I'm a Guest of Honor at Penguicon 2018!

The announcement of this went over my head (which is understandable, since the weekend it went live was when I was doing the first round of high-level edits on my book), so I'm glad I can tell you all this exciting news. I've attended Penguicon twice (once as a Special Guest), and they've gone ahead and made me a SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME GUEST OF HONOR FOR 2018!

I love this convention, and it always makes me thrilled to see a community devoted to creating a culture that means what it says. They have a great Code of Conduct (that they're willing to enforce, too!); the atmosphere at the con is very different from practically every SF-style con I've been to; IT IS SO VERY GAY AND QUEER ALL THE TIME; and it is the convention that kicked off my now-infamous tradition of reading Chuck Tingle stories to unsuspecting congoers.

So yeah, I am incredibly thrilled that I get to be a GoH. You can already purchase your membership for next year for the bargain price of $45 for the whole weekend. The convention will take place May 4 - May 6, 2018, at the Southfield Westin in Southfield, MI, which is just outside of Detroit.

SCREECHES EXCITEDLY INTO THE NIGHT.

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of June 2

Hello, readers and watchers! I am now fully settled in New York City, though I'm adjusting to a lot of things. Namely: TIME ZONES. I have run the entire Mark Does Stuff universe on the West coast, so that's why I panicked today when I thought my posts hadn't gone up at the right time. It was actually because they're three hours later than I'm used to. I thought about changing the time to be relative to me, but there's no need for that; we'll just keep chugging along. 

Anyway, here's what I reviewed this week!

Mark Reads

The Truth, Part 5: In which William learns of the power of the news.
Wizards at War, Chapter 12, Part I: In which Sker'ret makes a vital decision. 
The Truth, Part 6: In which this book is way too relevant.
Wizards at War, Chapter 12, Part II: In which HESPER SPEAKS and I am not ready.
The Truth, Part 7: In which this book addresses investigative journalism.

Mark Watches

Voyager 7x15: In which Janeway continues to awe me because she's the best.
Voyager 7x16: In which the show unnerves me relentlessly.
Voyager 7x17: In which the second part of this story is executed much better than I expected.
Voyager 7x18: In which Seven is curious about human interaction and OW MY HEART.
Voyager 7x19: In which I wish this episode was... good. At all.

I am thrilled that my schedule resumes on Monday, which means that Gargoyles videos are coming back!!! DOUBLE FEATURES YAY!!!

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of May 26

Hello again, readers and watchers! I've had a normal week on both my review sites while my own personal life is a ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS. I'm writing this up while at WisCon in Madison, WI, and I am also in between homes. It's very exciting and scary, but I find it quite comforting to know that I got all these reviews done so that there's some normalcy in our lives. Anyway, here's what I covered this past week:

Mark Reads

Wizards at War, Chapter 10, Part II: In which I am DESTROYED. 
The Truth, Part 4: In which a new character creates something new for Ankh-Morpork.
Wizards at War, Chapter 11, Part I: In which I truly learn about the Yaldiv and am ruined.
The Truth, Part 4: In which I settle into this book and try to predict things.
Wizards at War, Chapter 11, Part II: In which I realize I didn't know ANYTHING about the Yaldiv.

Mark Watches

Voyager 7x10: In which the Doctor has a crisis and B'Elanna makes a friend.
Voyager 7x11: In which this is REALLY WEIRD. 
Voyager 7x12: In which this episode goes HARD and breaks my heart.
Voyager 7x13: In which a neat episode is ruined by a thing.
Voyager 7x14: In which B'Elanna deals with some bizarre behavior. 

 Thanks for following along! We are VERY CLOSE to the return of reviews for Gargoyles. I can't wait!

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of May 19

Hello, readers and watchers! Another week has successfully gone by in the Mark Does Stuff universe. So what did I cover this time around?

Mark Reads

The Fifth Elephant, Part 19: In which I finish this wonderful, touching book.
Wizards at War, Chapter 9, Part II: In which Dairine arrives and changes everything.
The Truth, Part 1: In which I begin my twenty-fifth Discworld novel. 
Wizards at War, Chapter 10, Part I: In which the war begins. 
The Truth, Part 2: In which I keep trying to guess what the hell this book is.

Mark Watches

Voyager 7x05: In which the show is TOO GODDAMN REAL. 
Voyager 7x06: In which this is really upsetting. 
Voyager 7x07: In which a cool idea has a weird, uncomfortable execution.
Voyager 7x08: In which Harry's promotion is... not really a promotion at all. 
Voyager 7x09: In which the Doctor pursues his own agenda at great cost.

Enjoy, friends! Onwards we go into another week of me losing myself in fiction.

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of May 12

Hello, friends! We've got another week of Discworld, Young Wizards, and Star Trek: Voyager that I covered, but there's also a surprise at the end of this. Here's what I did over the past five days:

Mark Reads

Wizards At War, Chapter 8, Part I: In which I try to be prepared for the onslaught.
The Fifth Elephant, Part 17: In which I am destroyed by an antagonist.
Wizards At War, Chapter 8, Part II: In which I can't. Cannot. Is unable to.
The Fifth Elephant, Part 18: In which I am taken out by the biggest reveal ever.
Wizards At War, Chapter 9, Part I: In which I read about a nightmare world.

Mark Watches

Voyager Season 7 Predictions: In which I give my very last batch of Voyager predictions.
Voyager 7x01: In which season 7 starts out with heartbreak and intensity.
Voyager 7x02: In which this show is not okay.
Voyager 7x03: In which the writing for this show is not okay.
Voyager 7x04: In which a cool premise falls apart in the end.

Bonus

Mark Reads Dark Horses: I feel like I should give some context for this. I actually posted it on May 4th, but it deserves highlighting here. Due to a Twitter conversation I had with my friend Wendy, I decided to take some time off from writing to record myself reading a choice selection of this book. It was... very interesting. I didn't know that there was a market for serial killer/controlling horse boyfriends, but hey! You learn something new every day.

Mark Does Stuff is relocating...

...to New York City!

Peace.

A post shared by Mark Oshiro (@markdoesstuff) on Nov 11, 2016 at 11:04am PST

After a failed attempt to move east two years ago, I have a place to stay in NYC, and I'm making it happen! I'll be moving right after WisCon, which is one of the main reasons that I've had to put my Gargoyles reviews on hold. (It is pretty much impossible to pull those off on top of book editing, packing, selling off furniture, flying out to Madison, AND moving across the country). 

This won't affect normal reviews, as I'm scheduling myself to have at least a couple weeks off once I arrive in New York. The only major change is that my P.O. box in Los Angeles will be closed down by May 25 and I will be without snail mail address for a couple months. If you desperately need to send something, please reach out to me by email or through my Contact page. 

I'm thrilled (and, of course, slightly terrified) to be moving to the East Coast. Feel free to use the comments for any NYC advice because I DEFINITELY NEED IT.

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of April 28

It'll be a hot minute before Double Features are back regularly, so enjoy this week's set of Gargoyles reviews! You'll know why they've taken a break very shortly, but for now, here are the reviews posted this past week:

Mark Reads

Wizards at War, Chapter 5, Part I: In which Dairine learns more about Roshaun's life.
The Fifth Elephant, Part 12: In which Vimes discovers things.
Wizards at War, Chapter 5, Part II: In which I meet Roshaun's father.
Mark Reads ‘The Fifth Elephant’: Part 13: In which I yell at every Discworld fan ever.
Wizards at War, Chapter 6: In which I yell at every Young Wizards fan ever.

Mark Watches

Voyager 6x17: In which I actually enjoy a Fair Haven episode.
Voyager 6x18: In which this is very weird and very messed up.
Voyager 6x19: In which the last act's twist ruined me.
Voyager 6x20: In which the show tries and... that's about it.
Voyager 6x21: In which I have a lot of fun.

Gargoyles 2x06: In which Broadway teams up with Elisa.
Gargoyles 2x07: In which I can barely believe this happened.
Gargoyles 2x08: In which I take it back because how did THIS happen.
Gargoyles 2x09: In which I lied because how does this show keep escalating.
Gargoyles 2x10: In which I cry for help because this is where I am cliffhanger'd.

Mark Does Stuff Review Round-Up: Week of April 14, 2017

Hello again, readers and watchers! This week has provided you with my continued journey through Star Trek: Voyager, The Fifth Elephant, and Wizards at War. In cased you missed it, here's what I reviewed this week: 

Mark Reads

Wizards at War, Chapter 1: In which I learn just how real this book gets in one chapter.
The Fifth Elephant, Part 7: In which I am shocked by an appearance and some violence.
Wizards at War, Chapter 2: In which the stakes are raised and everything escalates.
The Fifth Elephant, Part 8: In which I am truly unready for the final scene. 
Wizards at War, Chapter 3, Part I: In which a character I forgot about provides a solution.

Mark Watches

Voyager 6x08: In which heartbreak looms.
Voyager 6x09: In which I get emotional about conspiracy theories.
Voyager 6x10: In which a Next Generation character re-appears and I cry. Again.
Galaxy Quest: In which I watch the greatest Star Trek movie of all time.
Voyager 6x11: In which I don't actually like this all that much.

That's all for this week! Stay tuned next week for THE RETURN OF MARK WATCHES GARGOYLES!