A few Halloween-tinged items this issue, if you’re into that sort of thing. See you on the other side of the election (the real horror).
When he looked again the appalling apparition had gone. The corridor was dark and, briefly, silent. He was alone with his thoughts. They were extremely unpleasant thoughts and would rather have had a chaperone.
—Douglas Adams
—found in Life, the Universe, and Everything (1982)
charnel · /CHAR-nəl/ · /ˈtʃɑ:n(ə)l/. noun or adjective. In contemporary use, most often charnel house, often built near churches to deposit bones exposed when digging graves. A cemetery or burial place. Of, pertaining to, or fit for a charnel; the remains preserved there. See also: deathlike, ghastly, sepulchral. From Latin carnāle, from carō, carnis (flesh).
…priests now speak above their tombs, and the divine message they bring to men rises from that charnel, to which, nevertheless, children have contributed their share. (Albert Camus)
And together they drink a long
glass of champagne, while hot
rain falls on the putrid
gatherings of the charnel house.
(Pablo Neruda)…it is impossible, he had said, to think of that lady in any low place, any place of darkness, the barred charnel house of Purgatory with its flying cinders and sulphur reek, its boiling tar and roiling clouds of sleet. (Hilary Mantel)
I’ll just leave this Buddhist temple here for today → Wang Saen Suk Monastery Garden (aka Thailand Hell Horror Park
“Humans have always sensed the ghosts of loved ones. It’s only in the last century that we convinced ourselves this was a problem.” → Why Do We See Dead People? → Why Do We See Dead People?
Could Be Worse: The Beast of Gévaudan and the French ‘Werewolf’ Epidemic
“How an Aspiring Poet in Brooklyn Became a Tool in a Right-Wing Propaganda Blitz Linked to Falun Gong” → Stranger Than Fiction
I loved Pippi Longstocking, but knew nothing of the books’ background (or Tove Jansson’s Moomins). “Both authors were deeply marked by the experience of totalitarianism and violence in the Second World War. And both sought, in various subtle and not-so-subtle ways, to inoculate future generations against the conformity and power-worship that had made this human catastrophe possible.” → Pippi and the Moomins
“A revolutionary museum dedicated to the power, beauty, and fun of language and to showing how words shape the human experience” → A Museum Dedicated to the Power of Words
The Fruits and Vegetables Used to Create Gory Horror Movie Sounds
I used LibraryThing extensively for a long time. Then moved to GoodReads. It’s about time there was a potential competitor → Literal
This week’s CuriosityCluster - All Kinds of lulz: obscurestvinyl // 2020 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards // Unexpected book dedications // TerribleOrigami // The 5 Funniest Tiny Desk Concerts // The Funniest Living Writers Choose the Funniest Books in the World // ▸ I Am the Very Model of a Biblical Philologist // Hamilton but it’s Muppets
Today is World Vegan Day. Louise Wallis, President of the UK Vegan Society, inaugurated the day to coincide with Samhain/Halloween and the Day of the Dead because they were “traditional times for feasting and celebration … both apt and auspicious.” It also provides a pivot point following Vegetarian Awareness Month (which kicks off with World Vegetarian Day on October 1) and inaugurates World Vegan Month. Though the vegans I know are not obnoxious—and I think vegetarianism, at least, is probably the most morally sound eating choice available to most of us, even if I don’t have the courage of my convictions—I still appreciate a good vegetarian/vegan joke, dad-style or otherwise. Such as: what do rappers and vegetarians have in common? Fake beef! Or: a Libertarian, a vegan, and a CrossFit enthusiast walk into a bar. How will you know which is which? Don’t worry they’ll effin’ tell you. Or: have you heard of Bruce Lee’s brother Brocco Lee? Hey, I’m tired today, cut me some slack.
Sometimes simple, ingenious craftsmanshp is a joy to watch. Not to mention another positive TikTok rabbithole. → ▸ Clever Crafting with Silverware
▸ The Mystery: Squirt Boating. They had me at “squirt boating.” Also, they don’t seem to get the concept of boats.
The election (because politics and nausea) ☡ Kardashians on private islands (because Kanye won’t just stay there) ☡ The World Series (because baseball, and baseball is still a thing?) Voter suppression (because where to start)
Reader B.: “‘Epstein Ghislane (because sounds like a disease)’ - ahahahahhahah! ¶ The plastics video - damn.”
Reader D., also: “‘strategy for sheep(le)’ made me spit some coffee.”
Reader R.: “Cool history of ostracize. I’d happily go back to that method of voting if we could banish some politicians and a president!”
Reader S.: “Akashinga! Inspiring.”
I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback and all manner of what-have-you. Just press ‘Reply’ or email to: clippings@katexic.com.
And while you’re still here, why not forward this to a friend?