Here is the Maestro – doing his best Blain impression.

Who out there got that reference?  Come on!  There has to be someone!

I must say I absolutely love author’s writing style. It’s fresh and it flows easily and naturally. Patti has an electrifying way of sharing her stories. Her series has it all – suspense, fun, irony, romance, unexpected twists and turns, and a fair share of excellent space for imagination that she generously offers to the reader.

I really admire Patti’s fantasy and the ingenious devices, gadgets, machines and inventions she is able to come up with. She makes everything sound absolutely real, and when you finish reading her books and look around yourself, you’re surprised there are no drones buzzing around. Patti draws you into her game and magnetizes you with her stories.

I admit I fell in love with her main character Payce. A tough, courageous and very smart woman with a soft spot and an edgy sense of humor, she is admirable and fun to hang around with on the pages of Patti’s books.

Reading P.I. Barrington’s series has been an exciting experience, and I wish there was Future Imperfect Book Four – I’m going to miss Payce Halligan! If you look for a stirring book where thrill meets strong feminine energy, make sure to pick up P.I. Barrington’s Future Imperfect series. You won’t be disappointed.

Visit author’s website

Listen to Barb’s interview with Patti on Chique Show

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Now it feels like summer. Baking – blah! Cooking – blerg! Hey, how about a pop-open-some-cans-and-serve-it-cold-in-ten-minutes-recipe? Sign me up! Besides, nuthin’ says summer picnic like a bean salad. Let’s throw in some artichoke hearts for good measure – thanks All Recipes!

1 (15 ounce) can butter beans
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans,
drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts,
drained and quartered
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarse-grained prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl combine the butter beans, kidney beans, green beans and artichoke hearts. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and salt and pepper to taste & toss with bean mixture. In a Hulk-sized bowl, serve it up! Possible names for this bean salad include “The Maestro’s Revenge” due to any Gamma bomb fallout that eating it may cause.

What favorite summer dish are you bringing out this Memorial Day weekend?

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I had fully intended to go the launch, after backing out of speaking on a panel about the techniques I use as an artist for anxiety reasons. And then on the afternoon of the launch, anxiety reasons kicked in again, and I didn’t end up going. I couldn’t even feel crushed or guilty about it, the anxiety was just that all-encompassing. Also, additional self-hate issues kind of had me viewing ‘going to an exhibition to see my own artwork on display when I know what it looks like’ with a kind of abashed, affronted horror. I just couldn’t get excited about making a big deal out of myself.

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I know I often talk about ‘bad mornings’ with PTSD and so on, but the reality is, PTSD touches every part of my life in different ways. Sometimes it will be the ‘I slept badly, today will be a slow day.’ On days when I’m actually planning on doing something exciting, like attending my first exhibition launch (since I didn’t go the other exhibition launch a year and a half ago that I was in either), it creeps in and I don’t go.

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I did make it for an hour – hour and a half on Saturday morning. We got there early, so we sat down by the Swan River foreshore and I took pictures of ravens (ravens, not crows – Perth, ravens. Corvus coronoides to be precise). I found this relaxing.

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We went in and I saw Linda, and Stephanie Gunn (and her partner and son), both of whom are good friends and a relief to see. I met a few other people, and my method for ‘looking at my art in an exhibition’ was to walk straight by it. I didn’t stand in front of it and look at it once. I looked at everything else. I admit, I was surprised to see how many originals were only featured as limited edition prints, instead of their traditional medium originals. I prefer traditional medium originals, or limited prints of digital work at an exhibition; but limited prints of a traditional work is jarring. I especially enjoyed the work of Sandy / Gas Bomb Girl, which was both original, well-executed, and a pleasure to look at.

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Anxiety dictated I leave soon after, and that hour tired me out so much I mostly just slept for the rest of the day. So many people. In fact, it was during that resting, that I got a call and then a text from Linda saying that Portable Photovoltaic Systems had sold! And then a couple of days later, I discovered that The Sea Shepherd had sold too. Currently Clearcutting at Dawn is all that remains, and is right now hanging on my loungeroom wall. Although here it is, resting on my art table:

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That was very career-affirming for me as an artist. But more importantly, I am so glad these pieces have found homes. I think one of the worst things about being an artist is executing a piece of art only to have it languish away in a cabinet or under a bed, instead of being displayed like it’s supposed to be. One doesn’t generally do art to then put it under a bed, y’know?

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I also finished – drumroll – Wandsuna – Remember?. You can see a post of all manner of details here at my Dreamwidth account. But I’ve provided a picture too:

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The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a part of my life. It won’t always be in this severity. In fact it isn’t as severe as it used to be. But it is crippling. Things that I expect myself to be able to do, because others not only find them fairly easy, but look forward to them, I find ‘do my head in.’ Launches, socialising with like-minded people in a group setting, seeing my artwork in an exhibition, even sometimes selling that artwork. As it’s invisible, it is something people in the majority don’t understand unless I take the time to explain it, and as explaining something like PTSD is difficult I frequently have to have the energy to do it (it being draining is often compounded by some reactions like; ‘but the abuse happened X years ago, shouldn’t you just be over it by now?’ and ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ and ‘it’s too hard for me to be in this conversation,’ and ‘I don’t believe you,’ and many, many more). I think it can also be hard for people to understand how being raped and abused as a child and the subsequent PTSD I have from that, might impact something like an art exhibition. They are, after all, two wildly differing animals on the outside, right? Well, no, not especially.

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In between all the artwork I post, my life is a lot of self-work, therapy, and ‘forcing myself to get up in the morning and face the day after 4 or 5 nightmares.’ Serious, ongoing, ‘every night’ sleep disturbance is something I’ve lived with for over 23 years, and I’m only 29. I have woken up tired almost every single day of my life. But I get up, I walk around, I live my life, I do the art, and of course I rest significantly because PTSD takes it’s toll, along with all the other different things that spin around the PTSD, like the touch phobia, alexithymia, and dissociative issues.

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I’m proud of myself that I got down to the exhibition and the Hyatt, even if it was only for an hour. And I’m glad I volunteered to put some artwork in the exhibition and went through with it, even though I talked myself into pulling out about 5 times. I’m stoked that I sold anything at all, let alone two pieces, and that has ignited a warm fiery glow inside of me. Sometimes when you take a chance and challenge yourself, you’re rewarded. I’m glad I went through with it, even if I need to have a quiet month afterwards to rest.

I’ve just finished attending Swancon 36 (aka Natcon 50, aka WA’s  Premier Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention).  It was a fabulous convention – lots of friends were there and the Hyatt is rather fancy.  However, one of the biggest highlights for me was showing a couple of pieces in the Natcon 50 art show, ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the Future from the Pastʼ.  This was an invitation only event, with the brief to explore the way people have historically imagined our present, bringing the past and the future together in new and interesting ways.

I spent a lot of time pondering what this meant to me, but in the end I just couldn’t stop wondering ‘Why don’t we have robots yet?’  We were promised robots (heck,  we were promised jet packs and flying cars too!), but in reality very few robots exist of the type portrayed in SF literature and media. But we still have heaps of mechanical (electrical?) devices  and, while they might not do the vacuuming*, iPods, mobile phones, and computers are becoming almost indispensable in today’s society.  So I decided to  juxtapose the robots we though we might have,  with the robots we actually have.

To make the prints, I resorted to my old robot love, Illustrator, but tried to go with a retro and slightly steam punky feel. I got them printed on canvas, as I thought that would suit the style and all together they worked out really well. I sold one of my prints! I got some lovely comments ( as well as a copy of long running print based ‘zine from one of the older Natcon attendees – so sweet!)

I also chaired two panels about the art Show, one on technique and one on theme and it was great to hear what the other artists had to say about their technique and how they’d approached the brief.  Everyone’s work was very different and there was some fantastic use of different techniques and themes,  including literature (Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep and replication),  war propaganda, as well as some true computer generated 3D art (produced using program code as the interface!)

*Actually the Roomba will do your vacuuming for you.

While seeing the future can be a powerful thing, it can also hinder your ability to live in the present. Hounded by parents, teachers and his doctor to stop his destructive injury seeking behavior such as jumping from the high school roof; Ade has a hard time with the everyday mundane tasks of school work and only seems to look longingly forward to the day he will meet the girl of this dreams. However when that day does come Ade quickly realizes that what he has seen in his visions may not always be the whole story. Vauxhall has some very real problems of her own that even a future seeing boyfriend may not be able to fix especially if Ade sticks to the unspoken rule that “he can never change the future”.  But what if in order to secure his relationship with Vauxhall he might have to do just that.

The narrative of Future Imperfect follows along Ade’s sometimes-odd thinking process and meandering thoughts. While Ade is an intriguing and unique character with promise at times he fails to deliver for readers and can make one somewhat relatively uninterested in what might happen next. The beginning of the book is especially slow with very little action and much concussion inducing seeking.

 The major plot of the book is also quite promising but it seems as though too many ideas and themes came into play and few were ever brought to fruition. The book never really seems to become interactive to the reader, never engrossing just readable. While many young adult readers will rejoice at a new unique male protagonist in the end the book seems under-developed and a bit confusing at times.

Also as an aside observation with a book titled  Future Imperfect some readers may also be disappointed because they were seeking a dystopian book, which right now seems to heavily dominate in the young adult genre.  Dystopian- Future Imperfect is not.

Love it, like it or hate it, Future Imperfect is definitely readable but perhaps not one of the most enjoyable young adult books recently released.

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese will be released on April 26, 2011.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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In this one, you can see my latest spoils from the vastly overpriced Jacksons (it’s not like there’s much selection in Western Australia, it’s that or nothing.) Anyway, I’m in love with these shades of green (and that sneaky shade of yellow). You can also see some of my hair at the top of this picture. THAT’S BECAUSE I MOULT LIKE A GERMAN SHEPHERD. So annoying. About four times a week I panic because I feel something crawling up my arm only to look and realise that a piece of hair has come loose and is clinging to me. There’s some very nice product placement in this shot. Not that I like my Nokia. Okay, I guess that part wasn’t nice product placement.

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I like pens. I have a lot of pens. That’s probably a good thing, I average about one binned per illustration. I also have a lot of lipglosses (the container behind is just lipglosses). I don’t really ‘collect’ much, except for lipgloss.

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Glamourkins, which are seriously, seriously awesome pendants made from fairytale and storybooks, with wonderful, magical quotes. I’ve always loved wearing writing, and in all likelihood my first tattoo will be words. As an artist, I’m a bit weird that way. But as a writer it makes total sense.

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Doodling AND philosophy for the price of one stupid piece of note paper!

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Man, lots of stuff. Clutter clutter clutter. Look at the massive stack of artwork on the table!

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Saving the best for last. My current ‘works in progress.’ Well, I think it’s the best for last, anyway.

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If you could pick something for me to take photos of, and it was within my power to take photos of them – what would you like me to take photos of?

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In the meantime, I finally finished the inking of Steampunk Elephants or Clearcutting at Dawn. This is how I felt about it yesterday:

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And this is how it looks today:

What I love so much about this series for the Natcon 50 Future Imperfect art show, is that I get to do something with animals that I’m not normally doing.

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I’ve been taking animals and looking at their natural environment, and then looking at how I’d personally exploit them (not that I want to exploit any animal really) in an imperfect retrofuture, where we only allow animals to survive if they can directly benefit us through work, beauty or medicine/health.

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In this, I liked the idea of genetically modified elephants used in the process of clearcutting to save on fuel and materials needed to build the tractors and bulldozers and so forth needed. Because huge elephants could be engineered, larger trees could be engineered and managed, and the wood yield would increase in a world where there wouldn’t be that much wood remaining.

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Elephants are actually built to take down trees. While some of them will tear at branches, many will actually uproot acacia trees in order to get at the whole top of the plant. Unlike giraffes which evolved to reach the top of the trees, the elephant evolved to just take them down. To then take that natural instinct and accelerate it into a vegetative drive where the elephants even enjoy, or run towards trees that need knocking down, is something that I’ve been contemplating for a science fiction world I’m tempted to set a novel in. Photovoltaic ravens, deforestation-savvy elephants, giant squid that put the ‘giant’ in the name shepherding steamers from place to place in a world where supercell storms are the norm.

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Is it just me, or does anyone else really love that kind of stuff?

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But don’t fret, I’ve been working on a metric fuckton of totem illustrations too, including this recent one of Kookaburra, where the colours are all clashy and glarey, even for me:

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This one is for sale at Etsy, just follow this link.

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And if you’re interested in what Kookaburra represents as a totem, you can read the full essay here, or just contemplated the keywords:

Laughter. Family. Wooing your partner. Sibling rivalry. Healing others and the self. Conquering fear. Ending old patterns. Turning hurt into happiness. Hunting down your own truths. Signals. God energy. Teaching and sharing your truths with others.

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If you could choose any animal for me to genetically adapt in my dystopian Future Imperfect, what would you choose?

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Oh, and I have a frilled neck lizard to colour. Insanity.

In the top right you can see my Totoros, which after all this time smell like vanilla (no one knows why, but it’s very nice.) I love them. I’m currently using watercolour pencils and I have a fair amount.

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Today, actually, I finished transcribing the last 100 hard-copy pages of edits of Every Day Awake (my work-in-progress novel). So I’ve complete a third draft and need to get it reprinted. After a read-through, I’ll decide if it’s worth giving to others yet to see what they think. I culled 13,500 words, which was necessary. It may need more culling, but I think it’s a much tighter piece in general now.

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It’s been an odd day, but humid, hot days do that to me. On days like today I dream of cool spaces, forests, gentle rains, gusty breezes. I am incompatible with this landscape, yet I love it so much. But cooler climes beckon.

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This is for the NATCON 50: FUTURE IMPERFECT art exhibition, from the 21-25 of April, at the Hyatt, in Perth. You should come down and check it out!

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I’m not sure where others are taking their retro-futurism, but my own brief which I proposed to the panel, was to specifically show animals in the future only really being allowed to survive if they can be augmented and used for the gain of humans. That does – sadly – sound like something we’d jump at the chance of doing.

The arrogance and narcissism of the human animal is incredibly far-reaching. I console myself with the knowledge that one day we will be extinct like any other animal, and we won’t be here to see the next evolutions, see the Earth do what the Earth does best; create spectacular new life forms before killing them off in even more spectacular ways.

And now I shall be getting onto a commission, before hopefully drafting the third and final illustration for the exhibition, which I tentatively think may involve augmented giant elephants in the logging industry. I mean; they already do destroy trees in the wild, it wouldn’t be that much of a lateral step… but we’ll see.

The 0.1s run out the fastest. But then, I put them through their paces.

I can’t believe it’s only the first week of January. It actually seems to have progressed remarkably slowly. Everyone else around me constantly exclaims; ‘I can’t believe how fast this day, week, month, year has gone!’ And I’m often occupying this strange space where I think ‘oh my god I can’t believe how much I packed into that year and how slow it went!’ I don’t know what that is, but I like it. My mascot is a snail.

I don’t understand how governments can subsidise some things, but won’t subsidise others. It wouldn’t kill them to subsidise solar power on buildings (though hopefully not ravens, like in this picture!) I’ve been thinking about getting solar power for our own home, but it’s expensive, and on a Disability Pension, regular haircuts are ‘expensive’ so, y’know. It’s one of those ‘one day, when I have the money’ things.

It’s very strange occupying a capitalist culture, and yet… not enjoying so many parts of it. Because it’s capitalism that stops that kind of subsidisation. It’s wanting to yank as much money as possible from fossil fuels while they’re still around.

Drives me kind of crazy.

Future Imperfect Art Show

Natcon Fifty will host ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the future from the pastʼ, a semi-professional art show to be held over the Easter weekend in 2011 in Perth, Western Australia.

ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the future from the pastʼ will explore the way people have historically imagined our present, bringing the past and the future together in new and interesting ways.

Please direct any enquiries about the show to Kate, or keep an eye on the Swancon Thirty Six site for updates throughout the year.

I just finished reading Daemon, and it has an extremely interesting premise: private, non-state actors are beginning to weld Information Age technology in ways that render the nation-state ineffective.

Finish reading article

Natcon50 would like to invite expressions of interest for the exhibition ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the future from the pastʼ, to be held at Easter 2011 in Perth, Western Australia.

ʻFuture Imperfect: Exploring the future from the pastʼ will explore the way people have historically imagined our present. We are seeking aspiring and semi professional Australian artists to examine this theme in a tight body of work. In order to be considered, please submit 2-3 low resolution images of your current work that best represents you.

For successful applicants, the Natcon50 art show will provide an attractive space to display your works of art to members of Natcon50 and the general public at no cost. The exhibition will be promoted widely, and will provide you with the opportunity to sell your works. Natcon50 will collect a 10% commission on the sale of each item.

Submissions are invited for artists working in any media. Due to the exhibition space preference will be given to two dimensional pieces, however three dimensional works of art or other media will be considered.
Please send all queries and responses to the attention of Kate or Amanda at natcon50@gmail.com and ensure that your expressions of interest are lodged by 10 April 2010.

Download a pdf to circulate amongst your friends and colleagues here.

Future Imperfect TPB

This is one of those stories that I read at least once a year.  It’s that good!  It has surprises and twists on practically every page – right down to Rick Jones “trophy” room filled with the fallen superheroes memorabilia.  I will try to review the story without giving away too much – but it’s hard since everyone already knows who the Maestro is…  Let’s begin with the obvious:  This story takes place in a future devastated by a nuclear war where the land is ruled by an Evil dictator named Maestro.  A group of rebels decide the best way to defeat the dictator is to bring the Hulk (who is the merged personality), through the use of Doom’s time machine,  to face off against him.  We meet Rick Jones Great, Great Granddaughter Janis – who is a bad ass!  We also see Rick, still alive – just barely – and we learn it was his plan to bring the Hulk there.  Now, the Hulk quickly makes an impact by defeating some of the Maestro’s soldiers and a cool looking robotic machine called a Dog O War.  When the Maestro is alerted we get to meet him.  A deranged, older version of the Hulk – who is not happy about having to leave his orgy… a great scene you have to see!

Future Imperfect Part 1

When the Maestro and Hulk meet up – they instantly recognize that they are faced with themselves.  Unfortunately, for the Hulk, the Maestro is older, wiser – maybe even a bit stronger – but wost of all, he knows everything the Hulk is going to do – and the battle that follows is great – but ends with the Hulk getting his neck broken.  But the story only gets better!  While the Hulk heals the Maestro continues to mess with the Hulk – until a chain of events has the Maestro following a trail of Hulk’s blood – only to be faced with Rick Jones in the trophy room.  There – one of the greatest showdowns ever – that results in Rick Jones death - and the Maestro being tricked into Doom’s time machine.  When Maestro realizes where he is it’s both one of the most surprising and refreshing fulfilling endings to any mini-series!  You have to read it to really appreciate it!  Grade:  A++

Fututre Imperfect Part 2

I decided to review both books simultaneously as they are both compilations of short stories. Laumer’s books are intriguing for their styling, both fast paced and full of interesting similes. Much of his work is (apparently) focused on a lone wolf hero who must rescue the world. I can see that come out over the course of these two works. Seldom do the main characters have any support or assistance from others. When they do, those others tend to die or be maimed etc…

After reading A Plague of Demons I was a bit excited. I had stumbled upon an author who wrote light science fiction and that was reasonably clean. Further, the first short story of his that I had read, Greylorn told first-person story of a starship captain dealing with a mutinous crew. The captain used his brains and psychology to outwit the crew and save the day. Not, that there wasn’t a bit of action mind you, but that was secondary and in support of the use of his intellect to solve the problems. I learned to appreciate that approach to life some time ago: when you don’t have the money or tools of others, you use your God given talents (relying first on Him, secondarily on your talents) to out think a better equipped and better funded opponent.

I thoroughly enjoyed Greylorn and then proceeded to read the entire book. There were a few swear words in Plague but nothing that would push it passed a mild PG rating. Then I moved to the next book: Future Imperfect. This one easily pushed PG13 and had some mild adult content (i.e. not explicit but more than was needed). Arg. That is so annoying.

Would I recommend that you read Laumer? Depends on the person. Laumer does have some interesting qualities that make for good philosophical and literary discussions. For example, Laumer emphasizes the intellect over everything else. Most of his works in these two books (published 1965 and 1966) swirled around the mind and soul. Whether it was a man being slowly transformed from a human to a superman to a super tank while maintaining his individuality and personality or whether it is a discussion of cloning and eternal life. Always, the person is more than the body and more than an animal. Laumer seemed to see something special in the intellect; possibly from a modified humanistic perspective. His work seems to acknowledge evolution while maintaining the uniqueness of the human. In one story the only thread between each incarnation of the man was the brain which was transported from body to body. In another, the body was nothing, but the collection of memories and personality tapes recreated the man himself. So apparently Laumer saw man as more than flesh, but not necessarily more than the collection of his memories and personality.

Very interesting….

Laumer also leans on the use of telepathy and other mental powers in several of these works. Once again that reinforces his fascination with the mind and its power.

Plague was a set of adventure stories and you should at least read Greylorn and Thunderhead. They are great adventure stories about heroism, duty, and honor.

Laumer experimented with another genre of science fiction called dystopian. Dystopia is the opposite of utopia. Dystopia being my new vocabulary word. Typically, dystopian works like Orwell’s 1984 focus heavily on the dystopian world, while Laumer’s characters just happens to inhabit the dystopia. The dystopian world is around the character but not the point or the driving focus of the book. In The Day Before Forever contained within Future Imperfect, an evil company that controls life and death, parcels out organs at high price to those who can afford replacements wants Steve Dravek dead. Meanwhile, Dravek has a nasty hangover and a scrambled memory. His attempts to piece together his life leads him to confront the evil ETORP organization, though he approaches it rather obliquely. It isn’t his primary goal to attack ETORP, but simply survival.

Other dystopia focus on end of the world conditions, the so called catastrophe movies like Day After Tomorrow and Impact. Not that I have watched them, but they represent the usual approach to a dystopian universe.

Anyway, the point of my rambling was to observe how Laumer approaches these subjects in a manner worthy of consideration. Very different approach than the typical genre.

Another point to consider: Baen Publishers has chosen to make these and other works available for free in a multitude of formats. I like this as it allows me to read books on my PDA easily when I have 3-5 minutes where I am waiting in line or walking. Yes, I read while I walk. Make use of my time. Baen believes that by giving some books away, people will be more likely to purchase hard copies. Can’t say that I’m opposed or that I think they are wrong. Its a brilliant idea. Read about it here. Get copies of their free books here.

Audio of Greylorn
More about Dystopia found here.

How amazing is Peter David as a writer?  Future Imperfect is a perfect example of how creative this man got writing the Incredible Hulk.  This was a 2 shot that had Hulk facing a future version of himself.  The ending was not only shocking but brilliant. 

These figures are some of my favorites of my collection.  The first was from the Incredible Hulk “Transformations” line.  That is the better figure – even though the Marvel Legends Maestro has a better paint job – you can’t get much cooler accesories than the first.  Take a look at the belt across his chest – he has the helmets for Juggernaught, Dr. Doom, Iron Man and Nova – as well as Captain America’s shield, Thor’s Hammer, Dr. Strange’s cape and the best accessory of all – Woverine’s Skeleton. 

This figure came out in 1996 while the Legends figure just came out this year.  I appreciate that they did a different look to the Maestro for the Legends figure – in his royal garb.  Both figures are a thumbs way up.