Link Pack – Page 17 – K. M. Alexander

Page 17 of 17

October 18, 2013

Friday Link Pack

It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. Some of these I mention on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! I’m always looking for new links if you have any suggestions, let me know.

Writing:

“The Stars Were Right” is on sale!
Apparently Google decided to put “The Stars Were Right” on sale, and as they do, Amazon matched them. What does that mean? You can save 23% on Stars! Until when? I have no idea, but have at it!

Damning Orson Scott Card
With his recent anti-gay article and his racists rants there has been a lot of backlash towards sci-fi author Orson Scott Card, his book Ender’s Game, and it’s forthcoming movie. Setsu over at KatanaPen posted a great article asking, can we separate the author from their art? For myself, as a fan of Lovecraft’s work (himself a racist,) I found it applicable and it gave me pause. Worth a read.

Art:

The Dunwich Horror
I posted about this set before, but I figured why not make the art section of this weeks Link Pack “Lovecraft” themed. Artist Sigrid Rødli renders one of Lovecraft’s most well known stories with detailed folk-art. The pieces ooze atmosphere, seriously, so good.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Sketchbook
One of my favorite directors is also a really talented artist. Make sure you check out his work. As with his movies, his sketches are also very much rooted in weird-fiction.

Yog-Blogsoth
Artist Michael Bukowski has taken it upon himself to draw every monster Lovecraft has written about and he started a blog to showcase these drawings. The results are terrifying, creepy, often NSFW, and sometimes quite metal.

Random:

An 1893 map of London overlaid atop a modern map of London
This is way too cool. The level of detail in the 1893 map, including the floor plans of many of the buildings, is astounding. If you’re at all a maps fan this is worth your time.

The curious world of Walter Potter
Walter Potter was an amateur taxidermist who built tableaux that became icons of Victorian whimsy. The Guardian shares some photos of his bizarre and fascinating creations.

Bad Lip Reading and Game of Thrones
In their latest YouTube Video the Bad Lip Reading crew turns HBO’s Game of Thrones into a comedy about a theme park. It’s hilarious.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

Nyarlathotep
“And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a Pharaoh.”

Farewell Gif(s) of the Week:

__________________________________________________________________

Want more content like this? Sign up for my monthly newsletter: The Telegram. It’s packed full of writing tips, reading recommendations, news on my books, interesting links, and even a few guest posts. Sign up today!

October 11, 2013

Friday Link Pack

Writing:

A bookstore inside a gothic cathedral
Only in the Netherlands.

Analysis of ISBN numbers shows self-publishing jumped 59% last year
Some interesting data from ISBN marketplace Bowkers surrounding the ever growing marketplace of indie publishing. Almost 60% is an enormous leap forward.

Art:

“The Innsmouth Look” by Kari-Lise Alexander
I am loving this new piece my wife is finishing up for a group show. (Also shown cropped up above.) It’s an elegant take on Lovecraft’s fishy Innsmouth residents and the “peaked diadem” described in the story.

The Sultan’s Elephant
This is incredible. It’s part installation and part performance art involving a huge moving mechanical elephant, a giant marionette of a girl and other art installations. You can see a video of The Sultan’s Elephant in action here.

Submarine in Milan
Speaking of installation art…this submarine “surfacing” in the streets of Milan is equally cool. I don’t even care if it is for an ad campaign. Bonus points if they repeat this in Venice.

Random:

Russian Insults (NSFW)
I’d be a moodeela if I didn’t share this with you all. Some of the characters in “Deep” are Russian, so I was happy when I found this list of Russian language curses and insults. I wonder about the accuracy. If anyone is a native Russian speaker and can confirm…let me know.

Migaloo the Albino Humpback Whale
“What the white whale was to Ahab, has been hinted; what, at times, he was to me, as yet remains unsaid.” —Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Migaloo also has his own website over here.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Since I mentioned Kari-Lise’s current work in progress why not feature my favorite of Lovecraft’s stories. The Shadow Over Innsmouth includes some of Lovecraft’s best: a lurking evil, a strange esoteric cult, a surly New England drunk, a cool chase scene, and a lot of observations on architecture.

Farewell Gif(s) of the Week:

What if we're all actually mastodons?

__________________________________________________________________

September 27, 2013

Friday Link Pack

It’s the last Friday before “The Stars Were Right” is released! I figured why not take the time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. Some of these I mention on twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! I’m always looking for new links if you have any suggestions, please, let me know.

Writing:

“The Stars Were Right” on Goodreads
Yep, I’m going to recommend my own stuff. :) Early reviews are starting to come in and they’re looking swell! Make sure to add “The Stars Were Right” to your own “to-read” list.

Bring the Storm! How Ugly Emotions Can Ignite Your Setting
Lauren Sapala offers up some suggestions for writers working with adding some flair to their setting using emotion.

An Invocation for Beginnings
I’m going to post this again. If you’re ever struggling with your own creative endeavors: watch this. Ze Frank offers some of the most honest advice you’ll get from anyone, ever. (Warning: It’s NSFW but damn is it ever encouraging.)

Art:

Posters That Motivated Jazz-Age Workers To Strive
My good friend Steve shared this Slate link with me. So often we see posters like this as propaganda for governments, rarely does that cross over into the corporate world. While the tone is similar the messages are quite different.

Random:

Home is Where You Park It
One of Kari-Lise and my not-so-secret fantasies is to buy a VW Westy and head into the wilds of Alaska for a few months or drive down the pan-American Highway. “Home is Where Your Park It” is the Kickstarter for photographer Foster Huntington who essentially lived my dream and took a bunch of photos along the way. He’s assembling a book. It looks rad. Check it out.

Kowloon Walled City
Kowloon served as a great source of inspiration for the megalopolis of Lovat when I was working on Stars. It’s gone now, but at its peak 33,000 people lived in its 6.5 acres. The images and pictures behind Kowloon are as fascinating as they are heartbreaking and really shows the adaptability of humanity.

4 Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again
Portland creative house Sincerely Truman creates a fun little video directed at J.J. Abrams with their suggestions for making Stars Wars great again. The animations are a lot of fun, as for the rules, well…they are rules I can get behind.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

Cool Air
Great little story with a excellent ending. If you don’t have time to read it make sure you listen to the audio version from HPPodcraft.com. They do a really fine job.

Farewell Gif(s) of the Week:

Professor X doesn't care. __________________________________________________________________

Want more content like this? Sign up for my personal newsletter: The Telegram. It’s packed full of writing tips, reading recommendations, news on my books, interesting links, and even a few guest posts. Sign up today!

September 13, 2013September 24, 2013

Friday Link Pack

It’s Friday so I figured why not take the time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. (I will fully admit I am stealing this idea from Swiss Miss.) Some of these I mention on twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do!

Writing:

A Recipe for Great Characters
Author Dave Farland shares some advice on how to make a character engrossing. It’s a quick read and really solid advice.

Famous Scifi And Fantasy Authors In Their Workspaces
I always love stuff like this. It’s cool to the space where authors I respect spend the majority of their time.

Writing in Public Project
Author Dean Wesley Smith is detailing his life as a writer by blogging about it every day for a year. Word counts. Emails. Everything. It’s been fun to follow along.

Random:

“The Last of Us” Title Sequence
Awesome post by the good folks over at Art of the Title (@WilliamHPerkins and @lolamachine) detailing how the titles for the game “The Last of Us” was created. It’s a great read.

Abandoned Places
A tumblr sharing photos of abandoned (and sometimes creepy) places. Great location inspiration. (Thanks Margit Sage for sharing this.)

Daddy Cool by Boney M
This is my favorite song in the world right now. Everything about this video is perfect: the song, the awkward white people, everything.

Lovecraft Story of the Week:

The Cats of Ulthar
Moral of the story: be nice to cats.

Farewell Gif(s) of the Week:

Hello. How are you? Let's be friends.

__________________________________________________________________

September 6, 2013September 24, 2013

Friday Link Pack

Writing:

Baiting Your Characters
Setsu Uzume shares a handy tips to flesh out and fully understand your secondary and minor characters. (Would work on main characters as well.)

The Hidden Key to Creativity
Lauren Sapala writes a quick article about how to get out of your head and refresh yourself creatively. For me it’s reading, designing, and hiking, what works for you?

50 writing errors that make you look like an amateur
Charlie White compiles a list of things authors need to look out for in their writing. It’s good stuff. He has another list of 25 more errors here.

Art:

Peter Bellerby – The Globemaker
Great short about Peter Bellerby an artisan globemaker in London. It’s really well produced and shows the outcome of dedication and hard work.

The Monsters of Ray Frenden
My buddy, illustrator and and Harley Davidson spokesman, Ray Frenden was featured on Juxtapoz’ blog. Go check his work out, and give him a follow on the Twitters.

Random:

Welcome to Night Vale Podcast
I will probably do a Reading—er…Listening Recommendation for “Welcome to Night Vale” in the future. However in the meantime go subscribe (it’s free) and immerse yourself in the new weird world that is Night Vale and join me in hating on Desert Bluffs.

USGS Animal Congregations Terms
What do you call a group of fox? How about magpies? Okay smarty pants what about herring? If you don’t know the answers click the link and see the USGS’s list of animal congregation terms.