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Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back-- kind of-- at RiffTrax.com, where former head writer and host Michael J. Nelson has come up with a clever technological solution to the problem of MST3K having never been able to afford the rights to the well-known stinkers. RiffTrax sells you an audio file of the commentary, and you play it while watching your own copy of the movie. Initial reaction from several directions: "So, when does he get to the new Star Wars trilogy?"
The League of Fan Funds announces the Japan Expeditionary Travel Scholarship (JETS), a fund to send a European fan to Nippon 2007. Details at http://astralpole.org/display.php?id=12.
Speaking of Japanese fandom, the next guest of Space Adventures, Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto, is to be the first costumed fan in space. The New Scientist wire has reported that he's packing his Char Aznable costume for his trip to the ISS in October.
But wait! Dork Tower's Igor Olman is reported to have already made it to space, secretly inscribed on the cover of the main electronics box of an unidentified satellite which is now orbiting the earth.
Speaking of Dork Tower, it's launching an effort to wipe out the grain of truth in a persistent gamer stereotype with Gamers For Personal Hygiene, the slogan being, "We Take the 'Gamey' Out of 'Gamer'". (Extended slogan: "And the 'Ech' Out of Trekkies, the 'Ieeee!' Out of Furries, the 'Ick' Out of Historic Miniatures Players, and the 'What the Hell is That Evil, Rancid Funk?' Out of LARPers".) T-shirts to be available by GenCon Indy.
Speaking even further of gaming in general, there appears to be a plot underway to assimilate Whad'Ya Know?. John Kovalic did the artwork for the WYK? home game a while back-- well, if you can get a Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist to illustrate your game, you go for him. They started giving out Cheapass Games products last year-- well, that fits in perfectly with the sort of prize WYK? likes to give out. But when the Hackcentennial issue of Knights of the Dinner Table is part of the prize, as it was on the August 5th show-- that means something...