eldritchhobbit

Every year, my parents send their granddog, the fabulous Virginia, a Halloween costume for her to wear (as well as treats to bribe her to model for pictures).

This year, my brilliant parents outdid themselves, creating and accessorizing a most remarkable costume. I invite you to behold Virginia as H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu, first introduced in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", which was published in Weird Tales in 1928.

Under the ocean, she waits until the stars are right...





She was well compensated with treats both during and after her photo session. :)

( Under this cut are pictures of some of her previous costumes from recent Halloweens. )

As always, you can see many more pictures of Virginia here.

May you and yours enjoy the blessings of the season. Thank you for the gift of your friendship, my friends!

Every year, my parents send their granddog, the fabulous Virginia, a Halloween costume for her to wear (as well as treats to bribe her to model for pictures).

This year, my brilliant parents outdid themselves, sewing and accessorizing a most remarkable costume. I invite you to behold Virginia as one of our favorite contemporary characters, Sheriff Longmire of the award-winning Walt Longmire book series by Craig Johnson and the television show it inspired.





“I don't trust people who don't like animals. Hell, animals are the finest people I know.”
― The Dark Horse (Walt Longmire #5) by Craig Johnson


( Under this cut are pictures of some of her previous costumes from recent Halloweens. )

As always, you can see many more pictures of Virginia here.

Today is the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of Hobbits and Dwarves and Elves and all of Middle-earth, who was born this day in 1892. I hope everyone will participate in The Tolkien Society's International Birthday Toast for 2014!


Happy twelfth birthday to The Shire's Virginia Lórien, a.k.a. Virginia, the world's most beautiful Boston terrier and our very best friend, who was born this day in 2002. We love you, Sweetheart!

Here is the birthday girl, chilling out.



You can see more pictures of Virginia here.


The quote for the day is from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, and one of Virginia's favorite verses (because, after all, it mentions part of her name):

"Gandalf's Song of Lórien"

In Dwimordene, in Lórien
Seldom have walked the feet of Men,
Few mortal eyes have seen the light
That lies there ever, long and bright.
Galadriel! Galadriel!
Clear is the water of your well;
White is the star in your white hand;
Unmarred, unstained is leaf and land
In Dwimordene, in Lórien
More fair than thoughts of Mortal Men.

The Potterwatch 2013 conference was fantastic! My week hit with a mighty but not unwelcome vengeance once I returned. I'm hard at work on my Mysterious Project of Mystery at the moment.

Registration is now open for my Summer 2013 course on The Dystopian Tradition with Mythgard Institute and my Fall 2013 course ("American Exceptionalism and the Frontier") at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
( Here's a description of the American Exceptionalism course. )

Happy birthday to lalam and happy early birthday to silveraspen, prettybirdy979, sakuraember, muuranker, izhilzha, and justicemuffins. May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day!

If you're a fan of Cabin Pressure, don't miss this video:

I'll leave you with Virginia's commentary about today:

May you and yours enjoy the blessings of the season!



Heartfelt gratitude to those of you who have sent snailmail and e-messages my way. And thanks to all of you for the lasting gift of your friendship!

Thanks to everyone for being so kind about our sweet girl. I'm most grateful for the good wishes you've been sending in her direction.

( Here's a quick update. )

I took this picture of her this morning:



( Here's another photo from this morning, as she settled in for her customary nap. )

We're very optimistic about how her treatment is going. Thank you again for keeping her in your thoughts!

A few quick notes:

* I'm happy to say that The Philosophy of Joss Whedon (University Press of Kentucky, 2011), which includes my essay "‘Just Get Us a Little Further’: Liberty and the Frontier in Firefly and Serenity," is a finalist for the 2012 Long Mr. Pointy Award, an award given by the Whedon Studies Association for the year's best long work of scholarship on a Whedon-related topic. Yay!

* Thanks to MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron for helping spread the word about my Hogwarts 101 summer course!

( Under the cut, here's the promo. )

* My latest unabridged narration for StarShipSofa, which is the first half of Kate Wilhelm's novella The Bird Cage, is now available to stream or download on the newest episode of the podcast. If you listen, I hope you enjoy. (A full list of links to my unabridged dramatic readings is here.)


Most of all, Virginia and I offer a heartfelt THANK YOU! to everyone who sent good wishes for her recovery. She's under treatment and working hard to get well soon. Here she is, ready for her closeup as always:

I hope all of you enjoy a wonderful holiday, whatever holiday you celebrate. Be merry, be safe, and have fun! I am grateful for each of you, my friends.




Here's a verse for the season:

"A Brumalian Wish"
by "Edward John Ambrose Bierce Theobald," a.k.a. H.P. Lovecraft

From the damnable shadows of madness,
From the corpse-ridden hollow of Weir,
Comes a horrible message of gladness,
And a ghost-guided poem of cheer -
And a gloom-spouting pupil of Poe sends the pleasantest wish of the year!

May the ghouls of the neighboring regions,
And the curséd necrophagous things,
Lay aside their dark habits in legions,
For the bliss that Brumalia brings -
And may Druids innum’rable bless thee, as they dance on the moor’s fairy-rings!

So, Galba, may pleasures attend thee
Thro’ all thy bright glorious days;
May the world and the mighty commend thee,
And the cosmos resound with thy praise -
And may all future ages be brilliant with the light of thine intellect’s rays!


PS. To all of you who have sent such lovely holiday wishes and goodies by mail and email, as well as everyone who has posted holiday greetings, thank you for your thoughtfulness!

Every year, my parents send their granddog, the fabulous Virginia, a Halloween costume for her to wear (as well as treats to bribe her to model for pictures). This year's was Princess Leia from Star Wars -- a bit of a family joke, as it was my Halloween costume when I was six. Poor Virginia, paying for my past! LOL.



( Under this cut are pictures of some of her previous costumes from recent Halloweens. )

As always, you can see more pictures of Virginia here.


Text of the Day: Today's short story is "The House of Nightmare" by Edward Lucas White (1866-1934).

Excerpt:
Conspicuous on the orchard side between two of the flanking trees was a white object, which I took to be a tall stone, a vertical splinter of one of the tilted limestone reefs with which the fields of the region are scarred.

The road itself I saw plain as a boxwood ruler on a green baize table. It gave me a pleasurable anticipation of a chance for a burst of speed. I had been painfully traversing closely forested, semi-mountainous hills. Not a farmhouse had I passed, only wretched cabins by the road, more than twenty miles of which I had found very bad and hindering. Now, when I was not many miles from my expected stopping-place, I looked forward to better going, and to that straight, level bit in particular.

As I sped cautiously down the sharp beginning of the long descent the trees engulfed me again, and I lost sight of the valley. I dipped into a hollow, rose on the crest of the next hill, and again saw the house, nearer, and not so far below.

The tall stone caught my eye with a shock of surprise. Had I not thought it was opposite the house next the orchard? Clearly it was on the left-hand side of the road toward the house. My self-questioning lasted only the moment as I passed the crest. Then the outlook was cut off again; but I found myself gazing ahead, watching for the next chance at the same view.

At the end of the second hill I only saw the bit of road obliquely and could not be sure, but, as at first, the tall stone seemed on the right of the road.

Read the complete short story.