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Episode 88 begins with a brief Campus Crier to catch us up on a few topics. Then we go into the Live show recorded at NecronomiCon 2015 by Chad and Murf! The Crier was recorded on September 20, 2015.

Campus Crier-

Goal has been reached on Golden Goblin’s Tales of the Caribbean Kickstarter! Lovecraftesque: A GMless roleplaying game (RPG) of brooding cosmic horror. Create stories like HP Lovecraft; forget Cthulhu – create your own terrors.   Last show, we made an error of omission by not mentioning the comments of Robert Price at the Opening Ceremony of Necronomicon 2015. We apologize for this. We will cover the wider topic, but we want to do it well, and that means preparation. We encourage mature and polite discussion on the Campus Forum about this topic. Here are videos of Mr. Price’s statements that angered many listeners, and the Lovecraft and Racism panel moderated by Niels Hobbs.

The NecronomiCon 2015 Opening Cermimonies: Mr. Price’s segment https://youtu.be/8UQMkzih97E?t=56m53s

Lovecraft and Racism: Moving Past the Howies https://youtu.be/ViSSsBrkWU0

Here is a transcription of what was said by Robert Price-

Below is the relevant section. He begins with a few minutes talking about Lovecraft and the overall legacy of the Mythos, but mostly how he captured imagination and influenced writers. Then he gets into this thesis:

“Let me mention a couple of things which did not grow out of Lovecraft but which he correctly foresaw. One is the rising tide of atheism and rationalism issuing in a rejection of religion. Some may have gotten direction from HPL on this point, having read his statement of his own naturalism and rationalism from his eloquent letters and found it convincing, as they would’ve had those sentiments had the names Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens on them. But in fact more of today’s crop of religion rejecters probably have learned their atheism from Dawkins, Hitchens or a number of others. And of course the scientific orientation of most science fiction fans may be said to have predisposed them, as it did young Howard, to atheism. But as rationalism ascends here, it declines there, and Lovecraft foresaw that, too, and very clearly. If we can manage to look past his racism, we will see something deeper and quite valid. Lovecraft envisioned not only the threat that scientific knowledge poses to our anthropomorphic smugness, but also the ineluctable advance of the hordes of non-Western anti-rationalism, to consume a decadent, Euro-centric West. Superstition, barbarism and fanaticism would sooner or later devour us. Who could doubt that we’re in the midst of this very assault? The bloodlust of jihadism threatens Western civilization, and the effete senescen West seems all too eager to go gently into that endless night. Our centers of learning have converted the power politics, and an affirmative action epistemology, cynically redefining truth as ideology. Logic is undermined by the new axiom of the ad hominem: if white males formulated logic, then logic must be regarded as an instrument of oppression. Lovecraft was wrong about many things, but not, I think, this one. It’s the real-life Horror of Red Hook.”

(Relevant section ends here)

Cryptocurium Spotlight-

October Parcel of Terror announced:

I’ve thought long and hard and I’ve decided to make the October “Halloween Edition” of the Parcel of Terror a mystery box! There are so many awesome items to be included from various sources and given the “trick or treat” theme, I figured you folks would appreciate a big Halloween box of mysterious tricks and treats!

During the live show, Chad does a live History Lecture featuring the Wendigo! Discuss this episode on the Campus Forum Here is the huge gallery of images from the con: [gallery type="rectangular" ids="3966,3955,3958,3987,3979,3960,3959,3961,3956,3963,3957,3964,3962,3954,3965,3975,3971,3967,3968,3969,3970,3972,3973,3974,3976,3977,3978,3980,3981,3982,3983,3984,3985,3986,3988,3989,3990,3991,3992,3993,3994,3995,3996,3997,3998,3999,4000,4001,4002,4003,4004,4005,4006,4007,4008,4009"]    ]]>