Necronomicon Providence 2015, Day Two #NecronomiconPVD

Yesterday's session of Necronomicon Providence 2015 was, for Liv and I, mostly helping out Sigh Co Graphics at their booth. But, we did get away to enjoy some of the day's panels and entertainment. I attended two panels: Non-Euclidean Science which was an entertaining and informative discussion of how the scientific discoveries of Lovecraft's time rattled his worldview, but which then degenerated into flakey questions; and Ah-Cult! Magick in Prose and Practice, which was a fairly mundane discussion of how the occult might have influenced Lovecraft's fiction. I asked the panel whether the occult community's embrace of Lovecraft's monsters as egregores might be an attempt to reconcile itself to Nietzschean ethics and metaphysics. They agreed that this was probably the case, and the panel moderator, Anthony Teth, coined the term "Nietzsche-Lovecraftian" to cover this marriage. (He also had a nice quip to go with that, but I can't remember it now.)

The "Non-Euclidean Science" panel, consisting of panelists with some scientific or mathematics background. Panelists: Professor Dan Look, Fred Lubnow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Pete Rawlik, Jeff Shanks. Moderator: Niels Hobbs

The "Ah-Cult! Magick in Prose and Practice" panel, consisting of panelists with some occult background: Richard Gavin, Scott R. Jones, Justin Woodman, Douglas Wynne. Moderator: Anthony Teth

And then of course we had the work of vending, vending, and more vending, including a run-in with Ross Lockhart.

Ross Lockhart, no bingo sheets this time, and Liv Rainey-Smith

As vending wrapped up we rushed to the Biltmore Hotel to see the evening's performances. First was David Neilsen's animated telling of The Call of Cthulhu.

He plays a convincing 1930's-era academic at the end of his rope.

The second was the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society's War of the Worlds style adaptation of several Lovecraft tales, including Dagon and Shadow over Innsmouth, appropriately enough with a 1930's radio styled happy ending.

Preparations are being made...for a radio play!

Liv and I ended the evening with dinner and drinks, after which I joined another convention-goer in serenading Joe Pulver with Tom Lehrer songs, while Pulver shouted abuse at my singing companion, begging his editor to release him from his contract with said companion. Liv took video of this, which I will try to post later. Joe seemed more satisfied with my rendition of Unacceptable, which I sang at my companion as he left:

Unacceptable, that's what you are
Unacceptable, both near and far
That's why darling it's regrettable
That someone so unacceptable
Should think I am unacceptable too....

Liv Rainey-Smith, Joe Pulver, and Pulver's editor. All three wear awesome t-shirts.

Day three is about to start...see you there?