Science Magic Sex

That's the title of the spoken word show I'll be doing at Balticon. I won't say more about its contents, but you can get a little information from the Balticon podcast page, where they're now featuring a promo for the show.

In a move that reeks of ego but is actually a combination of amusing myself and (until now) a secret manipulation attempt, we're going to make tour t-shirts for the show. We may even bring a few to the con--or not; I haven't decided yet.

Here's the secret manipulation plan: I do the show. A lot of folks show up (this is where you guys have to help out). It goes well, and we all enjoy ourselves. The word spreads. Other cons hear and ask me to do it for them; WorldCon, are you listening? Then, we'd have a tour, a lot of folks would have laughed and had a good time, and I would have indulged my desire to do more spoken word.

Aren't secret plans grand?

Speaking of which, is that a Blue Rodeo plug I feel coming on? It is indeed, for the first single from their recent Small Miracles act, a song entitled, appropriately enough, "C'mon." Enjoy.

Spoken word

A long time ago, usually on a panel with one or two others, I would do spoken-word/storytelling performances at cons. As I've written here before (I think), I plan to get back into spoken word more seriously. The good folks at Balticon, where I'm a guest, are talking about giving me a chance to do a performance there. So, if you're going to be at that con and they do allot me a panel slot for this odd endeavor, please come by and check me out.

Speaking of coming by, I'm doing a reading at Arisia this coming Friday night at 11:00. If enough folks turn out, and if they want the event to mutate from reading to spoken-word performance, I'll try to come prepared to do the latter. Who knows what might happen?

If you want an example of a spoken word performer whose work I admire, check out Henry Rollins' performances, some of which you can buy on DVD. I don't expect to be as good as he is, but I sure do want to give it a try.

The worst that can happen is that I embarrass myself in front of a bunch of people, and I can live with that. Heck, I've done it before. (My awful ninth grade dance experience comes to mind, but it's far from the only time I've done that.) As long as no one in the audience throws hard fruit--I can handle grapes and other squishy stuff--I should be fine.

The reviews must be better than the product

Boing Boing made me aware of Balla powder. What made me howl with laughter, though, were a few of the user reviews on the Amazon page for the product. I have to hope this stuff is real, just so more people write reviews.

In completely unrelated news, the rains came this afternoon, and they took away part of my writing time, because the weather was just too perfect for napping. If I could just stay on vacation for a few months and learn to sleep through the night, I might get fully rested. (Despite the nap, I wrote most of a short chapter today; the work must continue.)

We watched a Henry Rollins spoken word performance on DVD tonight, and the experience strengthened my resolve to get back to--and more seriously into--spoken word. I'd done some at cons a long time ago, but not a lot. I've been collecting material for a long time, and soon I think I'll try out local open mic clubs. If any con organizers are looking for cheap entertainment, let me know; I'll be there.