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So, here we are again. Occasionally I like to blow up the activities of people I know who have work that's worth looking at and today, because gas is so high and our troops are still not home and the idiot democrats can't just get on with it, I thought a little diversion would be apropos. Item one: HUMOR. There's this guy I've known for a little while who is quite intelligent, very knowledgable about current events both at home and abroad and whose insights into various social issues always make me think. All of which would qualify him to be a Current Events teacher or, god forbid, a pundit. Luckily for the world he has another attribute that I think is even more valuable than the rest of that which is this. He's damned funny. And his sense of humor has finally led him to start blogging the weird things he thinks and sees in his travels. His name is James and you can find the beginnings of his wisdom HERE. This is the ground floor, folks. Get on now. Item two: ADVENTURE There're these other guys I know. Actors, Swashbucklers. Avid orientalists and periodic karaoke performers among many other things. I told one of them about THESE GUYS and he decided to join the fun. Now, in addition to the lovely neo-retro radio dramas of the ever STELLAR Decoder Ring Theatre, you can also listen to the podcasty goodness created by my friends Mike and Taliesin and their band of ruffians as they give you Tales of the Extraordinary. You heard it here first, folks. Well. Not here. You have to go there to actually hear it. You know what I mean. Anyway. Item Three: THE GOODS This one is last but by no means least. As a writer who started selling slightly before the web really became what it needed to be and what it is still becoming, I was given a vast amount of help by attending an impromptu virtual master class by the one and only Dean Wesley Smith. He told us little flickers of light the unvarnished truth about what writing is, what it takes to get going as well as staying in motion and, very importantly, a great many simple structural rules and tricks that helped transform this talented amateur into a paid professional. He did this, by the way, for no charge whatsoever and without fanfare. Those of us lucky enough to have stumbled on that message board know we were part of something special. That door is, sadly, closed now (though he does have a RL class that's supposed to be AMAZING) but buck up, little soldiers. There is a light at the end of this very short tunnel. It's that time again. No, it's not Mr. Smith again and it's not specifically prose related. However the world of podcasts has just recently presented those of you scriptwriting geniuses who are aching to get into the comics biz a weekly window into just exactly how that's done. If you're looking for short cuts or the secret handshake or backstage deal that will jump you to the front of the line and the forefront of success, don't bother. You're not serious and you'll just be wasting your time. But , if you want to know what it actually takes to write comics or scifi on a professional level right out of the box, Brandon Easton is telling you how, every week with his WRITING FOR ROOKIES series. Don't be an idiot. Go there and listen. So. There you have it. For my American friends, have a good and safe Memorial Day. For the rest of you, Cheers.