Monthly Archives: March 2016

A Visit to the Frank Frazetta Exhibit

20160314_135938So last week was Spring Break.  I had to go in to work a couple of days to get some stuff ready for labs, plus there were a number of things that simply didn’t get done, such as writing some reviews (although I did finish the first draft of the WIP), the backyard is still covered with pecans, etc.

I did manage to sneak off to Austin for an overnight trip.  I went down to see an exhibit about violence on the border in the early 20th century, which will be the next post at Dispatches From the Lone Star Front.  That will be followed by posts on La Salle and rural cemeteries.  These will be lengthy posts in some cases, so it may be a week or three before they start showing up.220px-Ffrazettaself

I got to Austin on Sunday with plans to see the museum on Monday, when a notice about a Frank Frazetta exhibit came across my Twitter feed.  An exhibit that was only a short walk (9 blocks or so) away from the Bullock State History Museum, where the exhibit I had come to see was on display.  It was at the Robert Rodriguez museum, a block off the state capital.

The impression I got from the announcement, reproduced at the end of the post, was that the exhibit was only for a week.  I think the dates were a draw for the SXSW crowd.  I didn’t care.  There were original Frank Frazetta paintings that I could go see near where I was going to be in the morning.

So you know I had to go. Continue reading

Quick Update

Things have been rather hectic in the last couple of weeks, which is why I’ve not posted anything.  I’ve got several reviews to write, and I’ll problably finish another book or two before I get them all done.  Real life things have taken priority more than I have liked.

We’re out on Spring Break, or at least the students are.  I’ve had to go in a couple of times this week.  I did make a quick trip down to Austin to see some museum exhibits.  I should get at least five posts on Dispatches From the Lone Star Front out of the trip.  Plus I need to write up the visit to the Fazetta exhibit here.

Right now my top priority is to finish a story that’s due in a couple of weeks.  I’ve not made as much progress on it as I would like.  I’m hoping to finish it this afternoon after I run a couple of errands.  We’re leaving when my wife gets off work to go pick up my son from his gradnparents, so if I’m not done, I’ll have to finish next week. I won’t be able to get much writing done there.  I should be able to finish.  I’m writing the last scene now.

Hopefully there will be a string of posts the rest of the month to make up for the lack for the last few weeks.

 

In Observance of Henry S. Whitehead’s Birthday

Weird_Tales_March_1929Henry S. Whitehead was born today, March 5, in 1882.  He wrote a number of stories for Weird Tales during its early years before his untimely death in 1932.  Much of his fiction focused on the Caribbean, where he was stationed for a number of years as a minister of the Episcopal Church.  H. P. Lovecraft visited Whitehead for several weeks in 1931.  He had a great respect for Whitehead as a person and as a writer.

To mark the occasion, I read “The People of Pan”, which was first published in the March 1929 issue of Weird Tales.  The story is available in Voodoo Tales  The Ghost Stories of Henry S. WhiteheadContinue reading

An Open Letter to …?

This is going to be an open letter to two people, neither of whose identity is known to me.  I have a first name for one person (which I will not be revealing).  The other person’s identity I don’t know at all.  This is the person I would like to talk to.

I get most of my mail at a PO box for security reasons.  I want things with financial information safely locked away, not in a mail box on my porch.

Anyway, after lunch today I swung by the post office.  There were a couple of pieces of mail with computer generated addresses, such as an insurance statement, things like that.  On top of these envelopes was a letter-sized envelope with a hand-written address.  The handwriting was unfamiliar.  I glanced at the return address but didn’t look any closer than to see it was in town.   Through the envelope I could see and feel what appeared to be a card.

Wondering who it was from, I took a closer look at the return address.  There was no name, just a PO Box, city, and zip code.  My PO Box. Continue reading