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The Simulation Interrogation
I recently finished a spec for The Big Bang Theory. I know that writing specs for currently-airing shows is considered a bit passé these days but I a) needed a spec of a particular US comedy to put into the Nickelodeon Writing Program, and this was my favourite of the ones on offer and b) […]
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The People Who Show Up
The Hugo Awards are one of Science Fiction’s best-known trophies. Shaped like giant phalluses in the form of rocket ships (as opposed to giant phalluses shaped like golden men), the Hugos are the Oscars of the science fiction world. Now, in the last couple of years, more diverse fiction has been being awarded Hugos. This […]
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Redemption Schedule
I’ll be at cuddlesome and friendly SF con Redemption this coming weekend up in Coventry. Should you be around and about, here’s the panels I’m on… Stargate – Gone and Forgotten? 3pm, Friday Basically, why Stargate the TV series is dead good. Imaginary Friends 7pm, Friday Six, Harvey, Harvey, Hopkirk (Deceased) and more – what function […]
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FATE Combat Cheat Sheet
My Tuesday Night RPG group has been playing Zeitgeist for the last couple of years. It’s a steampunk fantasy game, and it’s got a great story. Strong recommend here. We started off playing it in 4th Edition D&D, but after a while it became clear that the system wasn’t supporting the cinematic playstyle that we were […]
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This is a picture of the prophet Muhammad.
At the top of this post is a picture. It is a stick figure. It says: “Hello. I am the prophet Muhammad.” The drawing is crude. It could be of anyone. The picture is not a caricature. There is no judgement attached to it. However, the word-bubble attached to it makes clear, explicitly and absolutely, […]
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Christmas Pimpage
Stuck for Christmas Presents for your friends and family? Why not give them stuff I’ve written this year? There’s Cthulhu Lives! from Ghostwoods Books. That there is an Amazon affiliate link which gives me an extra 20p or so at no extra cost to your good self. It’s like ticking the Gift Aid box when you […]
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The Wheel of Karma
Some years ago, I had a minor entanglement with Alex Dally McFarlane and the notable hatemonger known as Requires Hate (also known as Winterfox, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, and too many other aliases to mention here), where they bullied a friend of mine off of Twitter and very nearly out of fandom altogether for the crime of Not Being […]
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My Stalker Hell
I was dating someone a while back. Doesn’t matter who. It ended. Shortly afterwards I started receiving emails from sockpuppet accounts on an online dating site which we both frequented. It was easy enough to tell who they were from, because after a few how-are-you your-profile-looks-interesting getting-to-know-you exchanges, they would make the same claim as the person whom […]
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Acting on the Edge
M’brother Rafe taught at East 15 Drama School on something called The Project. It’s a big part of their training, and basically involves a metric shit-tonne of research, followed by an in-depth week-long semi-improvised residential workshop where you will be in character almost all week long. It’s completely immersive, and if you’re interested in how to merge yourself […]
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Final Draft Stage Template
Ages ago, I made a Final Draft Template for Stage Plays. People keep asking for a copy, so here it is. Stage Play Just add it to your Final Draft Templates (or double click on it to open it) and, voila! This version is for FD8. I may have an older version for 7 lurking […]