Brief update

Just looked in on the blog.  A quarter-million hits.  Who would have thought?

Technology moves fast.

I recall agonizing over learning to blog.  Now if you don't vlog, no one seems to care.  But at some point one has to draw the line with time expended for a non-paying gig.  But I will never say never. Let's see what a year from now brings.

There is still huge amounts of data on HPL, and his legacy marches on.  It is not going the way a lot of people thought, though.  Those who took over in the  post-Derleth era are now aging.  And the ones who are taking up the legacy and making up yet another "new circle" are going places that are interesting.  Just as exploitative in their own way, they are making (or re-making) HPL into something malleable to conform to their ideals.

I don't particularly care for this "new Lovecraft", but as a blog-chronicler I don't have a say in that.

One thing that concerns me is all this hype over Lovecraft's racism.  Racism and Ethnism is horrific in all its forms.  But I have yet to met a perfect person, nor a person who is completely unshackled from their personal prejudices.  It is difficult, perhaps, to enjoy a writer who has been set up on a pedestal as an idol, or at least an ideal - and have that statue fall and crack.  But to read a story is not to become the person who write it, any more than to look at a painting and become the painter.  It is a piece of art, to be enjoyed, or rejected, or ignored.  It is great that HPL is still relevant and enjoyed.  That we know more about him each year should be celebrated, not make us cringe.

He is dead, and he cannot be resurrected and changed.  Though wouldn't that be a fun little Lovecraft story.

:)

Chris Perridas has quietly worked on learning more about HPL and his family.  Some of it I have had the energy to put up on line in various blogs and websites.  The rest - well I only have so much time.  Believe me there is a great deal more and I hope that one day it all gets online and shared.

One thing that stunned me was that when i was doing my non-stop 25 hour a day research, the internet was far more robust and search engines took me deeper into data mining.  A lot of that technology has either went into paid markets (like ad ware?) and that you and I no longer have access.   Stuff I found easily before I can't now.  I know it is there, I just can't get it.  But I did copy it.  Maybe that was intuition?  Maybe it was - as I sometimes believe - Lovecraft's ghost directing me to do this stuff.

If HPL's ghost was present and guiding, and I think he and his grandfather may have done so, they are very quiet now.  I guess they have found other willing workers, or their restless spirits have now been satisfied that more of their story has been told.

Online attention spans are much shorter than 10 years ago.  But for those who still are interested, enjoy the blog posts.

I don't check emails much because spam long ago overwhelmed the mailbox.  So I am sorry if you did not get answered.  For those of you who have worthwhile projects, I wish you luck, but I am not reviewing projects any more.  I just can't.

Those who post comments, that's great.  I see them, and if they are appropriate, I publish them.  But for the most part, this is an historical blog now.  It is here, but I am not active on it - but I think you can tell that.

So, I just stopped by to write a few comments, and to thank all who read this blog.

So until I stop by again --

All the best!

Chrispy.

Lovecraft-Inspired Music

In my younger days, I used to call this avant garde.  That dates me.  But here are some cool music downloads ...

They include radio voice overs (some use of expletives in some narratives), narratives, electronic music, percussion, and other forms of music.




You may want to start with: Hail Zeon! - Super Science

Tales From The Doorstep
4 haunting tales of magic and super science. Join Hail Zeon!, Richard Pickman and Durka Dub on a journey along knowledge and madness.
A full sized sequel to the "Doorstep EP", Tales From Doorstep is a creepy mix of strange Space Opera from The Masters Of Space Opera.



I suggest you start with Chapter XV - Revenge Spells prt​.​2

The Lovecraftian EP, featuring Hail Zeon! and Richard Pickman , takes Space Opera through dusty libraries, distant times and even Antarctica.

Weird Tales: Like a Phoenix; Reborn!

From the hand of renowned Marvin Kaye and numerous others, the venerable and beloved Weird Tales has returned.

My post is a bit late, but hopefully I can still be part of the congratulations celebration.

My first concern when I pick up a post-modern periodical.  So many of these new magazines and web sites for horror are red print on black, or some other unreadable format.  So I asked:  Can my 57 year old eyes read this thing?

Yes!

The pages of my electronic format review copy was precisely formatted with a wonderfully readable font, and a wonderful contrast of black ink on soft white.

Thank you!

The illustrations are well chosen from a variety of authors, and issue 360 includes some wonderful Fabian illustrations.  Poetry, too, is represented.  In the case of issue 360:  "Mummified" by Jill Bauman, "In Shadowy Innsmouth" by Darrell Schweitzer, "The Country of Fear" by Russell Brickey, and "Country Midnight" by Carole Buggé.

There is an example of a more radicalized story.  "To Be a Star" by Parke Godwin is part-illustration and part narrative in a style that has a doodled on, antiquarian typescript (circa 1945), feel to it.

Notable and legendary names appear within the covers.  And why wouldn't one want to hide under the covers with fear with the likes of "The Long Last Night" by Brian Lumley, "The Runners Beyond the Wall" by Darrell Schweitzer, and "The Empty City" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson.

I have to admit this.  I am a sucker for flying saucers and aliens, so I b-lined right to page 85 and read "Alien Abduction" by M. E. Brines.  I am not sorry.  It takes a great flash fiction writer to pull off humor, genre homage, terror, and ethical philosophy all at once, but Brines does it with panache.

The greatest part of this issue is the wonderful Ray Bradbury tribute.  We already miss him, and this reminds us why.  A great treasure is now reprinted, a "lost" Martian Chronicle.  This writer managed to track down one of the remaining issues of Fantasy and Science Fiction that had this, and now Weird Tales makes it available for the first time in about 3 generations.

This issue is phenomenal, and a blessing for horror fans.  Buy it.  If you only receive one hour of fun, then it is well worth the price, but I suggest you will have months of pleasure out of reading and re-reading.  Maybe you should buy two copies, because likely you will read the cover off of issue 360.

_____

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