It was a dog, not a mutant Maine monster. See also ding-dong the dog is dead.

The Politically Incorrect Alphabet includes a Dalek. I'm still not sure why.

Boing Boing links to "Bomb Or Not"?

More on the Harlan Ellison Hugos dust-up. The first MeFi link is a video of the incident, so you can judge for yourself whether the flap is reasonable.

As if we needed another worry: Identity Thieves Steal Homes. In short, they steal your identity and sell your house for a profit you never will see.

The Mightiest Dorothy of Them All!

Buried Puppy. He looks pretty calm for being buried in sand.

Promote Dorothy and Get Prizes! I don't know if I qualify, since I'd be promoting the book anyway. At the moment, I'm trying to convince the King County Library System that the first collection is indeed a trade paperback and not a periodical, and that they should order some copies for the system. I also plan on wearing the Dorothy necklace to a showing of Wicked in Seattle in a few weeks, I'll tell all about that when it happens.

Girlamatic has a cover for each month now, starting with Rachel Hartman's excellent Mad Bun!

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #66.

More from the good ol' swipe file of early Batman.

Lost Girls is going to a third printing.

More Journalista, this one complete with a contest.

Links about Mothra's Girls.

Nobody will know what your t-shirt actually says if you buy one that's been Pre-Pixelated!

Sports Logos! Sadly, I didn't see the Seattle Mets Hockey Team logo anywhere...

How to drive telemarketers crazy.

OOOOOH! A Hybrid Mini Cooper! I want one! (Once all the problems have been worked out and it's been road-tested for a bit by early adapters, of course).

The Scream has been recovered.

Steve of BNL on DRM and the latest scheme.

Going back to the moon? I'll believe it when I see it.

Today's morning weigh-in shows that I've lost 25 pounds since I started my efforts on June 10th. I'm a quarter of the way to my first big goal. If I keep it up at near this rate nobody will recognize me at the next Emerald City Comicon.

In slightly related news, hubby-Eric and I watched Super Size Me the other day. I highly recommend the movie to everyone, particularly to kids and folks with kids. There were only a couple of gross spots, much fewer than I was expecting, and the DVD had some very interesting extras (like the bit where he allows various McDonald's fast food items to rot, and the french fries never do). It will certainly make you think before you go out for junk food (of course, hubby-Eric and I went out for junk food the next night, but we did think about it (and yes, I counted the calories best I could)).

Journalista is REALLY back! This is the correct address, so update your bookmarks.

Neil Gaiman and Copyright Dates. I remember the flap about Tim Hunter being a rip off of Harry Potter.

Paul Cornell links to a video of the Hugo award speech for Doctor Who. If I had been there, I would've hugged Paul.

Heidi Rants on comic book lateness. I'm sort of in agreement. Sort of, because I blame this pretty squarely on the folks who expect miracles out of artists. I'm thinking of Aquaman here, where both Kurt and Butch asked for a two month delay in the book so Butch would be able to keep up the schedule. DC said no, expected miracles, and got a few out of Butch before reality caught up. And now? Aquaman is on the schedule it would have been on if Kurt and Butch had gotten their requested delay.

Heidi also comments on Wonder Woman going bi-Monthly. I asked in one of my polls if Aquaman fans would mind Aquaman going bi-Monthly, and the response was hugely negative. I gathered that many fans thought it would be better to not have any Aquaman at all than to get it only six times a year. Just odd.

A Skintight Burqa makes no sense.

Tokyopop's on-line only sales aren't popular with readers or retailers.

Graeme follows Mark Millar's Predications of doom for comic books, and is confused by the doom without gloom that Millar is promising.

4x6-art.com, a gallery of card art collected over the years. Huh. Maybe I should do this.

Super Typhoon in the Pacific, Wake Island evacuated.

A Sourpuss.

BBC reports on Raed Jarrar being forced to replace a t-shirt before boarding a plane in New York. Again, I think I want one of those t-shirts.

Ok, that's not really fair, but it's silly enough to fit Harlan.

Apparently there's been some debate over Harlan Ellison grabbing Connie Willis during the Hugo Awards Ceremony. Patrick Nielsen Hayden said it "wasn't funny and it wasn't okay". It's even been called unpardonable.

Over on Unca Harlan's Art Deco Dining Pavilion, Harlan has responded:

HARLAN ELLISON
- Tuesday, August 29 2006 12:19:50

REPLY TO LYNNE BATIK:

Would you believe that, having left the Hugo ceremonies immediately after my part in it, while it was still in progress ... and having left the hall entirely ... yet having been around later that night for Kieth Kato's traditional chili party ... and having taken off next morning for return home ... and not having the internet facility to open "journalfen" (or whatever it is), I was unaware of any problem proceeding from my intendedly-childlike grabbing of Connie Willis's left breast, as she was exhorting me to behave.

Nonetheless, despite my only becoming aware of this brouhaha right this moment (12 noon LA time, Tuesday the 29th), three days after the digital spasm that seems to be in uproar ...YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!!

iT IS UNCONSCIONABLE FOR A MAN TO GRAB A WOMAN'S BREAST WITHOUT HER EXPLICIT PERMISSION. To do otherwise is to go 'way over the line in terms of invasion of someone's personal space. It is crude behavior at best, and actionable behavior at worst. When George W> Bush massaged the back of the neck of that female foreign dignitary, we were all justly appalled. For me to grab Connie's breast is in excusable, indefensible, gauche, and properly offensive to any observers or those who heard of it later.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I've called Connie. Haven't heard back from her yet. Maybe I never will.

So. What now, folks? It's not as if I haven't been a politically incorrect creature in the past. But apparently, Lynne, my 72 years of indefensible, gauche (yet for the most part classy), horrifying, jaw-dropping, sophomoric, sometimes imbecile behavior hasn't--till now--reached your level of outrage.

I'm glad, at last, to have transcended your expectations. I stand naked and defenseless before your absolutely correct chiding.

With genuine thanks for the post, and celestial affection, I remain, puckishly,

Yr. pal, Harlan

P.S. You have my permission to repost this reply anywhere you choose, on journalfen, at SFWA, on every blog in the universe, and even as graffiti on the Great Wall of China.

He then continued on:

HARLAN ELLISON
- Tuesday, August 29 2006 12:26:56

CONNIE WILLIS'S LEFT BREAST, REDUX

Did I fail to mention, I am 100% guilty as charged, and NO ONE should attempt to cobble up mitigating excuses for my behavior? As with everything else I REALLY DO (as opposed to the bullshit that is gossiped third-hand by dolts), I am responsible for my actions 100% and am prepared to shoulder all consequences, instead of shunting them off to Vice-President ScaryGuy.

Adultly said, Yr. pal, Harlan

And on:

HARLAN ELLISON
- Tuesday, August 29 2006 12:28:31

REDUX, REDUX'D

This may be what killed vaudeville.

he

And on:

HARLAN ELLISON
- Tuesday, August 29 2006 12:31:1

REDUX TERTIUS

How's chances of me playing either the "I'm an old man and my brain is leaking out of my ass" card ... or ... even better ...

"I'm an old Jew and this is just another example of anti-Semitism because all you goyim are pissed that Jews really DO control the whole world."

I can go either way.

Yr. pal, Harlan

And finished with this:

HARLAN ELLISON
- Tuesday, August 29 2006 12:43:2

ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH

On a more serious note: if, in fact, Connie (or Courtney, or Cordelia) were/are/might in any way be offended by this latest demonstration of give'n'take jackanapery between Connie and Harlan (now in its longest-run on Broadway), you may all rest assured I will apologize vehemently, will crawl to Colorado through broken glass and steaming embers, and beg her (their) forgiveness. I need no one to prompt me.

Harlan Ellison, a friend of Connie Willis

Well, this is interesting. I have no problem with it, as long as the originals are still available. That was my complaint with the Star Wars movies. Now, maybe somebody will try it with Doctor Who...

How to make a survival kit that fits in an Altoids tin.

Svetlana Chmakova promotes the second volume of Dramacon with some non-spoiler preview images over on The Engine.

Tokyopop tells Dave to stop buying their titles. Well, sort of. And I agree with Dave here. Make it harder to get a title, and I won't buy it. Christopher Butcher agrees as well.

Mike Sterling celebrates the return of Journalista.

The Fourth Rail shuts down. Eh, I've been reading those guys' reviews since usenet, I'll continue to read them where ever they go.

Pug video for the in-laws.

Windows Vista release dates and prices leaked? I'm sick of operating system upgrades. I wish they would just concentrate on making the current system WORK properly, instead of making new OS's that probably have a bunch of useless crap that most of us don't want anyway.

Lots of hype about Light Bulbs. I'm not sure I believe the claims about how much energy can be saved, but that hasn't stopped hubby-Eric and I from replacing as many of our standard bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs as we can.

Plastic Man Cartoon?

Colleen is having mouse problems.

Mike Sterling ponders a missing plot point in Swamp Thing.

Uh, I read Shonen Jump. Mostly for Hikaru No Go, but I've been enjoying some of the other features...

Diane Duane on a recent bit of news. And APOD has a graphic about it.

The embarrassed DHS tried to silence their critics through trademark laws. By the way, ReallyReady.org is a great site.

The case of the disappearing mic cable.

A Woman alone on the Appalachian Trail, the story of men chasing women on the trail.

A growing movement to legalize hemp, from folks who don't wear tie-dye and have never smoked pot.

New Orleans. The hurricane hadn't quite hit. Now, this year, Hurricane Ernesto is headed to Florida. Let's hope it doesn't grow.

Hugo Winners have been announced, and my friend Paul Cornell did NOT take home the prize for his Doctor Who story "Father's Day". No, his friend Steven Moffat won for his Doctor Who story(ies) "The Empty Child" & "The Doctor Dances".


Paul was told that in the voting, the three Doctor Who episodes nominated came in one, two ("Dalek"), and three, with his as the third, but still ahead of Battlestar Galactica, much to his surprise.


Congrats to Steven Moffat for the Hugo, and congrats to the Doctor Who writing team for the sweep.