Ross E. Lockhart's Blog, page 71

Countdown to Cthulhu: On Manly Men

H. P. Lovecraft's protagonists aren't exactly the manliest bunch of heroes. Prone to passing out at the first sign of eldritch terror, the archetypal Lovecraftian hero/victim is more of an academic, shrinking-violet-type, reflecting the author's own reclusive and bookish tendencies. Not exactly John Milius material. Sure, there are exceptions: the tavern-destroying bum in the comedic temperance parable "Old Bugs", the German U-boat Lieutenant Commander of "The Temple", and "The Call of Cthulhu"'s tough-as-nails detective, Inspector Legrasse, but more often than not, Lovecraftian leads tend toward decadent dreamers or effete aesthetes. Not that there's anything wrong with being a Baudelaire- and Poe-reading effete aesthete, but sometimes facing down cosmic horrors requires a tough-guy approach...



Good thing there's Laird Barron, whose novelette "The Men from Porlock" will be appearing in The Book of Cthulhu (in fact, it was the first story I contracted for the anthology), and who recently posted a number of images (that's one of them above) evocative of the mood and 1920s logging camp setting of the novelette to his blog. Nobody writes two-fisted cosmic horror quite like Laird Barron. If you don't already have Laird's collections, The Imago Sequence and Occultation on your bookshelves, you need to.

Here's a recent interview with Laird, conducted by Charles Tan for the Shirley Jackson Awards:

http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/blog/2011/07/11/charles-tan-interviews-laird-barron/



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And speaking of tough guys, happy birthday to The Book of Cthulhu contributor (and creator of Imaro, one of the toughest guys in fantasy fiction) Charles R. Saunders. I'm a big fan of Charles Saunders' work, so I was really honored to be able to include his short story, "Jeroboam Henley's Debt" in The Book of Cthulhu. Do yourself a favor and go read "Jeroboam Henley's Debt" over at Innsmouth Free Press. And check out the Imaro books (NSB has published two, Imaro, and Imaro 2: The Quest for Cush). And really, anything else by Charles you can lay your hands on.

Meanwhile, I'm going to sit here and contemplate purchasing this copy of Dark Fantasy 14, which not only includes an Imaro story, but also has--according to a rather extensive Cthulhu Mythos bibliography--a poem by William Fulwiler called "R'lyeh Rises". Hey, it's a work-related expense, right?

My tweets

Mon, 16:01 : Countdown to Cthulhu: Monday Meditations http://j.mp/oAJSNq Mon, 18:44 : RT @thexmedic: Up-tick in physical book sales might be due to a price drop, actually. No Hero now only $11.24 on Amazon http://t.co/1tW6mza Mon, 18:45 : RT @marthawells1: Yay, The Cloud Roads in mentioned in the Seattle Times! http://t.co/ldwN6ab Mon, 18:46 : RT @rudytheelder: Podcast of JIM AND THE FLIMS reading plus "The Birth of Transrealism" http://bit.ly/nfAcFH Mon, 18:47 : RT @lairdbarron: Men with axes http://t.co/jgeCya3

Countdown to Cthulhu: Monday Meditations

Monday, already? This weekend fleeted by so fast, it makes me want to step back a little bit and meditate on where the last couple of days went. And I'm sure I can't be the only one.

Speaking of meditation, my friend Tiff, who lives in Merseyside, UK (and is therefore a near-neighbor to The Book of Cthulhu contributor Ramsey Campbell), sent along this snapshot of a contemplative Cthulhu. Om mani Cthulhu fhtagn!


Cthulhu Meditating, photo by Tiff Franks

Saturday was The Book of Cthulhu contributor Thomas Ligotti's birthday. In tribute and supplication, fellow contributor Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. took to YouTube with the following birthday wishes:


(If you can't see the video, click here.)

Elsewhere on the Internets, The Book of Cthulhu contributor Silvia Moreno-Garcia posted a story at Innsmouth Free Press sure to strike fear in the hearts of ichthyophobes everywhere: Found on the Net: Fish Invasion

Over at Wired.com, The Book of Cthulhu contributor Bruce Sterling has begun annotating Lovecraft's Commonplace Book through the lens of 21st century technology.



This weekend, I stumbled onto the FREE H. P. Lovecraft eBook created by the crafter of crocheted Cthulhus known as Cthulhu Chick. CC's had a little bit of trouble of late with pirates and cross-circuited Amazon.com reviews, so if you're so inclined, drop by and download The Free Complete Works of H. P. Lovecraft for your Kindle (also available for a buck by clicking on the picture above), Nook, Kobo, or other e-reading device, and if you dig it, leave a rave review.

And if a crocheted Cthulhu isn't cute or sweet enough for you, there are always Lovecraftian Lollypops.

My tweets

Sun, 18:41 : RT @WeronikaJanczuk: Write flash fiction for the chance to win some prizes, including @TeresaFrohock's novel: http://t.co/fSq9vJp. Sun, 21:02 : RT @WeronikaJanczuk: Further Insights Into Her Debut, Writing the Second, Exorcisms, Social Media, Etc. - From my wonderful... http://tu ... Sun, 21:12 : RT @Copperfields: How cool is this? Three cheers for Karina King and the Sonoma County Free Bookmobile! http://fb.me/JHPD3yZU Mon, 01:01 : RT @EllenDatlow: @BarackObama Don't give in to the Republicans. Please don't cut SS, Medicare, etc--and yes to higher taxes for milliona ...

Adult Beverage: Ballast Point Wahoo Wheat Beer

After I tried Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA, I determined I'd try whatever I could from them. Tonight, Wahoo. What's a Wahoo? Looks like a flying barracuda on the label.

Wahoo pours pale, cloudy gold with a thick finger of white, frothy head and cascading lacing. Wheaty--doughy, even--on the nose, with coriander and citrus close behind. Highly carbonated and creamy. Citrus tang, bready, malty sweetness, and spiciness on the tongue. Refreshing, with coriander and orange emerging at the finish. Not quite a Hefeweizen, more of a witbier with attitude. I think I should have gone deluxe and added a frosted pilsner and a slice of orange, but tasty right out of the glass.

My tweets

Sat, 15:00 : RT @WeronikaJanczuk: "I am a product of endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of..." http://tum ... Sat, 15:02 : RT @WeronikaJanczuk: I love all the gorgeous covers here. Glad that @TeresaFrohock's Lucian is one of the men chosen -- quite the charac ... Sat, 15:41 : RT @cthulhuchick: I love Morticia & Gomez's relationship. :) #AddamsFamily Sat, 17:04 : RT @rudytheelder: Reading and Q&A on JIM AND THE FLIMS in San Francisco, Sunday 3 pm http://bit.ly/nfAcFH Sat, 18:46 : RT @cischafer: Hey ebook lovers: the Kindle edition of THE WHITEFIRE CROSSING is now available for preorder! http://t.co/a6WUy5V Sat, 21:27 : RT @stephengjones72: finished Amelia Beamer's THE LOVING DEAD. didn't like it at first, was a fool for it by the end. very recommended Sat, 21:27 : RT @NooseandGibbet: Got a spare copy of THE PAN BOOK OF HORROR STORIES re-issue for the first person who retweets this. I'll scribble on ... Sat, 23:35 : RT @EllenDatlow: serial killer identified http://t.co/cdaPmlQ Sun, 00:59 : RT @mental_floss: We almost forgot to wish you a Happy Odd Day! It's 7-9-11. Dates with consecutive odd numbers only occur six times eac ... Sun, 02:38 : Astonishing: "@AnnaSophiaB: I raped the shoe department at Nordstrom. " Sun, 02:39 : RT @WeronikaJanczuk: Photo: http://tumblr.com/xlp3f0wmlj Sun, 04:00 : RT @iffer23: oh hell yes. @SergioRomo54 slays the #giantKiller. #SFGiants

Adult Beverage: Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale

A day spent fretting over a manuscript in need of repairs while Jennifer designed Cthulhu postcards left me wanting a brisk, bold beverage. So we ordered pizza from The New Yorker and hit Petaluma Market, where I picked up a Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale. 45 IBU? Sign me up.

Hop Head pours a deep red-brown, with a head like a dollop of whipped cream on top of a hop sundae from hell. Labyrinthine lacing. A fistful of hops to the nose, smoothed out by warm caramel malt and a touch of citrus zest. Sweet and malty up front: Bitter brown sugar biscuit on a light wave of carbonation. Tongue-tingling, bitter finish that lingers against the back of the throat. Very pleasant.

My tweets

Fri, 15:04 : I love the smell of a DMCA takedown notice in the morning... smells like victory. Fri, 15:05 : RT @thexmedic: Looking for a #fridayread? No Hero ebooks still $3.99. http://t.co/1tW6mza Fri, 16:42 : Countdown to Cthulhu: Who is going to believe a talking head? http://j.mp/oOXfVs Fri, 17:17 : 27 seconds after signing up, and I already hate Google+. Fri, 18:20 : RT @molly_the_tanz: Cover for The Book of Cthulhu, mountains, what I'm reading, all here: http://t.co/peLJzuo Fri, 18:20 : RT @NSBposse: Laird Barron Hand of Glory: This is Johnny Cope, enforcer for the Arden family of c. 1920s Olympia, WA.This is J... http:/ ... Fri, 19:01 : RT @darendoc: If NASA had any guts, they would dress the landing crew at Edwards as Apes to receive the Astronauts on their last Shuttle ...

Countdown to Cthulhu: Who is going to believe a talking head?

So far this morning, I've caught up on e-mail, sent a DMCA takedown notice to an e-book pirate, had breakfast and espresso, and mopped half my kitchen, all to the tune of Wolves in the Throne Room's Two Hunters. Why, I'm feeling positively re-animated.

Which leads me to H. P. Lovecraft's splatterpunk serial, "Herbert West--Reainmator." Originally appearing in amateur publication Home Brew between October 1921 and June 1922, "Herbert West--Reanimator" was first reprinted in Weird Tales in 1942.

I believe that comedy and horror are close cousins. The difference between slapstick and a boot to the face--or worse--is really just a matter of timing. And despite S. T. Joshi's appraisal of "Herbert West--Reanimator" as "Lovecraft's poorest work", I'd say that nowhere in the Lovecraft's oeuvre is the wire dividing the horrible from the hilarious at its gauntest.



"It is uncommon to fire all six shots of a revolver with great suddenness when one would be sufficient, but many things in the life of Herbert West were uncommon."

The 1985 Stuart Gordon film adaptation, Re-Animator, walks that wire like an acrobat, wildly careening between earnest terror and gut-splitting grotesquery. Even if it did severely typecast Jeffrey Combs' future acting career.


(Can't see the video? Here's a link.)

They just don't make flicks like that anymore.

And since Re-Animator was R-rated, and there may be kiddies present, here's an alternate take on "Herbert West--Reainmator." Pika!


"My Grass type vs. your Colour-Out-Of-Space type" from Let's Be Friends Again! by Curt Franklin & Chris Haley. Shamelessly hotlinked.

My tweets

Thu, 13:50 : RT @StaciaDecker: Cutest thing ever: @johnhornor's daughters intercept and party-ize his finished copies of SOUTHERN GODS: http://bit.ly ... Thu, 19:02 : RT @JRVogt: Review: The Whitefire Crossing, by @cischafer - http://goo.gl/6akOY #fantasy #books Thu, 19:29 : RT @paulgoatallen: What Would Kurt Russell Do? Jonathan Wood's Apocalyptic Debut a Psychotropic Thrill Ride – With Tentacles http://t.co ... Thu, 20:06 : RT @thexmedic: A review of No Hero on the Barnes and Noble SciFi blog. "Unarguably one of the best novels I've read so far this year." h ... Thu, 20:25 : RT @KameronHurley: Will I actually reach 400 followers this week? Same 10 people have been following/unfollowing for a month. I know. My ... Fri, 02:33 : RT @cischafer: Author copies of The Whitefire Crossing are here! 2yo is jumping around yelling "Mommy books! Mommy books!" http://yfrog. ... Fri, 02:42 : RT @TeresaFrohock: There is still time to win a copy of Miserere at @BrendaDrake http://t.co/D4P8jaD #Miserere #fantasy