The Sinzer Rebellion

...is finished.  The first draft, anyway.  I think it turned out pretty much the way I envisioned it, which is satisfying.  I think I will be working on All Things Comfortable next to make good on a promise to a friend.  I'll also be going back and looking at the first Approaching Infinity book, updating it to reflect things that have been developed or expanded in the short stories.

In other news, I'm caught up on Fringe and Supernatural.  While I'm thoroughly enjoying Fringe, not sure what the hype about the 3rd season was.  With the events of episode 7, though, things should get pretty high stakes soon.

A Select List of Favorites, Part 1

These lists are by no means exhaustive, but these specific episodes have stuck with me for one reason or another.  For those of you who have never given OTR (Old Time Radio) a try, I highly recommend it.

TV
1977    Kolchak, the Night Stalker      S1E01    The Ripper  
1996    The X-Files                            S3E17    Pusher   
1998    The X-Files                            S5E19    Folie A Deux   
1999    Buffy, the Vampire Slayer       S4E10    Hush   
2004    Angel                                    S5E14    Smile Time   

OTR (dates are suspect!)
1941    The Shadow                     The Shadow Challenged
1945    The Shadow                     The Case of the Burning Skull
1948    The Shadow                     The Man Who Was Death
1937    Lights Out                        The Dark
1937    Lights Out                        Little Old Lady
1938    Lights Out                        Super Feature
1943    Lights Out                        Archer (Ancestor)
1940    The Hermit's Cave            House of Purple Shadows
1943    The Weird Circle               The House And The Brain
1943    The Whistler                     Mind Over Matter
1953    The Hall of Fantasy           He Who Follows Me
1953    The Hall of Fantasy           The Shadow People

'Tis the Season

Western holidays--really just Halloween and Christmas--are very interesting here in Japan.  They're mostly just merchandise blitzes in a culture that's crazy for character goods.  But that's okay. 

As I have mentioned before, I love autumn.  I'm not sure if one started the love for the other, but I love Halloween as well.  It's a shame there's no real trick or treating to be done here, but the imagery is sufficient for me.  And Faye loves obake or bakeke as she says (that's bah-keh-keh for the unindoctrinated).  This was essentially her first Halloween and it was a hit.

Christmas has all the Santa Claus imagery but none of the religious significance and that suits me fine.  To me, Christmas has always been a time for families to be together and that's exactly what we do.  And then there are presents of course.  Like Halloween, this will be the first Christmas that Faye will be able to appreciate.  We're all looking forward to it!