Beyond Ridiculous

Beyond Ridiculous tells the story of Theatre-in-Limbo. Elliott narrates in first-person the company's Cinderella tale of fun, heartbreak, and dishy drama. At the center of the book is a young Charles Busch, an unforgettable personality fighting to be seen, be heard, and express his unique style as a writer-performer. The tragedy of AIDS among treasured friends in the company, the struggle for mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ+ theatre during the reign of President Ronald Reagan, and the exploration of new ways of being a gay theatre artist make the book a bittersweet and joyous ride.

Theatre of the Ridiculous is a significant movement that highlighted the radical possibilities inherent in camp. Much of contemporary theatre owes this form a great debt but little has been written about its history or aesthetic markers. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the important practitioners, along with critical commentary of their work. Beginning with Ridiculous' most recognizable name, Charles Ludlam, the author traces the development of this campy, queer genre, from the B movies of Maria Montez to the Pop Art scene of Andy Warhol to the founding of the Play-House of the Ridiculous and the dawn of Ludlam's career and finally to the contemporary theatre scene.

Things between Julian and Oscar are only getting better and stronger. They’re ready to take the next step in their relationship: Going to the biggest paranormal investigation convention in the eastern United States to promote Bump in the Night. Everything is changing. And not in the way Julian hoped for when he took the job on Bump in the Night. The show is falling apart before it even really gets off the ground. Oscar is having a crisis of faith in his abilities. Julian’s been seeing someone. Someone who’s supposed to be dead. And when did the Bump in the Night team get a devoted fanbase who likes to cosplay as them at conventions? He’s still a skeptic, but there’s some things that Julian just can’t find an answer for these days. Maybe that fall down the stairs during the last episode did more damage than Julian thought. Everything is changing. Oscar’s got a secret. He’s not the medium he used to be. His abilities are getting unpredictable and people are starting to notice. Worse, the ghosts are starting to notice, and some of them have made it their mission to make Oscar’s life as stressful as possible. And there’s a man who might be able to help him figure out what’s going on. Too bad the man seems to want him dead. But first, Oscar has to get through Boo Con and a surprising number of people wearing cravats who all want his autograph.

The Gnostic Luciferian New Age "Utopia" will be based upon a Mystery Babylon re-visitation of tolerance for all behaviors narcissistically self-indulgent, sexually perverse, psychoactively induced, and sinfully decadent, with self-worship and self-adulation as the highest pinnacle of religious zeal. Additionally, utilizing the trickery and artifice of an Alien Antichrist Messiah Deception, the Luciferian Elite seek to obliterate Christianity and replace it with a Gnostic Pantheistic Cosmogenesis narrative, where Ancient Aliens are our true genetic origins, and Cosmic Evolution, with Mankind in tow, is the Grand Design of the Universe. Since this is a very real situation which effects all the world in the direst sort of way, the contents of this book are relevant to all citizens of the world. This book bravely explores the various guises that this repackaged Babylonian Gnostic Luciferianism has taken and how it got to this point, as well as offers answers to this nefarious situation.

This book takes a journey into the new and exciting created by a the wave of Indian comedians today, described affectionately here as the New Indian Nuttahs, and looks at what these tell us about identity, “Indianness”, censorship, feminism, diaspora and millennial India. It provides a unique analysis into the growing phenomenon of internet comedy and into a dimension of Indian popular culture which has long been dominated by the traditional film and television industries. Through a mixture of close textual readings of online comedy videos and interviews with content creators and consumers in India, this book provides a fresh perspective on comedy studies in its approach to a global South context from a sociocultural perspective. As a protean form of new media, this has opened up new avenues of articulation, identification and disidentification and as such, this book makes a further contribution to South Asian, communication, media & cultural studies.

Humanity's first big push to outer space. It's been over twenty years since the SolRescue sunshield saved the world from runaway climate change. Or at least bought the world a little time. But in this new world, where the people have started to win back power from the old elites, and where the first uncertain steps are being taken to expand offplanet, there are alliances at work to reverse all of the progress that has been made. When Guiana Space Centre Flight Director Nicolas Clouatre is framed for the destruction of the European Space Agency's first extra-orbital habitat, he realizes that there's little he can do to clear his name. His only choice is to run, and hope for a chance to redeem himself. For Anita Singhal, one of the creators of the original sunshield, there hasn't been much personal gain for what she was a part of; in fact, faced with a lawsuit from her former partners and living in one of the poorest sections of New York City, she spends most of her time depressed and alone. But she's starting to realize that her past is about to catch up with her, and that maybe it's time she learned to accept it. National Security Agency employee Benj McPherson has an almost-famous father and a less-known criminal past. When a suspicious coworker tries to blackmail him into spying on a secret project of the US Air Force, he finds himself trapped in the middle of a government at war with itself. It's not clear to any of them just who is sabotaging offplanet missions and murdering spaceflight engineers and support crew. But it's becoming obvious that every single one of them would make an ideal next target.

A new kind of momcom role-playing adventure! Masato hears rumors of a newly built dungeon where whoever manages to make it through will be granted one wish. Since he's still well on his journey to try to become stronger than his mother, this could be just the answer to our hero's prayers. But the loudmouthed Anti-Mom Amante also has her sights on the dungeon's prize, and she and her goons form the Libere Rebellion will stop at nothing to keep Masato's party from getting there first. To make things worse, Mamako, his mother, is still dominating all the action...this time in a maid costume!!

Longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2016. From the award-winning author of The Glasgow Trilogy, comes Every Night I Dream of Hell, a dark and thrilling Glaswegian crime drama. Nate Colgan: a violent man; 'smart muscle' for the Jamieson organization. Someone to be afraid of. But now, with its most powerful individuals either dead or behind bars, things within the Jamieson organization are beginning to shift. When Nate, long working on the fringes of the business, is reluctantly appointed its new 'security consultant', he can little imagine how things are about to unravel . . . It begins with an execution, a message; and soon the various factions within the organization are sent into chaos. But out of the confusion comes one clear fact: a new group has arrived in Glasgow, and in their quest for power they are prepared to ignite a war. But who is behind the group? And why has the calculating Zara Cope – the mother of Nate's child – suddenly appeared back in town? Meanwhile DI Fisher, buoyed by his recent successes in finally jailing some of the city's most notorious criminals, is prowling on the edges of these latest battles, looking for his chance to strike before all hell breaks loose . . . In Every Night I Dream of Hell Malcolm Mackay takes us deep into a world of violence, fear and double-crossing that grips until the final page has been turned.