Geek of Oz

To celebrate the upcoming Supanova Comic-Con and Gaming exhibition in Sydney this weekend, I sat down for a phone chat with the cheerful and charming Ricky Whittle earlier this week. You may have seen him as Calvin Valentine on Hollyoaks , Lincoln in The 100 , and as protagonist Shadow Moon in the new series based on Neil Gaiman's beloved book,  American Gods  (it has been blowing up just a tad lately). Below we talk about Australian time zones, Ricky's fandom, some of the American Gods  cast's interesting on-set pranks, and some hints about where Shadow might be headed next year for Season 2 of the acclaimed drama. Chris: First of all, thank you so much for sitting down to talk with me. It's morning here, but I gather it's late night there for you in Los Angeles? Ricky: It's just come into the evening, yeah. It's not too bad. I was just saying that the time difference isn't too bad when I come to Australia. Because you're so far ahead it...

Can you believe it? Geek of Oz is officially 1,000 posts old! After starting Geek of Oz all on my lonesome, it has now grown to be something that I'm immensely proud of. Not only is it a website/blog that I'd want to visit myself, but it's also home to 8 of the coolest geeks I've been privileged to know.  Over the past few years I've experienced things that, as a geek myself, I never would have dreamed of. In the early days I was lucky enough to interview Neil Gaiman in the foyer of a Hobart hotel, just the two of us and much tea. This interview would eventually be my first published work with Mark Millar contacting me personally to use the interview in the pages of CLiNT magazine in the UK. Soon after, I took a road trip Mr Gaiman's wife, Amanda Palmer , and her tour manager, a beautiful man by the name of Eric Sussman . As time went on, I met even more wonderful folks, each of whom left an indelible mark on my geeky soul including JJ Abrams ,   Brian Mi...

I love music. I really don't live without it. I write, A LOT! I read, A LOT! But I pretty much always have music on. For some stupid reason though I never really write about it. This changes NOW! Although perhaps just this once. Amanda Palmer , wife of word-wizard Neil Gaiman , and musical juggernaut has released her newest album "Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under". An ode to her love for the country of Oz and all of us folk of convict lineage. Before we go forward, you can download the album now for just 69 cents! So before you hit the jump, go get it HERE!

Photo by Kimberly Butler I arrived at a lavish hotel in Hobart 45 minutes early to be greeted in the foyer by the concierge, a young man who looked uncannily like the film incarnations of the Weasley twins, sans ginger. "Are you here for the interview" Fred asked. "Ah, yes" I replied surprised. I should have expected that there would have been more people than just me there. The concierge motioned to a large, luxurious sofa where I sat sweating bullets. Panicking that the writer whom I most admired would think me to be a prat, or worse, a hack. The lump in my throat rose and fell every time someone entered the lobby. Was it him? No. It was a middle aged couple wearing middle aged couples clothes, linen shirts and boat shoes. A 30 something year old man approached me and asked if I was there for the interview to which I enthusiastically replied "yessir". He then went on to ask for my resume... wuh? My resume? It turned out that he was conducting in...

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching, and listening to The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains. A short story written by Mr Neil Gaiman , with painted projections by Mr Eddie Campbell and with a score arranged by and performed live by Sydney string quartet, Fourplay . You could end your reading here and be comforted by the knowledge that the experience was wonderful but please read on while I paint you a more detailed picture.