Thursday, February 24, 2011

I'll See You on the Near Side of the Moon

Behold, the majesty of the cold pearl of night, captured in the highest resolution ever recorded:
According to this link provided by Discover Magazine (they still publish that amazing mag?), this image is the culmination of two weeks of shooting, after which scientists pieced together "a mosaic of about 1300 separate images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Wide-Angle Camera — the total size is a whopping 24,000 x 24,000 pixels."

I have no idea what that means, but when people smarter than I put a pixel measurement in bold, then I'm pretty sure that I'm excited about it, and consider myself lucky to gaze upon such a hard won, crystal clear snapshot of the celestial body that allows the earth to maintain its perfect balance.  Without it, we'd be screwed.  And bulgy.  But mostly screwed...  We don't want our tides controlled by the sun, which is what would happen if Luna went away.  Tis true.  The History Channel says so...  Yes, I geek out on a semi-regular basis to HC (or simply "History," which they need to stop trying to make happen), where I ran across this interesting installment of "The Universe":

Without the moon, Earth would be a very different and desolate place today--four hours of sunlight with pitch-black nights, steady 100-mph winds spawning giant hurricanes that last for months, and virtually no complex life forms, much less humans. Safe to say, we probably owe our very existence to the moon. But what if it suddenly disappeared? Solar gravity redirects ocean water that floods coastal spots around the globe. Sea currents shift, resulting in freakish weather patterns. Eventually, earth's axis begins fluctuating wildly and climate change grows more extreme. The poles are tropical jungles and parts of the equator become frigid wastelands. Human evolution starts churning in unpredictable ways or ends completely. Without the moon, the Earth is a very different place. 

So let's appreciate - in Super Hi-Def - our Moon, which was born from the ribs of our newly formed Earth like Eve from Adam, and - so much like our better, tinier halves - keeps us happy, sane, and alive.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Further Adventures in Speculative Home Furnishings: The Mounted Tentacle

Good Christ almighty do I love this thing.  Figures that the badass outfit Etsy - the electronic outlet mall of hand-made, fabulous, and often dark creations - would be the purveyor of such awesomeness.

It would go perfectly with the Octochair, the Octotable, the Octolife.

Speaking of the Octopus Chair by the amazing Maximo Riera, here's an updated article, that includes "making of" pics.

Oh, and here's a picture of my friend - artist, drummer, and thawed out Frost Giant Eric Reinert - prepping his taste buds for a future spiced by R'lyeh.
Octomouth - He wants to DESTROY you!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

From the Snows of Japan, Monsters Do Come

The Hall of the Watchers
Arising from the birthplace of sushi, samurai, and the sensational Lovecraftian work of my new friend Ken Asamatsu (whose work can also be found here, as well as in Cthulhu's Reign, and Robert Price's upcoming "Darkest Asia" anthology) comes the shambling of snow, bent on beautiful destruction in these strange days...  Or perhaps just a fantastic photo op for brave souls unafraid of Eldritch Things.

Movement, beyond our eyes to see, under the green and red moons.

The Elders gather at dawn.

Colossal Cavalry, heading to the Front

Snowy Shoggoth head down the Mad Mountain

Pinnacle Peak view of the migration of Shoggoth
(More can be found at the curiously named Pink Tentacle)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Dead But Dreaming 2 available for pre-order from Miskatonic River Press

The day draws nigh, as we all draw in our last, untroubled breath.

As recently announced by Miskatonic River Press President and Managing Editor Tom Lynch, Dead But Dreaming 2 (edited by MRP's esteemed squid wrangler Kevin Ross,), the widely anticipated follow-up to the critically hailed Dead But Dreaming (edited by Ross, in collaboration with MRP founder and eternal spirit guide Keith "Doc" Herber),  is now available for pre-order at the Miskatonic River Press electronic mothership.

From the site:

Nowhere to Hide...

No one is safe. You aren't safe. Ancient and inimical, the alien influences of the Cthulhu Mythos are all around us. In our cities, our nightclubs, our backyards, and heading for our front porches right now. From the dreaming city of Kingsport, Massachusetts, to the lonely northern woods and the barren western deserts. The urban sprawl and the distant lake. The depths of the Pacific and the freezing ruin of a starless Earth. They are here, destroying us, devouring us, shattering our minds with the one truth we cannot bear to admit: that no matter what we do we cannot escape the fact that, deep down, we are very much like them.

Dead But Dreaming 2 is the second volume of the critically-acclaimed anthology series from Miskatonic River Press. Herein are 22 tales of Lovecraftian horror from the modern masters of Cthulhu Mythos fiction: Scott David Aniolowski, David Annandale, Donald R. Burleson, Cody Goodfellow, John Goodrich, T.E. Grau, Rick Hautala, Walt Jarvis, Erik T. Johnson, William Meikle, Will Murray, Daniel W. Powell, Wilum Pugmire, Joseph S. Pulver Sr, Pete Rawlik, Kevin Ross, Brian Sammons, Darrell Schweitzer, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Michael Tice, and Don Webb.


Hey, I'm the dude behind "the barren western deserts"!  Ka-KAW!  
In other recent MRP news, let's all raise our respective glasses in congratulations to Scott David Aniolowski, who is Miskatonic River Press' new Vice President in Charge of Fiction; and longtime MRP RPG maven Oscar Rios, who has been newly dubbed Vice President in Charge of Gaming.  

Cheers, fellas.

Oh, and pre-order Dead But Dreaming 2, as I have a feeling - based on a lot of buzz - that the first printing of this sucker is going to sell out quickly.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Huge Thanks, From Me To You

Fueled by what I'm assuming is readers of this blog, as well as those hooked in at Facebook and Yog-Sothoth.com, Eschatology Journal experienced the most visitors in one day in the site's history.

So, my warmest thanks to all of you, gentle readers, for supporting both my writing and the venues that publish speculative fiction in all its sundry glorious, gore-ious forms.  You're both the cat's meow AND the bees knees.  And you're awfully damn amazing.

And now, by way of reward, Leisure Suit Cthulhu in a fist fight with The Flying Nun!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Aklonomicon is coming...

Publishing News: "Downhill" published today in Eschatology Journal

Greetings, goofs and ganders.

After a prolonged break from the blurg-er-sphere, during which time I was tending to a garden of deadlines, I'm back to announce some pretty exciting publishing news over the next few days.

It all kicks off with my flash fiction piece, "Downhill," which emerged from the oven just this morning and is now sitting on the breezy window sill at the Eschatology Journal, the online publication of Lovecraftian and apocalyptic flash fiction, birthing forth new stories of bleakness and dread every Wednesday.

"Downhill" was fun to write, and came from just a simple scene that I've had rattling around my gourd for years.  Luckily, "flash fiction" came along (or, I came along to "flash fiction"), and allowed me to explore that scene without inorganically shoe horning it into a larger work.  For those whom have never tried it, flash fiction is a fantastic way to explore those ideas that don't demand the Joycean treatment.
More publishing news later today, but for now, peruse the electronic pages of Eschatology Journal, then sit down and pen something cold and terrifying in less than 1,000 words.  It's a cool exercise, and quite addictive.  I plan on sending more to Eschatology Journal in the coming months.  Check it out and throw up your best.