Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sawfish Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ...and yet, and yet...
> >
> > In the midst of this waking nightmare, and
> > apparently in spite of it, Obexah, Zotulla's
> main
> > squeeze, sees Namirrah for the first time and
> > wonders what he's like in bed.
> >
> > Friends, only CAS...
>
>
> CAS and the Washington Post.
>
> [www.washingtonpost.com]
> pride-month-kink-consent/


What is the disease that afflicts us at this point in time? A sort of Mad Cow disease...? It's like some foul spirochete is gnawing away at any last shred of human dignity--any notion of self-restraint in favor of the collective betterment.

How will all this end up? A happy, squirming mass of uninhibited and non-judgmental humanity? Is that what these people think? An Age of Aquarius for narcissists?

And if so, consider the sobering fact that they're probably voters...

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sawfish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Why don't we just admit that Zothique is on Mars?
> ;^)


The scientific prediction among astronomers is that in the far future (we are talking billions of years hence, X times 1000,000,000 years. So we have lots of time to do whatever we want. Likely, other species will have replaced humans and other animals on Earth by that time. If we play our cards well, we may still be on the train.), the swelling of the Sun will consume and burn up the Earth, and at the same time make Mars temperature suitable for living. Even further along into the future, all the planets in the Solar system will have become consumed.

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The scientific prediction among astronomers is
> that in the far future (we are talking billions of
> years hence, X times 1000,000,000 years. So we
> have lots of time to do whatever we want. Likely,
> other species will have replaced humans and other
> animals on Earth by that time. If we play our
> cards well, we may still be on the train.), the
> swelling of the Sun will consume and burn up the
> Earth, and at the same time make Mars temperature
> suitable for living. Even further along into the
> future, all the planets in the Solar system will
> have become consumed.


Sounds like you've had more than just a few crumbs of this advanced science! It's an intuitive idea that a larger sun would mean a potentially more life-sustaining Mars. If this science was commonly known back then, then CAS' Martian Aihais (and any human colonists) would have something to look forward to, though this wouldn't be the abysmal cosmic horror he preferred.


Sawfish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Why don't we just admit that Zothique is on Mars?
> ;^)


CAS' Martian stories are essentially Zothique on Mars.
;^)

I've just finished reading "The Dweller in the Gulf", the very story which made me want to create this thread. Perhaps others will disagree, but I was wrong for suggesting it wasn't so stellar. It strikes me as one of CAS' most frightening, oppressive, nightmarish, and intense stories ever, and it gave me countless chills throughout the entire second half! It has almost no plot, being more of an atmospheric exploration of a subterranean realm and its alien inhabitants. It shares a lot in common with HPL, but with the poetry, movement, and visceral and spiritual sensations of CAS' better stories. This is not one of his sci-fi stinkers! I can hear those wet, squishy, alien footfalls resounding in the darkness ahead of me, above me!

And that monster. Its design is so gracefully alien and disturbing that I wonder if CAS might have seen it in an actual vision of an actual other world!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2 Jul 21 | 12:34AM by Hespire.

Hespire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knygatin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The scientific prediction among astronomers is
> > that in the far future (we are talking billions of
> > years hence, X times 1000,000,000 years. So we
> > have lots of time to do whatever we want. Likely,
> > other species will have replaced humans and other
> > animals on Earth by that time. If we play our
> > cards well, we may still be on the train.), the
> > swelling of the Sun will consume and burn up the
> > Earth, and at the same time make Mars temperature
> > suitable for living. Even further along into the
> > future, all the planets in the Solar system will
> > have become consumed.
>
>
> Sounds like you've had more than just a few crumbs
> of this advanced science!


Well, I have a small bunch of books, and a medium sized 4" refractor telescope for observations. But it was a while ago I actively pursued it. ;)

More monsters!

Having missed the train in my childhood, I recently acquired an interest in flesh-eating, or rather, insect-eating plants! The most famous of these, the Venus flytrap, should be an ingredient of every boy's room.
I bought one, and was lucky to witness on one of the first days, the intolerable suspense of how a fly spontaneously walked over it, up to a trap, feeling it with its front legs, backed away, continued to another, walked right into it, and - snap! - was caught in its jaws. I have read about this plant before, and watched it on TV. But seeing it in real life, moving, and cruelly trapping that poor fly, was creepy and dizzying! Unreal, supernatural. I couldn't help but think, is this really a plant?, is it not an animal? Is it conscious?! Quite beautiful it is in the pot too, with all its jaws.

Another species of insect-eating plant is the bizarre Sarracenia purpurea. Here above view. And another variant. How grotesque! A true monster! Looks like a group of obese, drugged or undead individuals, with rudimentary arms, laying back with their mouths open, waiting for whatever is coming to them.

Yet another species is called Darlingtonia californica or cobra lily. It lures insects with its cloven tongue, which leads up to the mouth on the underside of its head. It is actually unique to Northern California and Oregon. I think CAS may well have seen this plant, and used it as inspiration for his flower-women, "leaning toward him with fantastic invitation"!!

Darlingtonia californica growing by a stream at the northern range of the Sierra Nevada. Similar surroundings that CAS would hike along.

My married daughter and her husband use the fly trap and purpurea for insect control in the greenhouse they co-own. I don't know how effective the plants are in terms of getting mosquitoes etc., but I applaud the intention; and the plants are intriguing... Thanks, Knygatin! Btw my wife gave me a flytrap just a few days ago.

>
>
> Sawfish Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
>
>
It has almost no plot, being
> more of an atmospheric exploration of a
> subterranean realm and its alien inhabitants.


"The Abominations of Yondo" is another example. No plot, just morbid descriptions of the monstrosities and unnatural flora the poor exile finds in the strange land.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 3 Jul 21 | 01:42PM by Minicthulhu.

Minicthulhu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > Sawfish Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> >
> It has almost no plot, being
> > more of an atmospheric exploration of a
> > subterranean realm and its alien inhabitants.
>
>

This is what I take to be a "prose poem". I've never been real sure what a prose poem is, bit maybe this is it.
> "The Abominations of Yondo" is another example. No
> plot, just morbid descriptions of the
> monstrosities and unnatural flora the poor exile
> finds in the strange land.

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minicthulhu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "The Abominations of Yondo" is another example. No
> plot, just morbid descriptions of the
> monstrosities and unnatural flora the poor exile
> finds in the strange land.


And much like "Dweller", "Yondo" was fine without any sort of plot! It's also fantastic for this thread's purpose, with its parade of abominations. I still get shivers from that pursuing shadow...

I don't know what a prose poem is exactly, either, but I do know that "Yondo", "Dweller", "Sadastor", and others have many descriptive segments that read like complete poems in themselves.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 3 Jul 21 | 03:43PM by Hespire.

Keeping in mind HPL's preference for atmosphere and observation rather than plot or character development, CAS' Martian stories might be his most Lovecraftian, and that's an adjective I don't use lightly. "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" has the scientifically-fascinated tone, dramatic sense of revelation, and philosophical stance of a classic HPL story, along with the traditional premise of a slow, ​realistic expedition to a dark place that fills the protagonist with dread and disgust, yet also fatal obsession. "The Dweller in the Gulf" follows its predecessor's Lovecraftian lead, but CAS further distinguishes himself by removing the scientific framework and increasing the ambivalence. The characters recognize the hopelessness and otherworldly horror of their situation, yet their minds begin melding with the alien surroundings the deeper they go in the dark, until eventually they feel a cosmic oneness with the vastness, the darkness, the devourer, and the disturbing ecstasy of the blind Martian cultists. It goes a bit beyond the battle for sanity associated with Lovecraftian fiction, as it immerses the characters so completely in alien sensations, without giving them a chance to resist it, and in the end they're only left with grim acceptance of the cosmic void they sought to escape. "Vulthoom" isn't exactly a Lovecraftian story, but the eponymous entity is like the Martian equivalent of Cthulhu, and the ending acknowledges the last laugh of a creature for whom time and morality are nearly meaningless.

These are some of my most favorite works of CAS, and they're filled with memorable monsters. Just check out this description of one of Vulthoom's servants!

Quote:

They rose from the rocky bottom to the height of giraffes, with shortish legs that were vaguely similar to those of Chinese dragons, and elongated spiral necks like the middle coils of great anacondas. Their heads were triple-faced, and they might have been the trimurti of some infernal world. It seemed that each face was eyeless, with tongue-shapen flames issuing voluminously from deep orbits beneath the slanted brows. Flames also poured in a ceaseless vomit from the gaping gargoyle mouths. From the head of each monster a triple comb of vermilion flared aloft in sharp serrations, glowing terribly; and both of them were bearded with crimson scrolls. Their necks and arching spines were fringed with sword-long blades that diminished into rows of daggers on the tapering tails; and their whole bodies, as well as this fearsome armament, appeared to burn as if they had just issued from a fiery furnace.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 3 Jul 21 | 03:58PM by Hespire.

Hespire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Keeping in mind HPL's preference for atmosphere
> and observation rather than plot or character
> development, CAS' Martian stories might be his
> most Lovecraftian, and that's an adjective I don't
> use lightly. "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" has the
> scientifically-fascinated tone, dramatic sense of
> revelation, and philosophical stance of a classic
> HPL story, along with the traditional premise of a
> slow, ​realistic expedition to a dark place that
> fills the protagonist with dread and disgust, yet
> also fatal obsession.

Yoh-Vombis is terrific!

And yes, very much like a Lovecraft "voyage-of-discovery-gone-wrong" narrative, like Mountains of Madness.

Yoh-Vombis is very vivid in my memory: the shackled Martian at the walled-up part of the cavern, the carvings of the "scarf dance", the wanderings of the narrator's possessed companions--all very distinct.


> "The Dweller in the Gulf"
> follows its predecessor's Lovecraftian lead, but
> CAS further distinguishes himself by removing the
> scientific framework and increasing the
> ambivalence. The characters recognize the
> hopelessness and otherworldly horror of their
> situation, yet their minds begin melding with the
> alien surroundings the deeper they go in the dark,
> until eventually they feel a cosmic oneness with
> the vastness, the darkness, the devourer, and the
> disturbing ecstasy of the blind Martian cultists.
> It goes a bit beyond the battle for sanity
> associated with Lovecraftian fiction, as it
> immerses the characters so completely in alien
> sensations, without giving them a chance to resist
> it, and in the end they're only left with grim
> acceptance of the cosmic void they sought to
> escape. "Vulthoom" isn't exactly a Lovecraftian
> story, but the eponymous entity is like the
> Martian equivalent of Cthulhu, and the ending
> acknowledges the last laugh of a creature for whom
> time and morality are nearly meaningless.
>
> These are some of my most favorite works of CAS,
> and they're filled with memorable monsters. Just
> check out this description of one of Vulthoom's
> servants!
>
> They rose from the rocky bottom to the height of
> giraffes, with shortish legs that were vaguely
> similar to those of Chinese dragons, and elongated
> spiral necks like the middle coils of great
> anacondas. Their heads were triple-faced, and they
> might have been the trimurti of some infernal
> world. It seemed that each face was eyeless, with
> tongue-shapen flames issuing voluminously from
> deep orbits beneath the slanted brows. Flames also
> poured in a ceaseless vomit from the gaping
> gargoyle mouths. From the head of each monster a
> triple comb of vermilion flared aloft in sharp
> serrations, glowing terribly; and both of them
> were bearded with crimson scrolls. Their necks and
> arching spines were fringed with sword-long blades
> that diminished into rows of daggers on the
> tapering tails; and their whole bodies, as well as
> this fearsome armament, appeared to burn as if
> they had just issued from a fiery furnace.

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My married daughter and her husband use the fly
> trap and purpurea for insect control in the
> greenhouse they co-own. I don't know how
> effective the plants are in terms of getting
> mosquitoes etc., but I applaud the intention; and
> the plants are intriguing... Thanks, Knygatin!
> Btw my wife gave me a flytrap just a few days ago.

My Sarracenia is voracious. I see victims, especially those small annoying fruit flies, falling down into its mouths all the time.

The Venus flytrap mostly eat spiders and other insects, but indoor flies don't seem so very keen on visiting it. It is recommended that one feeds it; but it doesn't like dead food. I taped together a square frame from sticks, covered it with clear plastic wrap, and place this over the pot at night; capture some flies and let loose inside. In the morning I visit "the scene of the crime". One meal satisfies for a long time. I have three separate plants in my pot, and one of them has not captured anything yet, so I am a little worried for it.

Insect-eating plants don't like tap water. They need rain water, or water taken from some clean mossy pond. And they don't like earthenware crocks because of possible depositions leaking into their mossy soil. They love to be placed outside in the summer time.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know how effective the plants are in terms of getting
> mosquitoes ...

I don't know about mosquitoes. They are bloodsuckers, and likely not attracted to the scented nectar of these plants.


Darlingtonia Californica was discovered in 1841 by botanist J. D. Brackenridge south of Mt. Shasta.

He had just picked up these plants when he bumped into a bunch of Indians.
When he fled from there he noticed that a butterfly followed the plants he carried. That's how attractive this plant is to its prey.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 4 Jul 21 | 06:48AM by Knygatin.

Knygatin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> And they don't like earthenware crocks because of possible depositions leaking into their mossy soil.
>

I.e. terracotta pots. Unless they are sealed. I like earthenware pots, so I put a plastic pot inside it.