R.I.P. Rene Aberjounes

"Star Trek," "Benson," "Boston Legal" and LITTLE MERMAID actor Rene Aberjounes died this week.  He was seventy-nine . . . which is actually a pretty good run.

Even so, it's sad when an actor you're fond of passes away.  I mostly knew him as Odo on "Deep Space Nine," and I have to say that his performance, under that alien makeup, always impressed me.  But more than his face, it was his voice that really worked.  I pretty much do my Odo impression whenever I voice Tellarite Commander Gant over on "Star Trek: Outpost."  Just with a bit more snorting (and the occasional squeal).

He wasn't a typical handsome leading man type, and almost always played pompous buffoons, or at least stodgy, humorless characters.  But there was a warmth that came through, from time to time.

The above picture was taken at the opening of the Star Trek: Experience in Las Vegas, Nevada in early (I wanna say January) 1998.  Even though I look about twelve (and in the midst of that awkward age), I was actually of driving age (and technically, drinking age).  Speaking of drinking, Aberjounes was pretty tired and tipsy after whatever fun activities they'd had the night before the opening, but was still kind enough to pose in a picture with me.

At the time, I was less familiar with the actor, so when I saw him, I said, "Rene, can I get a picture with you?"  Afterward, my buddy John said, "Wow, you called him by his first name, like you knew him!"  In actuality, I had no idea how to pronounce his last name.

Rish Outcast 157: What I Most Despise

Oh, it's another one of these.

In this episode, I share--overshare, between you and me--a couple of recent experiences where I became . . . what I most despise.

You know the feeling, don't lie.



Right-Click HERE to download the episode directly.

Left-Click HERE to support me on Patreon.

Logo by Gino "What I Most Revise" Moretto.

What the hell, here's another PATREON LINK.

(Half of) My Story "Most Feared In The Galaxy" On Delusions of Grandeur

In the latest episode of our Star Wars podcast, Marshal Latham and I talk about the first three episodes of "The Mandalorian."  It probably won't surprise you to hear that we liked it.

Afterward, I share the first half or so of my RETURN OF THE JEDI-era story "Most Feared In The Galaxy."  It's a pretty short tale, but the episode is not, so I've split it into two small segments.  You know, I've never dared put these stories up for sale, so really, this is the only way to hear them.*

We'll be running the second half in the episode where we talk about the next "Mandalorian" episodes.

Check it out HERE.

Rish "Least Feared" Outfield

*"Or is it?"  he asked, considering running the story on an Outcast episode.

I Narrate "Deep Water" On StarShipSofa

Know that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an age when Big Anklevich and I were young, wide-eyed podcasters, and we did a few readings for StarShipSofa, the Audio Science Fiction Magazine.  This was one of the big boys, producing works from top-notch writers, and winning a Hugo Award as Best Fanzine.

They went on to many great things, but their greatest impact on me was introducing us to Jason Sanford, who enjoyed our reading of "When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees" enough to let us start doing his stories on the Dunesteef.*

But many years have passed since we worked with StarShipSofa, and those days, like being a regular podcast, are long behind us.  Except for a month ago, when new editor (and holder of the answer to the Riddle of Steel) Gary Dowell sent me an email and asked if I'd like to do a story for them.  Of course I said yes . . . and now you can hear me perform "Deep Water" by Steven Fischer.

It's a short piece, about a man attempting a rescue mission in a spacecraft damaged by an asteroid collision.  Check it out at THIS LINK.

We shall see if more stories come my way.  If so, then let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

*There's still one more Sanford story out there that I think about from time to time, and in a moment of ambition, I will produce it for the show.

Anti-Venom T-Rex

So, you may ask, "Rish, why do you do these painting things, when you could be writing or working on podcasts?"  To which, I say, "Come on, give me a break."  I find painting extremely relaxing, and while I finish up "The West Wing," it feels like multi-tasking.

Anyway, Anti-Venom is a character I was unfamiliar with until I saw an action figure of him in 2015.  Turns out, I've known who he is my whole life.

Flash Thompson, one-time nemesis and later friend of Peter Parker became a superhero in his own right when the Venom symbiote bonded with him, creating a new version of the character that calls himself Agent Venom, Anti-Venom, and most cleverly, Agent Anti-Venom.**

He has a white design, with a black spider, and a neat face with black and white and red, like this:

I had a used 2015 T-Rex (from a used lot I bought last year with various loose dinos in it) that I grabbed to paint.

First thing was to cover it in white.

To my surprise, the figure's skin ate up that white in a great, rather-lifelike way.

It looked preeeetty good, but then I did the head.

And wow, the head makes all the difference.

Dude, the red eyes and black teeth totally lend themselves to a T-Rex's head shape.  It looks awesome!

Having never read a comic featuring Anti-Venom, I shouldn't give a single crap about the character . . . but I like the design so much (especially on a dinosaur), that I think I'd count myself a fan all of a sudden.  Is that weird?

Next up was to paint the spider . . . which was the least-successful part of the custom.

Best picture so far:

And here's the final product:

Here he is squaring off against the Carnage Indoraptor:

And here's all three together:

I don't know where to go from here, except that I still have two more 2015 T-Rexes.  Hmmm.

Rish

*I did a little research just now, and I read that Flash can only be merged with the symbiote for a short time before it starts to take over, and he begins murdering people.  I can totally get behind a story like that.

Rish Outcast 156: Soul-Cleaver Clarence by Matthew Jarvis

In this episode, I present my performance of the Fantasy story "Soul-Cleaver Clarence" by Matthew J. Jarvis.

Then I talk for a while about whether I should have or not.



Be strong, and Right-Click THIS LINK to download the episode directly.

Here's a link to the full-cast version over at CAST OF WONDERS.

And if you'd like to hear "Last Contact" again, check it out HERE.

As often happens, this is a shorter episode than the Patreon supporters get, so, if you feel like joining up, serve your country and go to THIS LINK.

"Choice of a Sidekick" Available On . . . Somewhere

I wrote a somewhat-holiday-themed Ben Parks story in 2017 to use as my Christmas episode that year.  Then I didn't get it typed up in time.  I did get it typed in time to run as my Christmas 2018 episode, but I didn't get it recorded in time (I chickened out when I noticed how weak it was).  But I figured I HAD to put it out there for Christmas 2019.

So here it is.

"Choice of a Sidekick" was initially titled "A Sidekick's Holiday," until I realized that didn't work (not that "Choice of a Sidekick" will make a shortlist of good titles), and tells the tale of Benny Parks when he was nine, back at the San Domingo orphanage we met him at in 2005.*  It is a slight story (only about five thousand words) that may become important(ish) depending on how many more of these I get written.

So, here's the thing: I suggest you skip this one.  It's not necessary that you read it, and it's certainly not necessary that you buy it.  In fact, I'm going to not only suggest you not go to Amazon and pick this up, but I'm going to forbid you to.  You don't need this story in your life.  No one does.

I told Marshal Latham I would ask people not to buy it, and I fear he thought I was joking.  I ain't joking, kids.  I'm only posting this here because I knew I'd find an excuse not to publish it again this year if given half the chance.

If I'm not able to dissuade you--and hey, last time: this is not a story you need (or should want) to read--it is available on Amazon AT THIS LINK.

I know the cover's not particularly good, but my nephew is currently the same age Benny is in the story, so I took a picture of him in a thrift store with a cowboy hat on.

I took a picture of the trees behind the family cabin, and awkwardly inserted him into it.  Then, I found a website that turns photographs into something resembling old paintings.  I tried a bunch of different iterations, like these three abominations:



Finally, I decided on an earthtone one, even though the story takes place at Christmastime.  Big stuck the title on for me, and there you go.  So that part of the process, at least, is kind of interesting.

Rish "Hell of a Salesman" Outfield

*Well, you didn't meet him then, unless your last name is Anklevich, but I met him then.

Rish Outcast 155: The Shawshank Rishdemption

This is the episode where I talk about Frank Darabont's 1994 Stephen King adaptation The Shawshank Redemption. These are my thoughts and comments and there are probably spoilers.

Well, get busy listenin' or get busy dyin'.



Download the episode by Right-Clicking HERE, if that's your thing.

Support me on Patreon HERE, or am I being obtuse?

Logo by Gino "You're Damn Right" Moretto.

What's Going On (With Me)

Every month, I put out a podcast for my supporters on Patreon that I call my Patreon Address.  In it, I usually talk about what I'm up to, what's on my mind the day I record it, and what goals I set for the new month.*

I was about to sit down and start watching "Curb Your Enthusiasm" tonight (it's a show that I've been curious about for two decades, and never actually watched), but first I thought I'd publicly mention a couple of my goals for the month of November (or the rest of the year, whichever comes first).  Because watching television is easy, and practically anything else is less easy.

I set a goal in October to put out my two new "Dead & Breakfast" stories, and about halfway through the month, I set a goal to write and publish a new short story, just to see if I could do it.  Well, I got "Touching the Other Side" out there, and managed to write fudgin' "Murder Maze" twice by the end of the month, and published it with minutes to spare.  The second D&B story, "The Night Clerk," was a little bit more stubborn, as it turned out to be about fourteen thousand words long, and according to the rules, that makes it a novelette rather than a short story.

Is a novelette really a thing?  I'm starting to doubt my sources.

But as you saw a couple of days ago (if you saw it here on the blog), I did get "Night Clerk" published, and I spent the weekend editing the audio for it.  When I got to the end, I didn't like how unfinished everything seemed to be**, so I actually UNpublished it, wrote (and recorded) a new ending to the story, and republished it with an extra five or six hundred words in there.  I highly suspect that nobody bought the story in its original form, especially since it was only out there for fifteen hours or so.***

Big Anklevich and I had a conversation recently about his dream/goal of being a full-time writer, and the deadline he set for himself years ago coming and going.  It made him buckle down and try harder to get back on track, culminating in him setting a goal to write every day for a year.  I humored him in his mad quest, but was unwilling to make a similar commitment.  I know a little something about setting goals and failing to reach them, maybe more than a little something.

But I have tried--and failed--this year to get my sequel to "The Calling" out there, and to publish "My Friend of Misery," a story that is so long, no one would dare call it a novelette (heck, it may actually be novel-length if I ever copy-edit it and put it out there).  I keep saying I'm going to sit down and get one of those done, and I keep not doing it.

I also came up with another story idea a few days ago, one with the eye-rolling title of "Comes The Podcatcher," that I have only worked on at my family cabin, and then, only during daylight hours (you may chalk that up to either cowardice, or more abject laziness).

So, here is me publicly stating that, before the end of the year, I will finish "Podcatcher," and I will publish either "The Calling: Reunion," or "My Friend of Misery."  I'd also like to put out my sequel to "Like A Good Neighbor," since I completed that one this year.

Let's see if I can do a little bit better, in the days still left.

Rish "The Unpublisher" Outfield

*I also talk about my failure to achieve the goals for the previous month, but that's neither here nor there.

**I didn't answer some of the questions, not due to excessive laziness (for a change), but by design: I knew I wanted to write more "Dead & Breakfast" stories, so I thought if I didn't explain what happened with certain characters, I might be motivated to come back and write a story or two filling in the gaps.  We'll see.

***I'm reminded of a bit of weird trivia concerning THE SHINING.  When the film was first released in 1980, it had an epilogue that explained what happened to Wendy and Danny (and Mr. Ullman), and for some reason, Stanley Kubrick changed his mind about it, and actually went to every theater showing the film, and physically cut the scene out of the last reel, despite it having already been released for a few days.  Even more strange is that, according to various sources, Kubrick destroyed all copies of the scene and its negative, and it remains lost to this day.

"The Night Clerk" Available On Amazon

I finally managed to get the second story in my "Dead & Breakfast" series published*, and I hope somebody out there likes it.  Even if they are dead.

Especially, I suppose, if they are dead.

"The Night Clerk" tells the story of Natalie Whitmore, the newest hire at the Noble Oaks Bed & Breakfast in Vernon, Idaho.  She is interviewed for the job, and sworn to secrecy about what she witnesses there, but is never explained why.  She meets Mason Bradley, the other desk clerk on the night shift, and evennnnnnntually, she gets to find out what's so special about that particular B&B.

I really had fun writing this one, and world-building a little bit, and just editing it this week made me think of new questions and gave me a couple of new ideas.  There were three years between the first story and the second, and only weeks between the second and third, so who knows what will happen next?

Even though the above cover is pretty good for one of mine, Gino Moretto came through and made me a better one.  I'm swapping them out now.

HERE IS THE LINK to the story over on Amazon, or you can wait a year or so before I run it on the podcast.

I have completed the audio version, and as you know, that always takes much longer.  As it stands, I'm trying to decide whether to publish "Night Clerk" by itself, with the other two stories, or write a quick fourth story that I can put out in an audiobook containing all four.  Feel free to let me know what I should do.

Rish "The Shite Clerk" Outfield

*This was supposed to be published before "Touching the Other Side," but when my plans to run it for the Halloween episode of my podcast, I switched their release order and focused on getting TTOS out there first.

Tales of eBay Horror 10: We Didn't Hear From You...

This was the last episode of Season One of "Tales of eBay Horror.'

This terrifying true story is called "We Didn't Hear From You..." and it includes a special guest.