New Story at Tor.com! “The Speed of Time” by Jay Lake

from Tor.com:

The plug has been pulled on the universe; now it’s only a matter of, well, time.

Jay Lake is the author of the novels Mainspring, EscapementPinion, Green (set in the same world as his Tor.com short story “A Water Matter”) and Trial of Flowers. He has also published many short stories and is the 2004 winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Stephan Martiniere has worked extensively as a concept illustrator and visual director for video games. He was nominated for an Emmy for his direction of the animated short “Madeleine,” and he has received numerous awards including The Chesley Award for Best Hardcover and a Thea Award for his work on the Paramount theme park Super Saturator. Stephan did the covers for Jay Lake’s MainspringEscapement, and Pinion.

Dr. Grordbort: Read! Want! Win!

from Weta:

Featured Products — The Miniatures!
Few may recall this, but the first Dr. Grordbort’s Raygun to see the light of day was a Miniature Manmelter, exclusive to Comic-Con 2007. It sold out there and then. There are five more in the series, from the minute Mongoose to the Unnatural Selector.

Steampunk Exhibition — expressions of interest
Feeling arty? The anachronistic rogues of the Leage of Victorian Imagineers in Oamaru have issued the call for expressions of interest (as well as — naturally — expressions of utter disbelief)! The Exhibition itself takes place 23 October to 5 December this year, but if you intend to exhibit, you must express your interest by 3 September! Peruse the full set of details on the League’s Electric Web Domicile.

Smitten by the Mongoose?
The Victorious Mongoose 1902a Concealable Ray Pistol is a gorgeous wee thing and comes in its own velvet-lined leather-clad jewel box. As if anyone needs an incentive to purchase this fine and strictly limited edition collectible gun, we have nonetheless decided to offer it with a FREE Victorious Mongoose — miniature version and two FREE books. Get yours here! With the Mongoose in your corner, adventure can be added to the most intimate of situations!

Reviewers have said:
“I could go on forever about the beauty in both form and presentation of the Victorious Mongoose 1902A.” — Outlander, 2009
“While it may seem intended for the “mysterious sex” it is not in the least bit unmanly.” — Quatermass, 2009
Read all the reviews!

First round of Righteous Bisons all but vamoosed!
The Righteous Bison Indivisible Particle Smasher in all its lightweight glory was warmly welcomed when it first showed its brass piping to the public last year. Now, less than a year later, we are preparing for production run #2. If you still haven’t acquainted yourself in person with the Righteous Bison, we suggest you do so PROMPTLY!

Win!
To further entice you, the fine folk at Grordbort Industries Jollification Department have announced A CONTEST! The finest and most outlandish examples of posphorescent etchings (a.k.a. “photographs”) of the Righteous Bison and its handler in action will be awarded prizes in the form of Weta Dollars! 200 to the winner, 100 to one runner-up! Plus, of course, everlasting glory and a pat on the back! By submitting an entry, you of course agree to us using the image on our site, Facebook, Twitter and in newsletters. Email your entries (unlimited) to news@wetanz.co.nz before 15 September!

Electric Web Renovations Completed!
With no small measure of stealth, the card punchers in the engine room have just finished re-stabilising, transmogrifying and defragmenting Grordbort Industries’ Electric Web Dwelling. If you’ve never visited drgrordborts.com before, you should! There are wild tales of the unexpected, the uninhibited and the down-right unnatural! If you’ve been there before, you will recognise much. For now, we have just updated the “engine room” if you like, so that we can achieve much future greatness.

Platform Independence Day! Raygun Shootout Unleashed!
Dr. Grordbort’s Raygun Shootout, the 3D design contest where first prize is a trip to New Zealand is now open to ALL — not just users of Blender! The final leg in the competition involves the design and rotation of a raygun intended for 2-handed operation. This competition has seen some WONDERFUL entries and you should join in the fun!

A note of thanks
To all of you who attended our Dr. Grordbort’s Dinner at Cafe Polo in Miramar. We hope you had as much fun as we did! See you again next year?

Stalk Weta on Facebook | Twitter

Shout! Factory: Post-Comic-Con

from Shout! Factory:

The excitement of the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con is finally wearing down. Certainly you’ve seen the mass coverage in every entertainment nook and cranny. For our part, the Roger Corman panel was amazing. A packed room of 500+ joined our esteemed panelists in discussing the genius that is Roger Corman. Look for footage on an upcoming DVD release in the Roger Corman’s Cult Classics series. We also had loads of fun taking pictures of attendees at our Max Headroom photo booth. You can visit the gallery here. Many thanks to everyone who came by the booth. We’re already thinking about next year’s extravaganza!

Iron Man to the Extreme
Another fun outcome of Comic-Con was that the Tom Kenny (yes, the voice of SpongeBob and so many others) made an important announcement for Shout! at the Marvel panel. The second title in our Marvel Comics series will be Iron Man: Extremis, out November 30. This is the DVD debut of this title, and it’s packed with some awesome bonus features, like a conversation with writer Adi Granov, a behind-the-scenes look at Marvel Knights animation, a visual history of Iron Man and more. The DVD, like X-Men: Gifted, is packed in a replica comic-book-style package. You’ll love it.

This ‘N’ That

IFC just started airing one of our favorite TV shows, Freaks & Geeks. They’re broadcasting them in order every Friday and, once wrapped, will lead into another favorite, Undeclared. Check their site for more details.

Our latest contest is up just in time for Halloween, and it will make you scream and SHOUT! Enter to win a prize pack featuring 11 of our scariest DVDs or Blu-rays — if you dare.

Keep up with the latest Shout! news throughout your day by following us on Twitter and Facebook. Plus, visit our YouTube page for trailers, clips and music videos.

Timmy ate ThinkGeek’s homework. Again.

from ThinkGeek:

If your life had a face, we wouldn’t punch it.

We’re nice like that. Summer con season is winding to a close and it’s time for geeks everywhere to start thinking about school. Some are putting their geeklings on the big yellow bus for the first time while others are preparing to defeat seven evil courses (or those last 7 credits).

Then there’s the rest of us who are just glad our favorite lunching location isn’t overrun with teenagers and the only papers we have to write are D&D campaign logs — and we love writing those!

Take $10 off $40+ orders — Easier than defeating Ochre Jelly
Fill your personal inventory with the gear you need to pummel those evil teachers until they explode into coins. Oh wait… don’t pummel your teachers. That’s nearly always a bad idea. Besides, we’ve heard they explode and form more evil teachers, much like an Ochre Jelly. Use code SKOOLGEAR for $5 off your $25+ or $10 off your $40+ order, good through 11:59pm ET 8/28/2010.

Find more What’s New items at ThinkGeek!

CuteCircuit Twirkle Competition

from CuteCircuit:

Make an amazing video or photos of yourself wearing a Twirkle T-Shirt (or Twirkle dress or Twirkle mini-dress) and submit it before the 5th of November. The best photo or video will win a CuteStore Gift Card and be showcased on the CuteCircuit website!

Imagine what sparkling videos and photos you can take with light up Twirkle clothing!

Submit your photos or videos to the following e-mail address with “Twirkle Competition” in the subject line:

cute@cutecircuit.com

The body of the e-mail must contain the following information:

1. Your name
2. Age
3. Title of the submission and location

Attach your file and you are all set!

Deadline: November 5th 2010.

Good luck! May the cutest win!

Guidelines:
1. This competition is open to all the residents of planet Earth.
2. You must be 18 years of age or older in order to be able to participate.
3. The video or images submitted cannot exceed 5Mb in size, video format .mov, image format .jpg
4. You can submit mutliple entries.
5. Only one prize can be given per household, no cash alternative.
6. The winner will receive a £100 GiftCard to redeem on the CuteStore, valid for one year.
7. By submitting your media you confirm that all the images or videos are created by you and that you own the copyright.
8. We’d love to be able to tell people who has won and may ask for you to let us use your name in our website, but would only do so with your consent.
9. By entering your wonderful photos and videos, you give permission to CuteCircuit to publish them on the website in perpetuity and use them in the future for promotional purposes in connection with this competition. We will give full credit to the author.
10. Be creative! Have fun! Rock it!

New Neil Episode “Fairyhood” starring Felicia Day

from The Legend of Neil:

Felicia Day’s naughty fairy is back in full force in the latest episode of The Legend of Neil, “Fairyhood”. The episode also features appearances by The Sklar Brothers and the return of the male fairy played by Brendan Bradley. The new theme song was sung by musical nerds Paul and Storm! Enjoy!

J!NX: The World of Warcraft Fall 2010 Line is Here!

from J!NX:

New World of Warcraft Collection Tees for Fall!
Attention Orcs, Nelfs, Belfs, Undead, Tauren, and all the rest! We’ve got a new collection of epic World of Warcraft Tees, just in time for Back to School! Murloc lovers (or haters), Legendary Death Knights and Paladins, Pandaren, and survivors of the Fear Hogger will all be especially pleased. Equip your new gear today!

New Design Arcade Winner: TMNT-Rex!
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was a mighty beast. It was gigantic, ferocious, and had big, nasty teeth… but what many people don’t know is that it also had kickass Ninja skills! The T-Rex rarely works alongside his turtle brothers. He’s more of a loner, and the turtles never really accepted him anyway. Congratulations to Mephistoau for another fantastic design!

Free Shipping for orders over $49!
Been saving up your pennies for that sweet War Machine Jacket or Avenger Chinos? Having trouble choosing your favorite? We thought we’d throw in a little promotion to ease the strain on your wallet. You’ll receive FREE standard shipping on orders over $49 when you enter the code “WHOWEARE.” This offer ends 8/31/10, so get your order in soon! (Offer not valid in combination with any other sale or discount)

New J!NX Quest: Win an XBox 360 with Kinect!
Earlier this month, we released our very first Cut & Sew line, and we want to know what you think! You can find out all the details on how to enter here. Complete the tasks, and you’ll be signed up to win an XBox 360 with Kinect! You can enter once per day for more chances to win.

International Writers of the Future 26th Anniversary Set for Live Internet Broadcast Worldwide

from Writers of the Future:

The L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards ceremony celebrating the 26th anniversary of the internationally-acclaimed Writers of the Future Contest and its companion Illustrators of the Future Contest will be broadcast on Saturday, August 28th, 7:30 pm (Pacific), to a worldwide audience via Internet. Streaming will be live from writersofthefuture.com where a special link will be set up.

“This annual ceremony for new writers and illustrators of science fiction and fantasy is such a moving experience that we wanted all speculative fiction fans everywhere and the friends and families of this year’s winners to witness it,” said Joni Labaqui, Contests’ director.

The actual evening ceremony will be held before hundreds of invited guests, celebrities, and many of speculative fiction’s most popular writers and illustrators at the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in the very room that the first Academy Awards were held.

“We’ve got quite a show planned. Not only are we releasing volume 26, but a 25 year retrospective coffee table book of the Writers of the Future program with over 1,000 photos in 270 pages will also be released,” Labaqui added.

Every quarter, three writers and three illustrators are selected by a panel of leading authors and artists of science fiction and fantasy. With no entry fee and judging done on an anonymous basis, the criterion is strictly merit. Beside first time publication, benefits include over $30,000 in cash prizes and royalties, a week-long workshop with top professionals of the genre as well as book signings, radio and TV interviews organized by the contest administrators to assist the winners in launching their careers.

For more information on the Contests, go to writersofthefuture.com. You can see last year’s awards ceremony at youtube.com/writersofthefuture and click on “2009 Awards Ceremony-Vol XXV.”

Please note, this is a live broadcast, so check your time zone for when it will be showing in your location.

Celebration V Merch Now at StarWarsShop!

from StarWars.com:

The thrill of Celebration V is far from over. Although the massive fan event wrapped on August 15th, StarWarsShop has posted over a dozen items that were available exclusively to shoppers at the event — and are now available exclusively to you!

As an added bonus, every order over $40 will receive a free “Artoo Juicer” iron-on — another Sunshine State-inspired exclusive — available while supplies last.

Head straight on over to StarWarsShop’s dedicated Celebration V Store now and grab these rare Celebration exclusives before they’re all gone!

Click here to begin.

You’ll also want to be sure to check back on August 27 as StarWarsShop will be posting many of the limited Celebration V exclusive art prints by the talented artists attending the show!

The Legend of Neil: New “Neil” Minisode!

from The Legend of Neil:

Hey Neilaholics,

We’re here to feed your addiction. Check out our latest minisode (that’s mini-episode, for those not into brevity), The Plight of Blight. And our Legend of Neil Store is back up with a brand new T-shirt and poster! Watch it, buy it, wear it! (well don’t wear the poster)

Ex-Boyfriend: Save 15% for Back to School

from Ex-Boyfriend:

Save 15% This Weekend Only!
Are you ready for back to school? Get everything you need to look your best including t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags and messenger bags. Now through Sunday, you can take 15% off any purchase at Ex-Boyfriend. Simply enter coupon code STUDENT15 at check out.

New Designs!
We’ve got some cool new t-shirt designs. We’ve got flying pandas, tennis match ups, and divers riding shark-back!

We Want to See Your Smiling Face (pretty please?)
We’ve been sharing photos and interviews from our awesome fans on the blog and we’d love to feature you next. If you’d like to play along just email your picture to info@ex-boyfriendcollection.com wearing some Ex-Boyfriend tees or accessories. We’ll email you back with some fun interview questions. Be sure to give us your mailing address and we’ll send you a little thank you. Camera-shy types should still stop by the blog to gawk at my cute foster kittens and rants about science and zombies.

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