I was watching the September 22 episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit earlier this week—though describing what I was doing as “watching” may be overstating the case. I really don’t have the time to focus my attention on the TV and literally watch. Except for some special programs that are near and dear to my heart, such as Breaking Bad or Mad Men (or Deadwood or The Wire or Treme), I tend to treat TV like radio, and simply have the set on in the evenings while I continue to work, work, work.

Anyway, at one point in the episode, the detectives visit a foster home and come across a very special guest star—the stack of comics pictured below.

Sorry I couldn’t grab a crisper shot off the screen!

I recognize the comic at the top of the pile as being The Eternals #1 from October 1985, but I can’t identify any of the others by the little we see of their covers.

But a few questions come to mind.

1) How much does that 25-year-old premiere issue go for these days? Can someone check a price guide for me? Which leads into the next question …

2) If that comic turns out to be expensive, is it a comic that a little kid, maybe 8 or 10 years old, living in a group home with other kids in 2010, could possibly afford to own? That is, does it make sense in terms of the story, or did a set dresser grab a pricey comic without thinking?

3) Finally—anyone recognize any of the other comics sticking out of the stack?

As you can tell, whenever I see comics appear in the context of a TV show, I start over-thinking it …

Here, as threatened, is a piece of the Aussiecon4 panel “Write What You Know,” which featured Jack Dann, Kaaron Warren, and Kim Stanley Robinson. As I wrote earlier, I wasn’t at all pleased with the audio quality captured by my iPhone4 as compared with the Flip camcorder I used for the previous con recordings of mine you’ll find over at my YouTube channel. Sadly, regardless of what I’d been told, I just don’t think the iPhone4 microphone was up to the challenge, and so won’t be using it for that purpose in the future.

So my apologies for any straining you might have to do here. But even though this clip doesn’t have the greatest audio, it’s still worth preserving. Hope it’s not too much of a struggle. Turn up those speakers and give it a listen!

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook already know that I reported far fewer dreams during September than any other month since I began tweeting those I remembered each morning. In case you were worried that my dream life was drying up … it’s not.

It’s just that during our trip to Australia and New Zealand, I’d be so exhausted each night I’d forget to place a pad by the side of the bed on which I could scribble during the night, and so when I’d wake the next morning, I’d find most dreams had evaporated. But now that I’m home, I’m back to recording them once more.

So here’s what September left behind.

I dreamt Priscilla Olson showed me video she shot of a building which featured a Sistine Chapel-like ceiling of Marvel and DC superheroes. September 30, 2010 8:16:38 AM EDT

I dreamt Ellen Datlow was handing out invitations to a birthday party celebrating some major number. (And it was to be held in Warsaw.) September 29, 2010 8:21:51 AM EDT

I dreamt that while touring London, I grew so tired I lay down in the middle of a crowded intersection and fell asleep. No one disturbed me. September 29, 2010 8:18:41 AM EDT

I dreamt I celebrated my 40th anniversary of con-going by handing out HUGE commemorative badge ribbons that contained an entire short story. September 29, 2010 8:16:31 AM EDT

I dreamt I worked in a morgue, and was preparing for a Moon trip by reading a training manual with a dead, bloated horse on the cover. September 29, 2010 8:13:07 AM EDT

I dreamt I was a teenager, and still living with my parents in their 1970s’ apartment. Only I wasn’t me. I was Jeff VanderMeer! September 27, 2010 8:01:53 AM EDT

I dreamt I wore a weird, massive, steampunk bracelet I’d soldered together out of used auto parts, but was forbidden to wear it on the job. September 27, 2010 7:59:22 AM EDT

I dreamt that it was the final day of a perfect Readercon, and my friends were dispersing back to their lives. It was melancholy moment. September 27, 2010 7:57:27 AM EDT

I dreamt that while staying at a hotel, another guest I never met invaded my room, and proceeded to set the contents of the closet on fire. September 27, 2010 7:54:21 AM EDT

I dreamt that while wandering a post-apocalyptic world, I came upon an empty castle and stole the munitions I found there, firing rockets. September 27, 2010 7:52:05 AM EDT (more…)

Nine years ago, just a couple of weeks after 9/11, Irene and I went to the Galapagos Islands to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Until we were actually on our way, we weren’t sure we’d make it. Two of the three Washington, D.C. area airports were still closed, and it took us around three hours and 45 minutes from the time we arrived at BWI until we made it through the heavy security and to our gate, arriving with only minutes to spare.

Once we joined our Lindblad tour in Guayaquil, we learned that only 29 of the 80 passengers had shown up; the rest had either chickened out, not wanting to risk traveling, or had just been unable to find a way to get to Ecuador. But we’d ignored any flying jitters we might have felt, and besides, we felt the few weeks after 9/11 were likely to be the safest travel time ever. Besides, we weren’t going to let anyone steal this trip from us.

We didn’t yet own a digital camera back in 2001, and the Lonely Planet guide advised us to bring 2-3 rolls of film per island we’d be stopping on. Even then, we were told we’d feel we hadn’t taken enough pictures. (The book was right!) When we had the photos developed, we paid extra to have them put on CDs, which I’ve done nothing with until now. But having just run across them, I figured, why not toss them up on Flickr? So check them out if you’re in the mood. Be careful, though—they’re liable to make you want to book your own trip there. They certainly made me want to go back again.

Here I am with sea lions lazing on the beach behind me.

And here I am at the Wasi Cuy restaurant in Quito, having just dined on cuy. You know what cuy is, don’t you? (more…)

While at Aussiecon4 earlier this month, I recorded two panels—”These are not the people you are looking for: race in SF/F” and “Write what you know!” So considering the speed with which I uploaded Readercon video, some of which went live while Readercon was still ongoing, why haven’t I shared snippets of them here yet? Because I was disappointed in the audio quality captured by my iPhone4, and haven’t decided whether it’s worthy of your eyes and ears. Though I may end up posting it, since it’s better to have some record of the event loose in the world than none at all.

I’ve learned my lesson, though. Next time I want to save a con panel, I’ll use my Flip.

Meanwhile, Phillip Lowles had better luck recording a panel I was on, using his HTC Desire running Google Android. So here’s the “Vampire vs. Zombie Smackdown,” in which I’m joined by George R.R. Martin, Foz Meadows, Narrelle M Harris, Felicity Dowker, and Chuck McKenzie.

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I haven’t posted here since August 26th, which shows just how badly the Australian Worldcon, the New Zealand vacation that followed, and the post-vacation catching up at work took out of me. So for those of you who don’t follow me on either Twitter or Facebook and have wondered at the silence—yes, I’m alive!

But before I get back to regular posts, I think a bit of housecleaning is in order. So, with September almost done, here are August’s dream tweets, which I haven’t had time to collect and share with you until now.

I dreamt my teeth were falling out, which is one of the most common dreams, but the first time (that I can recall) it’s ever happened to me. August 29, 2010 7:53:48 AM

I dreamt the eggs I was scrambling overflowed their pans and expanded to fill the kitchen, like something out of an episode of I Love Lucy. August 28, 2010 7:18:37 AM

I dreamt two mad doctors were about to anesthetize me for some nefarious purpose, so I grabbed a baseball bat and beat the crap out of them. August 28, 2010 7:16:30 AM

I dreamt I sang a rousing rendition of “Stagger Lee,” but why and to whom, I no longer remember. Wish you could have heard me, though. August 28, 2010 7:14:06 AM

Last night’s dreams were a jumble: Running into high school friends, standing in long lines, starring in Guys and Dolls. Nothing coherent. August 27, 2010 7:33:01 AM

I dream I appeared on David Letterman to show off the Star Wars robot I’d designed. The name of my droid? The DeathToot 2000. August 26, 2010 6:26:02 AM

I dreamt I quit my job as a fashion designer (or so I said in the dream) because: “I want to do more than make rich people look powerful.” August 26, 2010 6:22:27 AM

I dreamt I was preparing to interview Stan Lee on TV. Stan was in a bathrobe. I was getting dressed, pulling pins out of the shirt I’d wear. August 26, 2010 6:21:09 AM

I dreamt I was at a Stoker banquet at which a zombie took the stage and ATE a copy of my What Will Come After. I protested. It didn’t care. August 25, 2010 8:14:25 AM

I dreamt that I woke, and as I stood, Dave Cockrum’s ghost appeared to deliver an important message. If only I could remember what it was! August 25, 2010 8:10:52 AM (more…)

While at Aussiecon4 in 2010, I took part in the “Vampire vs. Zombie Smackdown,” in which I’m joined by George R.R. Martin, Foz Meadows, Narrelle M Harris, Felicity Dowker, and Chuck McKenzie.

Which side won? Once you’ve watched the panel, which is embedded in four parts below, you decide.

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My wife and sister-in-law spent the week poring over their collection of original comic book art, and for the most part remembered how every page came into their possession and where each was originally published. But there were a few pages for which the second part of that equation was a mystery.

That’s where you come in.

Any idea what comics these pages appeared in? We’ve been able to figure out a few nuggets of information, but not enough to ID them completely, especially since the comics themselves were disposed of many years ago.

If you can help, please let us know!

This page of Don Heck art was part of a backup story featuring Jason Bard, and presumably appeared in an issue Detective Comics during the ’80s. But which issue? (more…)

I’ll be leaving for Melbourne a week from tomorrow to attend Aussiecon 4, and just in case you’ll be there, too, here’s where you’ll be able to find me.

All four of my panels seem to be horror-themed this year, including one at which I’ll stand up for zombies against those annoying vampire-lovers. It won’t be pretty.

Hope to see you there!

But is it horror?
Saturday 1200 Room 212
What is horror fiction and who decides? The authors? The readers? The publishers and editors? The marketers and booksellers? Does the horror genre even truly exist?
with Joshua Bilmes, Ellen Datlow, Richard Harland, Rocky Wood

Monster mash-ups
Saturday 1500 Room 207
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Sense and Sensibility and Sea-Monsters. Little Vampire Women. Jane Slayre—it’s open season on the classics as well as the undead. Just what is going on here and where did it all start?
with Darlene Marshall, Chuck McKenzie, Faye Ringel, Damien White

Vampire vs Zombie Smackdown
Monday 1400 Room 204
Two kinds of undead, no holds barred.
Participants on the one hand – Scott Edelman, Rob Hood, Chuck McKenzie.
On the other – Narrelle M Harris, George R. R. Martin, Faye Ringel

Maybe I am too normal to enjoy this book…
Monday 1500 Room 212
Horror authors share the worst things ever said about their work and discuss the context of the outburst. Audience members are invited to share their own worst “critiques”.
with Will Elliott, Deborah Biancotti, Rob Hood, Martin Livings

There’s an amazing 1963 documentary over at the Internet Archive titled Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer by David L. Wolper that you should all rush over and watch. It’s wonderful seeing Bradbury, now almost 90, at age 43, more than half his lifetime ago.

Go, enjoy, but I’d like you to pay special attention to a particular section that fascinated me. Beginning at 18:20, we see Bradbury workshop his short story “Dial Double Zero.” The narrator tells us, “Every other Friday for the past 14 years, Bradbury and a group of friends have met to read and criticize each other’s work.” But—who are these friends? They’re unidentified in the documentary, and I don’t recognize them. Are they members of the California SF community at the time? Or local non-SF writers we wouldn’t know?

There were seven writers in attendance for the filmed session, two of whom are only visible in a long shot from the backs of their heads. Below are screen grabs of the five who could be seen in close-ups.

Can you name them?

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