Moe Lane's Blog, page 492
September 22, 2022
09/22/22 Snippet, UNNAMED STORY.
I might just keep putting this up as I go.
Patreon!I first ‘met’ Beverly Lopez on a social media sub-group dedicated to weird and uncanny events along the Appalachian Trail. I would tell you the name of the social media platform, except that I fear the inevitable libel suit that would result; their lawyers would likely throw the book at me, and I simply cannot face that possibility. Their name is unimportant at this point in the narrative, at any rate. The real point is that I vaguely knew of Beverly’s existence, after a few weeks’ worth of posts and comments, and she knew of mine. Such is the nature of our modern social whirl.
We maintained this shadowy, half-alive mutual acquaintance for several months before outside reality abruptly intervened. My university was hosting a lecture on occult-heroic musical traditions in Tennessee, and I ‘liked’ and linked it to the group. So did Beverly, at almost the same time. It turned out that we both attended the same school, and that we were both planning to attend the same lecture. Both of us made enthusiastic noises about possibly meeting each other there. I don’t know whether she was as socially apprehensive as I was about the idea, but I consoled myself with the thought that we didn’t have to say hello to each other. I had a description — short, black hair, green eyes, hair long but in a bun — but it was always so hard to find people in a crowd, no?
Yes, it should have occurred to me that lectures on occult-heroic musical traditions in Tennessee might not be particularly well-attended, or that most of the attendees would likely be doing so remotely. There were a total of five people physically in the lecture room, and that was including the speaker. Since Beverly was the only person in the room with black hair, identifying her was easy.
She recognized me from my vague description, too, and gave me an embarrassed smile that helped ease my own anxiety. Clearly she had been half-dreading this meeting, too. “Hi… [my name]?” She made it a question — and to answer your own: I will not be giving you my name. No, I will not even use a pseudonym, because I don’t know if it would be safe.
Since she knew my name, even if you do not, I tried my best to be outgoing. “That’s right!” I replied, probably too brightly.
Apparently today is Intellectual Property Rights Day here at MoeLane.com…
…because this apparently just went down.
In amazing news for all authors: Amazon is going to end its free for all return policy on kindle books, the only digital product they allowed to be used and returned pic.twitter.com/3LV4kJRF5o
— Natalie(@nataliegallops) September 22, 2022
For those not familiar: there was a thing going around where people would buy books on Kindle, read them, then return them for a full refund – which ended up costing the original authors money (it costs a little bit to deliver an e-book, and that gets paid by the author – and that fee doesn’t get refunded). Like most horrible online things in this era, it originated on TikTok, which is a barely-concealed data harvesting service for the goram ChiComs and should be banned from Western Society, and thankfully there were even then there were only a few wretches on that site willing to justify their thievery. All of those people are no doubt now upset over about Amazon’s ruling, and I hope their bile gives them all acid reflux.
:pause:
I am, perhaps, biased about this subject.
#commissionearned
Tweet of the Day, Piracy Is Bad edition.
And I have to say that because, apparently, there are still a lot of people out there ready to argue that Piracy Is Not Bad When [Insert Reason Here]:
The US has the most piracy in the world of the two biggest shows on streaming despite both being legally available here because piracy isn't something people do for principled reasons of access; they do it because they're too cheap to pay for art. https://t.co/mlDqNM6RUS pic.twitter.com/ALBSbmfyIY
— Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) September 22, 2022
You may safely assume that I am on the side of ‘pay for the art.’ If only out of sheer self-interest: eventually the pirates will come for me.
September 21, 2022
The Possibly Badly-Genred THE LONELIEST BOY IN THE WORLD.
I don’t know if I’d call THE LONELIEST BOY IN THE WORLD ‘horror.’ I mean, sure, there’s lots of zombies in it. And grave-robbing. And plenty of… bits falling off. But nothing, you know, bad is happening in it.
I dunno. Maybe they left all the ‘people getting eaten’ stuff out of the trailer. And wouldn’t that be a refreshing change…
Beginning of Unnamed Story.
Haven’t found a good title, yet. Man, I am looking forward to Halloween!
Patreon!I have long been drawn to the thought that horrors lie hidden in this world we know. Not the prosaic awfulness that we see every day on news feeds and phone alerts, although those events certainly alarm and shock both us, and the poor unfortunates suffering through them. We are born in pain, and that pain will not ease until the final blackness engulfs us all. Although recent events make me wonder if there is a final blackness, and whether I will enjoy the alternative.
No, the horrors that I try to glimpse through the smog of ‘normal’ life is separate from that life. It cannot be defined by normality, because it rises from its own wellspring, and does not mix with our own… world? Reality? Perception? Forgive me: I am a man with a damaged optic nerve, who is attempting to describe a kaleidoscope. My ability to visualize what I ‘saw’ is maddingly elusive.
But I am not mad. Of that, I can assure you. Although that is perhaps no real comfort. Many atrocities have begun with similar affirmations.
…
In the days of the last century, folklorists haunted strange, far places to do their research. In this modern era, odd customs and insular communities are no further away from your computer screen. The far places are also not so far, anymore. As for strange? Well, these days that is increasingly a matter of opinion.
Tweet of the Day, …Huh edition.
I wasn’t expecting much of anything out of ANDOR, but Tycho genuinely doesn’t try to sling bullsh*t about this stuff…
I'm here to give you the "all clear" for Andor.
— Tycho Brahe (@TychoBrahe) September 21, 2022
…and he’s just as surprised as anybody else, apparently. I might have to give this show a look, after all.
The point is that it being good at all is a surprise.
— Tycho Brahe (@TychoBrahe) September 21, 2022
HEY, WHO WANTS TO HEAR THE NEW OFFICIAL SPACE FORCE SONG?
Tough! You’re hearing it anyway. I give you… Semper Supra*.
…Man, now I really want to see the 1950s Atomic Age SF serial that they got this song from.
Moe Lane
*Yes. Yes, the title does translate to “Always Up.” I can’t believe nobody caught that, either. And by that I literally believe I can’t believe it. Everybody involved in this process sniggered, quietly, and signed off on the name.
Quote of the Day, Necromancy Is Just Creative Recycling edition.
This is so true: “You have to learn to be creative with the corpses you have, not the corpses you want.”
…I know, I know: it’s not Halloween yet. It’s not even October. But I’m getting in that spooktastic mood.
