TimBurkocracy

Have I ever mentioned "Laibach"?

2008-08-24T20:22:07Z

What Devo is to consumer culture, Laibach is to identity politics. They've been making fun of nationalists and supremacists since the mid-'80's. They are based in Serbia. That they aren't dead says a lot about civilization.

This is their stageshow. In some parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey, making fun of nazis would get you a stomping. Imagine doing it for 20 years in Bosnia.

Here is their most famous hit, where they demand "friend dance with me" to the stormtrooper beat.

Laibach performs metal-anthem satires and critiques of ethnic cultures, using the culture's own music structures as a base. They've done songs about Israel and about Palestine, about the US and about Japan, Germany, Russia, everyone.

Laibach also takes pop songs and puts them to triumphal arrangements. They did an album of Stones covers and another of the Beatles. Fun and thought-provoking.

Here is "Get Back", reworked as an exultation of homeland.

Here's "Across The Universe." Note how "Nothing's gonna change my world" now works as a warrior-maiden's declaration that her home is eternal.

Sometimes they miss. "The Final Countdown" is a bit too campy, and I put it here by accident.
This is the '80's disco hit "Life Is Life." My friend Martin first introduced this to me.

Laibach is the best, gutsiest satire of the last forty years.

Striking Images

2008-08-23T01:33:31Z

A guy created poster art for a theoretical Batman movie. This Harley's a little shabby, but menacing. Does it have Bunny's Seal of Approval?

Batman 3 Poster - Harley Quinn by ~joshwmc on deviant ART

I don't know much about fashion, but I like Karl Langerfeld as a person. He never struck me as a guy who took himself very seriously.

And I'll be stopping by here tomorrow.
MonsterMania in Cherry Hill NJ.

She Is Not Real

2008-08-22T01:27:35Z

Uncanny Valley is narrowing every day.
Here is an example of the newest facial animation.

Meanwhile, a robot built with Legos solves a Rubiks Cube.

How much longer before real-time virtual customer service representation via webcam?

timwb @ 2008-08-20T19:36:00

2008-08-20T23:43:52Z

This person helped research Neil Stephenson's "Baroque Trilogy."
In the meantime, she wants to show us how to research our own dang novels.
Links and advice garlore.

Lisa Gold: Research Maven

How Cool Is This?

2008-08-20T02:26:10Z

It has an outdoor pool on the 76th floor, taller than the Empire State Building, and boutique offices on the 154th floor, taller than any other man-made object.

Dubai Tower

What I Was Looking At When I Was Supposed to be Working

2008-08-19T01:49:42Z

The Filter, A New Media Site Fronted By Peter Gabriel

Comic Book and Manga Heroes, Simpsonized (look for Steven Colbert simpsonized)

The reason why we may still find Bigfoot, and it has nothing to do with that frozen costume those guys were pawning off:
"125,000 Gorillas Found In African Zone"

"How could you not notice 125,000 gorillas?"
"The jungle's a big place..."
"One hundred twenty-five thousand?!"

timwb @ 2008-08-13T21:57:00

2008-08-14T02:04:12Z

"Tropic Thunder" is great and Robert Downey Jr. is God. Tom Cruise was also amazing, and had me second-guessing decisions I made for characters in "The Mad Earl."
The movie also gave me a new lease on an old story parodying "empowerment" in pop culture. The movie just stirs up some nice brainwork, and is the best satire since "Wag The Dog."

timwb @ 2008-08-10T20:39:00

2008-08-11T00:43:50Z

"Scientific Theories That Will Make Your Head Explode"

and

The Real Lyrics Joe Cocker Sang At Woodstock

timwb @ 2008-07-29T23:08:00

2008-07-30T03:19:18Z

"The Mad Earl's Homecoming" now incorporates the changes sent to me by suricattus

Now I go through the changes sent by Noble Fusioner Buck Dorrence.

It is now 120K words.

Some files say nine drafts. Some third draft files say "created September 2001".

Why yes, it is my first novel.

timwb @ 2008-07-29T20:56:00

2008-07-30T01:01:12Z

My mother's doctor has changed her mind and now believes my mother's thyroid med may be causing her diminished capacity.

We'll see in a month, after Mom gets off her old med and onto some new stuff.

timwb @ 2008-07-20T23:09:00

2008-07-21T03:30:10Z

I saw "Batman". Christian Bale is always a good time. Heath Ledger had a fresh and interesting take on the Joker. Do *not* be a woman in Gotham City. Two and a half hours = two bladder breaks = too long. Third part of script was written to explain character philosophy = lame. Did I hear right that Gotham has "30 million people?" If so, all of them must have a GPS in their colons, because everybody got across town and found each other almost instantly whenever needed. Worth $10 to see on the big screen. Ledger is on par with other Oscar winning villains. Worth $10 ticket, if only because you would spend $20 in the sex club, you sick person you.

Picking through "Little Big Man" and Charles Stross' "Saturn's Children." Both describe their worlds and are fun, but still early in. More on them later.

"Dr. Terrible's blog of Wahtever": tried to watch first parts of all three segments. My friends and I could have come up with as good, and i would have at least laughed once.
"But Joss wrote another musical!!!1! WoW!!!111!
Kids, *you* can write a better musical.
Shifting POVs, flat characters, predictable jokes and plot.
"But it's just light fluff!11!!"
Picking at my dryer lint is light fluff, but my clothes get dry, which meant that *something interesting happened.*

Jackie Spratlin of "Hellorama" Immortalized

2008-07-18T03:16:33Z

To answer your questions about the prior post...

2008-07-18T01:55:00Z

I was so relieved to get the prior post done that I didn't explain it well.

It's going to be used for a "biography" page on my website. When I start speaking at conventions, they are going to need a bio. Instead of sending a presskit, i can tell them to go to the "bio" page on my website and get whatever sized bio they need. So i need all three lengths.

So I guess I need to know:
Is there a joke that doesn't work for you?
Most of you have known me 7+ years. Is there something i've written or done that merits a mention, that I've forgotten?
Are there just plain better ways to phrase the stuff?

I'm trying to reconcile my more dark serious stuff with the farcical. A recurring plot situation in my stories made me come up with this line, and the only line I can come up with sounds pretentious: "You know what's funny? The monsters got you and you don't even know it." or just plain "Geek tragedy."

What lines do you like?

And thank you all for helping. It's really very nice of you.

How are these?

2008-07-17T03:16:27Z

Everything Tim W. Burke Writes Is Comedy, Especially The Creepy Parts

50 words

Raised by a clan of social workers, Tim spent his childhood near major U.S. prisons. A Temple University graduate, he produced and performed in “The Kibbles and Bits of ‘Hellorama’”, which FilmThreat.com called “’Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ meets ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse’ on crack.” Today, he produces video for a city government.

One Paragraph

Raised by a nomadic clan of social workers, Tim grew up near some of the most notorious prisons in the U.S. He learned to be a raconteur while roaming with his clan, and had adventures, and earned a black belt in Aikido. After graduating Temple University, he performed and published humor throughout Philadelphia. His sketch comedy featured the still-living brains of John and Robert Kennedy still running the nation between games of touch football. Tim helped create “The Kibbles and Bits of ‘Hellorama’” which FilmThreat.com called “’Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ meets ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse’ on crack.” He read slush for Weird Tales, where he studied editing and writing under Hugo Award-winning editor George Scithers. Today, Tim is a co-owner of Atomic City Comics in Philadelphia. His day job is producing video for a city government in Delaware.

Three Paragraphs

He grew up in the nation’s heartland, near some of the most notorious prisons in the U.S. He attended General George Patton Junior High School. He co-owns a comic book store. His grandfather invented the thing that keeps elevator doors from crushing your arm.

Born in East St. Louis and raised by a nomadic clan of social workers, Tim W. Burke grew up within a mile of Leavenworth Penitentiary and the prison that housed Martha Stewart. He learned to be a raconteur while roaming with his clan, avoided cattle stampedes and the Boy Scouts, and earned a black belt in Aikido. After graduating Temple University, he performed and published humor throughout Philadelphia. His sketch comedy featured the still-living brains of John and Robert Kennedy still running the nation between games of touch football. Tim helped create “The Kibbles and Bits of ‘Hellorama’” which FilmThreat.com called “’Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ meets ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse’ on crack.” He read slush for Weird Tales, where he studied editing and writing under Hugo Award-winning editor George Scithers. Today, Tim is a co-owner of Atomic City Comics in Philadelphia. His day job is producing video for a city government in Delaware.

His stories range from gaslight horrors to broad spec-fic farces. His protagonists range from a cybernetic tyrant Benjamin Franklin to a nerdy troubleshooting fiend with the head of a lamprey. Doomed high school students, crime survivors turned monsters, corpses kept alive by illusion square off with epic heroes battling post-quest neurosis. Tim has published several stories in publications with names like Weird Tales, Bewildering Stories, The Town Drunk, and A Fly In Amber, and in the more soothingly named The Willows.

The structure is a bit cliche. A radio commercial is running in my head, the one for Dos Equis (sp?) in my head, the one with "The Most Interesting Man In The World." Bullet point, bullet pint, bullet point, from that to this and this to that. Does this thing make you laugh?

What is my "style? Thoughts?

2008-07-15T03:42:45Z

I am trying to be funny here, but am not quite in a funny mood.

I am having a tough time getting a handle on my "style" and "what I do."

What do you expect when you read a Tim W. Burke story? Do I remind you of anyone?

Everything He Writes Is Comedy, Especially The Oogie Parts

He grew up in the nation’s heartland, within a mile of the most notorious prisons in the U.S.
Raised by a nomadic tribe of social workers.
Produced and performed in a DVDs available through Amazon.com, the satirical “The Kibbles and Bits of ‘Hellorama’” which FilmThreat.com called “’Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ meets ‘Pee Wee’s Playhouse’ on crack.”

His sketch comedy featured the still-living brains of John and Robert Kennedy still running the U.S. between games of touch football.

His stories range from gaslight horrors to broad spec-fic farces. His protagonists range from a cybernetic tyrant Benjamin Franklin to a nerdy fiend with the head of a lamprey.

He is a professional video producer for a city government .

Crime survivors turned monsters, corpses kept alive by the illusion of theatre square off with epic heroes battling post-quest neurosis.

Diagnosis from the DSM was never such a hoot.

He writes spec-fic humor, but the kind that Terry Pratchett would be glad to forget. (I know, too soon)

He's Joyce Carol Oates, except with jokes, and in a larger size of tweed skirt, and he doesn't write as much.

Hellboy 2 is the best! See it now!

2008-07-13T18:59:27Z

Who has a shorter lifespan than a redshirt on Star Trek, the original series?

A black suit from the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.

Cool suits. Ugly, ugly ways to die.

timwb @ 2008-07-11T19:11:00

2008-07-11T23:21:32Z

Could you all do an aspiring novelist a favor?

Not me, my friend/biz and creative partner fmyates

He is posting his novel as he is writing it. The novel is called "Pan".

It is a contemporary telling of the Peter Pan story, from the perspective of the father of a girl who runs off with Peter.

The story incorporates Greek mythology into the familiar tale, and Captain Hook is a hero.

It's re-e-e-eal dark, and he made some surprising discoveries.

Please please please stop by fmyates and have a read and cheer him on. Make it a regular visit if you can.

Off to see "Hellboy."

Been an interesting week

2008-07-11T01:25:59Z

The most frightening thing I have ever read was a "Bloom County" comic. The put-upon everykid Milo dreams of meeting his future self. His future self is slovenly, depressed, in poverty, clinging to his futurey TV while viewing his life as a waste. Milo awakes convinced of the dream's truth and resolves to change. Proudly, he jabs a thumb at his chest and proclaims, "I'm gonna have me *two* bowls of bran cereal this morning!" It gives me a light flu's worth of cosmic horror.

My mother fooled her three sons real good and kept us from discovering she has forgotten how to use her microwave and her clothes dryer. This has happened in the last six months. We are scrambling to find assisted living.

Otherwise, other personal problems yadda yadda.

One third of the way through suggested revisions on a 100K word novel

2008-06-29T21:53:45Z

That took a few hours, and yeah, I'm a pretty funny writer-guy.

"Hulk" Smash.

2008-06-29T02:54:08Z

It's worth paying to go see. That is all.

Bunch of Stuff All At Once

2008-06-28T02:41:32Z

First. A Red Sonja movie in the works from Robert Rodriguez, featuring Rose McGowan. Hey Rob, why cast your girlfriend Rose? "She's whip-smart," says Rob. Somebody's whipping something, says I.
I spent the better part of 7th grade entranced by the magazine racks of the 7-11 staring at chainmailed breasts. Rodriguez and McGowan, if you screw this up you will have my libido to answer to...

Next! Dita Von Teese, who's hair conditioner is 10% mink oil, from minks who lounge in velvet robes and read Anais Nin.

Now! I am over my medication and am sleeping better than I have in years. Flipside: the return of being anxious, sullen and impatient. However: being in the arts, this can mean $$$.

For this weekend, I have received a crit of my novel "The Mad Earl's Homecoming" from suricattus, who was dismayed over my lack of basic proofreading. I make no excuses, I expected to be taken to task over that. But i did not expect this: "...you’ve got a nice, fast-paced book here, with a lot of worldbuilding and plot crammed into a relatively small space, and yes, for the most part the humor works fine, once the reader's figured out the tone (it takes a chapter or so, but that's not a bad thing, in and of itself). I’m not sure what the market for this might be, in today’s Dark Urban Fantasy and Space Opera audience, but six years ago Urban Fantasy was moribund too, so all you need is an editor who thinks it’s worth a chance..."
After 10 years, to have a professional editor say "funny" makes it -- oh who am I kidding, it's still an ordeal, but at least a rewarding ordeal.
How petrini1 has written and published four hundred novels, I have no idea.
Suricattus, you are the gurhka. Where you point, I will make civilization.

timwb @ 2008-06-22T22:28:00

2008-06-23T02:45:37Z

Getting to know people results in getting to know myself. The former is like discovering the mysteries of a neighboring valley, the latter is like a sinkhole opening in your living room and finding something had always been just under your feet, waiting.

Sometimes its something I've always taken for granted, and I'm happy that others are happy to receive it when i give it to them. Sometimes its just a hole, a seemingly bottomless and unsettling hole.

"Character' is in fixing that hole.

Item one: if I want other people around, it doesn't pay to ever be sullen and uncommunicative.

Perhaps I have a cursed story?

2008-06-13T02:26:05Z

My story "The Infinite Bean" seems to have swallowed two entire editorial staffs.

Chaos Theory has had it since last November, and an inquiry got the reply "swamped."

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine has not responded even to inquiries since April. Obviously my story prefers Auzzie cuisine.

timwb @ 2008-06-12T21:44:00

2008-06-13T02:06:54Z

Lawrence at klingonguy has been talking about health. I have some strange health related news, some good, some odd.

I had one of those heart-sonar thingees, and it said my heart was in the lowest percentile for my age for goop in the veins. I am near goopless, so i celebrated by eating handfuls of Crisco from the can.

The Blood Bank called and wanted me to donate. Seems I had forgotten that on my only other visit, I was told I am Type AB-. i resolve to donate as often as i can. It will give the nanites the widest possible dispersal.

Ever taper off Effexor? Brain zaps, dizziness, and I am beginning to suspect mood swings. A Whole Month Of This. i had thought the moodiness was due to the avalanche of actingbunny into my life, but lately not so sure.

Actingbunny is camping until Sunday. i am hoping to get writing done before i am again texting and calling like a moon-eyed freshman.

Taken up yoga again (the crank-up-the-heat-and-beat-you -to-death-$12-per-session-$4-for-mat-$200-for-water style). Why? So I can look hot(ter) for actingbunny.

Moon
Eyed
Fresh
man

New Story Published

2008-06-11T02:36:56Z

"Our Confounding Father, Benjamin Franklin" is now up at Bewildering Stories.

I had sent some great revisions in, which i had made with thanks to Cathy at petrini1. they have not been posted, but I'm not sweating it.

if I resell, or when I put the story up on Fictionwise or somewhere, I'll put up the revised version.