That fly tried to break my balls
Been a while, livejournal.
I went to Bellingham and played Guitar Hero and went to the Museum of Radio and Electricity. Both were quite fun.
A little while ago, I was mowing the lawn. But then I came in to look up how to harvest morning glory seeds and turn them into LSA (a close relative of LSD)...that was probably an hour ago. Since then I've made some phone calls, had a Sprite, ate some cereal...you know, the bare essentials. Blogging fits into that category, too.
I think I've read through all of Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural that I'm going to. There were a few that I skipped (usually things that were both really old and really long...I slogged through those which were just one of the two), and now there are two left, but I read them before. Still, I suppose "The Music of Erich Zann" deserves a second read.
There was a story in the "Acts of God and other horrors" section that I thought was very interesting. It was called "Lazarus" by Leonid Andreyev. It was about the biblical Lazarus and what he was like after Jesus pulled him back into the world of the living after being three days in the nothingness of death. He rarely spoke, even when spoken to, and he'd sit out in the desert all day long, staring into the sun (a character speculates that he does this (in vain) to try and penetrate the chill of the grave that still clings to him). Whoever looked into the eyes of Lazarus gained a terrible, existential insight into the world--they would look upon carpenters and masons working to construct a building, and they would see, also, the ruins of the building. A child, and also the child's future grave. Stuff like that. And they'd kill themselves or go crazy.
I feel as though I can see like Lazarus, a lot of the time.
Ooh, I opened it up to a good part, which I think I'll transcribe. In which Caesar Augustus has summoned Lazarus to him, to see what's the deal with this guy making people crazy out in Judea. He tells Lazarus that he'll put him to death for being a major buzzkill, but not before he proved his bravery by looking into his eyes.
----
At first it appeared to the deified Augustus that a friend was looking at him, so soft, so tenderly fascinating was Lazarus' glance. It promised not horror but sweet rest, and the Infinite seemed to him a tender mistress, a compassionate sister, a mother. But stronger and stronger grew its embraces, and already the mouth, greedy of hissing kisses, interfered with the monarch's breathing, and already to the surface of the soft tissues of the body came the iron of the bones and tightened its merciless circle, and unknown fangs, blunt, and cold, touched his heart and sank into it with slow indolence.
"It pains," said the deified Augustus, growing pale. "But look at me, Lazarus, look."
It was as if some heavy gates, ever closed, were slowly moving apart, and through the growing interstice the appalling horror of the Infinite poured in slowly and steadily. Like two shadows entered the shoreless void and the unfathomable darkness; they extinguished the sun, ravished the earth from under the feet, and the roof over the head. No more did the frozen heart ache.
Time stood still and the beginning of each new thing grew frightfully near to its end. Augustus' throne, just erected, crumbled down, and the void was already in the place of the throne and of Augustus. Noiselessly did Rome crumble down, and a new city stood on its site and it too was swallowed by the void. Like fantastic giants, cities, states and countries fell down and vanished in the void darkness, and with uttermost indifference did the insatiable black womb of the Infinite swallow them.
----
That's a good story.
I feel as though I should maybe go cut the rest of the grass.
I went to Bellingham and played Guitar Hero and went to the Museum of Radio and Electricity. Both were quite fun.
A little while ago, I was mowing the lawn. But then I came in to look up how to harvest morning glory seeds and turn them into LSA (a close relative of LSD)...that was probably an hour ago. Since then I've made some phone calls, had a Sprite, ate some cereal...you know, the bare essentials. Blogging fits into that category, too.
I think I've read through all of Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural that I'm going to. There were a few that I skipped (usually things that were both really old and really long...I slogged through those which were just one of the two), and now there are two left, but I read them before. Still, I suppose "The Music of Erich Zann" deserves a second read.
There was a story in the "Acts of God and other horrors" section that I thought was very interesting. It was called "Lazarus" by Leonid Andreyev. It was about the biblical Lazarus and what he was like after Jesus pulled him back into the world of the living after being three days in the nothingness of death. He rarely spoke, even when spoken to, and he'd sit out in the desert all day long, staring into the sun (a character speculates that he does this (in vain) to try and penetrate the chill of the grave that still clings to him). Whoever looked into the eyes of Lazarus gained a terrible, existential insight into the world--they would look upon carpenters and masons working to construct a building, and they would see, also, the ruins of the building. A child, and also the child's future grave. Stuff like that. And they'd kill themselves or go crazy.
I feel as though I can see like Lazarus, a lot of the time.
Ooh, I opened it up to a good part, which I think I'll transcribe. In which Caesar Augustus has summoned Lazarus to him, to see what's the deal with this guy making people crazy out in Judea. He tells Lazarus that he'll put him to death for being a major buzzkill, but not before he proved his bravery by looking into his eyes.
----
At first it appeared to the deified Augustus that a friend was looking at him, so soft, so tenderly fascinating was Lazarus' glance. It promised not horror but sweet rest, and the Infinite seemed to him a tender mistress, a compassionate sister, a mother. But stronger and stronger grew its embraces, and already the mouth, greedy of hissing kisses, interfered with the monarch's breathing, and already to the surface of the soft tissues of the body came the iron of the bones and tightened its merciless circle, and unknown fangs, blunt, and cold, touched his heart and sank into it with slow indolence.
"It pains," said the deified Augustus, growing pale. "But look at me, Lazarus, look."
It was as if some heavy gates, ever closed, were slowly moving apart, and through the growing interstice the appalling horror of the Infinite poured in slowly and steadily. Like two shadows entered the shoreless void and the unfathomable darkness; they extinguished the sun, ravished the earth from under the feet, and the roof over the head. No more did the frozen heart ache.
Time stood still and the beginning of each new thing grew frightfully near to its end. Augustus' throne, just erected, crumbled down, and the void was already in the place of the throne and of Augustus. Noiselessly did Rome crumble down, and a new city stood on its site and it too was swallowed by the void. Like fantastic giants, cities, states and countries fell down and vanished in the void darkness, and with uttermost indifference did the insatiable black womb of the Infinite swallow them.
----
That's a good story.
I feel as though I should maybe go cut the rest of the grass.