Red Light Bytes: 8-18-2023
Red Light Bytes: 8-18-2023
Catching Up on the Latest with 365 Infantry
Overview
Welcome to Week 2 of thumb-twiddling! This time, it’s productive!
Jokes aside, Brendan and Kevin are hard at work in their respective tasks, and I’ve taken the leisure-time to go a little overboard on this week’s dose of world-building fiction. So in lieu of an updates section, here’s a special something I teased on Wednesday over in the mighty Erik Waag’s shoutout thread on Twitter/Xpialidocious.
“Wrought from Circuits & Steel” is a flash story collection centered on the subject of androids in the world of Haven and the Wastelands. In the same way the series has been host to a variety of slice-of-life stories surrounding one-off wolven characters, I wanted to explore these beings of metal and electronics in a more casual, off-the-cuff way. The end result was a collection of four tableaus and a poem that I hope stimulate, entertain and amuse. The first story and poem are free for all readers, but the remaining three stories are paywalled.
However, that’s not the last of the fiction for this week…more on that later!
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From the Frontlines
This week in the wild world of independent entertainment…
The Red Phantasm #1: The Fury Five — Friend of the Force and fellow ‘Stacker
just released his first book! An illustrated historical fantasy concerning an animal kingdom beneath a Belgian province where five criminals seek an ancient treasure, whose power would help them take over the great city-state of Millepertuis. Standing in their way is a crimson-clad figure who seeks to safeguard the land from their villainy. Though a touch rough around the edges, Mr. Buffa has pulled together a charming adventure evoking equal shades of Brian Jacques and Walter B. Gibson, as well as featuring the illustrative talents of Riv Antares. A promising debut from a terrific talent!Vigilantes’ Creed — Funding now on Indiegogo, B.A. Turner is dishing up vintage 90s action with a Lovecraftian twist in his brand-new series surrounding a gargoyle and his crew of vigilantes taking on all manner of terror in a dystopian Detroit. A genre-puree packed to the rafters with cool shit, Turner’s novel duology and mini-comic promises gothic thrills and high style with classic comic-book hero at the heart of it all in Slade Allen, known in his gargoyle form as Dreadnight. Don’t delay, BACK TODAY!
Streetwise Caviar
No full-on recommendation this week, but I do encourage you all to watch this lovely documentary on the history of American International Pictures if you’re in the mood for some B-movie fun. Either way, the playlist carries on!
This Week: “Private Stock”
As you would expect from an old-timey fellow like me, I do indeed collect vinyl records. And cassettes. And would probably collect eight-tracks if I really wanted to go for broke! So what I decided to do today was an even-split of two special eras: the evolving face of rock in the 1960s and the slick veneer of 1980s.
All are songs I own on genuine 45s, with two exceptions: the 12” mix of Rick James’ punk-funk classic “U Bring The Freak Out” off a promo record and a 12” radio single of Red 7’s “Heartbeat,” best remembered for its time on Miami Vice and Michael Mann’s crime horror classic Manhunter. I hope you dig this trip through my stacks of wax!
Byte of the Week
Yes friends, I still found time to write another story that fills out some of the lore, and this one helps answer a pretty big question I’ve been asked: where the hell did all the gas come from?
“It Flowed From Promethean Paws” tells of how the early Wastelanders, lead by the pioneer James Baron Marshall, were able to make an unending supply of gas for their rods and hogs, told through the eyes of a young wolf who wants nothing more than to keep his old man’s bike alive. Fun, informative, and a shade touching if I do say so myself. I hope you enjoy.
May God Bless You and This Force. See you next time!