(no subject)

[apocalypsos]

Pimp something.

Hell, pimp anything. Anything that you think needs more love or gets love but could always use a wee bit more.

TV shows, movies, books, comics, websites, LJ user, LJ communities, fanfic, writers, songs ... anything you want. (Just make sure you pimp it in such a way so people can get their grubby little paws on it. Tell where it can be seen, link to it, etc.)

Go on, you know you want to. ;)

As for what I'm pimping ...

1. The 4400 -- No, seriously. Why are so few people I know watching this? For crying out loud, this show makes me happy. It's got superpowered people and neat little romances and it's ten dozen kinds of awesome. It's on USA Network on Sunday nights at 9 and midnight, and the first season is also on DVD (for only sixteen bucks, depending on where you pick it up).

2. One Big Happy Pantheon -- It's a Dogma/Good Omens crossover. Did you hear that, people? Dogma and Good Omens, and it's a perfect blend of both of them.

3. Orville Redenbacher's Cinnabon popcorn -- Oh, don't make that face. I know it sounds ... well, questionable, but as long as you like both popcorn and Cinnabons, you will love this. Seriously.

4. Encyclopedia Titanica -- I've been all over this website lately for DMIDS, and damn. Honestly, the detail they've got on the sinking is so great.

5. Arrested Development -- This is the best comedy on TV, and I'm not just saying that because it's funny but because it's got one of the best senses of continuity on television right now. Stuff just comes out of left field in the storyline, and if you've been following it, it's hilarious. (Although you definitely don't have to be a rabid fan to get the jokes. They're good like that. :)) Those of you not watching ... *chases after you with clue-by-four* The premiere is Wednesday, September 14th, and the first season's already on DVD. WATCH, damn you! *goes back to chasing*

6. "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles -- See, what you do is you put it on your iTunes or Winamp or whatever, and then whenever it comes up, that's your computer telling you to WRITE, DAMN IT. (Well, that's what it means when my computer does it, anyway.)

Comments

[barbiejedi.livejournal.com]

clonedtion's Episode II icons make me laugh like a crazy thing, 'cause they are one crack.

EVERYONE should check out the Brobdingnagian Bards (http://www.thebards.net/), because they are one of the awesomest bands ever. They're kind of Celtic/filk/awesome and just. Funny and cool as hell.

You can download some of their stuff for fre (http://www.soundclick.com/pro/?BandID=106366)- I highly recommend "Happily Ever After" (third song down) 'cause it's about a princess who's more distressing damsel than damsel in distress, "Do Virgins Taste Better?" (seventh from top) which brings up the question of why dragons are always demanding virgins, and "If I Had a Million Ducats" (um, I lost count by this point).

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I forgot about this one: Zombie Infection Simulation. It's basically a Java-based program that someone wrote to simulate what happens when a zombie is introduced into a population. On the sim I'm running right now, There are 163 zombies and 349 humans out of what used to be 1 zombie and 999 humans. Once the zombie number gets above 10, I think, they almost always win.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Any book ever written by Terry Pratchett, but in particular:

Witches Abroad (if you like fractured fairy tales)
Lords and Ladies (if you like fractured elf tales)
Going Postal (if you like head chess games by brilliant, somewhat amoral people)
Wee Free Men (if you ever were that serious, studious child that the adults didn't take seriously)

[snowpiratess.livejournal.com]

I wanna pimp...

Lucifer. Fantastic comic, with a labyrinthine plot, gorgeous art, and amazingly original characters. A spinoff from the Sandman series, but I much prefer it to that. Helpful scantastic intro can be found here.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. My favourite sci-fi novel ever. The main character is a ninja hacker pizza delivery boy. ...Need I say more?

I Still Dream - Richard Thompson, a brilliant (and unslushy) love song.

And also... *ahem* The results of my wardrobe clearout (petite goth clothing on eBay)

[saturnalia.livejournal.com]

Very much seconding the Lucifer pimp. It's sadly not very easy for newbies to get into, but it's very much worth taking the time to read through all the previous trades and catching up with the storyline. It really is a fantastic comic- *hearts*.

[opportunemoment.livejournal.com]

The Dresden Dolls - Brechtian punk cabaret! A girl, a boy, a piano, a drum kit and some really kick-arse lyrics. Plus, check out her eyebrows...
http://www.dresdendolls.com/

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

YES. *loves the Dresden Dolls*

[lots42.livejournal.com]

It's hard to try and get myself into the 4400 mood because the commercials are just so ANNOYING.

Here's what -I- see:

Some dude: Oh my god, I vanished for a long time and it's caused problems!
Some other dude: It really did! Problems!
Girl: Are you my mommy?
Dudes: PROBLEMS! OH MY GOD! AUGH!

[lots42.livejournal.com]

http://www.sir-toby.com/extend-a-story/story-1/

A fiction story, with multiple choices at the end.

Stories have branched off into ultra-serious or ultra-crazy.

Complicated, well-researched, epic stuff or just fart jokes. It's all good if you behave.

The three main characters are usually, but not limited to,

1) Lord Fred, dragonslayer. Heroic, noble, focused. Repressed. Loyal to a fault. Has very few relevant survival skills.

2) Velus. Peasent boy from a nearby village. Transformed into a dog. Ambient magic allows him to communicate with humans. Is fully willing to take advantage of being a cute, cuddly lap dog.

3) Princess Astra. Kidnapped royalty from lands to the south. Usually naked. Somewhat naive. Very violent. Tends to over-take the story when she shows up.

P.S. www.livejournal.com/users/dukeman

The leader of the G.I.Joe team. Noble, heroic, kind, chivalrous, stupid. For example, he still thinks handcuffs are only used for restraining Cobra prisoners.

Other faults include drinking too much Yo Joe Cola, blowing up things that annoy him, blowing off paperwork, utterly failing to listen to advice and gaining his male secretary's attention by throwing weaponry past his desk.

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

Sixty Seconds to Eternity, a "Back to the Future" slash archive. Really weird pairing, but really good stories and drawings and essays and whatnot.

[metron-ariston.livejournal.com]

Webcomic of strangely depressing glee: A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible.

Music: Joanna Newsom has a strange, gorgeous voice, and I'm kind of in love with her. Moosic of the delicate, folky, vaguely elfin variety:
Sadie
Bridges and Balloons
En Gallop
Swansea

Stephanie Doesn't Answer The Phone Anymore

[oletheros.livejournal.com]

If you have been waiting for just the right moment to purchase a copy of Stephanie Doesn't Answer the Phone Anymore, wait no longer. My sales figures come out in August and I would like to be able to count on your support.

The synopsis of the book can be found below and you can find an excerpt and ordering information by clicking on the cover of the book.



Stephanie was very happy with her job. Her boss was an eccentric artist, but all she had to do was do some light filing, answer the phones and explain why she couldn’t fax the occasional painting to Singapore. Then one day he gave her job to an old college friend of his because of a ten-year-old promise.

In retribution, Stephanie stole his credit card and went on vacation in Italy. She was having a great time until her credit cards got cancelled in Florence. Now she’s stuck in Europe with no money, a pile of Louis Voutton luggage and only the vaguest idea of what to do next.

Stephanie Doesn’t Answer the Phone Anymore chronicles her extended tour of the stranger destinations of Europe and beyond as she tries to gain some stability in her life and figure out where she’s going to get her next meal.

[milkshake-b.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time, back in 1998, Fox put out a TV show called Brimstone. Billions of critics said it was way, way too dark, featuring as it did the Devil and damned souls and lots and lots of talk about Hell. What they neglected to ever pay attention to was the fact the Devil was played by John Glover, which meant instead of eeeeeeeevil we got lots of gleeful smirking snark, the lead character was played by Peter Horton, which meant he was utterly adorable and hit on by everyone, including the aforementioned snarky Devil, the canonical love pairing--the main character and his widow (so the main character is dead, so?)--was also utterly adorable and capable of making people who determinedly ship other pairings squeak and root for them whenever they were on screen together, the single-episode side characters were usually astoundingly well-drawn, and the show writers were starting to do some very fascinating things with Christian history, theology, and mythology.

But it was being done by Fox, so we only got thirteen episodes, and the bastards are so determined to make the show a failure (it was very subtly and deliberately maneuvered so as to have bad ratings) that we do not have DVDs. But we do have a torrent.

*delurks*

[doddlebot.livejournal.com]

Late to the show and a randomer to boot but I have to recomend an author I love and who is severely underrated:

Jasper Fforde. All his books are in a reality thats not quite real. Theres the Thursday Next series (Thursday is a police officer who ends up in fiction), those three are:
The Eyre Affair
Lost In a Good Book
The Well of Lost Plots
Something Rotten

But the best book to get into his style is probably his latest which is unrelated to the Thursday Next series but has the same unreality; The Big Over Easy, about the murder of Humpty Dumpty. They're fab books!

*relurks*

[faith21.livejournal.com]

Going to be the billionth person to pimp Firefly and more importantly the movie based on it: Serenity [coming to theaters September 30th!!!!]

Also on DVD, season one of Veronica Mars. Which is a must watch. Really funny, involving show that keeps you entertained with great actors, fantastic writing and a mystery that will drive you crazy.

Music Made Me Do It - a lyrics site that lets you bookmark your favorite songs and search by album or lyric.

Orisinal - cute, addictive flash games that are great for when you're bored. Especially at work.

And two great sites for people who hate registering for websites you're only going to use once:
bugmenot - put in the web address and it will give you someone's username and password so you don't have to go through a whole process just to read one article.
and mailinator - make up a fake email address so your real one doesn't get spammed and check it.

Two book recs

[saturnalia.livejournal.com]

Seconding the Jasper Fforde and Terry Pratchett people have already mentioned; and I'll throw Good Omens into the mix too. Very funny book, wonderfully well written, but with a deliciously dark side as well. (It is about the Anti-Christ and the end of the world, after all.) And it stars the slashiest angel and demon I can think of. *grin*

Also, The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox. Very highly recommended- the writing is just beautiful, and the plot is intriguing to say the least. I had at least two of those "Holy crap!" moments where a really cool plot twist hits you, and it wasn't even written to be a completely plot-driven story. Set in nineteenth-century France, so it might not be to everyone's tastes, but well worth trying out. Quick plot summary: Sobran, a twenty-something Frenchman, has a chance meeting with an angel named Xas, and they end up arranging to meet up on that same night every year for the rest of Sobran's life. But things get more and more complicated as the book goes on, and in particular the fact that Sobran starts to fall in love with the (male) angel doesn't make their lives any simpler.

Anyway, I'd better stop there before I'm tempted to start quoting my favourite bits. No, of course I don't have half of them memorised. Why would you think that? *shifty look*