Blog Archives
Tea’s Weird Week: Apocalypse Every Show Now
My third book, Apocalypse Any Day Now, was published in 2019 (by Chicago Review Press). I talked to a wide range of people on their ideas on how the world as we know it might end, and some of their plans for the apocalypse. It was deeply stressful at times, but I had some fun with it, too. For example, I thought it would be interesting to read some dystopian fiction, so I started a book club, The Apocalypse Blog Book Club (I had renamed my website here The Apocalypse Blog while I was working on the book) in 2017. We read some classics like Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and many others. You can see a list of our selections here: https://teakrulos.com/apocalypse-any-day-now/
Anyway, I thought of all this recently after I binged a show called Paradise (which was released in January on Hulu), a post-apocalyptic murder mystery. I really enjoyed it, even if it managed to earworm “Another Day in Paradise” in my damn head for over a week. But I was also like, wow there are a lot of shows on this theme lately, aren’t there? Maybe I was too distracted studying the theory I explored in Political Monsters about the correlation of zombie, vampire, and killer clown movies and politics to dwell on it too much.
But yeah, the shit hitting the fan scenarios, dystopias, and that post-apocalyptic lifestyle is a popular theme in shows like Silo (2023-present), Fallout (2024-present), The Walking Dead and all the spinoffs (2010-present), The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-2025), The Last of Us (2023-present), Westworld (2016-2022), even shows like Severance (2022-present) play on this theme. And that’s just naming off the top of my head.
Why are shows like this so popular now? Oh gee, I dunno– art imitating life? Women’s rights being taken away, like in The Handmaid’s Tale. People are being disappeared in cases of mistaken identity, as seen in Brazil. Reality is being redrawn and renamed, like in Nineteen Eighty-Four, some real “Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia,” type of stuff. Homeland Security is even thinking of doing a reality show that sounds like an idea out of The Hunger Games.
I don’t expect this trend to stop any time soon. These are tough, dismal times. I wish you all well– may the odds be ever in your favor and all that.
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Next week on TWW: If you don’t support QWERTY, you might end up feeling butt-hurty (Part II). Want TWW delivered to your inbox? You can sign up for my Substack HERE. Follow me on: Facebook Bluesky Instagram
Apocalypse Any Day Now: Deep Underground with America’s Doomsday Preppers (2019, Chicago Review Press) can be bought here: www.chicagoreviewpress.com/ApocalypseAnyDayNow
Tea’s Weird Week: Ghost Ghost Clown Ghost
There’s weird talk from Tea here every Friday.
My friends just come up with totally dope stuff, I’m beyond lucky to know such creative people. Take for example the Moonlight Retreat, which “offers arts, play, learning, fun, wonder, and a deeper connection with nature and community for all folks within a summer camp environment.” It’s like summer camp for creative adults. How cool is that?
I’m glad to say I’ll be a guest at this year’s Moonlight Retreat, leading a workshop about Wisconsin ghostlore, not in a conference room, but around a campfire, which is of course one of the best possible places to tell ghost stories. For the rest of the camp I’ll be enjoying the many cool workshops, reviewing drafts of my manuscripts, and just hanging out– “chillaxing” as those kids today say. Looking forward to it!
If you’d like more info on the Moonlight Retreat, here’s the link: https://www.naomishersty.net/moonlight-retreat
For a long list of other ghost related stuff I’m doing, check out the links section at the end of this column. But first…
ClownWatch 2019
Who can forget the Great Clown Scare of 2016? Clowns appeared all over the country, threatening people and sometimes participating in random acts of clowness, oops, I mean violence. Over the past couple weeks there’s been two incidents of clowns meeting law enforcement, which means I am officially opening up the hashtag #ClownWatch2019.
07/20/2019: Report and video footage of a Joker style clown that led California Highway Patrol on a wild goose chase for an hour, sometimes taunting them through the sunroof while a passenger steered the car. The clown eventually ditched the car on Venice Beach, and frolicked in the sand with people before being arrested for reckless driving.
07/26/2019: Man dressed as a clown that started a “mass brawl” on a British cruise ship off the coast of Norway. “There was blood everywhere,” a witness reported. “Passengers used furniture and plates as weapons.”
Is nowhere on earth safe from a clown induced brawl? We’ll keep track in this column.
The Apocalypse Blog Book Club
While working on my book Apocalypse Any Day Now, I started a book club that reads dystopian fiction. A local group meets in Milwaukee and people from all over the world are part of the Facebook group. I’m keeping the club going and voting is now open for our end of summer selection. Join us, vote, and get a good end of the world book pick for your beach reading! Here’s the group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1482975718409410/
More Links to Ghost Stuff
Milwaukee Paranormal Conference 2019— we just announced our speaker line-up. You can see that and get tickets here: https://milwaukeeparacon.com/2019/07/26/milwaukee-paranormal-conference-2019/
I lead the Milwaukee Ghost Walks Third Ward tour, which starting this week is every Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30pm (except Aug.16-17 cause I’ll be at the Moonlight Retreat!) Tickets here: https://americanghostwalks.com/wisconsin/milwaukee-ghost-walks/
I’ll be at the Old Baraboo Inn Sept.28 for the World’s Largest Ghost Hunt to talk about the Legend of Al Capone (including his ghost). See last week’s column for more info. The event link is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/379959039385127/
My book Monster Hunters (which made the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2015 “100 Books for Your Summer Reading List”) has a lot of ghost material: CLICK HERE
Twitter: @TeaKrulos Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTeaKrulos
Today is the official Apocalypse Any Day Now release date!
Today is the official release date of Apocalypse Any Day Now, and I’m glad to say the title has gotten some good media hits over the last week. Here’s a round up:
Milwaukee Record: I wrote an article here speculating on the top 5 places to bunker down in if the Shit Hits the Fan in Milwaukee: https://milwaukeerecord.com/city-life/top-5-places-to-ride-out-the-apocalypse-in-milwaukee-from-the-author-of-apocalypse-any-day-now/
The Morning Blend- TMJ 4: What a fun time! Who knew the Apocalypse could be perky morning show material? After the cameras were done rolling I hung out with the hosts and talked about Sasquatch and conspiracy theories. Here’s the interview: https://www.tmj4.com/shows/the-morning-blend/deep-underground-with-americas-doomsday-preppers
Milwaukee Magazine: A nice Q and A feature with Archer Parquette here: https://www.milwaukeemag.com/interview-milwaukee-author-tea-krulos-about-his-new-book-apocalypse-any-day-now
See You on the Other Side podcast: I always love being on this podcast, and Mike and Wendy (who are also in a band called sunspot) wrote a new song for the episode called “Fire and Brimstone.” It’s a scorcher, mate! Listen here: http://www.othersidepodcast.com/blog/2019/03/30/241-apocalypse-any-day-now-surviving-the-end-of-the-world-with-tea-krulos/
Riverwest Currents: Lee Gutowski, editor of the paper wrote a book review. You can find a digital version of the newspaper here (or find a print copy in Milwaukee): https://riverwestcurrents.org/2019/03/riverwest-currents-april-issue.html
Here’s my favorite takeaway from the review:
“All in all, Apocalypse Any Day Now is a thorough, fascinating, sometimes scary and often funny look at this serious subject. Krulos treats his subjects with respect- he isn’t laughing and pointing at anyone here. But he certainly has a knack for lightening up some very heavy information with his observations and tone in this uniquely Krulos-ian read.”
Oh yeah, unrelated to this book, but I was also thrilled to see the Outdoor Wisconsin episode featuring Milwaukee Krampus and Milwaukee Krampusnacht, I’m featured in the episode along with many other participants. You can see it online here: https://youtu.be/pb6o07pvQNs
Find out more ways you can support me and the book in my previous blog post: https://teakrulos.com/2019/03/12/ways-you-can-support-me-and-my-new-book/
Buy the book direct: https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/ApocalypseAnyDayNow
#ApocalypseAnyDayNow
Doomsday Clock Reveal Tomorrow
I was recently a guest on See You on the Other Side podcast, where I discussed a somewhat unusual annual tradition I’ve had the last couple years while working on my new book Apocalypse Any Day Now, due out in April.
Every January I’ve been tuning in to the live reveal of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist’s Doomsday Clock, which is the basis for the introduction of Apocalypse Any Day Now. The Bulletin uses the clock as a metaphor to how close the world is ticking to a apocalyptic-level disaster (symbolized by Midnight on the clock). A board of scientists take into consideration factors like nuclear threats, climate change, and merging technologies.
Last January we ticked as close as we’ve been since the invention of the H-bomb…2 minutes to Midnight. What time are we at now? My prediction is that we are going to remain hovering ominously at 2 to Midnight, but we’ll see.
You can join me! The clock reveal is tomorrow at 9am Central/ 10am Eastern and is streaming live from the National Press Club in Washington DC on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/BulletinOfTheAtomicScientists/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/BulletinAtomic
I’ll be posting some live reactions on my Twitter page: https://twitter.com/TeaKrulos
Apocalypse Any Day Now: Deep Underground with America’s Doomsday Preppers is out April 2, available wherever books are sold and can be pre-ordered online at www.chicagoreviewpress.com/ApocalypseAnyDayNow
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It takes a lot of coffee to get through the End Times. You can buy me one here:
I Sold my Third Book and I’m Pretty Happy About That
Good sales of my most recent book, Monster Hunters (which has seen a boost of publicity and public appearances this month due to the Halloween season, it’s available for purchase HERE, at my public appearances, or wherever fine books are sold) have led to a deal signed with my publisher for a third title, which will have a 2017 release date.
This third book, which has the simple working title of The End, will be about what can be loosely summarized as “apocalypse culture.” It’ll have three parts: the first will look at predictions about how the world might end, either completely or at least to such a degree that our status quo will be radically different. The second part will be about how people are preparing for such a life altering time. The last part will look a bit beyond the end of the world as we know it and what our lives might look like.
As usual, I’ll be trying to get a good mix of different perspectives. I’ll be talking to people that call themselves preppers, homesteaders, militias, survivalists, ecological scientists, statisticians, potential Mars colonizers, religious prognosticators, artificial intelligence programmers, and who knows who else might show up. Suggestions? Feel free to contact me: teakrulos@gmail.com
In addition to this good news, I also am currently shopping around another title I’ve been working on slowly over the last five years. I think it is really good and I’m looking forward to see what my happen with it. I’ll be posting here with more info when it happens.
Last, the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference is going to happen again in 2016, and we’re zeroing in on a venue and dates. We’ll likely be making this announcement at on October 30 at www.milwaukeeparacon.com!
And now….back to work.
teakrulos.com 