100 Greatest Writers of All Time

Other lists of this kind have been attempted, none very successfully. We would like to stress that there is a crucial difference between "an important writer" and "a great writer"; the latter is at this time our sole interest. We will account for some of the names that did not make this list in a later dispatch. There is nothing bad to say about anyone we list here, except in some cases that they were anti-Semitic or racist, hated women or hated men. Literary crimes are usually relative, the caveats of which we shall enumerate. Featured above, Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Wandering Star

Here is a song from my new band PIECE DE RESISTANCE. We had a surprise performance (our 1st show) Feb. 4th @ a venue here in Indianapolis called The Vollrath Tavern (built in like 1936, John Dillinger used to be a frequent customer). We're on the lookout for a keyboard/bass player and recently acquired a great lead guitar player to even out our sound. We're not a cover band, but we have a few covers, this one among them: WANDERING STAR by the band PORTISHEAD. Thanks for listening, hope you enjoy. We're playing out around town about twice a month at the moment, trying to make our set stronger and more diverse.

New Book: THE CRYPTOTERRESTRIALS

-Posthumous release from author, Fortean researcher, and prolific blogger Mac Tonnies-

Likewise, with any luck I'll be a weekly contributor over here for the next couple months; a new website tribute to the late Mac Tonnies who passed away Oct. '09....
macbots.wordpress.com/

New Interview w/ Cult Favorite Horror Author David Wellington

It’s the End of the World as we Know it:
Interview with cult-favorite horror author David Wellington
-MAD 3/4/10
http://www.upsidebackwards.info

==========

-MAD: MR. Wellington, it’s really awesome to speak with you, thanks for taking some time with us. I just finished reading your MONSTER TRILOGY and could tell from the start that this is definitely an instant classic of the “zombie apocalypse” sub-genre of horror literature, and just an all together great series of books even if you aren’t necessarily a fan of horror! When did you first realize that you wanted to be an author, and how did the genesis of the MONSTER TRILOGY first come into fruition?

-D.W.: I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I started when I was six years old. Thirty years later, I was getting a little frustrated that I’d never been published. So I put my new book online, thinking that at least people would get a chance to read it. Enough of them did that I got a book deal out of it. I was pretty excited.

-FULL INTERVIEW CONTINUED-

8 Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey

Set the wayback machine to the golden age of gaming with 8 Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey, a massive collection powered up with vintage low-bit sounds coaxed from the most venerated micro-computers and game consoles of the '70s and '80s. Accept no imitations! Chiptune is the real thing—all the gritty lo-fi basslines, whirling computer arpeggios, bleepy synth solos, cosmic FX, and squishy drum patterns you’ve come to know and love. For your pixilated pleasure, each royalty-free sample has been energized with modern-day metadata to ensure seamless playback in your DAW of choice. With hundreds of building blocks to choose from, you'll have all the pieces you need to build your own chiptune masterpiece. Now get to work, and don’t forget to save the princess! Download edition includes the free seven-track EP, 8 Bit Weapon: Electric High.

For Improving Early Literacy, Reading Comics Is No Child's Play

Although comics have been published in newspapers since the 1890s, they still get no respect from some teachers and librarians, despite their current popularity among adults. But according to a University of Illinois expert in children's literature, critics should stop tugging on Superman's cape and start giving him and his superhero friends their due.

Interview W/ Bestselling (Trek) Author Greg Cox

Of Men and Supermen:
Interview W/ Bestselling Novelist Greg Cox
mad - http://www.upsidebackwards.info
4/27/09

-MAD: Greg, it's an honor to speak with you today and I'm not blowing smoke when I say you've emerged as one of my favorite authors over the past few months. Thank you kindly for taking the time to answer a few questions. Your contributions to the STAR TREK universe have been second to none, with the exception, perhaps, of the illustrious Peter David.
The masterfully crafted books 'The Eugenics Wars' Volumes 1 & 2, as well as 'To Reign In Hell' and 'The Q Continuum' are among the most highly recommended works of Trek literature! First off, a broad question but could you give us a little personal insight into the process of becoming an author, particularly in regards to the 'Star Trek' franchise? How did you break the galactic barrier and get signed on as a Captain (or at least a lieutenant commander) at the literary helm of such an acclaimed series?

-G.C: I've been a Trek fan all my life, but my big break came when Pocket Books had to launch the DEEP SPACE NINE book line in a hurry. The editor, John Ordover, needed to sign up a whole lot of DS9 novels to coincide with the TV series so he started looking around for new Trek writers. Fortunately, John and I had previously worked as assistant editors at Tor Books before, and he knew that John Gregory Betancourt and I had recently written several BATMAN short stories for DC Comics, so he recruited us for the DS9 program.

That was nine Star Trek novels ago!

-FULL DISCUSSION CONTINUED-

Learn to Play the Keytar

Arduinocaster is a an Arduino based MIDI instrument modelled on a guitar sometimes called a keytar. It uses switches and LEDs to control six “strings” which are held down in guitar like chords. Triggering the strings is through an opto reflective switch for a continuous repeating strum and four touch sensitive switches for a one off sequence. There are three banks of four picking/strumming/arpeggio styles and a three octave capo. Voice change information can also be sent.

Pyramid Bookshelf Makes a Monument of your Library

There's nothing quite like a huge bookshelf to make your home more impressive. And this gigantic, modular pyramid bookshelf is totally badass.

Link title says it all...

http://www.collthings.co.uk/2009/01/cool-guitars.html

=MUCH MORE!=

There is no sound this far underground...

PLEASE CLICK ON THE BANNER ABOVE TO CHECK OUT MY LATEST 5 SONG EP!

CONSPIRAPORN! (REBOOT)

Just leaving word that I'll be a lot more scarce around these parts, as I continue developing the brand new experimental CONSPIRAPORN! website over the coming weeks (and of course the whimsically lumbering behemoth of UPSIDEBACKWARDS too). A new batch of original podcasts, interviews & articles are on the way, with a healthy dose of news/perspective and random chaos. Be sure to bookmark this historic moment for the civil rights and consciousness expansion of all humanity! Tell your friends, whisper it to strangers on the street, call the media! If you've got news or suggestions -something you think is worthy of a little more attention- please send it to mad247@weirdness.com . Thanks.

Top 25 comic book battles

Welcome to Comic Book Resources' Top 25 Comic Book Battles, as voted on by the readers of Comic Book Resources!

We asked our readers to pick their favorite battles that took place in comic books and hundreds responded with great enthusiasm!

See Also: -11 Awesome Comic Book Hideouts-

Upsidebackwards Episode # 1

*Episode #: ONE (-download link-)

*Air Date: 12/4/08

*Duration: 15 min 48 sec

*Topics: Introductions past, present, future. Obama Bin Laden and the changing of America's diaper. The inevitable zombie apocalypse.

*Featured Band: Poker Face

Sunday melodies...

3 things, please check it out...

1

2

3

And a 4th thing if you made it this far. :)

5 ways that 'Sandman' changed the world

This week saw the 20th anniversary of the release of the first issue of The Sandman, Neil Gaiman's now-classic fantasy series that rewrote the rules of mainstream comics more than once in its' 75-issue run. Without Sandman, we may never have seen comics like Fables, Y: The Last Man or The Invisibles... but on the other hand, we probably wouldn't have had to suffer through the CGI Beowulf movie, either. To celebrate Morpheus' 20th birthday, we look at five ways in which entertainment is different because of comics' favorite dream god.

Mexican mini-god speakers

Height: 17"
Medium: Vinyl
Edition Size: 300
Designer: Marka27

Purchase at: -TAINTED VISIONS- .

Thomas 2001: A Space Oddity

I can’t help but wish I’d stuck with my piano lessons when I behold a sight as beautiful as this! It’s the Thomas 2001 Electric Organ, and if Space Mountain were a keyboard instead of a roller coaster, this would be it. The console seen here is on display in the lobby of the Standard Hotel. At one of the best photo-ops in downtown Los Angeles, the aspiring space-age organist can sit down and pretend to play Thus Sprach Zarathustra.

VIA: -DINOSAURS AND ROBOTS- .

Ride the (sound) wave

Melted records on wooden armature

5.2 ft h x 9 ft w x 10.25 ft d

Installation at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Records were melted and sculpted to form a cascading wave, dotted with bursts of colorful labels. The resulting structure speaks to the inevitable waves of technology that render each successive generation of recordable media obsolete. The piece also aims to physically manifest the ephemerality of music as well as one man’s musical tastes, as represented by his personal record collection.

-LINK SOURCE-

The Bittersweet Art Of Cutting Up Books

-COMPLETE GALLERY-

See also: -AMAZING THINGS TO CREATE W/ PAPER- .