New Podcast!

Hi everyone, I posted an episode to my podcast! The Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast returns!



Click this link to check it out:

Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast Episode Seventy

More at glowinthedarkradio.com

- Mike

Mike Luoma Book News

I Just sent this out as an email update, thought I'd include it here on the blog:

Hello from Mike Luoma!

Please excuse this mass mailing. You're getting this because you've either emailed me or been a friend of mine through the years. Either way, if this sort of “what I've been up to” email isn't to your taste, please let me know and I will take your name off of my rudimentary email list. I'm doing this by hand, so please let me know if you don't want to receive emails. On the other hand, if you know of other people who would like to get this kind of info, please forward this to them. If you've received this as a forward, please drop me an email at glowinthedarkradio@gmail.com if you'd like to be on the list. Thanks!

In case you haven't heard, I've got a new column I'm writing for the “cosmic” comic book site CosmicBookNews.com (http://www.cosmicbooknews.com) where I'm detailing the creation of my comic book series Panthea Obscura. The fourth issue of Panthea Obscura is almost finished! If you need to catch up on the first three issues, you can do that for FREE a couple of ways. You can download the issues as pdf files from my site, http://glowinthedarkradio.com. If you're not into downloading, you can read them online at DrunkDuck.com. Just head over to http://www.drunkduck.com/Panthea_Obscura.com and go back to the beginning.

I've also hooked up with a new printer for the comic books – Ka-Blam.com! They know comics, they do comics well, and I can sell my books through their site IndyPlanet.com. Best of all, my comic books cost A THIRD of what they were costing at lulu.com! You can get issue one for $3.99, issues two and three for $2.99 each – very competitive! Follow the links from my site http://glowinthedarkradio.com to pick up the books on Indy Planet.

The Vatican Abdicator audiobook is DONE! I just uploaded the final recording this past weekend. This means you can now listen to the entire Vatican Assassin Trilogy for FREE! The last four episodes of Vatican Abdicator cover the trilogy's appendix, the background material for the story. All three books are available on Itunes for free download, or you can go directly to the books sites at Podiobooks.com to listen:
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-ambassador
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/vatican-abdicator

If you'd like to pick up the books themselves, head on over to http//glowinthedarkradio.com and follow the links. You'll find a new 3-in-1 Omnibus Special Edition Hardcover of the entire Vatican Assassin Trilogy – all three books under one cover, plus the Appendix! Here's a direct link to the new collected edition: http://www.lulu.com/content/5097584

And... I've also created a stand alone paperback edition of the Appendix, in case you already have the paperback books and don't want to buy the same thing twice. Seemed like the right thing to do. Might also be good background material if you've listened to the series. Just $9.99 for the trade paperback or 99 cents for the download: http://www.lulu.com/content/6106627

All of my books are available through my site http://glowinthedarkradio.com. Most are available through Amazon.Com as well.

On a sad note, I'm no longer working for The Point on the radio in Vermont. We'll see what the next chapter brings...

That's it for this time! Drop me an email if you feel like. Please forward this email to any friends who might be into science fiction and comic books. And again, please let me know if this annoys you and you want off the list. Thanks!

Mike

News from The Cutting Edge: ComicsMonkey.com!

News from the world of comic book publishing! Diamond, the near-monopoly for comic book distribution, announced a couple Fridays ago they were going to up their "benchmarks" for the books they'd carry in their catalog: you have to sell more books or they won't list you. Many small publishers heard the news as a death knell of sorts. Diamond enjoys a near monopoly as their catalog is used by most direct market comic book retailers exclusively, and there's no competing national distributor.

Now the folks that brought us Ka-Blam.com and IndyPlanet.com have announced Print-On-Demand Distribution to Direct Market retailers: ComicsMonkey.com was just rolled out today!

Ka-Blam's Comics Monkey could create a new distribution network to, in effect, replace the smaller scale distribution Diamond is abandoning! They've hinted at something in the works for a while now. They stepped up their hints last week, and have now revealed Comics Monkey POD distribution.

Ka-Blam.com is the print-on-demand site. IndyPlanet.com is their on-line store, and now ComicsMonkey.com will be their distribution/retailer hub. All that's there now is the blog entry describing what they're attempting to do, and what numbers they're anticipating for retailer profit and publisher percentage (sort of the "royalty" payment):

http://www.comicsmonkey.com

I'm very excited! I've got my books up on IndyPlanet.com right now (Panthea Obscura Issue One, Issue Two and Issue Three) and if they can pull this off, it will give me distribution into local comic shops everywhere... if they order the book. It at the very least makes the books available to retailers who might sell them.

Good news!

On The Cutting Edge of Publishing

Haven't had much to post about, seems...

Here's an interesting article from TIME magazine over how publishing is changing:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1873122,00.html

And another article from TIME on how the very way I've been promoting my book through making it available as a Free, Downloadable Audiobook Podcast through Podiobooks.com just might be part of the future of publishing:

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1872381,00.html

Explore more at http://podiobooks.com

James Bond... as a Priest?

So the new James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" is out today... I'll have to check it out this weekend! Some folks say they think my lead character in the Vatican Assassin trilogy is kind of like James Bond in space, if he was a priest (but Moonraker it ain't). Bernard Campion or "BC" as he's known certainly has a license to kill... for the Pope. It all starts in 2109. BC is on a mission to kill the Governor of Lunar Prime, the main city on the Moon. She's collaborating with the enemy - the Muslims of the Universal Islamic Nation or UIN, headquartered on Mars.

In case you've come in late, I've got three science fiction novels out, my Vatican Assassin Trilogy: Vatican Assassin (2005), Vatican Ambassador (2007) and Vatican Abdicator (2008).

The best part? You can listen to me reading you all three books for FREE!
Vatican Assassin
Vatican Ambassador
Vatican Abdicator (in progress)

As a radio announcer as well as a novelist, I've been podcasting the chapters of my books since 2006. You can find them on Itunes by searching for MIKE LUOMA. Or just go to the books themselves on Podiobooks.com, a site dedicated to offering free audiobooks as downloadable podcasts: Vatican Assassin - Vatican Ambassador - Vatican Abdicator. So if you're itchin' for a little interstellar assassin action, give a listen!

By the way... If you're into the Amazon Kindle, you can get each book for just 99 cents!
Vatican Assassin
Vatican Ambassador
Vatican Abdicator

Barack Obama for President

Just wanted to state publicly, here on my blog, something folks who know me have known for a long time. I am supporting Barack Obama for President of the United States. I urge you to get out and vote, and to vote for Obama, this coming Tuesday, November 4th.

I first became aware of Barack Obama during the run-up to the 2004 Democratic Convention, when he was announced as Keynote speaker. Although it was John Kerry's convention, after hearing Obama's keynote speech the talk among my friends was, "Why isn't this guy running for President?!" He grabbed my attention and the attention of many with that speech. I wanted to find out more, so I bought his book The Audacity of Hope when it came out. "Audacity" covered Obama's outlook on politics, America, and what it was like to be the freshman Senator from Illinois. Reading the book, I agreed with his outlook, his clarity of vision, and his pragmatic approach to problem solving. At the time, he wasn't sure he was going to run. After reading the book, I truly hoped Obama would run. My hope was that there would finally be a candidate I could vote for... as opposed to the many years when I was voting against the other guy while only half-heartedly supporting the candidate who received my vote. When Obama announced his candidacy in early 2007 in Springfield, Illinois I was instantly onboard.

I am not a fan of Bill Clinton. I am a proud liberal, and have no patience for those who concede the term to Republican smearing. The United States of America is founded on and based in liberalism. You would not know this, the way the right has disgracefully used the term to focus their derision, and the Democrats let them get away with this for far too long! Clinton's brand of Democratic Party gives in to the Republican's "liberal" smear campaign and instead tries to be more like the Republican Party. Corporations are favored over individual citizens. Clinton is a Corporacrat, not a Democrat. Hillary Clinton promised more of the same. Her smear tactics in the primary campaign were disgraceful. Her suggestion that Obama might be assassinated during the campaign was outrageous, and planted dangerous ideas in the minds of madmen. Her attempts to smear Obama with guilt by association with Reverend Wright and William Ayers were also despicable. And these tactics provided grist for the John McCain campaign's "dark satanic mills" (to quote Blake). What sort of Democrat stoops to these gutter lows against another Democrat? Obama's primary win was a vindication for the Liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

Then there's John McCain. I respected McCain when he ran in 2000. I didn't agree with him on many things then, certainly not his anti-choice stance. I still do not understand how a party that claims to want government "out of our Lives" can be so intrusive, nay, invasive! This and other internal contradictions have finally eaten through the rotten core of the Republican party, causing the collapse we see today. The wave of Republican endorsements for Obama comes from the old school conservative wing that clearly despises the intrusive nature and ugly personal politics employed by the hardcore new right. The old school conservative right feels betrayed by McCain, who, in 2000, was numbered among them despite his anti-choice stance. Some time after he lost the Republican Primary in 2000, John McCain decided, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" He began to support George W. Bush in every way, shape and form he could, seeing this as his road to the WhiteHouse. The "old" McCain was gone. For him to campaign as a Maverick NOW is ridiculous.

And the McCain campaign has been despicable. Lies, distortions, half truths, innuendos... if John McCain wins, it will be because he's convinced a lot of people to support him based on misinformation and lies. "Joe The Plumber" is the most glaring example of this. First of all, his name isn't Joe, and he isn't a plumber. He's not buying the business he spoke of, he thinks he might like to some day. The plumbing business he spoke of is not a $250,000 business, but instead a $150,000/year business. The business will not incur any greater taxes under the Obama plan. "Joe" himself will actually get more money back under Obama's plan than McCains. That's right. "Joe's" taxes will go down under Obama. But the McCain campaign has lied about all of this consistently, trying to corner the blue collar vote by lying to them... or worse, by providing the white blue collar worker afraid of a black candidate with a rationalization for voting against Obama, even though the rationalization is untrue and fallacious.

In contrast, the Obama campaign has relied on facts. There is no need to lie when the country is in the shape it's in. There's no need to lie when you put all your plans for governance out with transparency and clarity.

Barack Obama for President!

Panthea Obscura Video Trailer!

Can't believe it! Juan Carlos put together a video trailer for our comic book! He did it all, even the music! Check it out, and let me know what you think:

New! "TOO MANY MORONS" T-Shirts!!

Just got inspired to put together some shirts featuring the "catchphrase" of my character Troy, the Destroyer from Panthea Obscura, "Too Many Morons!" They're for sale in a wide assortment of styles and colors over at my "Panthea Obscura" Cafe Press store: http://www.cafepress.com/pantheaobscura

Art Dump!

It's been a while since I've posted any original art... thought it was time for an Art Dump!
Click on the image for a (slightly) larger size









I'm putting some of these designs on T-Shirts... click on the Doodlerama Store link to get yours Today!

VATICAN ABDICATOR is out as of TODAY!

I gave the go ahead this afternoon. VATICAN ABDICATOR is out as of now!

This is the conclusion of the VATICAN ASSASSIN Trilogy, the follow-up to VATICAN AMBASSADOR.

Bernard Campion is back. He's the Pope? And there are aliens out to kill or control humanity?

Things aren't looking good for BC. Or for any of us, for that matter!

The "official" release date will be this Friday, August 8th.

The FREE audiobook goes live this Friday at Podiobooks.com! I'll be reading a chapter each week. If you haven't listened yet, you can catch up on the series. Both Vatican Assassin and Vatican Ambassador are available now at Podiobooks.com.

For those who wonder... The book won't be available on Amazon.com until early September. It takes 6 to 8 weeks for the book to list there. I've ordered copies for the local stores as well.

I've written more about the book and the series over at vaticanabdicator.com.

Always more over at glowinthedarkradio.com, too!

Panthea Obscura #3 Out NOW!!

I've spent the evening updating web sites, fixing graphics, checking links... made a new banner:






Feel free to download and use the banner to spread the word about Panthea Obscura!

Here's the Lulu Page: Panthea Obscura #3

Downloads are 99 cents!

High Quality, Ad Free Print copies are $6.99.

And you can still get the first two issues free!
Download the PDFs right from http://glowinthedarkradio.com.

Got the proof copy of Panthea Obscura #3 in last night... here I am holding it in my hot little hands... OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE JULY 23, 2008!!

Take a look at Panthea Obscura Issue #3 Page One!

Written by me -Mike Luoma
Art by Juan Carlos Quattordio
Lettering by Pablo Lizalde

Click for a larger version...
Coming soon!

Get Him While He's HOT!

This is SO preliminary as to be premature... but it's also so cool I had to share it with you! I'm working on a new Super Hero story pitch with artist Rhys ap Gwyn, and he's graced my desk (er, desktop computer, actually) with this pin up of our lead character...

INTRODUCING... RED HOT!!



Watch this space for FUTURE DETAILS...

What A Review...

Vatican Ambassador was reviewed this week over at Time Well Wasted... it's quite a review! Read it here:

Vatican Assassin Podcast Reviewed!

Gemini over at "Time Well Wasted" took the time to listen to my "Vatican Assassin" podcast and give it a fair and sometimes stingingly accurate review. You can read the review here.

Looking for Artists/Collaborators Horror Project

I'm going to pitch this but have no guarantee it will be picked up. This should at least be a web comic, so we may be able to make some cash that way. No illusions, no promises. You feel like taking the chance? Read on...

The Horror project is both the oldest and the newest project I've been working on. It's called "The Gnostic", and it's the story of a modern day college student who discovers that an ancient ancestor has let a demonic force loose into our reality... and he has to stop it or everyone dies.

More in a bit.

I'm Mike Luoma, a writer and artist, mostly writer. I've just put out a second edition of my Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ which I wrote, drew and self published. And Troy Brownfield on Newsarama raved: "...it's for books like this one that I love doing this column... a damn fine example of what 'independent comic' really means. The fact that it's entertaining, informative and occasionally gut-bustingly funny is all icing..."

I'm also putting out Panthea Obscura: Deifornication with Juan Carlos Quattordio. Newsarama said, "Brought to you by Mike Luoma, the guy who did the sublime Holy ____!: Or Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ, Panthea Obscura trades heavily on two trademarks that Luoma established in that earlier book: a fine eye for cultural weirdness, and lacerating humor..."

So there's that...

I've been working on the ideas for this one for a while. I've been drawing the first pages myself, but... I want something better. Maybe you can provide that something.

Here are the early pages I've drawn which feature the ancient ancestor doing his thing:
Page One
Page Two
Page Three
Page Four
Page Five Pencils
Page Six Pencils
Page Seven Pencils

A couple years back I was approached by a now-defunkt company interested my writing. They commissioned me to do scipts for their superhero line, were interested in a horror graphic novel I was developing, and they were talking about adapting my science fiction novel "Vatican Assassin" to the graphic form. Unfortunately, the company fell apart, I made no money, but there were no hard feelings... They got me writing at a good clip and made me get off my arse to develop projects that had been incubating. "The Gnostic" was one of those. After developing a couple other projects, I want to develop this one further.

If you want to read the project outline you can download it here:
"The Gnostic" Outline

If you're still reading, thanks! If you're interested in maybe collaborating on this, drop me a line at glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net. My website is glowinthedarkradio.com.

Looking For Artists/Collaborator: Super Hero

I'm going to pitch this but have no guarantee it will be picked up. This should at least be a web comic, so we may be able to make some cash that way. No illusions, no promises. You feel like taking the chance? Read on...

I'm looking for an illustrator for PROOF. It's a three issue mini about how you prove yourself as a super hero, told from the POV of RED HOT, a third-generation hero trying to make a name for himself and failing miserably. In issue #1 he tries to stop a bank robbery he's tipped off on, only to find that the "robber" is MIND MAN, another better-established hero!

More in a bit.

I'm Mike Luoma, a writer and artist, mostly writer. I've just put out a second edition of my Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ which I wrote, drew and self published. And Troy Brownfield on Newsarama raved: "...it's for books like this one that I love doing this column... a damn fine example of what 'independent comic' really means. The fact that it's entertaining, informative and occasionally gut-bustingly funny is all icing..."

I'm also putting out Panthea Obscura: Deifornication with Juan Carlos Quattordio. Newsarama said, "Brought to you by Mike Luoma, the guy who did the sublime Holy ____!: Or Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ, Panthea Obscura trades heavily on two trademarks that Luoma established in that earlier book: a fine eye for cultural weirdness, and lacerating humor..."

So there's that...

PROOF features a lived in universe where the heroes have come together as "The Team", originally led by the enigmatic MIND MAN and now under the auspices of strongman LEADER ONE. RED HOT's father was the original RED HOT and his grandfather was REDDY HOTMAN, both members of The Team in their day. RED HOT wants to prove he can join the ranks of The Team.

The scripts for all three issues are done. A couple years back I was approached by a now-defunkt company interested my writing. They commissioned me to do scipts for their superhero line, were interested in a horror graphic novel I was developing, and they were talking about adapting my science fiction novel "Vatican Assassin" to the graphic form. Unfortunately, the company fell apart, I made no money, but there were no hard feelings... PROOF was a concept I adapted to fit the company's characters... now I'm taking it back and retooling it, taking it back to the original concept and form.

If you're still reading, thanks! If you're interested in maybe collaborating on this, drop me a line at glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net. My website is glowinthedarkradio.com.

Looking for Artists/Collaborators

Well, I've been posting on Digital Webbing and had a couple of nibbles, but no real success on finding a collaborator on these projects. Here's what I've been posting:

I'm going to pitch this but have no guarantee it will be picked up. At the very least this will be a web comic, so we may be able to make some cash that way. No illusions, no promises. You feel like taking the chance? Read on...

I'm looking for an illustrator for Vatican Assassin. It's 2109. The Universal Trade Zone (UTZ) rules the Earth alongside its ally, the New catholic Church (NcC). They're at war with the Universal Islamic Nation (UIN), the Muslims now exiled to Mars. We follow the lead character as he works as an assassin for the NcC...

More in a bit.

I'm Mike Luoma, a writer and artist, mostly writer. I've just put out a second edition of my Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ which I wrote, drew and self published. And Troy Brownfield on Newsarama raved: "...it's for books like this one that I love doing this column... a damn fine example of what 'independent comic' really means. The fact that it's entertaining, informative and occasionally gut-bustingly funny is all icing..."

I'm also putting out Panthea Obscura: Deifornication with Juan Carlos Quattordio. Newsarama said, "Brought to you by Mike Luoma, the guy who did the sublime Holy ____!: Or Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ, Panthea Obscura trades heavily on two trademarks that Luoma established in that earlier book: a fine eye for cultural weirdness, and lacerating humor..."

So there's that...

Vatican Assassin is a science fiction adventure set in the near future. Bernard Campion or "BC" as he's better known, kills people for the Pope. As the story begins, he's on the Moon attempting to assassinate the Governor of Lunar Prime. But it's not going so well...

Vatican Assassin is already a novel and a Podiobooks podcast. It's the first book in a Trilogy. Book Two: Vatican Ambassador is out now, and it's an ongoing podcast at Podiobooks. I'm working on the third draft of Book Three: Vatican Abdicator right now. Well, I'm writing this post right now, but you know what I mean.

A couple years back I was approached by a now-defunkt company interested in adapting Vatican Assassin to the graphic form. Unfortunately, the company fell apart, no hard feelings... but the idea was planted. I scripted a ways into the book and did layouts for the first five pages.

If you're still reading, thanks! If you're interested in maybe collaborating on this, drop me a line at glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net. My website is glowinthedarkradio.com.

New Favorite, Kinda Creepy Doodles

Here are two more Doodles tonight. My new Favorite:

















And A Kinda Creepy one:

Angel Art

I haven't posted new art for a while (if you'd like to see more, just scroll down or hit the archives...). Did this one recently, put some color on it tonight:

HOLY S#!T: The Second Coming... Or, Jesus is Back And Boy Is He Pissed Off!

**UPDATE!**
The text was hard to read at the smaller image size. The images are larger now, not too large but certainly easier to read!! Click on the images to read.**

Hello from your favorite Heretic...

I just finished putting together a three page comic:

Holy Shit: The Second Coming... Or... Jesus Is Back and Boy Is He Pissed!

I'll be submitting it to a local Burlington Zine that's trying to get off the ground, but I thought you might enjoy it here as well.

One caveat: Where the original "Holy Shit: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ" was non-fiction, this new comic is decidedly, entirely fictional. As you'll soon see.

Enjoy!

Holy Shit! New Edition! Pat Robertson Still Anti-Christ!

I've been sending out the following Press Release to Trumpet my good news...

Pat Robertson Is Still The Anti-Christ!
Writer & Artist Mike Luoma Releases New, Expanded Edition of "Graphic Novel" Holy Sh!t: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ.

Second Edition of the Graphic Novel Available Now Online: http://stores.lulu.com/mikeluoma

In 2006, Vermont writer and artist Mike Luoma released his first comic, the non-fiction, self-published "Graphic Thingy" Holy Sh!t: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ. February 2008 sees the second edition released - Luoma has digitally cleaned up the lettering and digitally sweetened the illustrations to create a "digitally remastered" version of the comic. The free hand lettering is now easier to read, and the added shading and gray scale backgrounds help the illustrations flow better, creating an overall easier to read book while preserving the feel of the original edition. Luoma has written a new introduction, and the Second Edition of Holy Sh!t: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ also includes additional background material. Luoma's original essay that inspired the comic, "God Is Love, Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ, And Almost Everything You Know About Christianity Is Wrong" is now included, as is a full bibliography of Luoma's source material.

Reviews of the First Edition: Troy Brownfield of NEWSARAMA raved, "...it's for books like this one that I love doing this column... a damn fine example of what 'independent comic' really means. The fact that it's entertaining, informative and occasionally gut-bustingly funny is all icing... Holy Shit is certainly meant to anger and inflame a certain segment of the population. Luoma's taking aim at an especially nasty brand of American hypocrisy, and his work definitely has bite. It might not be to everyone's taste, but it's definitely thought-provoking, and that's something we can always use in comics."

J. Caleb Mozzocco in the Las Vegas Weekly: “…he posits that Robertson, and other similar Christian fundamentalists, are simply anti-Christ, as in, they often preach the exact opposite of what Jesus taught in the Gospels. You know, all that stuff about loving your neighbors. Robertson has the bully pulpit of TV to spout from, but Luoma takes him on via this self-published, magazine-sized comic book. Calling to mind Chick Tracts in its rough, sketchy art and preachy, folksy, occasionally funny tone, Luoma's Holy Shit is a pretty compelling read, tracing the history of Christianity from Jesus' original message to the rise of an institutional church to the fundamentalist movement that began in the 19th century, a movement that seems to rule much of America here in the dawn of the 21st.”

Steven Grant weighed in on HOLY SHIT in his CBR column "Permanent Damage": "...a surprisingly respectful (to Christ, anyway) dissertation on how Christianity got twisted throughout history from the original teachings to the inane blather of televangelists like Robertson. It briskly covers a range of topics like unpleasant discoveries in Biblical scholarship, the latter day misguided origins of Christian fundamentalism, religious right wing misinterpretation of the Constitution and its historical basis, and suggestions for finding paths back to the real Jesus. And he backs up his argument; it's not simply a screed. The art's iffy at best but the book's pretty impressive."

Shay Totten in the Vermont Guardian wrote, "Using rough-edged, often comical, ink drawings, Luoma guides readers from Jesus’ original teachings to the rise of an institutional church and eventually to the fundamentalist movement, which has become the dominant sect in the United States and influences both culture and politics. Rather than page after page of scholarly dissertation, readers find ink-drawn images of Christ and Pat Robertson, alongside biblical quotations and those from Robertson. This contrasting approach underscores Luoma’s core argument that what Robertson says is based on Christ’s teachings is not quite accurate. It also makes for a compelling read. For those who believe Christianity is more than the 700 Club and calls for the assassination of world leaders, Luoma’s work will tickle the mind, and the funny bone."

Holy Sh!t: Or... Pat Robertson Is The Anti-Christ is available now, online through glowinthedarkradio.com or at http://stores.lulu.com/mikeluoma and in comic and bookstores throughout Vermont.

Contact: Mike Luoma
Phone: 802-865-2597
EMail: glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net

Obama=Hendrix

Okay...

I Had to write this down, because when it hit me I laughed out loud. And I don't think anyone actually reads this blog anyway, so this is really just for me.

I flipped over to VH1 Classic and saw Jimi Hendrix playing. It struck me as I watched him: Hendrix was so good at what he did, you didn't think about what color his skin was. Didn't matter. His sheer talent on full display mesmerized you as you watched him play. Made you realize (if there was any question in your mind) that color was immaterial.

And Barak Obama is there, too. When he gives a great speech, you don't think about his skin color (unless you're really obsessed). He's inspiring, and makes you realize skin color is immaterial.

I'd like to think I don't care about skin color. I don't, so far as I know. Both Hendrix and Obama bring home the point that drawing distinctions is artificial.

Hillary Wants Schuster's Head for "Pimped Out" Comment

I just posted this over at Steven Grant's "Permanent Damage" Website, thought I'd put it here too...

The Clinton Machine keeps utilizing Republican tactics. The latest iteration? The use of the "Manufactured Outrage" campaign, employed successfully time and again by Republicans and Republican administrations to generate sympathy and publicity since Reagan took office. Hillary Clinton is generating fake indignancy over MSNBC Reporter David Schuster's asking if the Clinton campaign "pimped out" daughter Chelsea. Oh, the horror!

It was a stupid thing to say on the air. Schuster is usually sharper than that. I think he's a little stiff, a little square and was trying to sound "hip" and came off anything but hip to be square... But for the Manufactured Outrage Campaign to work, there has to be some truth to the offense, and on some level what Schuster said could be construed to be offensive. And ripe to be misconstrued to be abhorrent and horrific.

Hillary is demanding Schuster's virtual head, saying a temporary suspension and apology are not enough. Shame on her. She wants to ruin his career over this, and doesn't mind saying so. The Millionaire wants the under paid cable reporter on unemployment, or worse; a demand without mercy - scorched Earth tactics. Pretty brutal.

This false bravado covering petty retribution used to be the hallmark of Republicans, who used and overused it to the point where the American people stopped believing it. Hillary and the Clinton campaign are gambling on the fact that Hillary can preface her remarks with a statement no major Republican candidate has been able to use: "As a mother...". She's playing the "gender" card in a major way, and coloring the false indignancy she's shoveling with the patina of protective motherhood. It could prove a masterstroke of manipulation, or backfire against her. We'll see.

But, yet again, the Clinton campaign's tactics are Republican tactics.

Thoughts on Christmas Eve

So here we are, celebrating the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem on December 25th in year zero...

Except for a few, small troublesome facts.

Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. Bethlehem was a later literary invention by one of the Evangelists (Matthew) who wanted to place Jesus's birth in the City of David to show he was of the line of David. The "census" that supposedly initiated the pilgrimage that places the "Holy Family" in Bethlehem is also a literary invention. It simply did not take place!

One thing the early writers agree on: Jesus was born during the reign of Herod The Great. Two problems here. For one, Herod the Great died in the year we call 4 BC. If Jesus was born during Herod's reign, he had to have been born in 4 BC or earlier. Also, the "massacre of the innocents" under Herod seems to also be undocumented literary invention (though, it seems, not entirely out of character for Herod).

For most of the early centuries, Jesus's date of birth was not fixed on the yearly calendar. Faced with pagan solstice ceremonies and the vestiges of the Roman's Saturnalia, Christmas was developed to take the place of these heathen celebrations. The three kings of the East (who are not in the gospel, although a group of magi are) were invented or embellished at any rate to literalize this capitulation of the pagans. The "celebration" of Christmas is a relatively new event in the life of the Church. There were several Protestant denominations that held the celebration of Christmas in contempt even unto the 19th century!

So go ahead, celebrate Christmas... but let's get the facts straight. The when and how of Jesus's birth is not as important as the message he preached: God is Love. Love your enemies. Care for the poor. Renounce your worldly goods, pool your resources, and live together in harmony. And what if you encounter resistance? Love them. Love the resistors. Turn the other cheek. And if you have any question over what degree this should be taken to, then look to His example, he who DIED ON A CROSS while still loving those who put him to death. In other words, there is no question of degree. You love all the way to the end. Period. No exceptions.

I still find no religions that follow this doctrine in the world today.

Vatican Ambassador Podcast

I'm putting out a new press release to trumpet some good news:

HEARD ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY? MIKE LUOMA’S VATICAN AMBASSADOR COMING TO PODIOBOOKS.COM!

Burlington author and radio announcer’s second book added to national website.
The PODCAST revolution spreads to audio books!

Burlington, Vermont – December 19, 2007 – Bring on the Sequel! Mike Luoma’s science fiction novel Vatican Ambassador has just been picked up by the online audio book website Podiobooks.com (http://podiobooks.com). Vatican Ambassador is the sequel to Luoma’s Vatican Assassin, which has been featured on the site since August of 2007. Vatican Ambassador will be “live” on Podiobooks on Wednesday, December 19th.

Co-founded by Evo Terra and Tee Morris, co-authors of Podcasting for Dummies, Podiobooks.com provides “serialized audio books in podcast form.” At Podiobooks.com listeners can subscribe and listen to audio books in podcast form for free, or voluntarily donate to the authors. Podiobooks.com is helping to revolutionize the way people experience books.

Vatican Assassin, the first book, has been enjoyed by over 490 subscribers through Podiobooks.com. Luoma narrates the chapters of the book himself, subtly changing inflection and altering his voice to highlight and differentiate each character’s voice in the science fiction novel.

The books take place about a hundred years in the future. A war between the Earth controlling Universal Trade Zone (UTZ) and their allies, the New catholic Church (NcC) and Mars-based Universal Islamic Nation (UIN) recently flared up as the UIN attempted to retake part of Earth by force. The UTZ repelled the UIN attacks at the end of Vatican Assassin. There were heavy casualties on both sides. Now both sides are rebuilding.

The title character, Vatican Assassin Bernard Campion or “BC”, has been named the acting ambassador for the Vatican to Lunar Prime, the Independent City-State on the Moon. But BC’s old boss Pope Peter the Second has died, and the new pope has been strangely silent since appointing BC to his new position. The Governor of Lunar Prime, Marc Edwards, is in a political fight for his reelection against Daniel McEntyre, the widower of the former Governor, Meredith McEntyre… whom BC assassinated under orders from The Pope. As the acting ambassador, BC is about to find out it’s harder to negotiate with people than it is to kill them.

Mike Luoma is a Burlington, Vermont based author and an over-20-year veteran of Vermont radio currently with The Point (www.pointfm.com). He released Vatican Ambassador earlier this year (2007). Vatican Assassin was published at the end of 2005. Both are available at local outlets in Vermont and at Amazon.com and other online stores. He’s now writing the third book in the trilogy, Vatican Abdicator. Luoma features his books on his website, www.glowinthedarkradio.com.

Podiobooks Web Site: http://podiobooks.com
Mike Luoma Web Site: http://glowinthedarkradio.com
Email Contact: glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net
Phone: (802) 865-2597

Time Flies...

Buzzing around my head, those damn time flies...
Can't believe I haven't written anything here in months.

I've been writing other things, though...

Just finished the second draft of book three of the VATICAN ASSASSIN Trilogy, Vatican Abdicator. Lots o' typin'! It clocked in at 254 pages. It will be expanding from there, though. I have a short preview online. This is raw, and will change, but might interest you if you've been reading and/or listening to the first two: vaticanabdicator.com

I'm stepping back for a small break right now. Focusing on the Podiobooks.com podcast of the first two books. Vatican Assassin is complete! I'm now gearing up for Vatican Ambassador, recording chapters ahead to be sure I can deliver it in a timely fashion. You can listen to all of Vatican Assassin here: http://podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin

Juan Carlos and I are planning issue three of Panthea Obscura for early 2008. The script is done, but I may tweak it a little.

Speaking of 2008, my calendars are for sale! The newest features many of the doodles I've been posting here. Find out more at my homepage:
glowinthedarkradio.com

New Doodles!

Finally! I've scanned in some more doodles! A new full page one I love, and a smaller one. Got some nice comments as I was drawing it. Plus, the negative of the first, which I had to put up because it is cool and trippy. The love one almost has a motion to it...

Crossword Collage Doodle and More!

More from the mind of Mike... I always doodle around the crossword puzzle when I do it. I decided to scan in a few of those doodles and overlay them creating a kind of doodle collage:

















woah... kind of a nightmare!


Here's a more delicate piece, from last year:




















Found an eye or five or six while I leafed through the sketchbook. Here's one:















eye eye, capitain!



And I'm not sure what I was thinking here:

Doodlerama continues....

Here's the most recent of my doodles:
















Some detail from the doodle, and an older doodle sunset:

Star Doodle and Face Doodle, too

More from my latest journal/past month:








































Again, these aren't yet on gear at my fab store, www.cafepress.com/doodlerama, but if you'd like them on something, please let me know.

Mike

Tonight's doodles, and a couple others...

This came out tonight:




















And when I began scanning in that one from the notebook, I went back a few pages for a few more:







































None of these are on stuff at my store, www.cafepress.com/doodlerama, yet. If you want one on a shirt or something, send me an email at glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net, let me know what you want, and I'll make it happen if I can. I ordered the green shirt with the Ever-Seeing Eye, as I'm calling it, on it. It's on the way...

Mike

Doodlerama Continues... And Now You Can Wear 'Em!

Crazy, Huh? I just spent the last few hours putting my doodles on T-Shirts, Posters, Mugs and Stuff... I Made an Online Store! It's HERE:

http://www.cafepress.com/doodlerama

And here's an older picture that's now on some T's and Stuff, and another bonus doodle, just for you:

Doodlerama Continued!

More questionable doodlement:

Doodlerama Day One!

I'm going to start sharing my doodles. after some feedback that was encouraging. It will be a sometimes thing, but here are a few:

Why There Is No 9/11 Conspiracy...

Do you really think this gang that can't shoot straight was capable of engineering a plot of such subtlety and complexity?

The "plot" would have had about as much chance of success as the War in Iraq, would have been executed about as well as the Katrina response was... look at their success rate!

Conspiracy theories are comforting in a cold world, where the enemy is often indifference. They require faith and belief, like any religion does.

And that's why there was no 9/11 conspiracy. These men would have had to actually care about what the public thinks to go to such lengths. But these men have shown repeatedly they are indifferent towards the general population's sentiments and wishes. They would not have bothered to even put such a plan together. They'd consider it a waste of their time.

Jesus was a Socialist

Not that any so-called Christian today will admit this! But it's there, inconveniently enough, plain as day, in the Bible! Jesus is almost a Communist... I do not label him such because he advocated working within the government of his day... that whole "render unto Caesar" thing, you know.


But it's there in black and white in the Bible. Redistribution of wealth, over and over again.

Matthew 19: 16 - 22

...someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20 The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.


Mark 10: 21 - 23

21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money ^F90 to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

Jesus told them what their society, their "kingdom of god" should look like, and they tried to live it out, at first:

Acts 4: 32 - 37

32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33 With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means "son of encouragement"). 37 He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

In case you don't take the idea seriously, "Luke" next tells a cautionary tale:

1 But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2 with his wife's knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 "Ananias," Peter asked, "why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!" 5 Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6 The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price." And she said, "Yes, that was the price." 9 Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

Yikes! God brings down the death penalty for not sharing! All things were held in common. What else do you call it but socialism... or communism?

What was that again, Jesus?

Matthew 6: 19 - 24

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust ^F51 consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust ^F52 consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

And then there's the Our Father! Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who owe us... "trespasses" makes it sound like property violations. The word is debt, and it means money. The Jewish idea of jubilee was still prevalent in Jesus' day: in the jubilee year all debts are forgiven, and all men are once again equal. Radical concept, huh? Jesus extended it to every day: you had to forgive those who owed you money. He was taking the old Jewish ethic of no usury and extending it to beyond its logical conclusion. Not only must yopu not charge interest, you must forgive the debt, entirely!! One of the ideas that got him killed. That and the whole "Love your enemies" deal...

Do you know of any so-called church teaching this? It's too bad this guy Jesus doesn't have anyone actually following his teaching these days... he's got some great ideas.

Back to Work, Fifty Podcasts and Panthea Obscura Pitched

Welly well, me droogies... don't know why Alex popped into me melon, but... hello all the same!

Back at work! The legendary Greg Hooker is leaving The Point after 23 years with WNCS, and I've scored his position as Production Director and the afternoon drive gig! You can listen on-line at pointfm.com. I'll be on from 3 pm until 7 pm Mon - Fri, starting Monday. Great music, good people... excited for my new sitch!

Recently posted my 50th Glow-in-the-Dark Radio Podcast! Find the 'cast at clickcaster.com/glowinthedarkradio. I've now read my entire novel "Vatican Assassin" aloud, chapter by chapter, reading the final chapter on the 50th. I plan on continuing the podcasts, on a more weekly basis (as opposed to how often I was putting them out when I was unemployed).

"Panthea Obscura" is my new comic book project. I'm the creator and writer. Juan Carlos Quottordio is the artist. I'm just sending out pitches to publishers now... think good thoughts!

Now, if I could just get Josh to get back to me with his feedback on "Vatican Ambassador"...

This is what I'm talking about...

If you're reading this (and I don't think anyone else is at this point, but I can use the self analysis), you know I've "given up" on the games of the dating scene.
BUT sometimes I meet women I want to get to know better...
I thought ----- might be one of those... I like her, she makes me smile... saw her last night at Nectar's at the Sound of Urchin show. We kind leaned against each other, I kept the beat of a song on her side, it was cool, she yelled at me over the music to meet her tonight (Wednesday) after I got back from work at The OP. "Eight O'Clock!" she yelled. I got there a little late, 8:14... but she wasn't there. Stayed until 12:20... she never showed.

So...

I'm trying not to just say "typical" or "right", but you know...

I'm just sayin'...

It kinda proves my point.

Google Bomb

You know what really bothers Republicans? When they use the internet to their advantage, and then Democrats and Progressives take what they've done and do it better!! Chris Bowers over at MyDD.com has suggested trying to post links to these articles about Republicans, so that Google will "see" these articles. Each article has been chosen for impact, providing truthful, scathing commentary on each candidate. Find out more over at MyDD.Com

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

The Countdown is On...

...to the 2006 midterm elections. No less than the future of our country is at stake. MoveOn.Org has a program in place that could rival the 72 hour push the Neo Con, Rovian Repubs put on every cycle. The Call for Change program can use your help, click on the graphic for more information about this key strategy for victory!

Eck.

My nose is stuffed up... when it's not stuffed up, it's running like a train. I was talking about it with my friend Aaron at the OP last night, who's had this cold already, by the sound of the symptoms. I've gotta agree with him: it's amazing the amount of fluid your sinuses can produce! It's like, "where's this all coming from?"

Yes, I know, thank you for sharing.

So no new podcast today... I'm hoping to be able to talk/hear/sound/feel better tomorrow, because I want to read my poem "We Are Grey" for the 5th Anniversary of September the 11th.

The podcast is going well, although it takes a long time to put the Vatican Assassin chapters together. They seem to be the least listened to, but I still plan to keep doing them. Ultimately, I'll compile my own audiobook, me reading my novel. At least, that's my plan at this point.

The 9/11 Report: The Comic Book

Ernie Colon and Sid Jacobson are two old-time comic book creators who have decided to try to make the 9/11 Report more accessible by turning it into a graphic presentation. Yes, a comic book, or graphic novel, if you prefer. To me, it reads like an illustrated school textbook. I think it aptly illustrates the potential for sequential art to make a subject more easily understood. Check it out for yourself online:
Slate presents The 9/11 Report

Better yet, go out and buy a copy and support this experiment in sequential art!