Sometimes the night is generous

Oh no they didn't. They did! Those crazy fools, what were they thinking?

Continuing their promotion for the Kindle edition of Mutant Cinema by Tom McLean, Sequart has now made Minutes to Midnight: Twelve Essays on Watchmen, edited by yours truly, a free download for Kindle from now until midnight Pacific time. You can download each book by clicking on its title.

I don't need to repeat yet again how proud I am of the book -- created by the stellar contributors listed at right, down where it says "Legendary Beings" -- and how tickled I am to have my name on said volume. If you've read the previous entries of this blog you already know how I feel about it. I won't belabor the point. But I will venture this: if you've been even mildly curious about Minutes to Midnight but weren't sure if it was really worth the investment in these uncertain economic times, I can safely say it's almost certainly at least worth the price of absolutely free.

Like yesterday, this offer lasts only 24 hours and the clock is already ticking. Don't put it off too long -- you know how tense those final minutes before the clock strikes twelve can be.

[And again, the offer has ended. Early signs are the promotion has been a huge success. I have to thank everyone who helped out in amplifying the signal on this one, whether because you're a friend of mine or a complete stranger who spread the word because interest in the original Watchmen has risen for some reason. Either way, many thanks!]

Consternation and uproar

How is this even possible? From now until midnight Pacific time, Sequart (publisher of scholarly tomes on comic books and related culture) is making the Kindle editions of both Mutant Cinema by Tom McLean, a study of the X-Men film trilogy, and the anthology Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes edited by Tim Callahan available as free downloads for Kindle. All you have to do is click on those titles and each book is yours for no cost whatsoever.

If you don't own a Kindle and you've been thinking "I'd love to try out the free Kindle reader software for my PC or Mac but there simply aren't any critical analyses of the original X-Men film trilogy available for it," this is indeed your lucky day.

If you just now said to yourself "That's all well and good, but a hefty collection of entertaining and insightful essays about the adventures of teen super-heroes in the 30th Century is more my cup of tea, if only it were available in a more convenient form so I don't have to lug around such a heavy volume," then step right up.

And if you've ever voiced the sentiment "I certainly would love to read that essay my good friend Richard Bensam is so proud of, that one about the death and resurrection of Lightning Lad called 'The Perfect Storm' but quite frankly I am reluctant to sully our friendship with something so crude and base as a financial transaction, if only there were some more noble alternative," this is a wonderful solution to your dilemma.

Remember, this offer lasts only 24 hours and presumably some of those hours will already have passed by the time you read this. So act now! Supplies aren't limited but time is.

[Update: And this offer is now over. Thanks to everyone who downloaded a copy; I'm pleased to say the promotion has been a great success!]

Number one dream

I don't normally record my dreams, much less share them with people, but last night I had one of the best dreams I ever had in my life. This one I have to share. I swear this is an actual dream, and not embellished or improved in any way for dramatic effect.

In the dream, I was watching behind-the-scenes film footage of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and two other British rockers I can't identify (but I knew who they were in the dream) rehearsing on a soundstage for some sort of all-star performance. One of the musicians I can't name was a white-hair gent I'm sure is someone in real life that I've seen on television recently, a rock star of equivalent fame, but I can't place him just now. They were between songs, and they were having a discussion about George Formby.

"A few years back my boy and I went to see the museum," the white-haired musician was telling Mick and Keith. "He was allowed to hold George's uke in his hands."

Keith nodded with understanding. "Number thirteen, right?"

"No! Number one!" replied the white-haired rocker with obvious triumph. "When I'm Cleaning Windows. Blackpool Rock. All the big ones." Mick and Keith were visibly impressed that the white-haired fellow's son had actually been allowed to hold the most cherished of all Formby's ukeleles.

The notion that George Formby had a collection of special ukeleles, and that Keith Richards and Mick Jagger and other British rockers would all be big enough fans of Formby to know each instrument individually and which one was used to perform which song, delights me. I have no idea where the dream came from...but I can wish that maybe, just maybe, it's secretly true.