Fantasist's Scroll

Oooo, freaky!
I’ve always loved the surrealist Hieronymus Bosch. His visions of Hell are so strange and disturbing, I can really believe that he might be right? Of course, I’ve been told that I’m not quite right in the head anyway and I’ve always loved all the surrealists, so I may be biased. On the other hand, someone thought it was cool enough to make these: Hieronymus Bosch Action Figures. It doesn’t look like you can actually buy them, but oh, the idea….

And, anyway, it’s a freaky Fun Friday Link, right? (Go ahead, no one’s looking. Just click on it!)

Okay, specifically, Star Trek Hooch.
You’d think I was an alchoholic with all the references I have made to strong drink over the years, but, really, I’ve been doing it in the interest of science. Or, science-fiction. Or something like that. In any case, no one has better fictional liquor than Star Trek. (Personally, I think it was a “thing” with Roddenberry, but that’s just me.) In fact, someone’s put together a rather decent history of hooch in Trek: Star Trek Hooch. Take a look!

Aw, go on! It’s Friday, traditional day of the drunkard, so click the link.

Okay, so I’ve been reading a lot of Christopher Moore lately!
It’s the upside to travelling for work, actually, having all that time to read on the plane or in airports. I took advantage of it to read another delightful tale by Moore, titled The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. Obviously, the story is about a large lizard, but it’s not quite what you might think. It’s actually a love story.
The story follows the antics of Moore’s favorite fictional town as the local psychiatrist decides to make up for past apathy by putting all her patients on sugar-pills instead of their regular medication. Throw in a giant sea-lizard, a hidden drug lab, a Mississippi Blues man, and a former B-movie star and you get classic Moore. This time around we get to see some old friends from Practical Demonkeeping, too, like Howard Phillips, occult owner of the local diner and “The Hammer/Nailgun”, super-geek police computer specialist and source of lots of interesting information. Oddly enough, the main “love story” is between the fallen movie star and the sea-creature. Though, there are actually several love stories going on all at once. There’s a little bit of everything in The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove and so many sub-plots it’ll make your head spin. But, in a good way.

And again, there’s that underlying current of a spiritual search. A search for meaning and love in a sad, drab world. Surprisingly, despite opening with an apparent suicide and lots of mental anguish, including a somewhat dark look at psychotherapy, it’s really an upbeat and fun book. As always, Moore manages to tie everything together and end on a rather happy note. Again, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove is a great book, like everything by Christopher Moore, and I cannot reccomend it enough.

I love Christopher Moore’s writing!
Of course, that’s neither anything new or particularly startling since he’s a best-selling author. He writes mainly light comedic fantasy, which is just what I need these days, so I’ve been churning through quite a bit of his work. One of the things that I like about Mr. Moore’s work is that he always seems to have an undercurrent of spirituality in all his work. Coyote Blue is no exception. The “hero” of Coyote Blue is a severly repressed Crow (from the American Indian tribe, not the bird) named “Samson Hunter”. Though, actually, his real name is Samson Hunts Alone. He’s living in the White world, hiding from a terrible secret he left behind on the Crow reservation. And, he’s one of Coyote’s chosen. Of course, in his “White” persona, a chameleon-like insurance salesman, he denies everything Crow, including his family’s association with the traditonal trickster god.
Unfortunately for him, his shaman uncle is still looking for Samson. And Coyote hears the call. As you might have guessed, when the trickster god takes an interest in your life, things get a little confusing. Not to mention dangerous. It all works out in the end, of course, though someone dies and poor Samson’s life is completely torn apart. Oddly enough, it’s a happy ending.

Well, I won’t spoil the book with too much plot, but Moore takes us on a journey of rediscovery and spirituality. One of the things I liked about the book was that it was a non-standard, non-JudeoChristian exploration of spirituality. And, from what I’ve read of American Indian religion, it’s fairly accurate, too. It’s both fun and funny. Coyote Blue was light-hearted enough to make it a pleasure to read, but deep enough to keep me coming back for more. I heartily reccomend it.

This comes to us from Gizmodo.
Apparently, the latest “cool” thing in Japan are keychain arboratums, with actual, live plants! You can transplant them when they get too big, which doesn’t look like it would take too long, frankly. These are actual, real growing plants so small that they can fit on a keychain.

I guess it’s better than Hello Kitty sex toys!
Aw, go look at it, you know you want to! Besides, it’s Friday, you deserve it!

Hmm, there have been a lot of rat-brain stories lately…
No, really, there have been a lot of stories about experiments done with rat brains. First, there was the story about the scientists in Florida who got a rat brain to pilot an aircraft. Then, there was a story about the android run by a rat brain. But, when I got really got me thinking was when I saw this article about how rats can tell the difference between two languages.
Taken separately, they don’t seem like a big deal, but, what happens when you combine them together into a single package? How long before we see these freakish things on the battlefield? Truth is stranger than fiction. But, you know what? A science-fiction author predicted this kind of thing back in the early 80’s. Yep, Joe Clifford-Faust, author of “Company Man”. He didn’t get much attention back then, I thought, but he sure seems right on the money with his predictions. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Freakish, strange and disturbing.
Perfect for a Fantasist Friday Fun link! In this case, it’s Custom Creatures, a site dedicated to “creative” taxidermy. Freakish, two-headed goats and jackelopes and things stranger still. They’re all there. Strange tortured beasts that are sure to disturb your sensibilities. At least, they upset mine, even though I found the exhibit oddly compelling.

Aw, cut me some slack, it’s Friday! Go check it out.

I know, you’re thinking, who?
Well, Robert W. Service is the poet who wrote “The Cremation of Sam Mcgee”. Still in the dark? That’s okay. I don’t think that Mr. Service is too well known anymore. I know him because of my father. Apparently, when my father was growing up one of the things that kids in school did was memorize and recite poetry. It was a competition along the lines of a spelling bee, from what he described. In any case, the poem that he memorized was, of course, “The Cremation of Sam Mcgee”. It’s a gruesome little tale about a man keeping his promise to a dying friend. A promise to cremate his remains in the frozen Yukon, in Winter, during the Gold Rush. Here’s a sample:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

You can see how that might grab a young man’s attention, eh? Especially, when his father introduces him to it. Well, if you click on the link, you can read the rest for yourself. I think it’s worth it.