Monster Talk podcast: Cthulhu Rises
June 16, 2010
Speaking of podcasts…the newest episode of Skeptic Magazine’s Monster Talk podcast is out, and it’s all about the mythos and monsters of H.P. Lovecraft. In the show, Lovecraft scholar Robert M. Price discusses the life, works, and cultural impact of the master of cosmic horror. Additionally, biologist PZ Myers (of the Pharyngula blog) talks about the biology of cephalopods and how they served as the inspiration for Lovecraft’s most famous creation. (Spoiler Alert: it’s Cthulhu.)
The episode is a little over 1 hour long, and I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. Of course, I have quite a bit of extra time on my hands these days (in theory at least), so I’m sure I can block out some time for one of my favorite topics!
You can download the episode (June 16, show 019) and read the show notes here.
Monster Talk is a skeptical look at the creatures of cryptozoology and folklore. Hosts Blake Smith, Ben Radford, and Dr. Karen Stollznow interview scientists and other experts about the science (or lack thereof) behind the word’s legendary beats.
You can subscribe to Monster Talk for free via RSS or iTunes.
Halloween Week: Spooky Tunes and Squid-o-Lanterns
October 31, 2009
Halloween is nearly over, but I think I have time to squeeze in one last post. In case you haven’t noticed, I really like Halloween, and one of my favorite things about the holiday is that it gives me an excuse to make compilations of music about Halloween-themed topics such as horror, death, blood, black magic, and monsters. I try to make at least one a year, and there are eight of them so far. I’m constantly on the look out for new songs, and fortunately I see no signs that I will run out of material for new compilations any time soon! In this year’s mix I was pleased to include a small aquatic-themed section:
- Into the Water by Dethklok
- She-Devils of the Deep by Future Bible Heroes
- The Octopus Is Gonna Get You…Dad by Boss The Big Bit
- Creature From The Black Lagoon by The Happy, Happy Jihads
I also do a Halloween music show every year on my podcast. Today’s Halloween show is the fist episode of Random Signal I’ve recorded since June. I tell myself that this temporary hiatus is because of Kid Indie Kid Squid, but the fact that I started doing daily posts on this blog might also have something to do with it…
logo designed by Leah Riley
In theory, Random Signal is produced bi-monthly (on average) and I either host the show solo or with my wife Ryn Nasser. I usually describe the podcast as equal parts geek talk and indie rockâwe talk about comics, movies, TV, books, cephalopods, etc., and each show usually features 3-5 songs by independent musicians. I actually do two Halloween-themed shows every year. One on Halloween proper, and one in April on tax day, which I have declared to be the holiday of Aprilween.
I now want to switch gears entirely and talk about cephalopod-themed jack-o-lanterns. I don’t know exactly why, but there seems to be a strong correlation between cephalopod appreciation and artistic talent (although I seem to buck that particular trend). Case-in-point, the following awesome jack-o-lanterns:
Ninja Squid! by Vicious Bits
Vampire Octopus by alexfiles
Cthulhu by Sketchy-Stories
Cthulhu by timailius
And in case you were wondering, our jack-o-lantern this year was sort of a goblin-bat kind of thing…not a cephalopod at all. I’m not completely single-minded!
