djonn: (woods)
On the one hand, I am woefully deficient in self-promotion, for OryCon was this past weekend and here I am, home again, having not posted about it beforehand. I was on two lightly attended but lively and thoughtful panels, and saw some folks I had not seen in many, many moons (one of whom has a book coming out in March!).

On the other hand, I have been productive, for at this just-concluding OryCon I wrote a filk (start to finish in under three hours, premiered at the circle Saturday night within moments of completion).

Naturally, it then went through a couple of wording tweaks when I got back to my room and wrote out a clean copy of the lyrics, but still, I'm glad to have resumed the tradition of writing a song at-con (even as OryCon is now planning to take a year off to regroup).

And here it is!  If you have not been watching Stargirl (the CW series, not the recent feature film), you should be - this is a pitch-perfect Silver Age DC comic deftly sort-of-transposed into the 21st century, and the ensemble cast is superb. The color palette is Batman '66, the visual style is Back to the Future, and the heroes are modern teens who are (for the most part) rather less angst-ridden than their Buffyverse predecessors.

This song, however, concerns one of the thorns in Stargirl's side, played with debonair panache by Jonathan Cake ("Oh, Charles, you know I have a flair for the dramatic gesture"):

ENTER THE SHADE

words: John C. Bunnell © 2021
music: "Drunken Angel" by Michael Longcor

Oh, a gambler I, and a rogue as well, and a gentleman besides,
And I've traveled round this world and back on some most peculiar tides;
I can tell of treasures best left lost and of ill-kept bargains made,
For I live my life in the shadows:
I am he who's called the Shade.

I freely grant I am no pure saint - I'm a thief, and yes, I've killed,
But the righteous need not fear my hand, for it's not their blood I've spilled;
I thrive by night and avoid high noon, for of darkness am I made;
And my soul is that of a shadow,
For I truly am the Shade.

Now a living Shade commands the dark and the shadows heed his call,
He may shape them too, howe'er he will, to hold his foes in thrall;
Yet I tell you this and I tell you true: you should rather be afraid
Of the evil beyond the shadow
Far more deadly than the Shade.

A shadow's edge is defined by light; in the dark it disappears;
And a shadow always stands alone, sharing neither joy no tears,
For the shadow never truly dies, though the mortal friends he's made
Turn to dust in the hands of the shadow
Who is doomed to be the Shade.

Yes, a gambler I, and a rogue as well, and a gentleman unwise,
For I find I cannot flee the trap that I fear I helped devise;
So between the light and dark I stand, my decision freely made:
For I am the eternal shadow;
I shall always be - the Shade.
 


djonn: (crow)
Premiered at OryCon last weekend.  This one came together rather quickly, but beware: the tune is a good deal trickier than you'd think given the nature of the source material.

Michael and the Captains

Once upon a double star,
Not too far from now and here,
A young and determined officer
Thought she saw her duty clear:

She thought she could prevent a war, ere the fight began;
Instead she watched her captain die (“That wasn’t in the plan!”)
As a mutineer she was hidden away, imprisoned till her dying day,
While the war grew fierce and hot, more pain unleashed with ev’ry shot,
Alone and lost, she couldn’t endure the cost;
The stars ran red, too many dead, and the war went on and on and on and on and on and on….

But then another captain came, dismissed her fear, refused her shame;
He said he held a secret ace, he offered purpose and a place;
A chance to make the difference, as she had hoped before;
If she would only join his crew, why, they might win the war!
It was, she knew, her only chance to make amends for prior sin,
And yet, should she rejoin the dance, what might she have to do to win?

Michael, time to fly;
Would you really rather die?
Michael, don’t you see;
You can’t beat the Klingons if you don’t come with me.

Captain, count me in;
Black Alert and let’s begin;
Captain, use me well;
I’ll never see Heaven but I’ll join you in H*ll.  [x2]



djonn: (butterfly)

Very belatedly posted; I premiered this at OryCon this past November.

Errantry Anthem

words: © 2015 John C. Bunnell
music: “Don’t Slay That Potato” (Tom Paxton)

Inspired by Diane Duane’s “Young Wizards” novels (and some of the fanworks that have drawn on them). 

Oh, magic, they say, is a game for the young, that’s played for the ultimate stake.
It comes with a language unique and complete, and a vow ev’ry wizard must take;
There’s also a guidebook with useful advice; still, there is no guarantee
That wizardry’s gift will ensure you survive first contact with your Enemy….

‘Ware, now, the Fairest and Fallen, Death in its pocket again;
A Choice it proposes, its voice wine and roses,
Its offer beguiling, its countenance smiling;
But wizards well know, if down that road you go
From Death you cannot turn aside;
‘Ware, then, the Lone One’s temptation; instead in Life’s service abide!

Stories are told of three kids from New York who’ve had an astonishing run.
They’ve taken the Lone One down time after time, and still seem to think that it’s fun;
They’ve traveled the spaceways, brought planets to life, and saved us from Martian attack;
And even their friends who have died for the cause still seem to find ways to come back….

REFRAIN

The thing about this sort of magic: it spreads, and rumors, of course soon ensue
That all sorts of people have gotten the Book and taken up wizardry too;
Black Widow and Falcon, we rather suspect, might prove decent hands at the Art,
But a certain small boy with a tiger of plush?  The thought puts a chill in our heart….

REFRAIN

The Powers are fickle, and choose whom They will; don’t fret that they haven’t picked you.
Not all They select will survive their Ordeals, and Death takes all too many who do;
But magic’s not needed to live by the Oath, so if that commitment you’d make,
Then wizard or not, simply live by these words: “In Life’s name and for all Life’s sake….”

REFRAIN

djonn: (butterfly)

Well, semi-insta.  I was in a major mall yesterday, abruptly encountered a Major Line (very neatly organized, mind you, but a Major Line), and was trying to figure out what was going on when I realized that I was passing the Apple Store.

The filk trigger, however, didn't hit till this morning, when I caught a snippet of a morning talk show in which the co-hosts were discussing this very issue...and proudly showing off their new toys, one in each color.  The first verse was automatic; the second took just a few minutes to settle.

So, without further ado:

Silver or Gold
words: ©2013 John C. Bunnell
music: "Silver & Gold", Johnny Marks, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Silver or gold, silver or gold,
Ev'ryone wishes for silver or gold;
Don't you deny that it's true,
You with your iPhones so shiny and new...

Silver or gold, silver or gold,
Doesn't much matter to me;
When the time comes for my upgrade,
I'll take the one that's free!

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Default)

Avast and heave to, ye lads and lasses -- 'tis Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Ah, but that 'ain't all; 'tis the natal day of the Dread Pirate [livejournal.com profile] coreolis.

[insert roar of cannons here]

Aye, and it also be the natal day, says a swab by the name o' [livejournal.com profile] filkertom, o' a saucy wizard-lass called Hermione Granger.  And that swab bein' a crazy fast hand wi' a quill (an' a keyboard, an' a MIDI setup), thar be a birthday chanty for Miz Granger that ye really oughta give a listen to here.

Arr, this talkin' like a pirate be wearin'....

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Feather)

Avast and heave to, ye lads and lasses -- 'tis Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Ah, but that 'ain't all; 'tis the natal day of the Dread Pirate [livejournal.com profile] coreolis.

[insert roar of cannons here]

Aye, and it also be the natal day, says a swab by the name o' [livejournal.com profile] filkertom, o' a saucy wizard-lass called Hermione Granger.  And that swab bein' a crazy fast hand wi' a quill (an' a keyboard, an' a MIDI setup), thar be a birthday chanty for Miz Granger that ye really oughta give a listen to here.

Arr, this talkin' like a pirate be wearin'....

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Default)

[livejournal.com profile] cadhla points out that today is the 17th anniversary of a historic incident on a fictional island off the coast of Costa Rica, wherein a gentleman named Hammond -- not the one from Stargate SG-1 -- managed to lose a lot of his guests to a horde of ravening velociraptors (among other things).  In the comment thread, [livejournal.com profile] pope_guilty asks the musical question, "How did Hammond go from a scheming, investor-defrauding bastard in the book to Walt Disney in the movie?"

It occurs to me that I sort of formulated the musical answer a number of years back.... )

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Wabbit)

[livejournal.com profile] cadhla points out that today is the 17th anniversary of a historic incident on a fictional island off the coast of Costa Rica, wherein a gentleman named Hammond -- not the one from Stargate SG-1 -- managed to lose a lot of his guests to a horde of ravening velociraptors (among other things).  In the comment thread, [livejournal.com profile] pope_guilty asks the musical question, "How did Hammond go from a scheming, investor-defrauding bastard in the book to Walt Disney in the movie?"

It occurs to me that I sort of formulated the musical answer a number of years back.... )

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Default)

....to comment here on one of my most satisfying entertainment purchases for the summer.  No, not the movie tickets to Superman Returns or Dead Man's Chest (the first was Weird; the second was swashbuckling).

No, not the theater tickets either (there having been no forgetting involved).

No, this almost-too-late consumer alert is intended to make you run right out to your local Internet and acquire your minimum annual nutritional requirement of zombies, ghosts, wood-sprites, and other relentlessly introspective natural, unnatural, and supernatural creatures.  You need a copy of Seanan McGuire's  Pretty Little Dead Girl, and you need it now (before she closes out the online order form).

Full review under the cut.... )

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Default)

....to comment here on one of my most satisfying entertainment purchases for the summer.  No, not the movie tickets to Superman Returns or Dead Man's Chest (the first was Weird; the second was swashbuckling).

No, not the theater tickets either (there having been no forgetting involved).

No, this almost-too-late consumer alert is intended to make you run right out to your local Internet and acquire your minimum annual nutritional requirement of zombies, ghosts, wood-sprites, and other relentlessly introspective natural, unnatural, and supernatural creatures.  You need a copy of Seanan McGuire's  Pretty Little Dead Girl, and you need it now (before she closes out the online order form).

Full review under the cut.... )

djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Default)
And so another OryCon passes into legend.

From my perspective, things went very well indeed. Got to read a chunk of "Dances With Coyotes". which appeared to have moved several copies of Fantastic Companions (thank you, Lady Jayne!). Did a number of other panels -- more than usual, thanks to all the writers off at WFC; two that went particularly well, I thought, were a small group session on flash fiction (in cooperation with the perennially erudite [livejournal.com profile] snarke) and a panel on the hows and whys of critiquing.

The souvenir book and pocket program, both DTPed by yours truly, seemed to be well-received; there were a couple of scattered reports of pocket programs with duplicated signatures, but I never actually saw one, and so the glitch seems to have been isolated.

Then there was filk programming; I suspect I'm going to miss some credits here -- I think there are more Oryfilkers on LJ than I'm immediately aware of -- so bear with me. As music GoH, [livejournal.com profile] filkertom was a showstopper (well, actually, a showstarter, but you know what I mean) and in any case a great hit -- if I hadn't already been convinced I'm going to need to acquire the second "24-Hour Project" album, the couple of numbers from it at the Smith-concert convinced me all over again. Also particularly memorable were [livejournal.com profile] cflute (correctly observing that it takes four or five people to even attempt to replace a Cat [aka [livejournal.com profile] catsittingstill), [livejournal.com profile] vixyish (darnit, I still say Mal's Song should have won its category, especially now that I've actually heard it live -- and yes, I'll send along the Peabody filks), and [livejournal.com profile] tfabris, who had somehow previously sneaked in under my radar but is clearly too talented not to lure back. I did, in fact, write a minor filk during the Friday night circle, and -- with due blame credit to [livejournal.com profile] cadhla for the inspiration -- debuted a lyric recently insta-ed in her LJ in one of the circles.

Then, after all was over, I came home and slept a lot....
djonn: Self-portrait, May 2025 (Wabbit)
And so another OryCon passes into legend.

From my perspective, things went very well indeed. Got to read a chunk of "Dances With Coyotes". which appeared to have moved several copies of Fantastic Companions (thank you, Lady Jayne!). Did a number of other panels -- more than usual, thanks to all the writers off at WFC; two that went particularly well, I thought, were a small group session on flash fiction (in cooperation with the perennially erudite [livejournal.com profile] snarke) and a panel on the hows and whys of critiquing.

The souvenir book and pocket program, both DTPed by yours truly, seemed to be well-received; there were a couple of scattered reports of pocket programs with duplicated signatures, but I never actually saw one, and so the glitch seems to have been isolated.

Then there was filk programming; I suspect I'm going to miss some credits here -- I think there are more Oryfilkers on LJ than I'm immediately aware of -- so bear with me. As music GoH, [livejournal.com profile] filkertom was a showstopper (well, actually, a showstarter, but you know what I mean) and in any case a great hit -- if I hadn't already been convinced I'm going to need to acquire the second "24-Hour Project" album, the couple of numbers from it at the Smith-concert convinced me all over again. Also particularly memorable were [livejournal.com profile] cflute (correctly observing that it takes four or five people to even attempt to replace a Cat [aka [livejournal.com profile] catsittingstill), [livejournal.com profile] vixyish (darnit, I still say Mal's Song should have won its category, especially now that I've actually heard it live -- and yes, I'll send along the Peabody filks), and [livejournal.com profile] tfabris, who had somehow previously sneaked in under my radar but is clearly too talented not to lure back. I did, in fact, write a minor filk during the Friday night circle, and -- with due blame credit to [livejournal.com profile] cadhla for the inspiration -- debuted a lyric recently insta-ed in her LJ in one of the circles.

Then, after all was over, I came home and slept a lot....
Page generated Jun. 14th, 2025 05:38 am

Heard In Passing....

“I ask you, what kind of investment is a five-hundred-acre catnip farm?”

May 2025

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