The Monster of Nightmares and the Unknown Professor Ramos Blog

The Monster of Nightmares and the Unknown The monster I am covering is Cthulhu. Out of all of the monsters I have seen if I had to put him on a grading scale I would give him an â€Å"A†. He is a monster that is hard to understand because he is very rarely directly referenced in anything; even his name is rarely uttered by anyone. He is described as â€Å"The Thing cannot be described- there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order.† (Lovecraft 3) in his original story where he appears but since then he has taken on a new shape. He is said to look like a giant green humanoid creature with a squid like head, tentacles making up his mouth, wings on his back, a long tail, and claws. Cthulhu He is considered to be one of â€Å"The Old Ones† (Lovecraft 2) a being of nightmares and unimaginable power and knowledge; a god in his own right. Even when he is in his eternal slumber her can alters peoples dreams, and make them see horrific unthinkable things. He wants to use people against themselves, using a person’s curiosity against them as they seek out the source of the dreams and horrible visions. He is also known to shift reality by giving people ancient artifacts about the old ones and even having mind melting creatures stand in the wake of anyone that opposite him or his cults. His ultimate goal is to be released into the universe so that he can do as he pleases again, with no one to stop him. Once released everyone can only hope that they are so insignificant that he will not destroy our planet. â€Å"We are like ants to him, our only hope is that he does not notice us so that we can keep living our insignificant lives.† (Gildark) He is also said to know so much that if you ever got the chance to ask him a question your brain would literally explode before he ever finished answering you. With the better understanding of how the monster looks and how he acts, I can explain how Cthulhu is a grade â€Å"A† monster. Cthulhu came to be through a short horror tale written by the writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft in the magazine called Weird Tales in the year 1928. Lovecraft would go on to write many more horrific monsters and tales that would become very famous in literature. Cthulhu represents the fear of the unknown in culture, but he can also represent the fear of the uncontrollable. He serves the culture by showing us we can’t let the fear of the unknown consume us and drive us mad. We have to keep moving forward with our lives and make it the best we can with what we have. Cthulhu is able to meet the criteria of a lot, if not all, of the monster theories that are stated by Cohen. Some of the bigger theories he meets the criteria of in my opinion are â€Å"†¦thesis 2, The Monster Always Escapes†¦ thesis 3, The Monster is the Harbinger of a Category Crisis†¦ and thesis 7, The Monster Stands at the Threshold of Becoming† (Cohen) Starting with thesis 2 he is one of the monsters that always escapes which goes perfectly with everything he represents. He is the fear of the unknown and if he is left to his own devises there is no telling what he can do with his god like strength and power. Another reason to why he always escapes is because there has never been a single way to even stop Cthulhu in the first place, which some may see as a flaw to a monster but again in my opinion fits very well with the intent behind the monster, you can not stop the unknown, you can only stave it off by staying in bubble. Now on to thesis 3. Whenever Cthulhu shows up or even his name is uttered, the crisis has already started. When the monster is in his slumber like state, he can still affect the minds of people and make weird things happen, which makes people go crazy. He doesn’t even have to physically intervein to cause a crisis to start happening, but once he does, then the crisis has really started. Lastly thesis 7, I have been referencing this through the whole paper, what makes him the scariest is because you have no idea what he will do next, he brings back our fears of the unknown, and the monster itself can’t be scary, it was never described to us in the original book, not well at least. We are scared of what our mind makes of him. Now, to compare the Cthulhu written by H.P. Lovecraft to the newer Cthulhu that was in the movie â€Å"Cthulhu†, the older Cthulhu written by H.P. Lovecraft had a very ominous feel to him making him an indescribable and unspeakable creature from the depths of the unknown ocean with the tangibility of a living being and the power of a god made for a very scary monster in itself. With these words alone fear can be stricken into the hearts of many people as their minds race to try to imagine such a monstrosity and what would happen if he was unleashed onto the world. The newer version of him in the movie â€Å"Cthulhu† he is given a face which I feel really takes away from the phycological horror that comes with the H.P. Lovecraft monster, but in the same stroke you are also able to see the monsters powers in action as mass amounts of people and monsters murder and cause insanity in the name of Cthulhu. Structures are toppled, laws thrown out the window, and empathy for one another completely gone as the beast makes everyone lose their mind just by the mere thought of him being an actual living being in the universe. With both of them having their strengths and weaknesses I still believe that the original Cthulhu is a much better monster than new Cthulhu, because humans will always be afraid of the unknown and the uncontrollable, while the new Cthulhu is uncontrollable he has been given a body and face so he is no longer the unknown. Humans’ biggest fear is not the monster itself because there is always a way to beat the monster, but the fear of what the monster really is. â€Å"You are not afraid of the dark, you are afraid of what might be in the dark.† Is something I have heard growing up and that statement stands true. With everything I have touch on about the original Cthulhu I have no doubt in my mind that he is a grade â€Å"A† monster. He represents our fear of the unknown, something we can never get away from no matter how hard we could try, no way to kill it, and no way to make it go away. Even if you think you are out of his grasps he always has a way of showing back up. When I think of truly petrifying monsters he is the first name I think of because he is the one that makes you think about just how scary he is. So if you have never heard of him, I highly suggest acquainting yourself with him, you will be in for a very scary treat. Works Cited Chambers Harrap, Una McGovern Cthulhu. Chambers Dictionary of Literary Characters, 1st edition, 2004. Credo Reference, Accessed 18 Jul. 2019. This will be one of my scholarly sources. It is the definition and description of Cthulhu. This is a great source to use as a clear definition of what the monster is. This can be used in a multitude of ways to explain how he fits into monster theory and just in general clear things up. Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Culture: Seven Theses. From Monster Theory: Reading Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. 3-25. This is the clip out of a book talks about monster culture and how monsters are shaped in the form of fears and worries of the cultures that made the monster. It gives a better look into monsters and is a great tool to pick monsters apart with. I will be using this to show how well Cthulhu was made to be a monster of his time and how he became so popular. Gildark, Dan, director. Cthulhu. Regent Releasing, 2007. This is the most recent film featuring the story of Cthulhu. The story shows Russ coming back for his grandmothers funeral. He is kind of tied into a creepy cult without ever knowing much about it. He digs deeper to find out the weird happenings that have been going on in the town for years ranging from missing people to just creepy happenings that cant be explained. I will be using this as a more modern adaption of Cthulhu to show what has changed about him, or even if he carries different meanings now then when he did back when he was made. Lovecraft, Howard Phillips. â€Å"The Call of Cthulhu.† Weird Tales, Feb. 1928. This is the short story where Cthulhu first originated. It talks of a man looking through his Grand-Uncle’s research after his odd death. His Uncle talks about odd ancient writings that he had come across and an ever living cult called â€Å"The Cthulhu Cult† that worshipped a god-like being with horrible powers. The main character’s curiosity gets the better of him and goes to seek out more and ends up getting more information than he could ever wish for. I am going to use this in my paper as a main source because this is the first time Cthulhu has shown up in history and he makes for the perfect monster of his time. Lovecraft, H(oward) P(hillips). Chambers Biographical Dictionary, Liam Rodger, and Joan Bakewell, Chambers Harrap, 9th edition, 2011. Credo Reference, Accessed 18 Jul. 2019. This will be one of my scholarly sources. This is a Biography of H.P. Lovecraft the creator of the monster Cthulhu. I will use this source to show the times that Lovecraft grew up in and why he made the monster the way he did. I will also use this to reference the culture and environment the monster was made for.

How to Create a Heritage Scrapbook - Family History Album

How to Create a Heritage Scrapbook - Family History Album The perfect place to showcase and protect your precious family photos, heirlooms, and memories, a heritage scrapbook album is a wonderful way to document your familys history and create a lasting gift for future generations. While it may seem a daunting task when faced with boxes of dusty old photos, scrapbooking is actually both fun and easier than you might think. Gather Your Memories At the heart of most heritage scrapbooks is the photos - pictures of your grandparents wedding, your great-grandfather at work in the fields, a family Christmas celebration, and so on. Begin your heritage scrapbook project by gathering together as many photographs as possible, from boxes, attics, old albums, and relatives. These photos dont necessarily need to have people in them - pictures of old houses, automobiles, and towns are great for adding historical interest to a family history scrapbook. Remember, in your quest, that pictures from slides and reel-to-reel 8mm films can be made at a relatively low cost through your local photo store. Family mementos such as birth and marriage certificates, report cards, old letters, family recipes, clothing items, and a lock of hair can also add interest to a family history scrapbook. Smaller items can be incorporated into a heritage scrapbook by placing them in clear, self-adhesive, acid-free memorabilia pockets. Larger heirlooms such as a pocket watch, wedding dress, or family quilt can also be included by photocopying or scanning them and using the copies in your heritage album. Get Organized As you begin to accumulate photos and materials, work to organize and protect them by sorting them in archival safe photo files and boxes. Use labeled file dividers to help you divide the photos into groups - by person, family, time-period, life-stages, or another theme. This will help make it easy to find a specific item as you work, while also protecting the items which dont make it into the scrapbook. As you work, use a photo-safe pen or pencil to write details of each photo on the back, including the peoples names, the event, the location and the date the photo was taken. Then, once your photos are organized, store them in a dark, cool, dry location, keeping in mind that its best to store photos standing upright. Assemble Your Supplies Since the purpose of compiling a heritage scrapbook is to preserve family memories, it is important to start with supplies that will protect your precious photographs and memorabilia. Basic scrapbooking begins with just four items - an album, adhesive, scissors, and a journaling pen. Scrapbook Album - Choose a photo album that contains acid-free pages, or purchase acid-free, PVC-free sheet protectors and slip them into a three-ring binder. The size of your scrapbook is a matter of personal preference (most scrapbooks are either 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12.), but consider the availability and cost of supplies, as well as how many pictures you want to fit on each page when you make your choice. Scrapbook albums come in a variety of styles, with post bound, expandable spine and 3 ring albums being the most popular.Adhesives - Used to secure everything to the album pages, adhesives come in many forms, including photo corners, photo tape, double-sided adhesive strips, and glue sticks.Scissors - Available in both straight-edge and decorative-edge, scissors help cut your photos into interesting shapes and crop out any unwanted areas.Journaling Pens - Acid-free, permanent markers, and pens are necessary for writing down important names, dates, and family memories, as well as f or adding fun doodles and pictures to your scrapbook pages. Other fun scrapbooking supplies to enhance your family history scrapbook include colored and patterned acid-free papers, stickers, a paper trimmer, templates, decorative rulers, paper punches, rubber stamps, computer clipart, and fonts, and a circle or pattern cutter. Next Page Step-by-Step Heritage Scrapbook Pages After gathering the photos and memorabilia for your heritage scrapbook, its finally time for the fun part - to sit down and create the pages. The basic steps for creating a scrapbook page include: Select Your Photos Begin your page by choosing a number of photos for your page which relate to a single theme - e.g. Great-grandmas wedding. For a single album page layout, select 3 to 5 photos. For a two page spread, select between 5 and 7 photos. When you have the option, use only the best photos for your heritage album - photos which are clear, focused, and best help to tell the story. Heritage Tip - If a photo that you wish to use in your album is torn, scratched, or faded, consider scanning in the photo and using a graphic editing program to repair the cracks and clean up the image. The restored image can then be printed and used for your heritage album. Choose Your Colors Select 2 or 3 colors to complement your photos. One of these may serve as a background or base page, and the others for matting photos. A variety of papers, including patterns and textures, are available which can serve as beautiful backgrounds and mats for heritage scrapbooks. Heritage Tip - You can create your own background papers by photocopying precious family heirlooms (such as a bit of lace from your grandmothers wedding dress). If using patterned paper or a photocopied image for the background, then it is usually best to mat photos with plain papers to help them stand out from the busy background. Crop Photos Use a pair of sharp scissors to trim away unwanted background and other objects in your photos. You may want to keep cars, houses, furniture, or other background images in some photos for historical reference while highlighting just a specific individual in others. Cropping templates and cutters are available to help you crop your photos in a variety of shapes. Decorative-edged scissors can also be used to trim photos. Heritage Tip - It is best to make and use copies of any precious heritage photos which you wish to crop, rather than cutting and possibly destroying the only photo you have of a deceased relative. Cropping can also cause crumbling edges and cracking emulsion in older, fragile photos. Mat Photos A bit different than the traditional picture mat, matting to scrapbookers means to glue a photograph on a piece of paper (the mat) and then trim the paper close to the edges of the photograph. This creates a decorative frame around the photo. Different combinations of decorative-edged scissors and straight scissors can help provide interest and help your photos pop from the pages. Heritage Tip - When including original heritage photographs in your scrapbook, it is always a good idea to attach them to your page with photo corners rather than glue or other adhesive options. in case you need to remove them or make additional copies. Arrange the Page Begin by experimenting with possible layouts for your photos and memorabilia. Arrange and rearrange until the layout satisfies you. Be sure to leave room for titles, journaling, and embellishments. When you are happy with the layout to attach to the page using acid-free adhesive or tape. Alternatively, use photo corners or a corner slot punch. Heritage Tip - Always assume that memorabilia is acidic, rather than finding out the hard way. Use a deacidification spray to deacidify book pages, newspaper clippings, and other papers, and enclose other memorabilia in acid-free sleeves. Next Page Add Interest With Journaling Embellishments Add Journaling Personalize your page by writing down names, date, and place of event, as well as memories or quotes from some of the people involved. Called journaling, this is probably the most important step when creating a heritage scrapbook. For each photo or set of related photos, you should follow the five Ws - 1) who (who are the people in the photo), when (when was the photo taken), where (where was the photo taken), why (why is the moment significant), and what (what are the people doing in the photo). When journaling, be sure to use a waterproof, fade resistant, permanent, quick drying pen - preferably black as research has shown that black ink best stands the test of time. Other colors can be used for adding decoration, or other non-essential information. Heritage Tip - When journaling in your heritage scrapbooking, it is important to be specific, adding related memories and details to the names and dates. Grandma in her kitchen on June 1954 is nice, but it is better to write: Grandma loves to cook and is very proud of her kitchen, seen here on June 1954. Her chocolate cake was always the hit of the party. Embellish by adding mementos from the occasion, such as a copy of Grandmas chocolate cake recipe (in her own handwriting, if possible). Add Embellishments To complete your scrapbook layout and complement your photos, consider adding some stickers, die cuts, punch art, or stamped images. Stickers add interest with very little work on your part and help give your page a polished look.Die Cuts are pre-cut shapes cut from cardstock, available in many sizes and colors. They help add pizzazz to your scrapbook without the need for a lot of creative talent. Solid die-cuts also make great spots for journaling. Be sure to select die-cuts made from acid-free and lignin-free paper.Punch Art, the process of using shaped craft punches to cut various shapes from cardstock and them combining those shapes to create completed works of art, is another easy way to add interest to your scrapbook pages. Again, be sure that you use acid-free and lignin-free paper to create your punch art.