At the Mountains of Madness

I'd always had a hankering to sample some HP Lovecraft (I believe the film Hellraiser owes homage to Lovecraft and quite a few other films do, as well, In the Mouth of Madness comes to mind), so last weekend I picked up the Definitive Volume or something like that of At the Mountains of Madness and have struggled mightily throughout this whole week to stay awake whilst reading it. I mean, it starts out promising enough with half a team of Antarctic explorers being wiped out by some mysterious force or other whilst exploring in the foothills of a newly discovered mountain range that dwarfs the Himalayas in their ominous scale. But, then it just drags like hell. Lovecraft's prose is more or less clinical and not far from the madding crowd at all. I wish I had some lines to quote here, but he's fond of striking the ominous profundity without any weight of description or action behind it to allow it to strike with any dramatic force. The climactic scene has two intrepid explorers running for their lives amid a rookery of giant blind albino penguins as they try and outpace some otherworldly entity known as a shoggoth, what appears to me to be analogous to what, in D&D parlance, would be called a Gelatinous Cube. I mean, it's almost comical. I fell asleep in my La-Z Boy last night with one and a half pages left to read until the merciful ending of the tale. I mean, you'd think I could have toughed it out, right? But damn if it is not some of the most boring prose I've ever encountered in all my days. Will I finish? Is it worth it? Somebody, please tell me that this is not the best Lovecraft has to offer! Please?

Speaking of being at the brink of madness, my TQR experience is driving me a bit nuts of late.

Everyone on the Floor is doing an admirable job evaluating capital. But only two are actively using the Free Market to voice their opinions and peeves and wants. I think the other two are very busy, or they just might think the whole affair is a waste of keyboard. But I shouldn't complain; Boligard and Gabby are doing their best to keep things lively.

H3K posted his debate starter on Variations in the Terminal a week or three ago and there it sits, still without comment. Yes. It's frustrating, but the official start for the Terminal is not until Nov. 15. Perhaps H3K was premature in posting so early. I hope the level of activity picks up in there or TQR is in trouble.

Look. We've only just begun. I understand those editors I've recruited may see the performance/transparent aspect of the site off putting. Editorially they are all doing more than I have asked of them. The possibility exists that they will follow the leads of those who are more vocal in the Free Market once they get into their groove. That's what I'm hoping for anyhow. Plus, I know that I am impatient and megalomaniacal at times, so I'm trying to hold on loosely because I know if I hold too tightly, I'm gonna lose control.

My apologies to .38 Special.

This weeks dynamic content new on site includes 1) a short essay: In Defense... of Transparency, which is also posted here, and 2) Insider Trading undergone with a Mr. Fogg of some security outfit in Portland, Oregon, who is a major-minor character (though not the protagonist) in the latest Capital Gain, These Good Days. As well as 3) the new CG, the just mentioned, These Good Days. Please, go and check out the site.


PS, Doomey is tearing it up in the Free Market on the Floor. You can't help but entertain some of his thoughts.