David Dubrow's Blog, page 43
October 14, 2015
I Saw a Florida Skunk Ape
I was privileged to receive an early draft of Adam Howe's Damn Dirty Apes, a novella included in his anthology Die Dog or Eat the Hatchet. Moreover, I was honored to write a blurb for it.
Despite the humor (there are many laugh-out-loud moments in Damn Dirty Apes), the story has a core of realism, especially in reference to the skunk ape that figures prominently in the narrative. As part of his research into skunk apes, Adam reached out to an organization called S.P.N.A.S.A.: The Society for the Preservation of the North American Skunk Ape. As it turns out, SPNASA found Adam's literary efforts insulting, and sent him a letter threatening legal action. It's my understanding that the matter has since been cleared up, but it proves that there are plenty of people out there who take the legend of the skunk ape very seriously.
A Google search on skunk apes brought up a Wikipedia entry, plus some other websites with varying degrees of credibility, but I found my curiosity still piqued. After all, the skunk ape lives almost literally in my own backyard here in Florida.
So I went out to do some of my own investigating. My neck of the (back)woods is full of nature trails, swampy areas, and pine forest that few people bother to explore, so that's where I started. To be honest, I didn't take it terribly seriously, and even brought my little boy along with me to "hunt the skunk ape." He thought it terrific fun at first, but the walking and waiting and, most importantly, staying quiet was difficult for him, so after an hour or so of farting around and taking pictures, we called it quits.
It was only a few nights later, when I casually flicked through the photos on my phone, that I saw this:
I've circled the relevant section of the picture.
It's chilling to think how close this thing got, not just to me, but my son as well. Believe me, I'll definitely keep my little boy at home on any future skunk ape hunts. It's only because we were downwind that I didn't smell it, I suspect.
The chase is on, though. I know it's out there. I just have to go find it.
Despite the humor (there are many laugh-out-loud moments in Damn Dirty Apes), the story has a core of realism, especially in reference to the skunk ape that figures prominently in the narrative. As part of his research into skunk apes, Adam reached out to an organization called S.P.N.A.S.A.: The Society for the Preservation of the North American Skunk Ape. As it turns out, SPNASA found Adam's literary efforts insulting, and sent him a letter threatening legal action. It's my understanding that the matter has since been cleared up, but it proves that there are plenty of people out there who take the legend of the skunk ape very seriously.
A Google search on skunk apes brought up a Wikipedia entry, plus some other websites with varying degrees of credibility, but I found my curiosity still piqued. After all, the skunk ape lives almost literally in my own backyard here in Florida.
So I went out to do some of my own investigating. My neck of the (back)woods is full of nature trails, swampy areas, and pine forest that few people bother to explore, so that's where I started. To be honest, I didn't take it terribly seriously, and even brought my little boy along with me to "hunt the skunk ape." He thought it terrific fun at first, but the walking and waiting and, most importantly, staying quiet was difficult for him, so after an hour or so of farting around and taking pictures, we called it quits.
It was only a few nights later, when I casually flicked through the photos on my phone, that I saw this:
I've circled the relevant section of the picture.
It's chilling to think how close this thing got, not just to me, but my son as well. Believe me, I'll definitely keep my little boy at home on any future skunk ape hunts. It's only because we were downwind that I didn't smell it, I suspect.
The chase is on, though. I know it's out there. I just have to go find it.
October 13, 2015
Beyond Lovecraft Update
I've described why I'm supporting Jasper Bark and Rob Moran's Beyond Lovecraft Indiegogo campaign here, so if this is the first you've heard of it, please click the link to learn why you should get excited about the project, too.
Or, better yet, see what Jasper himself has to say.
This is where we are with funding so far:
As you can see, we're still building momentum. To bring it home, though, we need more: more exposure, more backers, more funding. That's where you come in.
For just $25.00 you would not only get an electronic copy of the graphic novel, but also a 100 page behind the scenes Beyond Lovecraft e-book and have your name on the honor roll of contributors to an extraordinary project. That's a damn good deal.
For 25 bucks you can be this guy, figuratively speakingThe perks get better from there. Check them out.
Even if you can't provide funding now, please share the campaign link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/be...
Thank you, and I hope to see you browsing the shelves of the Library of Yith soon!
Or, better yet, see what Jasper himself has to say.
This is where we are with funding so far:
As you can see, we're still building momentum. To bring it home, though, we need more: more exposure, more backers, more funding. That's where you come in.
For just $25.00 you would not only get an electronic copy of the graphic novel, but also a 100 page behind the scenes Beyond Lovecraft e-book and have your name on the honor roll of contributors to an extraordinary project. That's a damn good deal.
For 25 bucks you can be this guy, figuratively speakingThe perks get better from there. Check them out.Even if you can't provide funding now, please share the campaign link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/be...
Thank you, and I hope to see you browsing the shelves of the Library of Yith soon!
October 12, 2015
GNoH Book Review: The Electric
At Jim Mcleod's Ginger Nuts of Horror, I reviewed the novel The Electric by Andrew David Barker:
"This is an extraordinary book, a beautiful tale of loss, of teenage alienation and filmmaking and what it means to not just create art, but to want to create art."
Click the link to see if it's your cup of tea!
"This is an extraordinary book, a beautiful tale of loss, of teenage alienation and filmmaking and what it means to not just create art, but to want to create art."
Click the link to see if it's your cup of tea!
October 9, 2015
Friday Links: Four Poes, Evil Dolls, and Nethescurial
As we count down the days to Halloween, let's look back at what happened in the world of the strange, the unusual, the horrific.
In Leeds, Alabama, a man was attacked by his girlfriend's evil doll collection : "Ms Nicole-Fine has been collecting dolls since she was eight, and got her first haunted doll at aged 12. She believes the doll, Violet, was haunted by the spirit of a little girl called Angie who died in the early 1500s. 'When I first got her, I had a vision in my sleep about how she passed away,' she said."An egg hatched from Shellhawk's Nest and out came a deeply disturbing Halloween photo from 1938.At the invaluably incisive R'lyeh Tribune , Sean Eaton delved into the notion of Thomas Ligotti's Nethescurial as an egregore: "Have you ever had a dream or nightmare that begins with you as a spectator of some weird or frightening event? Perhaps you are observing some violent or horrific event on a television screen or at a movie theatre—examples of how media technology structures even our contemporary dream life!—and suddenly you are actually in the dream, on stage, fleeing from whatever is lurking there." Breakfast in the Ruins brought us four Poes.
Nev Murray reviewed Greg Gifune's Devil's Breath at his
Confessions of a Reviewer!!
: "Greg Gifune is a man that has a lot of books out there. Each one is different in so many ways. The one thing that is consistent throughout is the fact that his style of writing is superb. Each and every one of these books is overflowing with a masterfully dark atmosphere that completely immerses you in the particular story you are reading. If you were handed a section of pages to read, not knowing who wrote them, you would immediately know his style if you have read him before."
John Kenneth Muir
analyzed one of my favorite Schwarzenegger films, The Last Action Hero: "Last Action Hero possesses many good ideas, and even a compelling thematic through-line that I hope to enumerate. That through-line ties into the jokes about Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a movie version of the play starring Schwarzenegger (perhaps the best scene in the film…). It also ties into the characters of Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) and Jack Slater. All three heroes contend with the same “to be or not to be” existential dilemma."The inimitable
Zombos opened up his Closet
to show us the 1964 game Bats in Your Belfry: "Main portion of game consists of 15" tall molded plastic castle w/spring-loaded launchpad that would toss any of the 24 included plastic "Vampire Bats" into the sky. Object of the game was to drop one of the two included heavy metal balls into castle to activate spring-loaded mechanism and catch as many bats as possible w/the two provided plastic skeleton hand scoops."
Deck the Holidays
showed us how to make faux barbed wire. Very cool for Halloween!Steven Wetherell reviewed The Babadook at Jim Mcleod's
Ginger Nuts of Horror
: "Part of the cleverness of The Babadook is that the viewer spends less time wondering if the phantom is real or imagined, and realises that the differentiation really doesn’t matter— the horror is equal either way, plucking not just at our anxieties about what unknowns may lurk out in the world, but what unknowns may lurk within us." (Interested readers can check out my review of the movie here.)Author
William Malmborg
pointed us to a pretty dumb review of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Kubrick used exterior shots of the hotel in his adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining. I've been to the Stanley Hotel a few times, not to stay, and it's a really nice place.
Here
, I explained why I'm supporting the Beyond Lovecraft Indiegogo campaign and talked about anti-Christianity in our common culture.Illustration taken from the
Arkham Unveiled
supplement of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.
In Leeds, Alabama, a man was attacked by his girlfriend's evil doll collection : "Ms Nicole-Fine has been collecting dolls since she was eight, and got her first haunted doll at aged 12. She believes the doll, Violet, was haunted by the spirit of a little girl called Angie who died in the early 1500s. 'When I first got her, I had a vision in my sleep about how she passed away,' she said."An egg hatched from Shellhawk's Nest and out came a deeply disturbing Halloween photo from 1938.At the invaluably incisive R'lyeh Tribune , Sean Eaton delved into the notion of Thomas Ligotti's Nethescurial as an egregore: "Have you ever had a dream or nightmare that begins with you as a spectator of some weird or frightening event? Perhaps you are observing some violent or horrific event on a television screen or at a movie theatre—examples of how media technology structures even our contemporary dream life!—and suddenly you are actually in the dream, on stage, fleeing from whatever is lurking there." Breakfast in the Ruins brought us four Poes.
Nev Murray reviewed Greg Gifune's Devil's Breath at his
Confessions of a Reviewer!!
: "Greg Gifune is a man that has a lot of books out there. Each one is different in so many ways. The one thing that is consistent throughout is the fact that his style of writing is superb. Each and every one of these books is overflowing with a masterfully dark atmosphere that completely immerses you in the particular story you are reading. If you were handed a section of pages to read, not knowing who wrote them, you would immediately know his style if you have read him before."
John Kenneth Muir
analyzed one of my favorite Schwarzenegger films, The Last Action Hero: "Last Action Hero possesses many good ideas, and even a compelling thematic through-line that I hope to enumerate. That through-line ties into the jokes about Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a movie version of the play starring Schwarzenegger (perhaps the best scene in the film…). It also ties into the characters of Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) and Jack Slater. All three heroes contend with the same “to be or not to be” existential dilemma."The inimitable
Zombos opened up his Closet
to show us the 1964 game Bats in Your Belfry: "Main portion of game consists of 15" tall molded plastic castle w/spring-loaded launchpad that would toss any of the 24 included plastic "Vampire Bats" into the sky. Object of the game was to drop one of the two included heavy metal balls into castle to activate spring-loaded mechanism and catch as many bats as possible w/the two provided plastic skeleton hand scoops."
Deck the Holidays
showed us how to make faux barbed wire. Very cool for Halloween!Steven Wetherell reviewed The Babadook at Jim Mcleod's
Ginger Nuts of Horror
: "Part of the cleverness of The Babadook is that the viewer spends less time wondering if the phantom is real or imagined, and realises that the differentiation really doesn’t matter— the horror is equal either way, plucking not just at our anxieties about what unknowns may lurk out in the world, but what unknowns may lurk within us." (Interested readers can check out my review of the movie here.)Author
William Malmborg
pointed us to a pretty dumb review of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Kubrick used exterior shots of the hotel in his adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Shining. I've been to the Stanley Hotel a few times, not to stay, and it's a really nice place.
Here
, I explained why I'm supporting the Beyond Lovecraft Indiegogo campaign and talked about anti-Christianity in our common culture.Illustration taken from the
Arkham Unveiled
supplement of Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.
October 7, 2015
A Jewish Man's Perspective on Anti-Christianity
I've discussed this horror cliché in the past, but certain points need amplifying in the wake of the Roseburg, Oregon shooting. Some reports say that the murderer deliberately targeted Christians for death, though this is unclear. Witness accounts can be undependable.What's concerning is that even if it's untrue, it's plausible.
I want to tell you a story about something that happened at the reception of a friend's son's Bar Mitzvah. The family was interfaith: one parent Jewish, the other secular Christian (that is, they celebrate Christmas with a tree and presents and Easter with Cadbury eggs). Near the end of the party the secular mom of the Bar Mitzvah boy was telling a few off-color jokes about Christianity, which many other people laughed at. I didn't think they were funny, but I let it go. I was a guest, after all.
At one point, another guest walked up and said, "You might want to cool it with some of those jokes. People'll think you're Jewish!"
I opened my mouth to say, "You don't know me, lady, but I'm Jewish, and you don't see me laughing at this stuff or telling those kinds of jokes, do you?" But I closed it before the words came out. As a virtual stranger I didn't see the value of setting her straight. It's not likely I'll meet her again. Not my faith, not my fight. Still, I regret not saying something.
Months later, I told my younger brother this story and asked him if he makes anti-Christian jokes, or any religious jokes at all, and he told me no, of course not. In fact, neither of us know any fellow Jews who do that. No doubt there are some. Many. Lots. But we don't and don't associate with the ones who do. You want to make religious jokes, have at it. I'm not against it. I'm just not for it. There is a difference between lighthearted fun, especially in a small group, and nasty, stupid, mean memes and jokes. We all know the difference, even the most anti-Christian among us. That's not what I'm talking about.
It's become a cliché that religion is the new favorite punching bag in our culture, but that's just not true. Christianity has become the punching bag. The vast majority of anti-theists simply won't attack Judaism, for example. This is not to say that anti-Semitism doesn't exist; a casual look at American college campuses, where the ancestral homeland of the Jews is factlessly and regularly called an apartheid state, proves anti-Semitism's existence, as does the UN and Obama administration's hostility to Israel. Anti-Semitism has also found new respect among the fringe right: the internet trolls who throw around terms like "cuckservative" and openly wonder why American foreign aid should be sent to our only democratic ally in the Middle East.
Nor do the anti-theists go after Hindus or Buddhists. And, most notably, none of them go after Islam, which in its purest form is the most anti-science, anti-woman, anti-Enlightenment system of belief on the planet. The reason why anti-theists don't attack Islam is simple: unlike fundamentalist Christians, fundamentalist Muslims will try to kill you for disrespecting their beliefs. To call such people anti-theists is, then, a misnomer: they're anti-Christian. They've got cover from Hollywood and the basest elements of our culture, and they don't have anything to fear from the people they attack, because Christians don't hit back and don't have the same cultural cachet as a Hollywood comedian.
That's cowardice, and I'm tired of it.
I work hard to address issues of faith fairly and thoughtfully in my fiction, and while I do meticulous research, I don't claim particular wisdom. In
The Blessed Man and the Witch
, when the characters are confronted with the stark reality of a Biblical apocalypse, they handle it as real people do, some of them better than others. What I don't and won't do is address the material with contempt, as though I know something you don't, and hence am smarter or more ethical. I have my beliefs, you have your beliefs, and that's okay. We can all get along. My faith is strong enough to withstand disagreement and proselytizing from other faiths. Like I've said before, it's no longer daring or cutting edge to portray Christians as deluded, hypocritical fools and priests as deviants in cassocks. Attack my faith, if you've the courage to do so. Attack Islam, if you've any courage at all. Me, I'm done with that sort of fiction.
October 5, 2015
Beyond Lovecraft
Regular readers of my blog know that I'm a big fan of Jasper Bark, a writer of uncommon skill and character. His short story anthology
Stuck on You and Other Prime Cuts
and graphic novel Bloodfellas have received rare and enthusiastic five-star reviews from me and other finicky readers. I'm thrilled to announce that Jasper's developing a brand new graphic novel titled Beyond Lovecraft. Billed as a "grim and cosmic love letter" to the Cthulhu Mythos, it combines his writing with the extraordinary work of artist Rob Moran, who did the arresting, disturbing covers for the Bloodfellas comics.
While they've secured Markosia Comics as a publisher, Bark and Moran want to take this project to the next level. To that end, they've started an Indiegogo campaign to raise extra funds. This is what Jasper himself has to say about Beyond Lovecraft:
This is a great chance to contribute to a project that you'll be proud to have your name on. The perks are very neat, ranging from Mi-Go level all the way up to Azathoth...and beyond.
One of the great freedoms of independent publishing is that it allows creators to push the boundaries of storytelling and narrative in ways traditional publishers are typically loath to attempt. Jasper has proven that his work not just flirts with those boundaries, but expands them, taking the reader places he or she has never even dreamed of. Think of it as the difference between an equilateral triangle and a non-Euclidean figure birthed from an obscenity living in the gulfs between the coldest, furthest stars. Sort of.Every little bit helps, and even if you're not in a position to donate now, please share the link to the campaign so Beyond Lovecraft can get the attention it deserves. The campaign's goals are clear, and you'll know exactly where your hard-earned money is going.
The stars are right. Great Cthulhu has finally risen from His house in R'lyeh. What to know what happens next? Click the link and get on board!
October 2, 2015
Friday Links: The Green Inferno, Rocktober Blood, and Total Recall
Halloween starts in a little less than a month. As you count the days to what is arguably my favorite holiday, take a look back at what happened in the world of the strange, the bizarre the horrific this week:
Dr, Lynne Campbell was interviewed about her book A Course in Demonology for Paranormal Investigators: "Exorcism of the home that is infested and/or of the person(s) who has been invaded is the only way to banish the demonic once they've found a "point of entry". Exorcism is a multi-faith practice. Every culture around the globe has exorcism rituals."Dawn Cano reviewed William Holloway's The Immortal Body for Ginger Nuts of Horror : "The Immortal Body has everything I want to see in a horror novel: likeable characters, great dialogue, plenty of gore, and unrelenting tension. There’s even a few bits of humour thrown in for good measure. This is a classic good versus evil story with one hell of a supernatural twist." Full Moon Reviews reviewed Eli Roth's The Green Inferno, and amazingly wasn't offended by the skin color and political philosophy of the victims: "Roth's basis for the story, besides the cannibal aspect, is his social commentary on current "slacktivists" on world social issues. Roth felt that people who claim to want to help the environment, do ice bucket challenges for ALS, or express anything about Kony 2012 at the time are hashtagging and sharing posts on these topics as a way to trend within social media, rather than doing something to help financially or physically."
Zombos reviewed the film Kids vs Monsters at
Zombos' Closet of Horror
: "It's ho-hum from start to finish in spite of having talents like Lance Henriksen, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Moll, and Armand Assante. With the dialog they're given, I'm surprised they didn't roll their eyes more often when delivering each line."Nev Murray showed off Widowmakers at his
Confessions of a Reviewer!!
Tremendo Time
took on the 1984 slasher film Rocktober Blood: "So after a late-night recording session, Billy suddenly goes ape shit and starts offing members of the band and members of the creative force that spawned it. Like these guys."At the unmissable
R'lyeh Tribune
, Sean Eaton wrapped up his extraordinary interview of author, professor, and occultist John L. Steadman: "In the near future, also, I think that the great black magickal systems that I have focused on in the latter portion of my book will continue to flourish. The Vodou religion has become a bona-fide religion and yet, unlike most of the Christian sects (excepting the Catholics, of course), Vodou has managed to preserve its magickal roots and its mysteries."
Breakfast in the Ruins
got out of its rut and reviewed the 1984 martial arts film Furious: "Basically, those anticipating a non-stop cavalcade of high velocity, laugh-out-loud zaniness will be left with only a fairly thin serving of WTF yuks spread across a modest 74 min run-time. Viewers willing to put such concerns aside though and simply take the film as it comes will find themselves experiencing a more genuinely inexplicable piece of work than they could possibly have anticipated."It's Mars week at
John Kenneth Muir
's site, and he tackled the greatest film on Mars ever made: Total Recall: "I suppose it’s tempting to witness all the blunt-faced, brutal, over-the-top violence of Total Recall and dismiss the movie outright. Yet even the film’s violence fits into Total Recall’s either/or dichotomy, representing a future of over-militarized police, or, contrarily, a world of the imagination where the death of innocent bystanders (as human shields) matters not…because they are just avatars in a fantasy, not real flesh and blood life forms."
Here
, I pointed you to a review I wrote of the movie
I Saw the Devil
and discussed the pitfalls of being the boss.Illustration by Gustaf Bjorksten for Stormbringer's
Sorcerers of Pan Tang
supplement.
Dr, Lynne Campbell was interviewed about her book A Course in Demonology for Paranormal Investigators: "Exorcism of the home that is infested and/or of the person(s) who has been invaded is the only way to banish the demonic once they've found a "point of entry". Exorcism is a multi-faith practice. Every culture around the globe has exorcism rituals."Dawn Cano reviewed William Holloway's The Immortal Body for Ginger Nuts of Horror : "The Immortal Body has everything I want to see in a horror novel: likeable characters, great dialogue, plenty of gore, and unrelenting tension. There’s even a few bits of humour thrown in for good measure. This is a classic good versus evil story with one hell of a supernatural twist." Full Moon Reviews reviewed Eli Roth's The Green Inferno, and amazingly wasn't offended by the skin color and political philosophy of the victims: "Roth's basis for the story, besides the cannibal aspect, is his social commentary on current "slacktivists" on world social issues. Roth felt that people who claim to want to help the environment, do ice bucket challenges for ALS, or express anything about Kony 2012 at the time are hashtagging and sharing posts on these topics as a way to trend within social media, rather than doing something to help financially or physically."
Zombos reviewed the film Kids vs Monsters at
Zombos' Closet of Horror
: "It's ho-hum from start to finish in spite of having talents like Lance Henriksen, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Moll, and Armand Assante. With the dialog they're given, I'm surprised they didn't roll their eyes more often when delivering each line."Nev Murray showed off Widowmakers at his
Confessions of a Reviewer!!
Tremendo Time
took on the 1984 slasher film Rocktober Blood: "So after a late-night recording session, Billy suddenly goes ape shit and starts offing members of the band and members of the creative force that spawned it. Like these guys."At the unmissable
R'lyeh Tribune
, Sean Eaton wrapped up his extraordinary interview of author, professor, and occultist John L. Steadman: "In the near future, also, I think that the great black magickal systems that I have focused on in the latter portion of my book will continue to flourish. The Vodou religion has become a bona-fide religion and yet, unlike most of the Christian sects (excepting the Catholics, of course), Vodou has managed to preserve its magickal roots and its mysteries."
Breakfast in the Ruins
got out of its rut and reviewed the 1984 martial arts film Furious: "Basically, those anticipating a non-stop cavalcade of high velocity, laugh-out-loud zaniness will be left with only a fairly thin serving of WTF yuks spread across a modest 74 min run-time. Viewers willing to put such concerns aside though and simply take the film as it comes will find themselves experiencing a more genuinely inexplicable piece of work than they could possibly have anticipated."It's Mars week at
John Kenneth Muir
's site, and he tackled the greatest film on Mars ever made: Total Recall: "I suppose it’s tempting to witness all the blunt-faced, brutal, over-the-top violence of Total Recall and dismiss the movie outright. Yet even the film’s violence fits into Total Recall’s either/or dichotomy, representing a future of over-militarized police, or, contrarily, a world of the imagination where the death of innocent bystanders (as human shields) matters not…because they are just avatars in a fantasy, not real flesh and blood life forms."
Here
, I pointed you to a review I wrote of the movie
I Saw the Devil
and discussed the pitfalls of being the boss.Illustration by Gustaf Bjorksten for Stormbringer's
Sorcerers of Pan Tang
supplement.
September 30, 2015
An Unpleasant Side-Effect of Being the Boss
Nothing in particular has elicited this post; it's just something that I've been thinking about for years and I want to get it out there so it no longer has to take up space in my intellectual attic.
When I worked in the video production department of a small but notorious publishing company, the department had a staff of two: the Video Production Manager and me. My job title changed depending on the mood of the manager: sometimes I was a Video Production Associate, sometimes a Video Producer.
Sometimes something unprintable.
We worked closely with many authors to develop video projects. With a staff of two, we did everything: contracting, set design, lighting, sound, camerawork, video editing, marketing, still photography. We shot video in the studio and on-location across the country (and sometimes in Canada; remind me to tell you about the Canadian carnet). I enjoyed the work. We went to all sorts of places and met all kinds of incredible people with remarkable skills.
Eventually I became the Video Production Manager. My workload increased tenfold, but I still enjoyed it, and it showed in increased sales and production quality. I wasn't a parent at the time, so the travel and longer hours weren't so much a problem. (If you're reading this, my beloved wife, I did miss you on those on-location shoots!) There's no such thing as having a bad day on a limited-budget video shoot: you have to be 100% mentally and physically all day long and into the night. Great stuff. I learned that any limits I had were entirely self-imposed, a lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life.
However, there was one troubling aspect to the job: it changed my relationship with certain people, and not for the better. Some of the authors whom I'd worked with as a Video Production Associate were markedly nicer and more friendly once I became Video Production Manager. Not all, but some. To some extent, this is natural: you want to be close to people who can do more things for you. Still, I had worked closely with these people through production and post-production and thought that I'd had them figured out.
I noticed this difference of attitude early on, made a note of it, and didn't let it affect my decision-making. But it did teach me another very valuable lesson: determine who your real friends are. It's a thing you have to experience for yourself. Learning how to separate people into categories, as unpleasant as that sounds. A real friend is someone who doesn't want anything from you except your presence in his life. The others, the ones who will call you friend but just want things from you, they'll fool you. It takes time and life experience to determine the difference. Some people never do.
I still retain some very good friends from my time in publishing, men and women I'm honored to know and speak with. So I have no complaints. And I make new friends in my new endeavors all the time. I'm very fortunate.
Is this cynicism, or experience?
When I worked in the video production department of a small but notorious publishing company, the department had a staff of two: the Video Production Manager and me. My job title changed depending on the mood of the manager: sometimes I was a Video Production Associate, sometimes a Video Producer.
Sometimes something unprintable.
We worked closely with many authors to develop video projects. With a staff of two, we did everything: contracting, set design, lighting, sound, camerawork, video editing, marketing, still photography. We shot video in the studio and on-location across the country (and sometimes in Canada; remind me to tell you about the Canadian carnet). I enjoyed the work. We went to all sorts of places and met all kinds of incredible people with remarkable skills.
Eventually I became the Video Production Manager. My workload increased tenfold, but I still enjoyed it, and it showed in increased sales and production quality. I wasn't a parent at the time, so the travel and longer hours weren't so much a problem. (If you're reading this, my beloved wife, I did miss you on those on-location shoots!) There's no such thing as having a bad day on a limited-budget video shoot: you have to be 100% mentally and physically all day long and into the night. Great stuff. I learned that any limits I had were entirely self-imposed, a lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life.However, there was one troubling aspect to the job: it changed my relationship with certain people, and not for the better. Some of the authors whom I'd worked with as a Video Production Associate were markedly nicer and more friendly once I became Video Production Manager. Not all, but some. To some extent, this is natural: you want to be close to people who can do more things for you. Still, I had worked closely with these people through production and post-production and thought that I'd had them figured out.
I noticed this difference of attitude early on, made a note of it, and didn't let it affect my decision-making. But it did teach me another very valuable lesson: determine who your real friends are. It's a thing you have to experience for yourself. Learning how to separate people into categories, as unpleasant as that sounds. A real friend is someone who doesn't want anything from you except your presence in his life. The others, the ones who will call you friend but just want things from you, they'll fool you. It takes time and life experience to determine the difference. Some people never do.
I still retain some very good friends from my time in publishing, men and women I'm honored to know and speak with. So I have no complaints. And I make new friends in my new endeavors all the time. I'm very fortunate.
Is this cynicism, or experience?
September 28, 2015
GNoH Movie Review: I Saw the Devil
At Jim Mcleod's Ginger Nuts of Horror, I reviewed the Korean horror film I Saw the Devil:
"It’s not a mere cautionary tale about the cost of vengeance, nor is it a ho-hum meditation on a man becoming the monster he hunts, but something different, something better: a story of how violence in any form can poison both the actor and the victim, no matter how justified."
Click on over to read the review, then watch the movie. Even if you've seen it before, it's worth at least a second viewing.
"It’s not a mere cautionary tale about the cost of vengeance, nor is it a ho-hum meditation on a man becoming the monster he hunts, but something different, something better: a story of how violence in any form can poison both the actor and the victim, no matter how justified."
Click on over to read the review, then watch the movie. Even if you've seen it before, it's worth at least a second viewing.
September 25, 2015
Friday Links: Death Note, Morituris, and the Halloween Weeny-Witch Party Book
As Fall falls upon us, promising cooler weather for everyone not in Florida, take a look back at the week to see what you might have missed in the world of the macabre, horrific, or just plain weird:
Jasper Bark continued his study of author Michael McDowell at This Is Horror: "McDowell was a very fast and a very prolific writer. Before the sale of his first published novel The Amulet, he wrote five unpublished novels. Between 1980 and 1987 he wrote 19 novels, mainly crime and thrillers, in conjunction with Dennis Schuetz and John Preston under the pseudonyms: Axel Young, Nathan Aldyne, Mike McCray and Preston MacAdam. He also wrote three romantic murder mysteries about a couple called Jack and Susan."Jim Mcleod gave us an early look at Midwinter of the Spirit at his Ginger Nuts of Horror : "The plot is also intriguing, with Merrily being called in by the police when a body is found crucified in the wood (“We were led to understand you were the church contact for… this sort of thing.”), then later being taken to the house of the victim, where she discovers a Satanist shrine in the basement."Nev Murray reviewed some of Frank Westworth's JJ Stoner stories at his Confessions of a Reviewer!!: "Eh…..wow. JJ Stoner. I’ll bet my mortgage on this guy against anyone. Bond. Reacher. The Expendables (all of them together). This guy has it all. Let’s face it he is effectively a hired assassin. No idea who he’s working for and he doesn’t care. He also doesn’t care about who he kills. Give him a gun and a target and he will do the job. Simple as that. Sounds horrible doesn’t he? Someone you should hate and abhor and boo every time he comes on screen? Well I say arse to that! This character is superb. Brilliantly written. Straight to the point with no messing about at all. You cannot help but like him."In Kenya, a woman committed a horrific murder, claiming that she was possessed: "A woman who hacked dead her elderly mother-in-law in Kiambu county has said she was driven by Satan, who also wanted her to kill her mother and sister. Caroline Wanjiku, 29, turned herself in on Monday hours after killing Ann Nyambura in Gishobo village, Ndeiya ward, Limuru constituency. “I keep seeing visions of snakes coiling on my body around the waist,” she told journalists at Thigio chief’s post."At Hayes Hudson's House of Horror, Hayes reviewed the film Morituris: "Two lovely Romanian girls take a trip with three Italian men to a rumored midnight rave in the middle of a dark forest. As the gang proceeds on foot to their final destination, a mysterious graveyard is discovered, a shockingly vile plot twist is revealed and bloodthirsty undead Roman gladiators rise from the dead to torture and mutilate their victims!"From Zombo's Closet emerged the Halloween Weeny-Witch Party Book, which really must be seen to be believed. Ghost Hunting Theories showed us a series of vintage witches, some cheesecake, some just plain strange.Sean Eaton drew from the past and the present to bring us modern necromancy at his never-miss, must-read R'lyeh Tribune: "Is there a modern, more reliable means of conjuring the dear and the not-so-dear departed, both for edification and profit? Some readers may be familiar with the recent feature story in The New York Times* that described one young woman’s plans to preserve her connectome—a microscopically detailed three dimensional map of her brain—using advances in cryogenic technology."Here, I discussed the everyday horror of roaches and pointed you to a new short story I had published at Liberty Island.Illustration by Tom Sullivan for Call of Cthulhu's S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters.
Jasper Bark continued his study of author Michael McDowell at This Is Horror: "McDowell was a very fast and a very prolific writer. Before the sale of his first published novel The Amulet, he wrote five unpublished novels. Between 1980 and 1987 he wrote 19 novels, mainly crime and thrillers, in conjunction with Dennis Schuetz and John Preston under the pseudonyms: Axel Young, Nathan Aldyne, Mike McCray and Preston MacAdam. He also wrote three romantic murder mysteries about a couple called Jack and Susan."Jim Mcleod gave us an early look at Midwinter of the Spirit at his Ginger Nuts of Horror : "The plot is also intriguing, with Merrily being called in by the police when a body is found crucified in the wood (“We were led to understand you were the church contact for… this sort of thing.”), then later being taken to the house of the victim, where she discovers a Satanist shrine in the basement."Nev Murray reviewed some of Frank Westworth's JJ Stoner stories at his Confessions of a Reviewer!!: "Eh…..wow. JJ Stoner. I’ll bet my mortgage on this guy against anyone. Bond. Reacher. The Expendables (all of them together). This guy has it all. Let’s face it he is effectively a hired assassin. No idea who he’s working for and he doesn’t care. He also doesn’t care about who he kills. Give him a gun and a target and he will do the job. Simple as that. Sounds horrible doesn’t he? Someone you should hate and abhor and boo every time he comes on screen? Well I say arse to that! This character is superb. Brilliantly written. Straight to the point with no messing about at all. You cannot help but like him."In Kenya, a woman committed a horrific murder, claiming that she was possessed: "A woman who hacked dead her elderly mother-in-law in Kiambu county has said she was driven by Satan, who also wanted her to kill her mother and sister. Caroline Wanjiku, 29, turned herself in on Monday hours after killing Ann Nyambura in Gishobo village, Ndeiya ward, Limuru constituency. “I keep seeing visions of snakes coiling on my body around the waist,” she told journalists at Thigio chief’s post."At Hayes Hudson's House of Horror, Hayes reviewed the film Morituris: "Two lovely Romanian girls take a trip with three Italian men to a rumored midnight rave in the middle of a dark forest. As the gang proceeds on foot to their final destination, a mysterious graveyard is discovered, a shockingly vile plot twist is revealed and bloodthirsty undead Roman gladiators rise from the dead to torture and mutilate their victims!"From Zombo's Closet emerged the Halloween Weeny-Witch Party Book, which really must be seen to be believed. Ghost Hunting Theories showed us a series of vintage witches, some cheesecake, some just plain strange.Sean Eaton drew from the past and the present to bring us modern necromancy at his never-miss, must-read R'lyeh Tribune: "Is there a modern, more reliable means of conjuring the dear and the not-so-dear departed, both for edification and profit? Some readers may be familiar with the recent feature story in The New York Times* that described one young woman’s plans to preserve her connectome—a microscopically detailed three dimensional map of her brain—using advances in cryogenic technology."Here, I discussed the everyday horror of roaches and pointed you to a new short story I had published at Liberty Island.Illustration by Tom Sullivan for Call of Cthulhu's S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters.
