6 ’Av 5768: The Nine Days/Sea Serpent Day/Hamburger Day

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: “Stop the War on Women in Congo”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Jordan Drops the West Bank (1988)”
  
• “Goats slip past security fence near NYC bridge” (Also known as “weapons of grass destruction”.)
  
• “$12 Indian 'TV computer' a knockoff of '80s Nintendo system, not Apple II”
  
• “Calories In - Calories Out”
  
• “Dutch town tests 'air-purifying' concrete”
  
• “'DIY' kidney machine saves girl” (This sounds like something out of a M*A*S*H episode.
  
• “Antivaxxers and the media”
  
• “It's embarrassing to be an Israeli” (Join the club. It’s embarrassing to be an American these days. We need practical ways to get people out of office who do not belong there and to implement them.)

Today’s tale of Lovecraftian horror (which translates to something that only claims to be scary), in place of a weird thing due to the Three Weeks and the Nine Days, is “The Lurking Fear”.


WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. AS IF YOU REALLY WERE WORRIED ABOUT BEING SPOILED.

Theological review of “The Lurking Fear”:

I have no clue why this story was included in a list of Cthulhu Mythos stories, featuring neither the Necronomicon or the Lovecraftian pseudo-gods. It is also particularly lacking a theological aspect. Mostly it displays racist notions on H. P. Lovecraft’s part, and the sort of “degeneration” depicted is one not attested in any real human group. Do not bother reading this story.

Theological rating: I (for irrelevancy).

Scariness rating: I have seen dust bunnies scarier than this story. My pants remain unmoved.


Tomorrow’s allegedly scary story: “The Shunned House”.

Aaron