Cromtober 2019 - Fear, Part I - Infinity

Welcome, Cromrades! It's our favorite time of the year, the season of Cromtober! This year, we go a little free-form with a discussion of our fears. For this first episode (click here) we use HPL's poem, "Nemesis," as a lynchpin for our discussion. Find it here!

One Things
Jon: Anthony Bourdain's 'Hungry Ghosts'
Josh: Final Fantasy Tactics
Luke: Shirley Jackson's 'We have Always Lived in the Castle'

Questions? Comments? Curses?
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Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. Theme music is "Right Behind You."

Season 10 Episode 3, "Muad'Dib"

Welcome back, Fremen Cromrades! We are continuing our sojourn through the hot and arid sands of Arrakis, ever in search of that spice which makes intergalactic travel possible! This week, we discuss Book II of Dune, titled "Muad'Dib". Let's catch up with Paul and Jessica, meet Stilgar, become better acquainted with the complex interactions between civilization and barbarism inherent to Fremen culture, and dig into the layers of humanism and cosmicism that Frank Herbert wove into his story of betrayal, revenge, heroes, and Messiahs! Also - knife fights!

Art by Nick Patterson, found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BBNtsXyQGUd/

One Things:
Jon: Browsing "Imaginary Maps" on Reddit!
Josh: Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Luke: Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison

We will continue along the Road to Arrakis soon, and cover Book III: "The Prophet" shortly. However, we must take a break. The days are shortening. Nights are becoming longer. Leaves are changing color and growing sere on the trees. Moonlight shines down upon a hut, balanced upon a chicken leg, surrounded by a vast expanse of corn fields. Last year, we entered The Witch's Hut. This year, we'll tell you what we found there, or should we say -- what found us there.

Cromtober is at hand! What are you afraid of? 

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

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We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. 

Outro: "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe.  All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 10 Episode 2: "Dune"

Welcome back, Cromrades! This week we go deep into the first section of Frank Herbert's Dune, from the standpoint of civilization and barbarism, unwanted power, drugs, factions vying for control of Arrakis, ecology, fathers and sons, mothers and sons, conservation, perceptions of native cultures as noble savages, space nuns, adapting to new environments, and more!

Need a copy? Here it is from Amazon.

One Things
Jon: Fables the comic book series
Josh: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Luke: Mindhunter on Netflix

Next time - we wander further into the deserts of Arrakis in the second section of Dune, titled "Muad'Dib".

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Did you know that we're on Facebook?
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Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner!
Or, check us out on iTunes!
We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. 

Outro: "Tomorrow's Dream" by Black Sabbath.  All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 10 Episode 1: Dune as Pulp, Dune as S&S!

Welcome, Cromrades! We embark upon a new season centered on Frank Herbert's Dune! Please join us as we start down the Road to Arrakis! In this episode we talk about the Golden Age of SF, the 3 B's (Bims, BEMs, and Bums), and how Dune breaks that mold of foundational science fiction pulps!

One Things
Jon: Jonah Hex, by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Josh: The Iron Lords, written by Andrew J. Offutt
Luke: 12 Monkeys, directed by Terry Gilliam

Otherwise, if you are looking for some context for the correspondence and narrative outlined here, seek out the The Road to Dune by Herbert, Anderson, and Herbert.

Questions? Comments? Curses?
Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)
You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Did you know that we're on Facebook?
We're posting photos on the Instagrams!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner!
Or, check us out on iTunes!
We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Outro: "To Tame a Land" by Iron Maiden.  All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 9 Episode 9: The Recapitulation – End of The Road of Revisions!

Welcome, Cromrades! We've reached the end of The Road of Revisions, and this week we reflect on what we've learned about Robert E. Howard's revision process and discuss the implications of posthumous collaborations.

One Things
Jon: The Helmet Project - an online index of the helmets worn by various American football teams at all levels of play throughout history.
Josh: My Father, The Pornographer: A Memoir by Chris Offutt.
Luke: Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin

Robert E. Howard's bedroom as it might have looked as he wrote and revised his works...

Where do we go from here? How about setting sail across the gulfs of space to the desert planet of Arrakis?

Frank Herbert's Dune is a science fiction masterpiece that blends elements of fantasy to create a rich and fully realized fictional world.  At first it may seem like this is a substantial departure for us! But fear not (fear is the mind-killer!), because we think you'll see similar themes that we've explored in other stories unfold within this work in a unique way! 

This novel, first published in 1965, finds its roots in the pulps of the day. And that is where we will begin Season 10 - The Road to Arrakis, next time! 

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Did you know that we're on Facebook?
We're posting photos on the Instagrams!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner!
Or, check us out on iTunes!
We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. 

Outro: "Astronomy" by Blue Oyster Cult.  All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 9 Episode 8: The Expansion – "Nekht Semerkhet" by RE Howard and expanded by Andrew J. Offutt

Greetings, Cromrades! This week, we are reading "Nekht Semerkhet" as orginally written by Robert E. Howard and then expanded upon by Andrew J. Offutt. There's a lot to cover today, including barbarism v. civilization, Egyptian contact theories, and how tropes can become larger than life. Tune in if you dare!

One Things
Jon: It was the War of the Trenches by Jacques Tardi- Graphic novel depicting the brutality of WW1
Josh: Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix- An examination of 70s/80s paperback horror books
Luke: Lean Times in Lankhmar and Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber- You know 'em and love 'em

Next time: We reach the end of The Road of Revisions! We will be recapitulating all we learned and our feelings about the stories, as well as revealing our next road!

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Did you know that we're on Facebook?
We're posting photos on the Instagrams!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner!
Or, check us out on iTunes!
We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. 

Outro: "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles.  All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!