An irregular hodgepodge of links gathered together … Omnium Gatherum for April 28, 2020

Here’s some things I’ve found that you may be interested in checking out:

• Bandcamp is going to be waiving their revenue share on several days (May 1, June 5, and July 3; from midnight to midnight PDT) to help artists on their platform get more funding because of the pandemic. You can read more about what they’re doing. Also, be sure to check out the Hermetic Library and Odd Order Bandcamp pages, but also check out the artists that I have supported and follow there for other ideas too. Also, Anthology Artist Alien Lizard is doing a fundraiser with their new album Veux-tu la Vie, with all proceeds from that Bandcamp release go to Eden Reforestation Projects.
• LIL preview by Hermetic Library Fellow David Richard Jones—”An extract from the Hellfire Press edition of the Vision and the Voice.”
• Duncan Russell’s The Midnight Gospel is weird. But, there may be things of interest, and symbolism in the visuals, to check out. Interviews include Damien Echols and Jason Louv. “A fantastical trip through thought and spirituality from Pendleton Ward (“Adventure Time”) and comedian Duncan Trussell.”
• From Chorazin to Carcosa. Fiction-Based Esotericism in the Black Pilgrimage of Jack Parsons and Cameron by Manon Hedenborg White
• Plague Poems – The Fifth Week
• Tweet—”Have you heard about the time the Hapsburg army got drunk and attacked itself in 1788?”
• Tweet—”Mercury is, of course, poisonous and these days nobody with any sense would suggest treating a virus with a deadly poison… ”
• In the Ground of Our Unknowing—”Facing the paradoxes and ambiguities enmeshed with the COVID-19 pandemic, David Abram finds beauty in the midst of shuddering terror. As we’re isolated in this uncertain time, he writes, we can turn to the more-than-human world to empower our empathy for each other.”
• Museums in Quarantine
• Activity Sheets at Oxford Doodle Club
• Stonehenge is not like Lego – it’s cleverer!
• Unknown Language by Hildegard of Bingen and Huw Lemmey, with an introductory story by Bhanu Kapil and an afterword by Alice Spawls.—”A mutant fiction of speculative mysticism: time travel, visions and inner paths to outer space. Publishing on the Feast Day of Hildegard of Bingen on 17 September 2020.”
• Some free audiobooks from HPLHS
• “Earth Day 2020 could mark the year we stop taking the planet for granted. The 50th annual call for environmental reform falls at a time when the health of people and nature has never been more urgent.”
• “When The Holy Month Of Ramadan Comes At The Peak Of A Pandemic. Muslim Americans are forced to get creative in order to make the most out of Ramadan.” Also.
• “The Isolation Journals. One Creative Act a Day. Alone, Together. A Daily Creativity Project to Help Make Sense of Challenging Times. Throughout April 2020, I’ll be serving up daily journaling prompts from some of the most inspiring writers, artists, musicians and unsung heroes I know. We all hope this creativity project sparks your imagination and helps us all process and stay connected during these difficult times.”
• Try the scientifically proven “memory palace” technique to remember everything (Paywalled)
• Tweet—”I am the god damn plague/Renaissance police and I will be issuing citations anytime I see these takes on the TL. No. Absolutely not. I rebuke all of this.”
• You can now book a goat to liven up your boring Zoom meeting (yes,seriously) (Let the online initiations commence!)
• “ARAS and the Art and Psyche Working Group, in collaboration, have developed a new project, “Art in a Time of Global Crisis: Interconnection and Companionship,” as an international outreach through art. Our goal is to create a network of mutual support through art during this difficult time.”
• Why We Don’t Want a ‘Return to Normal’—”As we approach Earth Day 2020, Income Movement urges people to remind ourselves that the “normal” way we treated the planet might not be worth going back to. It might be time for some reimagining, and refocusing of our resources.”
• New normal? John Scalzi, famous local sci-fi author, predicts changes we may see post-pandemic
• Textures of completion—”The complete stance, the way of being that recognizes the inseparability of nebulosity and pattern, shows up in characteristic textures. For example: wonder, play, and creation.”
• Interview: Underground skyscrapers and off-grid bunkers: inside the world of preppers. About by Bunker: Preparing for the End Times (UK link) by Bradley Garrett, due in August.
• A Guide to Casting Phantoms in the Revolution—”A Guide to Casting Phantoms in the Revolution is a single-session roleplaying game, in which players work together to summon specters to fight the aristocracy during the French Revolution. Featuring the pentacrawl system, Guide is different every time you play. Played on a story map in the shape of a pentagram, create a cast of characters, interpret symbols to create unique moments, and have the phantoms do you bidding—or you’ll do theirs! ”

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