That Gets My Goat 151: Viva La Resolution!

So, Rish and Big have finally gotten together again, and in honor of the New Year, they look ahead and make a couple of goals.  Wish them luck. 

Indeed, wish yourself luck while you're at it.



Right click HERE to download the episode, select Save Link As, and save the file to your hard drive.

Rish Performs "So You've Decided To Adopt A Zeptonian Baby" on Podcastle

This may be the last time I get to appear on PodCastle, the Fantasy Fiction Podcast, but I'm happy to have been able to read a story as part of their superhero flash fiction special this week.  Along with Mur Lafferty reading "The Sea City Six (Where Are They Now?)" and Sean D. Sorrentino reading "The Colors," I got to do the short piece "So You've Decided To Adopt A Zeptonian Baby" by David Steffen.

Host/editor of PodCastle, Dave Thompson has been very friendly toward me for the last little while, even mentioning that his kids listen to my performance of "The Christmas Mummy" every Rosh Hashanah, and I've appreciated the chance to appear on his show, which gets, oh, a million times as many listeners as my own.  Usually, he'll pick a story that he thinks I'll do a good job with (or an amusing job, at least), and this was no exception. 

"So You've Decided To Adopt" is a brief self-help instructional piece about the struggles parents of super-powered alien children are going to encounter.  After absolutely no deliberation, I decided to perform it in the voice of my favorite dead "Saturday Night Live" cast member.  Hopefully, somebody (besides me) will get a kick out of it.  Check it out at this link!

I do mention that this may be my last appearance on PodCastle because Dave Thompson recently announced he was stepping down from running PodCastle, to pursue his own endeavors, or raise his children, or spend a three-to-five stretch in jail.  Having tried my hand at podcasting a time or two, I have no earthly idea how someone could produce a weekly show the way he does, and it would be neat if he wanted me involved in whatever projects he goes on to do.

Except for the jail time.  I would never make it on the inside.

Rish Outfield

Rish as Commander Gant on "Star Trek: Outpost"

Rish here.  You know, I watched "Star Trek: The Next Generation" from the very first episode.  I noticed early on that every single character on that show eventually got their own episode, every single season, and in reading up, it was interesting how difficult it was for the writers to come up with an interesting spotlight episode on, say, Wesley, or Deanna Troi, or Doctor Crusher.  But they certainly did try.*  Perhaps they were eager to avoid the shortcomings of "The Original Series," where Uhura never had anything to do . . . ever(?).

I bring this up because, over the years, I have had the pleasure and difficulty of voicing the character of Commander Gant on "Star Trek: Outpost," which is a long-running serialized audio drama set in Roddenberry's universe.  It's an enormously elaborate and detailed show, with every episode running an hour or so, and airing on a pretty regular schedule.  And in the most recent episode, "What Price Survival," is as close as we've come to giving the Tellarite Gant his own show.

In this episode, Gant and another engineer beam over to a derelict spacecraft, and end up exposed to an alien life form of the type that the Enterprise(s) always seemed to run into: the kind that takes over the body of a crewman in order to express itself.  But what happens when that invader refuses to leave?  (I don't know; I receive these scripts, and the episodes are released about five minutes after I get my lines in)

Here's the link, if you'd like to check it out (though it is Episode 65, so . . .).

I never felt the Tellarites got enough screentime on any of the Star Treks, so it's been fun to see how many different ways the writers can make Gant argue or question orders, which is typical of his species, but would make him a huge pain in the arse to work with.

You may actually work with a Tellarite already, and not even realize it.

Rish

*Indeed, it's fair to say that every single character on TNG (with the possible exception of Captain Picard) got at least one bad episode during the show's seven year run.  And Equal Opportunity programme if there ever was one.

Rish's "A Lovely Singing Voice" Available on Amazon

Hey kids, did you read that sprawling tale I wrote last year called "A Lovely Singing Voice?"  Well, I've now got it up on Amazon/Kindle Store if you want to buy a copy.  I put it off until the ever-faithful Gino Moretto came through with some cover art.  And while no drawing can convey the sinister nature of Brekkyn Manion, his work was exactly what the doctor ordered.

As a reminder: ALSV is the story of Tanissa Gunn, who meets a spoiled, lonely girl while visiting her father over the summer.  While her dad is at work, Tanissa and Brekkyn get to know one another, and we discover that Brekkyn always gets whatever she wants . . . always.

Here is the link, along with the usual author's note at the end: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S31I64K.  Thanks!

Rish "Lovely Signing Voice" Outfield

P.S. No plans to do an audio version of this one.  Any suggestions?

Rish's story "The Pen Was Mightier on The Way of the Buffalo

Some time ago, I sent my short story "The Pen Was Mightier" over to Hugh O'Donnell and his podcast "The Way of the Buffalo," and this week, he wrote to tell me the story is up on his show.

This was a nice surprise.  TWOTB was the first place to run my story "Subtext," and Dave Robison's grand reading of my tale "Old Man River" is on there too.  His podcast has been around a while, this is his (Star Trekky) seventy-ninth episode, and I really ought to ask him if he needs a promo or a silly voice for his show.

"The Pen Was Mightier" is a light and silly tale about a writer who obtains a magic pen that creates only inspired art.  It's not hard to guess where I got the idea, but it's short, and it's cute, and it's available to listen to right here.  Thanks.

Rish "I'd like to hear more about the Penis Mightier" Outfield