Source: Providence Journal 6/28/15
 NecronomiCon Providence, the biennial Lovecraft lovefest set in the legendary horror writer's old haunt, opens Aug. 20 — marking Howard Phillips Lovecraft's 125th birthday.In recognition of the festivities — and to honor a native son — The Providence Journal is holding a short-story contest seeking original tales of terror that exemplify the best of Lovecraft's "weird fiction." The top three winners will each get a Barnes & Noble gift card and will be published in The Journal's Rhode Islander section. Deadline for submissions is July 26.And even if you're not entering the contest, you can help as judge it (more on that later).

Stories — no more than 1,500 words — will be judged by Journal staff using two criteria: Is the story good and does it echo (like footsteps in a graveyard) Lovecraft in style and theme?During his lifetime, Lovecraft enjoyed only modest success. Yet since his death in 1937, he and his stories have exerted a truly frightening amount of influence on legions of horror and fantasy writers. Lovecraft fans should feel free to try their hands at mimicking the master's often florid prose. (Warning: it's not as easy as you might think.) For readers who may want a refresher course in the Lovecraft canon, classic stories such as "The Shunned House," "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" are all good places to start. 

The writer of the first-place story will receive a $100 gift card to Barnes & Nobles, second place a $75 gift card and third place a $50 gift card. The three winners will be published in The Journal's Rhode Islander section in August.In addition, excerpts of the finalists will be published in The Rhode Islander on Aug. 2. Also that day, finalists will be posted in full online at providencejournal.com — where readers can comment on the stories and choose their favorites. Judges will use readers' comments to help pick the winners.

Contest rules

• Writers may enter only one story. Stories must be 1,500 words or less. Stories must be emailed to The Journal — features@providencejournal.com — no later than July 26.
  
• Stories must NOT have been previously published.In the email, put "Lovecraft contest" in the subject field. The story should be sent as an attachment to the email, and the submitter's name, address and contact information should be in the body of the email.Late entries will not be considered.
• In the case of multi-author stories, only one prize will be awarded per winning entry.Finalists must sign a form granting The Providence Journal  Co. non-exclusive perpetual license to the story. Only the top three stories will be published in their entirety in the newspaper.
• The contest will be judged by Journal writers and editors, taking into consideration comments from readers at providencejournal.com. Judges' decisions are final.Employees of The Providence Journal Co. and their immediate families are ineligible to participate.All winners will be notified. Please do not call to ask about the status of your entry. All entries are subject to the rules of The Providence Journal Co.

 Source: Space.com

The legacy of Leonard Nimoy has reached the Final Frontier: on June 2, a 6-mile-wide (9.6 km) asteroid was named 4864 Nimoy in his honor. The asteroid travels within the main asteroid belt — between Mars and Jupiter — and orbits the sun every 3.9 years. It was originally discovered at the European Southern Observatory in 1988.

Nimoy, who died in February at age 83, is beloved as the character Mr. Spock in "Star Trek," and this isn't the first time that his character's namesake has been in space — more or less. In 1985, an astronomer, James Gibson, named an asteroid 2309 Mr. Spock after the cat that accompanied him as he worked long hours at an observatory in Argentina. The cat itself was named for its pointy-eared resemblance to the "Star Trek" character originated by Nimoy.

Gibson argued that asteroids should be named only for those who had contributed to or had been important to astronomy in some way, and that his cat, by keeping him company during his work, fit the bill. Nonetheless, the naming started a debate that culminated in the IAU asking that asteroids not be named for pets.

This new asteroid is named for Nimoy himself, whose portrayal of Spock has undoubtedly contributed to many budding scientists' fascination and wonder at the universe. Nimoy himself has also been involved in space science, narrating a video about NASA's Dawn asteroid mission and speaking at the space shuttle Enterprise’s landing.

Source: Scoop magazine
Sir Christopher Lee, the actor known for Hammer horror movies of the 1950s, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and James Bond died on Sunday, June 7, 2015. His wife, Lady Lee, delayed the announcement until close family members were informed. He passed away at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Lee was 93 years old.

He is survived by his wife Birgit, who he had been married to since 1961 and their daughter, Christina.

Lee was born Christopher Frank Carandini Lee in London on May 27, 1922. Before serving in World War II he worked in an office job at Beechams. After the war he decided to become an actor rather than returning to an office environment. His acting career began in 1946 in the TV series Kaleidoscope then he made his film debut in 1948 in the romance Corridor of Mirrors.

After ten years of supporting roles he appeared as the Creature in The Curse of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing in 1957. He gained fame as Dracula in the 1958 movie Horror of Dracula, playing the Count opposite Sir Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. In 1959 he starred in Hammer’s production of The Mummy then he reprised his role as Dracula in Dracula: Prince of Darkness in 1966.

In 1974 he played Scaramanga in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun opposite Roger Moore. In 1977 he moved to the US with the hope of breaking out of the horror genre. His first American movie was that year in Airport ’77. He worked with Tim Burton in Sleepy Hollow and Alice in Wonderland as well as starring in several movies throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Despite his advancing age, in the last 15 years his career hit its pinnacle. In 2001 he took on the role of Saruman in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and reprised the role for the second and third films in the trilogy the follow two years. He also played the character again in first and third movies in The Hobbit trilogy. He became part of the Star Wars mythos as Count Dooku in Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

In addition to acting, he pursued a music career late in life. He released “Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross” his first metal album in 2010. In 2013 his single “Jingle Hell” a metal Christmas song gained the 22nd spot in the Billboard Hot 100, making him the oldest living artist to enter the charts.

He had recently signed on to the movie The 11th, a drama about the hours leading up to the attack on the Twin Towers. Between film and TV appearances he had almost 300 credits to his name. He was knighted as Sir Christopher Lee in 2009 and received a Bafta fellowship in 2011. During this time he said that he never planned to retire because he didn’t enjoy being idle. Lee once said, “As dear Boris [Karloff] used to say, when I die I want to die with my boots on.”