Where My Head Has Been Lately

Otis Adelbert Kline is considered the only Edgar Rice Burroughs imitator to ever give old ERB a run for his money. In 1930 Kline, who worked on the editorial staff of Wierd Tales, pissed off Burroughs, who had a successful Mars franchise going with his "Barsoom" or "John Carter of Mars" series by setting his "Peril" series on Venus, and using a very similar means by which to send his Earthman to a distant planet. In retaliation, Burroughs created the "Carson of Venus" stories. Kline responded by writing a bunch of novels set on Mars itself. Sort of the 1930s version of a flame war. This cover is from a 1961 Ace Paperback edition on loan from my friend and colleague Pierce Watters. Artwork by Roy Krenkel, Jr.


Kothar and the Wizard Slayer, by Flash, Justice Society, Justice League, and Adam Strange creator Gardner F. Fox, is the final volume in a series that includes Kothar - Barbarian Swordsman, Kothar and the Demon Queen, Kothar of the Magic Sword!, and Kothar and the Conjurer's Curse. Cover image from the 1970 first (and only) printing from Modern Promotions. Artwork by J. Jokes (?).



Thongor, the warrior hero of Lemuria, was a... well, let's just call it an "homage" to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian by Lin Carter. As an editor, Carter coordinated Ballantine's "Adult Fantasy" imprint, which greatly inspired Dungeons & Dragons. Though his is mostly forgotten today, in 1973 Thongor ranked enough to score his own Marvel character. Artwork for 1969's Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria is uncredited, but head-exploding awesome. Art on the original 1965 Ace edition by Gray Morrow.

Os Mutantes Has Altered My DNA

Since Wednesday I've been walking around with a stupid afterglow grin that must make my colleagues think there's some kind of funny business going on behind the closed door of my office.

"What's up?" they ask.

"I just saw a sweet concert," I say, grinning stupidly.

"Oh yeah? Who'd you see?"

"Os Mutantes."

The blank look is almost always the same. "Oh. Great," they say. The polite ones ask for more information, which I now provide to the world (or at least the subset that reads my blog) in the form of video.

Here's the trailer for a new documentary about the band. It provides the historical framework and gives you a taste of their music and peerless, unrelenting originality.

Then, once you are ready, delve deeper.

Then.

Now.

Now the only thing left to do is to buy the CD. This one, assembled by David Byrne of Talking Heads fame, is the best introduction to the band, but this one is also pretty essential.

I want your full report in the Comments. Those of you who don't click the links will receive 12 demerits.

Katherine Harris's Favorite Charity

You probably remember Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris from her role in the contentious 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. She was the Cruella DeVille character who ended the hand count of the votes and achieved a place in infamy in the hearts of liberals everywhere. Did I mention that she looked funny?


Anyway, she's now a member of the House of Representatives (you scratch my back, etc.), and is running for a Senate seat against Bill Nelson, a fairly conservative Florida Democrat. That's brought a fair amount of attention from the media and bloggers, and she has certainly provided plenty of column fodder.

After being caught trying to get a financial earmark for the company of a convicted felon after enjoying a $2,800 meal with said felon, the red-faced Ms. Harris (haw haw) decided to donate $100 -- her portion of the meal's cost -- to a charity.

That charity has a pretty funny website that's worth a look. Note that the female pastor was "sold to devils" as a child and that she has come back from the dead.

Me, I'm not so comfortable with End Timers as the folks with their hands on the reins of power in this country.

You?

Our Media Blows Ass

I was doing some light reading on media consolidation this evening, and came across what must be one of the funniest "TV Funhouse" segments ever aired on "Saturday Night Live."

Once.

It got edited out of the reruns.

Surprise!

"Spirit of Ecstasy"

In the pantheon of Erik's Twisted Heroes, Serge Gainsbourg is chief musical curator and venerable boozologist.

??????

Your guess is as good as mine.

The Return of Politics

I provide the sweet link, you provide the comments.

Go.

Wikimania!

While doing a little research tonight I decided to try my hand at editing a few D&D-related Wikipedia pages, mostly to correct mistakes or add a bit of information I happened to know off the top of my head. While doing so I thought it might be a good idea to note which adventures had been ranked the 30 greatest of all time by the panel I put together back in 2004, and I ended up creating an entire page for that panel. You can see my first from-scratch Wikipedia page here.

That list, incidentally, follows (I've put stars on the ones that don't have Wiki pages):

30: The Ghost Tower of Inverness
29: The Assassin's Knot
28: The Lost City*
27: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh*
26: City of Skulls
25: Dragons of Despair*
24: City of the Spider Queen*
23: The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
22: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
21: Dark Tower*
20: Scourge of the Slave Lords
19: Against the Cult of the Reptile God
18: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
17: Ruins of Undermountain* (!)
16: The Isle of Dread* (!!)
15: Castle Amber
14: Dead Gods*
13: Dwellers of the Forbidden City
12: The Forge of Fury*
11: The Gate of Firestorm Peak*
10: Return to the Tomb of Horrors*
9: White Plume Mountain
8: Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil
7: The Keep on the Borderlands
6: The Desert of Desolation* (!)
5: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
4: The Temple of Elemental Evil
3: Tomb of Horrors
2: Ravenloft
1: Queen of the Spiders* (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Not a bad list.