2010: The Year In Review

2010 has been a very good year for Propnomicon.

As the blog enters it's fourth year I wanted to thank you for making it a success on a variety of levels. First off, readership has been steadily climbing throughout the year. I was overjoyed last December when the site had just under 15K visitors for the month and was averaging around 500 unique visitors a day. As the Sitemeter traffic graph demonstrates, those numbers have nearly doubled for this month.



I'm well aware that in the big picture these are modest numbers, akin to a single post on a mainstream celebrity or tech news website, but for a tiny little niche like mine they're phenomenal. Particularly when compared to where they were back in 2009. One a good day the blog now receives the same number of visitors it had for the entire month of December in 2008.



Here's a look at the most popular posts for the year according to Google metrics. I didn't turn on these stats until July of this year, but the relative traffic amounts generated by various subjects should be a valid indicator of interest.



Compare that list with the traffic graphs and the huge traffic spike in November 2010 becomes more understandable. It's almost all thanks to a post on paper aging that was linked to by Make Magazine. I'm not complaining mind you, but it's strange that a subject like that would generate so much interest.

The Dragon's Path

Oh, Jason McKittrick, how well you know my weaknesses. A narrative mystery told through prop documents? I don't know where you're going with it, but I like where it starts.



Ever since I discovered the awesome Dennis Wheatley mysteries I've been wondering why no one seemed to be doing a modern take on that prop-driven narrative approach. A few alternate reality games have come close, but they almost invariably dissolve into a morass of puzzle-wankery that makes no logical sense.

Miskatonic University Update

Today is the final day of the Miskatonic University project pledge drive on Kickstarter.

As you can see over there on the right it's been wildly successful, significantly exceeding the original fund raising target. By the time things end tonight at 11:30 I expect there will be over 100 donors. That marks an increase of over fifty percent from the sponsorship levels of the Arkham Sanitarium project.

The actual transfer of funds from Kickstarter to Amazon and then to me can take up to two weeks, but on Monday I'm going to start placing orders for some of the prop items. Ideally, that will avoid some of the delays encountered in the Arkham project. It also means I need an accurate count of how many items to order as soon as possible. If you aren't able to pledge through Kickstarter for whatever reason, but still want to participate, just click on the "View my complete profile" link to reach me via email.

Again, my sincere thanks to everyone that has already pledged.

Cthulhu Fhtagn! Azash Edition

Artist "Azash" brings us this carved Cthulhu idol made from a piece of dense driftwood. The oiled finish really brings out the colors of the unidentified wood.

The Curious Case of Ernst Blomberg

If you're at all interested in vampire killing kits you need to set aside an hour or two and pay a visit to Spookyland's comprehensive coverage. There's a fascinating amount of history and tradition attached to their manufacture, epitomized by the seemingly deathless Ernst Blomberg's ability to crank them out for well over a century...and counting. Some say Herr Blomberg's longevity is ample evidence that the kits are entertaining frauds, but I prefer to think his name is part of the ritual that makes the kits effective.

And, like so many stars of the silver screen, even if they're fake, they're still gorgeous.

The Book of Skulls

Artist David Scherer brings us this ancient grimoire. The aging treatment on the latex cover is quite nice.

Merry Christmas

From 1922, a painting of students sledding on Hangman's Hill west of Arkham. The view faces north, with the Miskatonic River in the background.



The illustration, taken from the University of Wisconsin's 1922 yearbook, actually shows students sledding on the hill at Picnic Point above Lake Mendota. Based on Lovecraft's original map of Arkham, and a bit of admitted squinting, the view is consistent with a picture from just north of the "Wooded Graveyard" on the hill. Aylesbury St. and River St. would be just below the line of trees, while the Aylesbury St. Bridge is a few degrees to the right.