kari-lise alexander – Page 2

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August 8, 2016

Art Happened

It was a busy weekend in the Alexander household, but a fun one. In a wild convergence of entertainment, an enormous collection of events happened in Seattle. Griffey’s number was retired (24EVER!), Seafair—the annual hydroplane races and Blue Angels air show—were going on right outside my backdoor, and art was happening, a lot of art.

Longtime readers know that my amazing wife and partner in this life, Kari-Lise Alexander, is a painter, so art and art-related things were on our agenda for most of the weekend. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my Instagram Stories over the weekend. But, I am a writer, not a photographer, and I wanted to expand on everything a bit more.

THURSDAY

Stars on Her Eyes - Kari-Lise Alexander, 2016 — Stars on Her Eyes – Kari-Lise Alexander

It was the first Thursday of August, which meant it was also the First Thursday Art Walk. Kari-Lise had a piece in the Seattle Squared show (this one) at a gallery called Axis. It was a fun little event. It was a good start to our art weekend, and it’s nice to see the neighborhood buzzing with life. I went and hit up another show across the street at a relatively new gallery, and then we bopped over to check out The Drawnk Show. I ended up hanging out with folks until late and arguing why Mad Max was one of the best movies ever made.

FRIDAY

The second Seattle Art Fair was taking place, and we made it a point to attend. This year’s event was even better than the last. A ton of amazing work ranging from sculpture to installation was displayed. Choosing a favorite piece was tough, but I think the highlight for me was Hew Locke‘s The Wine Dark Sea, Group 4. What I saw was just a small selection of his full series, but the works were fascinating, intricate, and carried a lot of meaning. There was a lot to unpack.

Hew Locke, The Wine Dark Sea — The Wine Dark Sea, Group 4 – Hew Locke

After spending three hours browsing the fair, we checked out Juxtapoz x Superflat, curated by Takashi Murakami. It was incredible. It was nice to see a new venue in Seattle focusing on new contemporary and pop-surrealist artists. The artists participating are all well established names and it was good to see another presence like that in Seattle.

SATURDAY

DeathandtheMaiden — Left to Right: The Arsenic Waltz (Detail) – **Redd Walitzki**, Abby’s Ghost (Detail) – **Travis Louie**, Nosto (Detail) – **Syd Bee**

Roq La Rue has been a mainstay of the Seattle art scene for a long time, and it has become a keystone in the low-brow and pop-surrealism movements. It was the first gallery I ever visited when I moved to Seattle, and I’ve been hitting its events regularly for the last eight years.

Saturday was the launch party for its final show, Death and the Maiden 2. Kari-Lise had a piece in that show as well. Picking the Perfect Poison (pictured right) is one of my favorites and lucky for you prints are available. We spent a majority of the evening at the gallery hanging out with everyone who came out to see the show. It was great to see such a wide selection of Seattle artists represented.

It was also bittersweet. After the pieces come down, Roq La Rue is going away. It closes its doors this September. During the show and at the afterparty, a lot of locals—artists and fans alike—were sharing memories of the gallery and reflecting on how it had impacted our lives. It’s been a focal point of art walks for both Kari-Lise and me, and its exodus will be felt.

So, yeah, art happened and it was amazing. There were a few shows I missed, in particular, the Out of Sight show, which I regret. Our Sunday ended up being much quieter. We didn’t go to any galleries. I did some reading and spent a little time researching. I couldn’t get my brain in a space to write properly (despite my grand intent earlier in the week). Seafair was winding down. The Olympics were on. The Mariners swept the Angels.

It was a good weekend.

March 30, 2016June 10, 2016

A Norwescon 39 Debriefing

This past weekend I attended Norwescon 39 in SeaTac, Washington. This was my second year attending and like last year I had an outstanding time. As readers of my blog know with all my convention appearances, I like to do a debriefing wherein I recap the events, share photos, and talk about what I experienced during the con. (Check out my debriefing from last year.)

It was a wild weekend. I ran my table, sold a bunch of books, sat on six panels, and did a reading. Somewhere in there, I tried to get some sleep. Thankfully, unlike last year, I was not alone for the fours days; this time, I had assistance. My friend and fellow author, Steve Tontounghi came out on Friday and Saturday helped me out at my table and talked to people about his forthcoming novel, Join. And my wife Kari-Lise stepped up and pitched in Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was fun hanging out with them both. With their help, there weren’t any eleven-hours-on-my-feet days for me to deal with like last year. That alone made my time significantly more enjoyable.

Okay, let’s get to those highlights:

Books, Readings, Swag, and More

Once again, I sold a ton of books. Many were to new readers who seemed excited about stories set in a post-Lovecraftian world, and many were to my current readers who loved my books and wanted more. It was wonderful hearing directly from so many people and very encouraging.
I love when folks stop by and tell me how much they love my covers. I take a lot of time and effort to make sure they are something you’ll be proud of having on your bookshelf and knowing you notice means a lot.
This was the first year I handed out badge ribbons. I brought along three: Roader, Shambler, and Caravan Master (the rare one). I made a bet with my buddy Ace that he wouldn’t be able to collect all three. (I only allowed people to draw once.) He won. *grumble grumble* It was fun, and I think it might become a thing for everyone. Still trying to plot out how to make that work.
So many people came to my reading! As many of you know, I had the readers of this very blog choose what I read. As decided by the voters with 56.25% of the votes, I read the prologue from Red Litten World. People enjoyed it in all its grisly details. The next day quite a few attendees came to my table and bought a book because they liked what they heard. That made my con right there.

Friends & Fellow Authors

It was great meeting so many amazing fellow authors for the first time: Logan Masterson, Elliot Kay, Jason Vanhee, Nathan Crowder, Lisa Bolekaja, Matt Youngmark, and Peter Orullian. (If I missed you, I am sorry! It’s not intentional.)
I loved Seeing old friends from last year. Fellow writers Lee French, Robert Hazelton, and Jennifer Brozek were there. As was Rob’s wife Erica, and my buddy Ace. It was cool to see folks again; it felt like it had only been a few days since we hung out as opposed to the whole year.
I also recognized a lot of people, which is great, it goes a long way to making the Norwescon community feel more tight knit.

Oh, The Panels!

The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Battle Royale was easily the best panel I was on, I know I’m not alone in thinking this, here’s proof. It was hilarious, snarky, and a total blast. Big thanks to Matt Youngmark for putting it together and keeping things organized. The format was a bracket-style who-would-win-in-a-fight “discussion” in the end it came down to Rey from The Force Awakens and Marvel’s Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. I was on team Rey in the final matchup, and sadly by popular vote, she lost. Maybe next year. #ReyWasRobbed. Agree? Feel different? Leave a comment and let me know why!
The horror track was really well put together. I was lucky enough to sit in on four different panels and had some incredible conversations about location, inspiration, and how horror is often a reflection of the time in which it is written. The first panel, expertly moderated by Logan Masterson, was about horror’s fantasy roots and stood out as the best of them, a lot of intelligent discussion.
The last panel I attended was ‘Level Up Your Self-Publishing Skills’ moderated by Elliot Kay. It was packed, and there was a lot of great questions from those in attendance. I wish it could have been more than an hour. There’s so much more all of us authors on that panel could have said, I wish we had more time. If you ever have a question about self/indie publishing you are always more than welcome to email me at hello@kmalexander.com. I’m happy to offer tips or advice where and when I can. As always, the best advice I can give is this: keep at it, write what you love, and never give up.

Cosplay & Norwesconners

Have I mentioned the incredible cosplay, yet? Well, as always it was fantastic, people put in a lot of time and effort, and it showed.
Tiny Rey was easily the most adorable cosplayer I saw. Let me go on record saying that I am so stoked to see another female character in Star Wars that young girls can emulate. Mad props to the writers for making that decision. It was needed.
Rorschach and I recreated out selfie photo from last year. Here was the photo from Norwescon 39 and the photo from last year, Norwescon 38. Kari-Lise pointed out that they are mirror images of each other. Not intentional and kind of funny.
I got a quest from an NPC. It was hilarious. That card is now pinned to my cork board above my desk. Someday I’ll find you drunken ghost.
I mentioned this last year, but it’s worth mentioning again. It’s remarkable to see the diversity, openness, and acceptance between Norwesconners. The world outside of a convention can be mean. It’s nice to see a place where everyone is super considerate and goes out of their way to be encouraging and welcoming. Norwescon is unique like that.

Little Incidental Highlights

The Philip K. Dick Awards, I had a panel and was running a table, so I didn’t get to attend. But congratulations to Ramez Naam for his novel Apex winning the award. Also, congratulations to the special citation winner, Marguerite Reed for her novel Archangel.
Sunday’s cello accompaniment was lovely. Is this a regular thing? I remember there was music last year as well.
The green room staff, wonderful people there. They made the room a nice respite before and after panels.
The Norwescon staff were all really great. Thanks to everyone for making the event such a success. It’s a lot of hard work. Next time you see a volunteer, thank them.

It was a packed weekend, but so worth it. I’m already missing the whole buzz of the convention halls and the enthusiasm from my fellow attendees. There were a few times I wanted to get into the nitty-gritty details of writing horror and time just didn’t allow it. It would have been great to have sat in on a panel that was specific to cosmic horror/weird fiction and Lovecraftian mythos, but that might be too narrow for a general sci-fi/fantasy convention like Norwescon.

Sunday night Kari-Lise and I came home exhausted but feeling accomplished. Monday morning, I rolled right from convention mode back into work mode. No rest for the wicked. I’ll see you again Norwescon, until then, it’s back to writing. Time is wasting, and I have many more stories to tell.

January 1, 2016December 28, 2015

Friday Link Pack — End of the Year Edition (2015)

Happy New Year! Well, we’re finally here, at the end of all things. Okay, not the end of all things, just the end of the Friday Link Pack. As I mentioned earlier in December, this will be the last Link Pack going forward. [Details Here.] We’ve reached number one-hundred, and it just so happens to be the official End of the Year Edition! [Previous years: 2014, 2013] In this, I compile the best-loved links I’ve shared over 2015 into one big post. As always, some of these I’ve mentioned on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Even though the Link Pack is ending on the blog I’ll still continue to share stuff I find interesting on Twitter.

All right, let’s see which links you liked the most:

My Most Popular Posts Of 2015:

Map of the Known Territories
The official map to the Bell Forging Cycle has been getting a bunch of interest ever since I shared it in August. The biggest version of the map was also one of the most clicked images on the entire site. Glad everyone likes it so much. [Attn: map contains some minor Old Broken Road spoilers.]

The 2015 Lovecraft-Inspired Gift Guide
Put together this post in early December and every loved it. (Big thanks to everyone over on r/Lovecraft and r/Cthulhu.) Gifts for the Lovecraft fan on your list, or of course, yourself. A whole slew of books, music, games, and a lot more. If you’re looking for a place to spend some of that Christmas cash, look no further.

Mad Max and the Art of Worldbuilding
I’m happy to see how much everyone enjoyed my look at worldbuilding from the viewpoint of one of my favorite movies of the year, Mad Max: Fury Road. I have another article in the works following this up.

Note: I also got a lot of traffic to my Mysterious Package posts. However after some emails and not wanting to spoil things for others I elected to remove them from my site. That is why they aren’t featured on today’s list.

Most Clicked Writing Links Of 2015:

What I Get Paid For My Novels: Or, Why I’m Not Quitting My Day Job
Novelist Kameron Hurley opens up and shares how much she has made on each of her books. It’s a fantastic post. Awesome to see transparency like this. I think this is good info for every author, indie or traditional, it helps set the record straight.

Cognition as Ideology: A Dialectic of SF Theory
In January, I shared this wonderful talk from China Miéville regarding the importance of fantasy in our modern society. I highly recommend it to anyone who reads or writes speculative fiction.

Why Horror Is Good For You (And Even Better For Your Kids)
Artist Greg Ruth gives us six fantastic reasons why we should all read horror. I’m really happy this was so well received, it’s still one of my favorite articles I shared this year.

Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing
I have long been a fan of writer’s personal lists of rules. It’s always good to glean what you can apply to your list (and yeah, we all have our personal list.) Neil Gaiman is no exception. (Note #5.)

10 Twenty-First Century Bestsellers People Tried to Ban (and Why)
The stories behind people trying to ban books are always fascinating to me. History has proven that when one tries to impose prohibition, the effect is usually opposite of the intent. What was it Mark Twain said? Oh yeah: “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. Fanatics will never learn that, though it be written in letters of gold across the sky. It is the prohibition that makes anything precious.”

Most Clicked Art Links Of 2015:

Kari-Lise Alexander Paints Nordic Beauties In “A Lovelorn Theft”
Kari-Lise’s latest solo show opened at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco at the end of September, and a lot of folks were interested in seeing her work. In this post, High Fructose highlighted many of the pieces from that show. After watching the series develop throughout 2015, I was excited to see it in the wild. I’m sure you’ll agree this series is gorgeous.

Women Trying To Sleep Unsuccessfully In Western Art History
For hundreds of years, women in art have been trying to take a break and catch some Zs. For whatever reason no one wants to let them. Art is weird.

Korean Artist Beautifully Illustrates What Real Love Looks Like
I loved these sweet little illustrations by Puuung, and so did you. Small touching moments rendered beautifully. Each tells its own story. [Thanks again to Stalara for sharing.]

I See Music Because I Have Synesthesia, So I Decided To Paint What I Hear
Painter Melissa McCracken is a synesthete. When she hears music it comes to her in a variety of colors. Instead of trying to describe what she sees she has decided to paint it instead. The results are fascinating.

Most Clicked Random Links of 2015:

20 Maps That Never Happened
From war plans for the invasion of Canada to the fifty states redrawn with equal populations, Vox explores twenty imaginary maps. You know, I’d be cool living in the state of Rainer.

Abandoned Indonesian Church Shaped Like a Massive Clucking Chicken
Some people do strange things to get messages from God; things like building a strangely shaped church in the middle of the jungle. Apparently the builder had intended it to look like a dove, but it’s clearly a chicken.

Arcology: Cutaways Of The Future City-Hives That Never Were
The futurist idea of arcologies is a mainstay of science fiction. I even play with the concept in the Bell Forging books. So when I saw this post from Cory Doctorow about Paolo Soleri’s 1969 book: Arcology: The City in the Image of Man. It was something I was very interested in. The book sounds fascinating, but the images… you need to see the images. [Thanks again to Steve for sharing this.]

I Won A $5,000 Magic: The Gathering Tournament On Shrooms
I’ve never done shrooms, but this article is hilarious regardless. As my friend Rob pointed out, this is the Magic: The Gathering version of James Blagden’s Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No. [Thanks to Rob for sharing this.]

Most Clicked Weird Wikipedia Link of 2015:

After watching the video, I’d wager it’s safe to say that this is probably one of the more creepy Weird Wikipedia links in 2015. Check out the article and make sure to turn the captions on, makes it that much more effective.

Max Headroom Broadcast Signal Intrusion
“The Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion was a television signal hijacking that occurred in Chicago, Illinois, United States on the evening of November 22, 1987. It is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion. The intruder was successful in interrupting two broadcast television stations within the course of three hours. The hijackers were never identified.”

Make sure you watch the video as well:

Lovecraft Story Of The Year:

The Shadow over Innsmouth
Yay! My favorite Lovecraft story was also YOUR favorite. Happy to see this listed as the story of the year. It’s a good one. [Fun Fact: the Innsmouth folk served as the source of inspiration for the anur in my books.]

Animated GIF Of The Year:

December 4, 2015December 5, 2015

Friday Link Pack 12/04/2015

It’s Friday! That means it’s time for the Friday Link Pack, my 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:

The Most Misread Poem in America
Everyone knows Robert Frost’s famous poem, The Road Not Taken, and everyone (from commercial marketers to college professors) heralds it as some anthem to self-assertion and individualism, but that isn’t what the poem is about at all. Unsurprisingly, everyone gets it wrong.

Are We Alone?
In his short talk UC San Diego, Author Jeff Vandermeer explores the ideas surrounding the stories we tell as we search for something alien outside of humanity and how fiction and science approach such speculation. [Big thanks to Steve Toutonghi for sharing this with me. Loved it.]

[NSFW] Bad Sex Award 2015: The Contenders In Quotes
Every year the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction celebrates the worst in purple prose, and they’re always hilariously bad. Also very not safe for work, so read at your own risk. This year’s list includes the likes of Morrissey (yes, the one from The Smiths), Erica Jong, Lauren Groff, and more.

NaNoWriMo Is Over, Now What?
My piece from last year discussing your options as a writer now that you have finished your NaNoWriMo manuscript. Where do you go from here? What should you do with you 40k words? I offer some ideas.

The State Of The Cycle
In which I discuss where things stand with my series, The Bell Forging Cycle, and where things are going as I move forward.

ART:

Kari-Lise’s Annual Art for Everyone Sale
My incredibly talented wife and partner Kari-Lise Alexander is having a sale. From now through Christmas she has original works and studies, prints, jewelry, and even ornaments available. It’s some really wonderful stuff. If you’re looking for something beautiful and unique, I encourage you to check out her store. (I also featured one of her pieces as today’s header image.)

The 15,000-Year History of a River in Oregon Rendered in Data
Cartographer Dan Coe has taken thousands of years of data on the shifting flow of the Willamette River in Orgon and rendered a map that is educational and absolutely beautiful.

New Animated Portraits by Romain Laurent
I love when a technology becomes an art form, and we’ve been seeing it with animated gifs for a while now. In these animated and looping portraits, Romain Laurent takes still images of people and applies fun animations to specific areas. It’s fun stuff.

RANDOM:

When Social Justice Isn’t About Justice
I think most people are in support of equaklity and justice. But what happens when our intentions become so corrupted that we reach a point where we have begin to dismiss other’s rights we hold dear. What happens when we form cultures of victimhood, and justice erodes the very values that found it? An absolutely fantastic piece.

The Case For Bad Coffee
I live in Seattle, arguably the coffee mecca of the United States, and I have been accused of being snobbish about my coffee preferences. However, after reading this, I a half tempted to go buy a jar of Folgers.

You’ll Never Guess What The First Thing Ever Sold On The Internet Was
Were in the middle of the Holiday Season, and like every year the number of people who purchase online is bound to grow. But, what was the first thing ever sold on the internet? Fast Company gets to the bottom of that question.

Our Year Of Living Airbnb
A couple decides to streamline their life and explore the neighborhoods of their city by using AirBnB and using short-term rental options. The result is a unique adventure. [Thanks again to Steve for sharing this.]

WEIRD WIKIPEDIA:

Make sure you watch the video as well:

H.P. LOVECRAFT STORY OF THE WEEK:

The Nameless City
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.”

GIF OF THE WEEK:

September 18, 2015May 11, 2019

Friday Link Pack 09/18/2015

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it’s back! It’s time for the Friday Link Pack. Some of these links I’ve 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…

RED LITTEN WORLD:

[Note: As we draw closer and closer to the October 6th release date I will have new Red Litten World news every week, fitting we give it its own category.]

Read A Free Sample Chapter Of Red Litten World Today
You can read an excerpt from my next novel for free over on its official site. I hope you enjoy it, help spread the word and please tell your friends!

Red Litten World Is Available For Preorder
Preorders are open! You can order the eBook of Red Litten World and have it delivered to your reader the morning of October 6th. Simple and efficient. (There ares a few platforms that don’t allow for preordering, for those Red Litten World will still arrive October 6th, but you’ll have to purchase it the old fashioned way.)

WRITING:

The Most Banned And Challenged Books Of 2014
File under books you should read. Some of these are surprising, some aren’t. Some have been there a while. (It’s no secret I am a huge fan of #6, as a matter of fact, I just got the recent trade of Saga in the mail a few days ago! Yay!)

H. P. Lovecraft & H. R. Giger: How Their Dreams Became Our Nightmares
A great guest post by John A. DeLaughter over on Lovecraft eZine focusing on Lovecraft and Giger and how the visions of these two quiet and nondescript men entered the collective consciousness and pop culture.

5 Lessons Learned From Writing 10 Fiction Books
Mystery author Joanna Penn can easily be called an industry veteran, and with the release of her latest book, Deviance, she has offered to share advice she’s learned after writing ten novels. It’s good stuff, and worth a read. Also, if you’re a mystery fan grab one of her books.

China Miéville’s 6 Favorite Books
My favorite weird fiction author shares his top six books. As you’d expect they’re not mainstream darlings, a really unique selection. (Miéville has a new collection of short stories out as well, I just started Three Moments of an Explosion and I’m really enjoying it.)

Crunch Time: The Realities Of Indie Publishing
What does it take to launch a book as an indie publisher? Quite a bit actually and doing it right takes a lot of effort. In this post, I go into details on my book launching process and even include my list for the launch of Red Litten World.

ART:

A Lovelorn Theft
My amazing wife and partner, Kari-Lise, latest series is now on view at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco and it’s amazing. (There’s only a handful of pieces left so if something catches your eye make sure you contact Kim at Modern Eden.) We went down to SF last weekend for the opening. It was great meeting everyone, big thank-you to those who came out and said “hello!”

New Cubist Tattoos By Peter Aurisch
I love it when tattoos break the conventional idea of what a tattoo should be, instead of another pretend sailor icon the owner chooses something fresh and unique that stands out. This work from Peter Aurisch fits that latter group.

RANDOM:

What The Hell Are These?? (WARNING: Not For The Faint Of Heart)
You’ll never guess what these weird looking appendages belong to. I’m not going to spoil the surprise, but yeah… creepy and disturbing. Nature is wacky. [Thanks to my editor, Lola Landekic for sharing this with me. I think.]

Don’t Ignore The Background [Video]
One of my absolute favorite YouTube shows, Nerdwriter, explores the visual stories told in the background of one of my absolute favorite movies, Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men. There are a lot of great lessons about subtle storytelling and worldbuilding here, stuff I use myself when I write my books. This video is very much worth your eight minutes.

Iconic Book Covers Come To Life In Beautiful, Subtle GIFs
Classic book covers animated. The result is as the title suggests often beautiful. Would be cool to see this sort of thing become “a thing” it’s a fun way to draw attention to books. That said, if you’re an author and you want to do something similar for your own book, consider contacting Albinson Design, their work is fantastic. (They do book trailers as well.)

WEIRD WIKIPEDIA:

Shadow Person
“A shadow person (also known as a shadow figure, shadow being or black mass) is the perception of a patch of shadow as a living, humanoid figure, particularly as interpreted by believers in the paranormal or supernatural as the presence of a spirit or other entity. Many methamphetamine addicts report hallucinations of “shadow people”, as a result of sleep deprivation.”

[FUN & RANDOM FACT: The umbra species from my Lovecraftian urban fantasy series, The Bell Forging Cycle, is partially inspired by shadow people.]

H.P. LOVECRAFT STORY OF THE WEEK:

The Very Old Folk
Found in a 1927 letter addressed to Donald Wandrei, this story is: the roman legion meets The Hills Have Eyes with a dash of Dallas.

GIF OF THE WEEK:

September 4, 2015

Friday Link Pack 09/04/2015

Hellllloooo Friday! It’s time for the Friday Link Pack. Some of these links I’ve 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:

Letting Go
I absolutely loved this post from Hugh Howey about the death of characters we love, the impact on readers, and how death is often cheapened by return after return after return. I’ve always struggled with media that treats death like that. (Looking at you comic books.)

How Podium Publishing Discovered The Martian Before Hollywood
A lot of folks aren’t aware that The Martian (soon to be a major motion picture) was initially an independently published novel. This article from Becky Robertson looks into the sci-fi novels rise though its audio book and a well-timed deal. [Thanks to Lola for sharing this with me.]

3 Million Judgements Of Books By Their Covers
Judgey allows users to judge books by only their covers and then compares those judgments to the Goodreads score. (It’s fun. Try it.) Anyway, this article reveals some interesting data collected after 3 million judgments. [Thanks to Ben for submitting this.]

Omby for iOS
Take one part Moby Dick, and one part word jumble and you have an addicting little puzzle game for iOS. Omby takes the entire text of Melville’s classic and turns it into a fun puzzler. It’s a lot more challenging than I expected. [Thanks to Steve for this submission]

On October 6th, It’s Time To Return To Lovat
Yesterday I announced the release date for my next novel, Red Litten World. I also released a sample chapter, which you can read here, and you can already preorder it on Amazon. Really looking forward to getting this out in the hands of my readers. I think you’ll love it.

ART:

Kari-Lise Alexander Paints Nordic Beauties In “A Lovelorn Theft”
Kari-Lise’s latest solo show opens next weekend at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco. The show runs September 12th through October 3rd. (We’ll, be there opening night. If you live in the area come on by and say hello.) In this post, High Fructose highlights many of the pieces from the upcoming show. After watching this series develop over the last six months, I’m excited to see it out in the wild. I’m really proud of her. I’m sure you’ll agree, this recent series is absolutely gorgeous.

What If Edward Gorey Illustrated Lovecraft?
John Kenn Mortensen is a Danish illustrator and children’s television producer whose illustrative style is reminiscent of Edward Gorey. Lovecraft eZine editor-in-chief Mike Davis looks at some of Mortensen’s more Lovecraftian illustrations.

Japanese Artist Places A Modern Spin On Old Woodblock Prints
I thought these animated gifs were pretty charming. Artist Segawa thirty-seven takes old woodblock prints and with the use of technology adds a bit of animation. They’re fun. You can see more work here.

RANDOM:

HD Civil War Maps
I am an enormous fan of Ken Burns. (Seriously. Ask Kari-Lise. It’s a problem.) Recently PBS has released an HD version of his The Civil War documentary series. (If you haven’t seen it, watch it, it’s incredible. I’ve watched it at least ten times.) Included with the HD update was an update to the wonderful maps used through the series, some of which you can view here.

What This Cruel War Was Over
I’ve been reflecting and researching the American Civil War a lot over the last few months. I thought this write-up from The Atlantic explaining the Confederate cause with their own words was poignant. Next time someone tries to tell you the war wasn’t about slavery, send them this.

Japan Just Created A Google Street View For Cats
Yep. Japan. Yep. Cats. I mean, are we really surprised anymore? [Thanks to Kayetlin for sending this my way.]

12 Lost American Slangisms From The 1800s
I’m not going to tell you a thumper and I hope this post isn’t too high for anyone’s nut, but the bottom fact is these old slang terms are some pumpkins. Heck, you could say the whole post is a lally-cooler.

WEIRD WIKIPEDIA:

Sedlec Ossuary
“The Sedlec Ossuary (Czech: Kostnice v Sedlci) is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints (Czech: Hřbitovní kostel Všech Svatých) in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. It is one of twelve World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic. The ossuary is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose bones have in many cases been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel. The ossuary is among the most visited tourist attractions of the Czech Republic, attracting over 200,000 visitors annually.”

H.P. LOVECRAFT STORY OF THE WEEK:

The Music of Erich Zann
A student befriends a strange old musician who plays a viola da gamba and discovers that his otherworldly rhythms and melodies are more than they seem and could lead to some terrifying places.