SIX TRUTHS AND ONE OUTRAGEOUS LIE

Well my thanks (I think) to Joshua Reynolds for tagging me on this meme-virus thing.

So now I must now list six outrageous lies and one truth about myself (or vice-versa), then afflict six others. As I am a champion of truth I will choose to do the Vice-versa. So here are six absolute truths and one outrageous lie:

1.) I met William Shatner at an event in Vancouver called the "Lift for Life" celebrating Rick Hansen's "Man in Motion" tour. I walked up to him, shook his hand and blathered something about Captain Kirk being my boyhood hero. He thanked me and I went back to where I had been sitting with a group of people wearing Starfleet Uniforms.

2.) I have stood six feet away from J.R.R. Tolkien. (or at least what remained of him after having been dead for years).

3.) I once peed on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

4.) I once told Spider Robinson a pun so bad it made him laugh and pretend to bang his head on a restaurant table.

5.) I once tricked a room full of klingons into whistling the theme to the Andy griffith Show.

6.) I once rudely interrupted Bryan Adams in order to talk to two British actresses. (Amanda Donohoe and Sammi Davis)

7.) I was once made into a vampire. While I was being transformed the room filled up with other vampires and I was inducted into their society. I then went into a lounge and ordered a Bloody Mary and spent the rest of the evening drinking with Raymond E. Feist.

(I should point out that the vampire thing didn't take and I am no longer one of the undead.)

So it's up to you to figure out which is the outrageous lie. It's probably not the one you think.


I'm supposed to tag six people but I don't think I'm gonna do that. I'll just send a shout out to my good buddy G. W. Thomas at Dark Worlds. I'm sure he's got some stories.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SWORDS OF FIRE now on sale! Four novellas by David A. Hardy, C. J. Burch, Jack Mackenzie, G. W. Thomas and cover and illos by yours truly!

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

ROBOTS!

I love robots. I mean, who doesn't? (aside from a few future-fearing luddites who are kept awake at night by nightmarish visions of cylons destroying the same humanity that created them... or future fearing luddites who think that the "3-Laws Safe" robot line just isn't good enough... or future fearing luddites who just can't tolerate the idea of Victor Frankenstein's unholy creation sharing the same air as the rest of the God-fearing village).

Hmm. Maybe not everybody loves robots.

But I do.



I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

10 FACTS...

I'm not sure where this whole 10 FACTS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME got started. I just read about 10 made-up facts about Joshua Reynolds.

For some reason that prompted me to write 10 facts you didn't know about me but are ABSOLUTELY true. (in no particular order)

1. Harlan Ellison once told me I was weird to my face.

2. I have deliberately dribbled wine down my chin in a fancy restaurant while talking to the waitress.

3. I once had to shout (in all seriousness) "Don't play baseball with the salami!"

4. I once entered a "Design a Monster for Doctor Who Contest" put on by the BBC. I won third prize: a Doctor Who book autographed by Peter Davidson.

5. I once stole a tray of sandwiches from a catering table at a beauty pageant

6. I once received a telepathic message from my wife. I cannot explain it to this day.

7. I have heard wolves howling at the moon while I was in the deep woods at night. Later that night those same wolves ran through our camp.

8. I am the great, great, great, great, great grand nephew of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) of the Canadian Army. He is famous for writing "In Flanders Fields".

9. I once got drunk while hosting a radio show in Vancouver.

10. Moebius once drew a couple of pictures for me. I only asked for his autograph

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

Introducing the iPad

Well Apple has been promising (threatening) to introduce a tablet computer and some have been speculating that it will be the "Kindle Killer".

The prospect of an e-reader that would be able to do all the things that the Kindle can do plus more (animated content? Annotations? Full colour magazines!) had me getting fairly excited. Maybe the era of the e-reader as a real replacement for the printed book has actually arrived.


Well, the day came today and Apple's iPad is... not so much.


For one thing, the sucker is huge! Look at it in Steve Jobs' hands.

Unless he is freakishly small this thing is not going to replace a discrete paperback anytime soon.


Here's what the Globe and Mail had to say:

Partnering with a number of big-name publishers, iBooks represents Apple's attempt to position the iPad as a superior product to the traditional e-reader -- of which Amazon's Kindle is perhaps the most popular. Indeed, the iPad is about the same size as Amazon's larger, more expensive model, the Kindle DX. However even if Apple's estimate of 10 hours battery life is correct, e-readers still beat the device on battery life.

But ultimately, what separates the iPad from its iPredecessors is its more powerful computing ability, something that plays out in the realm of high-definition content. Mr. Jobs was quick to showcase the tablet's ability to play high-definition video from sites such as YouTube. The iPad is configured to run all the existing iPhone applications. But product demonstrations focused on applications that use more processing power, such as graphics-intensive games.

So an e-reader it is among other things. A "Kindle Killer" it is not.


And certainly no replacement to the paper bound book. Books are still the most perfect technology for the delivery of the written word.


Thank you Herr Gutenberg.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?

http://mdjackson.deviantart.com

http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SCOTTISH SF & FANTASY

In honour of Robbie Burns Day I present a list of Scottish science fiction and fantasy writers.

(Undoubtedly incomplete as the list is culled from Wickipedia, so take it with a grain of salt.)

• Iain Banks
• J. M. Barrie
• Chris Boyce
• Michael Cobley
• Arthur Conan Doyle
• Hal Duncan
• Matthew Fitt
• Gary Gibson
• Richard Gordon (Scottish author)
• Gavin Grant
• Alasdair Gray
• Nicholas Stuart Gray
• Robert J. Harris (writer)
• Alan W. Lear
• David Lindsay (novelist)
• Duncan Lunan
• J. T. McIntosh
• F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
• George MacDonald
• Ken MacLeod
• Angus MacVicar
• Donald Malcolm
• David I. Masson
• Steven Moffat
• Dan Morgan (writer)
• Ricardo Pinto
• Michael Scott Rohan
• Brian Ruckley
• Margaret Ryan
• Charles Stross
• Emma Maree Urquhart
• Jack Whyte

Now I plan to go home and dig out a dust covered bottle of scotch that I have in the back of a cupboard. I will drink a toast to each and every writer on this list.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

MEET HOLLYWOOD'S NEW CONAN

No, I'm not talking about the red-haired late-night talk show host.

Robert E. Howard's immortal creation Conan the Barbarian, has been adapted by Marvel Comics among others, and in the early 80's had two movies made about him starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar (yes, there were two, although I can understand completely if you've forgotten the second. I try to). He has also been played on television by Schwarzeneggar wannabe Rolf Mueller. (Actually that's unfair. Mueller was a good actor in his own right. Didn't you see him in GLADIATOR?). Now he will be played on screen again in Marcus Nispei's (PATHFINDER) new film version by Hawaiian born actor Jason Momoa.

Momoa will be familiar to Stargate fans as Ronan Dax from Stargate Atlantis.

Allready comments on various blogs have been turning towards the negative, but I am pleased for once. I enjoyed Stargate Atlantis and particularly appreciated Momoa's presence in the show. Over the course of four seasons Momoa was able to display a depth that I think will surprise people.

If Nispei is trying to bring the character of Conan back to his roots, as he says that he is, then Momoa is entirely appropriate for that role. Conan is not the oafish, teutonic bodybuilder that the Arnold version would have you believe. That Conan was Howard filtered through Lin Carter and L. Sprague DeCamp, filtered through Roy Thomas and Marvel Comics, then filtered again through the film's director John Boorman Milius.

And Frazetta. As much as I loved Frazetta's depiction of Conan (and who doesn't) it is not truly Howard's character.

I am usually very sceptical of movie adaptations and I have been disappointed enough to justify that scepticism. I'm still not convinced that this movie will be completely faithful to Howard, nor would Momoa be my first choice (mine would have been English actor Ray Stephenson). Nevertheless I am pleased that Momoa has been tapped for the part and will go and see the movie with just a little bit less trepidation now.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Tomorrow is my birthday and it looks like my people are on their way to take me home, according to the Associated Preess:



Mystery object to whizz close by Earth on Wednesday

Tue Jan 12, 3:22 PM
By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A mystery object from space is about to whizz close by Earth on Wednesday. It will not hit the planet, but scientists are stumped by what exactly it is.
Astronomers say it may be space junk or it could be a tiny asteroid, too small to cause damage even if it hit. It is 33 to 50 feet (10 to 15 metres) wide at most.
NASA says that on Wednesday at 7:47 a.m. EST, (1247 GMT) it will streak by, missing Earth by about 80,000 miles (128,750 kilometres).


So it looks like this might be my last blog post. Gotta pack before the Mothership gets here!

Bye all! It's been fun!

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

I'm Still Here

No I was not assassinated by gunmen hired by Al Gore or David Suzuki. And look! It's the new year, we signed a pretty much toothless Copenhagen accord and our country is still free!

I just took a break for Christmas and Family. Now, of course, there's lots of work to do both designing and doing artwork.

I will post something more relevant (and more SF/Fantasy/Pulp oriented, rather than politically contrarian) in the very near future.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

The end of the world as we know it?

Marc Sheppard at the website American Thinker has said:


"Tomorrow, over 20,000 delegates from 193 nations will gather in Copenhagen to craft an agreement which would not only force American power consumption to levels equal to those of about 1910, but would also have us pay reparations for an imaginary “climate debt” we’ve accumulated by building the world’s greatest economy of all time. That debt is based on the amount of CO2 our financial growth has purportedly pumped into the atmosphere, which, according to the conclusions of the IPCC, based largely upon reports from the CRU, has selfishly imperiled the planet by inducing climate change.


Of course, asking Americans to pay reparations based on the claim they’ve done harm to other nations by spoiling the climate is like asking me to pay damages to my neighbor based on his claim that he can’t sell his house because my great-grandmother’s ghost is haunting it"

If the accord is signed at Copenhagen the world will be re-ordered to suit the United Nations, one of the most inneffectual and corrupt organization that exist in the 21st century. The sovereignty of the United States and, as a result, that of Canada will be suborned to the will of that organization.

The UN is not an elected body. Populations have no control over appointees to the U.N., but they will have been given authority over sovereign nations and will have the right to dictate the terms under which those nations are allowed to develop.

Who stands to gain by this? Certainly not you or I. In BC we are already subject to a Carbon Tax. Soon we will find that the price for basics - food - will skyrocket.

Amarica and Canada are currently free countries with democratically elected leadership. I fear that if the Copenhagen deal goes through, that will end.

I hope I am wrong. I fear I am right.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

David Suzuki is full of shit

The news broke this past weekend that the IPCC has been using fudged and manipulated data to make the case for Anthropogenic Global Warming. It has also been further revealed that the key scientists involved have used strongarm tactics to discredit and ruin the careers of anyone who disagrees with them.

I would expect Al Gore not to know the difference between good and bad science, or not to care as long as it makes him rich, but these key scientists knew the difference and went ahead anyway. As a result they received millions in funding from the UN.

I have never believed in the validity of man-made Global Warming and for that I have been a heretic. Now my position on the issue has been validated. The leaked documents that implicate the scientists is a smoking gun that proves that I am not a crackpot nor in the pay of the big oil companies (Hah! I wish!).

For more on what should be headline news, but is being ignored by the mainstream media, I recommend starting at James P. Hogan's excellent website http://www.jamesphogan.com/. It is an excellent place to get acquainted with all sorts of heretical science.

Until then, keep idling your vehicles. Greenhouse gasses are the only thing that will save us from the forthcoming ice age.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

A Princess of Mars: The (cheezy low budget version) Movie!

Hey! Why wait for Pixar! Check it out now! Asylum Studios, Traci Lords and Antonio Sabato Jr. have done it first!

I wish I were joking. God help us all, indeed.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio