Moe Lane's Blog, page 482
October 11, 2022
Tweet of the Day, This Is What Soul Damage Looks Like edition.
I am now mildly, and maliciously, curious to hear the actual exchange. Specifically, I want to hear if I’m just imagining hearing Carpenter’s weary disdain. If not, the effect must have been not unlike an adult suplexing a toddler.
New John Carpenter hit quote just droppedhttps://t.co/nfMFAe7lGE pic.twitter.com/CnC9OZxNuE
— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) October 12, 2022
(H/T: @ZODIAC_MF.)
10/11/22 GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND Revision: 65600/80000
We’ve gotten as far up as the end of Chapter 8, but there’s going to be headwinds at some point. Ach, well. The point is to keep on truckin’.
Patreon!It was not even remotely surprising to discover that Adam’s ‘software piracy’ was the most picayune stuff, ever. Fully nine-tenths of it was earlier versions of existing software, because Terrans still don’t understand that out here we need programs that have all the bugs beaten out of them. Sure, the Terran companies won’t support old versions of their code. So what? They weren’t coming out to the Tomb Worlds to do service calls anyway.
The rest of it invariably involved dueling copyrights. Earth keeps things out of public domain for far longer than the — sorry, this is boring. The point is, nothing in Adam’s server was worth sending a ship out to investigate it. Even the porn was generic.
“So why did the Redacted snap up the server?” Greg wondered when I pointed that out to him. “They’re know it’s not important, only they’re acting like it is. I get that they’re supposed to be maintaining a cover story, but they’re doing a really good job at faking interest.”
“Maybe Rubicon’s covering his ass?” I suggested. “What if the Council honestly does want to crack down on software piracy, and now that the Redacted’s really found some — with a space-happy, even! — they’re making it look as big and important as they can?”
“Not a chance, Pam. No Terran agency is going to send out a starship to track down something this trivial. Even if one of the Great Powers wanted to, they’d just handle it at the source. It’s got to be easier to crack down on thieves who are inside the Solar System, instead of outside it.” Greg shook his head. “No, there’s got to be something in that data that’s valuable to the Redacted’s real mission. The one we’re not trustworthy enough to be briefed on.”
The Moe Lane Halloween Chapbook sale continues!
Reminder: all four of my chapbooks (ANAGNORISIS, REVISIONARY, DECISIONS, and DUTIES)- will be on 99 cent sale for the rest of the week. There are four stories (a mix of spooky, horror, and fantasy) in each book (32K words total per book, more or less), each with its own illustration. Ideal for people looking for quick reads. And cheap, too! What’s not to like?
#commissionearned
The HOCUS POCUS Honest Trailer.
I almost regret never actually seeing HOCUS POCUS now, or at least then. Almost. This is one of those Honest Trailers where the movie itself probably can’t live up to the review of it.
#commissionearned
RIP, Angela Lansbury.
Ken’s right about this, too, by the way. I’d like to say Angela Lansbury was robbed for the Oscar, but Patty Duke did give a bravura performance in The Miracle Worker that year. Just bad luck, that’s all. My condolences to Angela’s family and loved ones.
RIP to the greatest thriller actress of all timehttps://t.co/V60tuFQNNh
— Kenneth Hite (@kennethhite) October 11, 2022
October 10, 2022
The new WENDELL AND WILD trailer.
I think I’m going to give WENDELL & WILD a shot. The aesthetic is appealing to a NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS fan and I’m down for some demons, nuns, and a cute goat. Maybe it won’t suck…
#commissionearned
10/10/22 Revisions, GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND: 64890/80000.
Moving along! Put a patch in.
We did end up finding one person who was maybe both involved in software piracy, and inconveniently still present on-planet. Or at least sort of present, because he was currently approaching the freezing point of oxygen. “Adam Sild?” said Nur. “That’s the guy who went space-happy, right?”
“Ayup,” I said, trying to decide whether or not I was upset about it. I didn’t want to throw anybody to the wolves; but if I had to, then somebody in cryo-freeze would do. Not even Rubicon could order us to thaw the bastard out. I couldn’t imagine Rubicon even wanting to. What were they going to do, wake him up to put him on trial? Besides, by the time they were done curing Adam there wouldn’t be any point to try him for anything he had done before. The personality reconstruction would be rehabilitation (or punishment) enough.
Maki agreed with me, when I called her and The Process in. “I hate saying it, but this solves two problems,” she said. “We give Adam to Rubicon, he brings him back to Earth for treatment, and then both of them are out of our hair.”
“Only theoretically, Miss Maki,” The Process pointed out. “All of you have speculated that Commander Rubicon’s avowed purpose here is a cover for his true mission. He will not welcome someone who accomplishes his public goals, but not his private ones.”
“So what? He’ll just come up with a new lie. Or maybe he’ll come clean?” Nur laughed at my derisive snort. “What? It could happen!”
Happy Columbus Day!
The first normal one in three years. Well, except for the lack of breakfast: we had everything from a contractor visit to a cat diagnosis today*. In my usual tradition, I shall not sing the only Columbus Day song I know, on the grounds that it is so filthy I am surprised when people still admit that they know it exists. Our ancestors were not exactly subtle.
Moe Lane
*We thought she had a urinary infection; turns out she’s just a bit nervous.
Tweet of the Day, This Is Kind Of An In-Joke edition.
Of a sort. Also, some of the text isn’t… too bad, really. If you score it on a curve.
A year ago around this time, @faceyouhate introduced me to the dark, dark place that is the world of Garth Marenghi, horror writer, and I wish the whole world was as familiar with his work as I now am: https://t.co/pIags2QCvj
— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) October 10, 2022
