tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90722508874664834222024-03-13T06:40:22.138-07:00The Lovecraft News NetworkFair. Balanced. Gleefully Misanthropic.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-59816817115363213082010-10-24T17:15:00.000-07:002014-01-20T18:31:46.349-08:00Debunking the Lovecraftian Occult<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Dear Friendly Residents of the Sol System,<br />
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As those currently not preoccupied by the continuous menace of existential risk may have noted, the LNN has been rather quiet lately. However, today we have deactivated the cryogenic suspension of our maltheistic drones and re-fired the furnaces of our cyclopean engines to swing the bow around and broadside you with the following critically important announcement:<br />
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The Lovecraft News Network is extremely proud to present the following treatise entitled "Debunking the Lovecraftian Occult" by Thomas Jude Barclay Morrison.<br />
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A resident of the bucolic Pennines in England, Mr. Morrison is a prolific writer of fiction and essays, a polymathic musician-singer-songwriter, a dedicated botherer of dolphins, an accomplished Godzilla haikuist, a pious chronicler of alchemical legerdemain, and a heterodoxically inclined expert on the history of the arcane and occult.<br />
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He is also great friend of the LNN.<br />
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<span class="fullpost">Being privy to his formidable intellectual resources and interest in guerrilla academic pursuits, we invited him to pen a few thoughts on a Lovecraftian topic of his choosing. Mr. Morrison was good enough to submit to us the following article, of which we are simultaneously astounded by and deeply grateful for. His treatise is a devastating phalanx of logic and reason, yet it is gleeful and neither mean-spirited or overtly hostile. It is a gentleman's argument, though we suspect there may be those who passionately disagree with his findings. We have found that such is typically the case with all of the best writings of the most interesting and rhetorically dexterous authors. With the article, we also welcome those who would dispute it to the discussion. Our goal by presenting this is not to end the life of the debate through a definitive endorsement, though we admit to finding the piece quite compelling; instead, we wish to facilitate the breeding of this debate's steroid-addled and radiation-filled, mutant progeny by inviting further argument from the community on all sides of the spectrum of belief.<br />
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At this time, in recognition of the completion of this most dangerous literary quest, by the considerable power vested in us, we heft our onyx-encrusted battle axe and dub Mr. Thomas Jude Barclay Morrison as "Hewer of the Hebetudinous and Indefatigable Antagonizer of Chaos Magicians" and bestow upon him all the rights, ranks, and privileges requisite of this glorious calling.<br />
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Warm regards,<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000876385890#%21/profile.php?id=100000289958460">Charles Ward</a><br />
Senior Phrenologist and Director of Public Relations<br />
<i style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The Lovecraft News Network</i><br />
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<span class="fullpost"><span style="font-size: large;">"Debunking the Lovecraftian Occult" </span></span></div>
<span class="fullpost"><i>by Thomas Jude Barclay Morrison</i><br />
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<blockquote>
<span class="fullpost"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I am, indeed, an absolute materialist so far as actual belief goes; with not a shred of credence in any form of supernaturalism—religion, spiritualism, transcendentalism, metempsychosis, or immortality.” (H. P. Lovecraft, <i>Selected Letters</i>, Vol. II, p. 27)</span></span></blockquote>
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The both delightfully and horrifyingly bizarre spectacle that we laughably refer to as “the modern world” is graced by the presence of a perhaps surprisingly large number of Lovecraftian occult 'orders', and an ever-growing body of writings concerning the practice of Lovecraftian occultism. This literalising of Lovecraft's tales of crazed and diabolical cultists enslaved by monstrous, ancient god-like entities has to qualify as one of the most curious cultural phenomena, even by the standards of the already highly curious subculture of contemporary Lovecraftiana. I would therefore like to take a few moments of your time, dear reader, in which to survey this singular scene, and to challenge, perhaps, some of the presumptions and misconceptions that underlie it—please do not be alarmed, the process will be almost entirely painless, and I can assure you that you will feel much better in the morning. <br />
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Besides the great many Lovecraftian occultists who belong to no formal organisation, and who practice their magic in a solitary way, occult orders claiming to work Lovecraftian magic include the Typhonian Order, the Order of the Trapezoid, the Bate Cabal, the Lovecraftian Coven, the Starry Wisdom group, the Miskatonic Alchemical Expedition, a veritable plethora of Esoteric Orders of Dagon, and of course, the Cult of Cthulhu, already very much known and loved by Adepts and Grand Wizards of the Lovecraft News Network. Lovecraftian occult groups and practitioners like to think that they are highly unique and individualistic—and indeed, there are minor differences between them—but broadly speaking, they are united in the following ways: their fondness for hierarchical organisation, which manifests in a variety of deliciously pompous titles like “High Priest” and “Grand Master”; their fondness for Lovecraft; their fondness for the postmodern occultism known as Chaos Magic; their fondness for Satanism. They are also united in that they continue to exist—a fact which might in itself be viewed as an argument against the reality of the magic they practice, given the fate of those who actually succeed in 'invoking' the 'Old Ones', in Lovecraft's stories. <br />
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In written form, the most (in)famous manifestations of Lovecraftian occultism are almost certainly the various competing versions (including those by Donald Tyson and Robert Turner) of Lovecraft's pseudo-grimoire, the <i>Necronomicon</i>—the most renowned of which is that which “Simon” (a <i>nom de plume</i>) penned. These <i>Necronomicon</i>s are exactly what you'd expect them to be—collections of spells and rituals designed to invoke and summon Lovecraft's “Old Ones”, written in the style of medieval and renaissance grimoires, and in the case of Simon, also that of Sumerian mythology. The number of people who believe these texts to be genuinely archaic is surprisingly high, given the widespread availability of information concerning their spurious nature—although perhaps it should not be surprising, since credulity and wilful myopia have never been in short supply. <br />
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Let's take a closer look at the Simon <i>Necronomicon</i>. It's one of the most magnificently unoriginal texts you could hope to encounter. A quarter of it is stolen from Lovecraft, a quarter of it from Aleister Crowley, a quarter from Sumerian mythology, and a quarter from the Key of Solomon and the Lesser Key of Solomon (famous medieval/renaissance grimoires, whose beautiful 'seals' Simon poorly imitates, in the extensive sections of his book taken up with sigils, such as his 'Book of Fifty Names'). Of course, few books are truly original—but Simon fails even to combine his sources in an imaginative, interesting or surprising way. Frankly, if you like books with grimoire-y atmosphere, which is above all what Simon attempts to create, then you're far better off with real grimoires, like the Key of Solomon—and the same is true if you're looking for an authentic book of magic (if there is such a thing). Should you be reckless enough to wish to follow Crowley's <i>Ignis Fatuus</i>, then you'll find his own writings far more interesting than Simon's sycophantic idolisation of him. As for Lovecraft—Simon's <i>Necronomicon</i> completely misrepresents his stories, and in so doing renders him a great disservice. <br />
<br />
In the Introduction to Simon's <i>Necronomicon</i>, in the section entitled 'The Mythos and the Magick', Simon states that:</span><br />
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“Lovecraft depicted a kind of Christian Myth of the struggle between opposing forces of Light and Darkness, between God and Satan, in the Cthulhu Mythos.”</blockquote>
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This is by no means what Lovecraft depicted. The struggle between the “Elder Gods” and the “Ancient Ones”, to which Simon refers, is to be found in the pages of August Derleth's work, not Lovecraft's. Unlike 'Cthulhu Mythos' authors such as Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch and Frank Belknap Long, Derleth wrote his stories after Lovecraft's death, with no guidance from or collaboration with Lovecraft. His work is widely acknowledged—by everyone, it seems, but Simon—to be cliched, simplistic, and in general inferior to the work of both Lovecraft and many of the other Mythos writers. It is only in Derleth's stories that you will find Lovecraftian entities engaged in a war of good versus evil. In Lovecraft's own writings, the situation is far more complex and ambiguous than a childish “goodies vs. baddies” scenario, and in claiming that Lovecraft himself wrote of such a struggle, Simon distorts and diminishes Lovecraft and his work. <br />
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Such distortions are typical of Lovecraftian occult texts. Other than the various <i>Necronomicon</i>s, the most widely-known and influential text of Lovecraftian occultism is probably <i>Satanic Rituals</i>, by Anton LaVey (the founder of the Order of the Trapezoid)—the earliest text in which Lovecraftian occult rituals were published. Whilst LaVey's portrayal of Lovecraft and his work is slightly more sophisticated than that of Simon, <i>Satanic Rituals</i> is crammed with misconception after delightful misconception. LaVey's ideological stance continually impares his ability to read the text for what it is—like all ideologues, he views everything through the distorting prism of his fundamentalist beliefs. For example:</span><br />
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<blockquote>
“The concept of worship <i>per se</i> is strikingly absent from the Cthulhu mythos. Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu are all honored through bizarre festivals, but their relationship to their followers is invariably that of teacher to students. Compare the description of a Lovecraftian ceremony to that of a Christian mass or a Voodoo rite, and it is clear that the element of servility is definitely lacking in the first. ”</blockquote>
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Let us instead compare the description of a Lovecraftian ceremony with LaVey's description, above, of what happens in such a ceremony:</span><br />
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<blockquote>
“In a natural glade of the swamp stood a grassy island of perhaps an acre's extent, clear of trees and tolerably dry. On this now leaped and twisted a more indescribable horde of human abnormality than any but a Sime or an Angarola could paint. Void of clothing, this hybrid spawn were braying, bellowing, and writhing about a monstrous ring-shaped bonfire; in the centre of which, revealed by occasional rifts in the curtain of flame, stood a great granite monolith some eight feet in height; on top of which, incongruous in its diminutiveness, rested the noxious carven statuette. From a wide circle of ten scaffolds set up at regular intervals with the flame-girt monolith as a centre hung, head downward, the oddly marred bodies of the helpless squatters who had disappeared. It was inside this circle that the ring of worshippers jumped and roared, the general direction of the mass motion being from left to right in endless Bacchanal between the ring of bodies and the ring of fire.” (H. P. Lovecraft, <i>Call of Cthulhu</i>)</blockquote>
This is no teacher, handing on wisdom to his pupils, as LaVey states the relationship between Mythos entities and their followers “invariably” is—Lovecraft describes these 'pupils' as “mentally aberrant” and “degraded and ignorant”, within a couple of paragraphs of the above quotation, which is hardly a description of those capable of receiving a teaching. And contrary to what LaVey argues about “the concept of worship” being “strikingly absent” from Lovecraft's ceremonies, this is very much an act of worship, in which Lovecraft's portrayal of the cultists' bestiality (amongst other details, such as the human sacrifices, or the idol that 'lords it over' the cultists, from its throne high on the monolith) is intended to convey a sense of abject, mindless servility to Cthulhu, in which the cultists are diminished, and become less than human. Lovecraft even states that this act of worship is tinged with “a colouring of voodooism”―which LaVey specifically singles out as being unlike Lovecraft's fictional ceremonies. LaVey, with his cult of “the flesh”, celebrates and is a propagandist for Dionysian animalism, and so assumes that Lovecraft also must be, simply because he writes about Bacchanalian ceremonies—even though the text itself veritably screams his contempt (fascist and racist, at root) for the cultists. <br />
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Exactly the same misconception is evident in the following passage from <i>Satanic Rituals</i>:</span><br />
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“There is evidence that he [Lovecraft] was acutely aware of civilization's effects upon mankind—both educational and repressive. His tales constantly remind the reader that humanity is but a short step from the most depraved and vicious forms of bestiality. He sensed man's drive toward knowledge, even at the risk of sanity. Intellectual excellence, he seemed to say, is achieved in concert with cataclysmic terror—not in avoidance of it. ”</blockquote>
It's true that Lovecraft's tales constantly warn against the bestiality that lurks in the human heart. But he intends this warning in precisely the opposite way to LaVey's reading of it—Lovecraft is clinging to civilisation, not condemning it. LaVey seems entirely ignorant of one of the most persistent subtexts in Lovecraft's work: his almost Hardyesque lament for the passing away of eighteenth century culture, which he saw as being more civilised than that of the times which followed it. <br />
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Consider, for example, <i>The Horror at Red Hook</i>. Lovecraft describes Red Hook as a place in which the veneer of civilisation has fallen away. This is not a place that civilisation has corrupted, as LaVey's argument would lead you to believe, but rather a place which could only benefit from the presence of civilisation. Lovecraft's protagonist is:</span><br />
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<blockquote>
“...conscious, as one who united imagination with scientific knowledge, that modern people under lawless conditions tend uncannily to repeat the darkest instinctive patterns of primitive half-ape savagery in their daily life and ritual observances...”</blockquote>
Lovecraft clearly states, here, the exact opposite to LaVey's distortion of his views—he argues that “modern people” are degraded as a consequence of civilisation's lack (ie. “lawless conditions”), not as a consequence of civilisation itself, as LaVey suggests, and also that “primitive” people are less than human precisely because they are not civilised. <br />
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Of course, Lovecraft being Lovecraft, there is no optimism in this view. Although he regards lack of civilisation as the least desirable option, neither is he very hopeful about civilisation's prognosis:</span><br />
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<blockquote>
“...the wishes, hopes, and values of humanity are matters of total indifference to the blind cosmic mechanism.” (H. P. Lovecraft, <i>A Confession of Unfaith</i> (1922), in <i>H. P. Lovecraft, Miscellaneous Writings</i></blockquote>
Moreover, his pessimism is by no means limited to the ultimate fate of civilisation. What admiration he had for civilisation was largely rooted in his almost paranoiac fear of its collapse—he fervently believed that what civilisation he saw around him was very much under threat, menaced by exactly the sort of 'barbarian' immigrants (this is definitely not to overstate his xenophobic views, although it should be remembered that such views were typical of his time) that he depicted with such contempt in <i>The Horror at Red Hook</i>, in which he is careful to banish “American and Scandinavian” (ie. Aryan) people from Red Hook, which he populates with “Syrian, Spanish, Italian, and Negro elements impinging upon one another”. His cultists are usually foreigners. <br />
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Although Lovecraft's views on civilisation were tainted with fascism, they were also complex, nuanced, and not a little ambiguous. This is a stark contrast to LaVey's straightforward contempt of civilisation, which is a black-and-white, fundamentalist ideology that does no justice to the complexity of the subject at hand—it is not simply in his outright hostility to civilisation (in contrast to Lovecraft's clinging to it), but also in the simplistic nature of his views, that he is utterly at odds with Lovecraft. He reads his own obsessions into Lovecraft's work, simply because Lovecraft happens to be talking about the same general subject matter (ie. civilisation)—it's a bit like arguing that the authors of the <i>Malleus Maleficarum</i> were advocates of witchcraft, on the basis that their book is about witchcraft. LaVey is either wilfully or delusively blind to anything in Lovecraft's writing which doesn't neatly fit into his rigid ideology, and 'cherry-picks' Lovecraft for superficial similarities to his own world view. <br />
<br />
Kenneth Grant—the founder of the Typhonian order—is another influential figure in the field of Lovecraftian occultism, where his <i>The Magical Revival</i> casts a long shadow (Simon's <i>Necronomicon</i>, for example, is heavily influenced by it). Grant approaches Lovecraft from a background rooted in Chaos Magic, rather than Satanism. In Chaos Magic, archetypes found in fiction or popular culture are regarded as being as magically potent as those found in the pantheons of the ancient world—Superman, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe are as fitting symbols with which to make magic as Mars, Orpheus or Venus. Grant, in <i>The Magical Revival</i>, treats Lovecraft's 'Old Ones' in this way, arguing that “fiction, as a vehicle, has often been used by occultists”, and that “writers such as Arthur Machen, Brodie Innes, Algernon Blackwood and H.P. Lovecraft are in this category ”. <br />
<br />
In stating that Lovecraft's writing 'falls into the category' of fiction used “as a vehicle... by occultists”, Grant is arguing that Lovecraft was an occultist. Yet his argument is less straightforward and more deceptive than that, because he sees Lovecraft as a mage who lived in denial of his status as mage, who failed to pass—as he rather pompously puts it—“the final pylons of Initiation”. This thoroughly condescending view of Lovecraft's achievement is no doubt rooted in Lovecraft's passionate atheism and disbelief in magic—that is, his total rejection of Grant's world-view—and yet this implicit acknowledgement of Lovecraft's disbelief does not stop Grant from arguing that Lovecraft was a subconscious propagandist for magic, writing stories that advocate the occult, without realising that he was doing so. <br />
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He contends that Lovecraft's lifelong “night terrors”, which inspired so much of his writing, were in fact occult visions—which is very presumptuous of him, it has to be said, given that Lovecraft himself, who did not believe in occult visions, would have objected in the strongest possible terms to his nightmares being represented as such. Grant 'substantiates' his argument by detailing ways in which he believes Lovecraft's Mythos parallels the ideas and mythology of Aleister Crowley. These largely consist of alleged similarities between names used in Lovecraft's stories and names significant in Crowley's work—Yog Sothoth, for instance, he claims to be related to “Sut-Thoth”, an Egyptian deity important to Crowley, whilst Azathoth he connects with both Azoth, “the alchemical solvent”, and again Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and scribes, beloved by Crowley. He accepts that Lovecraft and Crowley never met, and that Lovecraft never read Crowley's work, but argues that both took their inspiration from the same occult source. <br />
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Linguistic and etymological sophistries of the sort outlined by Grant are a common tool of occult mountebanks, and the fact that phonetic resemblances are undeniably present between certain words has surprising potency, when it comes to blinding intelligent people to the true causes of such similarities. And yet the fact remains that the human tongue can only utter a limited number of sounds, which means that there are bound to be phonetic parallels between any two groups of otherwise entirely unconnected words. To put it bluntly—the alleged linguistic connections between Lovecraft's writing and Crowley's ideas, which Grant outlines, are the result of blind chance, anatomical necessity, and Grant's obsession with the occult, and are flimsy foundations indeed on which to base an argument that Crowley and Lovecraft were inspired by the same occult vision. Grant's writings on the subject of Lovecraft are (like LaVey's) an abundantly excellent example of the following truth: if you are obsessed with something in a big enough way, then you will interpret everything you encounter as being connected with the object of your obsession. If you go looking for them, then you will find names from Lovecraft, Crowley, Solomonic Magic, Ancient Babylon, and Disney® (or any other flavour of pantheon that takes your fancy) everywhere, including in the registration plates of passing cars.<br />
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None of this is to deny that there <i>are</i> occult elements in Lovecraft's work. It's well known that he was aware of various occult texts, and that he drew on these texts in his writing:</span><br />
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<blockquote>
“Lovecraft was at least somewhat familiar with the literature of occultism, especially in his later years. At the time of his death, his library contained such works as Lewis Spence’s <i>Encyclopæia of Occultism</i>, Sir Walter Scott's <i>Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft</i>, Camille Flammarion's <i>Haunted Houses</i>, and a variety of works on ghosts, folklore, and mythology. This was not the end of the matter, as Lovecraft also borrowed a number of occult works—as well as Charles Fort's <i>Book of the Damned</i> and <i>New Lands</i>—from libraries and his friends, most notably Herman C. Koenig of New York City... Lovecraft, then, was hardly an authority on matters esoteric and uncanny, but he had some basic knowledge that he incorporated into his tales.” (Daniel Harms, <i>H.P. Lovecraft</i>, in <i>Fortean Times</i>, June 2004)</blockquote>
Yet pointing out the existence of such influences is not enough, if one intends to argue that Lovecraft held occult beliefs, that he would have approved of his stories being used as the basis of a practice of magic, or that his writings should be read as occult texts. These arguments are largely refuted in his letters, which reveal him as a passionate and outspoken opponent of superstition who regarded magic in all its forms as nothing but superstition. If his works are to be read as occult texts, then one might as well read the telephone directory in search of occult wisdom, because he wrote them with the same lack of intent to create an occult text as the authors of the telephone directory. To argue that he wrote occult texts without realising it is to both ignore the sense of disgust with which he writes his cultists, and which give his stories a significant undercurrent of anti-occult propaganda, and to patronise him, by implying that the poor dear wasn't self-aware enough to understand the true significance of his work (which of course can only be glimpsed by occultists—so much of the occult is about elitism). Lovecraft's writings draw on occult texts, yes—but that by no means makes them occult texts in themselves. <br />
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I'd like to round off our stroll through the murky underworld of Lovecraftian occultism, dear reader, by stating—for the record, and so it's out in the open—my views on Satanism and Chaos Magic, since these belief systems are so significant to the theory and practice of Lovecraftian occultism. In a nutshell, and as you've probably already guessed, I believe both Satanism and Chaos Magic to be deeply flawed. In the case of Satanism, I simply can't get away from the fact that the Christians invented the Devil. Satanism, therefore, is forever chained to the very ideology it has made its enemy. By defining itself solely in relation to Christianity, it remains fundamentally Christian in perspective—Satanists completely fail to escape the Christian metaphor. A Satanist is just a Christian standing on their head. I'm reminded of LaVey's observation that:</span><br />
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<blockquote>
“Lovecraft recorded his aversion to conventional religious dogma in <i>The Silver Key</i>, and he regarded with a similar scorn those who, rejecting religion, succumbed to a controversial substitute, i.e. the popular notion of witchcraft.” (from <i>Satanic Rituals</i>)</blockquote>
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LaVey, for once, is exactly right—although he doesn't realise that Satanism is precisely the sort of deliberately controversial and populist substitute for the dogmas of religion that Lovecraft despised. <br />
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In the case of Chaos Magic, although I have more respect for it than I do for Satanism, I find its defining characteristic of 'paradigm shifts' to be shallow and self-defeating. Chaos Magic advocates taking up and discarding world views and belief systems as they serve the magician's purpose—a Chaos magician works with Lovecraft's deities one week, the pantheon of ancient Egypt the week after that, and the cast of Star Trek the week after that, and regards all such belief systems as fundamentally untrue (“nothing is true, everything is permitted”, the Chaos magicians cry, seemingly unaware of the rather ambiguous context in which Nietzsche first framed their one-liner). This attempt to manipulate the power of belief must ultimately fail because anyone who can throw away a belief system and adopt a different one overnight, and without a second thought, simply because it's useful to do so, and who moreover overtly states that they hold no belief system to be true, doesn't really believe in the first place. Chaos magicians are the antithesis of medieval and renaissance mages, to whom belief was not a clever game, but the literal and unchangeable truth—and yet Chaos magicians argue that it is in precisely that kind of rock-solid, unshakable belief that magical power lies. There is no illuminating paradox here—just a straightforward contradiction, born of flawed logic. <br />
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As for occult tradition in general—it's true to say that I have a lot more respect for the occultism of renaissance and medieval times than I do for postmodern forms of magic. Yes, pre-modern occultism is steeped in dogma and superstition, but there's a depth to it that I find lacking in postmodern occultism—and even a humility in the face of mystery that feels like a breath of fresh air, after reading the writings of know-it-alls like LaVey or Crowley. It also has an atmosphere, an aesthetic, and a poetry that is all of its own, and which I find far more unique, imaginative and downright bizarre than that of, say, Satanism or Chaos Magic. On the wider matter of magic itself—above all, I recognise that “there is more in heaven and earth than is dreamed of in your philosophy”. For this reason, I'm not going to expound my views on magic here, because that would be to either deny that there is mystery or imply that I could confidently explain the mysterious, and fall into precisely the kind of arrogance that I abhor in the writings of Crowley and LaVey. Suffice it to say that my views are ambiguous, evolving, and sceptical—but that although I am dismissive of postmodern occultism, I am by no means entirely dismissive of either occultism or magic itself. <br />
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Last of all, now that I have completed my attempt to tear the Lovecraftian occult to shreds before your very eyes, let me take a moment to celebrate it—for make no mistake, I have genuine affection for it. I wholeheartedly believe that we would all be impoverished, if delusions like those of the Lovecraftian occultist were to ever go out of fashion. Life can only be enriched by the existence of harmless and entertaining insanities like the literalising of works of fiction, or the adopting of splendidly pompous titles like “Intergalactic Grand Potentate of the Thirteen Sacred Dishes of Ishra”, or “Seven Hundred and Thirty Fourth Heresiarch of the Thrice Reviled Ixplatagm”, or whatever. In short, it's hokum, but it's dashed good hokum, and for this reason, Lovecraftian occultists—I salute you! May your grandiloquent delusions remain unconquerable, and bring you nothing but satisfaction and joy! May drab and mediocre reality never sully you!</span></span></div>
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LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-35381244525076232702010-05-27T02:59:00.000-07:002010-05-27T03:00:03.850-07:00Lovecraft and National GeographicWe received the following interesting tidbit from <a href="http://lovecraftnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2009/08/19-years-later-massive-digital.html">Will Hart</a>, noted Providence photographer and Lovecraft enthusiast, and we are pleased to pass it along.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To All Lovecraftians,</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<a href="http://foxinter.vo.llnwd.net/o21/natgeoadventure/travelguides/190x143/0/68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://foxinter.vo.llnwd.net/o21/natgeoadventure/travelguides/190x143/0/68.jpg" width="200" /></a> Lovecraft and National Geographic; I think the old gentleman would have loved this!<br />
<br />
If you head over to the National Geographic "Nat Geo Adventure" website, and look into the "Travel Guides" section, you find a guide to Lovecraft Country, under the title "The Call of Cthulhu." <a href="http://natgeoadventure.tv/uk/TravelGuide.aspx?id=68" target="_blank">http://natgeoadventure.tv/uk/<wbr></wbr>TravelGuide.aspx?id=68</a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
This piece was written by Edoardo Molinelli, an editor for the PlacesOnline.com website; and includes three photographs from my "Lovecraft's Providence" collection on Flickr.<br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cthulhuwho1/collections/72157621860080185/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/<wbr></wbr>cthulhuwho1/collections/<wbr></wbr>72157621860080185/</a><br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /> <br style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> The article, its pictures, and more basic info are currently viewable online.</span><br />
</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-14554363486649230332010-05-27T02:28:00.000-07:002010-05-27T02:28:40.479-07:00House of Black Wings to be released on DVD on May 31stHOUSE OF BLACK WINGS to be released on DVD on May 31st 2010<br />
<br />
Chicago, Illinois –May 4th, 2010 – Sword & Cloak Productions is proud to announce the official release of its second feature-length movie, HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS on DVD on May 31st, 2010. The movie will initially be available from Amazon.com and through swordandcloak.com. The DVD will contain the 101 minutes feature, as well as a “Making of” Featurette, Wrap Reel, Trailer, Photo Gallery, and Crew Commentary.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swordandcloak.com/blackwings/images/hobw-poster1f.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.swordandcloak.com/blackwings/images/hobw-poster1f.JPG" width="250" /></a></div><br />
<span class="fullpost"><b>About the Movie:</b><br />
<br />
After a tragic act of violence cuts short her music career, Kate Stone is returning to a city full of ex-fans and ex-friends. Taking shelter with her last friend, a struggling artist named Robyn Huck, the two women work to restore the aging courtyard apartment building Robyn has inherited. But a terrible secret infests the venerable structure, and soon Kate will be haunted by horrific dreams, sinister apparitions, and the sounds of something moving in the walls. She will be dragged into a confrontation not only with her own dark past, but the unspeakable nightmare that lurks beyond the walls!<br />
<br />
House of Black Wings is a character-driven Lovecraftian ghost story. Inspired by the character-driven thrillers of the 70’s like Polanski's The Tenant, Don’t Look Now, or The Shining. It is a nightmare of urban paranoia, loss of identity, and the blurred line between creativity and madness. <br />
<br />
"Equally as creepy as any Roman Polanski vision...a unique effort full of dark flavor. ...this one has something great to offer."<br />
- Horror News<br />
<br />
“As poignant as it is oddly paranoiac and featuring fearlessly passionate performances.”<br />
- Horror Society<br />
<br />
"something unique and special...we were quite impressed with this film."<br />
- Kitley's Krypt<br />
<br />
"Takes the time to build a story around our main characters...so when the horror becomes unleashed further we actually care about what happens"<br />
- Horror Yearbook<br />
<br />
<b>Learn More:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.swordandcloak.com/blackwings/hobw-main.htm">http://www.swordandcloak.com/blackwings/hobw-main.htm</a><br />
<br />
</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-45838923899829619942010-04-08T20:39:00.000-07:002010-04-08T21:38:29.938-07:00Ruminations on Resurrection and our New Ribbon CampaignAs usual, this post will begin with an apology for the dearth of coverage here at the LNN as of late. Bear with us and fear not: we currently have several exciting projects we hope to soon deliver. These tentatively include a detailed report of Charles Ward's semi-lucid forays into the making of the world's first Lovecraft-inspired Wormwood Mead, a wholly unique interview with one of our personal favorite literary champions, author and illustrator Mark E. Rogers, the legendary creator of <i>The Adventures of Samurai Cat</i> series, and also a new entry into our popular <i>Illustrated Guide</i> series by British author and skeptical <i>flâneur</i> of the arcane Thomas Jude Barclay Morrison on "Debunking the Lovecraftian Occult." Considering the controversial rise of figures like <a href="http://lovecraftnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/02/cult-of-cthulhu-is-now-501c-3-interview.html">Venger Satanis</a> and others, we look forward to the fireworks and rousing debate this will surely bring. <br />
<br />
For today, we would like to briefly discuss a few issues. Our previous article, "<a href="http://lovecraftnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/03/lovecraftian-maltheism-for-pragmatic_16.html">Lovecraftian Maltheism for the Pragmatic Individual</a>," has generated some interesting responses ranging from the academically intrigued, the poetically bemused, and the curiously distressing concern of the humble believer. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/bookoftrogool/images/trogool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://scienceblogs.com/bookoftrogool/images/trogool.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />
<i>This is wonderful.</i><br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">Nothing irks a mad scientist more than having everyone suddenly accept and acknowledge his work, and the same goes double for the mad rhetorician. Take this fine fellow, for example: Mr. Jim Newbold describes himself as a widower from North Carolina, and he wrote to us the following in response to the article in question:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Charles - The Bible is not scary to believers. True believers look forward to the coming of Christ for His church. It's not that we want to die, we just are not afraid of it because we know what life after death we have. We will be with Christ for eternity, with no sickness, no pain, no sorrow.<br />
<br />
The Bible would certainly be scary if I didn't have the assurance of being saved, and would be facing eternal torment in hell after death.</blockquote><br />
First off, Mr. Newbold, we respect your thoughts and thank you for your willingness to make this attempt at entering into a discussion. This is an interesting statement on numerous levels, though I don't think we will parse its portent much further today, aside from briefly raising the suggestion that your comment might be, just perhaps, <i>exactly </i>the sort of the thing the article was getting at. But we'll leave that to Charles. He can defend himself if he feels so inclined. Anyways, to those who sent us your thoughts, thank you.<br />
<br />
On this note, though, it seems inescapable to briefly comment on the recent celebration of Easter, which is certainly a veritable treasure trove of intriguing cultural baggage. This last weekend, over <i><b>a billion</b></i> people celebrated the resurrection of a notable Nazarene to facilitate the fulfillment of his upcoming grand plan for the earth. As Mr. Ward and now Mr. Newbold have so recently pointed out to us, this is a mixed bag at best, and perhaps something quite "scary" at its worst.<br />
<br />
In light of these events, lest we feel too guilty for plunging our readers down the slippery slope of disillusionment into a gaping abyss of continual despair from our ideologically harrowing subject matter, we would like to offer for your personal palliation the following token of our support. We hope this serves as a constant reminder of a critically important message:<i> The cosmos may not care, but we do.</i><br />
<br />
Presenting the LNN's new Cosmic Horror ribbon campaign! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S76c2e7xcLI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/gJ-lcvOGFp0/s1600/ribbon2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S76c2e7xcLI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/gJ-lcvOGFp0/s400/ribbon2.jpeg" width="252" /></a></div><br />
Do with this what you will. We hope it will help raise awareness for the very real dangers of cultists and Cosmic Horror, and that it will serve as a memorial to the countless people who have already succumbed to the void. Even though it may be hopeless, we're on your side.<br />
<br />
Think about it this way: it is not so much whether the cup is half full or half empty, what you need to remember is that<i>. . ."Radiant with beauty, the Cup of the Ptolemies was carven of onyx."</i><br />
<br />
</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-202391555701860142010-03-16T04:02:00.000-07:002010-03-16T08:34:52.769-07:00Lovecraftian Maltheism for the Pragmatic Individual: An Illustrated GuideLast month’s “<a href="http://lovecraftnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/02/illustrated-study-in-cthulhu-cakes.html">Illustrated Guide to Cthulhu Cakes</a>” proved to be our most popular article ever, and thus our Board of Trustees have decided to try and make this a more regular feature. The purpose of this is twofold: to generate new and interesting insight into the strange world of contemporary Lovecraftian culture, and to get more people and personalities involved in this most noble pursuit by offering them a voice, location, and audience.<br />
<br />
For this week’s guide we bring back our venerable Director of Public Relations, Mr. Charles Ward, for an unusual and perhaps slightly disturbing foray into the genre of Lovecraftian cosmic horror. Feel free to leave comments, arguments, or rants here or on Charles’ <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000289958460">Facebook page</a>.<br />
<br />
We hope you enjoy it. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Disclaimer: The LNN does not necessarily endorse or support the following opinions. Neither do we guarantee the reliability or sanity of any of the content below. In fact, we will just go ahead and wash our hands of it altogether in advance, just in case it doesn't make any sense, you don't like it, or it makes you want to sue/maim/kill us. Unless, of course, you do like it, at which time we take full credit for its presentation. </span><br />
<br />
[Edit: This article covers some of the same ground as our previous entry with Matt Cardin, but just to be fair, it should be noted that this post was written a little before we heard back from Mr. Cardin; we are just lazy sloths and haven't posted it until now. Also, Mr. Cardin had nothing to do with and is in no way responsible or liable for this article]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/S41ImwONgJI/AAAAAAAAAXk/PbXiqOs4AAI/s1600-h/Untitled.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444087355177533586" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/S41ImwONgJI/AAAAAAAAAXk/PbXiqOs4AAI/s320/Untitled.jpeg" style="float: left; height: 144px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 140px;" width="311" /></a><br />
Charles Ward is the LNN's Director of Public Relations and senior phrenological correspondent. He enjoys rhetorical altercations and leverpostej. He currently lives in a state of denial but sometimes wonders if he should stockpile emotional weaponry and secede like every single one of the unquestioningly god-fearing, American Founding Fathers wanted him to. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
Don't hate me. . . I'm not the one trying to destroy the earth:</span><br />
Lovecraftian Maltheism for the Pragmatic Individual<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">by Charles Ward</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://utahstories.com/graphics/Healing_of_the_demon-possessed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://utahstories.com/graphics/Healing_of_the_demon-possessed.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>During times of crisis, the people crave a hero: a leader who can take control and bring order to the chaos. The hero often strives to not only give meaning and purpose to one's actions and unite the group, but also attempts to interpret history and provide a means of enunciation so that one's current plight is placed within some sort of context.<br />
<br />
The desire for a suitable vocabulary with which to process one's position in the cosmos has historically been a nearly unstoppable sociological force often surpassing even the fundamental biological mechanisms of hunger, aversion to pain, and basic sexuality. Hence, many people will often choose to follow a leader who purports to offer them an answer to “why,” even if this comes at an excruciating cost.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59eC41fLII/AAAAAAAAAHM/kC3DtMU0Adk/s1600-h/the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59eC41fLII/AAAAAAAAAHM/kC3DtMU0Adk/s320/the-four-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Beyond the mere Skinnerian dynamics of Terran religiosity, which are still vehemently denied by billions of 21st century homo sapiens, the ubiquity and popularity of religious belief is not in question. For better and for worse, the contemporary heroes of religion are extremely successful in their ideological conquests.<br />
<br />
Pat Robertson is one such hero, offering relief from the burdens of coming to terms with one's existential demons. Of course, the acceptance of his ideology comes at a steep price: one must abandon reason in favor of dogma and all the sundry implications this brings to every aspect of one's life. His dogma is notoriously gruesome, and it is why he is the perfect example for a short exercise I will now suggest.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59ePnINCDI/AAAAAAAAAHU/8JgXjB861Zo/s1600-h/Azathoth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59ePnINCDI/AAAAAAAAAHU/8JgXjB861Zo/s320/Azathoth.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>What I propose is a nomenclatural shift of a species of thought: that the broad concept of Lovecraftian cosmic horror might be considered to be more than a literary genre or philosophical device, but as something that might be part of a pragmatic approach to contemporary life.<br />
<br />
Maltheism, of course, has a long and rich history through dystheism, misotheism, theodicy, dualism, and fideism, due largely to the fact that religious authors through the ages have taken great pains to unapologetically anthropomorphize their gods in all the worst ways possible. Now, don't get me wrong here: we can be more nuanced than just gleefully celebrating the concept of a malevolent god like freshman in a philosophy class, though the standard exercise does prove useful to provide a starting point for my proposition. The basic tenets of maltheism might be presented the following way according to the <i>deus deceptor</i> analogy:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59eXNBoFeI/AAAAAAAAAHc/C4xmGs4_LLg/s1600-h/jesus_return3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59eXNBoFeI/AAAAAAAAAHc/C4xmGs4_LLg/s320/jesus_return3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>What if a malevolent space demon manifested itself to earth and demanded worship and slavery for its own selfish purposes? To string its slaves along, the demon makes two claims:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>It is omnibenevolent</li>
<li>It is omnipotent</li>
</ul><br />
Whether or not these premises are true--or even possible to measure--is, of course, the whole point. With our limited resources of five highly subjective senses and less than a century of time to gather information before we die, all claims of verifiability or veracity of the demon’s claims are completely absurd.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59ejGcasrI/AAAAAAAAAHk/_XoWsJEccUQ/s1600-h/gods-wrath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59ejGcasrI/AAAAAAAAAHk/_XoWsJEccUQ/s200/gods-wrath.jpg" width="165" /></a></div>What we are left with, as beings with a least some time and hopefully a bit of reason available, is to--for lack of a better vocabulary--test this hypothesis by means of the fruits of the tree a la Matthew 7:16 (Too see a concise depiction of this argument, watch this internet pundit’s take on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxmaChjd9lc&feature=related" style="font-style: italic;">deus deceptor</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://doctorbulldog.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/mohammed-bomb-head.jpg?w=450" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://doctorbulldog.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/mohammed-bomb-head.jpg?w=450" width="176" /></a>This proposition is not even that controversial in religious circles outside of modern Western culture. Remember Zeus? While an inscrutable and unquenchable lust for human worship is a nearly universal trope of the divine amongst all religions, at least some imagine this to be a rather mundane and mostly nonthreatening process.<br />
<br />
This is <i>not </i>the case with Christianity and Islam, the two most dominant religions in the Western world, whose beliefs derive from some of the most violent and terrifying texts ever written. Weird fiction author Matt Cardin wrote an interesting piece for <a href="http://www.theofantastique.com/2010/02/17/matt-cardin-gods-and-monsters-worms-and-fire-a-horrific-reading-of-isaiah/">TheoFantatique</a> recently that discusses how “the biblical God is often portrayed as a source of horror.”<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59erlBucEI/AAAAAAAAAHs/iHZky5I3y2I/s1600-h/secret_world_poster_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59erlBucEI/AAAAAAAAAHs/iHZky5I3y2I/s400/secret_world_poster_500.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br />
In particular, the diplomatic Cardin is intrigued by Isaiah:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Isaiah can be understood as a cosmic horror story, a la Lovecraft etc., in its entirety. All that’s required is a shifting of one’s surface focus and underlying assumptions. It’s not that some parts are horrific and others aren’t, but that the whole thing can be read and — importantly — emotionally experienced that way, while remaining entirely true to its concrete content.<br />
</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://home.snafu.de/tilman/clearwater1998/xenu981205072.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://home.snafu.de/tilman/clearwater1998/xenu981205072.gif" width="320" /></a>This seems hard for any even slightly reasonable person to argue with. But quite frankly, I don’t think this train of though goes nearly far enough. Let’s cut the diplomacy and jump down the rabbit hole in a way only a pseudonymous avatar like Charles Ward can.<br />
<br />
Let’s talk about the practical implications of acknowledging the monstrosity of a god whose track record includes murder, advocating rape and incest, torture, genital mutilation, mass drownings, and whose “big plan” for the earth’s near future consists of global immolation.<br />
<br />
Consider the following passage by Lovecraft in "The Call of Cthulhu":<br />
<br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59e0jYFnuI/AAAAAAAAAH0/mXX7MnexvfE/s1600-h/shirley-phelps%7Es600x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59e0jYFnuI/AAAAAAAAAH0/mXX7MnexvfE/s200/shirley-phelps%7Es600x600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>That cult would never die till the stars came right again, and the secret priests would take great Cthulhu from His tomb to revive His subjects and resume His rule of earth. The time would be easy to know, for then mankind would have become as the Great Old Ones; free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and reveling in joy.</blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59e6DOceZI/AAAAAAAAAH8/gjEJnOAMP7U/s1600-h/3342742419_5f2c7f8465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59e6DOceZI/AAAAAAAAAH8/gjEJnOAMP7U/s200/3342742419_5f2c7f8465.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Quite frankly, to its credit, the entity known as Cthulhu is not nearly as big of an ass as the god of the Old Testament, and evil is not a term that would even really apply. However, what we are after here is a means of enunciation to attempt to contextualize our position in the cosmos and cope with the calamity we see around us.<br />
<br />
This brings us back to Pat Robertson, our previously mentioned hero of linguistic law and order. He serves the important position of being a messenger of the god of the Bible, and he provides a vocabulary and precedent for the visible horrors of existence. In all seriousness, taking it at face value, I think he must be right: it is quite logical that, according to his system of beliefs, his god would curse the people of Haiti for their sins. In fact, it is <i>exactly </i>the sort of thing the god of the Bible would do. Robertson just happens be brave enough to eschew the bounds of civilization and political correctness while others cower in its confines. And by brave, I mean <i>stark raving mad</i>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59fAYPRBiI/AAAAAAAAAIE/5q96nfCmzps/s1600-h/Muslims_near.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59fAYPRBiI/AAAAAAAAAIE/5q96nfCmzps/s320/Muslims_near.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59fGSccYoI/AAAAAAAAAIM/gemJC53yZ6o/s1600-h/cthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59fGSccYoI/AAAAAAAAAIM/gemJC53yZ6o/s320/cthulhu.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
Thus, to complete my circuitous train of thought, Pat Robertson is a hero in <span style="font-style: italic;">precisely </span>the same way that <span id="goog_1268731695739"></span><span id="goog_1268731695740"></span>Wilbur Whateley is a hero for the cult of Yog-Sothoth, or that Trap Jaw was a champion for Skeletor: he is a harbinger of doom and the servant of a malevolent space demon.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59foUme1GI/AAAAAAAAAIU/Z4wZ1v_PKho/s1600-h/cultsss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59foUme1GI/AAAAAAAAAIU/Z4wZ1v_PKho/s200/cultsss.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><br />
I'm not claiming this kind of paranoia to world events is what Lovecraft was trying to elicit with his fiction, but I am claiming that his fiction has great utility in providing a pragmatic means of enunciation for the current state of Terran life. And I propose that we can adopt this vocabulary with sacrificing our reason; to be totally honest, we can even do it without hyperbole.<br />
<br />
The fact that the latter is true is not very good news.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59fv4fhlpI/AAAAAAAAAIc/PqYxQw7SnJk/s1600-h/al-shabaab32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59fv4fhlpI/AAAAAAAAAIc/PqYxQw7SnJk/s320/al-shabaab32.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If one can step aside from millennia of cultural conditioning that makes one feel inclined to exhibit a maniacal sensitivity towards other people’s dangerous superstitions, a simple analysis of Robertson and his religious colleagues’ beliefs suggests that the case for maltheism is more than strong. It is, as Cardin says about the horror of the Bible, entirely “self-evident.” The point here is not to advocate some kind of bitter anti-religious sentiment or even to advocate atheism at all. For the sake of this argument, whether or not these space beings are real is irrelevant. Quite the contrary, in fact: for the sake of our basic survival, we have to take this seriously either way--at least in a somewhat lugubrious fashion. I don’t claim to have all the answers; I merely wish to point out that, as usual, Lovecraft was right all along. To be more concise, if my sentiment was tritely condensed to a bumper sticker, it might look something like this:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Maltheism: . . . because dangerous cultists really </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">are </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">trying to bring about the bloody apocalypse of their malevolent, space alien gods.</span><br />
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You can call Lovecraft's stories of cosmic horror mere fiction if you want, but only in the same sense something like Miller’s <span style="font-style: italic;">The Crucible</span> is mere fiction. One only has to summon the temerity to crack open a newspaper to find that the allegories are so thinly veiled as to be nearly biographical; in other words, the names have been changed to protect the author from being burnt at the stake by the guilty. Lovecraftian cosmic horror is not just a metaphor for life on earth, it provides a pragmatic political vocabulary we would do well to adopt. Let's not forget that the stakes are extremely high. It might seem reasonable to strive for a live and let live policy, but keep in mind that this is a luxury that has not, is not currently, and will not likely ever be afforded to you by any race bloodthirsty space tyrants. History is nothing but a testament, if I might borrow the phrase, of how literally and how easily people are willing to spill blood and worse for their non-Terran overlords. As the Philistines, the citizens of Dunwich, or any of He-Man's allies might tell you--those that are still alive, at least--these monstrosities cannot be reasoned with, their beliefs are not open for debate, they are impervious to science, and they are plotting right now to establish a brutal theocracy in your home city at the expense of your flesh.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59gNrgWJvI/AAAAAAAAAI0/2jH1v_24IoE/s1600-h/IloveJesusKids-259x285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59gNrgWJvI/AAAAAAAAAI0/2jH1v_24IoE/s200/IloveJesusKids-259x285.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><br />
Think I'm exaggerating? How is the threat of global immolation at the hands of a purported prophet an exaggeration? (See <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+1%3A10-12&version=KJV">2 Kings 1:10</a>, and don't give me this "it's figurative" nonsense--they've already burnt scores of people in recent history!<span style="font-style: italic;">) </span> In other words, in every case I can think of, <i>eschatology </i>is synonymous with <i>war crimes</i> and should be looked upon in the same light.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
So what does one do with maltheism? Does one go mad with the realization when your mind finally begins to correlate its contents and you depart from the placid island of ignorance to view not only the black seas of infinity, but the fact that there are violent, highly aggressive, politically powerful, and terrifying mainstream forces literally preparing to bring about the end of the world. . .<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59gUJYl6kI/AAAAAAAAAI8/QUPYm54LvtA/s1600-h/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59gUJYl6kI/AAAAAAAAAI8/QUPYm54LvtA/s320/0.jpg" /></a></div>I don’t think one has to. Would it be too trendy to call for a sense of Post-Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror in which one faces the blind, idiot god Azathoth or Michele Bachmann and then says,<br />
<br />
“To hell with it. I’m not going to let that bitch ruin my day.”<br />
<br />
Is it denial? Maybe. Considering the low percent of neural matter we humans have available to process information, I am not totally sure we can get around it. But that's okay, too. Remember, from a biological perspective, we are just trying to avoid the death our species by religious genocide.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59ggCVSKnI/AAAAAAAAAJM/17LSpgNbMI8/s1600-h/15-270-3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59ggCVSKnI/AAAAAAAAAJM/17LSpgNbMI8/s320/15-270-3.gif" width="320" /></a></div>At the very least, as I suggested earlier, we can shift the terminology we use. If a group believes in a superstition that involves one or more malevolent entities of an extraterrestrial or multidimensional origin, and their beliefs or "holy" texts overtly call for the destruction of the earth and/or violent subjugation and torture of non-believers, let's quit coddling them by pandering to "faith" and "religion." These people are doomsday cultists who worship evil space monsters. This change in terminology is not intended to be hostile or vengeful, though such reactions would not seem unwarranted at this point, but it would serve two clear purposes:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59gmilKZsI/AAAAAAAAAJU/fiG8NU_04dk/s1600-h/lovecraft-shadowoverinnsmouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59gmilKZsI/AAAAAAAAAJU/fiG8NU_04dk/s320/lovecraft-shadowoverinnsmouth.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><ol><li>From a linguistic perspective, it would be a more precise demarcation of the group. <br />
</li>
<li>It would help slowly shape public opinion. Just think: currently, though there are many exceptions, it is generally socially unacceptable to make racist comments without being rejected by mainstream society. This has not stopped racism, but it has helped deal it a powerful blow. Racism is now, at least in many areas, generally frowned upon in public. Let's make doomsday cults uncool as well by implementing the negative connotation to the language we use to describe them that their blood-stained history deserves. Lovecraftian fiction provides the terminology we need to implement this.<br />
</li>
</ol><br />
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This is not a polished argument, and it is certainly not a definitive one. It is merely a collection of thoughts and reactions to recent world events I have been processing for the last month of so. Putting them down in writing helps me to think things through more clearly, which hopefully leads to the successful reevaluation and refinement of my ideas so I can better deal with the temporality of my existence—whether it is enforced by malevolent forces or those of a more benign variety. If this exercise turns out to be for no other reason than for my own selfish, intellectual pleasures, then so be it.<br />
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</div>In the meantime, while I sort this all out, this I know: cultists really <span style="font-style: italic;">are </span>trying to enslave me and destroy the world. <br />
<br />
And so I say to them--with a gleam in my eye--what I imagine the professorial staff of Miskatonic University might have said to Wilbur Whateley,<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">Viva la Résistance.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59hWrDqX0I/AAAAAAAAAJk/NSltub-xifY/s1600-h/yog_sothoth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S59hWrDqX0I/AAAAAAAAAJk/NSltub-xifY/s400/yog_sothoth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-44068599243309592392010-03-03T02:54:00.000-08:002010-03-03T05:21:12.946-08:00Interview with Matt Cardin: Dark Awakenings and Cosmic HorrorBetween devastating earthquakes rattling people's faith in god, Glenn Beck's maniacal fundamentalism rattling people's faith in democracy, and Kevin Smith's dual inability to direct a film or fit in an airplane seat rattling people's faith in cinema, this is a pretty rough time to be an earthling. <br />
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But have no fear. It's nothing a strong, cool draught of the Lovecraft News Network can't cure.<br />
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Author, scholar, musician, and guerrilla theologian Matt Cardin stopped by a while back to talk about his new collection, Dark Awakenings, which will soon be released by Mythos Books. Cardin is a rising star in the world of Weird Fiction, and he has been lauded for his ability to bring both literary and intellectual context to his horror fiction in unique, often surprising ways. Thomas Ligotti had this to say of the current project: "In Dark Awakenings, Cardin proves himself to be an adept in the fullest sense of the word."<br />
<br />
Matt's interest in religion parallels his study of horror, which we enjoy tremendously. This heterodoxy recently culminated in a wonderful discussion with the fine folks at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.theofantastique.com/2010/02/17/matt-cardin-gods-and-monsters-worms-and-fire-a-horrific-reading-of-isaiah/">TheoFantastique</a>, in which Cardin discusses his article "Gods and Monsters, Worms and Fire: A Horrific Reading of Isaiah," which of course makes us want to go track down a copy of Ken Russell's 1988 religious masterpiece featuring Hugh Grant's superlative performance.<br />
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Following the press release, we have included our intriguing discussion with Cardin regarding his book, Lovecraft, and reconciling cosmic horror with humanism.<br />
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<span class="fullpost"><b>PRESS RELEASE</b><br />
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From its earliest origins, the human religious impulse has been fundamentally bound up with an experience of primal horror. The German theologian Rudolf Otto located the origin of human religiosity in an ancient experience of "daemonic dread." American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft asserted that weird supernatural horror fiction arose from a fundamental human psychological pattern that is "coeval with the religious feeling and closely related to many aspects of it." The American psychologist William James wrote in his classic study The Varieties of Religious Experience that the "real core of the religious problem" lies in an overwhelming experience of cosmic horror born out of abject despair at life's incontrovertible hideousness.<br />
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In Dark Awakenings, author and scholar Matt Cardin explores this primal intersection between religion and horror in seven stories and three academic papers that pose a series of disturbing questions: What if the spiritual awakening coveted by so many religious seekers is in fact the ultimate doom? What if the object of religious longing might prove to be the very heart of horror? Could salvation, liberation, enlightenment then be achieved only by identifying with that apotheosis of metaphysical loathing?<br />
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This volume collects nearly all of Cardin's uncollected fiction, including his 2004 novella "The God of Foulness." It contains extensive revisions and expansions of his popular stories "Teeth" and "The Devil and One Lump," and features one previously unpublished story and two unpublished papers, the first exploring a possible spiritual use of George Romero's Living Dead films and the second offering a horrific reading of the biblical Book of Isaiah. At over 300 pages and nearly 120,000 words, Dark Awakenings offers a substantial exploration of the religious implications of horror and the horrific implications of religion.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: </b></i>Your new collection, Dark Awakenings, raises the following questions:<br />
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<blockquote>What if the spiritual awakening coveted by so many religious seekers is in fact the ultimate doom? What if the object of religious longing might prove to be the very heart of horror? Could salvation, liberation, enlightenment then be achieved only by identifying with that apotheosis of metaphysical loathing?</blockquote><br />
Disregarding the knee jerk emotional reactions these questions might elicit from those whose concept of cosmology is based on bumper stickers and slogans, is it really that farfetched? The god of the Old Testament, for example, is unquestionably more malevolent than the apathetic entities of Lovecraft. You discussed this a bit in your interview with Stuart Young in Terror Tales when you asked, "Why does the New Testament author of Hebrews assert, 'It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God?'" I mean, is not conventional Christian teleology dolefully misanthropic by definition? Is Pat Robertson and his worldview not proof enough that your premise is beyond the realm of speculation? I suppose what I am really getting at is this: since cosmic horror does seem so readily apparent, why is it not more openly acknowledged by more people? Of course this sort of thinking is unpleasant, but pollution, climate change, and child slavery are also unpleasant, and we still talk about these things at least somewhat openly in society. Whence the difference?<br />
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<b><i>Matt Cardin:</i></b> Of course you're correct that the dark and horrific side of Christian theology and teleology, and also, I think, of world religion in general, is central to the whole thing. But as you also point out, it's not openly acknowledged by a lot of people. How come? I think it has something to do with the softening and sanitizing of the human race that has occurred during the past few centuries. The post-Enlightenment attitude and worldview based on universal rights and dignity and so on represents a brand new meme in human history. By the antiseptic standards of our current Western and Westernized nations, every civilization in history has been inconceivably violent, not just in act but in attitude, and this includes their religious conceptions. Today we denizens of Western consumer society have largely cut ourselves off from such things, although the worldwide resurgence of fundamentalism, and also the increasingly bloody and trippy nature of our mass entertainments, shows the same impulses reentering through the back door. As you point out, you can watch Robertson on The 700 Club or listen to any number of old-style fundamentalist Protestant preachers to get some of this classic vibe of divine terribleness.<br />
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But the cosmic horror I'm getting at in Dark Awakenings is something besides that. I'm interested in the idea of a cosmic horror that's absolute, that nobody could find comfort in or fit into a remotely palatable theological framework. The traditional bloody Judeo-Christian cosmology and anthropology have rested on the idea that somehow things are being "set right" on the planet and in the universe through all of this horror. Even the terror of the deity, which is so expertly evoked in a lot of biblical apocalypticism, is supposed to apply only, ultimately, to those who oppose him. The "winners," Yahweh's chosen ones, get to enjoy his everlasting beneficence in the end. That's where the whole idea of the felix culpa, the "happy fall" from divine grace, comes in. The bloody drama of human history is justified by the fact that it's somehow necessary to achieve God's blissfully perfect result. By contrast, what has long interested me is the speculation that maybe there's something fundamentally horrific about God or the Ground of Being from the human perspective, that cosmic horror is final and absolute, not provisional. Just this morning I finished reading John Keel's The Mothman Prophecies, which Keel concludes with a quote (incorrectly attributed to Charles Fort; it was actually penned by Damon Knight in his Fort bio) that gets at a major aspect of this idea with marvelous clarity: "If there is a universal mind, must it be sane?" I would add: or good or wholesome or reassuring? Could ultimate reality in its categorical essence be something noxious, toxic, nightmarish? Not even Pat Robertson wants to go there, voodoo quips notwithstanding.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: </b></i>What does this (cosmic horror) mean for us as a species from a biological/Darwinian perspective?<br />
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<i><b>MC: </b></i>I suppose it could mean we're the unluckiest beings on the planet, since our particular set of biological adaptations has resulted in the developmental of a nervous system capable of self-aware thought, which is now able to recognize with full, stark, staring horror the awfulness of our situation, cosmically and ontologically speaking. "Consciousness is a disease" and all that.<br />
<br />
Note that whenever I talk about these things, I do so hypothetically, in a kind of philosophical hyperspace. I'm not saying I actually believe in this type of cosmic-horrific situation. But I'm not saying I don't, either. Just two days ago my nine-year-old niece asked me if I believe in ghosts. I tried to turn the question back at her, but she really wanted to hear my answer. If it's possible for a person to hem and haw in deeply philosophical language while trying to talk in terms that a nine year old can understand, then that's what I did. Do I believe in ghosts? How the hell do you even answer such a question when "I", "believe in," and "ghosts" are all terms that beg a thousand questions? The same kneejerk tendency to poke through spiritual claims in search of the assumptions behind them keeps my thoughts about cosmic horror floating in a safely hypothetical space. That said, the very idea of this kind of horror still feels connected to me in a deeply personal and existential fashion.<br />
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<i><b>LNN:</b></i> How do you feel about the transition of Lovecraft and his work from obscurity to a more mainstream, or at least more populous, status? And what does this say about contemporary culture?<br />
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<i><b>MC:</b></i> I'm still really pleased about Lovecraft's canonization. I have that dumb thing in me that feels disappointed whenever some obscure love of mine becomes widely popular, but Lovecraft's rising reputation hasn't managed to trip that alarm yet, since I still find that in my daily life nobody has heard of him. This is true even at the community college where I teach. Ask any ten faculty members in the English department about Lovecraft, and you might get one or two hits, if that. The rest are blank stares. Tom Ligotti is fond of saying, "There is no obscurity like minor renown." Lovecraft enjoyed this kind of renown for decades as a cult author. I've got to wonder how long it's going to take for him to break out of it, if indeed he ever will. I do think his movement into widespread mainstream consciousness may simply happen as a result of generational passings, since a lot of young fantasy and horror fans are hearing more about him all the time. The announced Lovecraft movie to be directed by Ron Howard will also probably make a considerable splash. How ironic it will be if Richie Cunningham does for Lovecraft what Peter Jackson did for Tolkien.<br />
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As for what his rising awareness says about contemporary culture, I think it just underscores the increasing tendency of marginal obsessions to go mainstream in our brave new world of 24/7 digital connectedness. I never thought the doomer meme -- peak oil, apocalyptic climate change, total economic collapse, etc. -- would move to the mainstream like it has, but now you can look anywhere and find Joe Sixpack, John Lawyer, and half a dozen network talking heads going on about it. Just in the past week I've been astonished to read about the inroads being made into popular mainstream awareness by the general idea of a 9/11 conspiracy. It's enough to make a person wonder just what's going to be left in the way of pleasantly private obsessions aren't defiled by the light of mass popular attention.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: </b></i>Depending on how pretentious we want to be, we could make the claim that life in a (post) post-modern world allows for one to embrace both cosmic horror and humanism simultaneously. This is something I believe is not discussed often enough when it comes to Lovecraft. I think our recent articles on Cthulhu Cakes and Plush Cthulhu are great examples. Beyond the simple pleasures of irony and the moral paradox of these items, could these not also be signifiers of an ability to produce a gleeful acceptance of one's lugubrious plight in a terrifying universe?<br />
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<i><b>MC: </b></i>Oh, certainly. But we could also argue that the act of portraying the high priest of the Old Ones in such cutesy-kitschy form represents an attempt to tame, defang, and neuter the shrieking horror of our plight instead of gleefully accepting it.<br />
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I'm personally fascinated by the whole idea of "quaffing the brew of nothingness," as somebody, I forget who, once said, and finding it invigorating instead of devastating, or maybe invigorating because devastating. Maybe in the current context that should be amended to read "quaffing the brew of horror." It would be great if glee, or at least equanimity, could coexist and maybe even be symbiotic with cosmic nightmarishness. But in my own experience, which has included recurrent bouts with successive explosions of existential horror, such a position isn't actually achievable. The horror really is unsupportable and absolutely corrosive. It eats right through all attempts to box it up in any sort of category that would make it manageable.<br />
<br />
<i><b>LNN:</b></i> Robert Bloch thought that Lovecraft wrote about Supernatural Horror as a means to an end. He said,<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Consider the phenomenon of exorcism, this time from the view-point of the artist rather than the audience. Most writers who chose to work within the horror genre do so to exorcise their own fears by exposing and expressing them to an audience. [. . .] Drawing upon a common heritage of myth, legend, and fairy tales, they employ a technique of conveying their visions in terms of convincing reality. [. . .] Lovecraft intended to present an explanation of why horror fiction appealed to certain types of readers. And in so doing he unconsciously revealed his own reasons for writing—as attempts to come to grips with a lifelong fear of the unknown.</blockquote><br />
Without worrying too much about the fallacy of authorial intent, do you agree with this, and would it be a stretch to say that you too are involved in a similar sort of process as you write?<br />
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<i><b>MC: </b></i>I think Bloch pegged Lovecraft, and I think you've pegged me. Bloch's idea of authorial self-exorcism seems well conceived. It's also splendidly absorbing. But in my own case it's not so much fear of the unknown that drives me as it is a sense of numinous uncanniness, verging into Rudolf Otto's "daemonic dread," at the very fact of existence itself -- which, crucially, includes not just the disenchanted world of physical nature that's visible to empirical science but the world of immediate, first-person experience with all of its daimonic psychological oddities.<br />
<br />
A procedural note about Bloch's diagnosis of Lovecraft: It wasn't just fear of the unknown that drove Lovecraft's authorial attempts. As Lovecraft made starkly and resonantly clear in his personal correspondence, and also in his "Notes on the Writing of Weird Fiction," he wrote horror fiction as a means of capturing and crystallizing his lifelong impressions of an infinite, transcendent reality that seemed to peer through the cracks of the world, which for him included skyscapes and vistas of architectural beauty. And his response to these transcendent intimations was deliciously paradoxical, for he was both enchanted and terrified by them. He passionately longed for an experience of boundlessness, of freedom from the restraints of physical reality, which he of course knew all too well, both materially, due to his increasing monetary poverty over time, and intellectually, with his vast knowledge of natural science as underwritten by a 19th-century mechanistic-materialistic viewpoint. He said over and over that his most powerful emotional experiences were explosions of infinite longing whenever he observed sunsets or contemplated scenic New England streets and buildings. But as everybody knows, he also experienced those same perceived gaps and that same perceived reality as horrifying, something he probably said most directly and powerfully in the introduction to Supernatural Horror in Literature. So his career as a horror writer wasn't motivated just by fear of the unknown but by a two-sided emotional coin that was fear on one side and exhilarated longing on the other.<br />
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And again, I find myself in kinship with him, because in my focus on religious, philosophical, and spiritual horror, I'm walking an analogous line between the paradisiacal potentials of these things and the nightmarish ones.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.demonmuse.com/wp-content/uploads/demonmuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="http://www.demonmuse.com/wp-content/uploads/demonmuse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<i><b>LNN:</b></i> Along these lines, the French Lovecraft scholar Maurice Lévy echoed this sentiment when he wrote,<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Lovecraft was, as we have seen, a man without hope. Unstable, sick, unhappy, obstinately rejecting what he considered the delusions of faith, fed on nihilistic philosophies, he had frequently thought of suicide. Only his dreams—his correspondence testifies to it—permitted him to overcome each crisis and to try once again to live. Did he not in dream find, in the blackest moments, the unexpected help of secret and vitalizing forces? We are then tempted to regard the Cthulhu Mythos, whose elaboration was slow, progressive, and continuous, as the adequate receptacle for the author’s anguish, where, in the waters of dream, it could ”precipitate,” form deposits in precise, horrible, monstrous shapes at the bottom of a structure ready to receive them and give them meaning. Driven by myth [. . .] horror can only be expressed by and in sacrilege: the impious cults, hideous ceremonies, blasphemous rites elsewhere mentioned, which tell a reverse history of salvation. It is at this deep level that the cure operates: because the sick man recognizes these images of horror as his own, he is in a position to assume them fully and thereby overcome them. To give a material representation to anguish is in itself to be freed from it. [. . . ] For we can never totally invent our monsters; they express our inner selves too much for that.</blockquote><br />
This quote reminds me of one of my favorite moments in your short story "Teeth" in which the protagonist starts to reevaluate the world after his own encounter with cosmic horror.<br />
<br />
<i>"The once-familiar moon was now the dead, decaying fetal carcass of some unimaginably monstrous creature, and as I looked on I saw it beginning to mutate into something more monstrous still."</i><br />
<br />
Might Lévy and Bloch then be an answer to the question you once posed to Stuart Young: "Why should [horror] happen to engage my intellect and emotions with such intensity is anyone's guess. I've never been able to figure it out myself."<br />
<br />
<i><b>MC:</b></i> Indeed, I think whenever one experiences this kind of electric-magnetic attraction to any subject matter in the way that you and I -- not to mention Lovecraft, Bloch, and Lévy -- are attracted to horror, there's a deep psychological reason, and it has to do with the drive built into every organism to achieve comfort and equilibrium. As I mentioned above, with our exquisitely developed hyper-self-awareness -- not just vegetable or animal consciousness but the added faculty of self-consciousness -- we're constantly engaged in an astoundingly complex act of inner housekeeping, usually on a preconscious or unconscious level, and this surely relates to why Lovecraft wrote what he did, and why I write what I do, and why every other author and artist feels magically and helplessly bound to a specific subject or theme. Victoria Nelson argued in The Secret Life of Puppets that genre stories stoke or play on a type of compulsion neurosis among readers who don't want to confront a psychological reality directly but want to flirt with it again and again in formulaic stories that always bring them right up the point of confrontation and then shy away. She identified Lovecraft's work as being a veritably archetypal example. She also engaged in some subtle psychological analysis of the old gent. She may well be right.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, in the past few years I've also grown increasingly attached to the daimonic theory of consciousness, which invokes in quasi-metaphorical fashion the ancient idea of the daimon or personal genius, the accompanying spirit that houses a person's deep character, life, pattern, and destiny. I'm inclined to refer to it in explanation of the overtly mythic cast which Lévy attributes -- correctly, I think -- to Lovecraft's and everybody else's deep psychic life, and also to our tendency to circle back to the same themes over and over.<br />
<br />
<i><b>LNN: </b></i>The scholar and linguist Bradley Will claimed Lovecraft's depictions of cosmic horror could be called a “semiotic crisis.” Denying his characters an adequate system of signification suggests something “so far beyond the edges of our language, so far removed from our frame of reference, that it defeats the system. [. . .] Its only designation can be its lack of designation. It is, if you will, a blank spot. This ‘blank spot’—a signified with no signifier or a signifier with no signified—is a failure of the system of language.”<br />
<br />
From the perspective of an author, how does this notion of the "semiotic crisis" fit into the writing process as you perceive and practice it?<br />
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<i><b>MC:</b></i> No amount of authorial work, no experience of blissful creative flow, and no inherent quality of intellectual or artistic genius will ever allow an author to really, truly capture the essence of the inspiration that drove him or her to write something. Language is necessarily a reduction. I forget which modern poet said "The poem is always perfect in the mind," but he was speaking truth. The very fact that actually committing words to paper will inevitably result in some quality of diminishment in the idea itself is probably what led Cioran to say, I think it was in The Trouble with Being Born, that as he grew older it became progressively more difficult for him to summon the motivation to blacken a page.<br />
<br />
But fantasy fiction and, especially, horror fiction stand in an interesting relationship with this point, since they often deal in their direct subject matter with the idea of inexpressible truth. This makes horror fiction a choice literary vehicle for exploring the concept itself. Although all authorship is ultimately failure, as judged by its categorical inability to express the pure essence of an inspiration or idea, writing can sidestep and even subvert this inbuilt inability after a fashion by deliberately generating a sense that the words are reductions of awesome truths that loom behind them. Blackwood's success in achieving this feat in "The Willows" is legendary, and is what led Lovecraft to praise that story so highly. Lovecraft's success in achieving this in "The Call of Cthulhu," "The Music of Erich Zann," and several others is equally legendary, and largely accounts for his enduring audience. Ditto for the successes of -- to name two more authors in my personal pantheon -- Ted Klein and Tom Ligotti. Tom's direct dealing with this whole idea in, for instance, "Nethescurial" and "Vastarien" is maybe the quintessential example. The inherent artistic-ontological limitations of language and art can become a positive strength when they're incorporated into works that directly reference the inherent artistic-ontological limitations of language and art.<br />
<br />
As for my own work, I've given up on far more stories than I've completed, often because of what we're talking about. William Stafford said in "A Way of Writing" that one of the tricks he employed to keep himself productive was to deliberately lower his standards during composition to the point where he could consider himself successful if he simply got something down on paper. I'm still learning the wisdom of that. When actually sitting down to write, forget all about the inherent semiotic crisis. Just cough up whatever wants to lodge on the page or screen.<br />
<br />
<i><b>LNN: </b></i>Thank you, Matt. It has been an absolute pleasure, and we wish you the best with your book's release. <br />
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<b>Learn more about Matt Cardin's Dark Awakenings here:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.mattcardin.com/darkawakenings.html">http://www.mattcardin.com/darkawakenings.html </a><br />
<br />
<b>Cardin's Official Website:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.mattcardin.com/index.html">http://www.mattcardin.com/index.html</a><br />
<br />
<b>Cardin's blog about artistic creativity:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.demonmuse.com/">http://www.demonmuse.com/</a></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-21937984077791765082010-02-23T05:01:00.000-08:002010-02-23T05:04:04.046-08:00Intel and Nokia spawn MeeGo mobile OSSuomi mobile giant Nokia and American tech behemoth Intel have come up with a brilliant idea. It has something to do with a bunch of gibberish about building a, "Linux-based software platform designed to work across a range of hardware architectures and devices including mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems" ...Blah blah blah.<br />
<br />
But Xenu knows we don't care about any of that nonsense.<br />
<br />
What tickles our starboard synapses, of course, is what these madmen have decided to call their little project: <b><i>MeeGo</i></b>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Migo.jpg/250px-Migo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Migo.jpg/250px-Migo.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">Lest one think our nerdery has gone beyond the limits of salubrity in celebrating this unlikely nomenclatural coincidence, rest assured that we were not the first to take notice or rejoice in this obscure triumph for Lovecraft fans everywhere.<br />
<br />
<b></b><br />
Just yesterday, Simon Bisson and Mary Branscombe wrote the following for <a href="http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10015122o-2000675210b,00.htm">ZDNET UK</a> in their article entitled, "When product naming clashes with H.P. Lovecraft":<br />
<br />
<blockquote>H.P Lovecraft's dark, weird fantastic fiction has become the first open source literature, where other writers have taken his mythos and his nihilistic view of human life in a dark and hostile universe and run with it.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it is a vision of a dark and hostile mobile future, dominated by uncaring monstrosities that has driven Intel and Nokia to give their new mobile OS joint venture a name that comes straight from the pages of Lovecraft (or near enough for most purposes). It's just that the name they've chosen, MeeGo, is far too close to that of an animated, intelligent, malevolent fungus, the Mi-Go. It's not quite the image we'd associate with a powerful high-tech operating system, designed to power Moorestown devices. </blockquote>The same day another <a href="http://meegofan.blogspot.com/2010/02/could-mi-go-be-the-meego-mascot.html">techie blogger</a> asked the one question we all knew was coming: "Could Mi-go be the the MeeGo mascot?!"<br />
<br />
Our answer? Only if they make it in <i>plush</i>, as the hideous likenesses of all good interplanetary space beings ought to be.<br />
<br />
</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-2897385768212484762010-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:002010-02-13T16:14:22.229-08:00Lovecraftian artist Paul Carrick offers unique fundraising eventOne of the premier Weird artists of our time, Paul Carrick, has recently announced his desire to participate in a unique fund raising event. Using Ebay, he is offering a painting based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft up for bid--the proceeds of which will go to help the Global Giving Emergency Earthquake Relief for Haiti. The winner of the bid will get to design the image from scratch, which Mr. Carrick will then create as an original painting.<br /><br />Surely helping Haitians has never been this Lovecraftian.<br /><br />However, this does present a peculiar moral quandary, which we presented to Mr. Carrick:<br /><br /><b><i>LNN: </i></b>What are the ethics of using the likeness of fictional apocalyptic monstrosities to raise funds to support recovery from a calamity which, according to some contemporary cultists, was the direct result of a "real" apocalyptic monstrosity?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/cult.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/cult.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><br /><span class="fullpost"><i> <b>Carrick:</b></i>To answer your question, the connection between the fantasy and reality didn't escape me. These things cross my mind often when destructive things like this happen in the world. But, when I thought about what would give me the best chance for a fund raising contribution, doing what I do best simply made the most sense... it is what will ultimately be the most help for those in need. Do people read less Lovecraft during trying times? I wonder if it is quite the opposite, as there seems to be more disaster films recently, despite the wars in the Middle East and threats of global warming. I think, for some, it serves a purpose (a catharsis, perhaps?) as long as it is not making light of the misfortune. It will ultimately be up to the winning bidder... be it Azathoth or a fuzzy and less apocalyptic Zoog from the dreamlands. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/seacthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/seacthulhu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>About the artist: </b><br /><br />Paul Carrick has created imaginative illustrations for publishers since 1993, they have appeared in role playing games, collectible card games, children's books, t-shirts, tattoos, limited resin statues, CD and LP artwork, posters… you name it, even funerary items (yes, you read that correctly!). Paul earned his BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. The universe of H.P. Lovecraft has continued to be a favorite and enormous source of inspiration as the years go by. In 2007, Paul's work was hung next to the work of H.R. Giger at the Maison D'Ailleurs in Yverdon-Les'Bains, Switzerland for a museum exhibition on Lovecraft inspired artwork. Online gallery/site: <a href="http://www.nightserpent.com">nightserpent.com</a> Blog: <a href="http://blog.nightserpent.com">blog.nightserpent.com</a>, resume <a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/resume.html">http://www.nightserpent.com/resume.html</a><br /><br /><b>Official Press Release:</b><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="fullpost"><a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/starspawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/starspawn.jpg" width="141" /></a></span></div><span class="fullpost">I would like to help out the victims of the Haiti earthquake, as an artist this seemed to be my best option…<br /><br />This auction is for a yet-to-be original painting, and the subject matter is your choice from Lovecraft's universe! You can pick a character, scene, monster, god or location from one of his stories, and I will create you a painting based on your preference. 100% of the highest bid will be donated to Globalgiving's Haiti earthquake relief fund: <a href="http://www.globalgiving.org/haiti-earthquake/">http://www.globalgiving.org/haiti-earthquake/</a> The image may later be used for an art print or poster, if it is, the winning bidder will also receive a signed & personalized copy.<br /><br />Need suggestions? Cthulhu, Deep One, Elder Things, Ghouls, Great Race, Hastur, Mi-Go, Night-Gaunts, Nyarlathotep, Shoggoths, Shub Niggurath, Great race of Yith, Flying Polyp, Cthonian, Dholes, Gug, The Thing on the Doorstep… or a location in the Dreamlands? I'm happy to discuss the possibilities! I have seven pages of my gallery dedicated to Lovecraft, it might help spark your imagination: <br /><a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft.html">http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft.html</a><br /><br />The size of the painting will start at 8x10" and will be greyscale (black and white with shades of grey, much like many of my illustrations), it would include the subject and a background. The size and complexity of the image will be proportionate to the winning bid, in a similar fashion to a private or publisher's commission. As the price increases so will the level of detail, size, addition of color, more figures, etc. I don't want to limit your imagination with too many constraints, so if you wanted more size and less color, or less size and more detail, etc., I am happy to accommodate.<br /><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="fullpost"><a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/aza2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.nightserpent.com/lovecraft/aza2.jpg" width="277" /></a></span></div><span class="fullpost"><br /><b>See the auction site here:</b><br /><a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190372901797">http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190372901797</a><br /><br /><b>Learn more about Paul Carrick at his site here: </b><br /><a href="http://www.nightserpent.com/">http://www.nightserpent.com/</a><br /><a href="http://blog.nightserpent.com/">http://blog.nightserpent.com/</a><br /><br /></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-33929342716297143852010-02-10T14:53:00.000-08:002010-02-10T14:59:36.848-08:00An illustrated study in Cthulhu Cakes: Images of the WeekFor some odd reason, we have an endless--certainly unhealthy on many levels--fascination with one particularly obscure aspect of contemporary culture: Lovecraftian culinary arts. To the uninitiated, the idea seems so absurd and outlandish it is hard to fathom. However, below is proof positive that this dark and blasphemous art not only exists but is thriving among a growing community of deranged gastronomists.<br />
<br />
In fact, the diabolical field of Lovecraftian culinary arts is so vast, we don't dare attempt to address it in its entirety in one article. Today we will hone our intellectual palette on only one facet of this onyx jewel in the vast diaspora of sinister mastication: <b>Cthulhu Cakes</b><br />
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Take this masterpiece by Darcy LeClaire:<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/S3MzBxboWFI/AAAAAAAAAVw/XUBpAR4GMLs/s1600-h/sdsdfg.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/S3MzBxboWFI/AAAAAAAAAVw/XUBpAR4GMLs/s320/sdsdfg.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436745280708434002" border="0" /></a><br />
<i>What does this say about contemporary culture? What would the ideal Cthulhu cake taste like? Are Jane Austen fans jealous they don't have an iconic figure of doom with which they can conjure forth in an act of confectionery heresy?</i><br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">And most importantly, are these cakes a lie? Judging from this gallery, I think we can safely presume the situation is <span style="font-style: italic;">far </span>more dire.<br />
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Here are a few more specimens we have located in the wild. Don't get any crazy ideas now.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flamesrising.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Jason-with-Cthulhu-Cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 462px;" src="http://www.flamesrising.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Jason-with-Cthulhu-Cake.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
by Mad City Cakes<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blingdomofgod.com/Melissa%20O%20.%20ow%20.%20cthulu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.blingdomofgod.com/Melissa%20O%20.%20ow%20.%20cthulu.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
by Melissa O<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bankholdup.com/qc/cakeisalie_files/Cthulhu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 471px; height: 428px;" src="http://www.bankholdup.com/qc/cakeisalie_files/Cthulhu.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
by ackblom12<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2206/2238593319_5c268120e0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2206/2238593319_5c268120e0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
by Mike Pictor<br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/2342122850_296e456bd0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/2342122850_296e456bd0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
by Cryptonaut<br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LJjVAhWDeuk/R_gYRP3fOWI/AAAAAAAAAVo/KOUPlxD3z8Q/s320/Cthulhu%2Bcookie%2Bcake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LJjVAhWDeuk/R_gYRP3fOWI/AAAAAAAAAVo/KOUPlxD3z8Q/s320/Cthulhu%2Bcookie%2Bcake.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />
<br />
Creator unknown<br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/S3M2Legbi0I/AAAAAAAAAV4/x2e0WskjDF8/s1600-h/Cthulhu+cake+horror+clix.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/S3M2Legbi0I/AAAAAAAAAV4/x2e0WskjDF8/s320/Cthulhu+cake+horror+clix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436748745961868098" border="0" /></a>by Horror Clix<br />
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</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-6806197177232864742010-02-06T05:07:00.000-08:002010-02-06T05:34:42.946-08:00The Cult of Cthulhu is now a 501(c)( 3): An Interview with Venger Satanis<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The LNN has been rather delinquent in the timeliness of its coverage lately, and for this we apologize. In all lugubriousness, we try not to bemoan the nature of our captivity within the clutches of capitalism too loudly, yet sometimes the pangs of hunger necessitate shirking our duties with the LNN for the sake of maintaining one's foothold in the nefarious cabal of the corporate world. This, and the fact that we hate typing on laptops while traveling, explains the delay.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #073763;"><i>However, I can say with the utmost confidence that today's article is incontrovertibly worth the wait.</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hONYVthI/AAAAAAAAAGM/z2NoH_2tfzE/s1600-h/I-am-the-way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hONYVthI/AAAAAAAAAGM/z2NoH_2tfzE/s400/I-am-the-way.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>Ladies, Gentlemen, etc., it is our distinct pleasure to introduce Venger Satanis, the High Priest of the new 501(c)(3) non-profit group, The Cult of Cthulhu.<br />
<br />
The Cult of Cthulhu, as we understand it, has recently received official non-profit religious status from the Internal Revenue Service and functions as a vehicle for spiritual, physical, and intellectual development--or degeneration, depending on how you look at it--that is open to the public. Drawing from the literary tradition of H.P. Lovecraft and the pragmatic, magical practices of LaVeyan Satanism, the Cult of Cthulhu is difficult to categorize.<br />
<br />
For some reason, Mr. Satanis and his heterodox theological pursuits remind us of a David Cronenberg film: always entertaining, intelligent, colorful, and yet deeply disturbing on some subconscious plane that we can't quite put our finger on.<br />
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<span class="fullpost">The Lovecraft News Network is proud to be your friendly, monopolistic provider of interviews with real cult leaders, though we recognize that this is primarily because no one else is crazy enough to do it.<br />
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<i>Disclaimer: The following interview is neither an endorsement nor decrial of The Cult of Cthulhu and/or Mr. Venger Satanis. As intellectual adventurers on a turbulent sea of portent, the LNN presents the following for the perusal and delight of our audience, and we leave it to them to decide what to make of our unique, fascinating, and slightly terrifying encounter with an unforgettable individual.</i><br />
<br />
<b>LNN: You write the following:</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote>For years I have used Satanism and the Mythos as interchangeable models... even the very same paradigm at times. I am one of the few, however. There always seems to be resistance from one side or the other... "Cthulhu is not at all Satanic", one guy says, or "Satanism has nothing to do with the Mythos", spouts another. Poppycock, I say to both camps! The same exact elements can be found in each.<br />
<br />
Crazed wizards worshiping ancient things that existed millennia ago; hideous secrets scrawled in forbidden tomes of flesh; contacting evil servitors who will do the sorcerer's bidding...All of these are Satanic and Lovecraftian. HPL tapped into something, an area that Satanism later explored. Here it is the 21st century and most people still cling to the idea that there's a heretical disparity between the two. Well, no more! The Devils of our culture are the same as the Old Ones from weird fiction. Eldritch Infernal is a celebration of these similarities.</blockquote><b>Alright, now let's not dance around the issue. You are obviously well read enough to know that Lovecraft was a fiery non-believer, and though Simon's Necronomicon is good fun, people with the intellectual aptitude to actually read Lovecraft generally also know that it is fiction. As the leader of the Cult of Cthulhu, surely this irony is not lost on you. As one of our readers put it, "I thought the whole idea of Satanism was to put secular humanism in a ritual canister without having to solicit the approval of God(s)? A kind of self-worship in goth regalia, cribbed from Rand, Nietzsche and with a sprinkling of Crowley. The idea of a deity-centric Satanism outside the purely metaphorical allusion seems silly." That said, my limited understanding of contemporary magick tells me that the perceived power of magical practice lies within the individual practitioners and ritual itself, and not in the actual existence of any of the deities being invoked. How do you explain this apparent paradox to those unfamiliar with the contemporary culture and history of the occult? Similarly, how serious is the Cult of Cthulhu and its modes of spirituality to you?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Venger Satanis:</b> Yes, I have an extensive knowledge of HPL’s fiction and the man himself. There are different types of non-believers. Or, more accurately, there are different explanations people have for either believing in something or not believing in something. HPL strikes me as an atheist for the following reasons: hatred of Christianity’s doctrine, disgust for the mainstream religious values of the day, his extreme self-reliance and nihilism, and just not being exposed to Left Hand Path spirituality.<br />
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I wager if a real Cthulhu Cult was around when HPL was living, he’d desperately want to be a part of it. In fact, his writing is a kind of wish-fulfillment. He couldn’t rationally come to terms with his own ideas regarding the nature of time, space, reality, God, and the universe… so he laid out his beliefs in a fictional mythology. Reality is what we make it.<br />
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For the record, I’m not really into the Simon Necronomicon. If people enjoy that sort of thing, then great for them. Just not my cup of tea.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hbs5RfJI/AAAAAAAAAGU/75PZWJzCS_Q/s1600-h/IMG_0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hbs5RfJI/AAAAAAAAAGU/75PZWJzCS_Q/s320/IMG_0475.JPG" /></a></div>The fact that the Cthulhu Mythos manifested from a series of weird tales makes it easier to use. This is our paradigm; an artificial system for operating at a vastly different vibration than the rest of the masses. Was HPL receiving images from man’s primordial past? Was he the reincarnation of some demonic wizard? Was he a prophet who somehow unearthed a knowledge that goes beyond man’s pedestrian understanding of the world? To all of these, I say "perhaps…"<br />
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Regarding Satanism, that’s one view. Post-Modern Satanism is very much like dark humanism with the Nietzsche, Rand, and other atheistic philosophers. That’s not my idea of Satanism, though. A wider view of Satanism is closer to traditional Devil worship, but with a more contemporary understanding of magic, physics, folklore, theology, and human nature. It is a type of self-worship or self-deification, but why exclude the possibility of external forces at work?<br />
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Satanism can sound as silly as a religion based on the Cthulhu Mythos… or a white-bearded man sitting on a throne in the sky rewarding the virtuous and punishing sinners. Anything can seem ridiculous if looked at in a particular way. What I try to do is look behind Satan and Yog-Sothoth; I stare deeply into the commonalities they share. If those entities are mere masks, our attempt at conceptualizing inhuman forces, then we can use their name and likeness in worship.<br />
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You are correct in thinking that magic stems from the individual more than from any ritual or ceremony, and yet how does reality change if there isn’t something outside the universe we live in? After awhile, we stop looking at the big picture because we know the answer isn’t verifiable. Who created everything? Why are we here? Why is the human species so alien to the rest of nature? What is it about us that makes us different… is it our consciousness? Why does everybody suffer? Religions try to answer those questions, but most religions came about thousands of years ago. They are a bit out of date, to put it mildly.<br />
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The Cult of Cthulhu attacks problems we face every day. It’s a tool or instrument for reaching something better. So yes, we take this organization very seriously. The Cthulhu Cult is a means to an end.<br />
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<b>LNN: What is most rewarding aspect of being the leader of a Satanic cult?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis: </b>The most rewarding thing? Knowing that I’m right where virtually everyone else on the planet is wrong, or at least 99% of the population. Sure, there’s a fair amount of fear, power, respect, freedom, and so forth; but being the individual who is running the opposite way of everyone else… that is a truly amazing feeling.<br />
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<b>LNN: What are your immediate and long term goals?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis:</b> My immediate personal goals are these: artistic creation, effectively managing the Cult, keeping the money coming in, pursuing sexual pleasure, maintaining friendships, and being in the best physical shape I can be. Long term goals are pretty much more of the same but on a bigger scale, along with having children, raising awareness of our religion, and finding new and more entertaining distractions.<br />
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The Cult of Cthulhu has three goals: Awakening, manipulating reality, and bringing the Old Ones back. These have always been and will always be our chief objectives.<br />
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<b>LNN: What are the primary benefits of joining the Cult of Cthulhu for the lay members?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis:</b> You get to communicate with us, benefit from our wisdom and experience. We provide a purpose and Cult members can add to our paradigm with their participation. What are the primary benefits of joining a school, except to get an education? The Cthulhu Cult is in the business of educating mankind.<br />
LNN: Are there any possible plans for a physical location for a church, and if so, what would it ideally look like, and where would it be located?<br />
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Venger Satanis: There are plans in the works, but I don’t know if such a thing will materialize in 2010. God willing, we’ll have at least one physical temple by the end of 2012. Ideally, it would look like something that’s just risen from the sea. Cyclopean masonry, bizarre angles, hideous bas-reliefs… you know, the works. Practically, I don’t know what our temples will look like. The next house I buy could be an old church which I could renovate into a Cult temple. That would probably make for an excellent show on HGTV.<br />
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If anyone wants to help with building or acquiring a Cthulhu Cult temple, just let me know.<br />
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<b>LNN: Tell us about the name you adopt, Venger Satanis. Considering Lovecraft's view of cosmic apathy and rejection of Judaeo-Christian mythology, how do you justify your title's cultural baggage?</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hiueBuaI/AAAAAAAAAGc/pi1kJfB5sx8/s1600-h/IMG_0509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hiueBuaI/AAAAAAAAAGc/pi1kJfB5sx8/s320/IMG_0509.JPG" /></a></div><b>Venger Satanis:</b> I don’t dispute that HPL rejected the Judeo-Christian mythology; however, he did use a lot of Satanic imagery in his fiction. Lovecraft knew that certain archetypes are imbedded in our consciousness. Fear of the unknown is an emotion that few artists throw themselves into, but every human being experiences at one time or another. How can the unknown be personified… as some dark messenger? An entity more exotic than Satan? Just because the Christian God doesn’t exist doesn’t mean there’s an absence of black forces from Outside. What influences a God can be societal, cultural, or something altogether alien. However, preconceived notions are inevitable. There will always be some sort of baggage, whether it be cultural or otherwise.<br />
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Venger was the bad guy from the 1980’s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon while Satanis is the name of the first Church of Satan documentary with Anton Szandor LaVey. My middle magical name is As’Nas which relates to poker actually. I love Texas Hold’em.<br />
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If the name Venger Satanis strikes fear, excitement, fascination, or even mild curiosity in people, then I’m happy. And if it doesn’t, then oh well… I still think it sounds cool.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>LNN: How do your practices and affiliations affect your professional development, social life, and romantic opportunities? There have to be some great stories here. . . please indulge us.</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis:</b> Professionally, I don’t really have a problem or issue. There’s no reason to advertise what I do around the office.<br />
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I’ve always been a weirdo, so all of my friends growing up, high school, college, and other times/places are either into weird stuff or tolerant of my eldritch interests. It came as no surprise to many of my chums that I started the Cult of Cthulhu. Some have given me strange looks or just shook their head and laughed, but I do what I do. I need friends who support my endeavors.<br />
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The romantic opportunities are probably the most interesting. Typically, I try to wait awhile before telling a woman that I’m the Cult of Cthulhu High Priest. Unless, of course, she finds out ahead of time. There have been a few girls who found out about my calling by doing a google search or finding my facebook / myspace page. At that point, it’s about damage control. How do I convince these girls that I’m not going to cut them up and put them in my freezer? A couple ran screaming for the hills, but most eventually came around, realizing that I’m not like every other guy, but not clinically insane. I have also hooked up with a couple women precisely because I was a strange and enigmatic cult leader.<br />
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Most girls are curious and skeptical, but once I explain things they are cool with it. Girls should try to get to know the man himself, not just what he does or what his hobbies are. I think a lot of girls take the time to do that, and I’m glad. The girl I’m dating now has known about me for years. She had a few assumptions that I was a sex-crazed monster, but I allayed her fears long enough for her to see that the Cult of Cthulhu High Priest can be a nice, normal guy as well… when he wants to be.<br />
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Years ago, when I only identified as a Satanist, it was the same sort of business. Not much changes when you’re born this weird.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hpPH9rNI/AAAAAAAAAGk/gr5va1JqsSY/s1600-h/Venger-Madguten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><b>LNN: Tell about the head crab pictured on the introductory page of your website. Has it been de-beaked, and what are the Cult's foreign policy protocols for dealing with Combine diplomats? Would they not be likely sympathetic to your cause and legitimate candidates for adoption into your pantheon?</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hpPH9rNI/AAAAAAAAAGk/gr5va1JqsSY/s1600-h/Venger-Madguten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21hpPH9rNI/AAAAAAAAAGk/gr5va1JqsSY/s640/Venger-Madguten.jpg" width="340" /></a></div><br />
<b>Venger Satanis: </b>That’s a popular misconception I see on youtube. It’s actually a Yog-Sothoth mask created by John Cherevka who, incidentally, recently created a 3 foot latex tentacle for me. I love that mask. It’s definitely alien and kind of disturbing, if you ask me.<br />
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Combine diplomats? I just tried to google it, and I came up with nada. The Cult would like to eventually do away with such arbitrary boundaries of land, culture, language, and belief. Why not a singular order for the entire world? Those familiar with the Mythos who want something more out of life might want to adopt our pantheon.<br />
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<b>LNN: The image of you demonstrating the "Baptism of the Jade Ichor" is a striking one many of our readers are curious about. Please describe the metaphysical purpose of this ritual, and what hygienic considerations a candidate should take to avoid accidental self-miscegenation.</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21iANrV1VI/AAAAAAAAAGs/mfxK9xgQoW4/s1600-h/jade_enter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21iANrV1VI/AAAAAAAAAGs/mfxK9xgQoW4/s400/jade_enter.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br />
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Basically, it’s like a traditional baptism. One is becoming reborn or cleansed anew via a magical ritual and Cult sacrament. It separates the Cultist from nature. We need to be protected from this universe, shielded from all the laws we are under. It’s important to align oneself with the Ancient Ones via ceremony.<br />
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Human beings are all of a mixed race. We are part ape and part Old One. But most of us have very little ancient, green blood flowing through our veins. The Baptism of Jade Ichor will increase the chance of self-miscegenation. I say, bring on the mutations! We should try to become more like the Dark Gods.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>LNN: In addition to your theological and metaphysical endeavors, you have also been involved in--as I understand it--the creation of a proprietary role playing game called the Empire of Satanis (EoS). You describe it as, "akin to Lovecraft on an acid trip hurriedly transcribing the insanity of Hell as he falls deeper into the Pit," and it revolves around the premise of the character not combating, but becoming a Lovecraftian monstrosity. Tell us about the creative process behind the game's creation and how its goal parallels that of the Cult.</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/graphics/satanis-unbound1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/graphics/satanis-unbound1.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis: </b>I don’t have much contact with Empire of Satanis anymore. And my interest in that table-top roleplaying game is quite tangentional. The player characters in EoS are alien demonic beings who corrupt reality, harass mankind, and try to become more Godlike. So in that way, I guess the relation between EoS and the Cult of Cthulhu is clear.<br />
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Empire of Satanis, and the one supplements I created for it, Satanis Unbound, is a free PDF download on lulu.com if anyone is curious enough to read and maybe even play it.<br />
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<b>LNN: You write that EoS entails, "the adventures of a satanic Fiend whose principle interests are sexual deviancy, ultra-violence, and dark weird horror." How does the inclusion of sexual deviancy as a stated goal change the gaming experience, and is their any further significance to this beyond mere hedonistic pleasure? And while pursuing ultra-violence, does one get to stop at the milk bar with one's droogs while enjoying some Ludvig Van?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis: </b>Haha, yes! A Clockwork Orange deeply affected and influenced me when I was a young man. I like to include little tributes to things like that in my writing. Not that I’m defending my stylistic choices in writing Empire of Satanis. Some of that prose is fairly cringe-worthy when I read it now. But it was a lot of fun to write and play at the time.<br />
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For me, sex is connected to practically everything I do, everything I think, and everything I’m interested in. So, it seemed like a no-brainer to include sex with the EoS roleplaying experience. When playtesting the game, delving into sexual material produced some very cool and bizarre results. Some have likened it to Hentai. If people want sex with their Lovecraftian horrors, then who am I to stop them?<br />
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<b>LNN: On that note, tell us about the buxom, young cultist you have on <a href="http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/c2convention.htm">this page</a> of your website. Specifically, tell us about the practice of sex magick within the Cult of Cthulhu and Chaos Magick in general. Most importantly, of course, at what rank in your organization does one receive ones own female cultist in the mail?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis: </b>There are dozens of lovely ladies who are Cultists or simply Cult fans/supporters/groupies. Sex magic is just as vital to our religion as other forms of magic. Like the early Church of Satan, if we must have sexual hang-ups, then let us be defined by them willingly and consciously.<br />
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As the tenets of Chaos Magic have taught us, there’s no right or wrong way to pursue a magical experiment. Sometimes sex itself can be the ritual or sex could be the result. Speaking of mail order females, I just ordered a Real Doll (warning: NSFW www.realdoll.com ). I don’t have trouble getting sex or finding female companionship, but having a $6,000 sex toy intrigues me. When my silicone doll arrives, there will be plenty of pictures… and strange mannequin-esque threesomes.<br />
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<b>LNN: You have taken the time to establish yourself as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Whence the need to jump through bureaucratic hoops? Is this a matter of pragmatic economics, an attempt to legitimize the group, or are you secretly just a big fan of IRS paperwork? Is the realm of modern bureaucracy not just a new type of unspeakable, Lovecraftian horror?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis:</b> I do hate bureaucracy, paperwork, and jumping through hoops. However, the economics and legitimacy were the most important factors in making that decision. As a religion, the Cult is interested in more than material wealth, so why not take advantage of the non-profit niche that other religions use?<br />
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Like the building of temples, I wouldn’t say no to assistance with the non-profit aspect of the Cthulhu Cult. If you have some background in such things, then let us know how you can help spread the green slime of our beliefs throughout the world.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21jeZGw9AI/AAAAAAAAAG8/ZIGTO1bh3Fk/s1600-h/liber_enter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21jeZGw9AI/AAAAAAAAAG8/ZIGTO1bh3Fk/s400/liber_enter.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br />
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<b>LNN: Tell us about the Cthulhu 2 conventions. What is their purpose, how do they fit into the scope of your group's practices, and what should a newcomer expect upon attending?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Venger Satanis: </b>The first Cthulhu Convention, Cthulhu One, was held on May Eve weekend of 2005. The Cthulhu Two Convention was held on May Eve weekend of 2009. I’m planning Cthulhu Three for 2011 and hopefully it will continue every other year (with a special gathering planned for 12/21/2012 – 12/23/2012) . Not sure if it will remain in WI or not, but that’s where I currently reside.<br />
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Everything we’re about is showcased during our cons. There are lectures and demonstrations for all of our beliefs and practices. The highlight is a Cult ritual on Walpurgisnacht itself.<br />
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<b>LNN: Here's a scenario for you: the Cult of Cthulhu wakes up in the middle of a gladiatorial-style area wearing only a loin cloth. In the sand next to you is a rusted short sword and a flimsy iron buckler. All of the sudden, the crowd begins to cheer and a giant portcullis opens. You know what must be done. In walks Richard Dawkins bearing the staff of angry atheism, Immanuel Kant brandishing the cudgel of the categorical imperative, Pat Roberston wielding the halberd of Haitian hate, and DJ Grothe with the scimitar of secular humanism. How does the Cult of Cthulhu defend itself against these powerful, competing ideologies?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis:</b> Haha, that’s an amusing question. I think the Cult would hang back until most of the fighting was finished. I assume the lion’s share of bloodshed wouldn’t involve the Cthulhu Mythos since we’re opposed to mankind remaining a broken machine. However, when the bitterest feuds had been resolved and it was the wounded survivors against the Cult, then I would try to form an alliance with whoever looked strongest. As long as we’re dominant, we’re happy.<br />
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Sure, I’m an idealist, but I also want to be realistic. If the Cult’s survival means joining forces with another paradigm, then so be it.<br />
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<b>LNN: Now make no mistake about it: here at the LNN we love to learn about cultists and malevolent space entities. Heaven knows, the universe is full of them. However, we like and appreciate them in the same way we like sharks, jellyfish, and giant cephalopods: we think they are cool, but they scare the hell out of us and are not likely to get an invitation for Sunday brunch. I suppose what I am getting at is that however interesting the Cult of Cthulhu is, are your practices not a direct threat to the survival of the human species, and are we not thus obligated to add you to the LNN blacklist of deadly cultists that must be crushed, like Tom Cruise and Stephanie Meyer, out of a basic instinct for self preservation? Don't take this wrong way, but should we not encourage you take a cue from Syd Barrett and hop on a one way rocket into the heart of sun? I mean, from a utilitarian perspective, it worked out pretty good for everyone with Marshall Applewhite, don't you think?</b><br />
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<b>Venger Satanis:</b> If we were hell-bent on destroying humanity, then I agree… you should avoid us and possibly try to actively plot our downfall. However, we see ourselves as the “good guys”. The only thing we want is for humanity to Awaken from its sleep; for mankind to evolve. That can’t happen on its own; it requires force.<br />
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Change is scary, but this is beneficial change. Doesn’t the LNN want to kill and revel and enjoy life… not to mention all that sexual ecstasy!<br />
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<b>LNN: Anything else you would like to put on the record?</b><br />
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We’re always up to something new, so keep an eye on us. Check out our various websites, youtube channels, pages, spaces, blogs, and books. Thanks for the interview.<br />
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<b>LNN: It was our absolute pleasure.</b><br />
<b> </b> <br />
<div style="color: #0b5394;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21jOCKdTNI/AAAAAAAAAG0/_84ZXsYNg5s/s1600-h/header_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/S21jOCKdTNI/AAAAAAAAAG0/_84ZXsYNg5s/s640/header_09.jpg" width="470" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Feeling brave? Learn more about Venger Satanis and The Cult of Cthulhu:</b></div><a href="http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/">http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/</a><br />
<div style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Feeling <i>really </i>brave and want to join? (It's free--as in it costs no money. However, we won't say it is without cost!)</b></div><a href="http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/I-am-the-way-demons1a.htm">http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/I-am-the-way-demons1a.htm</a></div></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-14404136261387604192010-01-17T14:54:00.000-08:002010-01-18T19:18:43.985-08:00New U of Texas study confirms Lovecraft's treatise about cats and dogsA few days ago, CNN ran an article on their front page entitled, "<span style="font-size:small;">How are dog people and cat people different?"</span> <br /><br />The articles reports on a recent study by the University of Texas at Austin, which claims the following:<br /><blockquote>It turns out that the "dog people"--based on how people identified themselves, not on what animals they actually own--tend to be more social and outgoing, whereas "cat people" tend to be more neurotic but "open," which means creative, philosophical, or nontraditional in this context.<br /></blockquote>This, of course, is old news to Lovecraft fans who have been well versed on this great debate for nearly a century. Lovecraft, who had "no active dislike for dogs, any more than [. . .] for monkeys, human beings, tradesmen, cows, sheep, or pterodactyls," was nevertheless explicitly clear about his position and essentially put the issue to rest in 1926 with his masterful treatise entitled "Cats and Dogs."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.darkinthedark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/lovecraft-and-a-cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://www.darkinthedark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/lovecraft-and-a-cat.jpg" width="320" border="0" height="320" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Lovecraft and Frank Belknap Long's cat Felis </span><br /></div><span class="fullpost"><br />Lovecraft writes,<br /><blockquote><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dogs, then, are peasants and the pets of peasants, cats are gentlemen and the pets of gentlemen. The dog is for him who places crude feeling and outgrown ethic and humanocentricity above austere and disinterested beauty; who just loves "folks and folksiness" and doesn't mind sloppy clumsiness if only something will truly care for him.<br /></div></blockquote>The U of T research, unsurprisingly, affirmed Lovecraft on nearly every point.<br /><br />"To love cats," one of the scientists writes, "you have to be able to love things for themselves; they have their own life, they aren't necessarily dependent on you. Your dog kind of lives for you."<br /><br />Compare that to Lovecraft's own words:<br /><blockquote style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We own a dog -- he is with us as a slave and inferior because we wish him to be. But we entertain a cat -- he adorns our hearth as a guest, fellow-lodger, and equal because he wishes to be there. It is no compliment to be the stupidly idolised master of a dog whose instinct it is to idolise, but it is a very distinct tribute to be chosen as the friend and confidant of a philosophic cat who is wholly his own master and could easily choose another companion if he found such a one more agreeable and interesting.<br /></blockquote>Though we know not where on earth these people get money to perform research of this nature, it is always a thrill to see contemporary thinkers finally catching up to Lovecraft in terms of philosophical discourse.<br /><br /><i>Thus we say to Lassie and the rest of the bitches, take that! </i><br /><br />Science hath spoken.<br /><br /><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color: rgb(7, 55, 99);">View the article on CNN</span> <b><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/13/cat.dog.personality/index.html?hpt=Sbin">here</a></b>.<br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(7, 55, 99);">Read Lovecraft's treatise on Cats and Dogs</span> <b><a href="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Cats_and_Dogs">here</a></b>.<br /></div></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-80940809703355982592010-01-16T09:51:00.002-08:002010-01-16T10:07:12.836-08:00Eldritch Musicks by The Contrarian: LNN interviews Casey Rae-Hunter on his new albumThe gears of progress here at the LNN have admittedly been a bit sluggish as of late, and for this we would like to apologize. To be honest, we finally sat down and watched <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-178629120699935619&ei=ZthRS7__IKCsqQOFm6mnCw&q=Marjoe&hl=en&client=firefox-a#"><i>Marjoe </i></a>in the interest of cult research and have only recently begun to been able to control the violent seizures and fits of terror that resulted from viewing this horror of horrors. Though our sanity may never fully recover, the LNN must go on. <br /><br />Last month, we introduced you to Casey Rae-Hunter, a.k.a. The Contrarian: a preternaturally eclectic, intellectually minded prog rocker with a penchant for cosmic horror.<br /><br /><i>How's that for a sound byte? </i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/cover21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/cover21.jpg" width="320" border="0" height="291" /></a></div>His latest music project is entitled <i>Eldritch Musicks</i>, which he calls "haunt rock" and the first "credible rock record concerning Lovecraft’s Mythos in at least two decades." We were fortunate enough to receive an advance copy and have been delighted by the results as we shuffled it into our morning yoga and pilates mix. Nothing soothes the soul and catalyzes ones potential like performing the downward dog while listening to "Dweller on the Threshold."<br /><br />Though, as is the curmudgeonly custom of certificated literati, we do not deign to conduct "reviews" here at the LNN, we will make a point of notating that the CD is razor sharp in its production value, stimulating on more than just an aural level, and surprisingly accessible in its form and genre. <br /><br />This week, it is our supreme pleasure to present an interview we conducted with The Contrarian regarding his latest musical excursion. Without any hyperbole, we can safely say that, in our opinion, this is the LNN's most interesting interview to date.<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Without further dilatory ramblings, we present to you, The Contrarian. . .<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: You discuss at length your intentions with this project--those of a literary, musical, and ideological nature--in your "making of" podcast. For those without access to this, could you briefly describe the nature of your album, and could please retell your great story of how you came about with the idea to begin the project while having an inebriated discussion with Blue Öyster Cult producer Sandy Pearlman?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>Well, as a writer, I’ve long been interested in the through line that connects other scribes of a certain disposition. Here’s an example: I was recently reading The Tenant, by Roland Topor, and it had an introduction by Thomas Ligotti — perhaps the most gifted purveyor of cosmic dread currently drawing breath. Likewise, one of the only contemporary fiction authors I read is the French erotic nihilist Michel Houellebecq, who just so happened to write a book about Lovecraft called HP Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. I find these synchronicities all the time. It’s like being able to see an extra color that others can’t perceive.<br /><br />As far as the Sandy Pearlman connection, well, I’d always been curious about this legendary rock ‘n’ roll Svengali. When I was first learning about music, I was primarily into 1970s rock bands — Sabbath, Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult, etc. The latter is an acquired taste. It’s like Steely Dan — BOC are not for everyone. One of the things that struck me about them was that the lyrics were cryptic, but also intertextual and definitely tongue-in-cheek. I mean, you had references to The King in Yellow and the Men in Black in the same song — way before any of that shit was cool. For those who don’t know, Sandy was BOC’s manager, producer and one of their chief lyrical collaborators during the band’s golden years. He had a hand in establishing the art of rock criticism, and was present at birth for a whole lot of pop culture insanity. A mad genius, as it were. His “Imaginos” mythos, which informs a number of BOC songs, was definitely Lovecraft-inspired.<br /><br />So, for much of my young adulthood, I was sort of wondering who the hell this guy really was. I never thought I’d actually get to become friends with him. This happened through my job, which I’ll explain a bit more about later. Anyway, Sandy and I were talking one night at a party-type-thing, and we began discussing the Mythos and rock music. Sandy mentioned how long it had been since there was a significant rock record that dealt with Lovecraftian themes. I’ve been known to self-impose ludicrous challenges apropos of nothing when I’ve had a few drinks, so I said I’d make that record. Which is a good place to start with art, really — create what you think is missing in the marketplace. And somehow, I actually followed through with it.<br /><br />Do you know the Turing test? It’s an assessment to determine whether a machine can evince human intelligence. Sandy told me sometime after I’d gotten started on the project that there’s a Lovecraft, test, too. I’d like to think I’d pass with a C minus. <br /><br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c9wWdtsFN3c&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c9wWdtsFN3c&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><i><b>LNN: Tell us about the production process in your home studio. Specifically, what role did your two cats and pet rabbit play? What does you wife think?</b></i><br /><div><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>I have three cats and a rabbit, actually. The cats, well, they are my kids. Total freaks. One of them is very into music — she loves singing, percussion, and even lead guitar. The other two guys just kind of hang out. They just think it’s just Dad being weird when I’m recording. My bunny is my familiar, my avatar, if you will. My wife is a writer, and is incredibly supportive of all of my creative endeavors. Plus she tolerates my eccentricities, which are legion.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: What are your plans for this project's release? Specifically I am curious as to your intended audience. After listening to the composition, it is quite clearly of a superlative quality and fit for a mainstream release, but of course the traditional curse of the Lovecraftian artist is to be eschewed by the puerile masses of pop-starlet-consuming drones. You knew about the curse before you made the album, right? </b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>Curses are meant to be broken! This is the era of disintermediation, when production, distribution and marketing are no longer under the exclusive control of gatekeepers and middlemen. So it’s a good time to experiment with niche projects like this. You do a little research, figure out who’s likely to appreciate what you’re doing, and just put it out there and see what happens. I think we’re having a bit of a zeitgeist with old HP at the moment, but I certainly didn’t plan to capitalize on it or anything. Really, I’m just trying to amuse myself, and I figured there are a few other people on the planet who would likewise be amused. As far as the pop market, well, I’ve always been outside of that (or maybe slightly ahead of it). Interesting music finds its own course, even if it doesn’t make a ton of money or get played in a car commercial. On the other hand, I’m not pursuing a purely experimental path here. I want people to be able to comprehend the music on some basic level. It’s rock, with plenty of recognizable ingredients. It’s also an aural hyper-sigil that will reprogram your mind. But let’s not go spoiling the surprise…<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ynn4lUTbWWQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ynn4lUTbWWQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br /><i><b>LNN: What exactly is your day job? I understand that you are the Communications Director for the Future of Music Coalition; tell us about this group, and how does your involvement in it correspond to your Lovecraftian projects? </b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>Future of Music Coalition is a national research, education and advocacy organization for musicians. It’s essentially a music-technology-policy think tank. We work on issues of access and compensation for artists. On the access side, it’s media reform and telecommunications policy. Why does commercial radio suck? Because of federal rules that removed the caps on the number of stations a single broadcast entity could own. We fight for net neutrality, to make sure that artists have an equal technological platform and can compete in the legitimate digital music marketplace. We advocate for more equitable structures that reward creators and not just entrenched industry interests. We defend musicians’ speech and freedom of expression. We do original research and translate complex policy issues. I’m the communications director, and it’s endlessly fascinating. It doesn’t really have anything to do with my other projects except that it does provide me entrée to some of the most brilliant minds in the history of the music business. And these people are even more eccentric than me, which makes me feel normal for a goddamn change.<br /><i><b><br />LNN: Tell us about the Contrarian persona. Whence his non-conformity, and what does his disestablishmentarianism allow Casey Rae-Hunter to do?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>I guess I was born under a bad sign. Or an elder sign. Really, I’ve always been something of a contrarian — not for the sake of countering societal mores, but rather because I see things differently and am full of enough vim, vigor, id and ego to simply dive in and do something regardless of prevailing opinion. This is not a stance. It’s not a lifestyle. It’s a metaphysical heritage, from Comte de Lautréamont to Oscar Wilde to HL Mencken to Mark Twain to George Carlin to maybe me. What does being a part of this lineage allow me to do? Well, it certainly doesn’t make me feel particularly at ease with 99 percent of humanity. But it does give me a certain sense of mission. You see, The Contrarian is more than just a musical persona, it’s my intellectual coat-of-arms and the crux of my new media empire. Which is nowhere near finished infecting the Cosmos.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Tell us about the process you call “Illuminated Musicks.” Specifically, tell us what is the amperage of this illumination, have you purchased carbon offsets for its use, and whether or not William Blake has been consulted on the project.</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>Blake has been consulted, after a fashion. I plug into the Los often enough for the dearly departed bugger to sniff out my peculiar alchemy. Or maybe it’s just my socks. They do need washing. Anyway, “Illuminated Musicks” is a process of receiving information that can be synthesized in a goodly and useful fashion. It can come from Buddhist meditation or a fine single-malt scotch. Perhaps a nightmare or a really nice Sunday morning with my wife, cats and bunny. Maybe it’s a reflection of my ongoing fascination with absorbing as many systems of thought as possible, then forgetting all of them in a sudden flood of inspiration. Maybe it’s the dark night of the soul and the Saturnine weight of realization that accompanies any serious looking within. Or perhaps it’s all just bullshit. At least records and essays and quasi-profound interviews occasionally come out of it. Which is more than I can say for accountants.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: In your CD liner, you write that the aesthetic rules you "set at the outset of the process were never violated." What is the significance of this success for you?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>As an aesthetic fascist, rules are important to me. And let me define that for you: any artist worth his/her salt is an aesthetic fascist. Because what is art, besides the projection of aesthetic will upon existence? I’m just reality-hacking with a very primitive kind of code — sound and symbol. But in order for the program to run smoothly, you gotta keep the extraneous shit out. And it’s best to have the battle map at the outset. Or be really good at convincing yourself that it’s ALL incredibly important. And I suck at that, so I have to have rules.<br /><br /><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9m9SJZkECyA&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9m9SJZkECyA&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Considering your cited rock and roll influences of BOC, shouldn't your project be spelled Eldritch Müsicks (with an umlaut)?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i> Absolütely.<br /><i><b><br />LNN: Tell us about your work with Sandy Pearlman. In his poetry, Pearlman wrote that the "Blue Oyster Cult" was a group of aliens who had assembled to secretly guide Earth's history. Tell us about this. Can we now safely assume that you too are concerned about the imminent threat of shape-shifting reptilians and their Freemason army?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>It all comes from the long-running left/right political/esoteric meme of an “invisible college,” a coterie of adepts who can and do influence the tides of history for outcomes a conventional dichotomy would term “good” or “bad.” Agents of Fortune, to quote the title of a BOC record. Christianity is a spiritual-semantic meme that has evolved in countess fascinating ways, and has been exploited by a plethora of power structures. Are there actually guardians of some amazing occult knowledge? Maybe. One thing I know for sure: when imagination is hooked up to the chariot of mass participation, dramatic and ugly things can happen. History tells us that much. The rest is up for the reptilian overlords to reveal at the time of their choosing. Or not, which is most likely the case.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Tell us about your interest in Eastern religion and mysticism: is it literary, Fortean, or spiritual, and do you thus align yourself less with Lovecraft's hard line mechanistic materialism and more with other more gnostically inclined Weird authors like Machen? As a believer, do you ever worry that Richard Dawkins might stab to death you in your sleep with his ego?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>You know, Thomas Ligotti is supposedly a disenfranchised Buddhist. I’m a fully franchised one. I’m the Quiznos of Buddhism. Or maybe Rent-a-Center. If you were gonna put me on a spectrum between Lovecraft’s mechanistic misanthropy and Machen’s Manichean mysteries, I’d probably fall squarely in the middle. As far as belief goes, well, I essentially think that there is no objective, separate understanding of the totality of phenomenon. None that you can intuit in any fixed or permanent sense, anyway. Hence the Buddhism. I suppose it’s also Burroughs-ian, minus the morphine and buggery.<br /><i><b><br />LNN: You list some of your yet-to-be recorded projects as the following: A Latino death metal band called Sotomayor, The Goth Lebowski. (you imagine it to be like the classic Silence of the Lambs-inspired ditty, “It Rubs the Lotion On its Skin”), and a live reading of the Beach Boys‘ Love You album, which would culminate in onstage self-immolation. Do goals like these echo an ideology as reflected in the following statement that you wrote concerning the meaning of life, "No one is keeping score, and imagination is precious," and how so?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>I’m only limited by time and laziness. I have a good or ridiculous idea every five minutes or so. And who can tell the difference? Certainly not me. I regret that I have but one life to give to my ludicrous ambitions.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: You have released several other CD's, including one entitled "Soft Rock," which is subtitled the "35th anniversary edition." Tell us how these prepared for your current project?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>“Soft Rock” was my attempt at a breakup record — somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and Elliott Smith. After that, I did a record called “Northern Lights,” which was based on Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” novels. The first record was an exercise in minimalism (it got me out of my evil, trippy electro phase), and the second was total maximalism, like me trying to out-Queen Queen. They both taught me different things. Of course, I had other records before that, some with actual bands. I’ve learned from all of these experiences, but it’s not always apparent what that is be until I’m embroiled in another project.<br /><i><b><br />LNN: Perhaps this questions is best asked off the record, and I don't want to sound too disparaging if any tender sensibilities are on the line, but I can't help but recognize the title image from your "Northern Lights" release is a mutation from a popular Mormon painting depicting the arrival of an extra terrestrial being from the planet Kolob to the American continent. In a way, it's devastatingly Lovecraftian. There has to be a great story behind this. Please indulge me.</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>It’s amazing you caught that. I actually didn’t even know where the image came from; I asked the designer, and he said he pulled it off of an issue of the LDS Watchtower rag. I’m sure the Mormons could sue me six ways from Sunday, no pun intended. I decided the image fit, because the album was based on a set of children’s novels about killing God. I’d never pull something like that with Scientologists. Tom Cruise is way scarier than Nyarlathotep.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: What is next for you?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Contrarian: </b></i>I’m in preproduction for an apocalyptic blues record called “Revelation Musicks.” It’s gonna be like Flannery O’ Connor’s “Wise Blood” meets Robert Johnson. Which means it’ll probably sound like acoustic Zeppelin. I also hope to keep writing horror fiction, since people seem to like it when I do that. Maybe someone will actually give me money. I’m planning on writing a graphic novel, too. And, depending on the next couple of election cycles, I may move to Europe and become another ex-patriate nutter on the dole.<br /></div><b><br />Learn more or purchase the album at The Contrarian's website:</b><br /><a href="http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/the-contrarian-eldritch-musicks/">http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/the-contrarian-eldritch-musicks/</a><br /><br /><b>Update:</b><i> Hear Casey read aloud his fantastic short story, "The Cove," on the ShadowCast Audio Anthology for free.</i><br /><a href="http://shadowpress.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/shadowcast-009-the-cove/">http://shadowpress.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/shadowcast-009-the-cove/</a></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-31729274325991574452010-01-02T06:58:00.000-08:002010-01-02T07:15:45.615-08:00Stygian Darkness Across The Potomac: New Lovecraftian blogAn interesting new project has recently been announced by theProtagonist, a Lovecraftian blogger in the DC area of the East Coast.<br /><br />His site, entitled <a href="http://stygiandarknessacrossthepotomac.blogspot.com/"><i>Stygian Darkness Across The Potomac</i></a>, incorporates elements of Lovecraftian writing along with a modern blog covering lesser known monuments and historical sites in the Washington, D.C. area.<br /><br />theProtaganist stopped by to tell us a little bit about his curious project.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sz9dXI-WrJI/AAAAAAAAAFY/4ru1BV6_Wb8/s1600-h/Q+Street+NW+Dupont+Circle+Area.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sz9dXI-WrJI/AAAAAAAAAFY/4ru1BV6_Wb8/s320/Q+Street+NW+Dupont+Circle+Area.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>From a recent entry entitled,"The Curious Book Seller near Dupont Circle"</i></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><i><b>theProtaganist:</b></i> My blog is a fictional pastiche of H.P. Lovecraft's Mythos cycle set in the 21st century. Specifically, the blog will use various famous (and many not so famous) monuments and memorials around the Washington, D.C. area to intersect with the Cthulhu Mythos. My inspiration comes from many of Lovecraft's tales which use real places and are written in letter format. If Lovecraft were alive today, I believe he would be very comfortable using such new media and forms communication, such as blogs and email. I write the blog in order to keep the Mythos "alive," if you will, and not for any financial purposes. The blog is not affliated with Choasium or any other company, but based upon my own imagination, research of the National Capital region and of course the Mythos as espoused by Lovecraft himself.<br /><br />Also, a second reason I've created this blog is so that readers will hopefuly learn more about the history of the Washington, D.C. area, an area full of sometimes strange and unusual museums, buildings, monuments and memorials that are not always listed in guide books and historical texts. I have lived in the Washington, D.C. area for over ten years now and have barely scratched the surface of the various historically significant sites located here. I hope more people will visit the blog and enjoy the pastiche while learning something new at the same time.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN:</b></i> Sounds great. Implementing Lovecraftian pastiche as a pedagogical tool for understanding local history is a fantastic idea, and we wish you the best. If only we could now convince the <a href="http://www.nea.org/">National Education Association</a> to adopt this style of curriculum into the public school system en masse. . . It would also make for one hell of an episode of <i>Reading Rainbow</i>, if you get the chance.<br /><br /><div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Learn more here:</b></div><a href="http://stygiandarknessacrossthepotomac.blogspot.com/">http://stygiandarknessacrossthepotomac.blogspot.com/ </a></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-55021113002314741522009-12-31T05:17:00.000-08:002010-01-01T13:30:37.713-08:00Plush Cthulhu Conquers the Net: The LNN interviews Paul Blake from ToyVaultAfter four months of lugubrious wrangling, the LNN is pleased to finally announce the completion of the latest entry in our reckless crusade of in-depth celebrity interviews. Today we tread a path few journalist dare to, well, be on the record as having trod upon. It is a path marked by foul monstrosities, mind shattering vistas of horrifying reality (which goes without saying these days), and velvety soft, extra dimensional entities.<br /><br />Today is the the day we present our interview with Paul Blake, a developer from ToyVault--the maniacal purveyors of the blasphemously adorable Plush Cthulhu line.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Cthulhu%20Medium%20-%20Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Cthulhu%20Medium%20-%20Large.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>First, an introduction. My name is Paul Blake, and apart from being ToyVault's Game Developer, I'm also the resident Lovecraft Geek (possibly surpassed by Jon in that respect - possibly), so it fell to me to fill in the blanks for this interview. The answers I give here are a mixture of my rephrasing Jon's answers, my rephrasing elements of our company history, and (where he specified that I should use them) Jon's exact words. In these answers, when I say "I", I'm referring to myself, individually. When I say "We," I'm referring to ToyVault as a company.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Tell us about how the Cthulhu line got started and what was behind the decision to turn him into a cute, cuddly, stuffed animal.</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>Initially, Jon's response included phrases such as "While I was studying at Miskatonic University," and "My good friend Herbert West," so I'm not entirely sure how seriously he was taking the matter.<br /><br />In truth, Jon's decision to make Lovecraft-based plush toys was, as so many things are, the intersection of several unrelated events. ToyVault has, in many ways, been a showcase of the personal interests and fascinations of the creative minds within the company - most notably Jon himself.<br /><br />Jon's an avid gamer, a voracious reader, and a diehard fan of almost every media franchise in our product catalog. He had long wanted to make Lovecraftian toys, but during its earliest days, ToyVault primarily made action figures.<br /><br />While a Cthulhu action figure might have a market, technical limitations of the form would likely alienate just as many potential customers as it would attract. For instance, how posable should such a figure be? Which specific artistic representation should be used? How detailed should the sculpt be? Action figures of this type have a rigidity, not just of material, but also of concept. Fans have an image in their minds eye of what a character should look like, and an action figure representation should match that image as closely as possible. With comic book or film subject matter, that matchup is fairly easy. With literary subject matter like Cthulhu, it is substantially more difficult, and so he tabled the idea.<br /><br />Some time in late 1999, ToyVault was approached by another company - I'm not at liberty to name them specifically - to produce their version of a Cthulhu plush toy. The toy was manufactured, but a payment dispute prevented the product from reaching the market.<br /><br />In the process, however, Jon learned the ins and outs of plush manufacturing, and the idea of a plush inversion of the Cosmic Horror trope appealed to him. A new design was commissioned, and the prototype was displayed at San Diego Comic-Con. Attendees were told that we would produce it "if there was sufficient demand." At the show, two major distributors committed to enough pre-orders to cover an entire production run, and the line has been self-sustaining ever since.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Mini%20Shoggoth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Mini%20Shoggoth.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>ToyVault's now out of print Plush Shoggoth also doubled as yarmulke for the theistically challenged</i><br /></div><br /><i><b>LNN: What is is about Lovecraft's fiction that makes it marketable as opposed to, say for example, the works of a better known author such as Jane Austen, and what does this say about your target demographic?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>In terms of ToyVault's marketability of Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian horrors, part of it is recognizability. Show a Cthulhu toy to anyone who has read Lovecraft and they should be able to recognize it as Cthulhu. I would be surprised if any Jane Austen fans could differentiate between, for instance, Elinor from Sense and Sensibility, Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice, Fanny from Mansfield Park, and any other Victorian-era lady of refinement. You could make a line of Sense and Sensibility dolls, and without changing anything but their labels, rebrand them as Wuthering Heights dolls.<br /><br />However, that only speaks to the visual distinctiveness of Cthulhu, which doesn't completely answer your question. It seems that, to some extent, Cthulhu's popularity specifically as a plush toy is down to a growing trend of postmodern deconstruction in media and culture in general. Cthulhu is a widely recognizable icon not just of Lovecraft's work specifically, but of the Cosmic Horror genre as a whole - and by extension, an icon of undefinable fear, creeping madness, and abstract nightmares. Contrastingly, plush toys are an icon of the innocence of childhood, and all that is cute and cuddly. Merging the two creates a complete inversion of both of the concepts.<br /><br />What that says about the demographic - Either that they have a sense of humor, or that it comforts them to see an incomprehensible terror from beyond the reach of time reduced to cuddly, huggable teddy bear.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: What significance does the Cthulhu line have for you company, and what percentage of your business does it comprise?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>Cthulhu was the first plush toy we manufactured, and its popularity completely changed our business model. It turned us on to the fact that Geeks (and I use the term to include myself - I'm possibly the nerdiest guy Jon knows) have an interest in plush toys that are conceptually ironic.<br /><br />Our General Business Manager won't let me discuss exact sales figures, but I will say that Cthulhu products are consistently our most profitable plush toys, and we have no plans to stop making them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Mounted%20Cthulhu%20-%20Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Mounted%20Cthulhu%20-%20Large.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Mounted Cthulhu Wall Tropy: For the Big Game hunter who still knows how to read </i><br /></div><br /><i><b>LNN: Your website says that you acquired the license for Cthulhu in 2000. Who currently claims ownership of the franchise now in terms of memorabilia, and what are your thoughts on literature and the public domain? Does your business affiliation make you a de facto supporter of the Swedish Pirate Party and Electronic Freedom Foundation?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>The phrase "Cthulhu license" on our website is a bit poorly phrased on our part, and somewhat confusing. Its usage is due to the fact that we were approached to manufacture the product by an external company - As I mentioned before, I can't name them - and a license was involved for that specific product, as the toy was based on their artistic interpretation. That product never made it to market.<br /><br />ToyVault does not have any official business relationship with any parties claiming ownership of Lovecraft's copyrights. To my knowledge, no such parties have contacted us claiming infringement. Such a claim would, after all, need to be backed up with sufficient evidence that the work in question is not in the public domain, and that the plush toys did not represent a non-infringing parody. Either way, if the matter were to be brought to trial, it would at least settle the question officially.<br /><br />As for who claims ownership of the license, we don't have any additional information beyond that which is already known. Derleth's claim of ownership is the only one with any credibility at all, and even that is dubious. In any event, his estate seems singularly disinterested in pursuing it. Chaosium's claims of ownership are only over specific elements unique to their RPG line, and the use of the phrase "The Call of Cthulhu" in gaming products. Whether this last would stand up to a true legal test remains a matter of much debate.<br /><br />The purpose of the public domain is for the general improvement of culture and the arts. The arguments against its existence seem transparently greedy in nature. Such arguments are never made by an artist or author with regards to his or her own works: They are instead made by those who have purchased or inherited rights, and fear losing the stream of revenue those rights have generated. However, the complexity of copyright reform is well beyond the scope of us as a toy company. On this subject, I would recommend Spider Robinson's short story "<a href="http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200011/0671319744___1.htm">Melancholy Elephants</a>." (Note to editor: This link is legal. Baen is Spider Robinson's publisher, and routinely makes much of their catalog available for free)<br /><br />ToyVault, as a company, does not have any political stances or affiliations. We make toys and games. If there existed a political party opposed to the manufacture and/or sale of such things, we'd probably be in opposition to them. To my knowledge, no one in the company has any direct ties to either the EFF or the Swedish Pirate Party.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Cthulhu%20Pouch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Cthulhu%20Pouch.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Quake with trepidation at "The Cthulhu Waist Pouch"</i><br /></div><i><b><br /></b></i><br /><i><b>LNN: Well, don't be surprised when an honorary membership arrives in the mail. . . The plush Cthulhu doll has become something of its own Internet meme and has developed its own sub culture, including such websites as "Tales of Plush Cthulhu" and "Calls for Cthulhu." How do you perceive your product is shaping the history and current culture of Lovecraft and his fiction?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>All things will be parodied. It's a natural part of all fandoms, especially those for which the subject matter is no longer ongoing - A canceled television show, a completed series of movies, or the body of a late author's work, for instance. It allows the fans to express their enthusiasm in a new, creative, and unique way. Our plush toys were simply the most convenient tool at hand for some of these expressions.<br /><i><b><br /></b></i><br /><i><b>LNN: What is the most peculiar place you have seen or heard of a plush Cthulhu showing up?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>I've seen at least one university professor who wore our Cthulhu backpack, and more than a few computer repair places with a mini Cthulhu on staff - presumably to terrify the computers into working again. However, the strangest instance I've personally witnessed was during a trip I was taking to visit family out-of-state last year. In a shopping mall in a semi-rural North Carolina area, I happened to see a child no older than 8 holding a Medium Cthulhu. It was the Christmas season, and the child's parents were taking him to see Santa. When he caught sight of the jolly old fatman, he clutched Cthulhu tight to his chest, and buried his face in Cthulhu's head - apparently terrified of old Saint Nick.<br /><br /><br />I swear I heard him crying "F'tagn!"<br /><br /><br /><i><b>LNN: ToyVault now has a "evil" version of the plush Cthulhu that is darker in color, sharper in its features, and more malevolent in its product description. Whence the need for an evil counterpart to its cuter cousin?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>Are you referring to Cthulhu the Wicked?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Cthulhu%20the%20Wicked%20-%20Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Cthulhu%20the%20Wicked%20-%20Large.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Cthulhu the Wicked is. . . at least slightly heterodox in his views of the modern papal authority</i></span><br /></div><br />Strictly speaking, Cthulhu is not evil - he (or more accurately, it) is completely alien to our underlying concepts of good and evil. Cthulhu the Wicked is a hypothetical scenario - what if Cthulhu understood our model of morality... and embraced evil?<br /><br />Just kidding. We made him because he looks cool. "Wicked" seemed the best descriptor for the visual style.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Were you disappointed you were not contracted by the special effects department at the HPLHS for their silent film project?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>Yes. At the very least, we would have liked to have seen our Cthulhu toy used in place of the stop-motion model as an alternate take or easter egg on the DVD. Alas.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Obviously you are a business and want to make money, but where is the line between genuine affection and shameless commercialization when it comes to the creation of products based on the works of a well respected author? How do you address this ethical dilemma in your corporation, and what is an example of something you would consider to be literary sacrilege?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>Jon Huston's official answer: "That line is somewhere in orbit around Alpha Proxima."<br /><br />The line is not well defined, but we definitely try to remain respectful. I would personally think that the line can be defined in two ways: Firstly, if a derivative product is thematically irrelevant to its source material. Secondly, if the derivative product purposefully attempts to replace the original in the minds of the public.<br /><br />Some might see the Judy Garland version of The Wizard of Oz to be guilty on these counts, just as an example.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: What impact do you think it will have on Lovecraft's reputation as an author, public perception of his work, and your business if either Del Toro or Ron Howard go through with a big budget Lovecraft movie in the next few years?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>We're cautiously ambivalent regarding the possibility of a big budget Lovecraft film. Past efforts have been enjoyable, but not what anyone would classify a "commercial success." Del Toro has expressed that the studios are pretty much completely opposed to Lovecraft's themes, saying that they want "a love story and a happy ending." It seems more likely that a television series would be able to remain faithful to his work - the BBC would be the most capable of pulling it off, although HBO could also do it well. Until the public domain issue is officially settled, though, it's unlikely that any big budget approach gets past the "purely hypothetical" stage.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvaulttoyclub.com/images/tvtclogolarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="http://www.toyvaulttoyclub.com/images/tvtclogolarge.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><i><b>LNN: With the recent success of viral movie trailers, has ToyVault ever considered creating an online trailer to promote plush Cthulhu where he devours your other stuffed animals in the office? If you did, which would be the first to go?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>Kiss versus Cthulhu. I'd watch it.<br /><br />In all seriousness, the terms of our licenses specifically exclude exactly this kind of thing. Sure, it would be fun, but our legal department can't repel threats of that magnitude. The only ones we could do would involve our unlicensed toys, such as the Egyptian Gods, Here Be Monsters, Norse Gods, or Nightmares.<br /><br /><i>LNN Edit: We found one <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj6n-xJiIRg"><b>here</b></a>. Its authenticity is questionable, but it does appear that Cthulhu likes Edgar Winters. </i><br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Can we ever expect to see jello molds, spaghetti products, bathtub sponge capsules, or a chia pet with Cthulhu's likeness from your company?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>From our company? Unlikely. Partly due to our current manufacturing capabilities, partly due to our primary markets.<br /><br />From any company, ever? Possibly. There are companies who do those kinds of things, and who cater to the geek culture market. Business abhors a vacuum.<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Would it be ethical for our readers to purchase and then donate a plush Cthulhu to a charitable organization for kids like Toys for Tots, or is this inadvisable?</b></i><br /><br /><b><i>Blake</i>: </b>We don't have an official stance on the matter. I would think that would be more a matter of whether the toy would be appreciated.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Dracthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/Dracthulhu.jpg" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>This out of print "Dracthulhu" plush doll apparently came with its own sacrificial virgin. Let us know when the new batch is ready to ship, ToyVault!</i></span><br /></div><br /><i><b>LNN: Any thing else you would like to put on the record?</b></i><br /><br /><i><b>Blake: </b></i>Jon's official response: "A few tracks from The White Album, some Dark Side of the Moon, and a 10-minute loop of the Wilhelm scream."<br /><br />We think that the HPLHS has done a fantastic job of presenting Lovecraft's work, and hope that they continue to do so for a long time to come. We're especially fond of their audio dramas, but then, we like audio drama in general.<br /><br />Speaking as fans, we'd love to see someone approach the Cthulhu mythos as an ongoing retelling of Lovecraft's original stories, but bringing them together as a connected series of events. Audio theatre would be a great way to do this.<br /><br />Also, a personal gift from me to you: The Miskatonic University Alma Mater song.<br /><br /><i>Go, Fight, Miskatonic, Miskatonic Squids,</i><br /><i>Our Alma Mater hail!</i><br /><i>Crush the opposition with your terrible visage!</i><br /><i>Squids shall never fail!</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>We shall overcome them,</i><br /><i>And drive them mad with grief:</i><br /><i>In disturbing dreams they shall</i><br /><i>Beg for death's relief.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>Fight again, Fight again, Ya Ya Ya!</i><br /><br />--Paul Blake<br />ToyVault Game Developer<br />& Lovecraft Nut<br /><br /><i><b>LNN: Thanks!</b></i><br /><br /><b>Learn more about the History of ToyVault and Plush Cthulhu:</b><br /><b> </b><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1262262098074"></a><a href="http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhu/index.html">ToyVault Homepage</a><br /><br /><b>Order Plush Cthulhu online:</b><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=plush+cthulhu&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=7839280994520086137&ei=tJ88S8ajL4jgtgOe4fTMBA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBYQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers">Intertubes </a><b><br /></b><br /></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-47431446362591675182009-12-20T16:51:00.000-08:002009-12-20T16:51:59.338-08:00The Contrarian releases Lovecraft-inspired album: "Eldritch Musicks"Casey Rae-Hunter is a professional writer, editor, and musician in Washington DC. He currently produces, records, and publishes under the moniker The Contrarian, and has just released a Lovecraft-inspired album called Eldritch Musicks. The physical edition also comes with an original short story, complete with gorgeous illustrations.<br />
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We are pleased to be announce that we will publish an exclusive interview with Mr. Rae-Hunter in the near future.<br />
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<b>Official Press Release</b><br />
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Having assumed many guises over the years, Rae-Hunter has now settled on a creative process he calls “Illuminated Musicks,” the details of which he is not at liberty to divulge.<br />
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Based on early 20th-century weird fiction (HP Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, etc.), Eldritch Musicks delivers top-shelf “haunt-rock” that, while entertaining, also offers a glimpse into an eerie world of symbol and derangement. With its uncanny atmosphere and guitar-driven authority, Eldritch Musicks calls to mind classic Blue Öyster Cult and other masters of occult musical mojo.<br />
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In fact, the idea for the record came out of a conversation between The Contrarian and Sandy Pearlman — renowned producer/manager and the mastermind behind Blue Öyster Cult’s finest albums. Pearlman suggested that there had not been a credible rock record concerning Lovecraft’s Mythos in at least two decades. Always up for a challenge, The Contrarian decided to make one.<br />
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The Contrarian engineered and produced the recording and also performs all instruments and vocals. Additional sonic materiel is supplied by The Ten Thousand Things, who contributed four lush and unsettling “eldritch drones” to the project.<br />
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Eldritch Musicks is available as a limited-edition CD with artwork from Jared Metzner (The Cancer Conspiracy), as well as digitally through all major online retailers. Physical product is available exclusively at this site. Here’s what you get:<br />
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* A signed and numbered CD copy of Eldritch Musicks<br />
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And a link to download:<br />
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* Lyrics to all the songs on the album in “eldritch font”<br />
* “The Cove” — a short story with exclusive illustrations<br />
* A behind-the-scenes video shot at Sounds of the Baskervilles studio in Washington, DC<br />
* The Contrarian: Eldritch Podcast — a track-by-track exploration of the album’s themes and the inspiration for the songs. Just like getting drunk with The Contrarian in real life!<br />
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Learn more or purchase the album at the Contrarian's website:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/the-contrarian-eldritch-musicks/">http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/the-contrarian-eldritch-musicks/</a><br />
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</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-60093022644831700702009-12-11T01:57:00.001-08:002009-12-11T06:08:45.788-08:00Fact or Fiction: Bohemian Grove Cult of Lovecraftian ProportionsIn the interest of keeping things interesting and fresh, we deliberately keep our scope of coverage broad and our topics eclectic. In our indefatigable quest to cover all things Lovecraftian, a most peculiar slice of history has been plopped onto our plate that we cannot resist presenting here. Considering the nature of our studies, it is not often that we are taken aback or experience shock while gleefully covering the often unspeakable actions of cosmic horrors and the cults who worship them. Today is an exception.<br /><br />The following story is not new, but it was new to us, and we present it now for your viewing pleasure. In all honesty, we were not quite prepared for just how unexpectedly Lovecraftian this story is, and thus we present it to you as an intellectual exercise and cautionary tale of just how strange our world is.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://piratenews.org/bohemian-grove-best-photo-by-bohoclub400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://piratenews.org/bohemian-grove-best-photo-by-bohoclub400.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Not your typical scout camp bonfire</span><br /></div><br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Allow me to cautiously introduce Mr. Alex Jones. Don't get too close--he bites.<br /><br />First off, let me be explicitly clear: The LNN is quite progressive in its views, and we openly denounce Alex Jones as a crackpot. And he's not the funny kind of crackpot either, he is, as the <a href="http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=Michele_Bachmann">Dickipedia </a>would say, "a full-fledged nutjob. The type of person that makes you turn to your friend the moment he gets up to use the bathroom and mouth 'He's craaaaaaazy,' complete with hand motions and bug-eyes." Naturally, this makes him the perfect character to write about for the Lovecraft News Network.<br /><br />When he is not juxtaposing non sequiturs of deranged political diatribes on his maniacal radio show, Mr. Jones enjoys sneaking into secret meetings of the world's elite.<br /><br />Mr. Jones claims to have filmed a real life cult of, dare we say, <span style="font-style: italic;">Cthulhic </span>proportions. Though we question both the veracity of Jones' footage and his sanity, his video seems straight out of the pages of <span style="font-style: italic;">Weird Tales</span>. Thus we present to you the following outrageous conspiracy theory and invite you to decide for yourself.<br /><br />In 2000, Jones snuck into a secret meeting at the Bohemian Grove in California and taped what he claims is proof of an "ancient Canaanite, Luciferian, Babylon mystery religion ceremony." What gets better is who was on the guest list. . . the President of the United States.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wtSVBTne-KY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wtSVBTne-KY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />According to Rotten.com, the "Bohemian Grove is 'the greatest men's party on Earth,' according to once-regular attendee Herbert Hoover. A secret little getaway for America's male upper crust, the 2-week long annual retreat in Monte Rio, California, has all the luxuries you'd expect of an elitist clique: outdoor plays, an orchestra, delicious food and beverages, public urination, streaking, and human sacrifices, to name a few. Nestled in beautiful redwood forests, every Republican president since Coolidge has partaken in the gala, as well as a host of other huge names in business and politics."<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F2E_HP97Rzc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F2E_HP97Rzc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />"The gathering includes semi-Masonic themes that center around a 40-foot tall stone owl, whose voice is provided by regular attendee Walter Cronkite ("And that's the way it is, hoot hoot."). Mock-Druidic rituals are performed, and the attendees (referred to as "Bohos" or "Grovers") wear Ku Klux Klan-style garb. Public policy speeches are given, conveniently away from the public that will eventually have to suffer under these policies. Called "Lakeside Talks", the topics of discussion range from "Communists, Democracy and Golf"; "America's Health Revolution: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Pays"; "America's Promise: Leading Armies and Leading Kids"; "Defining the New World Order"; and other such jolly cocktail chatter. It is boasted that the Manhattan Project first took shape at a Grove meeting."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rotten.com/library/conspiracy/bohemian-grove/bohemian_owl_shrunk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 215px;" src="http://www.rotten.com/library/conspiracy/bohemian-grove/bohemian_owl_shrunk.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Now if your right-wing conspiracy BS-'o-meter is going off, you are not alone. But the existence of the Grove and it's weird dealings has been surprising well documented, which makes Jones' video all the more intriguing. Go ahead, look it up and check for yourself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/SyIwE6CNNII/AAAAAAAAAVk/LXNbt2OBNyQ/s1600-h/1907_Cremation_of_Care.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9e5WsvvoBT8/SyIwE6CNNII/AAAAAAAAAVk/LXNbt2OBNyQ/s320/1907_Cremation_of_Care.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413942562908877954" /></a><br /><br />Here are a few things that seem to be indisputable facts:<br /><br />-Alex Jones is a crazed conspiracy theorist <br /><br />-However, the Bohemian Grove festival is very real, very weird, and it really has drawn the most powerful men in the world for over a century, including every Republican president.<br /><br />-Though there is no solid evidence to explain its specific purpose, attendees really do engage in some kind of mock human sacrifice to a giant owl statue for some inscrutable reason.<br /><br />-President Nixon really did utter the following baffling statement, "The Bohemian Grove, that I attend from time to time—the Easterners and the others come there—but it is the most faggy, goddamn thing you could ever imagine, that San Francisco crowd that goes in there; it's just terrible! I mean I won't shake hands with anybody from San Francisco."<br /><br />Several questions spring to mind:<br /><br />1. Why have we not heard about this before, and, Luciferian or not, why does this not interest more people?<br />2. Is this just a strange, yet harmless game for the wealthy and powerful?<br />2. What do one do with this information if Jones is correct?<br />3. How do I get an invitation?<br />4. Is there a gift shop, and can you get a Moloch key chain for the kids?<br />5. What does Cthulhu think of this blasphemous, Babylonian impostor?<br /><br />We'll let you decide. <br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-85991176877651790952009-12-05T07:21:00.000-08:002009-12-05T07:38:53.423-08:00New Teaser for Lovecraftian film "Altitude"A brand new trailer has been released for the upcoming aviation horror film <span style="font-style:italic;">Altitude</span>. Starring Jessica Lowndes, the movie will be the directorial debut of award-winning comic artist Kaare Andrews.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sxp54TZU3lI/AAAAAAAAAFI/2UMS8dbjJ_M/s1600-h/AltitudeKeyArt-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sxp54TZU3lI/AAAAAAAAAFI/2UMS8dbjJ_M/s320/AltitudeKeyArt-1.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span class="fullpost"><br /><br />The plot:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">After a mysterious malfunction sends their small plane climbing out of control, a rookie pilot and her four teenage friends find themselves trapped in a deadly showdown with a supernatural force.<br /></span><br />Watch the trailer here:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vA9wtWH8Yvg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vA9wtWH8Yvg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-49910607555134323222009-12-04T03:48:00.000-08:002009-12-04T04:16:56.366-08:00'Tis the Season for Cult Awareness: A festive PSA from your friends at the LNNHere at the LNN, we are always on the lookout for new frontiers of exploration into the world of Lovecraft-inspired culture. <br />
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Not content to merely chronicle the literary adventures of our cosmically inclined compatriots, this holiday season, we want to give back to the wonderful community of fans, enthusiasts, authors, directors, and artists who keep our inbox full of fantastic new creations.<br />
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Thus, friends, we present to you a gift we hope is fitting of the genre in which we gleefully traffic: a seasonal, Lovecraftian public service announcement!<br />
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<i>[Click Image to Enlarge]</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxjxhpNoJ0I/AAAAAAAAAFA/Nx2983TiLJY/s1600-h/XMAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxjxhpNoJ0I/AAAAAAAAAFA/Nx2983TiLJY/s400/XMAS.jpg" /></a><br />
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Though we are quite excited by the possibilities such a project might present for lugubrious satire, we invite you to contribute your thoughts, critiques, and opinions on the ethics, politics, and potential for success of our prototype PSA. In a world already full of anger, the project must not cross the line into the realm of dogmatic vitriol, which we feel would be counterproductive to the cause and decidedly <i>un</i>-Lovecraftian.<br />
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Depending on the response we receive, we may turn this project into a series on Cult Awareness; or, conversely, we might disavow our knowledge of its existence and pretend it never happened. <br />
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This holiday season we invite you to have fun, give thanks, and remember that cults are all fun and games until someone gets burnt at the stake. Cheers!</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-69743540049441923362009-11-28T06:43:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:46:08.076-08:00CDW: "Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom: Appetizer for Existentialism "The LNN recently received an early release copy of the upcoming graphic novel <i>Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom</i> by author Bruce Brown. In lieu of a "review," which we find dull and cliche, we have unleashed our director of public relations, Charles Ward, on the task of chronicling a personal encounter with the text. <br /><br /><i>Disclaimer: The LNN does not necessarily endorse or support the following opinions. In fact, we will just go ahead and wash our hands of them altogether in advance, just in case they don't make any sense, you don't like them, or they make you want to sue us. Unless, of course, you do like them, at which time we take full credit for their presentation.</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/HLFrozen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://www.thecontrarianmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/HLFrozen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><b>"Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom": Appetizer for Existentialism </b><br /><i>by Charles Ward</i><br /><br />The mind of a child is precious thing to waste. . . at least that is what I would imagine a cannibalistic cultist might say before shopping at a local daycare. My childhood mind was filled with Heinlein, Bradbury, and all the Outer Limits and Twilight Zone reruns I could bear to watch alone. Sometimes I wonder how I would have turned out differently had I not been permanently traumatized by <i>The Zanti Misfits</i>, but I'm sure it only improves the complexity of my cranial culinary potential. <br /><br />I will freely confess that I was never a big fan of comic books, as they were hard to come by and always seemed a bit patronizing to me in their lack of intellectual complexity. My local library had too many other tempting distractions, and I usually ended up loading up my bicycle with tapes of Arthur C. Clarke's <i>Mysterious World</i> and forgetting about Superman and his spandex beclad escapades.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxE2jkKH2QI/AAAAAAAAAEo/ChfS6tbQxzM/s1600/Brown1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxE2jkKH2QI/AAAAAAAAAEo/ChfS6tbQxzM/s320/Brown1.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />Considering these things, reading a pre-release copy of Bruce Brown's upcoming graphic novel <i>Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom</i> evoked a different feeling than I had anticipated. The text is a juxtaposition of two starkly disparate worlds: on the one hand, it is a family friendly tale of adventure, and its rhetoric is clearly dialed down to a child's level; yet conversely it draws from the literary heritage of the deepest and darkest of weird fiction à la the treacherous dreamscapes of Lovecraft. Though the cartoon bubbles are filled with the language of a child, its images are unremittingly menacing and I image they could easily be seen as quite disturbing. This conflation of the puerile and sinisterly sublime is not something that we see too often--if ever--in mainstream media, but it was also something I appreciated and sought out when I was young and always found deeply fulfilling. <br /><br />Though I will admit that my feelings about Wes Craven are mixed at best, in the documentary <i>The American Nightmare</i> (2000), he offers a glimmer of insight into his work that I have felt is a key to unlocking many of the mysteries of entire horror genre. He says,<br /><br />“Kids who are in a much more chaotic state of mind and life than most adults remember or realize, they can go into these [horror films] as kind of boot camps for the psyche, as I have said. Strengthening their egos, strengthening their sense of fortitude; just as a soldier comes, you know, from momma’s arms into the drill instructor’s gaze and ends hardened, but feeling like he can survive battle. I think that’s, in a sense, what goes on with kids that go to scary movies. And it’s something that the grownups never seem to think about; they’re always worried about, ‘Oh, the kids have been damaged, the kids have been traumatized.’ It’s always been kind of the basis for my sort of optimism about what I do, and of being kind of a right thing, because the kids feel spontaneously grateful for it, even if it gives them nightmares, there’s something going on there that is needed.” <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxE2wQmb4nI/AAAAAAAAAEw/FhFyuDuO0Tw/s1600/Bruce2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxE2wQmb4nI/AAAAAAAAAEw/FhFyuDuO0Tw/s320/Bruce2.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />While Freddy Kreuger was probably too much for me at a very early age, the terror of the <i>Outer Limits</i>, for example, was just about right and provided me an entry point into what I was then too young to understand was a very real craving for the intellectual and ideological challenge unique to horror media. It was wasn't merely a "scary movie" I was watching for fun. I would later develop a vocabulary that allowed me to begin to process what I was watching: Lovecraft, of course, called it "cosmic horror."<br /><br />This is what sprang to mind while perusing <i>Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom</i>. It is a children's story to be sure, but it is attached to something so much deeper. Like the dreams of its titular character, the graphic novel itself is a gateway and portal to an intellectual awakening and reevaluation of one's place in the universe, wrapped up neatly in a package digestible for the cautious, young existential acolyte curious about what he or she might find.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxE22rT-vOI/AAAAAAAAAE4/VQUERq4EPI4/s1600/Bruce3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/SxE22rT-vOI/AAAAAAAAAE4/VQUERq4EPI4/s320/Bruce3.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />Perhaps I am over analyzing this--maybe it's just wishful thinking--but since this reading only serves to heighten my enjoyment of the project, I remain blissfully unrepentant. However, it does seems prudent at this point to at least briefly casually invoke Sartre at the expense of Mr. Brown's status as not-yet-dead: my reading is neither definitive nor at odds with any intentionality of his.<br /><br />In summation, reading <i>Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom </i>was a highly pleasurable experience, but it was not an empty thrill<i>. </i> It is precisely the sort of dark, yet accessible text I would have sought out as a child and risked my mother's wrath to furtively read before she discovered and confiscated it. It is an entrance into something much bigger than the simple story of a boy's strange adventure: it is a doorway into a new way of thinking about one's place in the universe. <i>There's something going on there that's needed.</i><br /><br />I haven't decided yet if it's a good thing or not that this type of project does not appeal to more people. This is a complex and perhaps unanswerable question I shall have to ponder further. When the text is released early next year, Mr. Brown might have the opportunity to share it with a large contingent of the current generation of youth. I don't know what TV shows kids watch these days, but I can just picture this erupting violently into my childhood via <span style="font-style: italic;">Reading Rainbow</span>. I imagine it would go something like this, as read from the lips of an exuberant eight year old:<br /><br />"And then little Howard enters the hideous cave and encounters the blasphemous monstrosity of unspeakable horror where his sanity is destroyed and his insignificant place among the cosmos is finally revealed--<i>but you don't have to take my word for it</i>!"<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-8p4yehtI/AAAAAAAAAEg/htwnTUMm1w0/s1600/9118_100373803315618_100000289958460_7598_1942243_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-8p4yehtI/AAAAAAAAAEg/htwnTUMm1w0/s200/9118_100373803315618_100000289958460_7598_1942243_s.jpg" /></a><br /><i>Charles Ward is the LNN's Director of Public Relations and </i><i>resident phrenologist. He enjoys pop semiotics, rhetorical altercations, and leverpostej. He lives in a state of denial with his wife and two cats. <br /></i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-82332650596042103402009-11-27T02:05:00.000-08:002009-11-27T02:11:08.903-08:00Official soundtrack to "Lovecraft Paragraphs" released by Reber ClarkComposer and filmmaker Reber Clark has finally released the official soundtrack to his recent movie Lovecraft Paragraphs, which debuted to critical acclaim at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in October. S.T. Joshi called it a "scintillating and breathtakingly original visual experience." <br />
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Mr. Clark stopped by to tell us a little about the release and his experience at the festival. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-hox3-O-I/AAAAAAAAAEA/G3aDXeCjeGg/s1600/Lovecraft+Paragraphs+mp3+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-hox3-O-I/AAAAAAAAAEA/G3aDXeCjeGg/s320/Lovecraft+Paragraphs+mp3+cover.png" /></a><br />
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<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Lovecraft Paragraphs the Original Soundtrack</b><br />
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Lovecraft Paragraphs is a movie I made - the sole goal of which was to be accepted by the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival (HPLFF) in Portland, Oregon and to be shown there. It actually premiered there in October 2009.<br />
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In the movie (not a “film” – no film involved! “Video” sounds cold, hence “movie”) most of the references - visuals, audio etc, will be familiar to Lovecraft readers but not so much to non-aficionados. I hope people enjoy it and that it helps these paragraphs stick in the mind.<br />
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<object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ufjdYayHjvs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ufjdYayHjvs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object><br />
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What the movie is about is how Lovecraft’s paragraphs stick with you even after the plot details have become hazy. I utilized four different electronic voices to state Lovecraft’s words in an effort to de-personalize the presentation. The reason for this is from two quotes of Lovecraft:<br />
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<i>“I like a tale to be told as directly and impersonally as possible, from an angle of utter and absolute detachment.”</i><br />
– Howard Phillips Lovecraft, In a letter to Frank Belknap Long, August 2 1925<br />
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<i>“. . .for in its cryptical arabesques there may stand symbolised all the aims and mysteries of a blindly impersonal cosmos.”</i><br />
– Howard Phillips Lovecraft, The Silver Key<br />
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The soundtrack release, available now as an MP3 download from Amazon.com, contains twenty music cues from the movie with their narrations and these same cues without the narrations. There are forty tracks for under ten bucks. A pretty good deal.<br />
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Hopefully it means a little income and greater exposure to film makers who might want music for their productions. I have met a few people interested in Lovecraft through this project and we have several ideas on the table. Because of my experience the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival I can now see a way to have these ideas come to fruition. I have ignored my monsters for far too long and it’s time for them to be fully accepted into my life.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: Tell us about your experience with the HPLFF, if you wouldn't mind.”</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Clark: </i></b>Please keep in mind I am a relative newcomer to film festivals and film making. The 2009 H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon was the first film festival I’d ever been to, and my movie Lovecraft Paragraphs was the first movie I’d ever released – in fact it premiered at the festival.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-jZjl_M0I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/L051IrelThs/s1600/Hollywood+2009.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-jZjl_M0I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/L051IrelThs/s320/Hollywood+2009.png" /></a><br />
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Upon arriving in Portland one is struck with the cleanliness and efficiency of its rail system the TriMax. I had no trouble getting from the airport to my hotel, Hotel Fifty, in downtown Portland. I tried to book a hotel nearer to the festival but they were booked up by the time I received word that my movie had been accepted. C’est la vie; the trains made it an extremely easy commute every day.<br />
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The Hollywood Theatre (opened in 1926), where the festival takes place, and surrounding shops and eateries sit on North East Sandy Boulevard – a through street much like any other in older sections of towns built in the 1890s thru the 1930s. There were local burger joints that had been there since the invention of the cow as well as current chains such as Quiznos. The surrounding shops varied from dry cleaners to knick-knack shops to the amazing Things from Another World store. Down the street is Tony Starlight’s where the most visible after-hours gatherings take place after the festival theatre closes for the night.<br />
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I entered the theatre and was greeted by the fabulous Mrs. Linda Migliore – Andrew’s wife. Andrew Migliore runs the festival (I believe he is secretly insane – but in a good way!). Linda set me up with a badge/festival pass and a poster and T-Shirt – apparently film makers get ‘em free! Bonus! I wandered the theatre – an old one from the thirties - kept in decent repair by those that love movies.<br />
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There were two screening rooms upstairs – a converted balcony - and the vendors had their stuff set up in the upstairs lobby. You could buy anything from Liv Rainey Smith’s fantastic hand made prints to T-shirts, jewelry, skulls (!) and books galore. It was amazing. I bought a Yellow Sign hat from Dagon Industries. The main screen was downstairs and is a spacious auditorium with those great red upholstered seats.<br />
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The popcorn smelled right in this place so I figured I was among those who loved movies as well as Lovecraft. I felt weirdly at home and relaxed around all of these people. We all seemed like some members of some scattered, dysfunctional yet happy family. I knew I would be back.<br />
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The schedule of movies combined several feature length films with 3 blocks of shorts – each run twice. Alongside the film presentations was a schedule of writers’ panels, discussions, and events called the “CthulhuCon.” I had to pick and choose which to attend because the writers’ blocks (no pun intended) competed with the film blocks for time. This was a shame because my interests lie in both worlds.<br />
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I wanted to go to both showings of Shorts Block One because that’s when Lovecraft Paragraphs was being shown and I had never seen it with an audience.<br />
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They loved it and they hated it! It was fantastic! I love it when people have a reaction then talk about it. What is the worst is the “meh” reaction. If at least they feel something about the project I know I’m doing my job.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-jeyHnqEI/AAAAAAAAAEY/dkA4_FXVh4o/s1600/Starlights.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2MyQ7JBwDO0/Sw-jeyHnqEI/AAAAAAAAAEY/dkA4_FXVh4o/s320/Starlights.png" /></a><br />
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Some quotes and comments from the festival include:<br />
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"Lovecraft Paragraphs is a scintillating and breathtakingly original visual experience. The 'paragraphs' from Lovecraft's work have been chosen with exceptional care to highlight some of Lovecraft's most powerful and provocative utterances; and the images chosen to accompany them emphasise exactly those elements of weirdness, cosmicism, terror, and otherworldly beauty that distinguish Lovecraft's stories. Every reader of Lovecraft will come away with an enhanced appreciation for the Master's writing and imagination from seeing this splendid film." - eminent Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi, author of H. P. Lovecraft: A Life<br />
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"A wonderful, wonderful movie."<br />
- Wilum H. Pugmire, author of The Fungal Stain and Sesqua Valley & Other Haunts<br />
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"Lovecraft Paragraphs was an extraordinary presentation of his [Lovecraft's] prose in voicesynth vocals, with visuals. Like Carl Sagan on PCP." - Alex Russell, on Twitter<br />
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"I thought Lovecraft Paragraphs was a visual delight, and an enjoyable Lovecraftian journey." - Robert Cappelletto, Director of Pickman's Muse (H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival Audience Pick (Best Adaptation) winner 2009)<br />
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"Lovecraft Paragraphs was easily the most controversial film at the festival this year." - Andrew Migliore, Director, The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival<br />
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I was blown away with S. T. Joshi’s generous comments as well as all of the authors and film makers who had these reactions, but believe me there were plenty of folks who audibly groaned at the movie. Admittedly it is a bit overlong and not full of snappy lines. Perhaps I will re-edit it if it is ever released on DVD.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What's next for you and Lovecraft Paragraphs?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Clark:</i></b> I would love to release the movie on DVD and get it distributed. That may be in the works – we will see. If nothing else I may put it up on Amazon.com as a video download.<br />
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As for me – I am finishing up this year’s music commissions – one for a high school in Indiana entitled Christmas Heralds and another for a school in Renton, Washington entitled Africa Ascendant. There are also four pieces for wind ensemble at my publishers but I haven’t heard if they are in the pipeline or not.<br />
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Depending on how well Lovecraft Paragraphs - the Original Soundtrack does on Amazon.com I may begin work on a Lovecraft Suite which I have always wanted to do. It would be a straight musical work for orchestra or wind ensemble. I have had it planned out for a long time and now may have a reason to commit to it. I also have plans for three or four Lovecraft-related movie projects; one based on some Lord Dunsany tales, an idea for a funny Cthulhu short and Robert Cappelletto and I have talked about several projects. He won the Audience Pick for Best Adaptation this year at HPLFF for his beautifully shot film Pickman’s Muse. <br />
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Things continue. I am very happy that my work has had so much acceptance in the Lovecraft community, particularly among the authors and scholars and I look forward to many more darkly happy years working on Lovecraftian projects. LNN is a great resource for Lovecraftian info and you provide an excellent service. Thanks for allowing me to talk about my latest release.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: As always, it was our pleasure. Thank you.</i></b><br />
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<b>Order Reber Clark's Lovecraft Paragraphs Soundtrack at the following link:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lovecraft-Paragraphs-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B002XSX15I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1259095509&sr=8-1"><br />
Amazon.com</a><br />
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It includes all cues from the movie with narration, as well as those cues without the narration. A total of forty tracks for under ten bucks!<br />
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<b>Learn more about Mr. Clark and his other projects:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.reberclark.blogspot.com">www.reberclark.blogspot.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/reberclark">www.youtube.com/reberclark</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lovecraftparagraphs.blogspot.com/">www.lovecraftparagraphs.blogspot.com</a><br />
</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-18202149716837680662009-11-21T02:56:00.000-08:002009-11-21T02:56:45.428-08:00LNN interviews British author Andrew McGuigan on "Cumbrian Cthulhu"We are pleased announce the release of a new work of Lovecraftian fiction from British author Andrew McGuigan.<br />
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His latest collection, entitled <i>Cumbrian Cthulhu</i>, can be read for free on his <a href="http://cumbriancthulhu.blogspot.com/">website</a>, which is also now accepting fiction from similarly minded authors.<br />
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We asked Mr. McGuigan to tell us a little bit about his project:<br />
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<b>McGuigan:</b><br />
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I have always been a fan of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu horror mythos, “Shadows over Innsmouth” being my favourite. I like the way that modern writers have made their own attempts at writing stories based on his worlds. <br />
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So anyway, my parents have retired over to Maryport in Cumbria, England.<br />
It’s a nice west coast town, right next to The Lake District and a perfect setting for a bit of seaside horror. By using some local history books my parents own I have constructed a three part Cthulhu horror set in 1950’s Maryport, using researched references correct to the period. <br />
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“The Chamber in the hillside”<br />
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<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
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<i>The story is written in the first person by an elderly archaeologist. It takes the form of a series of three warning letters distributed to people he hopes will listen. He writes after reading proposed plans to excavate the Roman fort site at Senhouse, Maryport. He warns that contrary to popular belief that area has been dug before. This was in 1954 by a team he assembled. The three letters describe what was found, the horror that unfolds and the writer’s subsequent descent into Lovecraftian madness.</i><br />
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To get my story online it would be easy to create a blog and just link to it. I then thought it might be an idea to make the blog inclusive to other writers on the same subject, and gather together some amateur Cumbrian Cthulhu fiction and poetry on one site.<br />
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And so <a href="http://cumbriancthulhu.blogspot.com/">http://cumbriancthulhu.blogspot.com/</a> has been born.<br />
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You guys are the first people I am sharing this with having published the first part of the story online, and send out some authentic looking printed copies to places in Maryport like writers groups and the local newspaper etc.<br />
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All three parts are now written and ready to go. I will space them out and send the printed letters (as if written by the story protagonist), timing the first one to be received by Senhouse Fort visitors centre shortly before the 13th November where (as luck would have it) the annual Maryport literary festival takes place. All of the letters will include a card advertising the blog site.<br />
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My original idea was to simply write my own Cthulhu tribute story. I then decided to invite other writers to produce stories of a similar theme. I have sent out paper copies of part one of my own story to several writers groups in Cumbria, and will send parts two and three at regular intervals. The postings always include an invitation to contribute stories to the site.<br />
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It is my intention to collect these works together in one place as has been done previously with themed Cthulhu anthologies. If interest is strong enough, I would love to see the collection published as a hard copy one day.<br />
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I have included below a link to the “About Cumbrian Cthulhu” section.<br />
Apologies for occasional site maintenance, I am learning as I go!<br />
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<a href="http://cumbriancthulhu.blogspot.com/2009/10/about-cumbrian-cthulhu-and-how-to.html">http://cumbriancthulhu.blogspot.com/2009/10/about-cumbrian-cthulhu-and-how-to.html</a><br />
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Thank you for listening. If you enjoy the idea of the site I hope you will encourage Cthulhu fans to visit and contribute!</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-20653146845372096632009-11-13T04:35:00.000-08:002009-11-13T04:47:55.175-08:00H. Harksen publishes new Lovecraftian anthology Eldritch Horrors: Dark TalesH. Harksen Productions is an independent, small press specializing in dark fiction—specializing in Lovecraftian fiction & Cthulhu Mythos tales. There latest anthology is entitled <b><i>Eldritch Horrors: Dark Tales</i></b>.<br />
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<i>From the deepest oceans to shadowy woods, dark cities, across wars and unspeakable realms of the unknown-to forbidden books, strange cultists, dread lore & mad, ancient Gods from beyond time & space. The world is not safe; no one is safe. </i><br />
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The collection includes fourteen new tales of the gruesomely weird by <span class="LHtmlTextView content_description" id="" title=""> Paul S. Kemp (of Forgotten Realms fame), W. H. Pugmire (with new Sesqua Valley tale!), Gary<span class="LHtmlTextView " id="productDescription_4708669_continued" style="display: inline; opacity: 1;" title=""> Hill, Thomas Strømsholt, and others. We spoke with editor Henrik Harksen and asked him to tell us a little about himself, the publishing industry, Victor Borge, and state of Lovecraftian fiction. <br />
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<i><b>LNN: Tell us a little about yourself in general.</b></i><br />
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<i><b>HARKSEN:</b></i> Well, I have a MA in Philosophy, am married with my wonderful wife Hanne with whom I also have a wonderful baby girl, My (yes, I know that name is weird in an English speaking context; the proper pronounciation is the 'y' somewhat like the German 'ü';-)). We also have a cat in our household (rather typical for a Lovecraftian, eh?). Oh, and I live in Odense, Denmark. The same city that fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen was born in.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: What is your background in the publication industry, and how did you end up publishing Lovecraftiana?</b></i><br />
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<i><b>HARKSEN:</b></i> I don't really have a background in the publishing industry. Assuming you're talking about a professional level of publishing. Although I have been involved with school magazines and journals (incl. when I was studying Philosophy at the University, where I was Assistant Editor). And for the four issues it existed I helped editing Studies in Fantasy Literature.<br />
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It all started years before, though. I have published various amateur publications for a number of years. In fact I have done so ever since I was a child back in the late 1970s. Back then, though, I was creating "LP record covers" for imagined albums. Hehe. So I guess that's where it really started. Go figure:-P Later still I also created "publications" of my own writings (mainly poetry and fledgling short stories; but also the papers at school, college etc.). As you can see, it was way before the Computer Age, so it was back when it was really "copy & paste";-)<br />
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It is in connection with the latter that I came up with "H. Harksen Productions". I wanted to write a Copyright note, even in my amateurish mode & state of mind, and for some reason it sounded grander to use a company name instead of merely a name. Don't ask why; I am weird, that's all I can say. And in my wild imagination I also thought it would be cool with an English sounding company name, for, after all it could be great if some day I published Internationally, right? Hehe. (Also, more often than not I wrote in English anyway, even if my native language is Danish.) And, as you can see, my name remained, even in that--at the time fictive--company name.<br />
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In the late 1990s I was invited by Derrick Hussey (publisher of the excellent Hippocampus Press) to join the Esoteric Order of Dagon Amateur Press Association, an APA with a time-honored tradition, dedicated to things Lovecraftian and with the world's leading Lovecraft scholar at the helm, S. T. Joshi. Here I started getting more "serious" with what I did, not only when it comes to writing but also when it comes to creating aesthetically satisfying looks of my 'zine, The Philosopher, and the odd booklet I designed once in a while and shared with the members. All of it published through said amateur small press company, hehe.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: Tell us about the mission of H. Harksen Productions. What are your goals for the press?</b></i><br />
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<i><b>HARKSEN: </b></i>My goal with H. Harksen Productions is to primarily (1) publish good, solid, quality stories in the Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos vein (primarily with a focus on new directions of the genre & the ideas), (2) include high quality illustrations and artwork, (3) with aesthetically satisfying layouts and design of the books. The latter is quite important to me. A subsidary goal is to publish non-fiction, Lovecraftian-related books (such as the August Derleth monograph by John D. Derleth published November 2009). In Denmark I have also published a non-HPL horror anthology, which seems to be well received; at this point it is unlikely I will do the same in English.<br />
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I am proud that with my first English publication, Eldritch Horrors: Dark Tales, I have managed to gather well-known authors (i.e. Paul S. Kemp, who is a New York Times bestseller of Forgotten Realms novels, and Lovecraftian writers such as W. H. Pugmire) as well as talented new-comers; and succeeded in gathering what I think is an array of excellent pieces of artwork by the esteemed artist Jørgen Mahler Elbang. So I am off to a good start with (1) & (2), I think;-)<br />
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A personal goal is to improve my skills. Each publication from me shows improvement--and I learn every step of the way. I wear many hats and I have gotten better at taking the time doing what's needed for each process. I am talking about editing, proof reading, typesetting, designing layout, marketing etc., etc. And since this is all done in what little spare time I have this requires quite a lot of planning. To get closer to these goals I am now receiving help from a good friend of mine from Australia, who will assist in proof reading future products, Phillip A. Ellis (who is an excellent poet of the weird, btw!).<br />
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<b><i>LNN: Your first publication was a purely Danish horror anthology. What prompted the decision to switch to English?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN: </i></b>That is a fair question, but it is really the other way around. Originally I intended to publish in English first--but switched to Danish. The reason is quite simple: I wanted to learn the basics first, and it felt safer doing this when concentrating only on a very local area--in Denmark. Would have been too big if it was the whole wide world from the beginning. Likewise I wanted to have personal contact with the first printing facility I used--so I used one with an office in Denmark. The idea essentially was to learn, before doing a fullfledged International publication. And so I started off with hplmythos.dk#1, Fra Skyggerne og andre Cthulhu Mythos noveller (2007).<br />
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Eldritch Horrors: Dark Tales was delayed, but I finally got around to publish it:-) I hope it is the first of many hplmythos.com volumes:-D I have been so fortunate to have so many talented people on this first project, so I am optimistic.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: You wrote a critical essay entitled, "Some Thoughts on The Ninth Configuration," which will be included in the book American Exorcist: Critical Essays on William Peter Blatty. Tell us about this article and how you got involved in horror scholarship.</b></i><br />
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<i><b>HARKSEN: </b></i>The collection was published in 2008 by McFarland. I'd written a (minor) piece for editor Benjamin Szumskyj's Fritz Leiber: Critical Essays, and he kindly asked me if I'd be interested in contributing with an essay to this one; evidently I said yes;-) In "Some Thoughts..." I employ Philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum's theory on literature and philosophy as presented in her excellent essay collection Love's Knowledge (1990). I won't bore you with the details, but in essense I try to demonstrate that using specific parametres (cf. Nussbaum) some heavy philosophical, existential (& religious) features clearly show themself in Blatty's The Ninth Configuration. Features that are especially enlightening qua Blatty's writing.<br />
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The article is really a background work for a larger, philosphical thesis I am working on--which revolves around the horror genre (especially HPL's writings & philosophical stance), theory of literature (with particular focus on Nussbaum) & philosphy ("can we get genuine insight/knowledge from a work of fiction?" in particular).<br />
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What got me involved in horror scholarship... Hehe... It started with me reading Professor Airaksinen's fascinating and, to me, frustrating The Philosophy of H. P. Lovecraft. Just about everything he wrote in that book grated on my nerves & my senses. It didn't resemble anything I'd read and understood of HPL when some years earlier I'd delved into his letters (the original Selected Letters by Arkham House). But I was going on memory alone, since it had been a while since I had looked at HPL's letters and stories, and that wasn't satisfying. I delved into everything I could get my hand on (at first this was through the University's library), cross-examined it with philosophical theories I knew--learned some new ones along the way--and wrote a paper at the University about some of the things I ended up concluding. A rewrite of this paper was later published as "Metaphysics in "The Music of Erich Zann"" in Lovecraft Studies #45 (2005), edited by S. T. Joshi. I actually contacted Mr. Joshi before joining the EOD, via e-mail, asking him about some of the issues I were working on. At first he wasn't too keen on my core thesis of the paper (although he liked the project and praised it as well as urged me to continue), but when I showed him some hardcore evidence of why I thought it made sense that HPL made a distinction between "ontology" and "metaphysics" he acknowledged my argument. That was a proud day, I can tell you! Almost as proud as the day he asked if I'd mind contributing the piece in Lovecraft Studies. Wow! Me--with a piece in the heart of HPL studies??? I couldn't believe it.<br />
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Still can't, actually...;-)<br />
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I could say a lot more about horror scholarship--and its philosophical ramifications, in my opinion--but I think this covered the basics of your question ;-)<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What is the state of the market of Lovecraft-themed fiction, both in Denmark and the world wide markets?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN:</i></b> The state of the market seems to be growing again. Tremendously so. Ellen Datlow does excellent editor work, for instance; and the Cthulhu Unbound Series seems to garner much--well-deserved--praise. And even S. T. Joshi has joined the "new Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos line" surging these years, editing anthologies for Perilous Press. A writer like the marvelous W. H. Pugmire seems to be more popular than ever and with new works in the pipeline already sold to publishers. So things are looking very good, very good indeed.<br />
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I am glad you asked me about the state of "Lovecraftian-themed fiction" and not "Cthulhu Mythos fiction", since I make a distinction between the two. As do many others nowadays. There is nothing wrong with the latter but, a few stories and novels excepted, for many years the Cthulhu Mythos equalled Lovecraft and Lovecraftian fiction. I write a little more about this in my introduction to Eldritch Horrors: Dark Tales, but gladly things have changed. And with focus more and more on the Lovecraftian aspect I am very excited about the current boom.<br />
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Sadly I can't say the same about the state of things in Denmark. Yes, on the amateur/fan-base level there is a lot going on, but so far I seem to be the only Lovecraftian trying to publish books with a decidedly Lovecraftian twist. And it is hard to convince the bookstores that it's a good idea having these books on their shelves. I am working against the tides, I must admit, but at least the libraries have been fairly recepting and now that there seems to be a stirring of interest in horror literature, more generally (some of the larger publishers have started publishing horror again), with a little luck times they are a-changing;-)<br />
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That said, I am fortunate that the horror society here in Denmark has embraced my project and are very supportive. So I am not complaining.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: Scandinavia is often viewed by conservative Americans as "godless" and "secular." For these people, these terms are pejorative and are used to frighten small children to attend Sunday school and mobilize the right wing political base. However, though many do consider themselves atheists, in fact Scandinavia has a deep, religious tradition, and Denmark even still has a state-sponsored church (at least they still did when I was there). How do Danish beliefs and attitudes towards spirituality--or the lack of them--play out with Lovecraftian ideologies, and how does this affect the way Lovecraft is perceived in Scandinavia?</b></i><br />
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<i><b>HARKSEN:</b></i> The last question first: It has no affect at all. At least, I don't think so. Yes, Denmark still has a state-sponsored church (but besides that it is separate from the state). I would say that the majority of Danes consider themselves, hm, semi-religious. A rather lukewarm description by American standards, but if you really go into a discussion with many Danes I am quite sure most will step away from both outright atheism and all-embracing religion, saying something like "Well, I am sure there is something more but..." This, I think, is tied up with Danes in general having embraced--without knowing it--Søren Kierkegaard's notion of religion as a private matter.<br />
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The strange thing is that most Danes feel rather uncomfortable with religion. As for spirituality, well, here it is more or less the same but with an inclination to either believe in "that kind of thing" or dismissing it with a sneer ("superstitious bullocks!"). I think. Many will say spirituality is linked with religion in some way.<br />
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Personally I side more or less entirely with HPL's view that there is no God or meaning in the universe. He said something like being "in theory an agnostic, but in actuality an atheist"--I will simply say I am an agnostic with heavy leanings towards atheism;-)<br />
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Considering HPL's views on the matter I would say he ought to be more easily appreciated in Denmark than in, say, the US. Oddly enough he isn't--besides the usual cult following & acknowledgment from underground milieus such as roleplay and the heavy metal scene. The main reason for this is that in Denmark we just don't have a strong tradition for weird tales in literature. What is appreciated is, generally speaking, strict "realism" in some form.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: Which do think tend to me more successful for Lovecraft inspired authors: pastiche, emulation, or more subtle invocations of Lovecraft's style and themes? More specifically, what things do you look for when scouting out material for your collections?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN:</i></b> I am sure they can all be successful, one way or the other. It depends on your criterion for "success." Truth be told I look for them all when I look for material. I will readily admit to have a personal preferences for "emulative" and stories with "subtle invocations", since, in my opinion, they are more personal and more easily provide a genuine worldview & new approaches to the philosophical themes often found in HPL's work.<br />
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For Eldritch Horrors I looked for a wide spectrum, in an attempt to catch all of the variations you mention. I know there are readers for them all, and I figured it could be fun to introduce something for everybody, so to speak. In the past there has been an emphasis on the Cthulhu/Derleth Mythos formula, and I wanted something else. But some will prefer, say, Leigh Blackmore's "The Return of Zoth-Ommog" (entrenched in classic Mythos storytelling) and perhaps think Ron Shiflet's "Out of the Frying Pan" an odd-ball that doesn't follow the "rules." But they both clearly take inspiration from HPL and the Mythos--but in a very different way. In presenting this spectrum I hope to show how amazingly versatile and varied inspiration from HPL can be. It is really unlike anything else in literature.<br />
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I may follow different roads in the future, depending on the publication I have in mind. For instance, W. H. Pugmire has said it could be interesting to see stories taking place in, say, Copenhagen or Prague, or some other non-US location. It all depends on what you want in the book you're planning. There seems to be readers for most of it, anyway. Grandpa from Providence started something unique.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What advice do you have for aspiring Lovecraftian authors, and when do you plan to start accepting submissions for future collections? Will you host an open call for papers?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN:</i></b> I'd say to any aspiring writer that they should write what they want to write. But also not be blind to what the potential editor advices... Consider it carefully before, maybe, dismissing whatever is said. There could be something to it. I will not disparage any newcomers by saying it is a mistake to lean up close to HPL in writing style and thematics, since this really can be good exercise (not to mention great fun). But I will say that sooner or later they need to find something that is their take on it; their approach. I am not necessarily talking about "finding your voice"--whoever says you only have one voice anyway?--but merely pointing out that if you have yourself in the writing then it is more likely to be interesting. In doing this you also expand the whole Lovecraftian (and Cthulhu Mythos) universe, which is something I certainly appreciate.<br />
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My basic advice is really repeating HPL on the matter. So, in short: Read HPL's advices, take them to heart--and you're off to a good start;-)<br />
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As for future submissions... When I have laid out the basics of my new project, hplmythos.com Vol. 2, I will post an Open Call for Submissions on the website. I doubt it will be on this side of 2010, but stay tuned for early 2010;-)<br />
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And, please--dear Potential New Author--please read the guidelines carefully and only send in something that actually fit within that framework. (Note that I say "framework." That's on purpose. You see, the idea I have in mind, thematically, can be approached in many ways. So it's not that I am totally square--but that I want to see relevant material, okay?)<br />
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Oh well, so much said about that and yet I remain secretive about the specifics. Neat, eh?:-P<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What does you wife think of your interest in Lovecraft, and will she let you buy a plush Cthulhu doll for your children to play with?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN: </i></b>Hehe. Yes, I am sure she will let our daughter play with one. (That reminds me that I want to buy one for her! Thanks!) She thinks I have an odd and strange interest. It is one she does not share at all. However, the issues pertaining my HPL & the horror genre that hold my interests have popped up in conversation again and again, and she now understands my fascination (which is, mainly, because of the philosophical elements raised in good horror & weird tale literature--especially in a writer like HPL, or, say, a writer like Thomas Ligotti), and understands why I want to delve into these dark matters.<br />
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In other words: She respects it.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What is the best Danish translation for cyclopean? (All I could come up with is "uhyggeligt," which seems far too banal)</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN: </i></b>LOL. A good question... You're right. "Uhyggeligt" would be "scary." As far as I know there is not an exact Danish match to "cyclopean" but I would say a good substitute would be "enormt." (Which again can be translated back to "enormeous";-})<br />
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<b><i>LNN: If Victor Borge had performed a skit entitled "The Music of Eric Zann," what would it have looked like?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>HARKSEN:</i></b> LOL!<br />
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The really scary thing is that a skit actually popped up in my head! Have you ever seen his classic act, "phonetic punctuation"? <br />
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Imagine him making saying "Cthulhu-like words" in between the singing (as in, "ïa!", "fthagn" etc.), add a viol playing in the background... And Dean Martin either dropping dead as the act closes or, more powerfully, him being sucked out of a window teethering with an abyss totally incomprehensible etc.<br />
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Not entirely true to "Zann," perhaps, but certainly with a Lovecraftian punch;-) I'd say something similar could be built around a lot of Borge's other, classic acts:-D<br />
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<i><b>LNN: Anything else you want to put on the record?</b></i><br />
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<i><b>HARKSEN: </b></i>Well, I'd like to advertise the next English-written books from H. Harksen Productions, if you don't mind:<br />
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The Unspeakable and Others by Dan Clore (revised and expanded edition of his collection of macabre tales; with many illustrations by the amazing weird artist Allen K.) - coming this November!<br />
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August Derleth Redux: The Weird Tale 1930-1971, a non-fiction monograph by the Derleth scholar John D. Haefele. Look out for this brand-new look at Derleth and his importance for the weird tale genre. Also this November.<br />
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Hex Code and Others by John Mayer. My first hardcover publication, with a very exciting, original novella and some macabre short stories. Mayer was a friend of the late Karl Edward Wagner, and one of the stories has Wagner as a central character;-) Mayer is also a talented artist and has created beautiful artwork for this publication that sees the light of day early 2010.<br />
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Thanks for your time & your interest in H. Harksen Productions. Also thanks for your time, Reader:-) <br />
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<i><b>LNN: It has been our pleasure</b></i><br />
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</div><div style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Learn more about H. Harksen Productions at their website:</b><br />
</div><a href="http://hplmythos.com/">http://hplmythos.com/</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hplmythos.com/images/topbar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Order the latest anthology on Lulu:<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1258114663510"></a><a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/5460936">http://www.lulu.com/content/5460936</a></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-36129537685471372212009-11-09T15:47:00.000-08:002009-12-05T07:00:37.554-08:00LNN interviews scholar and historian Chris Perridas: Author of "HPL and His Legacy"Author, scholar, and blogger Chris Perridas is currently one of the most prolific Lovecraft historians actively writing today. His popular blog <a href="http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/">H.P. Lovecraft and His Legacy</a> contains a staggering 2,000 articles and has been viewed by nearly 100,000 people. But Perridas chronicles more than just Lovecraft: he runs concurrent blogs analyzing other literary and biological subjects related to the Weird. <br />
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Perridas maintains a grueling daily publication schedule, and he is thus the primary gatekeeper and guru of Lovecraftian media and the masses. We were thrilled when he offered to answer a few questions about his work in a fascinating interview.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LNN: How did you get started with your blog?</span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PERRIDAS: </span>I started the blog when someone came into my office in 2001 on an afternoon after a long day of business and mentioned he'd just reread Lovecraft. "Hmm," I thought, "that name sounds familiar." I recalled that a biology teacher in High School - about 1970 I guess - mentioned the name, but I wasn't into that kind of thing, so I'd dismissed it back then.<br />
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I went to Barnes and Noble that weekend and was surprised there was so little by the man, HPL, but I got a book and read it. Before that I thought, horror, eh. I'd studied ghost stories as folklore, but not horror per se. I had been into sword and sorcery and science fiction as a kid. Never particularly liked horror, though I was a big fan of the Universal Monsters as a kid.<br />
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I was immediately hooked on HPL. I saw the folklore element of Lovecraft, and the eerie fantastic writing, and when I got to Colour Out of Space I wondered if he was a chemist, as I am. That got me going. That and the vast cosmicism of the writing.<br />
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One thing led to another and before long I'd read most of his fiction, sent off for numerous biographies and other things about Lovecraft, and began to record my notes and some things that caught my interest into Blogger. I knew nothing about blogging, so I asked few people for advice and plunged in. I was startled to see that two or three people were readng the blog back then, and while I had no idea who they were, I thought that there might be some interest in what I was doing, so I tried to minimize the typos, write the best I knew how to do, and let it evolve naturally. I incorporated new tools as they became available, and the most fun is the little Yahoo Group I host. People I read and admired, are now people I converse with regualrly - how cool is that?<br />
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My fascination for HPL is less his fiction and more of his mystery of a life. He's a bit of an enigma, as anyone who ever knew him or knew of him will attest. The mystery of how an obscure writer became so entrenched in the lives of other - and perhaps greater - writers is a sociological connundrum as well, and one I decided to pick apart and understand.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">LNN: Just so I can be clear, could you please list the diverse projects, groups, and blogs you currently manage?</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">PERRIDAS: </span>Currently I am associate editor with Arcane Wisdom (publisher Larry Roberts), and a contributor to Dark Recesses.<br />
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I host a cordial yahoo group about Lovecraft in coordination with my "H. P. Lovecraft and His Legacy" blog, which I usually refer to as HPLblog.<br />
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Mr. Lovecraft has been an important part of my literary life for several years, but I have more interests than that one note. I have a "Weird Beasts" blog to which I post occasional odd scientific and human interest news on how animals interact. I also have begun a "Young Lin Carter" blog of discoveries I've made about his per-1960 life.<br />
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I also post occasionally to what I refer to as "The Antiquarian Thread". I have several incarnations, as this is highly experimental at this time. One version is at Blogger, one is at "The Haunt" a forum attached to Horror Mall, and another is at Dark Recesses. As it is a thought experiment about how to educate newer horror fantasy fans to authors who've come before, I don't have a solid definition of how this will work.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LNN: If I were to anoint you with a title, it would clearly be the preeminent Lovecraftian archivist of the 21st century. Your daily, indefatigable efforts cataloging incursions of HPL into contemporary culture are so prolific as to be nearly unbelievable. How much time does it take per day to manage your various projects and do you get help from anyone to do so? What does your family think of the project? </span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PERRIDAS: </span> I'm uncomfortable with "21st century archivist" or any other title, but that aside, I use the tools Blogger gives and it automatically lets me post at times I select. I peruse Ebay, the auction houses, read through my copious emails, and news feeds and pick out items that appeal to my interests. Most of the time these are the same things that interest the blog readers!<br />
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I get moral support from good friends, occasional bits suggested by readers, but I do the blog by myself. All typos are mine.<br />
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On a good week, I spend daily about an hour and a half, but it could be 3 hours per day or more. A lot of that comes in spurts. I've seen massive auctions of rare items that I had to sift through and study, do research on their background, and so forth. Those are exciting times, but they can keep me up to 2 AM. Then it's bleary-eyed off to work!<br />
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I love getting email, and correspondence from blog readers. One weekend I had over 70 emails to sort through, but that's a bit atypical. Mostly, it's well wishers – lurkers – who tentatively want to confidentially share a story, incident, or item with me. I believe that the isolation of Lovecraftians from one another, and the nature of privacy among collectors, makes the community guarded and cautious.<br />
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My wife has little interest in horror, or Lovecraft, and so quietly tolerates my proclivities to acquiring musty old books from the early 20th century. My neighbors, relatives, and friends are equally uninterested so the topic rarely comes up. When it does, they are stunned to realize the number of stories and articles I've published, and the modicum of notoriety I've carved out.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LNN: You mentioned that, "My fascination for HPL is less his fiction and more of his mystery of a life." This is actually something I hear from many of the long-standing figures in the world of contemporary Lovecraftiana. What then, beyond mere fandom, is the significance of Lovecraft and his ideas for you? More specifically, what have you discovered after all these years of study about "The mystery of how an obscure writer became so entrenched in the lives of other--and perhaps greater--writers" and how has it impacted you?</span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PERRIDAS: </span>When I first crossed paths with Lovecraft, I enjoyed his sophisticated language, his blend of horror and weird tale themes, but mostly his use of folk lore and scientific structuralism to convey realism. It's similar to my own thought process, and this is precisely what turns many people off about Lovecraft. He's often tagged as having adjectivalism. Even in his own day people wondered at his relatively stiff way of writing and lack of characterization.<br />
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However, as I've tracked his trajectory through the shadowy corners of history, Lovecraft is more of a "feeling" or an "idea" than a person or of his writing. His close friends alternatively adored and wondered at his posing as an old man, at his oddities, and at his erudition. This next metaphor might easily be misconstrued, but Lovecraft's life is a miniature of what occurred with Jesus as the end of the 2nd century neared, or perhaps Socrates – other names could be used, but these will suffice. His powerful presence, his attempt to master the weird tale, awed his contemporaries and inspired a generation of young men who sought to continue that legacy. However, times changed as 1940 came, and scientifiction trumped horror fantasy splitting the modern weird tale into factions.<br />
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If Poe was our John the Baptist, and Lovecraft our weird tale Jesus, then August Derleth was our Paul. Larry Roberts and I have written that Derleth was singly important – for better or worse – to carry that legacy. By most accounts, he was bullish and spent every dollar and wrote every book with the single purpose to keep Lovecraft in print. Time and again, I've found obscure pulps and pamphlets in English and Spanish that have the unmistakable hand of Derleth – often he appears side by side with Lovecraft. After Derleth's death, we must honor Mr. Joshi and Robert Price who worked so hard with many colleagues to keep Lovecraft alive into the 21st century.<br />
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Yet, the concept of Lovecraft today, I believe, has morphed into something beyond the factual. There have always been small elements that equated Lovecraft's horror with other sociological peripheries that incorporated cabalism. Lovecraft used it himself in his stories.<br />
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In the social consciousness, 80 years of Lovecraft has merged with Fortean ideas, and some ideas of Aleister Crowley, and has become some amalgam that one might compare to Gnosticism, if we continue the Christian metaphor. Derleth had a stranglehold on Lovecraft's copyrights (the canon), and that has relinquished with dagonbytes and the advent of the internet. That, and the proliferation of all sorts of Lovecraft inspired fiction – much very good and other not so good, we are on the cusp of entering an era where the real Lovecraft may be completely pushed aside. Mainstream Hollywood has discovered Lovecraft, and what might be termed unhindered Lovecraftploitation.<br />
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For me they mystery of Lovecraft consists of how his life of elitism was shattered and thrust into the lower middle class of Providence. His reaction to that coupled with other family traumas made his zealous as a missionary. Others see Lovecrafty as a nihilist or a cosmicist. I see him as trying to find his way. Through every literate venue he could find he propagated a blend of Edwardian Naturalism and elitism. Lovecraft is the hero of all his stories. In many of them, the central character is thrust into an unknown world and while roughed up, emerges essentially changed – translated – into a new creature. This metamorphosis is somewhat akin to salvation. However, what saves is the preservation of key essentials of civilization, literacy, and the fact that the character has spent years reading certain texts, holding onto certain concepts, and resisted change by barbarous outside forces.<br />
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The population of Providence doubled between 1880 and 1910 (276,000 to 542,000) and was nearly 700,000 at his death. Many of these were minorities and immigrants, and they had to have traumatized the citizens of College Hill. Before we throw stones at Lovecraft's racism and ethnicism, we need to examine our own traumas when we see hordes of immigrants coming across our borders, and experience psychosis of terrorists around every suburban tree. His life, in microcosm, is our life today. Is it any wonder he idolized the Romans – who experienced their own Visigoths.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">LNN: How does your background in science affect the way you read and interpret Lovecraft and how did it influence your own personal fiction as part of the Terrible Twelve?</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">PERRIDAS: </span>When I began to write, I discovered a group formed by R. J. Cavender called the Terrible Twelve. He had a brilliant concept: Gather together fledgling writers to expand the borders of horror. However, his loose reins and a room full of Apersonalities generated both light and heat. From that cauldron emerged many names you will soon hear about – Sarah Berniker, Fran Friel, Boyd Harris, Bailey Hunter, and so many others. We mercilessly critiqued one another, and explored weird mixes of Bizarro, Horror-eroticism, metafictional, vulgarian, bloody stories, and things that are yet to have names. Many were never published – who would dare? – it was challenging, fun, and an experience of a lifetime.<br />
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My personal fiction explored blends of ghost lore, science fantasy, and eroticism. In most of the stories, a regular person experiences a drive by horror and that person must come to terms with his repressed sexuality and examine his own strength of character and will to survive.<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LNN: More specifically, for better or for worse, Lovecraft's recent rise in fame has been accompanied by a vigorous dilution of his ideas as they have expanded to genres and mediums well outside those he originally intended. To the purists, this is lamentable. To others, it's wonderful. What impact do you think things like The Adventures of Lil' Cthulhu--which, for the record, I think is fantastic--have on Lovecraft's image and reputation? What do you think are some of the benefits and costs of this diverse application of the mythos and his ideology?</span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PERRIDAS:</span> It's been about a century since Lovecraft began to write seriously. His letters are the bulk of his career, each one preening his correspondent, and proselytizing his beliefs upon them. Often his stories attempt the same thing, but they aren't obvious unless one compares his letters with his stories. There is a term, historicity, that compares what actually happened with what was perceived to have happened by a particular audience or society. Lovecraft's Mythos was a hodge-podge and playful expression to engage his colleagues in exploring the concept of how our minds deal with the concept of 'alien'. He selected vermin to represent these outside forces. In reality, he probably conceptualized Portuguese, Italians, and other minorities as rats, frogs, crabs, octopus. He was specifically repelled by seafood, so that was a choice of vermin he used a lot. However, when that fiction is divorced from the life of Lovecraft, how does one propagate the Mythos.<br />
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Today we sort of have a blend of Cthulhu-mythos, Fortean, magic, and National Enquirer stuff emerging into new horror fantasy art forms. This is the wonder of the horror genre, in my opinion. It's fluid. Writers take our deepest cultural fears – which change with each generation – and deconstructs them, demythologizes them, and then re-mythologizes them into new expressions. We don't recognize this as its happening, and often horror and humor are two sides of the same coin. In the past it's been Spike Jones or Mark McLaughlin poking us, or Poe, Lovecraft, Jackson, or Ligotti terrorizing us. We have our own writers doing this now, but they're too close to us. They're still working word magic. (My bet is on Brian Keene right now!)<br />
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Complicating matters is that 20th century society morphed images and words together in complex forms. Lovecraft's world had movies, but he was primarily moved by words on a page. That world is gone, and our literary expressions must be encased in sound, visuals, and words – words still being the most essential element of that expression.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">LNN: What are your plans for your various projects in the near future? Will we see even more blogs and groups from Chris Perridas in the coming months and years, or is there a consolidation planned in the works?</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">PERRIDAS:</span> I have a demanding full time occupation, and I moved into writing as a stress reliever. However, that avocation has now picked up its own dynamic. I'm now 53, and since I do everything myself I am faced with some difficult choices.<br />
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I still plan to continue the HPLblog, but now that I've exceeded 2100 posts and it’s taken on an encyclopedic and indexed form, I'm struggling to know where to go from here. Barring some new revelations at auction houses, most of Lovecraft's trajectory has been sketched in my blog posts. I have almost every year of his life and subsequent chronicled by some publication, and a fair portion of his friends, followers, and notable fans documented. I'm proud that some of them are now acquaintances. Readers of the blog hang on and let's see where 2010 takes us.<br />
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I have wanted for some time to write several serious articles. First is whether Lovecraft was a spy for Houdini. I want to write up an overview of the importance of Adolphe de Castro as a Jewish leader and significant literary figure. HPL's comments have misled some folks, I think. I'd like to publish an essay on the dynamism of young Lin carter's life prior to 1960. Those who only know his from his fiction have missed a significant influence in the fantasy field.<br />
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I have a few experimental blogs that have not yet had enough of my attention. The first is "Weird Beasts" that I'm attempting to define. My intention is that we are about to experience a sense of chock and awe as a society. We barely know the alien life forms on our own planet, and yet we are suddenly faced with millions of planets that are teaming with life so utterly alien – yet utterly familiar – that we will be hard pressed to absorb it all. That's something I'm trying to convey.<br />
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I have another experimental blog that I hope will chronicle the splintering and transition of the "weird tale" into scientifiction (later science fiction) and 20th century horror. Unsung heroes such as Sam Moskowitz, Forest Ackerman, and dozens of other amateurs who later became professional writers, essayists, and editors are nearly forgotten. However, they kept the faith of "Antiquarian Thread" and passed it to us despite the onslaught of the Atomic Age science fiction and it's morphing into science fantasy.<br />
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I have tentative plans for an electronic magazine, to continue to work with the team at Dark Recesses, and to work with Larry Roberts at Arcane Wisdom. The question for me is how much time will I have to actually execute these ideas and tasks.<br />
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I get occasional grumblings that I've overstepped the line by capturing images and putting them up for viewers on my blogs. I always apologize when that happens, but by and large there seems to be an accommodation that this is a resource that is enjoyed. I make no profit from this – not that I object to making profit, I just am not clever enough to come up with a plan to do so.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Visit Chris Perridas' voluminous archives:</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The H. P. Lovecraft And His Legacy Blog</span><br />
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<a href="http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/">http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Other Blogs</span><br />
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<a href="http://weirdbeast.blogspot.com/">http://weirdbeast.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://antiquarianweirdtale.blogspot.com/">http://antiquarianweirdtale.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://chrisperridas2.blogspot.com/">http://chrisperridas2.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://lincarter.blogspot.com/">http://lincarter.blogspot.com/</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-25264384139002080812009-11-03T21:05:00.000-08:002009-11-03T21:13:10.465-08:00LNN Interviews Bruce Brown: Author of Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen KingdomAuthor Bruce Brown is gearing up to release a new graphic novel, <i>Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom,</i> which will be published by Arcana Studios in January. Brown's project is illustrated by Renzo Podesta and tells the story of a six year old boy, Howard Lovecraft, who stumbles upon the legendary Necronomicon and is transported to a world inhabited by horrifying creatures.<br />
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Brown's novel has already received rave reviews. <a href="http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/reviews/hlfk_review">Cosmic Book News</a> writes, <i>"The book takes young readers along on a great, scary adventure, while it also rewards an older audience with Lovecraftian echoes that add depth and menace... and a few good laughs, too. The book's a winner – a real Halloween treat!"</i><br />
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Bruce Brown stopped by and agreed to tell us more about the book, himself, and his thoughts on the genre.<br />
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<i><b>LNN: I understand you were introduced to Lovecraft while working on a previous script. You mentioned in another interview that you felt drawn back to Lovecraft. What specifically drew you back?</b></i><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b> I wrote a short story about Lovecraft and placed him, in the story, at the moment when his father suffered a complete breakdown; granted, I added in my twists to that non-existent event. Yet, after it was done, I couldn’t stop thinking about Lovecraft as a character. More specifically, him as a child and what led him down that path to being the author of such strange and other worldly tales. In the end, I wanted to take that character past a short six page story and open him up to the world that Lovecraft created. It was the idea of a little Howard Lovecraft that drew me back to this.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What is your intended audience for this project, why so, and does your mother ever worry about you corrupting the world's youth with the ideas of an unrepentant (yet certainly gleeful) misanthropist?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>Clearly, this book is a giant Easter Egg to fans of Lovecraft. However, I didn’t want to limit the story or its audience to solely that. I crafted it in a way that anyone could enjoy this book. So, someone who has never heard of H.P. Lovecraft could pick up this book and enjoy it and hopefully walk away with a little curiosity about this master of cosmic horror.<br />
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Hmmmm…corrupting the world’s youth and worrying my mother at the same time?! I never thought of it that way. Ha!<br />
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<b><i>LNN: Tell us about the medium of the graphic novel: what sorts of things does it lend itself to in terms of Lovecraftian storytelling, what are its weaknesses, and how did you address each during the writing process?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>That’s an excellent question! I would say that sequential storytelling of a Lovecraft story is inherently challenged. Lovecraft’s work tapped into those dark recesses of the human mind by leaving up the moment of horror for the reader to fill in. With sequential storytelling, an art form so rooted in what is visual, Lovecraft’s work, or style of storytelling, is clearly a challenge for this medium.<br />
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Unlike Lovecraft’s haunting tales, this was intended, from the start, to be an all ages’ twist on Lovecraft. I knew with this story, I could introduce the author and people from his real life, as well as, some of the amazing characters and creatures from his fictional work into one world. I saw that as more of the focus than trying to match Lovecraft’s unique style of tale. In the end, telling this Lovecraft story through sequential storytelling worked out perfectly because, through this medium, an artist can create the most fantastic otherworldly visuals.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: I don't think it is a stretch to say that Lovecraft's fiction is neither designed for children nor is it particularly accessible to them, yet this has not stopped his themes and motifs from lately being exported to them en masse in the form of projects like yours, which repackages them for a younger audience. What continues to surprise me in almost every case is just how well this transition works out. What is it about Lovecraft's dark themes that allows them to be so successfully adapted at what are ostensibly polar opposite ends of the literary spectrum: heavy-handed adult "horror" and children's literature?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>Up till The Frozen Kingdom, I have not heard of anyone trying to adapt Lovecraft to children’s literature. However, I believe it was an incredibly easy fit. Think about it, he crafts these tales of scary monsters that come from the seas, outer space or simply that dark shadow in the corner of the room. If you consider older fairy tales, it seemed to make perfect sense.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: More specifically, how did you approach the line between depicting monstrosity in a fashion suitably authentic to the established conventions of the genre while not letting your project become off-putting for the younger demographic?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>From the start I wanted an all ages’ book. I think people today confuse all ages to simply mean: for children only. Where truthfully, it is what is called; something that all ages could enjoy. So, there are elements in the book that children can enjoy and there are moments in the story that they won’t get but the adults who read it will. I would say that the one thing I didn’t want to do was talk down to younger readers. While there are elements for everyone, I do not coddle the younger reader, in fact I hope they are more challenged by it.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: The existence of your novel is evidence of the recent surge in interest for Lovecraft and his work. What do you think this surge suggests about us as a culture on literary, social, or ideological levels? And is this good news or ill for humanity as a species?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>I agree there has clearly been a recent surge of attention for Lovecraft and his work. Honestly, whatever the reason for it or its impact, I think it is a good thing. This attention is LONG overdue and Lovecraft deserves to be acknowledged for his masterful work!<br />
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As far as good news or ill for humanity as a species, I am not sure there either, but as a writer, I really love the sound of that question!<br />
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<b><i>LNN: Am I correct in reading that the official release date from Arcana is March 29, 2010?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>Actually, the release date of the book is January 6th 2010. That is the date it will hit comic shops for people who pre-ordered it and shops that took a chance themselves on it. Then the book will be available in March at major bookstores.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: What projects are in the works post The Frozen Kingdom?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>Well, I have several books in production, but my next book will be Jack & The Zombie Box. It is the story about a boy whose obsession with a “Scooby Doo” like television show reeks havoc throughout a household. It’s a fun book that is actually based on a true story. Besides that, I have several horror books in the works that I can hopefully talk about soon.<br />
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<b><i>LNN: Anything else you would like to put on the record?</i></b><br />
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<b><i>Brown: </i></b>First and foremost, I would like to thank the Lovecraft News Network for giving me a moment to talk about this very unique book.<br />
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Also, I would say that if this book is of interest to you, that you should definitely pre-order it! With indie comics, if you don’t let your shop know that you want it, you are taking a big chance of the book not being there when it is released! Also, if you a friend who loves H.P. Lovecraft or simply enjoys a good fantasy tale filled with interesting characters and creatures, to give this book a try!<br />
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<b>Further Reading about <i>Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom</i></b><br />
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Order the book online at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Lovecraft-Frozen-Kingdom-Bruce/dp/1897548540">Amazon</a><br />
The official forum at <a href="http://www.arcanacomics.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=46">Arcana Studios </a><br />
View artwork from the novel at <a href="http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=255996">Comic Book Resources</a><br />
The official <a href="http://www.myspace.com/howardlovecraft">Myspace page</a><br />
An interview with <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.comicmonsters.com/features-984-Bruce_Brown_talks_Howard_Lovecraft_and_the_Frozen_Kingdom.html%3Cbr%20/%3E">Comic Monsters.com</a><br />
</span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9072250887466483422.post-54242408920378840722009-10-24T07:27:00.000-07:002009-10-24T17:07:42.546-07:00Lovecraftian graffiti artist brings Cthulhu to the streets of FranceAnnelaure is a French artist who stumbled across "Herbert West: Reanimator" at the age of 10. Deeply influenced by Lovecraft and his writings, she wanted to include him in her art. However, Annelaure doesn't use any conventional canvas for her work: she colors the streets of France with handmade stencils to depict psychedelic visions. She was kind enough to drop by and share with us some beautiful pictures she took of a Cthulhu stencil she has recently employed on the unsuspecting city walls of Saint-Etienne, France. <br />
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Annelaure writes, "I think it's interesting to put occult characters on the walls of modern cities. For me Cthulhu represents the dark side of things and people: a power who enchanted today and the ancient world. I hope you enjoy my work. I can say that is not easy to translate Lovecraft's world and creatures on stencil, but i try!"<br />
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We aren't sure what we like most about this promising young French artist: the fact that she was reading Lovecraft in France at the age of 10 or that she brings his work to the masses in such a creative and fascinating way. Either way, we hope to see more pictures of similar projects soon.<br />
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We'd love to see this catch on and watch as unspeakable icons wound up on city walls across the world.<br />
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Keep up the great work!<br />
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You can view more of her work on Flickr at the following link:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sputnik2369/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/sputnik2369/</a></span>LNNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11092442242401017273noreply@blogger.com0