Summary for two weeks ending June 16th, 2019

Here’s a summary of activity for two weeks ending June 16, 2019.

Over the last two weeks, I had family visit for a week (Hi, mom!). That was fun, and I ate out a lot, and, had a lot of good dark beer, around town and down in nearby Columbia.

But, as fun as that was, I also had contractors on site, looking at Hermetic Library World HQ … and, yeah. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and lots that should be done. Remember how Notre Dame went up in flames because of old wiring? Yeah, so, the library’s electrical is original, old, obsolete knob-and-tube wiring. Old wiring that is inefficient, ungrounded, and unsafe to be sure. There’s also work needed on the roof, a sewage leak, and structural issues. That’s just the stuff that needs to be done to be safe, up to code, and insurable.

Even though the library and my office where I work on the library takes up about 50% of the house, I really hesitate to do something like setting up a separate fundraising campaign to help with the house. But, wow, help would be amazing. To be honest, I really wish I had more Patrons to support the work I do every day. It’s been a struggle. I haven’t ever gotten to the sustainability goal I set that would help me be able to keep going, but I’ve still kept going, even still. If you’ve considered supporting the work, please do. Become a Patron on Patreon or a Subscriber on Bandcamp. I could really use the support and encouragement.

To be honest, I also have been really needing new glasses as well. My current prescription and glasses are all almost 10 years old. I did get an eye exam, and I’m still able to get to 20-20 with correction; but I haven’t been able to afford the cost of new glasses. I don’t live in a state with medical support, and even when I did, glasses weren’t covered. I do wonder about that as a separate campaign, an “Occulus Reparo” fund, if you will. I wonder if people would be willing to help with a pair of everyday glasses and maybe a spare with a reading prescription.

I’ve also dreamed off and on, on occasion, about what I could do with a Cricut or Glowforge or 3D printer, making things for Patrons as part of Postal Exchange, like vinyl cut sigils, Enochian chess pieces, and more. That seems like something, and I wonder if people would be interested in a crowdfunding campaign related to that, with perks that I’d make with those things; but that I could use to continue to provide nifty things.

Ugh. So many things I feel I could do that are just out of reach right now. I’ll keep thinking about those ideas, as I continue to be focused on doing the ongoing daily work of the library, improving existing pages, adding new content, and sharing links to all these resources with people following the library online.

Yeah, these things have been on my mind this last two weeks. But, wait! There’s more! (It’s been a busy two weeks!)

Welp, I did decide that I’d go ahead and close the voice chat server at the end of June. I think and feel like I should focus on the BBS for the kind of community activity that’s split between the two now in one place instead. Also, always big in my mind, is that the BBS is run on open source software and is self-hosted, which means, generally, that it is more likely to be sustainable and less subject to the vagaries of platform changes. So, do be sure to check out the BBS!

Hermetic Library Hrmtc Underground BBS

I’m still considering whether to move the Zine and submissions process into a mailing list or two for Patrons. I still have some thinking about that to do, including how best to organize it and host it, and if it makes sense to add that to the work I do every day on the library. It seems like it would be nice to have that going, but I’m still contemplating the idea. I think I also have to be honest and say that I have a mailing list already which I’ve not used much, and didn’t end up finding a place in my work flow; most of the things that I think about doing with the existing list, I’m doing elsewhere; so, I need to be sure that if I implemented a new list that it had a reason to exist, a purpose, and that it fits with everything else in a well rounded and well crafted way.

Oh, right! I did also get a Postal Exchange mailing on its way to Patrons with that perk. And I’ve got some other things in mind for the next thing!

Don’t forget! I’ve posted the call for submissions to Magick, Music and Ritual 15, the anthology for 2019.

Hermetic Library Anthology 2019 Magick Music and Ritual 15 Call for Submissions

I’m obviously looking for audio tracks, but also cover artwork, and other bonus downloads! Will you participate this year? Know someone who might want to participate? Let them know about it and have them get in touch with me!

Whew. I’m sure I’ve forgotten things that happened, and that I should mention as well, but there it is.

Still looking for help and others to join me in a working community around the library, of course.

Lots of new pages and work on old pages on the site, which is pretty much every week, really. You can always check the front page of the site which shows the most recent changes and new pages, or check out the Recent Changes special page for a full list.

Want to join me on this blog and create new art or writing for Hermetic Library? Pitch your Idea.

Help get some conversations started over on the BBS and in Chat.

Be sure to check out the actual Hermetic Library, and subscribe on Bandcamp or become a Patron.

Here’s a summary of posts on the blog from these last few weeks

Consider also:

  1. Mention My Name in Atlantis
  2. The Complete Golden Dawn Cipher Manuscript
  3. The one sure road to trouble, she’d say, is to get mixed up in the middle of a fairy quarrel.
  4. The New Satanists
  5. Hermetic Library album call for 2019 submissions