Danny Danger Oz

Torchwood - Children of Earth

2009-07-11T14:25:35Z

Have just finished the fifth and final episode.

Avoid spoilers and watch it as fresh as you can. Overall, a very good story, with an ending that works and doesn't cop out.

If the other two seasons of Torchwood had been half as good, I'd have liked them.

Whose son is he?

2009-07-10T09:17:04Z

Conversation with Sharon a while ago

Me - Your son has been a right little horror all day!

Sharon - My son? And when does he get to be your son?

Me - When he sets fire to something or gets arrested for public indecency.

-Beat-

Sharon - That sounds fair.

11 years

2009-07-05T08:47:50Z

Today is Shaz and my 11th Wedding Anniversary. Surviving the eleven years isn't the achievement, it's surviving the last ten months with Lex!

We had a nice day at the National Film and Sound Archives, 'cos we're geeks. And before anyone says anything, it was Sharon's idea!

Spec Fic TV List

2009-07-03T05:35:50Z

angriest is doing his The best SF television of all time II, again over on his LJ. After I wrote in, I got curious and came across a pretty good list of titles, dating back to 2006. I added about twenty to the list, then sent it to Grant, but know full well I'll have missed lots of stuff.

So, have a look and see what you can add. The original list did not include animation, so feel free to start filling the gaps by replying in comments with any titles you can think of to add. For clarity, and an (A) after the title for animated series.

A for Andromeda/ The Andromeda
Ace of Wands
Adam Adamant Lives!
The Addams Family (1964)
The Addams Family (1998)
The Adventure Game
Adventure Inc.
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
The Adventures of Don Quick
The Adventures of Fu Manchu
The Adventures of Sinbad
The Adventures of Superboy
The Adventures of Superman
Airwolf
AJ's Time Travelers
Akuma Kun
Alf
Alias
Alien Nation
Aliens in the Family
All Souls
Alpha Scorpio
Amazing Live Sea Monkeys
The Amazing Spiderman
Amazing Stories
American Gothic
Andra
Andromeda
Angel
Animorphs
Aquila
Archer's Goon
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Ark II
Ashes to Ashes
Astronauts
Atlantis High
Atom Squad
Automan
Avatar - The Last Airbender (A)
The Avengers
Babylon 5
Bagpuss
Batman
The Batman (A)
Batman : The Animated Series (A)
Batman Beyond (A)
Battle Fever J - 1979
Battle of the Planets
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Beauty and the Beast
Being Human
Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince
Bewitched
Beyond Reality
Beyond Westworld
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1992)
Big John Little John
The Big Pull
The Bionic Woman (1976)
The Bionic Woman (2007)
The Birds of Prey
Blakes 7 (also know as Blake's 7)
Black Scorpion
Blade: The Series
Bliss
Box of Delights
The Boy from Andromeda
Breakthru
Brimstone
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bugaloos
BUGS
The Burning Zone
Button Moon
The Clangers
Carnivale
Caprica
Captain Midnight
Captain Nice
Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterions
Captain Video and his Video Rangers
Captain Zep-Space Detective
Catweazle
Century Falls
The Champions
Charmed
The Charmings
The Changes
Children of the Dog Star
Children of the Stones
Chimera
Chocky
Chocky's Children
Chojin Sentai Jetman (Birdman Task Force Jetman
Chojuu Sentai Liveman (Super Beast Task Force Liveman)
Choriki Sentai Ohranger (Super Task Force Ohranger)
The Chronicle
The Chronicles of Narnia
Chuck
City Beneath the Sea
Cleopatra 2525
Cliff Hangers-Stop Susan Williams
Cliff Hangers-The Curse of Dracula
Cliff Hangers-The Secret Empire
Cold Lazarus
Come Back Mrs. Noah
Conan the Adventurer
Counterstrike
Cowboy Bebop (A)
Crime Traveler
The Cronicle
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven
The Crusade
Cybergirl
Danger Man
Danger Mouse (A)
Darkroom
Dark Angel
Darkman
Dark Season
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows(1991)
Dark Skies
The Day of the Triffids
Dead At 21
Dead Like Me
The Dead Zone
Deepwater Black
Defenders of the Earth (A)
The Delta Wave
The Demon Headmaster
Denshi Sentai Denjiman (Electronic Task Force Denziman)
Dimension of Fear
Dinotopia
Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who (2005)
Dollhouse
Doomwatch
Dracula: The Series
Dramarama
Early Edition
Earth 2
Eerie, Indiana
Edge of Darkness
Elidor
Elly and Jools
Erasmus Microman
Escape from Jupiter
Escape Into Night
The Escape of R.D.7
Eureka
Fantasy Island
FarScape
The Fantastic Journey
Fatty and George
Fear Itself
Finder's Keepers
Fireball XL5
FireFly
FirstBorn
First Wave
The Flash
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon (A)
Flatland
The Flip Side of Dominic Hyde
The Flying Nun
Forbidden Island
Forever Knight
The 4400
Four Feather Falls
Freaky
Freaky Links
Freddy's Nightmares
Friday the 13th: The Series
Fringe
Futurama (A)
F/X: The Series
Galactica 1980
Galloping Galaxies
Galidor
Gemini Man
Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict
The Georgian House
Get Smart (1965)
Get Smart (1995)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The Gift
The Girl from Tomorrow
The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
Goodnight Sweetheart
Good Vs. Evil(GvsE)
The Greatest American Hero
Green Lantern
The Guardians
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left
Hard Time on Planet Earth
Harsh Realm
Haunted
Helping Henry
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hex
The Highlander: The Series
The Highlander: The Raven
Highwayman
Hikari Sentai Maskman (Light Task Force Maskman)
Himitsu Sentai Goranger (Secret Task Force GoRanger)
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Holmes and Yoyo
Homeboys in Outer Space
Honey, I shrunk the Kids
HR Puff n' Stuff
I Dream of Jeannie
The Immortal(1970)
The Immortal(2000)
The Incredible Hulk
Into the Labyrinth
The Invaders
Invasion
The Invisible Man(1958-59)
The Invisible Man(1975)
The Invisible Man(1984)
The Invisible Man(1999-2002)(Also known as I-Man)
Isis
It's about Time
Jack of All Trades
JAKQ Dengekitai (JAKQ Blitzkrieg Squad
Jamie
Jason of the Star Command
Jason and the Argonauts
Jekyll
Jeopardy
Jet Jackson, the Flying Commando
Jeremiah
Joe 90
John Doe
Johny Sokko and His Flying Robot
Journey to the Unknown
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Jupiter Moon
Justice League (A)
Kagaku Sentai Dynaman (Science Task Force Dynaman
Kamen Rider
Kappatoo
The Kids From OWL
The Killian Curse
Kindred: The Embrace
King of the Castle
Kinvig
Knights of God
Knight Rider (1982)
Knight Rider (2008)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (2005)
Kosoku Sentai Turboranger (High Speed Task Force Turboranger)
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Kyoryuu Sentai Zyuranger (Dinosaur Task Force Zyuranger)
Land of the Giants
Land of the Lost(1974)
Land of the Lost(1991)
The Last Train (Mini Series)
Legend
The Legend of Death
The Legend of William Tell
Le Femme Nikita
Level 9
Lexx(Tales from a Parallel Universe)
Life on Mars
Logan's Run
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
The Lone Gunmen
LOST
Lost In Space
The Lost Saucer
The Lost Planet
The Lost World
Luna
MacGyver
Maddigan's Quest
The Magic Boomerang
Magma Taishi (Ambassador Magma)
Mann & Machine
A Man Called Sloane
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Man Dog
Maniac Mansion
Manimal
Man From Atlantis
M.A.N.T.I.S.
Martian Chronicles
The Master
Masters of Horror
Masters of Science Fiction
Masters of the Universe (A)
Matabharat
Mataku
Max Headroom
Me and Meep
Meego
Men Into Space
Metal Mickey
Mercy Point
The Middleman
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
Mike & Angelo
Millennium
Miracles
Mirror Mirror
Misfits of Science
Mission Eureka
Mission Genesis
Mission: Impossible (1966)
Mission: Impossible (1988)
Mister Merlin
Mister Pye
Mister Trimble
Monkey (AKA Monkey Magic)
Monsters
Moonbase 3
Moon Stallion
Mork & Mindy
Mortal Kombat
The Munsters
Mutant X
My Favorite Martian
My Hero
My Mother The Car
My Secret Identity
MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
NetForce
Neverwhere
The New Adventures of Beans Baxter
The New Avengers
A New Tomorrow
Night Gallery
NightMan
Nightmare Cafe
The Nightmare Man
1990
Noggin The Nog
Now and Again
Nowhere Man
Ocean Odyssey(A.K.A. Ocean Girl)
Object Z(including Object Z Returns)
Oceangirl
Odessey 5
The Omega Factor
Once a Thief
One Step Beyond
The Others'
OtherWorld
Outer Limits
Out of the Unknown
Out of this World (including Dumb Martian)
Out of this World (US)
Pathfinders
The Phantom Empire
Phoenix Five
A Pig's Breakfast
Planet of the Apes
Plateau of Fear
Play for Tomorrow
Pogles wood
Poltergeist: The Legacy
The Powers of Matthew Star
The Pretender
Prey
Primeval
The Prisoner
Prisoners of Gravity
The Privateers
Probe
Profiler
Project UFO
Psi Factor
Pushing Daisies
Q.E.D.
Quantum Leap
Quark
Quatermass(including The Quatermass Experiment, Quatermass II, Quatermass and the Pit, Quatermass)
The Queen of Swords
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000)
The Ray Bradbury Theater
Really Wierd Tales
Reaper
Red Dwarf
Relic Hunter
Rentaghost
Return to Jupiter
Revelations
Roar
RoboCop
Roswell
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Salvage-1
Sapphire & Steel
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Science Fiction Theater
Sea of Souls
Sealab 2020
Seaquest DSV
Search
Search Control
The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne
Secret Beneath the Sea
The Secret Service
The Secret World of Alex Mack
The Secret World of Polly Flint
Seeing Things
The Sentinel
Seven Days
The Seventh Portal
Shadow Chasers
Shazam
She Came Out of the Sky (aka as Spadla z oblakov)
She-Wolf of London
Sierra Nine
Silverhawks (A)
Silversun
Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sixth Sense (1972)
Sky
SleepWalkers
Sliders
A Small Problem
Small Wonder
Smallville
Something Is Out There
Space: Above and Beyond
Space Academy
Space Cadets
Space Cases
Space Command (1953)
Space Giant
Space: 1999
Space Patrol(UK)
Space Patrol(US)
Space Precinct
Space Rangers
Space School
SpaceVets
Special Unit 2
Specterman
Spellbinder
Spiderman - 1978
Stainless Steel and the Star Spies
Star Cops
Star Fleet
Star Hunter
Star Maidens
Star Trek(TOS)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate SG1
Stargate: Atlantis
Stark
The Starlost
Starman
Stephen King's Golden Years
Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories
Stig of the Dump
Stingray
The Stone Tape
Stormworld
Storyteller (Henson)
Strange
The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High (aka Black Hole High)
Strange Luck
The Strange World of Planet X
The Stranger
Stranger from Space
Streethawk
Stronger Than The Sun (Mini-Series)
Struck by Lightning
Surface
Superboy
Supercar
Supergran
Superman (A)
Survivors (1975)
Survivors (2008)
Swamp Thing
Taiyou Sentai Sunvulcan (Solar Task Force Sunvulcan)
Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Dark Side
Tales of Mystery
Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Gold Monkey
Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills
Target Luna
Team Knight Rider
Teen Angel
TekWar
Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Terrahawks
They Came From Somewhere Else
3rd Rock from the Sun
Threshold
Thunderbirds
Thundercats (A)
Thunderstone
Time Cop
Time Express
Time Is The Enemy
Time Trackers
Time Trax
The Time Tunnel
Timeslip
Time Riders
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
The Tomorrow People(1973)
The Tomorrow People(1992)
Torchwood
Total Recall 2070
Touched by an Angel
Torch
The Tracker
Transformers (A)
A Traveller In Time
Tremors - The series
The Tribe
The Tripods
The Trollenberg Terror
Tru Calling
Truckers (claymation)
Tucker's Witch
The Twilight Zone(1959-64)
The Twilight Zone(1985-86)
The Twilight Zone (2002)
Twin Peaks
A Twist in the Tale
Uchuu Keiji Gavan (Space Sheriff Gavan)
UFO
UltraMan
Ultraviolet
Undermind
Under the Mountain
Under the Volcano
The Unforseen
V
Venus Partol
Veritas: The Quest
The Visitor
Voltron (A)
VooDoo Factor
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyagers
VR5
The Wanderer
War of the Worlds
Watt on Earth
Weird Science
Welcome to Paradox
Werewolf
The Wild, Wild West
Willo the Wisp (A)
WitchBlade
Wizards and Warriors
Whoops Apocalypse
Wolf Lake
Wonder Woman
World of Giants
Worlds Beyond
Wormwood
Worzel Gummidge
Xena: Warrior Princess
The X-Files
The Year of the Sex Olympics(1968)
Young Hercules
Young Indiana Jones Cronicles
Z is for Zacharia

Chronos Award Ballot

2009-07-01T10:25:47Z

The Continuum Foundation is proud to announce the ballot for the 2009 Chronos Awards. Click on Read More for the ballot and the voting procedures

Best Short Fiction

Neverland Blues, Adam Browne (Dreaming Again)
They Live Under the House, Felicity Dowker (Midnight Echo #1)
Her Collection of Intimacy, Paul Haines (Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine #2)
Painlessness, Kirstyn McDermott (Greatest Uncommon Denominator #2)
Dress Circle, Miranda Siemienowicz (Hecate Vol 34, #1)
No Award

Best Collected Work

Dreaming Again, editor Jack Dann (Harper Collins)
Midnight Echo #1, editors Kirstyn McDermott & Ian Mond (Australian Horror Writers Association)
No Award

Best Fan Writer

Mark Smith-Briggs (Horrorscope)
No Award

Best Fan Artist

Carol Kewley (Ethel The Aardvark cover art)
Dick Jenssen (Interstellar Ramjet Scoop)
No Award

Best Fan Publication

Ethel The Aardvark, editor Murray MacLachlan (Melbourne Science Fiction Club)
Interstellar Ramjet Scoop, editor Bill Wright
Steam Engine Time, editors Bruce Gillespie & Janine Stinson
No Award

Awards Not Being Presented

Some awards will not be presented at Continuum 5 due to insufficient nominations being received. The Awards Committee has exercised its discretion under section 6 of the awards rules to combine the Best Novella or Novellette and Best Short Story categories into the Best Short Fiction category.

Voting Procedure

When completing a ballot, please vote for your first preference in a category by placing a number 1 against it. Further votes in the same category are optional and should be numbered sequentially in order of preference. Voting in all categories is not required.

Completed votes from Continuum 5 members (full or supporting) may be sent by:

1. email to awards@continuum.org.au; or
2. post to:
Chronos Awards Committee
65A Limestone Ave
BRADDON ACT 2612

To confirm voting eligibility please include your Continuum 5 membership number or receipt number.

If you are not a member of Continuum 5 but wish to vote for the Chronos Awards, a voting membership is available from the Continuum Foundation for $5. If you are interested in obtaining a voting membership please send an email to dannydoz@netspace.net.au for more information. Voting memberships are only available from the Continuum Foundation, please do not contact Continuum 5 about voting memberships.

All votes must be received by 2 August 2009. Late votes will not be considered, late postal votes will be returned to sender unopened. The Chronos Awards Committee is not responsible for any delays in post or mail.

Replication of this information is encouraged so long as it is done verbatim.

Grump

2009-07-01T03:01:35Z

I've had an interesting few weeks, in the good way. My headaches stopped about a week/week-and-a-half ago, and I've gotten a lot done in that time.

Amongst other things, I made space in the library for Sharon's desk and computer, and moved it all so that we now no longer have a computer room but Lex has a bedroom. Lex also now claps when he hears the word 'clap,' and he seems to be enjoying swimming.

Working with the wonderful arcadiagt5, we've gotten the Chronos Awards sorted, and will be announcing the nominees as soon as we've gotten a couple of small details confirmed. And the awards are being designed and made by two fabulously talented folks in the special effects/model-making field, so they should be nice.

I've fixed the ceiling fan in the bathroom, been visited by some good friends, and sent out surprise presents to a small handful of others. Plus, I'm doing some fun panels at the upcoming Continuum 5, and I was able to justify the purchase of the original Night Stalker series, and seasons 1 & 2 of Supernatural for a panel I have planned for C6! These fall outside my yearly budget of $100 for DVDs, because I basically need them for research, so huge bonus (paid for out of shop profits, rather than household budget)!

So, why did I wake up so dreadfully depressed this morning? I mean seriously, why? It's one of the nastiest blue periods I had in ages, and I can think of no reason for it. But when I cracked open my eyes today, all I wanted to do was stay curled in a ball in bed all day and feel sorry for myself. Which is the worst thing you can do when depressed, I know. Best thing is to stay active, and fortunately I have a small child, and so can't avoid that :)

It's the annoying thing about depression, the fact that knowing you have no reason to feel this way doesn't help. You can't logic your way out. I remember Spike Milligan talking about how, when you're depressed, you're not the same person anymore, things don't work the same for you in that state as they do when you're not depressed.

And it's interesting because I can look at the list of stuff above, and the huge chunk of things that I couldn't be bothered popping into the list, and know that in this mindset they don't count for a fucking thing. The only things that count are the negatives, most of them small or entirely understandable. I'm not going to bother listing them, comparing the two lists would do no good, and mentioning them would only make me feel more dreadful.

Not after pity, in fact, pity and virtual hugs will only shit me and make me want to rip out your eyes and piss in the sockets. Just ranting, basically.

Reminder - Chronos Awards

2009-06-26T05:13:59Z

Just reminding people that nominations for the Chronos Awards, for excellence in Victorian SF, fantasy and horror in 2008, close by midnight, Sunday 28th June 2009. No nominations after this time will be accepted.

Nominations are being accepted for the following categories:

Professional:
- Best Novel;
- Best Novella or Novelette;
- Best Short Story;
- Best Collected Work;
- Best Artwork.

Fan:
- Best Fan Writer;
- Best Fan Artist;
- Best Fan Publication in any Medium.

Special Award for works not eligible in existing categories:
- Best Achievement.

All nominated works must have been published during the 2008 calendar
year. Please refer to the complete Chronos Awards rules (see http://continuum.org.au/c5_chronosrules.html)
for details.

Nominations can be made by:

1. email to awards@continuum.org.au; or
2. Post to
Chronos Awards Committee
65A Limestone Ave
BRADDON ACT 2612
3. Lodging a comment at the Arcadiagt5 LiveJournal. All comments are
screened

While we tried to spread the word, there will always be gaps, so please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested.

Reminder - DVDs

2009-06-26T05:07:15Z

I've had a busy week or so, so haven't been here to remind people of this stuff until today. Check out my previous post for details of some DVDs I have for sale or can be ordered.

I originally set today as the end date for orders, but given I've had a fair amount of interest, am happy to take orders until Sunday. Will be placing orders with Roadshow Monday.

Also, it must be mentioned that no-one has grabbed the Twilight Zone DVDs yet! I am rather surprised by this, but maybe folks already have them or just don't have the cash. Either way, both are still in their original wrapping and are still available if you want a taster for the series.

DVDs for Sale

2009-06-19T02:54:47Z

Roadshow have a bunch of Doctor Who DVDs going cheap, so figured I'd put up a bunch of stuff I have for sale or will be ordering in. Doctor Who stuff first, then the rest.

Anything in italics is on special, normal retail price would be at least $30, but some titles retail for $40+. Everything else is at my normal price.

To order anything email me at dannydoz@netspace.net.au.
Orders must be received by Friday 26th June for me to get my order in with Roadshow. Naturally postage will cost extra. Once the stock comes in, I'll start packaging it up and sending it off. Roadshow can be slow to supply and I'm dealing with a baby, so please be patient.

William Hartnell

* The Beginning Box Set $65.00
* Aztecs $22.50
* Dalek Invasion of Earth $22.50
* Rescue/Romans $37.50
* Web Planet $22.50
* Time Meddler $27.50
* War Machines $27.50

Patrick Troughton

* Mind Robber $22.50
* Seeds of Death $22.50
* Tomb of the Cybermen $22.50
* The Invasion $22.50

Jon Pertwee

* Carnival of Monsters $22.50
* Claws of Axos $22.50
* Green Death $22.50
* Inferno $22.50
* Spearhead from Space $22.50
* Three Doctors $22.50
* Time Warrior $22.50

Tom Baker

* Ark in space $22.50
* City of Death $22.50
* Genesis of the Daleks $22.50
* Hand of Fear $22.50
* Horror of Fang Rock $22.50
* Leisure Hive $22.50
* Pyramids of Mars $22.50
* Robots of Death $22.50
* Talons of Weng Chiang $22.50
* Sontaran Experiment $22.50
* Planet of Evil $22.50
* Robot $22.50
* Image of the Fendahl $27.50
* Deadly Assassin $27.50
* Destiny of the Daleks $27.50
* Invasion of Time $27.50
* Brain of Morbius $27.50
* The E Space Trilogy Boxset $45.00
* K9 Tales $32.50
* Key to Time Box Set $135.00

Peter Davison

* Caves of Androzani $22.50
* Earthshock $22.50
* Resurrection of the Daleks $22.50
* The Visitation $22.50
* Four to Doomsday $27.50
* Black Orchid $27.50
* Arc of Infinity/Timeflight $32.50
* Five Doctors 25th Anniversary Edition (David Tennant Commentary Easter Egg!) $32.50

Colin Baker

* Two Doctors $22.50
* Vengeance on Varos $22.50
* Mark of the Rani $22.50
* Timelash $22.50
* Attack of the Cybermen $27.50
* Revelation of the Daleks $27.50
* Trial of a Time Lord $45.00

Sylvester McCoy

* Curse of Fenric $22.50
* Ghost light $22.50
* Remembrance of the Daleks $22.50
* Survival $22.50
* Doctor Who Battlefield (DVD) $27.50

Eccleston

Series 1 $85.00

Tennant

Series 2 $85.00
Series 3 $85.00
Series 4 $90.00

Mixed Doctor Box Sets

* Complete Davros $135.00
* Beneath the Surface $75.00
* New Beginnings $65.00
* Bred for War $90.00

Other DVDs

* Party Animals (with Matt Smith, the 11th Doctor) $22.50
* Secret Diary of a Call Girl Series 1 (Billie Piper - Rose Tyler) $22.50
* Secret Diary of a Call Girl Series 2 (Billie Piper) $22.50
* Casanova (David Tennant) $27.50

* DAAS Gold - Doug Anthony All Stars $22.50
* Microcosmos Special Edition $17.50
* House of Cards Trilogy $45.00
* Primeval Series 1 $35.00
* Primeval Series 2 $35.00
* Tripods Series 1 $27.50
* Mad Max $20.00
* Day of the Triffids $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 1 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 2 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 3 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 4 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 5 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 6 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 7 $27.50
* Steptoe & Son 8 $27.50
* Quatermass $40.00
* Pan's Labyrinth $19.95
* Chronicles of Narnia Box $60.00
* Andromeda Anthology $45.00
* Playing Beatie Bow $15.00
* Seven $15.00
* Constantine $20.00
* Grudge 2 $20.00
* Space Collection, Complete $120.00
* League of Gentlemen 1 $20.00
* League of Gentlemen 2 $20.00
* League of Gentlemen 3 $20.00

Limited Stock - I only have one or two copies of the following titles and cannot order more, so first in gets them. All are new and unwatched, though one or two are not plastic sealed.

* Dracula A.D. 1972 (NTSC region 1) $25.00
* At last the 1948 Show $10.00
* Do Not Adjust Your Set $10.00
* Twilight Zone (1959) Season 1 $40.00
* Twilight Zone Season 2 $40.00

Emma Watson's new direction

2009-06-15T01:19:06Z

"There's no doubt that Harry Potter has been good for my career, but I need a change, and I want to head in a dramatic new direction to show my range. I've even had a costume custom made to show my commitment and sent the photo to Steven Moffat telling him my idea. I suspect I'll be hearing from him any day now."

"I think a recurring role as a Spiridon in Doctor Who would be brilliant!"

Screamers - The Hunting

2009-06-12T08:57:58Z

There's a sequel to the film Screamers? Really?

Conversations with Lex 02

2009-06-05T06:28:42Z

"No, don't put your foot there. No, Lex, don't put it there. No seriously. Ow!"

"No, Lex, don't pull dad's hair. Ow! No, don't do it... That's it, play with dad's collar... Ow! ...and head butt dad in the face too, that might be fun, eh?"

That was just the last ten minutes.

Goodbye Caine

2009-06-05T00:30:16Z

I've always had a soft spot for the Carradine family of actors, and enjoyed each of them in their various roles. Like many others though, David was a particular favourite, and his passing is keenly felt.

Farewell David, I hope you can rest easy.

Readdressing the Balance

2009-06-04T09:56:05Z

So, after my post on how Media and Lit Natcons were joined, and how media fandom as a whole got thoroughly screwed, general consensus was that the whole situation sucked.

So what are we going to do about it?

Well, as it happens, there is a Natcon in Adelaide this weekend. With a business meeting. That would be a great place to start. I can't afford to go, but I know a fair chunk of you will be there. Do you want to set things in motion, and back each other up?

The fact that the original business meeting notes vanished may be down to accident, incompetence, or deliberate mishandling is neither here nor there. What matters is that it's well past time the situation was fixed. The deal was that in exchange for merging their Natcon with the Lit one, media fandom would get fair representation, in the awards and by extension, the programming. That's not happening.

There's no doubt that there will be resistance. But you know what, fuck it, a deal was made. And it was broken. There's no doubt that it will take years to rebuild things, to get that side of fandom even caring that there's a Natcon, let alone coming to it. And some would argue there's no point. But there is a point.

It could have gone the other way.

The Ditmars could have been lost, the Lit Natcon no more. They easily had the numbers to do this at a time when the Lit Natcon was not doing well, and they still gave up their awards, and their Natcon, with expectation of a fair deal they never received.

I didn't set out to try and get this thing fixed, I just wanted to make the point that we used to have more awards. But fuck it, now I'm angry. Because you know, I read and love books, but if I had to choose which box I fit in, I've always thought of myself as a media fan. Most of us watch films and TV shows, and love them. In our everyday lives, the Lit/Media divide doesn't exist, but our Natcon is skewed ridiculously heavily towards Lit.

Media fandom believed in community, and for over a decade that community has let them down.

And I think that's long enough.

Awesomeness cubed

2009-06-03T12:05:16Z

This is just to publically state that celuran is one of the most incredibly awesome people in this world, and several alternative realities as well. That is all.

Just for the record...

2009-06-03T04:54:08Z

With regards to my previous post on forgotten Natcon history. What spurred it on was people saying we didn't need more awards. One of my points was that we actually used to have more awards. In doing that I needed to mention some of the history behind how we lost them, and got distracted by how crap the whole situation was.

At no point in the original post did I say anything bad about Aussiecon 4. Aussiecon 3 got a mention, but I made it clear that it was only a small part of the overall problems occurring at the time. And in all the replies, my only negative comment with regards to Aussiecon 4 was that one or two folks can be a little aggressive or dismissive of complaints.

All the other concerns voiced about A4 came from other people. This isn't me backing down on anything, or saying I don't agree with some of the comments made (just as I disagree with others), just that I didn't make them. I don't mind being blamed or accused of stirring trouble for the stuff I've said, but if I haven't said it, no thanks.

Just felt the need to be clear on that one.

Coming Soon - Aussiecon 4... Are the committee all Satan worshippers?

A Tale of Two Natcons

2009-06-01T00:41:53Z

In the early 90's the media Natcon was going gangbusters (300-400+ attendees), the lit Natcon was dying with a slowly decreasing (around 200) and aging membership. With the success of a couple of joint media/lit Natcons, it was suggested that Australia's population was so small the two cons should be joined.

It would mean a bigger overall Natcon with a larger budget. Everyone would win. The media fans had no reason to do this. Their Natcon was doing fine. The only reason they did it was out of a sense of community. It would be good for fandom as a whole to have a single, bigger Natcon.

Both Natcons had their own awards. The ASFMAs (Australian Science Fiction Media Awards) and the Ditmars. Having both sets of awards would be huge and unwieldy. The only reason we still have the Ditmars is because the media fans not only agreed to the joining of both Natcons, but agreed to continue the Ditmars and discontinue their own award since a lot of older fans were concerned about the loss of the Ditmars, and their history, if a new award were started.

The only real requirement media fandom had was that the Ditmars have categories changed or added so that the media side was adequately covered, and the new Natcon have a program that fairly represented both media and lit fandom interests.

In a short time, with no separate Media Natcon to compete against, the Natcon program became heavily lit based.

With no guest or programs that addressed their passions, the fan clubs and groups more or less stopped attending the Natcon, and with their own yearly Natcon and awards gone, there was nothing to hold media fandom together through other issues.

We stopped having regular cons and Natcons in Victoria as we approached the worldcon, and while Perth picked up the slack with regards to the Natcon, it didn't advertise in the east terribly well. With no experience of a Swancon, which does tend towards a more balanced program, the east coast media fans expected more of the same they had already been given - Natcons with nothing for them. Why spend all the money getting to Perth just to be disappointed again?

Having already been hurt by the Natcon, to then have someone loosely associated with the then upcoming WorldCon loudly state at a major pre-Aussiecon 3 event, "We don't need the media fans!" didn't help things. For a group than had already been well screwed, a group that had been far more active in con-running over the previous decade than the majority of the fans working on A3, this was telling them that they, and their expertise, really weren't welcome.

The lack of action on the part of the WorldCon committee to rectify the damage didn't help. Having the creator of Babylon 5 as a guest was all well and good, but other than that, the only answer received to the question, "Why should we attend?" was "Because it's the WorldCon." The attitude was that if you didn't want to come to the WorldCon, there was something wrong with you.

On top of all this, fan politics within and between several clubs further damaged things within the media scene.

The big media expo-style cons had tried to get a foothold in Australia a few times, but previously couldn't compete with the fan-run media cons. Why go to a con where you couldn't really talk to or interact with the guest?

The best of the fan-run media cons was Multiverse, which not only ran good cons (and tried with variable success to also cater to lit fandom) but raised thousands and thousands of dollars for charity into the bargain. That was one of the interesting things about Media fandom - the profits of most Media cons were donated to charity. Again, there's that attitude of trying to help and be a part of the wider community - the same attitude that lost them their own Natcon.

But eventually the folks behind Multiverse decided it was time to finish up. Once they did, in came the expos to fill the vacuum.

Media fandom in Victoria had lost their last interesting media cons, while media fandom in general had lost its awards, its Natcon, and its history. Even the Doomsday Book, a book filled with humourous advice, info, and illustrations from previous Media Natcon committees to future ones, was lost. I think it was later recovered, but couldn't swear to it.

Certainly for a time before the Natcons joined, the two media fandom centres of Australia were Melbourne and Brisbane. But it would be up to someone from Brisbane to tell what effects, if any, losing the Media Natcon had on Queensland fandom.

With this history in mind, take the time to find and go through the last decade of Natcon program books, and decide for yourself if you think Australian media fandom has been well-served by their selflessness.

One of the architects of the change, in light of all that has happened, has commented to me on several occasions over the last ten-plus years, that he thinks they killed the wrong Natcon.

Chronos Awards Nominations

2009-05-30T06:51:11Z

Nomination for the Chronos Awards to be awarded at Continuum 2009 are now open.

To lodge a nomination please click on the Read More link below.
Nominations are being accepted for the following categories:

Professional:

Best Novel;

Best Novella or Novelette;

Best Short Story;

Best Collected Work;

Best Artwork.

Fan:

Best Fan Writer;

Best Fan Artist;

Best Fan Publication in any Medium.

Special Award for works not eligible in existing categories:

Best Achievement;
All nominated works must have been published during the 2008 calendar year. Please refer to the complete Chronos Awards rules for details.

Nominations can be made by:

1. email to awards@continuum.org.au; or
2. Post to
Chronos Awards Committee
65A Limestone Ave
BRADDON ACT 2612
3. Lodging a comment at the Arcadiagt5 LiveJournal. All comments are screened

All nominations must be received by final post on 28 June 2009 and the Chronos Awards Committee is not responsible for any delays in mail.

Chronos Awards Rules

2009-05-30T06:45:28Z

The Continuum Foundation is currently preparing to award the first Chronos Awards for excellence in Victorian SF, fantasy and horror in 2008. The current rules are presented below for information. Nominations will be opened shortly and I will be co-ordinating these.

1.0 Preamble

1.1 The Chronos Awards recognise excellence in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by Victorians.

2.0 Categories

2.1 Professional Categories:

Best Novel;

Best Novella or Novelette;

Best Short Story;

Best Collected Work;

Best Artwork.

2.2 Fan Categories:

Best Fan Writer;

Best Fan Artist;

Best Fan Publication in any Medium.

2.3 Special Award for works not eligible in existing categories:

Best Achievement;

3.0 Hosting Criteria

3.1 The Chronos Awards are overseen by the Continuum Foundation.

3.2 The awards may be hosted by any general science fiction, fantasy or horror event in Victoria.

3.3 Groups or organisations focussed on a single franchise or sub-culture are not eligible to host the awards.

3.4 Groups or organisations wishing to host the awards must apply to the Continuum Foundation nominating the event at which the awards will be presented.

3.5 The Continuum Foundation may grant the hosting of the awards to one event in each calendar year.

3.6 The Continuum Foundation must set a maximum fee for an awards voting membership. Any full or supporting membership for the event at which the awards will be presented whose price exceeds the maximum fee for an awards voting membership must include eligibility to vote for the Chronos Awards

3.7 The Continuum Foundation may require the group or organisation hosting the awards to offer a separate awards voting membership that grants no other entitlements to the event at which the awards will be presented.

3.8 The group or organisation hosting the awards must pay for the full cost of award trophies and certificates.

3.9 The group or organisation hosting the awards may retain all fees charged for awards voting memberships for the event at which the awards will be presented

4.0 Eligibility Criteria

4.1 Timeliness: Works are eligible if they were first published or released anywhere in the world in an edition dated in the calendar year immediately preceding the year the award is held.

4.2 Residence in Victoria: Nominees are eligible if they were residing in the state of Victoria in the year their nominated work was released

4.3 Eligibility of committee members: The awards will be administered by a sub-committee of the event hosting the awards, and the members of the sub-committee will not be eligible for an award. The Continuum Foundation shall rule on issues of conflict of interest.

4.4 Novel: A Novel is any work of sf/f/h of more than 40,000 words.

4.5 Novella or Novelette: A Novella or Novelette is any work of sf/f/h of 7,500 to 40,000 words.

4.6 Short Story: A Short Story is any work of sf/f/h less than 7,500 words.

4.7 Collected Work: A collected work is a sf/f/h collection or anthology, magazine or journal, ezine or webzine which must pay contributors in other than contributor copies and incidentals, or the editor/s of which declare the work to be professional. To be eligible the collected work must have been produced in Victoria, or at least one of it’s major editors must have been a citizen of Victoria for the relevant calendar year. At least one edition of a collected work must have been issued in the eligible calendar year.

4.8 Best Artwork: An artwork is a single work or series of related works of art in any medium other than text.

4.9 Fan Writer and Fan Artist: These awards are made to writers or artists for a work or body of work first published, released, or made available for public viewing in the eligible calendar year. The writer or artist must have received no payment other than contributor copies and other incidentals (coffee mug, t-shirt, poster, etc.)

4.10 Fan Publication: This award is for work in any medium first published, released, or made available for public viewing in the eligible calendar year. The writer or artist must have received no payment. Eligible works include, but are not limited to, a periodical, journal, ezine or webzine

4.11 Special Awards: Special awards recognise outstanding achievements in science fiction fantasy, or horror not eligible in the existing categories.

5.0 Nomination Process

5.1 Eligible nominators and voters: Nominations will be accepted only from natural persons active in fandom, or from full or supporting members of the event hosting the award. Where a nominator may not be known to the Awards subcommittee, the nominator should provide the name of someone known to the subcommittee who can vouch for the nominator’s eligibility.

5.2 Nominations: The nomination may nominate any number of works in any category. However, the nominator may nominate any given work only once in a category. All nominations must include the name of the nominator. Where a nominated mark does not meet the criteria for its nominated category, the committee may move the nomination to the appropriate category; or where a work does not meet any criteria, refuse the nomination.

5.3 Timing of Nominations: Nominations shall be open for a minimum of 30 days. Postal nominations shall be counted as valid based on postmark or receipt, whichever is earliest, if received before the final deadline set by the committee.

6.0 Final Ballot

6.1 Number of finalists: The five nominees with the most nominations shall appear on the final ballot. In the event of a tie for fifth place, up to seven finalists may appear on the final ballot. In the event of a four-way tie (or more) for fifth place, only the top four finalists shall appear on the ballot.

6.2 Minimum nominations for finalists: To appear on the ballot a finalist must attract a minimum of four nominations in the Professional and Best New Talent categories, or two in the Fan and Special Awards categories (including Professional Special Award).

6.3 Minimum finalists for categories: In the event of there being three or fewer finalists in any of the following categories, at the committee’s discretion, eligible finalists in the Novella or Novelette and Short Story categories may be merged into a single category called Short Fiction.

6.4 Order of finalists: Finalists shall appear in randomised order.

6.5 No Award: “No Award” shall appear last on the ballot for all categories.

7.0 Voting

7.1 Preferential Voting: Voting in each category shall take place according to a preferential system.

7.2 Eligibility: Votes will be accepted from any member of the event hosting the awards whose membership price equalled or exceeded the awards voting membership. This eligibility may include any full, supporting, or awards voting only memberships. Any individual is only eligible to vote once.

7.3 Tied Winners: In the event of a tie for winner in any category, all tied works will be deemed to have won the award.

7.4 Timing: Voting shall be open for a minimum of 30 days. Voting periods may differ for postal ballots and other ballots. Postal ballots shall be counted as valid based on postmark or receipt, whichever is earlier, if received before the deadline for other ballots or the deadline for final receipt set by the committee.

8.0 The Physical Nature of the Trophy: The finished trophy must contain as part of it’s design, a stylised clock-face with no numbers and the mathematical symbol for infinity at the twelve o’clock point.

8.1 Finalist Certificates: All finalists shall receive an A4 certificate honouring their achievement.

For Grant...

2009-05-26T14:02:53Z

Doctor Who in that attractive granddaughter Suzan is many exciting ventures in the space of time!

Great, Cool, Awesome, and Amazing

2009-05-25T02:57:53Z

You know what's great? Continuum 5 is coming up, August 14th-16th, Melbourne.
If you're not there, you'll be missing out.

What's cool is, this Saturday the 30th, C5 is having a Trivia Quiz.

I may make it down if Lex doesn't give any more nights like last night :)

The awesome thing is that Continuum 6 is already being planned for next year.
That's right, it's on baby!

And the amazing thing?
People are already starting to make plans for Continuum 7!

Nice!

2009-05-24T23:18:52Z

Because we don't often notice the absence of something, I'd just like to say that I am fully aware and appreciative of the fact that today I woke up without the merest hint of a headache, let alone screaming pain, for the first time in weeks.

Doubly impressive since Lex kept us both up into the wee hours. And at this point I think I've had about four hours sleep.

It may not last, but for the moment... *big happy sigh*

(EDIT) - Actually there was one other day where I woke without pain, but I still had a sensation of pressure. Today doesn't even have that!

Mini-Episode

2009-05-24T23:03:04Z

The special Doctor Who mini-episode from John Barrowman's show, Tonight's the Night.

That's new

2009-05-21T05:54:22Z

I posted recently about my headaches. Today was good, because I didn't wake up with one. But just in the last twenty minutes, I've started to get weird visual distortions across my vision, severe enough that I found I could barely read through the patterns. No pain, but the pressure behind my right eye that means it will soon be knitting needle time again.

I've heard of people having visual cues pre-migraine before but never experienced it. I don't know about other people's but mine has shifted and changed slowly over time, and from about halfway through it was a bent, twisting shape across part of my vision. Very pretty!

Well, I think I'm off to grab a Neurofen or two, as the right eye is becoming more painful.

Things New Parents Should Know #26 - Teething

2009-05-21T05:29:35Z

Every baby is different. I've said that a few times, and it never ceases to be true.

Every tooth is different too.

Lex's first four teeth caused only a small amount of fuss. He was a bit more needy, had a light nappy rash during the first few days before each one cutting the gum, and gave us a few broken nights. He also had minor tummy issues which gripe water seemed to help with.

Gripe water gets mixed reviews from people. We've heard it said that it doesn't calm their stomachs, it's just sweet water, so the only reason the baby calms is they're happy with the taste. The first bottle of gripe water we had, Lex detested. Every time we gave it to him he made a huge fuss, screaming, clamping his mouth shut, trying to scream with his mouth shut (which was kind of funny), etc. But it always settled his stomach within 10-15 minutes. We now use a different brand of gripe water that he likes the taste of, and it seems to be as effective as the previous brand, plus we don't have the noise, the gargling, and him spitting it out.

Bonjela has been very good, of course. When we notice he's got tooth pain, we show him the tube before we give it to him and he starts smacking his lips in readiness for Bonjela-y goodness. He likes the taste of that so much, it can be hard to get it to the gum without him licking it off.

For the really bad runs, we sometimes use Baby Panadol. But even that didn't help with tooth five.

Tooth five (bottom left) was the tooth from hell. Nappy rash appeared three weeks before the tooth started to cut the gum. It was the one he had coming in during Swancon. Now the time difference and change of environment may have contributed, but overall he was hell to deal with in that he refused to sleep, so he was over-tired, which made him grizzly, and so he kept us awake all day and night. Of course he was mostly fine while we were out and about at the con, because it acted as a distraction. All told, it was pretty rank. But on the Monday of the con he was fine again, and we didn't notice any corresponding issues when we got back to Canberra, despite the time change.

Tooth six (top left) was not as bad as five, but still noticeably worse than the others.

Seven (bottom right) has caused different issues, and it's been immediately followed by eight (top right), which was breaking skin within two days of seven breaking skin. The big issues with seven and eight have been the killer nappy rash from Belgium, an order of magnitude worse than any nappy rash he's had previously. Other than the nappy rash, and some sore-bum related grizzling, he's been fine.

The teething also means that he chews everything in sight, so rusks have been popular, as well as a teething toy we bought shaped like a set of keys. They're liquid filled, you put them in the fridge and the cool is nice against his gums when he chews on them. Of course seedless grapes, kept in the fridge and cut in half have been popular too. As have other non-refrigerated items such as knees, jumpers, the dog, shoes, envelopes, the table, fingers, mobile phones, DVD cases, etc.