San Francisco Meet-Up, Jan 20th at Borderlands!

Shows/ Sword and Laser / December 15th, 2013

BorderlandsBooks1.jpg

Hey everyone!

If you’re in the Bay Area, please come join me and Tom at Borderlands Books on January 20th at 5pm. We’ll be reading selections from the Anthology, discussing the current book pick (TBD), and then heading across the street for adult libations afterwards!

The event is free, but we’ll have plenty of copies of the February book pick on hand to purchase. Plus, Borderlands is awesome, and you won’t be able to leave the store empty-handed! 

If you plan on attending, please RSVP on the Goodreads event page! Hope to see you there!

 

YouTube: 7 Questions with Tom Merritt

YouTube / December 14th, 2013

I took a little time to make a quick casual video answering a few questions left over from the brainstorm hangout last week. You can watch the video or read the answers or both. Thanks!

Q: Will you continue doing a Frame Rate show? -Multiple people

A: Yes. Some kind of show about the ability to watch what youw ant, where you want and how you want it on any device you please is in the works.

Q: How are we paying for all of this? I really dislike the host endorsement style of ads on a number of podcast these days. Are there viable alternatives? – @rosscbrown

A: Good question. Host read ads have a weakness, especially when the host isn’t directly plugged into the sales process. But it has so far proven to be the most reliable way. However, I’ve had some good success cord funding smaller shows, and lately a bigger show like Sword and Laser. There’s also something like patron, and of course merchandise where you actually get something solid for your money besides the programming. So yeah, looking at all of those.

Q: Can we crowdfund a new background / studio for you in the new year? A break from the twit mise-en-scène might be nice. – anonymous

A: Maybe? I love the fireplace. Maybe change the shot a bit though so it isn’t exactly the same. All options open there. Now that I’m allowed, I’d like a second camera too for guests and such.

Q: Are you looking to do anything outside of the podcast / webcast realm? Like public speaking gigs, etc. ? – @Xanthus

A: Yes, a little. I want to keep writing and self-publishing my silly little books. Maybe someday I’ll get good enough to send one off to a real publisher. And I’ve talked to a guy about booking speaking gigs at colleges and conferences. We’ll see how that goes. I’ve done a little of that before, so I’d like to see what’s available, what works, and what I seems valuable to do.

Q: Long form interview show? – @jccalhoun

A: Possibly! It kind of depends on what I do with the daily tech news show, but it definitely could be an element of that. We used to that as supplemental episodes of Buzz Out Loud.

Q: Is Leo still on your Christmas Card list? – @millgroup

A: Ha ha. If I ever get it together enough to have a Christmas card list, Leo will be on it.

Q: How many webcast / podcast shows would you be interested in doing at any one time? – @Xanthus

A: Honestly no more than I have. TNT and Frame Rate together, the way I did them, were a full time job. Then I do Sword sand Laser every other week, although that’s been becoming weekly. Plus Current Geek will be a weekly. The other shows I do are all seasonal. If anything I need to cut down and focus on fewer.

Autopilot S3E09 – Space 1999

AutoPilot/ Shows / December 11th, 2013

Autopilot S3E09 – Space 1999

The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space.

S&L Podcast – #154 – A Natural History of Dragons

Shows/ Sword and Laser / December 10th, 2013

It’s a very dragon-filled episode, as we kick off our December pick, A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, actually by Marie Brennan. Also Temeraire. And Paul and Storm steal our idea but we decide we like them anyway. 

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?    
Tom: Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, bitters and a brandied cherry    
Veronica: Hot Toddy with Bulleit Rye

    
QUICK BURNS    
    
Samuel R. Delany Named 2013 Damon Knight Grand Master Recipient    
George R.R. Martin shows what happens when dragons go to war    
Paul and Storm do an anthology with everyone you love    
Young adult readers ‘prefer printed to ebooks’    
Website Launch: THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH Edited John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey

CALENDAR 

    
TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES    
    
SHANNARA to become a TV series at…MTV?    
The climate of Middle Earth    
First scientific paper to be released in Elvish, Dwarvish and English    
Original Ballantine book cover concept art for J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings on eBay

   
Book Kick-Off    
    
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent (but actually by Marie Brennan)    

Alt pick: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik    
    
BARE YOUR SWORD    
    
Tom and Veronica, 

I’ve been listening to the podcast for a few months now and am 
really enjoying it. I’ve backfilled a good number of the past 
episodes and watched most of the video shows. I listen to a 
fair number of podcasts, but S&L always skips to the front of 
the queue. 

I really like that it is both relaxed and professional at the 
same time. The quick burns are excellent. The show lengths 
are about right. I wouldn’t mind if the frequency of episodes 
was a little higher. 

Also, thanks for keeping the language clean. The amount of 
swearing in many podcasts makes me uncomfortable with sharing 
them with my daughters. This is especially lossy when the content 
would be interesting to them. I am aware that the school yard is 
full of colorful speech, but I am trying to promote a more varied 
vocabulary. 

I haven’t been able to follow along with any of the book club reads. 
The queue is already too long (and getting longer (curses S&L!)), but 
I still enjoy listening to you talk about the books. 

Originally I hated the theme music, but it is growing on me a little. 

Thanks (or curses) for the heads-up on the information about the 
non-attending member benefits of WorldCon (more things to read). 
I don’t understand you S&L was not in the running for a Hugo this 
year. Is it not eligible for some reason? 

Thanks for a wonderful podcast! 

–paul
    
Voicemail from Chris from Maine. Thanks!
    
ADDENDUMS    
    
We are proud members of the Boing Boing Podcast Network   

Borderlands Meetup Jan. 20 

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TNT 897: Compelled by This Monstrosity

Shows/ Tech News Today / December 6th, 2013

Tech News Today

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar, and Jason Howell

Spotify free for mobile, Apple tracks you in stores, 23andMe gives up (a little), and more.

Guest: Darren Kitchen

Download or subscribe to this show at twit.tv/tnt.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

Check out the full show notes for today’s episode.

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Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 46:10

Autopilot S3E08 – Magnum P.I.

AutoPilot/ Shows / December 6th, 2013

Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network.