It’s (Black) Friday (if you live in the US)! That means it’s time to either charge headlong into a frothing sales wasteland or kick back and enjoy my Friday Link Pack, the weekly post covering topics such as writing, art, current events, and random weirdness. Some of these links I mentioned on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Do you have a link I should feature in the upcoming link pack? Click here to email me and let me know! (Include a website so I can link to you as well.) Let’s get to it…

WRITING:

American Dread: Alan Moore And The Racism Of H. P. Lovecraft
In the past, it was easy for me to dismiss Alan Moore as an eccentric, but lately I have come around to respecting him. He’s gotten more succinct in his stances, and I appreciate his approach to topics that would be considered taboo, subjects like racism, sexism, misogyny, and more. I think fiction is the perfect vehicle to explore these issues and allow readers confront their ugly realities. In this article, Bobby Derie examines all of this in relation to Alan Moore’s Lovecraftian series.

Hunter S. Thompson On Outlaws
The PBS Digital Studio (a fine example of why you need to be supporting PBS and your local PBS station) production Blank on Blank has been taking old interviews and animated them. This round it is gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson discussing his time with the Hells Angels.

#Writing More Than Ten Books In A Series And Staying Fresh
Thriller author Toby Neal has written more than ten books in her Lei Crime series and offers some practical advice for those looking to do the same and keeping things both engaging and fresh for readers and themselves.

Loved Girl on a Train? You May Have Read the Wrong Book
Another story about two novels with very similar names. Remember this recently happened with Emily Schultz’s literary fiction novel Joyland and Stephen King’s crime thriller Joyland, and it sparked the blog Spending Stephen Kings Money.

ART:

The Crusades And Lovecraft’s Monsters
In this series, fantasy cartographer and illustrator Robert Altbauer takes Lovecraftian horrors and applies them to a familiar medieval painting aesthetic. It’s hilarious and utterly charming. (I used one of these for today’s header image, but be sure to check out the rest.)

A Giant LED Star Pierces The Floors Of A 4-Story Building In Malaysia
I love neon and LED lights (Bell Forging readers can confirm this) so when I saw this awesome project from artist Jun Hao Ong I had to share it. There’s something about this project that is just so perfect.

Sticks and Stones (2014-Present)
Donna Pinckley takes pictures of interracial couples and places them alongside hateful racist things that had been said to them. The tenderness captured in this photos, combined with the juxtaposed vitriol forces us, the viewer, to confront the hate while facing couples that clearly love one other. As a result, this series serves as the perfect reminder of how far we have to go in society.

RANDOM:

The Hunt for Red October Gifs
Last Thursday I lamented the shortage of gifs from the film, The Hunt for Red October. Thankfully my friend Miguel stepped up, and now the internet is saved with not one… but six high-quality gifs for your use!

Law Enforcement Took More Stuff Than Burglars Did Last Year
Hmmm… who watches the watchmen?

Veronica Belmont On Being Overtaken By A Meme
Nobody knows what it is like when your persona is hijacked by a meme like Veronica Belmont. In this talk at this year’s XOXO Festival Belmont discusses her story, how time means nothing on the internet, and how it can quickly removes context leaving the viewer with a half understood story and little or no explanation. Very much worth a watch.

How Americans Changed The Meaning Of ‘Dream’
My favorite blog, Atlas Obscura, was sponsored by a mattress maker this week, and while that sounds odd… it’s actually produced some great articles centered around sleep. This one in particular, explores how a single idea can shift the definition of a single word.

WEIRD WIKIPEDIA:

List Of Unexplained Sounds
“The following is a list of unidentified, or formerly unidentified, sounds. All of the sound files in this article have been sped up by at least a factor of 16 to increase intelligibility by condensing them and raising the frequency from infrasound to a more audible and reproducible range.”

H.P. LOVECRAFT STORY OF THE WEEK:

Out Of The Aeons
A strange mummy is discovered on a mysterious island and put on display in a museum in Boston, but after several attempts are made to rob the corpse some bizarre things begin to happen.

GIF OF THE WEEK:

This Island Vincent