In a blow against boring readings, DIY Book podcaster and SF novelist Hamish Macdonald blogged about handing out fake airline tickets to his audience members.

The author of the very funny Nedroid comics has put up an amazing tute for colouring comics, including lighting. If you’ve hit a wall in your Photoshop-fu training, this might help you vault it.

Hamish Macdonald, the author of one of the most comprehensive (and popular, with 200+ comments) articles on this site describing his method of bookmaking has started a DIY Book podcast.

The excellent political science fiction conference, Think Galacticon, has just announced the dates for the next one, June 26 – June 28 2009. Started from a reading group in Chicago’s Wicker Park and inspired by the 30 years running feminist SF con Wiscon, they were nice enough to feature me as one of the guests of honour at their first one. They’re a welcoming and multi-faceted bunch, and unlike a lot of cons they’ve got a location right in the heart of the city so it’s easy to check out Chicago as well.

John August‘s website is full of great scriptwriting how-to articles, an interesting post-mortem on his Sundance-buzzed lo-fi sci-fi movie, and a very funny post-apocalypse sitcom webisode.

Mark Hurst tells some hard-won publishing secrets, including “If the contract process doesn’t go well, walk away. This is the most attention your publisher will ever give to you.”

“Reformed screenwriter”, Steve Barancik, wrote to tell me about his website The Shared Self-Publishing Experience where people post their experiences publishing their own books. You can read accounts in fiction, non-fiction, children, YA, poetry — and if you’ve done it yourself you can contribute your own. A great resource that serves the purpose of promoting self-published authors books as well as sharing information and inspiration.

There was a GTA4 bit recently on Conan O’Brien that made me think the writers might have watched my 2003 My Trip to Liberty City.

I’m dropping prices on all my books, some up to 50%. Buy 3 books, get a free No Media Kings t-shirt! Check out the dealz in the store.

Therefore Repent! is on the Canadian top ten graphic novel bestseller list, and Salgood’s been doing a great job of blogging about the reviews TR!s been getting as well as listing where it’s available.

Risa over at Indyish has written two entries on how to get and keep interns for your indie project, with good suggestions like give them something small at first rather than overload them, and as much as possible give them something to do customized to their interests/talents.

Adam Greenfield, citing his “extended, happy marination in punk rock and zine culture” as an inspiration, has decided to self-publish his second book, an urban-tech non-fiction work called The City Is Here For You To Use. (via Waxy)

The Toronto Star has tagged me an “animator” for the My Trip to Liberty City video. Bit of a stretch! A puppeteer, maybe.

One of the guys from Red VS. Blue said in an interview that my vid My Trip to Liberty City is his favourite piece of machinima. Sweet!

Looking for a book to get you in the mood for a city you’re traveling to? BiblioTravel is the site for you, with a sweet new design. They had quite a time listing all the cities in Unspeakable Evil…

Sage made a neat podcast about how these German superheroes reminded her of my Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask.

The web tech firm 37signals made $175 grand in the past 75 days selling their book online and has posted the details “to show that self publishing is a viable and profitable route for an author/company with a built-in audience.” (via)

There’s a mention of My Trip to Liberty City as “a great work of popular culture commentary” in the tech journal CTHEORY. (Thanks, Liam!)

The second segment on this amazing Wiretap podcast appears to be a funny pig story, but then transforms like manimal before your very eyes. (Thanks, Craig!)

The folks over at Rocketboom talk about the various video compression methods they use to make their daily internet show. (Thanks, Kirby!)