Club Jade

• Extreme geekitude: Wired.com introduces the internet at large to the Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.

• Alcohol: I’m not sure I can approve of Skittles-infused vodka.
• Blast from the past: The ten ultimate components of a geeky eighties childhood. I’m sorry to say that He-Man (well, She-Ra) was my very first obsession. And yet, Star Wars was ‘boy stuff.’ Go figure.
• Gaming: A look at pregnancy in video games.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is coming in April (and not the first, either) from Chronicle Books. I know you guys will want to read this one. Just check out the blurb:

As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.

How could any zombie fan resist? (Or is Elizabeth Bennet, Zombie Slayer, a sign that the trend has finally played out?)

There is no Christian Bale fan fiction here. We like him and all, but not that much. ClubJade.net might come up in Google for it (okay, I can’t find it, but I guess someone did) but all our fanfic is old and about the fictional people of Star Wars.

Answerer 3: It’s called Real Person Fiction, and it does indeed exist. There have been some actual fandoms devoted to the stuff. Sorry.

But since you clicked, have a consolation prize.

Your only visual Star Wars fix returns with ‘Cloak of Darkness’ tonight, complete with…. Surprise James Marsters?!? (The hell?) In less shocking news, Ashley Eckstein and a new webcomic, ‘Transfer.’ UPDATE Annnnd Olivia d’Abo.

As for the fannish side of things, the ForceCast has Kevin Rubio and a ‘Bombad Jedi’ roundtable. Plus, the Galactic Senate message boards are holding a Clone Wars fanfic contest, with actual prizes and everything. (via)

Holiday Special week fallout: Han Solo’s little-known furry roots glommed on by internets, many bad jokes (and debate?!?) ensue.

Better a Wookiee than a Selonian, I guess. (We’ll leave them to Corran.)

• Fanfic: Simon Pegg wrote some. No, for real.

• Appearances: Guess who showed up at the re-opening of the National Museum of American History? Artoo! We never would have guessed he was so patriotic. (Thanks, Stooge!)
• Lists: Topless Robot is on a roll with Five reasons Padme is a complete idiot. (Dude, I keep sayin’…) and the ten biggest robot bastards.
• Gaming: The problems inherent in Lego Star Wars.

Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins read David Tennant some ‘explicit’ Who fanfic. His reaction is priceless. (via)

There’s a sequel! And also this. I know we have the near-illiterate fanboys, so why isn’t our badfic half this hilarious?

There’s been an interesting fanfic discussion thread over on TFN’s Literature boards, and for a conversation I thought would drop like a stone it’s actually turned out fairly interesting. (Silly title and all.)

Things are starting to get a little heated towards the end, but such is the risk one takes with TFN.

Literary agent Colleen Lindsay was submitted a Star Trek novel. Her advice:

Do not EVER – under any circumstances – send an agent a query for a novel based on someone else’s characters or world. Just don’t.

As for this poor, ignorant person, I give them 1.5 Jareos.

For more on the subject, I refer you to several of our own professonals: Rodger McBride Allen, Karen Traviss, and Abel G. Peña. You might also want to check out Keith R.A. DeCandido’s post on the difference between profic and fanfic.

Following in the hallowed footsteps of Lori Jareo, Austin P. Torney self-publishes Star Trek: The Death Wave. His cover makes Jareo’s look quite classy… and check out this summary:

An original screenplay/novelette that answers the question of how the warlike Klingons of Captain Kirk’s era came to their end and were replaced by the somewhat friendlier Klingons of the new generation; however, this story does not dwell much upon the Klingons, but upon Kirk’s forced retirement at age 65 and his return from it through a war for the galaxy in which he must become the ultimate chess master.

Might I interest sir in a period? (via)