Creepy And Kooky, Mysterious And Spooky.

Now that I actually have some time to listen to stuff as I drive to and from work, I've taken the opportunity to check out some podcasts that have been on my 'to listen' list for a while.

I've quickly become a fan of Eerie X, a podcast which, according to their website,  "discusses human subcultures and the oddities of our world. From the strange to the supernatural, the obscure to the absurd, the paranormal to the peculiar and the uncommon to the unthinkable. Eerie X, flogging the sacred cows of humanity."

Yup, that's right up my alley. 

When I was a kid, my Dad bought a book from Readers Digest which I devoured. I must have read it hundreds of times. Strange Stories, Amazing Facts is a collection of scientific, historical and paranormal oddities and mysteries. I still have it, and although some of the scientific stuff has dated, the rest of it holds up really well. I still haven't found a more recent book to supersede it. I also have a copy of A Book Of Beliefs, an overview of religions, sects, cults and beliefs. Together, these two books are great for dipping into, and pretty much sum up a major area of fascination for me.

So it should be no surprise the second podcast on my playlist is produced by a friend of mine with similar interests. Meat Mutant has developed into a show worth a regular listen. Joe and Emma, a couple of ex-Catholics and now staunch athiests from opposite sides of the world, broadcast their own form of irreligiosophy.

Then, of course, there's the speculative fiction podcasts that I've been planning on listening to for the longest time. I know some of these broadcasters personally, and the names involved speak for themselves. Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts, is about to hit its 100th show. Congratulations on the Hugo nomination. An associated podcast, Galactic Chat, is a series of interviews with people within the speculative fiction field, while the Coode Street Podcast consists of conversations between Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe.

OK, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I simply never had time to sit and listen to these broadcasts.  But I'm loving what I've listened to so far and I'm really enjoying my driving time each day.

I'm sure there are lots of great podcasts out there, and I'm certainly open to recommendations. 

A Professional Geek From Melbourne.

In 2011 I contacted the Continuum people and offered to run a panel on my favourite SF writer, Philip K. Dick. I automatically invited Bruce Gillespie (editor of the fabulous The Electric Shepherd) to join me, then sat back to see what happened.

Someone with a strange name was then allocated the panel, then had to withdraw, and then another (with a more 'normal' name) was assigned. I think we may have emailed a little beforehand, but I do recall the night before the panel when David McDonald introduced himself to me. He asked me how the panel was to run, and I briefly explained very little (as it was all PowerPoint based and quite logical in order).

The next day Bruce, David and I ran a very successful and interesting PKD session. Bruce, of course, was wonderful as always. But I owe much of that success to the insights and thoughts of David.  Afterwards we chatted, and it turned out we not only had some same acquaintances in the 'real world, but had similar backgrounds with matching reference points. So I sat in on a Dr. Who panel he'd organised, a wonderfully emotive Sarah Jane tribute, and found that he had a similar approach and attention to quality and detail that I had.

Afterwards, David bought me a coffee, and I impressed him with my...  well, everything.

Over the past year or so, David and I have become firm friends. We've become crit buddies, shared good news and bad, and built a mutual respect for each other's work and approach to writing. We have similar philosophies, morals and ethics.

Oh, and he'll always remind me of the crit session I conducted on Cold Comfort (from Epilogue) at Conflux mere hours before the submission deadline. You see, he was plying me with drinks and one thing led to another... But that's a story for future panels when we are both deservedly recognised for our abilities and writing credentials.

David is an up-and-coming writer whose work deserves attention. He's a great guy, a good friend and a fabulous writer. He was deservedly nominated for the "William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review" (along with Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series. And I'm proud to share the Epilogue TOC with him. Check him out here.

And don't believe a word he says about Canberra. What happened at Conflux, stayed at Conflux.

Nominated.

Boy, that came out of the blue!

I certainly didn't expect to be nominated for Best New Talent in this year's Ditmar Awards. Thank you to all those who voted. And congratulations to Jo Anderton and Alan Baxter, who also happen to be shortlisted with me. Both writers produce great pieces, and are really cool in person.

I also need to mention my crit buddy, David McDonald, who has been nominated for the William Atheling Jr Award, as part of a team alongside Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely. Well done and congratulations.

And congratulations to everyone else who made the list. It's great to be recognised and receive validation by being shortlisted at national level. I, for one, really appreciate it.