When The Stars are Right via fckyeahhplovecraft.tumblr.com

A little digging and I found that this is the cover art for a 2010 French graphic novel called  Grands Anciens (Old Ones) by Bojan Vukic and Jean-Marc Laine.

 TENTACLII :: H.P. Lovecraft blog has interior shots and discussion.

I made this months ago and pretty much everyone I know has seen it but yeah, I’m really bored.

I guess I’ll go clean something now.  It’s better for everyone that way.

UPDATE:  I am officially so bored that I actually just thought “I guess I could go floss my teeth.”  I find this sad, not because it’s good dental hygiene, I’m all for that, but because I thought of flossing as a means of entertainment.

image courtesy of IMDb

Guillermo Del Toro rocks.  Why, you ask? Sure, it has more than a little to do with him being the director of “Hellboy,” “Hellboy 2,” “Blade 2,” The Devil’s Backbone,” Pan’s Labyrinth, among others.

It also has to do with tenaciousness, and following your dreams, no matter how bleak things may seem (it also never hurts to do the right sacrifices, at the right time.

Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!).

As I  posted a few months ago, Universal abandoned Del Toro’s passion project, a movie based upon H.P. Lovecraft’s “At The Mountains Of Madness,” a part of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos (an interconnected series of stories that revolve around a common thematic element: horrific alien beings intent upon reclaiming the earth and oftentimes subverting everything that makes us human).

Now, there have been other films based upon Lovecraft’s Mythos, though the best examples are John Carpenter’s “In The Mouth Of Madness” and Stuart Gordon’s “Herbert West: Re-Animator” and “From Beyond.”

And not to switch topics, but Joseph Kosinski’s “Oblivion” has earned, so far, over $157 million (on a $120 million dollar budget).  The point is that Tom Cruise is the star of that film, and would have also been the star of “At The Mountains Of Madness” as well.

The point being that “Oblivion” has proven that Cruise can carry a feature – which was in doubt.

Now that it’s been proven that Cruise can get butts in the seats, the largest hurdle that remains is the performance of Del Toro’s upcoming “Pacific Rim.”   If that’s successful – and if the ‘Transformers’ films have taught us anything at all, it’s people love robots – then the likelihood of a ‘Moutains Of Madness’ feature increase exponentially, despite the expected R rating.

But don’t take my word for it, check out Deadline.

A&P Press 6/11/12
by Eddie Yost

The New York Mets are vigorously denying reports concerning a grisly solution to first baseman Ike Davis’s hitting woes. Davis, in his third year was once one of the bright spots in the Mets organization but health issues and an anemic batting average (.167) are troubling.
The shocking rumors state that a ritualistic sacrifice of ex-Met hero and current SNY television announcer Keith Hernandez was considered. Furthermore, Hernandez’s skin was to be fashioned into an unholy uniform for Davis to wear. The hopes being that this would appease the fickle baseball Gods and turn Davis’s season around.
An anonymous source close to the situation said in part, “Yeah, they (the Mets) talked to Hernandez’s people about the sacrifice thing…you know make a big deal out of it, giant stone alter in center field, fire works.. a real event. Of course his (Hernandez’s) people were not into it, at all. Frankly they were appalled..bad scene…believe me, the Metsie’s are gonna need to mend a lot of fences there. But Christ, they gotta do something. Management would be happy if Davis was hitting as good as (Ed) Kranepool or even Tim Harkness.”

’nuff said

My own piece took about two minutes of thought to come up with, the space between the thoughts, “Gee, wouldn’t it be great if we had a group of Cthulhu cultists?” and “Wouldn’t it be great if they were rumrunners?”  The research and the writing took much more time, but it was fun.  The dirty secret of Call of Cthulhu is that it has very few cults that actually focus upon Cthulhu, and I hope this will be an enjoyable addition to a game that will kill a lot of people horribly.

So, go to the Kickstarter.  You can get the book in PDF, or in print.   You can be immortalized as one of the pre-generated investigators, or even get your own limited edition Golden Goblin (the mascot of the publisher that released von Junzt’s Nameless Cults).  We’re already at 72% funding after 5 days, so get on board!

Greetings. My name is Ernesto Scaramanga.

Some call me a Sorceror, a Radiomancer, a Magician, an Hypnotist, an Alchemist or even an Astral traveller, I am none of those…. I am simply a Warlock.

I will be bringing you crystal ball readings, horoscopes and psychic insight using the powers of correspondence via the SPIRIT world through a method of intoxicating, shamanic chanting and basic blood magic.

Prepare yourselves, to enter the world of Ernesto Scaramanga.

Humeur du soir, nostalgie de dunwich, insmouth , arkham et autres lieux phantasmagoriques.

Promarker, 2b et encre.

from Paizo.com

It’s interesting what you find when you search Google images for “Lovecraft”.

from laughingsquid.com

from geekosystem.com

from thelovecraftsman.com

from xirdalium.net

from zazzle.com

from http://www.wallpapername.com

from boingboing.net

Thoughts?  Comments?

We have a new buddy on the Hill top. His name is Ghost ‘Thulhu, we call him Buddy. He is just about the cutest dark lord ever!

Bridges, I can walk down the wall into a bridge but not push up into one (more wrist destruction). Clearly, if I am ever to make a Masters gymnast of myself I have yet more stuff to add into my daily practice.

WOD – other people were doing something gnarly with double unders and burpee pull ups. I did the baseline fitness test again:

500 metre row
40 squats
30 sit ups
20 press ups
10 pull ups (purple band)

So … when I did this in August 2012 my time was 5:47. Today my time was … 6:18.

Yup, going backwards.

Okay, I’m injured, so my rowing is not great – but I’m pretty sure it’s better than it was then. My squats are waaaay deeper than they were then, so they are probably a bit slower. Sit ups, about the same. Press ups – well I couldn’t do any then so I don’t know what I was counting as a press up, something floppy probably. Pull ups, I was on the green band.

But seriously … slower?

Some days just make you want to kick a hole in the fabric of space time and drag a spawn of Cthulhu through to do his thing.

If you’ve ever accidentally bumped into, and not immediately run away from, a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, you have heard of, maybe even become a follower of, the great Old One, Cthulhu, first^{most popular in horror literature} among a race of Elder Gods who slumber and wait for the time to be right for their return and ascendency. Those who tell the tales of the Old Ones often ascribe dire consequences for humanity, should the Elder Gods awaken. Lovecraft himself tried to impress the perspective that the Universe, as a whole, gives not one fig for humanity upon his readers. The Great Cthulhu, however, once ruled over that one little niche we call Earth. I’d bet that after napping for a millennium or two, he’s gonna have a serious hungry headache, and a nice, hot cup o’ Joe is just not going to cut it. No, he’ll be wanting to eat the unbelievers… and the believers, basically, whomever he can wrap a slimy tentacle around and jam into his pie hole… he’ll probably eat all the pies too, then drink all the coffee, you know, to wash down the pies and those annoying little bones tickling his throat. What a dick. So, yeah, I guess there’s some justification for all the secret societies following all the secret worshipers.

“Some day he would call, when the stars were ready and the secret cult would always be waiting to liberate him.” – from Call of Cthulhu

The thing is, at this point everybody knows about the dangers of releasing an unearthly demi-god upon the populace at large, and there are complete truck-loads of dudes and dudettes totally dedicated to preventing those occurrences, despite the relative alignment or misalignment of various stars and/or constellations, which are totally made up of stars, I know. So why all the short stories and movies keep focusing on that threat is beyond me. You see, there is a far more sinister malevolence afoot, and they are already among us, wreaking havoc, and making everyday life a misery for the suspecting and unsuspecting alike. So underestimated are they, they don’t even have worshipers. There are tales of their horrors, but so insidious are they, no one even knows to ascribe these tales to the creatures who perpetrate the vile deeds.

“Where the fuck did my work go?” – Me, after losing two hours of work

You see? I know of their existence; I know how destructive they are yet, I dropped my guard for one fragile moment.
They were there. They are everywhere. They know about all your important meetings, and their inter-dimensional portals are perfectly sized for yoinking keys through. It is nothing for them to cloud your vision for but a moment, then toe meets dresser!

“Inside your snuggy, making you itch.” – Christina Majaski

They may not spell the destruction of mankind but, God Damn It! They are really, really annoying.

Look upon but one, and know… well, if not terror then, then… serious irritation!

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The first book is The Time of Feasting and it originally came out in 1996. Tired of living in hiding and feeling contemptuous of humanity, the young vampires in Victor’s coven have challenged him for supremacy.  To make matters worse, a city cop and an ex-priest have uncovered the secrets of the coven, putting all vampires in danger.  Its up to Victor to squash the rebellion and stop the two humans before they inform others.

The second book of the series is Darklost and was published in 2000. Victor has moved his vampire colony  to Los Angeles but not all is well. Victor has an uneasy feeling that someone is messing with dark magic that can destroy all of civilization. He finds out that there is a religious cult is trying to summon Cthulhu and bring an end to mankind. Humanity’s only hope rests with a small group of vampires that have to overcome their differences to save us all.

The reviews that I’ve read for The Time Of Feasting and Darklost all say that they are great vampire novels and some of the author’s best work. Not only is Mick Farren author of several horror, cyberpunk and sci fi novels he is also the lead singer of the punk rock group: The Deviants. If you want to get your hands on these two books all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog and while your at it tell me about your favorite vampire novel. First comment gets the book. Good Luck!!!

Matt’s back from Od Con. And wishes to update every one on what’s going on before he gets back to work on the convention videos, and hopefully gets to the other projects next week.

ShirtRater is now reviewing the t-shirt “Poe vs Lovecraft”.

Come and tell us what you think!

Lá no final de 2011 fiquei sabendo de uma campanha colaborativa do site brasileiro dedicado à obra de HP Lovecraft, a ideia bastante na moda nesse momento era um financiamento coletivo para editar uma edição realizada por fãs do autor. Uma seleção dos contos mais representativos para apresentar a obra a um público fiel.

A empreitada era complicada por várias razões. O motivo para começar o projeto todo seria a ausência de obras do autor em português e na verdade elas andavam pipocando há um tempo com qualidades variando do amador ao acadêmico. Lovecraft não é um autor fácil e normalmente é lido depois de uma recomendação ou seguindo referências de livros e filmes que caem no gosto pessoal (no meu caso, uma ficha na última página de uma revista sobre temas sobrenaturais que caiu na minha mão numa aula chata do horário noturno  na Era Antes da Internet e que trazia ilustrações do artista Druillet para as edições francesas de Lovecraft). Hoje, Lovecraft é um autor cultuado (inclusive no meio acadêmico brasileiro) e passa por um revival entre o público nerd/geek. Além disso, a intenção era produzir um livro de qualidade profissional a base de trabalho voluntário e paixão pelo projeto. E finalmente, o problema do financiamento, feito em forma de compras na pré-venda numa época em que o crowdfoundig já estava ganhando espaço, o projeto todo ia funcionar na base da confiança.

Eu fiquei entusiasmado com o projeto e paguei a quantia um pouco salgada em comparação a produtos com a mesma qualidade editorial prometida, mas o que valia era fazer parte do projeto.

Se uma coisa eu tenho que admitir é que fiquei impressionado com a determinação do Denílson (o pai do site e do projeto), apesar de innumeros problemas que foram surgindo (todo mundo era amador, caramba!), ele perseverou e manteve o trabalho andando, atrasou pra caramba em relação à expectativa de entrega inicial, mas saiu e tive o prazer de receber meu exemplar (com o meu nome impresso!) e conferir o resultado desse ano de incerteza.

Um livrão de mais de 450 páginas, com qualidade muito boa e uma seleção de contos bem representativa da obra de HP Lovecraft, ainda que a gente sinta ausências notáveis que devem ter ficado de fora por causa da extensão (Herbert West, reanimator e o Extranho caso de Charles Dexter Ward, meu preferido).

Algumas pessoas encrencaram com a capa, que eu achei uma justa homenagem ao autor, ainda que não tenha muito impacto mas caramba, está boa…

O livro inclui uma muito bem vinda introdução e biografia de HPL, o tipo de coisa que faz muita falta e com fotos resgatadas das Internetes que ajudam a visualizar um pouco o mundo do autor.

A lista de contos começa obviamente pelo Chamado de Cthulhu, um sinônimo de Lovecraft e passa por medalhões como O Sussurrador da Escuridão e a Cor Vinda do Espaço, contos canônicos dos Cthulhu Mythos, segue pelos contos mais góticos como O Sabujo e tem A Busca de Iranon, um representante do periodo “Dunnsaniano” na Terra dos Sonhos. Na minha opinião (de merda) uma seleção irregular mas difícilmente mudaria muita coisa. A ideia é dar uma amostra do ponto de fista do admirador, então também não tem a pretensão de organizar segundo critérios de afinidade temática.

A tradução

Traduções de Lovecraft são um problema porque é unanimemente aceito que ele era um péssimo narrador que complicava desnecessariamente a prosa, o que causou o seu ostracismo em vida, e normalemente as traduções acabam melhorando a obra ao eliminar manierismos malucos do original. Numa primeira folheada, gostei do que vi, só me chocou a tradução “O Forasteiro” para The Outsider (um dos meus preferidos) que me acostumei a pensar com “O Estranho” , que faz mais sentido, mas está bom! Parabéns a todos os tradutores (e foram muitos) envolvidos!

The Eldritch Society

Como agradecimento pela colaboração (meter a mão no bolso), o projeto recolheu os nomes dos compradores e listou todos sob o escudo da Eldritch Society (que baita nome para uma sociedade de investigadores!). Agradeço muito a ideia e fica ai eternizada a lista das pessoas que acreditaram e agora formam uma pequena comunidade que tem tudo para se orgulhar!

O projeto

Ná época do lançamento desse projeto, uma editora nova, a RetroPunk lançou um projeto semelhante para financiar o Rastro de Cthulhu (coincidência? as estrelas estão se alinhando…), deu certo mas foi um grande baque para a disposição da equipe em tentar levar mais projetos assim à frente, os innúmeros problemas técnios que iam surgindo, o imediatismo do público e os sucessivos atrasos no projeto quase fizeram tudo naufragar. Recentemente, aconteceu outro baque forte na comunidade rpgística com o Caso Grognardia, que fez muitos desacreditarem da modalidade quando levada à frente por fãs e não profissionais.

Eu espero sinceramente que o Denilson continue trabalhando em outros projetos, apesar da dificuldade visivel que enfrentou para levar este adiante. No início fez uma divulgação muito tímida e desconhecia estrategias para convocar público, mas foi aprendendo rápido e acabou alcançando todos os cantos do país, aproveitando o apoio de redes sociais, blogs e podcasts. Só que ele podia ser um pouco menos turrão, chegou uma hora que eu simplesmente deixei de acreditar que fosse dar certo. Por sorte, ele não.

Parabéns, Denílson!

Agora, com licença, acho que ouvi alguma coisa innominável arranhando a porta…

Como bien sabemos el horror huele a frijoles procesados por una hiena herida. También se ríe en tu cara como una jodida hiena. “This is not a love song”. “Bück Dich”.

So Dungeon Master, be It for Dungeons and Dragons, 13th Age, Pathfinder or for that matter any Role Playing game (RPG). You want to take charge, be the creator of your own game and possibly your own world.

You have your Players (PCs). You have your Dice. You have your Ideas. This Is just a small part of what goes on behind and In front of the GM’s screen.

Take a look through my Short A to Z of Dungeon Mastering.

A is for Adventures.

You are nothing without that story to take your players on.

B is for Battlefield.

A battle is needed in most all games. Be it a full scale war to a fight with sewer rats.

C is for Combat.

A combat need not be a fight every time. A combat of words maybe. The lords or the lands meet and your players need  to talk them out of war.

D is for Detail.

Don’t forget a good game can come down to the details.  Expect a great deal from your players if you give them the details.

E is for Environments.

Location,  Location and yet more Locations. Castles,   Keeps. Dry bone Deserts. Other worldly vistas. Let your players roam the worlds.

F is For Fire.

A randomly moving element that as a GM you have full control.  Use it to your greatest advantage. It can cage your players or free your players. Kill or even heal.

G is For Grandeur.

You want your players to feel importance in everything they do. Your Game will revolve around them. Make them the most important part.

H is for Hidden.

The world your players are in is a hidden one. Only you know what is happening. Don’t you forget that the game is moving even when your PCs are not there to effect it.

I is for I intrigue

Not all games are powering towards a fight or even a monster. Subterfuge is an ingredient that is an infrequent addition yet can add so much more to your games.

J is for Journey.

Try to give your games time. Time of movement. If the PCs need to travel then make it take time. Days or even weeks. If lost in a mine, be lost for days not hours.

K is for Kingdoms.

This is simple but creative use of Kingdoms brings depths of cultural differences and language barriers.

L is for Life.

Life should be everywhere.  Not everything is dangerous though. Tell the players that birds are singing or insects are chirping. Create a world your players can relate to.

M is for Mapping.

Keep track of where your game is going. World building to caving. All need some form of tracking.  You never know when your players will want to return.

N is for NO.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can NOT say No to players. This is not a democracy. If you have to say No then say it. It won’t hurt your game.

O is for Overlooking.

The players around you will notice if you miss something.  Make an oversight become your advantage. You didn’t overlook, it was neant to happen like that.

P is for Preparation.

This over time will come to you easier. Preparation is your friend.  Put more into your game and the more comfortable you will be when the game starts.

Q is for Quality.

Characters, be they the villainous assertiveness or the Monsters in the tunnels of doom. You have to breath life into them. Your game will shine if you put in the effort.

R is for Resourcefulness.

you are the creative director of this game. If you use props like miniature figurines and maps. Make your own props. Handouts and pictures to show your players adds a little more depth.

S is for secret.

Don’t give it all away in the first game.  We know you are excited for your players to know what’s going on or who is the bad guy. Hold some back. Make them work for it. Your players will thank you in the end.

T is for Time.

Give yourself time. Don’t rush a game if you are not ready. It will only upset your players and do harm to your confidence.  Time management,  be it length of game or how events play out. These in the end are down to you.

U is for Unbelievable.

You have to have a little truth to your games. Keeping believability keeps your players investment in the game and the world they are playing in.

V is for Visionary.

These are your games, the players are your characters. Take them on the most amazing adventure possible. Every game will just get better. You will learn from mistakes and grow as a GM.

so relax and have fun.

W is for Weapons.

Not just  a sword but a long blade of Dragonborn steel. Not  just a crossbow bolt but a crossbow bolt of dark energy slamming hard into the dwarven plate mail. Sending your hero heavily to the ground.

weapons can be more than an item that kills.

X is for Xenophobic.

Remember the world you create is inhabited by so many useful monsters. Make use of as many as possible. Colour your world. Surprising your players as much as you can and as often as you can.

Y is for You.

You are part of this game.  You have to enjoy it as much as your players.  If this isnt happening you need to take time out or even time away from the table. Let someone else take over for a while.

Z is for Zion.

This is your City. This is your Kingdom.  This is your world. This is your Zion.

I think as Time goes on I shall Add to these make them more of a read. Enjoy what i have .

]]> http://visioluxus.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/the-night-ocean/ Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:47:02 +0000 Visioluxus http://visioluxus.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/the-night-ocean/ I finally got around to shooting this concept again, as there was more I wanted to do with it, and things I learned last time that I wanted  to apply to a second try.

It’s a real octopus dyed with hair dye, and a real nude woman in the form of Erika Moen.

Octopus wrangling provided by my husband Phillip.

This is my second version of this idea, the first (shot in 2009) has been floating all over the internet for a while, usually uncredited. You can see the whole original collection here.

Here’s a behind the scenes peek for the curious.

I will have these for sale in my Etsy shop soonish.

The title for the series is from an H.P. Lovecraft story. The story itself is about a man who gets a little too consumed by the possible mysteries of the sea and, of course, goes a little nutty. You can read it HERE.