Blogging
Check out the four-minute “super-preview” of The Amazing Spider-Man. Continue reading
President Obama declared his support for marriage equality today to a hail of Internet cheers. Supporting gay marriage has been considered a pretty risky move for a politician, since it means definitively losing the vote for an entire chunk of the electorate – IE, the religious right – and probably losing votes from slightly less rightward conservatives. Continue reading
I’m personally going to go ahead and hope for option #1 because at least that’s not sincere. Option #2 would confirm something I’ve long suspected – that there’s a frightening and sizable subset of conservatives who actually are deeply divorced from reality and seriously mentally ill, and no one’s doing anything to help those people. Continue reading
Two great photos from Reddit, some social media news like updates on Facebook’s Instagram buy-out and the new blogging and social media policy for the New York Daily News, a word on Game of Thrones and a post about racism, sexism, and etc in fantasy stories, and more. Continue reading
PlayStation 4 is Code-Named ‘Orbis,’ May Restrict Second-Hand Games – See, this is just more of the same crap I was bemoaning on Wednesday. I’m beginning to think these companies actually don’t want our money, because if this isn’t a screaming incentive for people to crack and pirate games and software, jailbreak their computing devices, and generally do everything in their power to avoid doing what these companies are trying to force on them, then I don’t know what would be. Continue reading
Black Alice
The Order of St. Heinrich controls their Inquisitors with a clever combination of dogma and magic. The dogma is part of their training, good old-fashioned indoctrination and programming which I gathered started pretty early in their lives. The magic comes in the form of an artifact that gets tattooed right into their skin. Being made a part of their body, with their cooperation, allowed the artifact to bypass their innate resistance to magic. Continue reading
Ever have that dream where you’re falling, and suddenly you wake up?
Try it in reverse, sometime.
I woke up, stumbling over my own feet and falling. There was a small, strong hand on my right arm that almost caught me as I went down, but I’d twitched when I came to and had surprised her. My left hand was still frozen fast to my throat, so I had no way to catch myself. I went down hard, grunting as my knee ran hotly along a thick pile carpet. The side of my head hit the floor pretty hard, but I barely felt it. I barely felt anything, really… I was numb. Cold. Continue reading
The thing about sharing head space with the shadow is that she never stops. She doesn’t do anything that even resembles sleep. She doesn’t even do anything like rest. She’s in constant motion, like a shark swimming round and round so … Continue reading
In the background the screaming started. My shadow and I heard the shrill sound leaping from one mouth to the next as panic spread through the crowd like wildfire. It began behind us, where a dead woman was falling to … Continue reading
The music was so loud I could feel it rattling my fillings, a synthesized techno beat with a bass line that shook the floor and vibrated through the walls. Some overly auto-tuned gal was moaning along while colored lights strobed … Continue reading
Machine Girl
“Listen to me Eugene, this type of affliction has many legitimately accepted treatments. There is no need to resort to risky, untested procedures! I’ve told you before that I don’t give a shit about whatever grants you’ve gotten from the Department of Defense or anyone else; this is a hospital, not an experimental robotics lab!” His face was red the way it always was when he was going on a tirade. Continue reading
Kay’s voice echoed throughout the building and alarms began sounding.
“Shit, Svenka, get the goddamn door open!” Ren was frantic, pushing on the locked door.
“Stand back Ren. There’s no reason for subtlety at this point.” I raised my foot to kick the door in but she forestalled me.
“The security on this door hasn’t been compromised yet and I’d like to keep it that way.” At the same time Svenka chimed in over the mindlink. Continue reading
“Are you sure about this place Svenka? It looks a little out of control to me.” We had pulled up in front of a club that had no sign out front but still had a line around the block. The music that pulsed out of the front every time the door opened to admit some of the questionable individuals waiting outside sounded a bit like someone beating on household appliances with hammers. “Is that guy wearing a leather skirt and a gimp mask?” Continue reading
Svenka grinned, “I’m going to go and pack up a bunch of gear. Why don’t you get dressed hon? While I enjoy the view it’s not exactly travel attire.”
“I’ve got some time; we’re not leaving until after the sun sets. I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid notice if at all possible.” Continue reading
Speaking of real life insanity, some of you may have noticed you aren’t reading this at UrbanFantasyFiction.com. I landed full-time employment this summer and I’ve been OMGBUSY as a result. So busy, in fact, that I just don’t have time to webmaster an additional site. (I’m currently working on three, with a possible 4th launching next year sometime.) Thus, Black Alice will be appearing here at MarciSischo.com, instead. Continue reading
Commuter
Browser extensions are additional bits of code that you can add to your browser to make them do more and/or better things. They’re super-easy to install – generally it’s a one-click process. Depending on your browser or the extension you picked, you may have to close and reopen your browser, too. Something that simple can add a wealth of new features and solve a ton of Internet annoyances – for free! Continue reading → Continue reading
Corvallis resident and recently-graduated OSU student Ray McGuinness kept Twitter updated as he took to the streets of Corvallis to find and talk to Sarah Phillips. Continue reading
This past Friday (March 30), Cult of Mac writer John Brownlee published an article about a smartphone app called “Girls Around Me.” This article exploded in a privacy backlash before the weekend was over, resulting in one social media network pulling the app’s access to its data, a second investigating the app for a possible terms of use violation, and the makers of the app voluntarily pulling “Girls Around Me” from the iPhone market. Continue reading
Pinterest.com is the hottest new social network. I know, I know, I can hear you thinking OMG, not another one! right through my computer screen. And to be honest, a few weeks ago, I would have been right there with you. Seriously, one person can only handle so many social media networks. Continue reading → Continue reading
Back in October I wrote about SOPA and PIPA, and I’m sad to report the problem didn’t go away over winter break. In fact, if anything, it’s gotten worse. Continue reading → Continue reading
Tumblr and G+
Via think-progress:
NBC’s David Gregory, host for Meet The Press, is headlining a conference for a major Republican advocacy group. The problem? It violates the journalism code of ethics:
Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
Remain free… Continue reading
“Science can tell you how to clone a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Humanities can tell you why this might be a bad idea.” Continue reading
“I’m (expletive deleted) starving.” – Celebrity chef Mario Batali • Discussing the diet he’s currently on — he’s eating like he’s on food stamps (an average of $1.48 per meal, or $31 per week) in protest of potential cuts to the federa… Continue reading
“According to Torrent Freak (TF), the Pirate Pay startup has created a way to attack BitTorrent swarms in order to make it impossible to share files. The report says “The idea started three years ago when the developers were building a traffic mana… Continue reading
At the Toy Factory in Corvallis, Oregon Riverfront Commemorative Park, Corvallis Avery Park, Corvallis, OR On their last day of vacation, we toured Corvallis for some sight-seeing and shopping. The Toy Factory in downtown Corvallis was a big hit wit… Continue reading