The silicone-based rock giants of Nikinntinn have minds that can best be described as glacial.  The average greeting takes sixteen to twenty hours, and a ceremonial one for someone of your stature will take no less than three weeks.

Bring a book.

Still feeling ill, so instead of providing “content,? I instead yammer about Dragon*Con. The relevant points:

I am going to be guest at Dragon*Con ‘08

I’ve been attending Dragon*Con since 2000

I’d made a promise that’d be a guest in 2005. Better late than never.

Mur Lafferty should be on more panels.

As a guest, I won’t have to wait in the registration line. This may be the best perk of all.

This brings the list of Jared Axelrod Convention Appearances to 3 this year. In addition to Dragon*Con, I’ll be a guest at Balticon and SalonCon

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

Also, if you haven’t seen it already, you should really watch the Stupendous Adventures of Starman and Batman:

"Hey, Mister, I'm a wizard," the boy said. "Buy me a soda."

"You're not even out of grade school," I said. "How can you be wizard?"

This episode featured "Fossegrimhalligen" performed by Barry Phillips. More information and work by this artist can be found at www.magnatune.com

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

What would the world be like if instead of going on and on about beer, podcasters the world over went on and on about…cheese? Cap’n Stilton, host of Podcast du Fromage gives you a window into such a world, where the wine flows freely, and even the insults have a smooth, creamy texture.

And remember, crackers are for people who can’t handle their cheese.

Special thanks to JR Blackwell, Benjamin Dyme, and Podcasting’s Rich Sigfrit

This episode featured Bach’s "Violin Concerto 1041 : I. Allegro" performed by Lara St. John. More information and work by this artist can be found at www.magnatune.com

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

Sunday evening finds me ruminating about Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's comic The Umbrella Academy, and wondering about the strangling tendrils of superhero tropes, and genres in general. How much is too much genre elements? Is there even such a thing?

In any case, here's some Umbrella Academy material on the internet, which will give you an idea of which superhero elements the comic embraces and which ones it leaves at the curb:

The Free Comic Book Day story, But The Past Ain't Through With You...
The MySpace Comic, Safe and Sound
And the 2-page sneak preveiw.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

Go see me and my incredibly attractive friends dressed as steampunk superheroes here at BoingBoing.

All of the artists played on this podcast have large amount of music available on their website for download. The Voice of Free Planet X supports this behavior, and so should you.

“The Ballad of Barry Allen? was written and performed by Jim’s Big Ego. You can find out more about the band at bigego.com

“Four-Color Love Story? was written and performed by The Metasciences. You can find out more about the band at themetasciences.com

“Dance, Soltarious Johnson, Dance? was written and performed by Jonathan Coulton. You can find out more about him at jonathancoulton.com

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

More podcast episodes means more feedback!  I take a moment to go over the choice bit of listener mail. I am flattered, a listener may be going deaf (but only in one ear), and we confirm that things are better with JR and that a certain episode is "made of awesome."  Plus, the cool names Nobilis gives his children and a kind stranger reveals what happened to me on Valentine's Day!

Cool experimental music atbraindouche.net

You can find the Nobilis Erotica podcast noblis.libsyn.com

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

One the great things about, well, being me, is that my friends are just as great and as fascinating as I am, so when I haven't seen one in a while, they're usually full of amazing stories and interesting conversations.

Case in point, one Miss Holly Johnson, currently interning at Longwood Gardens. She's studying pest management, teaching the right kinds of pest to take care of the wrong kind of pests for us.  Which is why she knows things like why petting a velvet ant is never good idea and that it's good to have a dragonfly on your defense.  She was visiting in order to model for J.R., and her stories were so fascinating, I just turned on the mic and let her go.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

J.R. Blackwell and I lay around in bed and talk about the spiritual underpinnings of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, the general inappropriateness of Elmo on SEASAME STREET, the exposition-easing vocal work of Clancy Brown, the confidence of stupid people on the internet, the style and charm of MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, why Zula, Katara and Toff are ground-breaking characters, and the number people J.R punched while college.

A pretty standard evening, really.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

"Hey, Bea. It's Dante. No, I can just barely hear you. No, No...it's not Hell. It's Purgatory... PURGATORY!!! Yeah, I didn't think there'd be service out here either...."

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

They called the ship a Widowmaker, a relic of a time when the black of space was scarred by the war and the machines that made it possible. There were no windows save at the top and few doors; little was done to make the metal monstrosity look like anything other than the heavily armed coffin it was. It towered over the edge of the city, and Fire Chief Jaime Olmos felt cold and clammy every time he had to drive beneath its shadow. He had argued with the city about taking it down and scrapping it. But no one saw the tower of metal-encased kindling on insufficient struts, a danger to the community around it. They only saw a tourist offering, a landmark...

This episode was read and scored by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net, who also wrote and performed the Voice of Free Planet X theme.

I talk to Steve Wilson, mastermind behind both Farpoint Convention and Prometheus Radio Theatre. We talk of how to properly write space opera, the magic of the right convention guest, and the importance of social conflict.

You can find out more about Farpoint Convention at www.farpointcon.com.

You can subscribe to Prometheus Radio Theatre at prometheus.libsyn.com

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

I moderate a panel on webcomics at Farpoint Convention with Dan Warner and Glenn Hauman manages to wander all the concerns of online media in general, the reasoning behind selling out, and what awaits you if you try to self-publish. Also, inexplicably, Warren Ellis.

You can find out more about Daniel Warner at danielwarner.net.

Glen Hauman’s ComicMix site is located at comicmix.com

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

Doing a daily podcast has (unsurprisingly) left me a little behind on my sleep. So while I catch up in order to prepare for Farpoint, here's some music from a few bands that have been wearing out my mp3 player recently:

"Am I Awake" was performed by They Might Be Giants and was made available curtsey of the of the Podsafe Music Network. You can find out more about them at theymightbegiants.com/.

"Seaweed" was performed by Saul Williams and was made available curtsey of the of the Podsafe Music Network. You can find out more about him and his new album "The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust" at niggytardust.com/.

"Wasps Nest" was performed by The National and was made available curtsey of the of the Podsafe Music Network. You can find out more about them at theymightbegiants.com/.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russel Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

By Jeremiah Tolbert.
Read by Jared Axelrod (of The Voice of Free Planet X).
First appeared in All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories (ed. David Moles & Jay Lake).

We are somewhere among the tallest mountains of the world. When we arrived, I was locked away in a cargo hold, so I don’t know exactly where. Our home is a small, drafty castle and a separate laboratory. Dr. Octavio had the locals construct the lab before he tested the new death ray on their village. There’s very little left there. In my little bit of spare time, I try to bury the bodies and collect anything useful to the doctor’s experiment.

My primary duties consist of keeping the castle’s furnace running and clearing the never-ending snow from the path between the two buildings. Sometimes, it falls too fast for my slow treads and shovel attachment to keep up with and I find myself half-buried in the snow. It is horrible on my gears when this happens, but I use heavyweight oil now and it helps.

It is one of the few benefits of my metal frame that I appreciate. Life in this contraption is like being wrapped in swaddling clothes. I wonder if I would feel anything if my casing caught on fire? I need to ask the doctor when he isn’t in one of his moods.

Rated PG. Parental guidance suggested for violence and ennui.

Audible.com Promotion!
Receive your free audiobook at: http://audiblepodcast.com/escapepod

Referenced Sites:
Jared Axelrod’s Commissions

WARNING: This episode is not particularly safe for work. Sex is discussed as something that exists, and naughty bits are mentioned by name. Just so you know.

To get you geared up for Valentine’s Day, I speak with Kali Morgan and Justine Shuey of Passional Boutique. We talk about the successful classes they’ve held in the past, the experiences they’ve had working with various age groups, and the experience that is “Show & Tell Sunday?

You can find out more about the Passional Boutique and Sexploratorium, visit www.passional.net/ and www.passionaltoys.com.

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

The Shark is a Battlefield series of interviews comes to its conclusion with Nick Popio, LARP runner, player and designer (triple threat).  We talk about the identity-splitting nature of role-playing games, the basis of wish-fulfillment, and the inter-personal interaction that this form of gaming engenders.

Plus, business jargon!

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

 

We think large. We may be small creatures to you, but our lives extend far beyond the miniscule moments you possess. We think large, and we think long.

Have you ever looked at a mosquito, closely? It’s a strange shape, all hunched over and crooked. Even by your insect standards, it is a bizarre creature. And you never realized. It’s one of the few insects that survive your winters. Did you ever wonder why?

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

Third in the Shark Is A Battlefield series of interviews find me talking with John Morehead of Digitribe. John talks about directing GEEKIN’ and THE STATEMENT OF RANDOLPH CARTER, the perils of adapting H.P. Lovecraft and what Digitribe plans to do next.

It may involve me. Just saying.

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

 

The Shark Is A Battlefield series of interviews continues as I turn the tables on Bradley George, host of WFDD’s Triad Arts Up Close, a interview the interviewer. We discuss the ups and downs of doing a daily arts reporting show for Public Radio and how the right watercolor painting can change your perspective.

This episode was recorded with a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russell Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

The first of the Shark Is A Battlefield series of interviews, finds me speaking with Alison Buck, sociologist. We discuss calling folks on their bullshit, the short skirts of roller girls, sociologist career paths, carving young minds, being a superhero, Live Action Role-Playing, and the benefits of knowing the best way to creep people out.

This episode was recorded using a microphone from Giant Squid Audio Lab.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russel Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

 

I’m busy building a sonic screwdriver, so I asked the Doctor to help me put together a selection of DOCTOR WHO-themed songs to play. “A Capella Who? was arranged and performed by Stephen Willis, and can be downloaded at whomix.trilete.net “Hear Come The Drums? was produced by Juxtaposeur, and can be downloaded at www.thejuxtaposition.co.uk/ “Dr. Who on Holiday? was produced by Dean Gray as part of the album “American Edit,? and can be downloaded at www.internetkilled.com/americanedit/ The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russel Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

…and my microphone will never be the same.

Special guest JR Blackwell heats up the show to discuss her upcoming appearance at What-The-Hell-Con, how she started the club that started such a convention, and what it takes to create something that endures for others long after you’ve left.

You can find out about JR Blackwell photography and life at blackwell.livejournal.com

Information about What-The-Hell-Con can be found at www.guilford.edu/yachting/wthcon

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russel Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

Here in the Quiet Dark, a raygun can be your dearest friend. It warms to your touch, responds to your requests, and clears your way.  It is the best partner one can expect to have in the quiet dark...

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russel Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net

The beginning of something new, as I start an experiment in daily podcasting.  Let's see how long I can keep it up.

Part one of the answers to faithful listener Keiko Mushi's questionaire about me and my writing.  I delve into my influences, my current projects and talk frankly about my costuming habit.

The Voice of Free Planet X theme was written and performed by Russel Collins of www.clockworkaudio.net