Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Just in Time for Your Holiday Themed Role Playing Games, it's Shadow of the Krampus

Four years ago I posted this little adventure for those of you who want to add a little of the Season into your gaming.

I am a big fan of running seasonal adventures for my regular gaming group. Though my group hasn't played as regularly this year as they have in the past, I was inspired by Robert J. Schwalb's dark fantasy roleplaying game Shadow of the Demon Lord to write an adventure for this season. For the past few years, I've written and reshared adventures featuring Cthulhu Claus (based on my wife Jody Lindke's illustrations for an old Kickstarter) or the V'sori (evil aliens in the Necessary Evil setting for Savage Worlds), but this year I decided to feature Krampus -- that most devilish of Santa's helpers. While Krampus might be a bit played out for some, having gained mainstream notoriety, I'm still a big fan of the character and I have the pleasure of knowing an artist who has been participating in Krampuslaufen long before it was trendy to do so and Bill Rude's Krampus costume is amazing as is the fact that he can get even small children to pose with his horrifying costume.


Bill Rude is a talented artist and you can look at a variety of his projects over at his 7 Hells: The Retro Art of Bill Rude website.

Illustration Copyright Jody Lindke 2016  

In this mini-adventure, the PCs are passing through the town of Nesbitt-Hill during one of their other adventures. You can use the map below to represent the portion of the foothills of the Iron Peaks immediately south of the Zauberspitz with Nesbitt-Hill being the northern-most community on the map and Tower number 3 representing the once great Beacon Fortress.

Shadow of the Krampus is a Novice (though not a "just now Novice") adventure for Shadow of the Demon Lord with a post-Christmas theme. 

The town of Nesbitt-Hill is a vital stop for wanderers and miners who brave the dangers of the Iron Peaks in search of adventure or riches. For years the town has been a peaceful refuge, seemingly immune from the spread of the Demon Lord's Shadow. For even as the Shadow has spread, the town of Nesbitt-Hill remains a spark of light an happiness in an otherwise dark and desperate world.

But that changed last night. Historically, the Winter Solstice has been a time of celebration when the townsfolk of Nesbitt-Hill memorialize the the Solstice King and his champion Krampus. For it is this duo who has protected the town since the Battle of Zauberspitz where the Solstice King and Krampus defeated a horde of the Demon Lord's servants, or at least that is what the stories say. The stories also say that Krampus steals children who misbehave and returns them at the Spring Equinox after the darkness has been purged from the children's souls. If it is true that Krampus takes children and eventually brings them back, why is it that Krampus has taken no children for twenty years? Why does Mistress Oetzel swear she saw Krampus take adults this Winter Solstice? And why were these adults among the most generous citizens of Nesbitt-Hill? Has Krampus returned, but as a servant of the Demon Lord? Or is something else afoot?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rxemivrin1vvt34/Shadow%20of%20the%20Krampus.pdf?dl=0



With the exception of the map depicting the area of the Iron Peaks I refer to as the Gronwald, an area that lies in the shadow of the Zauberspitz, all of the maps were drawn by Dyson Logos and were taken from his Commercial Maps webpage. According to the page, Dyson has released these images under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. If I have used any images that are not covered by this license, I will be happy to remove them.

The cover image of "Shadow of the Krampus?" was illustrated by Bill Rude, who was kind enough to give me permission to use it. Please visit his website and consider purchasing some of his art.

The other image is the "survival map" from Robert J Schwalb's playing aids page for Shadow of the Demon Lord. I am using it with the intention of it being fair use, but if Mr. Schwalb deems my use inappropriate I will be happy to remove it. This adventure requires the use of the Shadow of the Demon Lord rule book since all monster statistics, with the exception of Krampus, are located within the pages of that "vile" tome. Krampus was designed using rules from the Of Monstrous Mien supplement. It is highly recommended that you also own Hunger in the Void and Terrible Beauty to add details around the edges of this adventure.

The cartoon illustrations in the module are the work of my talented wife Jody Lindke. I included "rpg humor" cartoons because they remind me of the cartoons in the old AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide and Dragon Magazine.

I hope you enjoy the adventure.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Geekerati's Recommendations for Geektastic Holiday Gifts (2019 Edition)



Christmas and Hanukkah are just around the corner and there are only a few shopping days left before it's too late to get the perfect gift for your friends or loved ones. If you've got a geek in your life, here are some delightful recommendations to satisfy a variety of geek tastes.



From our review earlier this year:

Alien Bones is a middle-grade comic book of pulp and pop culture inspired science fiction adventure. The story centers on a ten year-old fossil hunter named Liam Mycroft, who is the son of a well-respected Xenopaleontologist. You read that right, he collects fossils of the "Alien Dinosaurs" that his father discovers various locations throughout the known galaxy. Liam's father mysteriously disappears on one of these digs, and it up to Liam, his friends Dianna and Rosa, and his trusty robot bodyguard Standard-5 ("Stan") to solve the mystery and save the day. Along the way, they bond closer as friends, encounter sinister traitors, battle space pirates, witness a major starship battle between massive armadas, and find the answer to one of the most dangerous mysteries in the universe, "What is The End?" In doing so, they discover a terrible foe that is an existential threat to the entire universe.

Geekerati had the honor of interviewing Doc Wyatt about Alien Bones earlier this year. Check out the book and give our episode a listen.

 



The OP made a name for itself creating licensed versions of classic Hasbro games like Monopoly, Clue, and Risk, but they've expanded their sights with this Disney twist on Games Workshop's geek fan favorite Talisman board game. Talisman was one of the first games that combined board game and role playing game mechanics by featuring not only adventure aspects but character growth and development. In the classic version of the game adventurers quest to find the Crown of Command to determine who will "rule them all," but this version has a much more heroic approach as the players seek to battle Ansem and seal the Door to Darkness. This is a must have at $69.95 and can be purchased at many Friendly Local Game Stores or from Amazon



Do you have a friend or family member who is a HUGE Rick and Morty fan and is interested in learning to play D&D? Do you have a friend who is a D&D fan who is interested in learning about Rick and Morty? Do you have a friend who is a fan of both D&D and Rick and Morty? If you answered yes to any one of these questions, then this game set is for you. The team of Kate Welch (Lead Designer), Ryan Hartman, Adam Lee, Ari Levitch, and Jim Zub have put together a great product that serves as a wonderful introduction to D&D while maintaining all the humor you expect from a Rick and Morty cartoon. Those who purchased the Patrick Rothfuss and Jim Zub written comic book Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons, know how well Zub captured the tone of the show in the comic and that same quality of writing is in this set. 



I have no idea who CZYY is, but I do know that they produce some fantastic laser cut terrain for use with role playing games. I've seen this ship on the table. It looks fantastic and makes a wonderful cost cutting replacement for those who cannot afford the beautiful Falling Star Sailing Ship by WizKids games.




"This remarkable journey through the Hammer vault includes props, annotated script pages, unused poster artwork, production designs, rare promotional material and private correspondence. Hundreds of rare and previously unseen stills help to create a rich souvenir of Hammer’s legacy, from the X certificate classics of the 1950s to the studio’s latest productions. This new updated edition includes an extra chapter covering the years 2010 to 2015."

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook


"Inspired by the cuisine from the exciting new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge themed lands at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook is the ultimate source for creating out-of-this-world meals and treats from a galaxy far, far away."



"A Tarzan Tale Unlike Any Other

The year 1966 saw the release of one of the most unique Tarzan films ever made: Tarzan and the Valley of Gold. Starring former NFL linebacker Mike Henry in his debut as the cinematic ape-man, the film portrayed a cultured and refined Tarzan who seemed to be molded more after James Bond than the unsophisticated ape-man of past films. The depiction surprised and puzzled some moviegoers, but fans who had read the original Tarzan novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs rejoiced at finally seeing their beloved character appear on the big screen bearing all the complexity and intelligence with which his creator had imbued him.

Enter critically acclaimed fantasy author Fritz Leiber, whose novelization of the film carried the honor of becoming the first authorized Tarzan novel to be written by an author other than Burroughs. Leiber’s tale was far from just a simple retelling of the movie; it was a faithful installment in the literary saga of the ape-man, with frequent callouts to Burroughs’ original Tarzan canon and myriad creative elements added to the storyline. Now readers can once again enjoy Fritz Leiber’s classic Tarzan and the Valley of Gold in this handsome, new illustrated edition, with an all-new foreward by Burroughs scholar Scott Tracy Griffin (author of Tarzan on Film)."


Sunday, December 03, 2017

Christmas Movie Advent Calendar Day 3



On December 1st, I send out a tweet with the hashtag #ChristmasMarathonAdvent that recommended watching Christmas in Connecticut starring the ever wonderful Barbara Stanwyck. While I love watching Christmas movies the year round, and count down the days until Hallmark channel starts running their marathon, I realize that most people wait until the Christmas season to watch films. I also realized the #ChristmasMarathonAdvent wasn't the pithiest hashtag. So, I decided to transform daily tweets into daily blog posts people can use to create their own Christmas Movie Advent Calendar to count down the days to Christmas Eve.

The wonderful thing about Christmas films is that they run the genre gamut from children's fare to noir mysteries and from romantic comedies to action films. While there are some who might argue that films like The Last Boy Scout don't belong as "Christmas" films because of their violence and profanity, I don't take that position. The Last Boy Scout is a problematic film on many levels, including how it resolves the family conflict underpinning the narrative, but it is in the end a film about overcoming cynicism and embracing family. That's the requirement that I hold Christmas films to because Christmas in America is about spending time with family. Since I used The Last Boy Scout as an example of A Christmas film, it will not be included in the Christmas Marathon Advent Calendar as the days move forward, but other "controversial" films might. The list will be filled with films I enjoy. Films from a catalog from which I pull the films I watch every holiday season as my family and I have our own Christmas Season Movie Marathon.

Today marks the 3rd day of December and today's selection is one of my favorite Christmas movies, and one of my favorite John Wayne movies.



3 Godfathers


3 Godfathers is an interesting adaptation of the 3 Kings story. In this film, three ruthless bandits give up freedom in order to save the life of a new born child. The film has been remade a number of times, and parts of it don't age well, but the underlying message of love and selflessness is wonderful. 

The List So Far...

  1. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
  2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
  3. 3 Godfathers (1949) 

Friday, December 30, 2016

Shadow of the Krampus? -- A Winter Themed Adventure for Shadow of the Demon Lord

I am a big fan of running seasonal adventures for my regular gaming group. Though my group hasn't played as regularly this year as they have in the past, I was inspired by Robert J. Schwalb's dark fantasy roleplaying game Shadow of the Demon Lord to write an adventure for this season. For the past few years, I've written and reshared adventures featuring Cthulhu Claus (based on my wife Jody Lindke's illustrations for an old Kickstarter) or the V'sori (evil aliens in the Necessary Evil setting for Savage Worlds), but this year I decided to feature Krampus -- that most devilish of Santa's helpers. While Krampus might be a bit played out for some, having gained mainstream notoriety, I'm still a big fan of the character and I have the pleasure of knowing an artist who has been participating in Krampuslaufen long before it was trendy to do so and Bill Rude's Krampus costume is amazing as is the fact that he can get even small children to pose with his horrifying costume.


Bill Rude is a talented artist and you can look at a variety of his projects over at his 7 Hells: The Retro Art of Bill Rude website.

Illustration Copyright Jody Lindke 2016
In this mini-adventure, the PCs are passing through the town of Nesbitt-Hill during one of their other adventures. You can use the map below to represent the portion of the foothills of the Iron Peaks immediately south of the Zauberspitz with Nesbitt-Hill being the northern-most community on the map and Tower number 3 representing the once great Beacon Fortress.



Shadow of the Krampus is a Novice (though not a "just now Novice") adventure for Shadow of the Demon Lord with a post-Christmas theme. 

The town of Nesbitt-Hill is a vital stop for wanderers and miners who brave the dangers of the Iron Peaks in search of adventure or riches. For years the town has been a peaceful refuge, seemingly immune from the spread of the Demon Lord's Shadow. For even as the Shadow has spread, the town of Nesbitt-Hill remains a spark of light an happiness in an otherwise dark and desperate world.

But that changed last night. Historically, the Winter Solstice has been a time of celebration when the townsfolk of Nesbitt-Hill memorialize the the Solstice King and his champion Krampus. For it is this duo who has protected the town since the Battle of Zauberspitz where the Solstice King and Krampus defeated a horde of the Demon Lord's servants, or at least that is what the stories say. The stories also say that Krampus steals children who misbehave and returns them at the Spring Equinox after the darkness has been purged from the children's souls. If it is true that Krampus takes children and eventually brings them back, why is it that Krampus has taken no children for twenty years? Why does Mistress Oetzel swear she saw Krampus take adults this Winter Solstice? And why were these adults among the most generous citizens of Nesbitt-Hill? Has Krampus returned, but as a servant of the Demon Lord? Or is something else afoot?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rxemivrin1vvt34/Shadow%20of%20the%20Krampus.pdf?dl=0



With the exception of the map depicting the area of the Iron Peaks I refer to as the Gronwald, an area that lies in the shadow of the Zauberspitz, all of the maps were drawn by Dyson Logos and were taken from his Commercial Maps webpage. According to the page, Dyson has released these images under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. If I have used any images that are not covered by this license, I will be happy to remove them.

The cover image of "Shadow of the Krampus?" was illustrated by Bill Rude, who was kind enough to give me permission to use it. Please visit his website and consider purchasing some of his art.

The other image is the "survival map" from Robert J Schwalb's playing aids page for Shadow of the Demon Lord. I am using it with the intention of it being fair use, but if Mr. Schwalb deems my use inappropriate I will be happy to remove it. This adventure requires the use of the Shadow of the Demon Lord rule book since all monster statistics, with the exception of Krampus, are located within the pages of that "vile" tome. Krampus was designed using rules from the Of Monstrous Mien supplement. It is highly recommended that you also own Hunger in the Void and Terrible Beauty to add details around the edges of this adventure.

The cartoon illustrations in the module are the work of my talented wife Jody Lindke. I included "rpg humor" cartoons because they remind me of the cartoons in the old AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

I hope you enjoy the adventure.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Feng Shui -- The Day the Reindeer Died!

Every year I like to run a Christmas themed adventure for my gaming group. A couple of years ago, it was a Necessary Evil game where the "heroes" had to fight off murderous V'sori gingerbread men. Had Stan! published Gingerbread Kaiju that year, the minis for those V'sori would have been edible. To be honest, when I say "Christmas themed" I almost always mean "based on the opening sequence of Scrooged." What can I say? I love the movie and it makes perfect fodder for role playing action.




This year my gaming group was introduced to the joy that is Feng Shui during the alpha playtest. I played quite a bit of Feng Shui in the late 90s and early 00s, but most of my group are young whippersnappers who blink unknowingly when I mention films like KILLER, HARDBOILED, THE BRIDE WITH WHILE HAIR, or FIST OF LEGEND...this will be corrected. The group really enjoys the cinematic/narrative style of the Feng Shui system and really want me to put together a campaign for the game. I'm happy to oblige, but being a Ph.D. student and a Program Director at a non-profit doesn't leave too much prep time. So while I didn't have time to outline some branches for the overall campaign yet, I decided that I would take the time to adapt my old stand by THE NIGHT THE REINDEER DIED to Feng Shui. I ran the game this past weekend and it was pretty fun. We didn't get as far as I'd have liked -- I wanted to send the group into 2056 where they facilitate a JINGLE ALL THE WAY-esque riot that begins to undermine the Buro's control due to people actually caring about a hot Christmas item -- but we didn't get that far. Instead, they stopped at "shutting down the Star Gate."

For those of you interested in playing a session, here is the outline and a couple of special characters as well.  We've got Skipper from MADAGASCAR, Lee Majors, and Krampus available for groups who don't have existing characters. Now...onto the show...dim the lights...pull back the curtain...and...

In a world...

Introduction

The player characters are resting at their hideout/attuned Feng Shui site in between forays into the Netherworld, shadow runs against the Ascended, and secret battles against the Hand. All seems calm. Let the players role play some of their background subplots and ask them where they'd like the narrative direction of their character's lives to go. Take notes. Just as the conversation gets going really well and some strong roleplaying is going on, have there be a "knock on the door." It will be an insistent knock that will not go away. It even sounds excited...if it is possible for a knock to sound excited.

When the PCs open the door Buddy the Elf - Will Farrell from the movie ELF - will be standing at the door in a near panic. He will explain to the PCs that an army of mechanical monkeys (Jammers) from the future are at the North Pole attempting to blow up Santa's Workshop. It turns out that Santa's Workshop is a major Feng Shui site, which explains a great deal about how he accomplishes his deliveries. Santa is currently losing the battle and needs the player's help. If the Jammers succeed in blowing up the North Pole at the exact right moment (midnight Christmas Eve), it will have a ripple effect that might allow the Jammers to destroy all Feng Shui sites simultaneously. This will cause the world to turn into a combination of the future from the TERMINATOR and PLANET OF THE APES films.

Flight to the North Pole

Try to make the trip to the North Pole quick, but feel free to add moments where they come under aerial attack. As they approach the Pole, give them the full description of how there are Searchlights scanning the sky and flak exploding at almost random. Have the PCs land at the Pole, meet Santa, and be sent on a mission to get behind enemy lines, find the computer that has opened a gateway between now and 2056, and shut it down. This should include 3 basic battles in the blood covered snow scape of the Pole. 

Make sure to insert lots of references to your favorite Christmas movies. Is Bruce Willis there? Is he fighting Satan Claws? Abominable? Heatmiser? You get the picture.

The final fight will be the PCs against BattleChimp Yamato and a number of Macaque mooks equal to the PCs +4. There will be a clock counting down as the Jammers are bringing a nuclear warhead through the portal. The PCs must disconnect the portal from the heart of the kid from Polar Express (the only child with enough belief in Santa to make the connection to 2056) without harming the child, defeat BattleChimp Yamato and crew.  If you wish, you can have the PCs continue on into 2056 to take the fight to the Jammers and the Buro.

Resources

Map of the North Pole





Wednesday, September 05, 2012

History, Mystery, Orcus, and Cthulhu Greeting Cards

Today has been a crazy day, but from the moment it began I knew that it was the day that I would have to launch my new Kickstarter project even though I haven't finished editing the pitch video.  Don't worry, I will finish that soon and I'll be adding a couple of rewards.



I knew I had to launch the project when my daughter Mystery who was cheerfully playing with one of my Balor D&D pre-painted miniatures ran over to the shelf where my limited edition D&D mini Orcus was lying and brought him to the breakfast table to "play with his friend."  I don't know exactly what kind of games that Orcus and his pal "little Balor" play together, but I do know they include Aurora from Sleeping Beauty and Silvermist from the Tinkerbell series among their closest friends an playmates.

Who knew that Aurora and Silvermist went for the "bad boy" type. Watch out Prince Phillip.


It was the perfect combination of cute and terrifying and I took that as the sign that the time was right.

You see, I've been planning to release a Cthulhu Claus Holiday Card project for some time now as one of the offerings of the business my friends Wes and Joel formed with me last year.  Our goal is to create a number of gaming and gaming related products with an overarching aim of building community and expanding the scope of the hobby.  I think that the Cthulhu Claus Holiday Card project fits that mold perfectly.

I hope that its mix of Lovecraftian imagery adapted by the humorous hand of my wife Jody Lindke -- the first woman to win the prestigious Charles Schulz Cartooning Award -- with the spirit of the Holiday Season will make a great gift for gamers and for non-gamer pulp fans alike.  Ever since I first saw "All I want for Solstice is my Sanity" video and read through Tor's December belongs to Lovecraft blog entries, I've wanted to do a Lovecraft themed Christmas product.  The only thing I lacked was the funds to launch such a project, and now with Kickstarter I have that opportunity.

Of course, that also means that the success or failure of this project is up to you.  If you want this product, please back my project.  I promise that there will be more rewards coming -- original artwork anyone? -- and that we will have stretch goals.  Help me make this happen.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Late Christmas List for the Pop Culture Geek (2009)



I try to get out a post highlighting some great gift ideas for pop culture fans each year. This year posting was delayed by a number of different life events, but we still have a week of shopping left and most of the gift ideas I will be offering are either readily available or older classics.

Gift Idea #1: Amazon's Kindle 2




This device is a wonderful addition to any book lover's inventory. The Kindle Wireless Reading Device is lightweight, has a decent amount of memory, and Amazon has a lot of books available in digital format for the device. Additionally, sites like ManyBooks.net have a large catalog of public domain books available in Kindle format. Is your favorite geek an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan who has been trying to hunt down a version of The MuckerThe Outlaw of Torn? Look no further than ManyBooks.net. The Kindle also has a pretty well kept secret. It's also a nice little 3G internet browser, with no monthly fees, where you can surf and even tweet. The internet fuctionality isn't on the par with an iPhone, but it's pretty good and keeps getting better.

Gift Item #2: Stephen Jones Edited Anthologies




I have in mind here three excellent anthologies edited by Stephen Jones that are a wonderful addition to any fan of weird fiction's bookshelf. The first two are H.P.Lovecraft's Book of Horror and H.P. Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural: Classic Tales of the Macabre. The Book of Horror contains Lovecraft's seminal essay on Supernatural Literature and a selection of stories based on Lovecraft's recommendations. It is a great companion piece to any Lovecraft library and contains many of the stories that inspired Lovecraft himself. The Book of the Supernatural lacks the essay, but continues the exploration of tales that inspired Lovecraft. Between the two books, you have quite a wide sample of early weird fiction.

I would also recommend The Mammoth Book of Wolf Men, which was re-released this year in the hopes of riding on the wave of interest the upcoming WOLFMAN movie should generate. This anthology collects some excellent werewolf stories by authors like Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Hugh B. Cave, and Manly Wade Wellman.

Gift Idea #3: The Collected Captain Future




What's that poster you see on the wall of Sheldon and Leonard's apartment every week on "Big Bang Theory?" Who is this Captain Future: Wizard of Science guy, and what does he have to do with the joys of reading science fiction? Your favorite geek will be able to answer these questions and more after you buy him/her a copy of The Collected Captain Future Vol. 1 by Haffner Press. Captain Future was the creation of Edmund Hamilton who, along with Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, was a key member of Farnsworth Wright's talented pool of writers during the heyday of Weird Tales magazine. The Captain Future stories were eventually converted into an anime series by Toei. The only question your favorite geek will be asking after reading this wonderful collection is, "does that poster belong to Sheldon or Leonard?"





Remember when Little People were bizarre looking utilitarian representations of what humans? Remember when Little People were just the right size to fit into your mouth and chew on? Remember when Little People cowered in fear of the "Dread God (Insert Your Name Here)? John Kovalic and the good folks at Dreamland Toyworks certainly do. The My Little Cthlhu "action figure" is a wonderful blend of Kovalic's elegant cartoon style, and the design of the older -- now changed -- Little People series of toys. Any geek who wants to being introducing his/her children to weird tales and the joys of "The Mythos" absolutely must own one of these wonderful figures.

Did I mention that Dreamland also makes "victims?"







This November, Fantasy Flight Games released their much awaited, and much debated, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition game. The game is an interesting combination of mechanics drawn from narrative games, traditional roleplaying games, card games, and video games -- combined in a way to make the game easier to learn while maintaining a depth of play experience. If purchased at your "Friendly Local Game Store," the method I most recommend as FLGSs are what truly sustain the gaming hobby, the game comes in at a hefty $99.95 (you can buy it from Amazon at the above link for 37% less). The price seems costly at first, but like most role playing games Warhammer 3 has the potential to give quite a lot of entertainment bang for the entertainment dollar -- given the number of hours of play and the number of players supported by one box. The graphic design of the product is excellent, the rules mechanics are easy to learn but robust, it supports both narrative styles and "hack n slash" style games, and FFG has a lot of interesting support products in the pipeline.

On a side note, while the rules set was created specifically for the Warhammer "universe," I believe that the mechanics could be used for a wide variety of game settings. Translating the rules from one genre to another would be a bit of work, likely too much work for a GM to do in his/her spare time, but the underlying system would work wonderfully with a Superhero themed setting.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Lovecraft for Christmas, Kenneth Hite, Seamus Cooper, and "From Beyond" on Hulu Recommendation Friday

All this month, Tor is hosting a "December Belongs to Cthulhu" event on their website. I mentioned earlier the historic connection horror and the winter season have with each other, as perfectly described by Manly Wade Wellman.

The Tor site has even begun a series of posts entitled "The Twelve Days of Lovecraft" as a part of the celebration. The "Twelve Days" posts feature a discussion of twelve of Seamus Cooper's favorite Lovecraft tales, with a discussion of why they are so effective and what their greatest problems are. Cooper wrote the entertaining Mall of Cthulhu, which I reviewed earlier this year, and is a natural selection for a series of articles about Lovecraft's fiction.

I think it would be interesting to compare the entries to the indispensable "Tour de Lovecraft" web entries provided by polymath extraordinaire, and author of the Trail of Cthulhu roleplaying game (the BEST Lovecraftian RPG ever written, though the author would quibble with that praise), Kenneth Hite. Hite's "Tour de Lovecraft" is the yardstick by which I measure all story discussion blog posts.



Let's just say that in presenting this story, Hite's entry is useful to the neophyte and the veteran where Cooper's entry is useful primarily to the neophyte -- though Cooper does sprinkle in some good humor. As I noted in my review of Cooper's Mall of Cthulhu, Cooper makes a point of discussing Lovecraft's racism and the obscurity of Lovecraft's prose. Two things that are interesting to point out to the neophyte, but which without new insights into root causes (as William Jones has done in his discussions of Lovecraft and Eugenics) it's really beating a dead horse. Hite references the racism as well, because it really is blatant and must be mentioned, but focuses his post on comparing Lovecraft's storytelling with Edmund Burke's aesthetics. Now that is a connection that I might not have made, and I've read Burke's Enquiry.



Both authors note that "Dunwich Horror" is a Gospel-esque tale, but only Hite notices that there are two Gospels being presented. There is the supernatural Gospel of the creature and the secular Gospel of Armitage. Hite also discusses the work as pastiche. Something fans of Lovecraft often overlook is the influence prior authors had on Lovecraft's own writing, and Hite is right to remind us here that Lovecraft's story is not purely Lovecraft. It should be noted that while Hite's article is the "deeper" of the two, in this case, it is also the more confusing one to the uninitiated. If you haven't read the story before diving into Hite's conversation, you could quickly become lost. This is not the case with Cooper.



The sharpest distinction between the Cooper and Hite posts is their reactions to Lovecraft's description of the town. Cooper is bored by the length and clumsiness of the description of the town and Hite draws maps of Innsmouth based on the description. One can imagine that for most readers a description long and accurate enough to base a map upon might be a trite dull. Cooper and Hite also disagree with regard to Lovecraft's use of the "native" in the story. For Cooper, it is further evidence of Lovecraft's obsession with racial purity -- and it is. For Hite, it is something more. He sees Lovecraft's use of primitive mythology as a subversive one, where he inverts which mythology (Western or "other") is more important. In this tale, the mythical worldview of the other is more accurate. Though the eugenics narrative is still overpowering.


But this isn't "analyze Cooper and Hite Friday," this is Hulu Recommendation Friday. Given the Lovecraftian bent of the post so far, I feel that I must give a Lovecraftian offering. Without further ado, I give you the awful (as in not very good) , From Beyond.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Cinerati Christmas Season Movie Marathon

It is no wonder that the commercial aspects of Christmas seem to come earlier every year. No sooner than one has celebrated Thanksgiving with loving family and friends, than one realizes how swiftly one has "gotten behind" in one's annual Christmas Season Movie Marathon. At least that's how things were in the Cinerati household. The other night, we had just finished watching the new Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Special -- which was surprisingly heartfelt -- when we realized that we were significantly behind in our Annual Christmas Season viewing regimen.

 

Every year, the Cinerati household views a minimum of one Christmas themed film or TV special during each day of December. We consider it our filmic advent calendar. We typically follow this up with a Christmas Season Movie Marathon where we try to increase our viewing level to 2 movies a day from the 18th through the 1st of January. This lets us watch more holiday fare, and lets us include things like the Rudolph New Years special without breaking from the rules of what constitutes a Christmas movie -- at least for those films or shows that take place after Christmas. Our definition of what constitutes a Christmas film is pretty broad, but that's what makes it such a fun tradition. Here is a partial list of the films and shows we typically select from:
  • Die Hard
  • Die Hard 2
  • The Last Boy Scout
  • The Thin Man
  • The Sound of Music
  • -- The one film that breaks our about or take place rule because the movie "feels" so Christmassy and Jody has many fond memories.
  • Lethal Weapon
  • Holiday Inn
  • White Christmas
  • Elf
  • Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  • 3 Godfathers
  • The Bishop's Wife
  • Scrooged
  • The Ref
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas
  • Miracle on 34th Street
  • It's a Wonderful Life
  • Holiday Affair
  • The Shop Around the Corner
  • In the Good Old Summertime
  • Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
  • -- Harry's Christmas present is important for the whole series and the opening song sounds über-Christmassy to us.
  • We're No Angels
  • Joyeux Noel
  • Gremlins
  • Love Actually
  • About a Boy
  • A Christmas Story
  • A Christmas Carol
  • Young Sherlock Holmes -- This movie includes Christmas, but it is also a "Victorian/Edwardian" film and any film that takes place in that era just feels Christmassy. I blame Dickens.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Tor Books Offering Cthulhu Christmas Cards and Baby Onesies

As a part of Tor Books Cthulhu themed December, the book publisher announced today that they will be selling Cthulhu themed Christmas cards and Baby Onesies in their online store. Looking at the quality of the artwork, and the fact that my twin daughters already have D&D themed onesies from Jinx (a gift from my dear friend Eric), this item will definitely be finding its way onto my list of Geek recommendations for Christmas this year.




Looking at the front of the onesie, we see a happy Santa with a happy H.P. Lovecraft sitting on his lap. If you look closely at the chair, you can make out some disturbing iconography. Instead of cheerful woodland animals sculpted into the frame, we see something more squamous and rugose.



Where we really see the sinister nature of these shirts is on the back side. Here we see that Santa isn't who we originally thought, instead of hailing from the North Pole he hails from Sleeping R'lyeh. Poor little H.P. is getting what he always dreamed about for Christmas, but we don't always want what we see in our dreams.

You can buy the shirt here.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Real Cthulhu and the Meaning of Christmas



While the winter season is a season of celebration and family, it is also a season in which much of nature "dies" covered in a white shroud and under a bleak sky. In his story, "Sorcery from Thule," Manly Wade Wellman wrote of the connection -- in the human imagination -- of winter and terror. Wellman's story contains a brief section demonstrating why dark magics from Hyperborea, and the horror of Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness all share a quality in their use of frigid climates to add to their sense of terror.

He paused a moment, even then, to ponder the connection between thoughts of evil and thoughts of the Arctic. Lovecraft, who wrote and thought as no other man about supernatural horror, was forever commenting upon the chill, physical and spirtual, of wickedness and baleful mystery. The ancients had believed in whole nations of warlocks to the far north -- Thule and Hyperborea. Iceland and Lapland had been synonyms for magic. Where did one find the baleful lycanthrope most plentiful? In frozen Siberia...Death's hand is icy. The Norseman's inferno is a place of utter dark and sleet.


There is something chilling, pardon the pun, about the chilling season.

In this haunted spirit of the season, Tor books have decided to follow up on their "Steampunk" month theme by having December be their "Month of Cthulhu."

Their first offering this month is a welcome piece of evangelism for H.P. Lovecraft as writer and as person, written by Weird Tales editor Steven H. Segal. His article focuses on Howard, as he calls him in the piece, as Geek -- as one of us. It is a nice portrait and runs smack against the typical portrayal of Lovecraft as recluse, though the piece does call Howard emotionally backward early on.

Segal presenting Lovecraft as "one of us" is important and helps dispel images of some attic dwelling weirdo, though Kenneth Hite's easy dismissal of Lovecraft as recluse in Cthulhu 101 does an even better job, which is an image that -- if cultivated -- will introduce Lovecraft to those who might otherwise overlook him. People read Neil Gaiman because, in addition to being a very good writer, he looks accessible and cool. Lovecraft might never look "cool," but he should certainly be viewed as accessible.

One thing that Segal leaves out in his litany of things Lovecraft would do if he lived as a modern geek is blogging. Lovecraft would blog. He would blog oceans of text. He would comment on innumerable other blogs. And his blog would be one of the most popular blogs on the internet. Lovecraft would be bigger than 4chan or Penny Arcade.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

TCM Celebrates Christmas, but Not on Christmas Day

Turner Classic Movies is arguably the best channel on television, especially if you are a classic film fan. Every Thursday, in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day, the channel will be highlighting some classic holiday movie fare. Many of the films are not as well known as they should be, and others are annual staples in the Lindke household.

Cinerati-friend J.C. Loophole of The Shelf blog has been kind enough to share these Thursday schedules with us, as well as some comments regarding the upcoming TCM film festival in Los Angeles in April 2010 which will be showing a restoration of Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS.

One interesting twist to the schedule is that TCM is airing a Sherlock Holmes Marathon on Christmas Day that they have called, punny enough, "Holmes for the Holidays." While it makes a certain amount of sense from a market standpoint, the new Guy Ritchie Holmes film is coming out on Christmas Day, it doesn't strike me as particularly "Christmassy." The only Holmes story that makes me feel remotely in he holiday spirit is the wonderful YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus. YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES is one of those Lindke household holiday staples. Columbus' own HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE is also on that list of Lindke holiday must sees.

Let's have a look at what TCM is offering this holiday season.




Thursday, Dec. 3
  • 8 p.m. – A Christmas Carol (1938), starring Reginald Owen and Gene Lockhart.
  • 9:15 p.m. – Little Women (1949), starring June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh and Margaret O’Brien.
  • 11:30 p.m. – Tenth Avenue Angel (1948), starring Margaret O’Brien and Angela Lansbury.
  • 1 a.m. – 3 Godfathers (1948), starring John Wayne, Pedro Armindáriz, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond.
  • 3 a.m. – Hell’s Heroes (1930), starring Charles Bickford and Raymond Hatton.
  • 4:30 a.m. – Bush Christmas (1947), starring John Fernside and Chips Rafferty.



  • The John Ford/John Wayne version of 3 GODFATHERS is a masterful demonstration of how a genre film can use tropes from other narrative milieu to create a powerful film that is both touching and beautiful. Like many great films, this one is a remake of a story that had been filmed at least twice before. More recently, the story was adapted -- with significant changes -- into anime with TOKYO GODFATHERS. 3 GODFATHERS is one of Wayne's strongest performances, those performances that are so often overlooked when people want to scoff at Wayne's talent, and is the kind of Christmas film we need more of today.




    Thursday, Dec. 10
  • 8 p.m. – It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947), starring Don DeFore, Ann Harding and Gale Storm.
  • 10 p.m. – Fitzwilly (1967), starring Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Feldon and Edith Evans.
  • Midnight – Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), starring Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Lewis Stone.
  • 2 a.m. – Susan Slept Here (1954), staring Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds and Anne Francis.
  • 4 a.m. – Little Women (1933), starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas and Frances Dee.






  • Thursday, Dec. 17
  • 8 p.m. – Christmas in Connecticut (1945), starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet.
  • 10 p.m. – Holiday Affair (1950), starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh.
  • 11:30 p.m. – Never Say Goodbye (1946), starring Errol Flynn and Eleanor Parker.
  • 1:30 a.m. – Period of Adjustment (1962), starring Tony Franciosa, Jane Fonda and Jim Hutton.
  • 3:30 a.m. – Beyond Tomorrow (1940), starring Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith and Maria Ouspenskaya.






  • Thursday, Dec. 24 – Robert Osborne’s Christmas Picks
  • 8 p.m. – Remember the Night (1940), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.
  • 9:45 p.m. – Christmas in July (1940), starring Dick Powell and Ellen Drew.
  • 11 p.m. – Chicken Every Sunday (1948), starring Dan Dailey and Celeste Holme.
  • 1 a.m. – Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), starring Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Lucille Bremer and Mary Astor.
  • 3 a.m. – In the Good Old Summertime (1949), starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson.
  • 5 a.m. – The Shop Around the Corner (1940), starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan.


  • As much as I enjoy Nora Ephron's YOU'VE GOT MAIL, most of its strongest moments are directly out of IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME and THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER. These are two of the best romantic comedies ever produced. While they are based on the same story, they are magical in their differences and each provides a different glimpse into what makes romance work. Critics often complain about how much of modern cinema is adaptation, as if this means some sort of dilution of creativity. IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME and THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER are perfect demonstrations of how adaptation can result from inspiration.





    Friday, Dec. 25 – Holmes for the Holidays
  • 8 p.m. – The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene and Wendy Barrie.
  • 9:30 p.m. – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino.
  • 11 p.m. – The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), starring Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely and Genevieve Page.
  • 1:15 a.m. – Sherlock Holmes’ Fatal Hour (1931), starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming and Jane Welsh.
  • 2:30 a.m. – The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell and Maria Landi.
  • 4 a.m. – A Study in Terror (1965), starring John Neville, Donald Houston, Georgia Brown and Anthony Quayle.
  • Wednesday, December 31, 2008

    Tor Brings You Zombies for Christmas. Who'da Thunk?


    Many people think that Christmas ends on Christmas day. They spend the weekend, or the day, after Christmas taking down their decorations and tree. In doing so, they are ending the celebration mid-event. As is hinted at in the perennial Christmas carol about a certain partridge in a pair tree, there are 12 days of Christmas. Traditions vary as to whether Christmas morning is when one begins counting the days, or Christmas evening. One thing is certain, Christmas ends on January 6th with the celebration of Epiphany -- or 12th night for Shakespeare fans -- or Christmas for Orthodox Christians.

    Tor books, the people who brought us Better Zombies through Physics, is offering us a Zombie treat for each of the 12 days of Christmas. 12 days of brain eating horror. Seems a pretty good Christmas gift if you ask me. If only they began the festivities on December 25th instead of December 22.

    But maybe Zombie Christmas is on the 22nd of December and Orthodox Zombie Christmas is on January 2nd.

    Monday, December 29, 2008

    FRED CLAUS: A Late Holiday Review

    If someone were to limit themselves to Christmas films released in the 90s and early 2000s as the foundation for judging the merits of Christmas movies as a genre, it's likely they would find them wanting. Very few of the movies are classics. Crass commercial pieces like Jingle All the Way, misguided narratives like Jack Frost, combined with the absent-minded parents of Home Alone and the meanness of the characters in Deck the Halls, might lead a viewer to believe that Hollywood film-makers have lost the ability to make a touching Christmas film. 

    Some might argue that many of the "going to visit the quirky family" Christmas films are a reaction to memories of syrupy/saccharin Christmas films of yore. Maybe these films are the product a combination of this reaction with the cold reality that most of us are not blessed with the idyllic families of Christmas movies past. Never mind that the families actually depicted in the classic films are often broken -- like the single mother in Miracle on 34th Street -- or enduring significant hardships like the Baileys in It's a Wonderful Life. There seems to be some part of the post 1950s film-making gestalt that is resistant to making movies that are fun and heartwarming. 

    Naturally, there are wonderful exceptions. About a Boy and Love Actually present lovely narratives that capture the holiday spirit without being too sugary sweet. And Jon Favreau's modern masterpiece Elf manages to successfully bridge the gap between adolescent fart comedy and truly capturing the Christmas spirit. Even an overly commercial franchise like The Santa Claus can have wonderful moments, as demonstrated by the second film in the trilogy (avoid the others), where the value of the season and the warmth of giving can be seen. 

    Before this meandering preamble is misunderstood, this is not a discussion of any so-called "War on Christmas" -- which is just so much blustering attempting to reignite/fuel existing culture wars. Anyone who has read our earlier Holiday Movie Marathon list should be well aware that isn't what is going on here. This is a conversation about the making of quality Christmas movie fare. A phenomenon that seems to happen less often of late than TCM makes me believe once was the norm. One finds it hard to imagine a Jingle All the Way being directed by Ernst Lubitsch. 

    It was films like Love Actually and Elf that made me believe that maybe Hollywood -- yes I know Love Actually is British, but when talking about film one almost always blames/praises Hollywood -- had finally outgrown its obsessive avoidance of potentially corny fare. Hollywood, like most modern comic book fans, seems to want to appear to favor "sophisticated" narratives over "simplistic" and "corny" ones. The same observation applies to most modern film critics as well. Never mind how moving the final scene of The Shop Around the Corner is, it seems they would prefer Alfred Kralik spend Christmas shooting up heroin in an alleyway while freezing to death instead of finding the woman of his dreams. 

    One might argue that this resistance to "corn" goes beyond the Christmas season, but that is not the purpose of this background. As was written above, Elf directed by Jon Favreau is one of the films that made this humble film viewer believe that there was room for the heartfelt Christmas comedy. Last November, Vince Vaughn followed in his friend's footsteps and starred in a Christmas comedy film. The name of the film was Fred Claus and it was released on DVD this past November 25, just in time for this year's holiday season. Vince Vaughn is an actor who has given audiences some wonderful performances in both dramas and comedies. The Break-Up is one of the better films of the past few years, and Dodgeball is a comedic gem. Vaughn is, for lack of a better comparison, our generation's version of Dean Martin. A giant Dean Martin who doesn't have any albums, but Dean Martin none the less. 

    The question then stands, "is Fred Claus typical Hollywood cynicism or does it have 'heart' like the best of Christmas films?" The answer to this not so simple question, is simply...neither. The film doesn't showcase your typical Hollywood cynicism, but it does contain some. It alternates between cynicism and critiquing cynicism. Nor does the film have a genuine emotional core. It seems to want a core, but it lacks any real emotional depth. Let us give a basic synopsis of the story and use this as a place to simultaneously find some of the areas where the film failed. The film begins, simply enough, with a voice over introducing the setting -- which as it turns out is an idyllic winter cottage. As the audience we, along with a very young Fred Claus, witness the birth of one Nickolas Claus.

    This leaves the audience needing to react to two suspension of disbelief removing moments. First, one might argue that beginning a Christmas movie with labor and birth isn't the most endearing way to begin a film. Second, everyone knows that Claus is a nickname for Nickolas and making the family's last name Claus just to make the film's title -- and titular character -- make sense is beyond lame. These facts alone make it hard for an audience to maintain what Jon Boorstin would call our Vicarious eye (not to mention our Visceral eye which is never appealed to in this film) and leaves the film victim to our most critical viewing lens, our Voyuer's eye.

    At Claus's birth, young Fred promises to be the "best big brother ever." It is a promise that Fred intends to keep, but one that he fails to keep in the background of our film's narrative. You see, Nickolas Claus is a Saint and leads a saintly life. Nick and Fred's mother is proud of Nick, but continually asks Fred why he cannot be more like his brother. There are a number of scenes devoted to increasing Fred's resentment of Nick. Thus the film is given its potentially cynical beginning when Santa's brother is turned into envious sibling.

    It should be noted that there is one scene in the film's opening that could have been put to very good use in discussing what the Christmas season is all about. Fred gives Nickolas a hand made journal with Nickolas' name engraved on the cover. Nickolas proceeds to plop the journal on top of other presents he will deliver to "more needy" children. The film mentions that the season is about the joy of giving, but this could have become a major theme of the film. Being a thankful receiver is in itself a wonderful gift. Instead it is mentioned and then handed off. Nickolas becomes St. Nick (Santa Claus)and he and his family are granted immortality as he becomes the world famous toy giver.

    While the audience may be willing to accept that the entire Claus clan becomes immortal, the film never explains why Nickolas -- the younger brother -- seems so much older than Fred -- the older brother.

    Cut to the modern day where Fred is a jaded man who is one step away from being a grifter, but there may be hope for this character yet. He has a girlfriend, with obligatory relationship trouble, and seems to be taking care of a struggling young boy -- who is shortly taken into custody by child protective services. The stage is set for Fred's redemption, even if his current primary concern is raising 50k to start up a casino across the street from the stock exchange. One thing leads to another and Fred finds himself in jail. He calls his brother to bail him out, both for the jail's bail and a loan for the casino, and agrees to help his brother get ready for Christmas in return for the money. And Santa really does need the help as "the board" has sent efficiency expert Clyde (Kevin Spacey) to evaluate whether Santa gets to keep his job.

    Who this board is and why they want to out source Santa's business is never really explained. Clyde's own anger is examined, in a good scene, but the board's reasoning remains a mystery.

    Things go badly, Santa has a nervous breakdown, and Fred must save Christmas.

    There is a Fred as matchmaker subplot that rings of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and some commentary as to what constitutes a "naughty kid." In the case of this film, all naughty kids are naughty due to circumstances. There are, the film claims, no naughty kids. Which explains why the jerk who picks on the kids at school still gets the Atari 2600 for Christmas.

    The film has one or two touching moments as Fred attempts to save Christmas, and his brother's job, but it also vacillates between the heartfelt and the cynical. The film's narrative seems as confused as the films Santa mythology. Vince Vaughn, Kevin Spacey, and John Michael Higgens all put in very strong performances. One imagines that many of the best lines in the film are adlibbed by Vaughn. Rachel Weisz is underused and Kathy Bates' character seemingly repeats one line ad nauseum. But scenes like the one where Fred "livens up" the north pole's radio listening selection are unnecessary and bring the narrative to a halt. One should not include scenes in a screenplay merely because they make for neat visual comedy. 

    The special effects are good. The set design is usually very good. The score and the soundtrack are also enjoyable. The film's editing would have been helped by a more cohesive screenplay. Fred Claus is entertaining at times, but it remains a confused film with too many narrative subplots -- too often ignored -- and too little heart. 

    Two-and a Half out of Five Stars