chrisbaker1337
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chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
chrisbaker1337
@chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
240 followers 760 following 78 posts
Writer and editor in the Bay Area. SFWA & Codex. https://linktr.ee/popculturalprecursors
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chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
chrisbaker1337 @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · Nov 15
My story in Flash Fiction Online's FamPunk issue is now available online. Thanks again to @flashfictiononline.bsky.social and guest editor @slashnburnett.bsky.social for selecting it! www.flashfictiononline.com/article/unfi...
Unfinished Conversations Package
<DAD PERSONA> 05/11/29 15:1750% COMPLETE…75% COMPLETE…PERSONA GENERATED! COMMUNICATE FREELY WITH PARENTAL SIMULATION!Hey Dan! Thought you’d get a kick out of this Far Side cartoon. I lo…
www.flashfictiononline.com
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
LATEST NEWSLETTER: Before there was Battle Bots, there was the Critter Crunch. Read the story of the world’s first robot death match at the 1989 Denver MileHiCon (@milehicon.bsky.social). Trying out a different format—an online version of an 8-page zine. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-event-...
Page 1 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | We see a grainy old photo of members of the Denver Mad Scientist Club engaging in remote-controlled robot combat at the 1989 MileHiCon. Participants wear lab coats, and two robots battle it out on a sheet of wood on the floor. | The type on the page reads: “The Event that Birthed Battle Bots: The 1989 MileHiCon Critter Crunch introduced the concept of competitive robot combat to the world.” Page 2 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. There’s a photo of the box of the 1964 Toy Rock Em Sock Em Robots, and a postcard and a matchbook from the Executive Tower Inn, where the event was held. | Text on the page reads: “For yea, the idea of automatons fighting to the death, which had been foretold by the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in 1964, actually came to pass in Colorado in late October of 1989. The 21st Annual MileHiCon, a sci-fi and fantasy gathering in Denver, played host to a truly epochal moment in the history of geekdom: the birth of robot battles as a spectator sport.” | Page 3 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | Text explains that the event was organized by the Denver Mad Scientists Club. There’s a photo of the club’s official insignia, which says “don’t try this at home” in Latin. There’s also a photo of Mad Scientist Club members wearing their standard uniform, a white lab coat. | Text reads: “The year before, MileHiCon had hosted the Critter Crawl, a sort of beauty pageant for windup toys and remote-control gizmos, But no official winner was declared, and there were no prizes.‘This year, all of that will change radically and violently,’ wrote event organizer Bill Llewellin in a pre-convention mailing. ‘The winner will be the last critter standing (rolling, crawling) on the field of combat.’ What he proposed was an event dubbed the Critter Crunch, in which competitors would face off on a folding table provided by the Executive Tower Inn. ‘Some potential entrants are discussing critters capable of significant mayhem,’ warned the even mailer. “So don’t get too attached to your entry.’ (Imagine a time when contestants actually needed to be warned that their robots might be damaged in combat!)” Page 4 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | Photo of a vintage hardback version of I, Robot: Stories of Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov. | Text reads: “Llewellin devised the parameters of the game, with input from fellow members of the Denver Mad Scientists Club. They codified 11 rules, a sort of Magna Carta of mechanical warfare. (No, scratch that, it was bigger than the Magna Carta: It was like a real-life version of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.) The laws Asimov devised: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.” | Page 5 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | A crude Xerox copy of The Rules of the Critter Crunch as of as of 7/11/97. An excerpt: “SPIRIT RULES: A. No Cheating! You know, like intentionally subverting the rules. B. Frankenstein Rule: In honor of the most famous Mad Scientist, and to Mad Scientists everywhere; the audience may verbally behave like an offended and outraged populous towards any and all critters/ operators that they deem offensive and outrageous.1. CRITTERS: A. Critter size at the start of combat will be a cube 12"x12"x12". The critter must be able to stand alone on the combat surface within these dimensions until combat begins. After the start of combat, the 12" cube restriction no longer applies and the critter may transform to fighting mode in any way not otherwise restricted.” It goes on like this for hundreds more words. The rules are extensive! Page 6 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | We see grainy vintage photos of robotic combat from the Critter Crunch. TEXT: “”The Crunch attracted “five or 10” competitors, according to Llewellin. He himself fielded a fearsome forklift creature named Fluffy Bunny that upended numerous opponents before being outmaneuvered by a tiny Radio Shack radio-controlled car. (The lack of weight classes made for some chaotic David-and-Goliath matches.)” | Page 7 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | We see a grainy 1989 photo of two Mad Scientists performing repairs on a robot. PHOTO CAPTION: “Pat Thompson and Bob Pfeiffer try to untangle Thing One's control cables after a match.” | We see a grainy close up photo of a robot with battle damage. PHOTO CAPTION: “A hole is left in Thing One by an air-powered harpoon from the machine Big Punch. The harpoon stuck in the aluminium, but failed to do any damage.” | TEXT READS: “The ultimate winner was Mad Scientist member Pat Thompson’s Thing One, a 19-pound behemoth armed with a can of Silly String that it sprayed at foes — and the audience.”
January 25, 2026 at 4:50 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
I was just grabbing coffee and noticed how cool this building is. Apparently, its the old I. Magnin department store, built 1931, and it’s on the tour of great Art Deco architecture in the Bay Area…
Art deco facade of the I. Magnin bldg in Oakland.
December 30, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
jolantru.bsky.social
16% left! We can do this, people!

Mend the world with words.

ko-fi.com/africantrans...

#translations #writingcommunity
Support African Translation Project
African Translation Project / We're overdue - let's rally this. / please see - please share / After nine months - let's complete funding for the translation of Zvinobvinza to: The Crocodile Doesn't Hu...
ko-fi.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:23 AM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
My pal & former colleague @brandon.insertcredit.com has a new game out! Congrats to all @necrosoftgames.com & @ysbryd.net on Demonschool, which CGMag says is “thoughtful, stylish, innovative and incredibly fun.”

That’s “demonschool” with no spaces, available on most platforms except the Saturn 2.
Screenshot of a battle from the game Demonschool
November 19, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
flashfictiononline.bsky.social
OUT THIS WEEK: “Unfinished Conversations Package” by Chris Baker. Dad persona has so many things to share with you!
@chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
#writingcommunity #sciencefiction #flashfiction

www.flashfictiononline.com/article/unfi...
Unfinished Conversations Package
<DAD PERSONA> 05/11/29 15:1750% COMPLETE…75% COMPLETE…PERSONA GENERATED! COMMUNICATE FREELY WITH PARENTAL SIMULATION!Hey Dan! Thought you’d get a kick out of this Far Side cartoon. I lo…
www.flashfictiononline.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
thrasherxy.bsky.social
“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”
Black text on a yellow background - This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.
November 15, 2025 at 6:15 AM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
My story in Flash Fiction Online's FamPunk issue is now available online. Thanks again to @flashfictiononline.bsky.social and guest editor @slashnburnett.bsky.social for selecting it! www.flashfictiononline.com/article/unfi...
Unfinished Conversations Package
<DAD PERSONA> 05/11/29 15:1750% COMPLETE…75% COMPLETE…PERSONA GENERATED! COMMUNICATE FREELY WITH PARENTAL SIMULATION!Hey Dan! Thought you’d get a kick out of this Far Side cartoon. I lo…
www.flashfictiononline.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:56 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
I have a story in @flashfictiononline.bsky.social’s FamPunk issue guest edited by the incomparable @slashnburnett.bsky.social! Buy the issue or subscribe to FFO, & go subscribe to Emma Burnett’s Patreon for a sneekpeek at her book that’s out next summer.
www.flashfictiononline.com/product/flas...
Flash Fiction Online November 2025
Flash Fiction Online’s November 2025 “”FamPunk”” issue is a collection of family-centered speculative fiction, selected by our guest editor this month Emma Burnett. We…
www.flashfictiononline.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:24 AM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
For Shacklebound Book’s new #WeirdWest anthology, I examined a tragic event in Texas history through the lens of Mexican ghost ballads, dark fantasy pulp, EC horror comics, Swinging Sixties steampunk, spaghetti Westerns, sci-fi manga, & psychedelic Jodorowsky fever dream www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSPD4FP4
Colorful illustrated book cover shows a cowboy in silhouette who is striding towards a town that is being torn apart by some sort of glowing green cosmic vortex in the sky. TEXT: Twisted Trails: Tales of the Weird Wild West, Edited by Eric Fomley
November 11, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
ericfomley.bsky.social
Out today! Twenty flash fiction stories of the weird wild west, infusing horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Check it out and snag a copy! www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSPD4FP4
November 10, 2025 at 9:34 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
Kozy Krampus is unleashed. The new cozy cosmic horror holiday anthology from Underland Press has a story by me about the real-life 16th-century cyborg Götz of the Iron Hand, the monk Martin Luther, and the titular Demon of Winter. Buy a print copy or ebook here: www.underlandpress.com/kozy-krampus/
An illustration in the style of Dr. Seuss depicts Krampus grinning devilishly as he tiptoes off with a Christmas tree covered with ornaments. Krampus is covered in purple fur and has goat horns atop his head, but other than that, the art style and pose are identical to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
November 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
humanoidhistory.bsky.social
“What mid-country wife, seeing her susceptible spouse off for New York would be will­ing to venture his integrity and affection against an assault by Theda Bara, the arch-torpedo of domesticity? Alas, none!” www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-first-...
October 24, 2025 at 3:37 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
LOL, shared a link to my article about Theda Bara, the O.G. vampire of silent cinema, whose smoldering smooches caused a scandal in 1915. I guess she's still considered scandalous today—my post was flagged for graphic content by @moderation.bsk.app. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! bsky.app/profile/chri...
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social chrisbaker1337 @chrisbaker1337.bsky.social · Oct 19
SPOOKY SEASON SPECIAL: Before Dracula or Nosferatu ever rose from their coffins, there was Theda Bara. In 1915, Fox film studio turned her into cinema’s 1st vampire, 1st sex symbol, & 1st scandalous superstar. Read more & see more amazing clips & photos: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-first-...
October 19, 2025 at 8:53 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
SPOOKY SEASON SPECIAL: Before Dracula or Nosferatu ever rose from their coffins, there was Theda Bara. In 1915, Fox film studio turned her into cinema’s 1st vampire, 1st sex symbol, & 1st scandalous superstar. Read more & see more amazing clips & photos: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-first-...
October 19, 2025 at 5:05 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
I wrote about the DeYoung Museum’s fantastic new manga exhibit, and how the California Bay Area played a pivotal role in manga becoming a global phenomenon. chrisbaker1337.substack.com/p/manga-a-ba... #manga #sanfrancisco #bayarea
Colorful and surreal manga illustration by Keiichi Tanaami, “TANAAMI!! AKATSUKA!!” / Revolver 2 (Looking in the Mirror). Fujio Productions Ltd.
October 18, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
humanoidhistory.bsky.social
My Sunday reading: “This travel writer introduced the undead to America. He also ATE HUMAN FLESH.” www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-father...
The Father of all Pop Culture Zombies
This travel writer introduced the undead to America. He also ATE HUMAN FLESH.
www.popculturalprecursors.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
The travel writer who first introduced zombies to pop culture was also a cannibal who wrote about the smell, taste, and texture of human flesh with the relish of a restaurant critic. Read about his twisted life and legacy at the link below or in bio. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-father...
1933 photo of William Seabrook by Carl Van Vechten. Black and White portrait of William Seabrook with his hand on some sort of death visage, presumably an African or Caribbean artifact. The image is annotated with the text: “Writer. Adventurer. Cannibal. ‘The aroma was wholly pleasant. It had no weird, startling, or unholy special flavor—it was mild, good meat.’—William Seabrook, the man who introduced zombies to America (and ate human flesh)”
October 5, 2025 at 1:40 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
My latest article pinpoints the original inspiration of all superheroes who got their powers from radiation, from the Hulk to the Fantastic 4: a bizarre thought experiment that ran in a 1953 mag. Read the unbelievable history at the link below or in bio.
www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/the-origin...
The opening illustration of the article “How Nuclear Radiation Can Change Our Race” that appeared in the December 1953 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. We see the jagged ruins of a human building in front of futuristic high-rises off in the distance. A group of feral, disheveled humans in ragged tattered clothing are being attacked by two superior mutant men. The mutant men are elongated, with giant swollen hairless heads. They wear futuristic garb that exposes their arms and legs, and one of them wields a laser rifle. He is in the process of blasting one hapless human man in the chest with a powerful burst of laser blasts. The headline for the article is written atop the image, and we see the dek and the byline: “An atomic war could produce an entirely new species of man. Would he be friend—or foe? By O. O. Binder”
September 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
I saw this coin-op E.T. at the annual Bell Plastics open house event in Hayward, CA. (They collect all kinds of weird and wonderful artifacts.) I was immensely bummed that it wasn’t plugged in and functional, as I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how a kid would “ride” this. Does anyone know?
Photo: Coin-operated E.T. that you ride, like the little coin-op horsies and rockets that you used to see outside of grocery stores. There is a yellow bollard behind it that’s kitted out to look like a Minion.
August 31, 2025 at 6:10 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
130 years ago, comics were violent & crude, celebrating unassimilated immigrants & disrespecting every form of authority. They created pop culture as we know it, according to historian Peter Maresca. Read more & see some of the works he's unearthed here:
www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/how-newspa...
How newspaper comics created pop culture
A Q&A with Peter Maresca about the chaos and brilliance of 130 year-old Sunday funnies
www.popculturalprecursors.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:07 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
This game dev came up with the perfect solution to the philosophical dilemma: Gotta Squish 'Em All. bsky.app/profile/byda...
bydandans.bsky.social Dan @bydandans.bsky.social · Aug 23
#TheTrolleySolution is almost here!
(Really Really Close)

Here’s a sneak peek of the super serious philosophical gameplay you can expect.

Wishlist now on Steam!
store.steampowered.com/app/3219410/...

#screenshotsaturaday
August 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
1901 comic imagines a future where zeppelins clog the skies. Click the link to see more amazing old illustrations and read about Society Is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy at the Dawn of the American Comic Strip 1895-1915, available from @fantagraphics.bsky.social. www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/how-newspa...
Eddie Eksergian’s 1901 comic in the St. Louis Star envisions a future where zeppelins clog our skies. We see over a dozen people traveling with aerial balloons, including a cop, a dog, a massive Astorbuilt Private Airline for the wealthy, and a floating bar called Milky-Way tavern.
August 21, 2025 at 3:52 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
An inventor tunnels to the realm of the elastic men. This 1910 comic is one of many amazing works unearthed in Society Is Nix: Gleeful Anarchy at the Dawn of the American Comic Strip 1895-1915, available from @fantagraphics.bsky.social. See more here: www.popculturalprecursors.com/p/how-newspa...
Panel from “Old Opie Dildock’s Stories” newspaper comic from April 17, 1910. The inventor Opie Dildock has reached a subterranean realm in his earth boring machine the Germanicholad. He peers out the window of his machine, puffing on a cigar, and ogles the strange stretchy race of colorful elastic people he sees there. Panel from “Old Opie Dildock’s Stories” newspaper comic from April 17, 1910. A cutaway reveals inventor Opie Dildock inside of his earth boring machine the Germanicholad, sitting at a writing desk, while the gyroscope in the compartment beneath him spins furiously. The caption reads: “The germanicholad was working beautifully. The gyroscope underneath the pivotal deck preserved the machine's balance absolutely, and I devoted much time to writing as we neared the center of the earth.” Panel from “Old Opie Dildock’s Stories” newspaper comic from April 17, 1910. Opie Dildock has befriended an elastic person. The caption reads: “Elongated Chico I called him, for he was long of body and limb. Talking with him, I forgot to calculate distance, and suddenly we shot through the outer crust of the earth at the south pole. Chico, assisted by the laws of gravitation, came to my rescue by hooking his feet in the earth. holding the machine in his hands and stretching about four miles before he could check our flight. He then dragged us back to earth and helped me climb a sheer wall of ice.” In these panels from “Old Opie Dildock’s Stories” newspaper comic from April 17, 1910. The inventor befriends one of the elastic men and gives him a cigar, which makes the creature melt. Caption reads, “Then I sat down on the pole, playfully called Chico the most flexible person I ever had met and gave him one of my favorite cigars. His puffing was ludicrous as well as fatal, for as he smoked, the fumes of the tobacco melted him and he flowed over the ice and was no more. Faithful servitor! Because of him I never have told the world the story of my discovery. On the spot where he had smoked I planted a huge cigar. Then sadly I wended my way homeward.”
August 19, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by chrisbaker1337
atmcashpoint.bsky.social
Han never shot "first".

He shot solo. ;)
August 12, 2025 at 5:23 PM
chrisbaker1337.bsky.social
We debate whether #Han or #Greedo shot first. Swiss artist Martin Panchaud diagrams the crime scene, leaving no doubt. It's part of his complete infographic remake of #StarWars: ANH. I write about Panchaud's unique aesthetic & his new book in this article chrisbaker1337.substack.com/p/from-above...
Illustration of Star Wars cantina scene rendered in pictogram form. We see dots representing Han Solo and Greed in an Infographic-style overhead view. Text emerges from each dot in a series of images. GREEDO: [produces DT-12 Heavy Blaster Pistol] HAN: !?! GREEDO: Going somewhere, Solo? HAN: Yes, Greedo. As a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss. Tell Jabba that I've got his money. Illustration of Star Wars cantina scene rendered in pictogram form. We see dots representing Han Solo and Greed in an Infographic-style overhead view. Text emerges from each dot in a series of images. Unbeknownst to Greedo, a DL-44 Blaster is strapped under the table. GREEDO: It's too late. You should have paid him when you had the chance. Jabba's put a price on your head, so large that every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you. I'm lucky I found you first. HAN: Yeah, but this time I got the money. GREEDO: If you give it to me, I might forget I found you. Unbeknownst to Greedo, Han unhooks the clasp of the blaster holder under the table. HAN: I don't have it with me. Tell Jabba... GREEDO: Jabba's through with you. He has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser. HAN: Even I get boarded sometimes. Do you think I had a choice? GREEDO: You can tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship. Illustration of Star Wars cantina scene rendered in pictogram form. We see dots representing Han Solo and Greed in an Infographic-style overhead view. Text emerges from each dot in a series of images. Unbeknownst to Greedo, Han is unholstering a DL-44 Blaster strapped under the table. HAN: Over my dead body. GREEDO: That's the idea. I've been looking forward to killing you for a long time. Illustration of Star Wars cantina scene rendered in pictogram form. We see dots representing Han Solo and Greed in an Infographic-style overhead view. Text emerges from each dot in a series of images. Unbeknownst to Greedo, HAN Yes, I'll bet you have. Suddenly Han produces his blaster and fires a glowing red blast of energy at the alien’s dot, which disappears in a blinding flash of light. Steam and smoke rise from the shredded green half-circle representing Greedo.
August 12, 2025 at 1:17 PM