Thorsgiving... Because what could a Viking not love about Thanksgiving? Feasting? Aye! Drinking? A mighty aye! Clan Bonding? Aye! Clan Feuding? Say that over here pig-dog! Enjoying Violent Contact Sports? (Viking hits you with turkey leg...) Restful Odin-Sleep Afterwards? Zzzzzzz! Plotting Raids to Seize Loot from the Merchants the Next Day? Rarrrrrrrr!!!! Happy Thorsgiving Everyone!
Great and dreadful Cthulhu is without doubt Lovecraft’s most recognized creation, and many who are only casually aware of his work may think he’s the end-all and be-all of his work. I’d even personally go so far as to say that Cthulhu in the present day is overexposed, his shadow obscuring many of H.P.’s other... Continue Reading →
Sorry folks, a shoggoth ate the Lovecraft essay that I was going to share with you today. :-( But never fear, I'll have it rewritten for next week's Throwback Thursday! In its place this afternoon, I offer you this little piece of tribute art featuring old HP and the secret of his inspirations instead. ;-)
Great and dreadful Cthulhu is without doubt Lovecraft’s most recognized creation, and many who are only casually aware of his work may think he’s the end-all and be-all of his work. I’d even personally go so far as to say that Cthulhu in the present day is overexposed, his shadow obscuring many of H.P.’s other... Continue Reading →
Great and dreadful Cthulhu is without doubt Lovecraft’s most recognized creation, and many who are only casually aware of his work may think he’s the end-all and be-all of his work. I’d even personally go so far as to say that Cthulhu in the present day is overexposed, his shadow obscuring many of H.P.’s other... Continue Reading →
Great and dreadful Cthulhu is without doubt Lovecraft’s most recognized creation, and many who are only casually aware of his work may think he’s the end-all and be-all of his work. I’d even personally go so far as to say that Cthulhu in the present day is overexposed, his shadow obscuring many of H.P.’s other... Continue Reading →
Great and dreadful Cthulhu is without doubt Lovecraft’s most recognized creation, and many who are only casually aware of his work may think he’s the end-all and be-all of his work. I’d even personally go so far as to say that Cthulhu in the present day is overexposed, his shadow obscuring many of H.P.’s other... Continue Reading →
Great and dreadful Cthulhu is without doubt Lovecraft’s most recognized creation, and many who are only casually aware of his work may think he’s the end-all and be-all of his work. I’d even personally go so far as to say that Cthulhu in the present day is overexposed, his shadow obscuring many of H.P.’s other... Continue Reading →
Inspired by the poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892): The Lady of Shalott PART I ON either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down... Continue Reading →
I’ve loved this painting by John William Waterhouse for a long time. The many layers of detail and symbolism, not uncommon in Waterhouse’s work, leave so much to consider and see. The Magic Circle is so open that it can leave you with one idea of what is happening in a viewing, and inspire a... Continue Reading →
Back in April I shared audio of J.R.R. Tolkien reading from The Lord of the Rings. This rare treat was thanks to the Professor’s enjoyment of recording personal readings of his work on some of the first home-use tape recorders after being introduced to them by a friend in 1952. These short stretches of audio... Continue Reading →
The great Keith Parkinson has been featured several times on the blog, and he will most assuredly be featured again in the future. He left a wondrous legacy of fantasy and science-fiction art behind after passing from the world too soon in 2005, and it remains a testament to his talent. This piece done in... Continue Reading →
When Dechara's Tree graced the November 1990 cover of Dragon Magazine #163, it didn’t make an immediate impact on me. It is, of course, a piece done by legendary fantasy artist Larry Elmore and shows his mastery of skill. Yet, it’s not a showy painting of epic fantasy, and I think for that reason it... Continue Reading →
This painting by Daniel R. Horne premiered as the cover of Dragon Magazine issue 126, which arrived in my mailbox in October of 1987. Thereafter, it would reappear in several other TSR products and advertisements. My thirteen-year-old reaction? “Wow!” Back in the day, Dragon had a excellent track record for Halloween (and April’s Fools) themed... Continue Reading →
The Sword And The Sorcerer is b-grade film-making at its finest. It scared the heck out of me as a little kid when my brother rented it on LaserDisc or Betamax around 1983 or so. But the sheer coolness of a THREE BLADED SWORD THAT CAN SHOOT TWO OF ITS BLADES enchanted my nine-year old brain.... Continue Reading →
The Gate gets a one line nod (like a lot of geeky 80s stuff) in my novel Vivian's Last Cigarette, which is set in 1989. I had to explain the reference to friend and author Lauren L. Garcia when she encountered it during critique... Kids today, what are you watching on VHS? ;-) Sigh. At... Continue Reading →
Norman Lindsay (1879 – 1969) is considered by many to be one of Australia's greatest artists. He worked in a bewildering number of mediums and produced a vast amount of work including drawings, etchings, watercolors, oil paintings and sculptures. Many of these had fantastical and classical elements. Lindsay was also not shy with the use of... Continue Reading →
Norman Rockwell is an iconic American illustrator, and I love this piece because my father is a Lobsterman and known to be a teller of tall-tales. This reminds me of how I visualized some of those tales as a child. ;-) On this piece, The Saturday Evening Post website has the following to say: Rockwell... Continue Reading →
Undoubtedly one of the best of the Shōwa period of Godzilla films, Mothra vs. Godzilla features the return of the Shobijin along with Mothra herself. Akira Ifukube's scoring is tremendous and vivid, and Emi and Yumi Itō sing this melancholic, gentle tune he composed for the film. Although far eclipsed by the popularity of the... Continue Reading →
Although Godzilla will always be my favorite giant Japanese monster, Mothra is a close second and a very different sort of character. Whereas Godzilla has alternatively played the roles of villain, antihero, hero, and “a force of nature”, Mothra has been pretty consistently depicted as a benign and protective heroine. She’s worshiped as a goddess,... Continue Reading →
I first learned of movie director Sam Raimi and his Evil Dead series thanks to The Incredibly Strange Film Show in the early 90s. I am particularly fond of Evil Dead 2 and the third film in the series, Army of Darkness, released in 1993 during my senior year of high school. Both Evil Dead... Continue Reading →
I’ve mentioned that I’m a fan of the film Aliens before, and that it was a major cornerstone of my late childhood. Even to this day, it’s a go-to and common ground movie between myself and many peers. So it shouldn’t be surprising that it gets a couple nods in my novel Vivian’s Last Cigarette,... Continue Reading →
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