Bjorn Munson

What will the House of Mouse do when the Mouse isn’t entirely in the House?

By Bjorn Munson | April 1, 2021April 1, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

I will occasionally post about topics involving intellectual property and the public domain, most notably with new works coming into the public domain in the United States every January 1st. That means, in relatively short order, Mickey Mouse will come into the public domain, since his first appearance was in 1928’s “Steamboat Willie.” But whenever Disney and lawyers are involved, you know that no simple answer will suffice. Enter Quincy Stanford over at the Disney…

Writing

Beverly Cleary: An Appreciation

By Bjorn Munson | March 30, 2021May 20, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

Author Beverly Cleary has died at the astounding age of 104. There are remembrances and obituaries all over including: Buzzfeed CNBC CNN NPR The New York Times While the comic creations of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, Goscinny & Uderzo, Carl Barks, and Hergé loomed large in my childhood, I’m hard pressed to think of a single author whose chapter books I read more as a kid than Beverly Cleary. This fact was probably aided…

Apollyon Launches April 21

By Bjorn Munson | March 26, 2021March 29, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

I’ve voiced a few characters for audio fiction podcasts in the past few months (not including Jabberwocky Audio Theater) and one of those debuts in less than 30 days! Apollyon is one of those thoughtful science fiction stories that I love. You can learn more about the story and check out the trailer at the website. More soon.

Acting Raves

Let’s Go Over the Bonus Situation: Remembering Yaphet Kotto

By Bjorn Munson | March 16, 2021March 16, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

An actor whose magnetic presence matched or exceeded his six foot, four frame, Yaphet Kotto has died at the age of 81. Remembrances can be found across the internet, including: Variety Hollywood Reporter Showbiz 411 The Guardian New York Times While it’s almost certain I first saw Kotto in Alien, the performance that will always stick with me was seeing him on stage as Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences. Through all the power, fragility,…

Various and Sundry Writing

Your Next Favorite SFF Sitcom?

By Bjorn Munson | March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

With the release of WandaVision, we got to see a new genre mashup from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: superheros and sitcoms. Certainly this isn’t the first time there’s been a mashup of superheroes and outright silliness (The Tick is the one that pops in my mind most concretely as it has had several TV incarnations). And the sitcom backdrops in WandaVision actually lay a foundation for some distinct non-comic plotlines (that’s the limit to how…

Various and Sundry

“Every [film] has to come to an end, sometime.”

By Bjorn Munson | March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

I think L. Frank Baum (the source of the amended quotation above) would understand. Like books, songs, and many other an enjoyable thing: all things come to an end. Thanks to one of my siblings, I have a glorious poster of assorted iconic film endings hanging in my house. Who doesn’t love a really solid ending to a film? Whether it’s funny, poignant, thought-provoking, or applause-inducing, a satisfying ending is what so often makes a…

Various and Sundry

Prepare for Brood X!

By Bjorn Munson | March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

Denizens of the Washington metropolitan region share some experiences, like watching Hollywood films where they never get the geography right, there’s some problem on the Beltway, and also… Brood X. And yeah, based on the map above, we’re not alone in dealing with the sudden and noisy appearance of billions of formidably-sized bugs all ready to fly right into your face. Seriously, it’s clear from talking with many of my fellow Americans, they have not…

Producing Writing

Cue Rockin’ Blogiversary Music

By Bjorn Munson | March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

It’s been six years since I re-launched my personal website, which evidently is the “iron” anniversary, hence good ol’ shellhead above. As I mentioned in last year’s blogiversary post, I was going to try and make this more annual and — especially because last year felt like at least five years — it felt right to do a post. So here are some highlights and personal favorites. Star Trek My series Crisis of Infinite Star…

Producing Writing

Lessons Learned: Trilogy-writing Edition

By Bjorn Munson | February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

In traditional project management, the last phase is closing. It means the project is accepted as ‘completed’ on some level of formality. Not only that, what with project managers loving to document things, they like to document ‘”lessons learned.” In other words, what will you do better next time? What might you try to avoid doing altogether? What definitely worked? While users of agile and lean frameworks may think of continuous improvement, a good concept…

Various and Sundry

International Legal Frameworks… IN SPAAACE!

By Bjorn Munson | February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 by Bjorn Munson

Star Trek has influenced a lot of scientists and futurists, but recently, NASA namechecked the veteran sci-fi franchise when they talked about the Artemis Accords, a series of principles that they hope all spacefaring nations agree to, as covered by Ryan Britt for Inverse. Good stuff. (By the way, I was rather gratified to know that I already had the tag ‘Space Law‘ and also that there’s a novel called Space Lawyer, which I shall…

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Author: Bjorn Munson

What will the House of Mouse do when the Mouse isn’t entirely in the House?

Beverly Cleary: An Appreciation

Apollyon Launches April 21

Let’s Go Over the Bonus Situation: Remembering Yaphet Kotto

Your Next Favorite SFF Sitcom?

“Every [film] has to come to an end, sometime.”

Prepare for Brood X!

Cue Rockin’ Blogiversary Music

Lessons Learned: Trilogy-writing Edition

International Legal Frameworks… IN SPAAACE!