Dark rites.

It was the Yuletide, that men call Christmas though they know in their hearts it is older than Bethlehem and Babylon, older than Memphis and mankind. It was the Yuletide, and I had come at last to the ancient sea town where my people had dwelt and kept festival in the elder time when festival was forbidden; where also they had commanded their sons to keep festival once every century, that the memory of primal secrets might not be forgotten.

H.P. Lovecraft, The Festival

I would be remiss were I not to recognize my co-worker Christi, worshipper of dark gods, fan of unhallowed music, and drinker of dead frogs, for her contribution to my holiday good cheer in the form of a handmade Elder Gods bookmark.

Interestingly, she randomly found the pattern online, and was unaware that the images are taken from the French Lovecraft-influenced comic strip, Goomi's Unspeakable Vault (Of Doom) written and drawn by French artist Francois Launet.

I've previously cited M. Launet's strip regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  As per that posting, if you're not familiar with the more esoteric* details of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, perhaps another comic strip would be more to your taste.

Regardless of its origins, the bookmark is a wonderful addition to my Geekmas haul - I hope you have a merry Ph'nglui and a happy Fhtagn, Christi!

- Sid

* Ha ha, trick question, all the details of the Cthulhu Mythos are more esoteric.

Tea As Regularly Determined In Strength.

From:  Chelsey
To:  Sid
I hope you liked the mug. I went on your like of tea and some side commentary about Dr Who. I asked a few people who said “Go with Star Trek” but felt that may be a bit out of my realm of knowledge. =)

Chelsey

With the holiday season upon us, my department at work once again conducted its annual Christmas pot luck luncheon and Secret Santa gift exchange.  Now, previously the anonymous Saint Nicks of my workplace have been thoughtful enough to show a strong sympathy regarding my area of interest - in other words, I've gotten a well-considered selection of geek-appropriate gifts, ranging from science fiction Christmas decorations to technological marvels from Wallace and Gromit.

This year was no exception - I received a marvellous Doctor Who TARDIS mug, complete with a small container of English Afternoon Tea (presumably to distinguish it from English Breakfast Tea.)  The mug is more than adequately large - I like a large tea mug - and the police box imitation is made complete by the addition of a removable lid.

I'm actually a little reluctant to actually use it as a mug, in case something unfortunate happens during the dish washing process.  On the other hand, it would certainly be pleasant to be sipping a mug of TARDIS tea during the Doctor Who Christmas episode this year, as Matt Smith performs his final turn as the Doctor.  I suppose that time will tell (so to speak).

- Sid

P.S. As you might gather from Chelsey's e-mail, my Secret Santa experienced fail on the "secret" part.  Chelsey is temping as an admin assistant with my department right now, and obviously suffers from the ongoing Star Trek curse which has afflicted so many of the people involved with that role. 

Is this really worth risking the life of your hamster?

With the holiday season fast approaching, I was browsing around on Amazon.ca for possible gifts, and decided that I might buy a copy of The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross for a friend of mine.  When I entered "atrocity archives" into the Amazon search engine, I was astonished to find that in addition to two options for the novel I was looking for, there was a short list of what I can only consider to be book spam:   

• 100 Unexpected Statements about the Atrocity Archives: A Laundry Files Novel
• 100 Statements About "The Atrocity Archives: A Laundry Files Novel" that Almost Killed My Hamster 
  
• 100 Provocative Statements About "The Atrocity Archives: A Laundry Files Novel"

and so on.

Just out of curiousity, I clicked on a couple of the links for more information.  Sadly, there was no explanation of how literary criticism might kill one's hamster, but the "100 Unexpected Statements" page was a little more forthcoming:

In this book, we have hand-picked the most sophisticated, unanticipated, absorbing (if not at times crackpot!), original and musing book reviews of "The Atrocity Archives: A Laundry Files Novel". Don't say we didn't warn you: these reviews are known to shock with their unconventionality or intimacy. Some may be startled by their biting sincerity; others may be spellbound by their unbridled flights of fantasy. Don't buy this book if: 1. You don't have nerves of steel. 2. You expect to get pregnant in the next five minutes. 3. You've heard it all.

Okay - a 44 page collection of book reviews by other people on sale for $10.28?  Seriously?  Who in their right mind would buy one of these things, and why in the world does Amazon provide these clowns with a venue in which to sell them? 

Regardless, I harbour no ill-will towards our friends of the animal kingdom.  I would like to express my best wishes to the hamster, and I hope that he or she is doing well after their near-death experience.

- Sid