Some musical works are justly forgotten. Sadly, I feel that Bob Jacobs’s concept album Ray Bradbury’s Dark Carnival falls into that category, being of a overly theatrical folk rock style that was probably never in fashion, even when it was released.
Here are a couple of the more tolerable examples:
I don’t think a revival is in the offing. It’s probably not even as interesting as that weird free jazz album accompanying Edward Gorey’s words…
This came in recently:
Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi). H. P. Lovecraft’s Collected Fiction: A Variorum Edition, a three volume set consisting of Volume 1: 1905—1925, Volume 2: 1926—1930, and Volume 3: 1931—1936. Hippocampus Press, 2015. First edition hardbacks, one of only 750 sets, all Fine copies in Fine dust jackets and shrinkwrap, new and unread. “For the first time, students and scholars of Lovecraft can see at a glance all the textual variants in all relevant appearances of a story—manuscript, first publication in magazines, and first book publications. The result is an illuminating record of the textual history of the tales, along with how Lovecraft significantly revised his stories after initial publication. Along the way, Joshi has made small but significant revisions to his earlier corrected texts. He has determined, for example, that Lovecraft slightly revised some stories when a reprint of them was scheduled in Weird Tales, and he has altered some readings in light of a better understanding of Lovecraft’s customary linguistic usages.” So not only do these three volumes represent the complete and super-duper definitive edition of Lovecraft’s work, hardcore Lovecraft fans can see how both Lovecraft and others revised his work over the years.
Update: They later published, and I obtained, a fourth volume.
I have sets of all four volumes for sale through Lame Excuse Books.
I’ve been busy, so I’ve been falling down on my Halloween link duties.
But if you’re looking for some creepy October reading, these theoretically real nurse ghost stories from a nurse interest board should fit the bill.
I arrived at work very early one morning, and as soon as I stepped off the elevator a call bell was ringing. I answered it, and it was a resident asking if someone could come into his room and turn the light on. I went into the room and asked what he needed, and he said, “There’s a man on my ceiling! Do you see him? Get him out of here!” The resident had the most terrified look on his face. I assured the resident that no one was there. I even pulled the curtain back to show him. He looked frightened and said, “He’s right there! Turn the light on! He keeps looking at me!”
And there’s 180+ more pages where that came from…
The New York Times offers up a look at Guillermo del Toro’s collection of horror movie props, which is fairly impressive.
Who else do you know has a lifesize figure of H.P. Lovecraft reading one of his own books?
His library also includes at least one book with one of my stories in it (Horrors: 365 Scary Stories)…
(Hat tip: Liz Hand’s Facebook page.)
It’s one thing for there to be a legal battle over the rights for a good movie, but it’s quite another when the battle is over Manos: The Hands of Fate, one of the worst films of all time. (Note: That article is up on Playboy.com, so it might be blocked at your place of work.)
In 2011, a collector of film prints uncovered the original negative of Manos and embarked on an inexplicable project to restore the film with all the white-glove attention archivists give to Hollywood classics. His efforts would incur the wrath of a mysterious man with a fake New Zealand accent named Rupert, as well as Joe Warren, Hal Warren’s embittered son, who intends to preserve the Manos legacy at all costs.
Hal Warren’s son comes off as more than a bit of a jerk. “I’m the director’s son! I’m entitled to a cut even if the work is out of copyright!”
Fortunately for “fans” of the films, the restored Blu-Ray of Manos: The Hands of Fate is finally coming out October 13. More information on the restoration can be found here.
The only thing tying these two books together is that they’re both horror and I bought both from Lloyd Currey at 50% off:
I had no idea when I posted that tardy donation news for Allen Lewis’ library yesterday that this would be Great SF Collections Ending Up In Libraries Week.
Critic John Clute’s considerable SF library is ending up at the Telluride Institute, where Clute is a trustee.
And here’s Part 2 of those London Worldcon pics.
Note that some pictures are labeled “…and company.” This is code for “I’m slightly less embarrassed about not remembering your name a year later than I would be about getting it wrong.”
The lovely and talented Gail Garriger contemplates her next cup of tea.
It’s only a matter of time until leopard-skin gloves are all the rage…
Tobias Buckell, straight from his performance in Hipsters of the Caribbean.
I’m 99% sure this is Martin Hoare with David Langford. After all, it’s Worldcon. How many bearded, gray-haired men with glasses could there be?
Apropos of nothing in particular, here’s Mike Walsh.
John Kessel.
John Kessel in jacket.
John Kessel in jacket and the shoes he stole from Lew Shiner.
Michael Bulmlein.
Jo Walton contemplates the five kilometer hike to her next panel.
Your Humble Narrator and Ian McDonald.
Stephen Baxter, taking a short break from 100,000 words of galaxy smashing.
The ageless Ben Yalow. He stays the same while the original painting for Confessions of a Crap Artist gets older.
Signs of the horrific mental degeneration that comes from being a science fiction bookseller…
Just ask George Locke!
Charlie Stross, caught in the middle of a very geeky plan for world domination.
Ben Bova.
Ben Bova and Your Humble Narrator.
Lawrence Watt-Evans.
Lawrence Watt-Evans and company.
Lawrence and Lawrence, coming this fall to Fox!
Matthew Hughes
Ann VanderMeer
Jeff and Ann VanderMeer.
Stephen Jones.
Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman and Jim Burns.
John Douglas.
Michael Swanwick, yet again.
“Come, Mrs. Peel, we’re needed!”
Henry Wessels, rocking the seersucker.
John Clute and company.
Teddy Harvia fooling around with a married woman known only as “Mrs. Thayer.”
Robert Jackson Bennett, who I somehow had to travel 5,000 miles to see.
Andrew Porter.
Scott Edelman.
Jeff Orth, one of the three chairs of the 2016 Kansas City Worldcon. Expect him to look approximately 30 years older 380 days from now.
James Patrick Kelly, of the Gets-photographed-a-lot-at-Worldcons Patrick Kellys.
Has anyone seen Jack Dann and Russell Blackford in the same room at the same time?
Janeen Webb.
Betsy Mitchell.
