More me on TV.
Watch a new episode of Scary Stories with Kalila Smith, featuring our own Allan Gilbreath, as they talk about the Crypid Experience. Watch on Roku, Fire TV, and on the web at http://geekysidetv.com/scary-stories-s01-e09/
New show coming soon: The Cooking Today Show
Well, this year is sliding into the final curtain call. Over all, I don’t really know what to think of 2018. On one hand, I managed to get a lot of bills paid and a lot of mundane stuff done. Both radio shows have been a lot of fun to do and seem to be growing every week. Who knows, with the new attention at IHeartMedia to podcasts, we might even get nominated for some king of award or another.
2018 also had its share of delays and pain. I finally managed to get my big job projects wrapped up to a point I could take some time and get my poor feet and legs treated for plantar fasciitis. My word to the wise is take care of your feet. Pain is not normal so get it checked sooner not later.
At the convention this past weekend, I got to meet, interview, and ultimately drive David Dastmalchian to the airport. This is an actor to watch for bigger and better things. Best known as Murdock on the new MacGyver series, he was simply amazing. I have been blessed in my career as a minor convention/radio personality to work with great people. David should be on the verge of a major role breakthrough. It was a pleasure to work with him. You can check out the interview here:
https://1019kissfm.iheart.com/content/2018-11-19-gtr-beyond-the-tank-with-david-dastmalchian/?fbclid=IwAR3eEkYgmAQ0xg_0J8d1cESkwwpM9yRNn_jYZPFRQIiADzNr-b4TuU9WjkM
A quick word about the Fix-It Up show. If you have not heard it yet, click over and listen to episode or two. The show has come a long way in a short period of time and just keeps growing. Joe and I are having a great time doing the show in spite of the fact that we have to get up at dark:30 to get to the studio in time.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/960-the-fixitup-show-29246444/?cmp=android_share&fbclid=IwAR0MlYKHsju-2Ffe-Lkeivq1QWSMGOPkVCX5_N4eJ6ha0kFurE3VKVsre7I
https://www.darkoakpress.com/allanstory.html
https://www.darkoakpress.com
https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-fix-it-up-show
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
I have reached the age when my memories are clouding up the modern day. For instance, I do remember numerous serious thunderstorms, tornadoes, and even the occasional hurricane, however, I also remember that most of the time, rain was just that, a nice rain for a few hours. Everything got watered, the creeks and streams rose a little bit, and the plants all looked really perky. Now, it seems that most rain events are now storms absolutely dumping inches of water as fast as possible. Of course, I could be wrong, but it certainly feels like I am right.
Been getting a lot of editing and pagination done. We have numerous new projects coming up very quickly. I am excited about both our books and media works. If you haven’t checked out the new YouTube channel, dive in and enjoy. Of course the more subscribers we get, the more stuff we can do. https://youtu.be/SOUhsMPdRBA
Sadly for Geek Tank Radio, Jessie has traded up jobs and has moved over to the TV world. We will miss our defacto mum/Harley Quinn.
This coming Thursday night on Apr 19th at 7:00 pm the Writers Around Town will be at the Germantown Community Library. The topic for the night is “Writing Series And Keeping It Fresh”. I am having a blast with these seminars.
I am also happy to mention that our Pyrate Blades performance group keeps getting better. Who knows, the pirate fight club may show up at a convention near you.
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
It has been a wonderful full moon weekend. The weather has been pretty good and the night sky has been spectacular. The best part is that I can watch the moon rise from my desk chair.
I am prepping for another convention appearance next weekend in Tupelo, MS. at Tupelo Titan Con ( http://tupelotitancon.com/ ). Not only do I get to be a writer/radio host I also get to be there with Pyrate Blades. Yes, there will some live sword fighting. I am very excited. This is going to a lot of fun.
This weekend a lot of video rendering and editing also got done. The Desk of Endless Tasks has had a steady stream of projects coming and going. I just love the sounds of productivity in the evening.
Geek Tank Radio ( http://www.geektankradio.com ) has continued to grow. If you have been keeping with the show, you already know all about geek eats, science news, and shower thoughts. If not, dive in and catch the madness 🙂
This weekend would not have been complete without the annual first yard beat down. It is shocking just how rough the yard gets over the winter. Now, the yard is beat into submission for a few days, the beds have been cleared and planted, and the blueberries are already blooming. No bad at all.
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZeqwiRmndPqhU_ifBYuvfg
MidSouthCon 36 (http://www.midsouthcon.org) was this weekend. This just so happens to be the first convention I ever attended and I have actually made it to 35 of the 36 shows. During those years, I have also attended hundreds of conventions across the country. Some are better than others and a few are truly in the extreme category. My point here is that if you are a fan of anything in geek culture from hard science to animated fantasy stories, you really should go and support your local conventions. When I am doing appearances at venues other than conventions, I always get asked what the conventions are like as a guest. Okay- here we go.
As a performing guest, you get a schedule of events that the convention wants you to do. Normally, I get one or two big events coupled with several panel appearances. This normally shows up in the email before the event. If the event is out of town, There is the joy of loading up all the goodies you are going to need for the weekend. In my case, this includes books, freebies, postcards, flyers, and occasionally props like werewolf teeth or magic wands. It is important to make sure you are ready for odd panels. Normally, I arrive at the convention after a nice drive of about six hours or so and dash in for my first panel just in the nick of time. The rest of my weekend is a mix of meeting with fans both old and new, hurried conferences with other performers, and the well-practiced art of dashing into my next panel just in time.
There a few things to keep in mind at a convention. If you like art, chances are that the actual artist is sitting there at their booth and will chat with you and sign their art piece. That writer you wanted to meet might be at the writers table and happy to share a story or two time allowing. You will find someone willing to have a conversation about nearly any topic under the stars. You will make great new friends that can’t wait to see you at the next convention. Attend one convention and you may even find yourself thinking up your cos-play for the next one. The point is that you should go and enjoy yourself.
Don’t forget the new Dark Oak Press and Media YouTube channel. We are adding content as fast we can get out there and shoot it.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZeqwiRmndPqhU_ifBYuvfg
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
After another couple of days of complete downpours, the skies finally cleared and this evening we had one the best rising full moons I have seen in years. Such a wonderful evening after so much rain.
Don’t forget MidSouthCon (www.midsouthcon.org) next weekend (March 9-11) at the Hilton off Poplar and I-240. Come out and join the madness. If you have never been to a fandom convention before, this is a great place to come out and find out what it is all about. If nothing else make to “Dark and Stormy Night” on Sunday afternoon, I promise it is worth it.
I had a wonderful time with a couple of friends from Grace Healthcare chatting about medical science and levels of care. Listen in:
http://www.darkoakpress.com/media/gtrgrace.mp3
Don’t forget the new Dark Oak Press and Media YouTube channel. We are adding content as fast we can get out there and shoot it.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZeqwiRmndPqhU_ifBYuvfg
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
I ask because it is still raining. Now, it is not some kind of wild thunder blizzard, it is just raining – raining – raining – did I mention still raining …. We can safely say the the Mid-South is well watered in. Even though I know better, and yes, there will be another cold spell, I have started my spring planting. Maybe I could consider a rice paddy section in the yard?
My tank of tiny minions is doing quite well. The new food seems to be doing the trick and the little swimming dots are starting to look like brine shrimp. Hopefully, they will be big enough to photograph next week.
The Desk of Endless Tasks and I are making some pretty progress in editing and pagination. This means new stuff coming.
My dear friends at Malice in Memphis have decided what they really want to do right now is hold a writing contest with yours truly as a final judge. I feel my inner Simon bubbling to the surface. Check it out here:
https://www.maliceinmemphis.com/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-contest.html
If you haven’t seen the new stuff at the Dark Oak Press and Media YouTube channel, do check it out and Subscribe. We got more cool stuff coming.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZeqwiRmndPqhU_ifBYuvfg
Here is one the new shows from Haunted New Orleans. I love the legends down there!
Somehow or another, it always seems to be pushing midnight when I finally get to start wrapping up my day. It has been another overly full week. I keep telling myself the same lie that sooner or later things will calm down. If I tell myself this enough, I might even delude myself into believing me. We all know that is not always the best idea, but one does have to dream.
Geek Tank Radio was a massive show this morning, but we managed to get through it all pretty darn well. The new show should post by Monday.
After wandering through a few YouTube videos, I bought the brine shrimp/sea monkeys some spirulina. It is a lovely blue-green algae in powered form so the little devils should enjoy it.
I got a full edit done on the next Dark Oak Press release. More wonderful mayhem in on the way from the infamous Malice in Memphis mystery writers group.
Pirate Fight Club is rolling along nicely. Had a small group this week, so we all got in a bit of a sweat working on basics.
MidSouthCon (www.midsouthcon.org) is coming up the weekend of March 9th. This is my very first convention I attended 36 years ago. I have attended 34 out of the 35 conventions so far. Not a bad track record.
And just for fun, I finally finished the format for the Question X research show. You can check out the first episode here:
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
Inch by Inch, I am clearing the backlog on The Desk of Endless Tasks. With all the bad weather over the last few weeks, I have gotten just a little behind. The Desk and I still have to sit down and pick out new merchandise. Happily, I have a little time to find some new stuff. https://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise/14488659
Editing is going well. Several books are now in various stages of the process. Yes, please keep buying books and we can afford to make more.
Video editing has finally managed to claw its way up the top of The Desk of Endless Tasks. So much stuff to do and so little time. Hopefully, this means I will have a lot more projects wrapped up.
Here is a peek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ME5xWtuk4
Please go check out the Dark Oak Press – Vampires For Valentines selection. I have a couple of books in the line up for those of you who haven’t read them yet.
https://darkoakpress.wordpress.com/
Writing events are booking up fast. We have just about got a full year’s schedule laid out. If you are in the Mid-South, come out and have a little fun with us.
https://darkoakpress.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/events-for-writers/
Last but certainly not least – the brine shrimp are doing fine. They are getting bigger every day and starting to swim like tiny brine shrimp are supposed to.
Allan Gilbreath 