Calls for Cthulhu

And just in time for Balticon.

By the way, if you’re at Balticon this year, come by the Chesapeake room at 2:00PM for the live “Calls For Cthulhu” taping. Meet the creator, buy the DVD, and be one of the first to get the new format.
 

This Memorial Day, we’ll be doing another “Live” Calls For Cthulhu at Balticon. The way it works is that, if you’re there, you can ask Cthulhu a question and be answered live. Not only will you be given an answer directly, but you’ll also be recorded and mixed into the next C4C episode.

Last year, this was a blast. We had a great time and we posted the episode fairly recently (I’ll be re-posting it on YouTube in the coming weeks).

Now, remember, this is the hidden event, so there’s no mention of it on any of the handouts or schedules. You have to be there when it happens to be part of this. So if someone you know likes the show, tell them the secret, and get them to Balticon fast!

Hope to see you there!

As some of you may have noticed, the number we have been listing as Cthulhu’s (1-800-SOL-EATR) is not a real phone number. Worse than that, when someone actually called the number, we found out it’s some kind of phone sex line, so we’ve always wanted to change it.

Well, good news. We now have a real phone number. It’s still not live (you’ll have to wait for the Balticon episode for that), but it is a real phone line that you can call and leave a message for the show. If we like your question, we will put your voice on the show, and answer you there. So now, Cthulhu is as close as your nearest phone line (let that sink in and shiver with fear).

Here’s the number:  646-495-9203 x 00964

Looking forward to hearing from you!

This last weekend, I went to Balticon, where we recorded a live “Calls For Cthulhu” episode. I know, I should have mentioned this BEFORE the con, but I’ve just been really busy with Episode 9, and I forgot.

Still, we played to a packed room, and for the first time ever, I had to slow down Cthulhu’s responses, because people were laughing too loud ( I guess one could have worse problems ). I think everyone had a great time, me most of all.

I’ll have more information about Balticon later, but I wanted to show you guys this picture, taken by Tee Morris, writer, actor, and podcaster extraordinaire.

Click here for Flikr Pic

This picture shows Cthulhu sitting at his bluescreen desk, with me in the obscured distance (as it should be). Tee waxes philosophical about the picture, but even being the pragmatist that I am, there is a lot of coolness to this pic.

Anyway, had a great time at Balticon, and more information to follow!

A few months ago, as detailed here, I appeared on WCSB Cleveland College Radio. A listener was kind enough to record it, and sent it to me. So, special thanks to Chryos.

 

 Cthulhu on College Radio: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4051)

In episode 8, I had a need for a rising tension music, so I turned to our good friends the Brothers Burn. They provided me with several good candidates, and I picked the best one for the episode. However, one of the others was so good I thought it would be a waste for no one to hear it. So I got their permission to release the Cthulhu Chant here.

Here is the Link.

In addition to having a great rising tension music, he has a chorus saying “Cthulh Fhtagn”. Might make a nice ringtone . . .

So, I’m at the H.P. Lovecraft film festival in Portland Oregon this weekend. I’ve gotta say, it’s been a blast so far. They have a lot of famous Lovecraft-inspired stuff (John Carpenter’s “In the Mouth of Madness” and “The Thing”), and they have lots of short films (most of them tense and very well executed), and we even had a chance to see the new movie “Cthulhu” which should be released to theaters soon.

Now, this isn’t a full report on the festival (I hope to do that later, with pix and everything), but I wanted to share a great moment with you guys.

Now, I’ve been very surprised by the reaction I’ve received from people at the fest. Several people have asked for my autograph, and a couple wanted to take a picture of me with the puppet.

There’s a film producer (Edward Martin III, he makes real films, not just hand-puppets) who was really excited to meet me. Turns out he’s a fan of the show. I gave him a DVD, and he put it on his DVD player in the merchant section (which was really kind of him). After a few hours, he asked me if I had any other DVDs, because passersby were asking him where they could buy it. I had brought about ten with me, and he was kind enough to make a place on the table to display them.

A couple of hours later, I walked past the table, and saw that my DVDs weren’t there any more. I figured he moved them to make space for something else, but then he caught my eye and said, “Hey, you sold out! Way to go!”

He started counting out money for me while I just shook my head in disbelief. Then he smiled at me and said, “You really don’t get how popular this show is, do you?”

That was a really cool feeling. Right up there with the girl in the full-body Cthulhu suit saying, “Hey, you’re the Calls For Cthulhu guy? I love that show!”

Don’t worry, I’ll have pix of her as well as a full report as soon as the fest is done and I pull all the images off my camera.

I’m obviously a big fan of horror, so I’ve read quite a lot of it. Recently, I’ve started looking for new writers, because their indy-film mentality tends to be a bit more invasive, visceral, and vicious.

Well, a few days ago, someone handed me a copy of “The Book of Legion” by Victor Heck.

I know my way around Biblical angels and demons, so the idea of the demon Legion didn’t really surprise me. In fact, just thinking of the character, you can imagine a demon which is slowly amassing souls to the point where he can destroy all of creation. The story practically writes itself.

That’s what I love about this book. The writer isn’t going in that direction at all. I don’t want to give too much away, but in this story, Legion is gathering minions and taking over Earth just as a stepping stone for bringing about an all-out assault on Hell. Just the idea that you could take that character, and use his innate power not as an end, but as a means to something larger, is pretty impressive to me.

Also, the writing itself is very good. Not exactly buckets-of-blood stuff, nor is it all psychological torture (although both elements are in there). The characterization is good, the story is powerful, and I like the pacing.

Anyway, I went looking for it online, and found it here: The Book of Legion. At fifteen bucks for a signed copy, it’s well worth the money.

There’s a very well researched article on the Grim Reviews blog, detailing a new wave of humor based on the horror writing of H.P. Lovecraft. Apparently, some people are even using the plush Cthulhu doll to parody Lovecraft’s character! Can this be true?!

A viewer just pointed this website out to me. Badali Jewelry. They have a whole line of jewelry that features our favorite ancient evil cephelopod. There are rings, earrings, necklaces, and even cufflinks with the Great Old One’s face on them. They seem to all be available in sterling silver and gold.

Here’s the part I thought was really cool. On the back of one of these pendants, they write “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn”. Now that’s classy.