Happy birthday, On the Other Side of the Eye!

Today it's August 10th, which makes it the 6th anniversary since the publication of On the Other Side of the Eye by Sam's Dot Publishing in Iowa.

We've come a long way, and I thank everyone who's been a part of that journey.

One week left to the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival-Los Angeles Kickstarter!

We're in the final stretch for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival: Los Angeles Kickstarter this year! We're 50% of the way there, but we need your help to spread the word, or, even better, to chip in. :)

With less than a week to go, we need to raise the remaining funds, or see none of it, under the all-or-nothing rules of a kickstarter campaign. As we explain at the kickstarter:

"The HPLFF started almost 20 years ago in Portland, Oregon by Andrew Migliore. After years of attending and contributing, filmmaker Aaron Vanek went insane and spawned an HPLFF in his hometown of Los Angeles. This is a licensed franchise of the Portland fest, but each festival has its own distinct brand of madness. The first three LA festivals were successes but paid for out of pocket and just missed breaking even each time. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide the same excitement and entertainment this year without your help. Our savings are drained so without YOU we'll be hard pressed to maintain and improve the quality this independently run horror and weird tale film festival has had in the past."

There are some amazing guests lined up for this year who will make it extremely worth happening:

Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator producer, Beyond Re-Animator director, plus many other Lovecraft movies)

Stuart Gordon - (Dagon and Re-Animator director)

Jason Thompson (artist, writer for The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath and many other Lovecraft graphic adaptations)

Jean-Paul Ouellette (director, The Unnamable 1 and 2)

Mark Kinsey Stephenson (actor, "Randolph Carter" in The Unnamable I and The Unnamable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter)

Nancy Holder (New York Times Bestselling author)

Gary Myers (author, The House of the Worm and the new The Country of the Worm)

Cody Goodfellow (writer, All-Monster Action, Radiant Dawn, Ravenous Dusk)

Ross E. Lockhart (editor, Books of Cthulhu I and II)

D.H. Covey (artist, Dagon, Beyond Re-Animator)

Macabre Fantasy Radio Theater - performing another thrilling audio drama on stage!

Eben Brooks (The man responsible for the squamous, rugose filk song “Hey There Cthulhu”)

And many others are being lined up as well. Check it out at:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/906612014/hp-lovecraft-film-festival-and-cthulhucon-los-ange

The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival promotes the works of H.P. Lovecraft, literary horror, and weird tales through the cinematic adaptations by professional and amateur filmmakers. The festival was founded in 1995 by Andrew Migliore in the hope that H.P. Lovecraft would be rightly recognized as a master of gothic horror and his work more faithfully adapted to film and television.

Crowdfunding a conscientious cup of coffee: Jhai Coffee in Laos

Little Laos on the Prairie has an interview with Janelle Kaczmarzewski of the Jhai Coffee House, which is running an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a philanthropic coffee roaster and cafe in Paksong, Laos. Profits will go to assist water purification efforts in the region as well.

It's a very intriguing project that has the support of many great people with big hearts. I hope that this will also energize others to give careful consideration to social entrepreneurship in Laos and in their own communities to change our world for the better. 

In the first day, the campaign has already raised almost 20% but hopefully they can keep the momentum going over the next 30 days and bring greater awareness to the needs and the opportunities in Laos. I'd strongly encourage you to consider donating to the project. They have a great vision, and it's a much needed project abroad. 

Cover unveiled for Lontar #1!

Some of you may remember a while back that I announced the forthcoming publication of my poem "Stainless Steel Nak" in Lontar, the journal of Southeast Asian speculative fiction based in Singapore. After some delays, the issue looks like it's finally ready to go into print this month. A preview of the cover has been unveiled reflecting a very interesting design and  speaks of intriguing work to come in the future.

If you have a chance, be sure to go visit them at http://lontarjournal.com