machine HQ blog

amber print

Looking at these machine HQ blog pages, arg/machine recently felt that while there have been no dearth of still images/graphics on them, moving images have been conspicuously rare…

Therefore, after last week’s post on new machine apparel designs, he decided to publish another amber print piece this week, thinking he’d use the opportunity to feature some more of his favourite classic horror/terror/sci-fi/suspense films that are currently in the public domain. And while some of these may not exactly be cinematic masterpieces, they – like most B movies – are a lot of fun.

Note: Similar posts published previously can be found here and here.

Now read on, good reader, to find out where you can watch these vintage terrors online…

Cat toons and more…

After sharing the new heavy-duty Lazarus Machine track concept [see here], arg/machine disrupts the established machine HQ blogging routine yet again with another post on moving images from the last millennium.

However, unlike his earlier post on vintage moving images which concentrated on classic horror films, this time arg/machine has decided to focus on public-domain cartoons. Or rather, on cat toons, since they all feature one of arg/machine’s favourite cartoon characters: Felix the cat.

Debuting sometime in 1919, Felix’s antics, coupled with the crazy situations the funky feline frequently got entangled in, not only made this cat one of the most recognized characters in cartoon history, but also one of the first popular enough to draw large audiences.

A cool kat, in other words. Read on, then, to find out where you can watch these vintage animation classics online…

amber print

So far, arg/machine’s blog post schedule has largely been like this subroutine:

10 share audio excerpt
20 wait
30 make 3D model/props post
40 wait
50 goto 10

Boring. So to introduce a bit of much-needed variety to this blog, arg/machine presents this one-shot post: amber print.

amber print…
From the header image [a 3D rendering over a 2D background] above, you – the good reader – will have realized by now that this post is about vintage, sepia-tinted public-domain films from the timeless horror/terror genre. “Timeless” because ever since cinema began, this genre has been in existence, and despite the occasional cry of protest [or a scream of gore-fuelled disgust], it continues not merely to “exist”, but thrive… heartily.

And thanks to various dedicated websites and individuals, a lot of these vintage terrors on celluloid are now available in digital format on the Internet. Yes, a classic scare is really just a few mouse clicks away. So read on to find out where you can enjoy these classics of early horror filmmaking online…

New machine print eBook

It’s been a while since machine print, the ePublication wing of machine HQ, has put something new out. So for this post, arg/machine decided to remedy the situation.

Accordingly, he dragged the heavy printing presses out from where they had been mothballed and, drawing inspiration from friends and well-wishers, began work on the eBook he had mentioned previously – a collection of tales by that acclaimed author of paranoid SF: Philip K. Dick.

RELOADED: The Machine Anthologies

Reloaded!
Guess what? The new machine print eBook is finally here. This latest publication, titled Machine Anthologies RELOADED, collects just some of the stories originally shortlisted for, but eventually left out of the various machine print anthologies published so far. And yes, it can be seen in the image above, reposing in the guise of a conventional paperback.

Machine’s fabulously funky fables & fantasies

Note: The only explanation for the cheery tone of the post below is that it was prepared– as was the featured machine print anthology – much before the current local developments necessitated the rather abrupt-but-crucial Anniversary Announcement. Readers are requested, therefore, to read the aforementioned announcement first. Thanks.

From the machine: classic mythology and fantasy…
Well, here it is – the brand new machine print eAnthology of classic fantasy: Machine’s fabulously funky fables & fantasies. This new eBook brings together a handful of tales from classic mythologies and early 20^th Century fantasy and, in the tradition established by its predecessors, is totally free as well. You, the good reader, can see it above – pictured, for purposes of promotion, as a paperback.

Machine’s super spectacular science stories!

The new machine print anthology…
It’s here: the latest eAnthology from arg/machine’s electronic publishing unit machine print! Titled Machine’s super spectacular science stories,it is all about classic science fiction and, like the previous machine print anthologies, is totally free as well! Yes, it’s the one in the image above, pictured – for purposes of promotion – as a paperback.

So how can you get your eCopy? Stick around for a minute and you’ll find out…

Machine’s mad milieu of murder & mayhem!

Mayhem? Maybe…
…but why stop only at mayhem? Why not add some murder too? Then mix both ingredients, add a dash of detection and you’ll get an idea of Machine’s mad milieu of murder & mayhem, a collection of classic tales of “crime, villainy and detection”: the latest – and totally free – eBook from arg/machine’s new electronic publishing unit machine print. Yes, that’s the one pictured – for promotional purposes – as a paperback in the image above.

So how can you get your copy? Well, more on that in a minute…

Behind the scenes…
Actually, once work on the previous anthology ended, arg/machine began thinking about ways to follow it up with a suitable set of tales and, given his affection for the mystery genre, it was only natural that the second offering from machine print would be an anthology of classic mystery and/or detective tales with a focus, of course, on murder. And mayhem.

Machine’s motley miscellany of the morbid & the macabre!

Introducing machine print…
Realising that Halloween is only a fortnight away, arg/machine decided to do something… well, decidedly funky and different. And, with this “funkiness” in mind, he chose to add “electronic publishing” to his areas of specialization which, till now, had included only audio production and visualization.

Cool, eh?

From the machine HQ bookshelves…

The detective from Iceland
Several months ago, arg/machine visited a book fair, a typical feature typical of which is the participation of well-known publishers along with small booksellers or bookshops. And while the publishers usually put up well-executed displays complete with rows of bookshelves to present their latest publications, the smaller book sellers usually peddle their wares dumped on large tables.

arg/machine makes it a point to browse through these randomly-dumped books carefully, since there exists at these tables a good chance of picking up, at a reasonable price, an earlierprinting of a book whose expensive “latest edition” is available from one of the larger publishers.