemme see your warface! #
• 22:03 @seattlegeekly - What we were talking about during the interview: bit.ly/5WPzgb #

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The key number for today's game? 5.

5, as in the number of interceptions Josh Freeman threw.

For a team who doesn't see the red zone all that much, it's very disheartening to know that rookie quarterback Josh Freeman threw not one, not two, but three interceptions in the Carolina endzone. The picks are an ongoing problem. Some of it can be blamed on the fact that the offensive line didn't provide Freeman consistent protection, but some of that is also just poor decision making. Statistically, the Bucs either kept pace or flat out beat Carolina in the major categories, which includes doubling the Panthers' passing yardage. The defense held Carolina to 16 points, honoring the great Monte Kiffin's time-tested tradition of holding an opposing team to 17 or fewer points in order to give the offense plenty of opportunities to win. Well, there were opportunities aplenty today. You saw the final score. Two of those, along with the defense the Bucs mounted against the Panter offense, were enough to win the game.

Hopefully, it's something Freeman will work through as he gains more experience. Right now, though? It's just ugly.

In other depressing news, the Tampa Breeze lost their first game to the Chicago Bliss, 27-18. The upside? They looked a damned sight better losing the game than the Bucs did losing theirs. Just sayin'.

Originally published at Saint Nickanuck of the Tundra. You can comment here or there.

• Laura and I had a blast going to see Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm on Friday night at the Ram’s head On Stage. While we’ve caught a show of theirs before, this one was notably better, mostly due to a hotter crowd. Paul and Storm are incredibly funny, and Coulton’s songwriting has an emotional depth that I think is often (unfortunately) overshadowed by his geeky topics and humor. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

• Columbia saw it’s first snow of the season yesterday, which was relatively minor, and still resulted in the usual extremely inappropriate freakouts about driving dangers in the local populous. Sadly, grossly inefficient local plowing did cause me to miss a much-anticipated hospital holiday party, but roads aside, it made for quite the picturesque scene:

• Over on the GLF, I had the chance to try Clipper City’s Yule Tide Belgian Tripel, which ended up being a perfectly acceptable beer… and since they were aiming for a result much higher than that, it was a significant disappointment.

• Tonight, we are headed to Jaxx to check out the Nitzer Ebb Industrial Complex Tour. Nitzer Ebb I am completely unfamiliar with, but the opening acts of Anders Manga (who’s song Bloodletting (On The Naked Kiss) is the opening theme for the Parsec Award-winning Pseudopod audio podcast) and Ego Likeness are known quantities and good stuff.

Annoying friends and strangers alike, 140 bytes at a time.

• 23:58 @Smittmaestro Captain Marvel DVD - Amazon, dude! bit.ly/4nFOzl #
• 01:38 @DVDGeeks Re: Buck Rogers 70th Anniv DVD - Forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder! #
• 11:29 Saturday morning, and I'm sitting here watching my daughers play with the Mego Enterprise Bridge. Nerdity: The Next Generation. #
• 15:24 @kevindilmore Re: SIgnings - And don't forget Borders! Oh, wait. They only bring in "national authors." Silly me. #
• 18:51 @DavidRozansky Hey - Interesting notion, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass. Good luck with it, though! #
• 19:02 @DavidRozansky I'll try to keep up with the developments as the project moves forward. Let me know when you put the call out for stories :) #

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The server issues of the Celtic Podcast should be resolved. So go download show 74 now. #celticmusic #

Talk of snow in LA. That'd be awesome if it stuck around for faire tmrw. But doubt it. 2 weekends left. Come out and get The Bridge. #

Was picking Xmas songs for Celtic Xmas podcast. Now wanting to listen to Xmas music. Shoulda put on my iPod. Ah well next week. #

The Death's Autoharp cover for "Happy Songs of Death" by Nikki O'Shea is on sale at CD Baby. www.cdbaby.com/cd/gunnmarc8/from/celtic/ #

Any Celtic groups with Xmas music? Last chance to submit to celticmp3s.com/submit/ . Need it by Monday. #

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• 19:58 At @ramsheadonstage, awaiting the arrival of @paulandstorm and @jonathancoulton. Yes. #
• 20:37 Cmar-bloggery: : the Cmar Beard Awards saintnickanuck.com/blog/2009/12/04/the-cmar-beard-awards/ #
• 20:43 Notice: @paulandstorm did not just break me, they *shattered* me. That is all. #

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Annoying friends and strangers alike, 140 bytes at a time.

• 10:08 From Craigslist: "Professional Student wanted !" Is this a real job, or is this guy just an idiot? #
• 10:10 @Televixen Re: Drinkers at the airport - Those are just the TSA people, getting ready to go on duty. #
• 10:17 @Televixen It would explain a great many things. Have a safe flight! #
• 11:02 Sweet! Thanks to @kevindilmore, we've got prime seats to see @ThatKevinSmith here in KC, March 27th! Close enough to peek up his skirt! #
• 11:43 Brobeck's BBQ for lunch, and FTW! #
• 13:00 @ParkvilleMOm Re: XXXmas messages - These are the sorts of things you share, my dear :) #
• 13:03 @computist Do you mean Jack Stack? If so, they're too different to really compare, but so far as proper smoke-flavor, Brobeck's wins. #
• 13:04 #FF Author Friends: @bleisner @bobgreenberger @davidalanmack @alanjporter @mbranesf @nancyhightower @nightwolfwriter @TheKJA #
• 13:04 #FF Author Friends 2: @BHrome @dattico @deanwesleysmith @gryphonrose @kristinerusch @nayad @PhaedraWeldon @RebeccaMoesta #
• 13:04 #FF Author Friends 3: @allyngibson @christinafyork @david_n_wilson @jstephenyork @larrynemecek @thesavageknight #
• 13:07 #FF Geeky Ladies: @alterune @aprilhebert @askageekgal @geekgirls @jendaby @myma1313 @starfleetmom @televixen @terpette #
• 13:08 #FF Wrong stuff that makes you laugh: @ER_Tards @PeopleofWalmart @shitmydadsays @tfln #
• 13:14 #FF Celebrity Geeks: @feliciaday @janewiedlin @thatkevinsmith @mikeokuda @nathanfillion @roddenberry @wilw #
• 16:38 #FF Geeky Pals: @hertzog @Joefan23 @julioangelortiz @kwamster @kyle_rodd @psiqueue @quarksbartender @sonofworf @super_spock @trekguy62 #
• 16:38 #FF KC Peeps: @crcook @DanaKCTV5 @EricTReynolds @jvergara @johnnydare @jposnanski @kevindilmore @kmellon @ParkvilleMOm @smartassredhead #
• 16:51 #FF Geeky Fun Edition: @drhorrible @entearth @theguild @KCfancon @kwamtshirts @syfy @trekonlinegame @WriteRCastle #
• 16:51 #FF Geeky News Edition: @airlockalpha @comicmix @SciFi4me @thescifichick @Scifiheaven @Subspacecomms @trekmovie #
• 16:51 #FF Geeky Podcast Edition: @chronicrift @dvdgeeks @scifidiner @seattlegeekly @susiethegeek @trekcast #
• 22:17 @littlefluffycat All Picardites welcome! I'm writing a TNG novel for Pocket Books as we speak :) #
• 22:18 @Starfleetmom Re: Favorite Xmas movie. DIE HARD. :D #
• 22:26 "The new Buck Rogers trailer looks like Flash Gordon, or Captain Proton." These are the same ppl who think Gandalf was a rip-off of Obi-Wan. #
• 22:31 @subspacecomms Re: Trek Expo - Haven't talked to the con promoters about it yet, but we're not against the notion :) #
• 23:35 And the Skippy McDumbass Award of the Day goes to....this guy. Buy your kids a DVD, you cheap prick. bit.ly/5dxb42 #
• 23:38 @Starfleetmom Re: Buck Rogers - Where do you think Proton got his badass ship from? :) #
• 23:41 @kevindilmore Re: Buck Rogers - I've seen those old serials! Buck and Flash could so totally be twins! What are the odds??? #
• 23:43 @DadUnmasked Re: Pezhead - Well, he's spawned at least a couple of times, for his offspring were denied Charlie Brown cuz of Obamus Prime. #
• 23:46 @Smittmaestro You say "Captain Proton is an homage to Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon..." as though my geeky self didn't already know that. ;) #
• 23:49 @Smittmaestro - I love old SF, including the Buck/Flash serials. Got all of that on DVD and everything. I am hopeless :D #

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Originally published at Saint Nickanuck of the Tundra. You can comment here or there.

November has come and gone, and How Not To Grow A Beard Month is officially a matter of history for 2009. While David Moore and I were locked in bitter combat for first place on the last day, Mur surged ahead and won out in the end – congratulations, Mur! (This is only appropriate, as of all of us, she is 1. the least capable of growing a beard, which best exemplifies How Not To Grow one, and 2. has the most appreciable breasts, which we were collecting money for to save from cancer.)

Bob’s recap says it all, but I want to add my own copious thanks to all those who contributed. Your generosity on behalf of breast cancer research is outstanding, and truly blew us all away. Thank you.

It is now time to bequeath the Cmar Beard Awards for HoNoToGroABeMo 2009. These have nothing to do with donations, and everything to do with the glorious pictography of crackling virility hedges:

• Best Beard Photo: There were many entertaining and creative entries these past 30 days. In the end, the nod goes to Jim Van Verth for Day 3: Me Abrasive Personality, as he demonstrated for us how to scrub cookware… LIKE MEN ONCE DID:

• Man Most Exemplifying How Not To Grow A Beard: I’d like to say this one was close, but alas, it was not. As he himself prophesied, Jeff Greiner takes the prize.

• Best Time Lapse Photo Series: Only one man demonstrated a consistency of photographic pose and stout follicular excellence to take this category. Adam Johnson, you are that man. (Click through to view the slideshow.)

• Man Most Exemplifying How To Grow A Beard: For a month of trying to show how NOT to grow a beard, this one was surprisingly close. Given mane thickness, and a preserved neck-beard unblemished by the trimmer’s blade, Bob Voegerl wins the award.

• Daily Commitment to the Task: Few had the stamina to start on Day 1 and produce a post for all 30 days, but Jeff, Jim, and Bob each gain this esteemed recognition. In addition to myself, that means that all four of us completed NaBloWriMo – National Blog Writing Month – as well.

• Best-Spun Beardy Yarns: All participants strove to tell excellent tales this month. That said, the undisputed master of facial hair storytelling is Kris Johnson, as exemplified by his copiously-researched and amazingly accurate Better Know a Beard series.

To all the participants, it was a pleasure joining you in this nutty endeavor! To everyone else, I’ll merely note that only 332 days remain until HoNoToGroABeMo 2010, and this whole mad affair will start up again.

Finally, I shall leave you with the perfect footnote to HoNoToGroABeMo, discovered by Natalie Metzger. Thanks again to all!

Finally working on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Should have it out today. celticmusicpodcast.com/ #celticmusic #

Only two Celtic artists nominated for Grammys: Maura O'Connell, Trad Folk and Lis Carroll, John Doyle for Trad World. is.gd/5bESd #

New Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is now online. Update your iTunes or listen on the website at celticmusicpodcast.com #celticmusic #

Irish and Celtic Music Podcast #74: Music from Stanley and Grimm, Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer, Emerald Rose, 3 Pi.. bit.ly/8JQ906 #

Working on my Celtic Christmas Podcast. Realized my 1st Celtic Xmas special is missing 3 songs. Doh! Guess I'll edit them in. #

Unless someone out there has complete version of Show #28 of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. More details of the Celtic Xmas one to come. #

Wait! I found a full version of Show #28. Yay!!!!! #

The Marc Gunn Songbook. I compiled all the songs I've written in one place... I think. Prolly missed some, but here goes. is.gd/5csSw #

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Hidee-ho, neighbors!

I'm renewing my call to all Trekkies who have A) a camera, B) one or more tribbles, C) a bit of free time, and D) no shame, to snap a pic of a tribble in an odd/weird/crazy place.

See my original post on the topic here: Calling all Trekkies! Calling all Trekkies!

The wackier or more fun the situation, the better. For example, from @starfleetmom on Twitter: Who reads this crap?

I've got some other examples as already provided via e-Mail. For those who sent me links to where pics are stored, if you would be so kind as to provide such links again in the comments section for either entry I've made on this, it would go a long way toward refreshing my swiss-cheesed memory.

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to help out so far!

• 09:10 Sinai Hospital of Baltimore medical grand rounds today: "Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy" #
• 09:27 @bjmclaughlin *groan* #
• 23:53 Cmar-bloggery: Clipper City Yule Tide - bit.ly/8dV1YZ #

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Annoying friends and strangers alike, 140 bytes at a time.

• 07:53 Hey, @ericdives, I don't hate Thursday. I just recognize that's it's cock-teasing me, pretending it's a better day than Fri or Sat.... ;) #
• 09:53 Yes, but only for the articles. RT @torenheksje "All men watch porn, scientists find"( twitthis.com/g3vdmy ) #
• 10:05 @TerilynnS Re: Women watch porn - Of course they do, if for nothing else than to mock how big what's her name's ass has gotten. ;) #
• 20:51 On the blog: Back cover text for COUNTERSTRIKE! daytonward.livejournal.com/455111.html #

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Madame Editor was nice enough to send me a handful of cover flats for Counterstrike: The Last World War, Book II (and, yes, the cover looks even better than the jpeg lets on). She also cleared me to share with anyone who might care the back cover text. So, without further ado:

-----

When the alien war engulfing a distant planet spilled to Earth through a
network of hidden "portals," humankind was plunged into an apocalyptic,
generations-old conflict between the Plysserians and the Chodrecai. Now,
months after the world's most powerful military forces formed a tenuous
alliance with the Plysserians and countered a devastating, three-pronged
Chodrecai offensive, alien survivors continue to wreak havoc on a
shell-shocked Earth. Martial law and civil unrest run rampant. Resistance
cells and pockets of Chodrecai sympathizers are gathering strength. And two
U.S. Marines - Sergeant Major Simon DiCarlo and Sergeant Belinda Russell -
remain trapped on the alien planet of Jontashreena.

Now, as human and Plysserian scientists and engineers race to unlock the
intergalactic portals and harvest alien technology, Earth prepares for the
most explosive battle for its existence. Joining the war effort are
recruits like young colin Laney, who will advance from Marine boot camp to
the forefront of a massive invasion on alien terrain - with the fate of two
worlds hanging in the balance.

-----



Woo, and...dare I even say it? Hoo.

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to open my email and find a sneak peak of Vinny Chong's cover art for Murky Depths #11, which is a fold-around illustration of my short story "Heart of Clay." HOLY GOD is it cool!

Then, a few hours later, I got an email with the interior illustration done by Nancy Farmer. Wicked stuff. And very different from the cover illustration (I think that's very cool, personally).

I really do love December. But I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited to get to January and February!

Irish & Celtic Music Podcast featured in the Celtic Gift Giving Guide of the Irish Fireside. is.gd/5asvN #

Oh! My Irish Drinking Songs CD is also featured in the Celtic Holiday Gift Giving Guide is.gd/5asvN #

The Elders have a new Christmas single "Christmas Day". Will post in my Christmas ed. of Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. is.gd/5asE1 #

I love looking at my new CD. It's to pretty. Except... I'm not used to the cover not being textured like the one I painted. Still way cool. #

Packing pre-orders of "The Bridge" to mail. marcgunn.com #

Marc Weeklies: Give "The Bridge" for Christmas: It's here! It's here! "The Bridge" has arrived!Every time I rel.. bit.ly/77ipuT #

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samhenderson is giving away her excellent, creepy as hell novel Heaven's Bones to anyone who donates $10 or more to for a good cause. I can vouch for this book personally: it's pretty awesomely twisted and you should check it out.

ETA: Just to clarify, the donations really need to be sent today.

• 08:10 Ia! Ia! @cthulhim fhtagn! Roughly translated -> a vastly Happy Birthday to @cthulhim! #
• 19:30 At a dinner meeting with Dr, John Bartlett. I'm fairly sure this man does, in fact, know everything. #

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Annoying friends and strangers alike, 140 bytes at a time.

• 10:37 The downside to interacting online w/ppl who want to talk about your writing? Once in a while, you have to deal with a total fucking psycho. #
• 10:41 Happy Wednesday, tweeps! You know what that means? #boobiewed! Get informed, and SAVE SECOND BASE! bit.ly/1sDVg #
• 10:48 @TerilynnS Re: Dog bark - How about the "I'd really like some of those cheese fries" whine? #
• 10:53 @thatkevinsmith Heard a rumor you might be coming to Kansas City in March 2010. Any truth to that? PleaseSayYesPleaseSayYesPleaseSayYes.... #
• 10:56 @erictreynolds AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I owe you stuff....I owe you stuff!!! I'm on it! #
• 11:07 When Tiger Woods admits to having an affair with Adam Lambert, get back to me. Media's boring me with this predictable crap. #
• 11:41 @kevindilmore @jvancitters Re: TOS Snuggies - This sounds like a job for @thinkgeek! #
• 11:42 @mbranesf Re: Facebook changes - Well, it's been a week or so since the last batch of changes, right? #
• 11:45 Okay, so we know Meredith Baxter wasn't having an affair with Tiger Woods. That's one..... #
• 11:57 YES IT DOES LOOK AWESOME! RT @Syfy Teaser trailer for new Buck Rogers series looks AWESOME: bit.ly/8yV4pg #
• 13:12 latlh teblI'! nID Dun! #klingon (translate: bit.ly/4QHQbo) #
• 13:14 This site is awesome: www.tweetinklingon.com. "tlingAn HoL, mother fuckers! Do you speak it?!?" #
• 17:42 When I go to my Twitter profile page, it says "That's you!" under my name. This is a feature, but the "Remember Me" button is for shit. WTF? #
• 17:43 @jcsimonds Re: Victoria's Secret: Rosie O'Donnell wants to know how to get into one of those outfits. There's Victoria's big effin' Secret. #
• 20:48 On the blog: I use EW.com's list and offer up 17 movies *I* watch over and over: daytonward.livejournal.com/454579.html #

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Spurred by "17 Movies You Watch Over and Over" as posted on EW.com, I decided that their list was notably lacking, and opted to create my own such list. Here are 17 movies I've watched uncounted times, and likely would include on my "desert island" list. I make no pronouncements about these being "the best" or whatever. These are just 17 flicks I could watch with no cajoling whatsoever, on a rainy day or just any day I feel like veggin' on my couch.

(Note: I'm purposely leaving off Star Trek movies and the three Star Wars films. What's that? They made three more? Bullshit, I say.)

Presented in order of release:
( Read more... )

Up next? Maybe I'll offer up 17 "bad" movies I love to watch over and over.... :)

• My newest CD "The Bridge" arrived today! Now you can order it on my homepage. Or give it for Christmas. www.marcgunn.com/ #
• Added a wee Christmas theme to my website. www.marcgunn.com/ #

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