Meatball Fulton’s 90 Second Cellphone Chillin’ Theatre

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

90 Second Cellphone Chillin’ TheatreMeatball Fulton’s podcast, Meatball’s Meatballs, will feature six stories from his series, 90 Second Cellphone Chillin’ Theatre starting on Friday October 10th 2008. In #17 |MP3| Fulton reveals how he came up with ideas for the 50 stories in this series, stories like Drooling Doreen, Ghouls Galore and Zombie Al’s Big Night Out. They are described as “humorous Hollywood influenced horror stories.”

And, be sure to check out podcast #11 which is a “making of” for the classic The Mist In 3-D Sound by Stephen King |MP3| headphones are required for the full effect.

Subscribe to the podcast feed:

http://www.zbs.org/dircast/dircaster.php

[Thanks Julie!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

“Re-Animator” in a “Conan” situation

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

io9 a science fiction blogThe io9 blog has a story related to our Broken Sea vs. CPI stories |LINK 1|Link 2| we’ve been running. A corp named Re-Animator LLC has sent a Cease and Desist order, and claimed trademark protection on, the word “Re-Animator” and “is fighting comic book companies from publishing anything having to do with the term.” Re-Animator LLC trademarked the word in 2005. Which is several years after the first two Re-Animator movies were released and nearly 90 years since it was first written by H.P. Lovecraft.

[via Lost Carcosa]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: Jack London’s The Call Of The Wild is Science Fiction

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Commentary

For almost a year now I’ve been making the argument, to anyone who’d listen, that Jack London’s short story To Build A Fire is Science Fiction.

I’m ready to make the same argument for London’s most famous work, The Call Of The Wild.

First off, the story is told from a dog’s POV. Normally that’d make this a Fantasy novel, in the spirit of Redwall or similar. But, we never hear Buck, the hero, speak, or think thoughts out in words (unlike other anthropomorphic fiction) – yet we are clearly seeing the world through Buck’s alien eyes. Moreover, the premise of the novel, the theme that informs the title of each chapter, was a commonly held idea in fantastic literature of that era. Namely, that ‘barbarism is around every corner, that civilization is a thin veneer, one broken easily.’ You see this in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. London wrote: “…the reign of primitive law … the facts of life took on a fiercer aspect, and while he faced that aspect uncowed, he faced it with all the latent cunning of his nature aroused.” Jack London’s The Call Of The Wild is Science Fiction. The novel was set in the then recent past, and doesn’t have any future tech or extraterrestrial aliens – but that’s not what makes SF. What makes it SF is what makes The Call Of The Wild a classic – the presentation of bold philosophical ideas informed by science.

Below is a free version read by the talented narrator James Campanella. Unfortunately, for me, the reading is spoiled by two serious problems. First, it has a poor recording environment (rectified in later Campanella releases). Second, Jim has added in sound effects. An, imperfect recording environment I can live with, added sound effects I can’t. Check it out for yourself…

Uvula Audio - The Call Of The Wild by Jack LondonThe Call Of The Wild
By Jack London; Read by James Campanella
7 MP3s – Approx. 3 Hours 44 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Uvuvla Audio
Podcast: 2007
“The Call of the Wild was written by American author Jack London. The plot concerns, Buck, a previously domesticated and even somewhat pampered dog whose primordial instincts return after a series of events finds him serving as a sled dog in the treacherous, frigid Yukon during the days of the 19th Century Gold Rushes in the Northwest. Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is one of London’s most read books and it is generally considered one of the classics of western adventure literature. Because the protagonist is a dog, it is usually classified as a juvenile novel, suitable for children.”
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3|
Part 5 |MP3| Part 6 |MP3| Part 7 |MP3|

There’s a LibriVox version also available.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrivals – Blackstone Audio

Scott D.

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. DickThe Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Tom Weiner
6 CDs – 6.8 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781433248221

Not too long from now, when exiles from a blistering Earth huddle miserably in Martian colonies, the only things that make life bearable are the drugs. Can-D “translates” those who take it into the bodies of Barbie-like dolls. Now there’s competition: a substance called Chew-Z, marketed under the slogan “God promises eternal life. We can deliver it.” The question is: What kind of eternity? And who—or what—is the deliverer?

In this wildly disorienting fun house of a novel, populated by God-like—or perhaps satanic—take-over artists and corporate psychics, Philip K. Dick explores mysteries that were once the property of St. Paul and Aquinas. His wit, compassion, and knife-edged irony make this novel moving as well as genuinely visionary.
 
 
The Call of Earth by Orson Scott CardThe Call of Earth
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
9 CDs – 10.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781433218781

For millennia, the planet Harmony has been protected by the Oversoul, an artificial intelligence programmed to prevent thoughts of war and conquest from threatening the fragile remnant of Earth’s peoples. But as the Oversoul’s systems have begun to fail, a great warrior has arisen to challenge its bans. Using forbidden technology, the ambitious and ruthless General Moozh has won control of an army and is aiming it at the city of Basilica.

Basilica remains in turmoil. Wetchik and his sons are not strong enough to stop an army. As Lady Rasa, through whom the Oversoul speaks, attempts to defeat Moozh through intrigue, Naifeh and his family prepare to voyage to the stars in search of the planet called Earth.
 
 
2012 by Whitley Strieber2012: The War for Souls
By Whitley Strieber; Read by Joe Barrett
10 CDs – 11.7 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781433234842

December 21, 2012, may be one of the most watched dates in history. Every 26,000 years, earth lines up with the exact center of our galaxy. At 11:11 on December 21, 2012, this event happens again, and the ancient Mayans calculated that it would mark the end not only of this age but also of human consciousness as we know it. What will actually happen? Now Whitley Strieber explores 2012 in a riveting roller-coaster ride of fiction.

A mysterious alien presence unexpectedly bursts out of sacred sites all over the world and begins to rip human souls from their bodies, plunging the world into chaos. As courage meets cowardice and loyalty meets betrayal, heroes emerge, villains reveal themselves, and in the end something completely unexpected happens that lifts the characters into a new life—and sounds a real-world warning for the future.
 
Posted by Scott D. Danielson

If this blog had a lawn…

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Commentary

NDPThree reasons to vote NDP:

1. A prime minister named Jack would be very cool. A bald PM named Jack would be even cooler. A bald PM who’s a terrific leader is even cooler. A gloriously bald PM named Jack, who doesn’t need no damn sweater, and who is well mustachioed – that would be the coolest.

2. MP Charlie Angus talks smart on copyright and net neutrality. We need smart.

3. NDP supports CBC. CBC good.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of On the Road with Ellison, Volume 3

Scott D.

SFFaudio Review

On the Road with Harlan Ellison, Volume 3On The Road With Ellison, Volume Three
Live Performance by Harlan Ellison
1 CD – 1 hour – [LIVE PERFORMANCE]
Publisher: Deep Shag Records
Published: 2007
ISBN: None
Themes: / Live Performance / Publishing / Writing / Film / Middle East / ERA / Education / Chandeliers / The Abyss /

I think there’s a part of every writer, once he or she comes in contact with Harlan Ellison through his writing or in person, that wishes one could squeeze the man’s passion into an aerosol can for use at the right times. I also think there are a lot of people who wouldn’t mind that the squeezing would leave Ellison a wrinkled raisin, for they’ve heard enough from him.

I have not heard enough from him, and as a writer, I marvel at his honesty and his willingness to open doors and pour himself through them in both his fiction and in his live appearances. His fiction is available everywhere, and some of his live appearances have been captured in a series of CDs that are available from Deep Shag Records.

In this, On the Road with Ellison, Volume 3, Ellison speaks in front of live audiences about being on the set while filming a scene that means a particular lot to him, about buying copies of Alone Against Tomorrow back from the publisher, and about the professor and the chandelier. Track after track of wonderful stories, this time true, told by a master storyteller. I was moved, I laughed, and I was annoyed at different times throughout. In short, I loved it, and bet you will too.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson