"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”

While I watched and enjoyed Conan O'Brien's work over the years I never became a fan of him until tonight. He dealt with his situation with a lot more dignity and humor than I would have managed. Hell I'm still bitching about the fact I failed 9th Grade.

So from now on, no matter where Mr. O'Brien's career takes him...

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Eight

When death comes for you,” the fortune teller warned, “its breath will be minty fresh.”

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Seven

He was into the whole getting tied up thing until she started setting his leg hairs on fire. Actually he was still pretty into it.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Six

“Look,” Judy said, “I'm not here because of a silly legacy or scholarship. I'm here because my mom is screwing the Dean!”

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Five

Glam rocker/superhero Roy Ramses didn't have a secret identity but he was terrified of being seen without eyeliner.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Four

“To see the flaws in the capitalism go to a shopping mall, to see the breakdown of the social contract visit the restrooms.”

(Recommended Reads) "A Bat For Mr. Roxby" by Karen Schindler

Through the open window the screams were as loud as if they were on the tv two feet away. He had to imagine that the screams were coming from some fictional place like the tv or the radio or he'd go mad. He pointed the remote at the screen and increased the volume to max…. that's how most tenants dealt with the screams on hot nights. ..

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5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Three

Pam worked exclusively from the spell-book she had bought in El Paso. All her hexes came from Texas.

(Recommended Reads) "Combustion" By Lily Mulholland

Jo was awake before her eyes opened. She could hear a low hum but couldn’t identify its source. The dandelion hairs on her tummy were dancing to a gentle breeze; she was stark naked. Without moving, Jo understood she was strapped down to some kind of bench. Metal, she thought, judging from the way it cradled her body; cold, like a mortician’s slab...


click here to read part one of this series

click here to read the rest of "Combustion"

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty Two

Captain Eagle of the Space Patrol found himself at a moral crossroads, so he blew up both planets.

Paracinema...The Blog: Student Confidential

Paracinema...The Blog: Student Confidential

Oh no! I had forgotten about this movie!

(Recommended Reads) " Falling Star" by Olivia Tejeda

Diego Bendigas tries squeezing his way through the tourists packed onto the terrace waiting for the cliff divers. “Con permiso,” he says courteously, “Con permiso,” but no one moves. It is not until they see his dark brown body covered only with a tiny blue swimsuit, that they realize he is one of the divers, and in awe, they make way as if he’s a movie star...

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5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty One

Professor Lindquist had long searched for a way to combine laptops and sea life, then he invented the wireless cod.

(Recommended Reads) "Time's Faux Pas" by Laura Eno

Chronos looked over to see if his companion heard him. Death sat in a recliner, flicking peanuts from a spoon and catching them in his eye sockets...


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5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Forty

As if his self esteem wasn't bad enough he had recently joined Facebook- the high school reunion that never ends.

And now... a shill...

IN THIS TWILIGHT tales of lost gods and fragile transformations

This collection of 13 stories transports you to a world where both dreams and monsters lurk in the shadows, where love and forgotten rituals fight for control of the human heart, and where the madness of eternity can be glimpsed in a single segmented eye. This anthology collects some of the best stories from Al Bruno III's website and includes the novellas 'Chad's Oracles', 'Fully Vested' and 'The Mask Collector', available for the first time anywhere.

IN THE MIDNIGHT OF HIS HEART a novel of horror and obsession

To all outward appearances John Sig is just an old man living a quietly in an empty old house. His one pleasure is when he heads down to the local diner and visits with his favorite waitress Angie. When Angie disappears, John sets out to find her. For an ordinary old man that might seem like a foolish idea but John Sig isn't human, he's a monster living in the shadow of a nightmare thirty -five years old.

In The Pit

This is the comic book I wrote, that sadly it never made it past the first issue. Too bad I had envisioned a fantastic tale of serial killers, Canadian pro wrestlers and exploding toilets. Still though I think you might enjoying reading the first issue, it is still available as a PDF file. There are also some preview pages at the sight below. Order away and weep for what might have been. Some of my best work is available from the fine folks at Eden Studios. My contribution to their game lines has been mainly in the area of fiction. The rules and setting information was written by other very capable folks like Richard Dakan, CJ Carella, Jack Emmert, George Vasilakos and M. Alexander Jurkat. Believe me, they did all the hard work. If you are a fan of role-playing games or a fan of zombie movies then the books below are going to be right up your alley.

ALL FLESH MUST BE EATEN main rulebook

Enter the dark world of survival horror. The Dead walk among us. This role-playing game allows you to play in a world infested by the walking dead. The main rulebook includes rules for character creation, combat and everything else you need to play in a world of survival horror. Also detailed are the multiple campaign settings so you can customize the type of "deadworld" you wish to explore.232 pages.Hardcover.Cover Art by Christopher Shy. Click here for ordering information

ZOMBIE MASTER SCREEN

A must-have reference for All Flesh Must Be Eaten, the Zombie Master's Screen is filled with charts and tables. From fear to weapons to outcomes, every reference that a prepared Zombie Master needs is packed onto a four-panel screen. The flip side of the screen scares and delights the players with full-color zombie images. The Screen is packed with a 48-page booklet, including a ready-to-run adventure introducing the Cast Member to the horrors of a zombie plague, and pregenerated characters with complete bios, statistics and resource information. Cover Art by Christopher Shy and George Vasilakos. Click here for ordering information

ENTER THE ZOMBIE

Written by Richard DakanThe first supplement to All Flesh Must Be Eaten opens whole new vistas for a walking dead campaign. This tome brings together the thrills of Hong Kong action films and the excitement of flesh-craving horror. The match of these two genres may not have seemed obvious at first, but the pleasures that arise from it are undeniable. After all, zombies and Hong Kong style action make a perfect fit. What better match is there for a relentless series of lightning kicks and a hurricane of bullets than a target that can’t die? The pulse-pounding danger just never stops. Besides, what martial arts master worth his salt doesn't ache for the ability to use his own intestines as a deadly whip? For the undead, no problem!Softcover.Cover Art by Christopher Shy. Click here for ordering information

TERRA PRIMATE

Written by Al Bruno III, CJ Carella, David F. Chapman, Patrick SweenyBased on the original concept by George Vasilakos and Ross IsaacsEdited by M. Alexander Jurkat, David F. ChapmanCover art by Jeff ReitzInterior Art by Storn Cook, Thomas Denmark, Talon Dunning, DW Gross, Jon Hodgson, Chris Keefe, Jason Millet, Matt Morrow, James Powers, Gregory Price, George Vasilakos From the creators of All Flesh Must Be Eaten, similar in style but this time . . . with apes! Terra Primate has no specific setting. The only constant is the concept of intelligent apes. Planet of the Apes is a movie about intelligent apes, but then again so is Congo. As long as the characters are interacting with intelligent apes -- or are intelligent apes themselves! -- the game could be set in the pulp era of adventure, on a post-apocalyptic Earth, on a faraway alien planet, or downtown on Main Street. The main rulebook includes rules for character creation, combat and everything else you need to play in a world where man is the missing link! Also detailed are the multiple campaign settings so you can customize the type of "Apeworld" you wish to explore. Click here for ordering information

MY SUPA LIFE goes for a joke I might not have! (oh who are we kidding here... of course I would have!)

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The Nick Of Time (and other abrasions): Audra DiMico And The Curse Of The Cartwrights

The Nick Of Time (and other abrasions)

Audra DiMico And The Curse Of The Cartwrights

by
Al Bruno III

They huddled together, hiding from the men with guns, but Audra wasn't afraid; while the city of Olathoe was filled with men with guns, it also had no shortage of places to hide.

They were holed up in a long abandoned brewery, the floor was littered with glass smashed bottles and faded pamphlets. It was good enough for now but she had to get back to her dormitory.

She glanced at the boy huddled nearby, his name was Iphot and he was beautiful. He looked her age if not a little younger. His milk white eyes and Chinese features combined to create a fragile beauty.

Just looking at him made her feel frumpy, her dark hair was a tangled mess, her dress was stained and torn. A lot of men found Audra pretty but for all her bravado she rarely agreed with them. Of course it was hard to stay fresh as a daisy when you were on the run.

“Audra,” his voice was like music, “where are we?”

“An old hideout, a temporary base of operations for whores and revolutionaries. ” she said, “and at least the whores had the courage of their convictions.”

“I was to be a something worse than a whore. They taught me secrets, I begged them not to.”

“Well not now,” she scrabbled over to him and took his hand. He started at the sudden motion and Audra cursed herself for forgetting he had been chemically blinded. As far the Kuen-Yuin were concerned their handsome new plaything didn't need eyes to preform his duties. “Come on. Let's get moving. I think it should be all clear.”

The streets of Beecker Street were back to normal, the prostitutes were back to plying their trade and the subversives were back to murmuring in the coffee shops. “I smell food,” Iphot whispered.

Audra hushed him, “Hold your breath now, long as you can.” She whispered a minor incantation, something to make them less noticeable. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially when dealing with the likes of Jack Diamond.

“You're trembling.”

“Shhhhh.”

How could she not shudder at the very thought of Jack Diamond. It wasn't too long ago that she had almost made her into a plaything of his very own. She had been saved by an Outlander, a hapless man named Matthew. She had fallen in love with him but he had been lost to her, lost to her by the Curse of the Cartwrights.

They made it all the way to the next street before Audra had to take a breath, the incantation fell away but she knew that if they could just reach Haruspex Boulevard they'd be home free.

A voice called from a nearby car, “There she is!”

“Sonofabitch!” Audra grabbed Iphot’s hand and started running. There was never a damn Sentry around when you needed one. Footsteps clattered after them, the sound of expensive shoes on asphalt.

Was this to be her lot in life? Putting everything on the line for one lost soul or another? She could almost live with that if once, just once, she won out.

Audra called it ‘The Curse of the Cartwrights’ in honor of her father’s favorite TV show, a western called Bonanza. The men of the Cartwright clan were gold old fashioned cowboys but they had the worst luck in the world when it came to love. If one of them fell in love within the first fifteen minutes you knew that by the end of the episode they would waving a sad goodbye or standing be standing over a grave.

It was just like her life, ever since grade school; each time she fell in love she was robbed by death, dismemberment or circumstance.

Up a fire escape and down a flight of condemned stairs, through an alley and over a loading dock; she ran, dragging him after her.

Soon enough they had found somewhere else to hide, a darkened brownstone that had been half burned away in one riot or another. The air was thick with ghosts, Audra inhaled deeply.

“You should have left me,” he still had hold of her hand, he wouldn’t let go.

She smiled, “I couldn’t do that, not after what they did.”

“Why were you even there?” Iphot asked, “Were you a guest?”

“Fuck no! Let’s just say I was up to no good.”

“I wish...” he paused, “I wish I could have seen your face.”

“Oh hey now,” she gave him a little hug. That hug led to a kiss and suddenly they were undressing each other, laying their castoff clothes down on the scorched floor. His touch fluttered over her skin. By the time she realized he was a eunuch she was too aroused to even care or comment and his cock was as rigid as any other boy she had been with.

When it was over they dressed quietly, Audra didn't know what to say, she never did at moments like this.

Iphot stepped towards the doorway. He whispered “They’re here.”

“What?” Audra said but her hands were already making preparations for one of the deadlier incantations she knew. As long as there were no more than three of them they were still going to make it.

“I can hear their footsteps coming up the stairs,” he turned his head in her direction. “They’ll never stop, not when I know what they need.”

“I know another way out,” Audra shook her head, “I won’t let them hurt you.”

“No,” he said, “I won’t let them hurt you. Thank you for trying.”

“What are you-”

Iphot ran out of the doorway screaming like a madman, one of the Kuen-Yuin shouted in alarm and fired. As the stairwell filled with curses and recriminations Audra slipped out of the building and headed home. Her clothes smelled like old smoke and sweat, she only kept herself from crying by whistling the theme to her father’s favorite TV show.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Thirty Nine

Years later Kenny truly came to understand how much he had loved Gamera. It was turtle eclipse of the heart.

Day Of The Woman: WOMAN OF THE WEEK: Hazel Court

Day Of The Woman: WOMAN OF THE WEEK: Hazel Court




Quoth the Raven, whatta babe!


(And that goes for the actress AND the blogger...)

(INSANE NEWS) 'Terror-pisser' killed neighbour's garden with night-time golden showers

'Terror-pisser' killed neighbour's garden with night-time golden showers


A couple in Hamburg have finally got to the bottom of why the plants in their front garden keep turning brown and dying – their neighbour has been urinating on them at night...

click here to read the rest


link found on FARK.com... one of my favorite sites...

Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies: The Manitou (1978): or, Native-American Exorcist is a Pain the Neck

Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies: The Manitou (1978): or, Native-American Exorcist is a Pain the Neck


I can't get enough of these guys...

(Recommended Reads) " Doomed" by Ganymeder

He posted his latest tweet as he heard the villagers pounding outside the gate to his crypt. Thankfully he could read the Twitter app well enough since his cell phone was backlit. The darkness of his coffin was comforting, but he wasn’t fooled. Soon the mob would break inside, discover his hiding place, and he would be doomed...

click here to read the rest

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Thirty Eight

One man creates all of the sleazy sexual metaphors used by the porn industry, his name is Craven Moorehead.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Thirty Seven

Cyborg superhero Rusty Johnson's greatest technical challenge was installing a cloaking device on his monster truck.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Thirty Six

Lorelei Miller had faced vampires, zombies and ghosts from the future but she wasn't sure if the was ready to attend a frat party.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Thirty Five

Every day Magic Marvin visited the Kingdom of Make Believe and Adventure, at least until the hospital staff made him take his meds.

5 Second Fiction Eight Hundred and Thirty Four

“No more asking me to make sheep noises in bed,” Yasmine warned her husband. “This means ewe.”

(Recommended Reads) " Willpower" by Lily Mulholland

Sarah had saved the new skin for a special occasion, growing it with the obsessive care of an orchidist. Determined to keep it blemish free, she had kept her left arm encased in cotton for the past two weeks. She wanted nothing to spoil its pearlescent purity...

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(Recommended Reads) "The Bubble" by Jessica Rosen

She never wore much make-up before him. Now she had to layer it on to hide how much he loved her from the rest of the world...

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(Recommended Reads) "The Right Thing To Say" by CJ Hodges MacFarlane

Her friend pulled the truck up to the doors of the hotel. She glanced over at him and said, “Thanks for the ride.” Not bothering to acknowledge his hurt look at the brief comment, she got out, shut the door and walked through the double glass doors and into the hotel lobby. To her right she saw her mother, father and friends, some already standing, waiting for her to join them. The look on every face was of raw concern, whether smiling through it or just frozen in place, like so many deer in the headlights. She couldn’t deal with them right now – she needed to be alone...

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(Recommended Article) "Gods, Monsters, and Ernest Thesiger" by Frankensteinia

Ernest Thesiger was born on January 15, in 1879. His family was a storied one, with barons, war heroes and a famous explorer among his ancestors. As a young man, Thesiger worked or socialized with some of the great British artists, among them George Bernard Shaw, Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward. The famous American-born painter John Singer Sargent, the leading portrait painter of his era, captured a smiling 32-year old Thesiger in a charcoal sketch in 1911...

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(Recommended Reads) "Homecoming" by Peggy McFarland

"Where to?"

"Forty-two Trenton Street."

The rearview mirror revealed his raised eyebrows under the ball cap's brim. Teri ignored his look, reached for the door handle. Static shocked her fingertips. Stale sweat and old fried onions assaulted her nose. The meter's click jolted her. She shut her door. It had been a long time since she'd ridden in a cab. In any vehicle.

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(Recommended Reads) "Nature/Nurture" by Maria Protopapadaki-Smith

“Daddy, I broke my stick. Can I have another one?” Tessie asked, ponytail swinging as she hopped from one foot to another to emphasise her need for a new stick. She knew he wouldn’t refuse her, but the action earned her an even bigger smile...

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