Reality Alternative

Tentacles, Elder Gods, and Shining Trapezohedrons, oh my! Greg gets into it about HP Lovecraft- what makes him unique, his influence on modern fiction, and how he invented a genre of horror that is truly and uniquely American. F'tagn!

No news/mailbag this week - Andrew's travelling and Greg's getting ready for a new baby.

Lovecraft's New Deal by Bert Clere: www.ethosreview.org/intellectual-spaces/lovecraft/
Bloodborne: amzn.to/2nmV1KZ
Call of Cthulhu Silent Film trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OzVrI75fFU
Collected Works of HP Lovecraft ebook (free, but please donate!): arkhamarchivist.com/free-complete-l…ok-nook-kindle/
Greg recommends:
The Thing on the Doorstep
The Haunter of the Dark
The Statement of Randolph Carter (better if read to you: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNiIw_iDTc)
At the Mountains of Madness
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

Andrew recommends:
The Colour out of Space

Intro/Outro music courtesy PANDAS (pandas.bandcamp.com)

Explicit

Andrew paid Greg a real-life visit and brought along that artifact of unknowable madness, that nightmare poking through from a dimension perpendicular to our own, that 2003 film that may in itself be proof of cosmic intelligences that mock us in their oily, gibbering pantomime imitation of our petty lives.

THE ROOM. Watch it and be changed. Watch it and know the truth. That THE ROOM is not a bad movie. THE ROOM is the only real truth.

Intro/Outro music courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

Explicit

Because, inexplicably, Saban has made a big-budget Power Rangers movie, Andrew takes some time out to explain the series to Greg. Honestly, Greg is no closer to understanding it, but that's not really Andrew's fault.

Intro/Outro music courtesy PANDAS pandas.bandcamp.com

Explicit

While Andrew travels the world, Greg sits down with a very special guest host, his wife, Karen to talk about Logan.

SPOILER WARNINGS FOR LOGAN OBVIOUSLY, GEEZ.

Intro/Outro music courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

Explicit

In light of a new (and, reportedly GOOD) Wolverine movie hitting theaters this week, Andrew and Greg talk about what they love and hate about the old Canucklehead. In the process, Greg talks more shit on Batman.

Recommendations:

Wolverine Origin: amzn.to/2mmMfis
Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force: amzn.to/2lh1BjC
Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal: amzn.to/2lOENtB

Intro/Outro Music courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

If you purchase any of our recommendations from the links above, we might receive a small commission.

Explicit

This week, your favorite podcast buddies get some perspective on narrative voice. LOL see what I did there.

Recommendations:
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson: amzn.to/2lCmn0T
Hard Contact by Karen Traviss: amzn.to/2lI8kHv
Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss; amzn.to/2mi7LAU
The Princess Bride by William Goldman: amzn.to/2lI4r5u

Intro/Outro Music courtesy of PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

If you purchase any of our recommendations via the links above, we may receive a small commission.

If you see a dude with a Dungeon Master's Guide, it's a safe bet he has a favorite Rush song. And if you see a dude in a Rush t-shirt, it's a safe bet he knows the elvish name for Mount Doom.

What's that about?

Correction: The Sleepytime Gorilla Museum song in question quotes Joyce's *Finnegan's Wake*, not *Ulysses*: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELyco68w5ks

Trigger Warning: There is a brief description of anti-trans violence in the context of a conversation about a grindcore song from 40:45 to 41:20

"The Hobbits and the Hippies" on the Imaginary Worlds podcast: www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org/the-hobbi…pies.html

Recommendations:
Blind Guardian - At the Edge of Time: amzn.to/2kP3reD
Dragonland - Under the Gray Banner: amzn.to/2kG2OBD
Metal- A Headbanger's Journey: amzn.to/2ksPQGB
Sunn O))) - My Wall: sunn.bandcamp.com/track/my-wall

Intro/Outro Music Courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

If you purchase any of our recommendations via the above links, we may receive a small commission.

All the kids these days love those CW superhero shows, and unless you're one of those cool kids, you probably have no idea what the hell any of them are talking about. WORRY NO LONGER, DEAR LISTENERS! With this episode, you will officially be IN THE KNOW and no longer ostracized from THE IN CROWD!

Spoilers for Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash (current TV)

"The Last Jedi Who Wastes All The Other Jedi and Eats Their Bones" by John Darnielle: Rcjohnso – The-ultimate-jedi-who-wastes-all-the-other-jedi-and-eats-their-bones

Here's Summer Glau looking dumb as hell: photos.summer-glau.com/albums/usierp…f_Blood_1.jpg

And here's Tom Cavanaugh and Eric McCormack, clearly not the same person: www.zimbio.com/photos/Eric+McCor…+Show/jjG7-AZdmDL

Intro/Outro Music Courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

So, it's been a fun week for politics, right? Kinda makes you want to escape into a fictional reality with its own problems and its own factions and its own solutiosn, huh? WELL TOO DAMN BAD! We're going to talk about how real-world politics intersect with our fictional escapes. Agendas vs. Points of View! Problematic Creators! Escaping our Oppressive Reality!

"Lovecraft in Brooklyn" by the Mountain Goats: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrHgZRGLgo0

Recommendations:
Robert Jordan: The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time Book 1): amzn.to/2jLBhAG
Joe Abercrombie - Best Served Cold: amzn.to/2kMMr5E
Steven Universe: www.hulu.com/steven-universe

Intro/Outro Music courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

If you purchase any of our recommendations from the links above, we may receive a small commission.

As rumors swirl about a potential Game of Thrones spinoff TV series, we get to the bottom of whether spinoffs/crossovers/expanded universes are TRUE EXPRESSIONS OF ARTISTIC STORYTELLING or CAPITALIST CASHGRABS PREYING ON OUR CULTURALLY-PROGRAMMED COMPLETIONIST OBSESSIONS. It can only be one of the two.

Links we mentioned:
Star Trek Novels Inter-connected: io9.gizmodo.com/someone-figured-o…vel-fi-1786390422
List of TV Spinoffs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_spin-offs

Recommendations:
Shadows of Mordor: amzn.to/2j5n91t
Mechina - Conqueror: mechinamusic.bandcamp.com/album/conqueror-i
Rhapsody - Legendary Tales: amzn.to/2jJ2DFU
Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings: amzn.to/2kjHm8L

Intro/Outro music courtesy PANDAS: pandas.bandcamp.com

If you buy any of our recommendations from the above links, we may receive a small commission.