Catch-up or ketchup? Offerings for all the senses.

For my Awesome Lavratt fans and fans of tongue-in-cheek space opera in general, I'd like to give you the opportunity to hear an excerpt from a new story in the Awesome Lavratt universe. Listen at Broad Universe. It's part of the August Broadpod.

Judge Dredd, baby!



Minister of Chance Episode Three rocks! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must be new to my blog or just missed a few key posts. I LOVE Minister of Chance. If you are a Doctor Who and radio play fan, you'll LOVE it, too. It stars Jenny Agutter (Logan's Run), Lauren Crace, Paul Darrow, Beth Goddard, Tamsin Greig, Peter Guinness, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann with Julian Wadham in the title role.

Please read these posts if you missed them. You can listen to all three episodes now and you'll be transported to a world of intrigue, magic, war and impossible portals between worlds. And humor. Trust me on this one.

Episode one reviewed.

Excerpted from a previous post:
I know my loyal readers are getting sick of me going on about the abfab sci-fi radio drama The Minister of Chance, but, well, deal. I love it! Here's an interview with cast member Jenny Agutter (I remember her from Logan's Run, one of the few good sci-fi films from my youth).

And part two of the same interview is here.


RUSH fans - listen up! This from Kevin J. Anderson (Dune novels)--
Clockwork Angels: The Novel is written by Kevin J. Anderson and RUSH drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, and based on the new Rush album, it's a steampunk fantasy adventure full of exotic travel, gadgets, pirates, lost cities, and encounters with heroes and villains. The hardcover, ebook and audio all go on sale on September 1. The novel is in full color, with illustrations by Hugh Syme. Neil himself reads the unabridged audio version, and there’s a brief afterword read by me. The ebook is available for every platform.

A little late (they weren't - I was), but not if you act fast --

Phoenix Picks' Free Ebook for August 2012 is the Prometheus Award winner, Pallas by
L. Neil Smith.

The coupon code is 9991494 and will be good from August 2 through August
31. Links for downloading the book will be available, as usual, from our
online catalogue page, www.PPickings.com .
Brief description of the book:

Ex-U.S.-Senator Gibson Altman rules the prison colony where everyone is
expected to live by rules that govern every aspect of their lives.

The inhabitants of the experimental colony survive in a society plagued by
crime, corruption and despair, toiling endlessly at tasks they are
appointed to. Altman lives a life of luxury, ruling the lives of the souls
trapped within his experiment and brooking no opposition to mandate.

However, Pallas, the terraformed asteroid, is also home to Curringer, a
society in stark contrast to Altman's prison. It is a community where
individual freedoms are championed and men and women are free to live as
they please.

Emerson Ngu escapes from Altman's prison colony and becomes a hero of
Curringer. Altman is driven by a deep hatred of Emerson and his triumph
and will do anything to get his revenge on him. But in the process will he
also destroy his own daughter and even the world of Pallas?

Here's the skinny on a comic-based web series.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2012

CALIFORNIA PICTURES INKS DEAL WITH M2 AND
GELLER ENTERTAINMENT GROUP TO
PRODUCE BOONDOCK SAINTS EPISODES


LOS ANGELES, CA – California Pictures has inked a more expanded deal with M2’s Adam Martin and Eben Matthews and their producing partner, Geller Entertainment Group's D. Matt Geller and Adam Lerner to exploit the widely-popular graphic novel property, Boondock Saints. The plan is to produce a series of motion comics for multiple platforms. Jason Leibovitch, Vice President of California Pictures, made today’s announcement.

“Boondock Saints is a multi-million dollar franchise that we’re excited to expand upon with our producing partners,” commented Steven Istock, President of California Pictures. “The property has a huge fan base and lends itself well to various platforms of release worldwide. We’re looking forward to working with M2 and Geller Entertainment Group to offer an extension of the property to fans across the globe.”

One of the biggest cult hits ever - The Boondock Saints was filmed in 1999 and completed in 2000. Blacklisted from theaters due to a backlash against violent films after the Columbine Incident, the film never received a proper theatrical release. Instead, the film found its fan base on DVD spawning an international sensation that continues to grow.

"In Nomine Patris," a six-part comic book series, was released in May 2010. The series is written by Franchise Creator/Writer/Director, Troy Duffy and Comic Scribe, J.B. Love, and focuses on the untold story of Noah MacManus - 'The Original Saint' - the Brothers' father, known as Il Duce. The Brothers MacManus are also on tap, in Boston and Ireland, doing what they do best in a series of brand new adventures. The series answers fans' long-standing questions about how the 'Saints' came to be by revealing the origins behind the 'Saints' bloodline of vengeance.

“Like so many other fans I discovered ‘The Saints’ on DVD through a friend,” commented M2‘s Eben Matthews. “The moment I saw it, I knew it should be a comic series. But the end game with this story was always to do what we do best and make it into a motion comic series. We knew that’s where this new chapter of the Boondock mythos would really come to life.”

M2’s Adam Martin added, “The films already have a tremendous following and the comics were quite successful as well. We believe that telling this story, in this way, is the perfect complement to the films and will deliver something fresh and dynamic that will absolutely delight the fans and add to the mythology of the franchise.”

For local horror fans or fans of spooky and haunted houses. . .

LEGENDS NEVER DIE: WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE® RESURRECTS 'FRIGHT NIGHTS 2012'
IN ADVANCE OF HALLOWEEN BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 28
Listed as the Travel Channel’s 2nd most haunted place, the Winchester Mystery House® award-winning, interactive, maze returns with new thrills and an updated flashlight tour more terrifying than ever

Pre-sale tickets now available for a limited time

SAN JOSE, CA, August 16, 2012 – Just in advance of Halloween, the award-winning Winchester Mystery House® attraction "Fright Nights" returns for a second year kicking off on Friday, September 28, 2012. The world-famous mysterious, rambling and reportedly haunted home of Sarah Winchester has more thrills and exciting additions to last year’s award-winning Maze and Mansion tour.

Throughout September and October (see complete schedule below), the grounds of the Winchester Estate will be transformed into the world’s most terrifying Halloween experience. Filled with haunted walk-through attractions, roaming scare performers, and nightmare inducing tales, “Fright Nights” will once again be an event visitors won’t want to miss.

“We are excited to bring the Winchester Mystery House® ‘Fright Nights’ back to life for a second year,” said Brett Tomberlin, President of Imagination Design Works. “To give visitors even more, we are stepping up the 40-minute maze by adding over 100 spine-chilling characters and surprises around every corner. The Mansion ‘Flashlight Tour’ is also ramped up in a way that will shock and awe visitors.”
CURSE OF SARAH WINCHESTER: THE RESURRECTION
Maze Length: 40 Minutes
Guests at Winchester Mystery House®“Fright Nights” will have the exclusive opportunity to experience the revamped “Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze” – an interactive, multi-sensory gateway between Heaven and Hell which will be opened exclusively for visitors of “Fright Nights.” Reports have said, that for a lifetime, Sarah Winchester built and rebuilt her house to avoid a treacherous curse and to escape the legacy of death. Those who perished by the Winchester rifle seek revenge and are ready to torment souls.

Visitors find themselves trapped inside an estate that is empowered by the undead as they travel through the Corn Fields of Winchester Mystery House®, into the haunted ruins of the family Graveyard and ultimately, to a showdown with Sarah herself as she presides over one of her infamous séances.

“WALK WITH THE SPIRITS” FLASHLIGHT TOUR
Tour Length: 35 Minutes
Tour the mansion as you never have before - on your own.

Since Sarah’s death, millions of people have visited her home and many have reported sighting ghosts. Do the phantoms Sarah communed with, or does perhaps Sarah herself, still lurk nightly in the maze-like corridors of the Winchester Mystery House®?

You'll tour the rambling, mysterious mansion with only the moonlight, a souvenir flashlight, and your imagination to provide illumination through the bewildering labyrinth of rooms and stairways.

EVENT DATES, TIMES, LOCATION AND ADMISSION:

WHERE: Fright Nights at Winchester Mystery House®
525 S. Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95128
Phone: 408.247.2101

TICKET INFO: Pre-sale tickets from Aug. 1 – Sept. 9: $35 or $50 VIP
Two-pack tickets available at any Northern CA Costco from Sept. 10 – Oct. 31: $54.99
From Sept. 28 – Oct. 14: $40 or $55 VIP
From Oct. 15 – Nov. 3: $45 or $60 VIP
Tickets now available
http://winchestermysteryhouse.com/frightnights.cfm
*VIP tickets include front of line access – Limited quantities available
*Regular and VIP tickets include access to the Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze and Walk with the Spirits Flashlight Tour

FRIGHT NIGHTS DATES AND TIMES

September 28-29
6:30pm – 12:00am
September 30
6:30pm – 11:00pm
October 7, 29, 30
6:30Pm – 11:00pm

October 14, 18, 21, 25, 28
6:30pm – 11:30pm
October 5, 6, 31
6:30pm – 12:00am
October 12, 13, 19, 20
6:30pm – 12:30am

October 26, 27
6:30pm – 1:00am

November 2, 3
6:30pm – 12:00am

Winchester Mystery House's Fright Nights - Not for the kiddies

I received an invitation to check out the premiere of the Winchester Mystery House's Fright Nights. I dithered for a while, then justified the expense of the trip by combining it with a trip to see the grandkids in Fremont on the way. But then, who would be my plus one who would want to make that stop on the way? Her Aunt Debbie! We got there around 6:40. Apparently there was some sort of press briefing in front of the house that we were not directed to. I only know from reading the email they sent at 10 AM the day of - over an hour after I left the house. ☹ Oh, well.

We braved the rap and hip-hop blaring in the courtyard to check in at the press/VIP table and headed into the Winchester Room for hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Fortified with Winchester wine, we joined group six for the flashlight tour of the Winchester House. I visited the Winchester House as a girl and remember seeing the brick wall behind the door and the door that led to a two-story drop to the garden below. I didn't see the brick wall Friday night and only saw the closed door to nowhere. I so wanted to see where all the doors led and see the secret passageways. But that apparently wasn't part of the tour.

If you go on the flashlight tour, be sure not to go with a migraine. Imagine being in a dark room with 30 people all shining flashlights everywhere, including, occasionally in your light-sensitive eyes. I didn't have a migraine when I left Sonoma County that afternoon. It came on just in time for the flashlights. ☹

For those unfamiliar with the Winchester story, Sarah Winchester was the widow of William Wirt Winchester, the maker of the Winchester repeating rifle - a revolutionary design. They had one child who died at about 6 months old. After her husband died of TB, the grieving Sarah visited a psychic in Boston. According to legend, the psychic convinced her that the spirits of the people killed by Winchester rifles sought their revenge upon her and her family. The psychic advised her to construct a home, but never stop construction lest the spirits overtake her. She moved west and bought an eight-room, unfinished farmhouse near San Jose.

The Winchester Mystery House, at its height before the 1906 quake, had seven stories of labyrinthine craziness. Her 24/7 construction project transformed the farmhouse into a sprawling 160-room mansion with 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms, 2 basements, three elevators and six kitchens over the course of 38 years.

Tour guides matter. They really do. Make sure you aren't led by the strapping young Joe. He was unenthusiastic, uninformed and unenergized. And on about four occasions, I asked him a question. The answer was always a variation of "I don't know." I just read a SF Gate blog in which my counterpart had a similarly unfortunate tour guide. Hers was all gush and no substance.

Here's a video if you can't make it to the mansion yourself. These Weird US guys got a better, more inclusive tour.



The rushed tour of the house didn't frighten, but the maze surely made up for that. It was a screamfest. I screamed my fool head off, to the point of hurting my throat. The last good haunted house I'd been through was when I was probably 12 or 13. I don't remember the ghouls jumping directly in front of us or being free to get right in our face. It seemed they could lunge, but not trespass onto our designated path. They could scare you, but not "get you".

Such is not the case on Fright Night. Beware the ghouls that can jump out at you from around any corner or from behind, and totally violate your personal space. Several even followed me down the path for a while. The Curse of Sarah Winchester Maze: Legends Never Die is not recommended for children under 13.

My nerves got so frayed that I told Debbie it was her turn to be in front and be the early warning system when we were about half-way through.