Of Wardrobes and Masks

I've been too busy the last couple of months to make any posts about specific topics and really talk about them. It's all piecemeal at this point. But I do have some media to discuss:

First, movies: As with The Lord of the Rings, the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe helps encourage worthy adaptations of classic works of literature. I really hope they continue to pave the way for others. Though certainly in a different vein altogether, it would be really neat to see a [much-needed] worthy and big-budget adaptation of a Lovecraft story like "The Call of Cthulhu." Speaking of Narnia, this video must be viewed. It's great to see that SNL occasionally puts out something genuinely funny!

Next, music: On the topic of Lovecraft, another worthy piece of media that everyone should own—even if just in mp3 form—is A Very Scary Solstice. If anyone's interested in hearing any of this, there are mp3 samples to be had on that page. I personally recommend "The Carol of the Olde Ones" or even "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fish-Men."

Finally, and perhaps the most worthy, books. As I try my best not to dream about writing one very soon, I've turned to reading one. My latest is Paul Kemp's Midnight's Mask (hi, Paul!), book 3 of the Erevis Cale Trilogy. Much as I recommend it, you can't start with this book. In my opinion, you have to start by reading the whole Sembia series and be introduced to the remarkable character of Erevic Cale, an assassin-turned-butler, in the context of the wealthy and eccentric Uskevren family; and that's just the set-up for him. Cale moved beyond that series and got his own, and I hear he's punching his way into a third.

Okay, I've troubled you folks with hyperlinks enough.

Oh, wait, one more. Escapee episode 31 is up.