An irregular hodgepodge of links gathered together … Omnium Gatherum for February 28, 2021

Here’s a variety of notable things I’ve recently found that you may also be interested in checking out:

• Hermetic Library Anthology Artist Troy Schafer just released 𝑴​𝒂​𝒈​𝒏​𝒊​𝒇​𝒊​𝒄​𝒂​𝒕 𝒂​𝒏​𝒅 𝒕​𝒉​𝒆 𝑫​𝒓​𝒂​𝒘​𝒆​𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑲​𝒏​𝒊​𝒄​𝒌​-​𝑲​𝒏​𝒂​𝒄​𝒌​𝒔 by 𝓣. 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓯𝓮𝓻.
• National Day of Unplugging, March 5-6, 2021 “Our Members and Ambassadors across the globe are getting ready for National Day of Unplugging 2021.” I personally advocate a regular practice of what I’ve called “Power Down Days” so this sound like a great idea to me! I’ve also heard the term “Digital Sabatical”. In my mind, I already wrote something about my idea, but every time I look for it I realize I haven’t, apparently, or it’s no where I can find it. Should though. Eventually!
• Evicting Demons – Exorcisms and Ancient Possession Rites, a live, illustrated Zoom talk with Kate Kingsbury and Andrew Chesnut, April 22, 2021, 19:00 GMT.
• The Devil’s Supper by Shani Oates, in paperback, is “Officially In Stock and Shipping!” Along with some others, so check those out at Anathema Publishing.
• Genesis P-Orridge – Temporarily Eternal: Photographs 1986-2018 [Amazon, Publisher] by Carl Abrahamsson—”Temporarily Eternal is an emotional-visual summing up of a creative friendship between Swedish author Carl Abrahamsson and British artist Genesis P-Orridge (1950-2020) that lasted for more than three decades, and which was filled with musical projects, films, books, writings, conversations, travel, and a great deal of magic. This book both is and is not a companion to Genesis Breyer P-Orridge: Sacred Intent – Conversations with Carl Abrahamsson 1986-2019. It is, in the sense that the present book also focuses on shared moments during the same period of time. It is not, in the sense that it’s not an intellectual trip into concepts and thoughts expressed via language, in conversation. Instead, this book contains photographic portraits: some are staged, considered, thought through, and some are pure snapshots of auspicious and fleeting moments. And some are definitely somewhere in between: juggling immediate form with desired content.”
• Pure Magic Oracle: Cards for Strength, Courage and Clarity, due in May, 2021—”Discover the healing power of the elements as they guide you through life’s journey of experiences. Inspired by The Big Book of Practical Spells by Judika Illes, this stunning oracle captures the essence of the sacred elements in an array of visual delight. It will guide you on a journey of healing power, help you to reconnect to the healing power of nature and spirit, and enable you to recover the power of earth-based spirituality.”
• “A Seven-Volume Book Series of the Complete Works of Hilma af Klint.” About Hilma AF Klint: The Complete Catalogue Raisonné: Volumes I-VII [Bookshop, Amazon, Publisher], due Nov 2021—”An authoritative, stupendously produced seven-volume publication from Bokförlaget Stolpe.”
• HOUSE 418: The Circle Squared [Amazon, Publisher] (“Some of the most significant material in the E.Q. research archives has been collated in this book to present a non-denominational astrologically synchronised ritual formula for self-initiation, which has been tried and tested around the world for several decades.”) and A 21st Century Pentagram Ritual [Amazon, Publisher] (“This is a naughty little rewrite of the old LBRP, completely ‘non verba hebraica’. The skeletal frame of Regardie’s neglected ritual has been given a long overdue makeover through the lens of the English Qaballa. The revised pentagram is an alchemical layer cake compounded of the traditional elemental and planetary materials and engineered in real space-time using the most up to date magical technology.”) by Cath Thompson available now.
• “How To Create Your Own Reality.” From Thought Forms [Bookshop, Amazon] by Bob Makransky, volume III of the Introduction to Magic series and Book I of the Astrology of Consciousness series.
• “Finding Communion With One of England’s Ancient Oak Trees.” Excerpt from The Oak Papers [Bookshop, Amazon, Publisher] by James Canton—”Joining the ranks of The Hidden Life of Trees and H is for Hawk, an evocative memoir and ode to one of the most majestic living things on earth–the oak tree–probing the mysteries of nature and the healing role it plays in our lives.”
• “A Labyrinth for Our Time“—”What might the dynamic of mental life look like when its physiological counterpart is ill, bedridden, and housebound?” About Piranesi [Bookshop, Amazon, Publisher] by Susanna Clarke—”From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality.”
• “Reviewing the Book Review. As the publication celebrates its 125th anniversary, Parul Sehgal, a staff critic and former editor at the Book Review, delves into the archives to critically examine its legacy in full.”
• “Own a Complete Set of the Paperback Experiment That Paved the Way for Penguin.”
• “Perseverance’s eyes see a different Mars. The red planet’s red looks different to a robot with hyperspectral cameras for eyes.”
• “Mars Is a Hellhole. Colonizing the red planet is a ridiculous way to help humanity.”
• Also “Atlantic currents seem to have started fading last century. Another predicted impact of climate change may be here.”
• “This New Image of Venus Shouldn’t Actually Exist.”
• “The Milky Way May Be Swarming With Planets That Have Continents and Oceans Like Earth.”
• “We Finally Know Why Dinosaurs Were Either Humongous or Tiny, Unlike Modern Animals.”
• “Dust From Asteroid That Ended Dinosaur Reign Closes Case on Impact Extinction Theory.”
• “Archaeologists find intact ceremonial chariot near Pompeii.”
• “The priceless primate fossils found in a garbage dump.”
• “Hidden scenes in ancient Etruscan paintings revealed.”—”Scientists using a new technique have uncovered the colorful and once-hidden scenes in paintings of the ancient Etruscans, a group of people who flourished on the Italian peninsula around 2,500 years ago at a time before Rome became powerful. For instance, they found new details in a painting from the “Tomb of the Monkey” and scenes of an underworld in another work of art.”
• “For The First Time, Physicists Have Filmed The Oscillation of a Time Crystal.”
• “Two-thirds of New York City’s Arts and Recreation Jobs Have Been Lost to the Pandemic.”
• “5 Pandemic Mistakes We Keep Repeating. We can learn from our failures.”
• Watch “Vaccine Game Show Cold Open.”—”Dr. Anthony Fauci (Kate McKinnon) hosts a game show to help simplify the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.”
• “Will Drinking Magnesium Help You Fall Asleep Faster? The mineral might be able to cure your ‘coronasomnia’.”—”My days are still super stressful — I’m feeling the effects of isolation and burnout like everyone else — but my nights have gotten a bit more predictable. There’s an old tip for insomniacs: starting with your feet, and progressing all the way up to your shoulders, imagine each of your muscles heavy and sinking into the bed, until you feel relaxed enough to fall asleep. That game is a little easier with a little magnesium.”
• “A quantum computer just solved a decades-old problem three million times faster than a classical computer. Using a method called quantum annealing, D-Wave’s researchers demonstrated that a quantum computational advantage could be achieved over classical means.”
• “Paramount Plus is proof we’ve hit peak streaming. Is Paramount Plus solving a problem or creating one?”—”Realistically, most of these streaming platforms don’t need to exist. To go one step further, a few seem to exist solely to appease internal pressures and demands in the middle of a rapidly accelerating and changing entertainment industry. Companies feel like they have to own the content, and distribution paths, in order to keep their heads above water. In order for a streaming service to really work, it needs to accomplish a few things, but it all boils down to one core idea: it has to fulfill a need. Or, a streaming service has to be a nonnegotiable purchase. People feel like they can’t sacrifice not having it. Two primary examples are Netflix and Disney Plus.”
• “Dot-Com Survivors Have Wisdom for the GameStop Crowd.”
• “Sheryl Sandberg and Top Facebook Execs Silenced an Enemy of Turkey to Prevent a Hit to the Company’s Business.”
• Watch “These Trump supporters are convinced he will be president again on March 4. Donald Trump lost the presidential election. But some of his supporters have bought into a conspiracy theory that says Trump will be president again on March 4. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan reports.”
• “The Nazi Symbol That Is the CPAC Stage.” Also “Editorial: Yes, That Is An Odal Rune.”—”TWH’s editors note this fits into the pattern of behavior we describe within our editorial.” “Let’s put aside the golden fetish of Donald Trump that echoes the idolatry rebuked by Moses in Exodus. Let’s also put aside that in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, the golden calf represents the abandonment of their god and serves to condemn the adoration of wealth. The irony is unsubtle and speaks to how greed and ignorance have infused a certain brand of American Christianity. Yet even leaving that symbol aside, there is something shocking, especially to a Pagan eye, happening in Orlando this weekend – something in the very foundation that the nation’s most powerful conservatives literally stand upon. Bear in mind that all stage design, including for political theater like CPAC, is done intentionally, with every design approved by many hands. So then, why is the CPAC stage shaped like the odal rune?”
• “Behold the Golden Calf.”—”Does this feel like some sort of a joke to you? Because it sure does to me.”
• “Rich Colleges Should Give Money to Poor Ones. Wealth transfers, not symbolic gestures, are the best path to equity.”
• “‘into the lifeboats’ – a review of Nomadland.”
• “Dream Crush revives the dating board game with modern complications. A colorful take on a genre with a troubled history.” Watch “Dream Crush™: The fantasy dating game of true love… and true hate“—”Look into your heart and choose your favorite Crush, then guess who your friends are crushing on in this totally timeless fantasy dating game from our friends at Mondo. Uncover sweet and strange secrets about prospective Crushes while navigating hilarious relationship milestones that will leave your feelings reeling as you play. Only by correctly predicting who makes your friends swoon will you live happily ever after with your very own Dream Crush!”
• “Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a new Superman film produced by J.J. Abrams. A new actor is also expected to play the Man of Steel.”
• “So you want to start reading comics? A guide to figuring out the best and most cost-effective methods.”
• “Inside the stunning Black mythos of Drexciya and its Afrofuturist ’90s techno. The history of an experimental music-and-mythos project with Black Diaspora at its core.”
• “Creator or Creature? A Nightmare Wakes dramatizes the birth of Frankenstein. Ars chats with director Nora Unkel about the origins, themes of her first feature film.” Watch “A Nightmare Wakes“, official trailer—”A gothic period piece inspired by the torrid love affair of Mary and Percy Shelley and the creation of her famous novel, Frankenstein. As she creates her masterpiece, she gives birth to a monster. Starring Alix Wilton and Giullian Gioiello, written and directed by Nora Unkel.” Watch in full “A Nightmare Awakes.” Of course, also check out 2017’s Mary Shelley, dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour, starring Elle Fanning, &c.
• Watch “Shadow and Bone” teaser trailer for the series on Netflix. “The Shadow Fold. To destroy it, we need a miracle. Shadow and Bone coming April 23, only on Netflix.” Based on Shadow and Bone, book 1 of the Shadow and Bone / Grishaverse series.
• “Review: Thought-provoking sci-fi drama Bliss works on multiple levels. Is it real, or is it a simulation? And how could you ever be sure?”—”A depressed man finds himself questioning the reality of his existence when he meets a free-spirited woman who insists he’s inhabiting a simulation in Bliss, a new film from director Mike Cahill that stars Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek.”
• “How the Barbizon Hotel Defined Women’s Ambition. Grace Kelly, Joan Didion, and Sylvia Plath were all guests. For some women, it was a launch pad. For others, it was a trap.”
• “Hiking Is an Ideal Structure for Friendship. ‘Without this hike … it would have been one of those college friendships where you get together and talk about the old days.'”
• “In Greece one can lead an active life on much less food than harsher climates make necessary; but there is also the fact that the Greek — the Greek man — could and did spend most of his leisure hours out of doors. That in itself meant that he had more leisure; he did not need to work in order to buy settees and coal. — After all, the reason why we English have invented ‘le confort anglais’ is that we cannot be comfortable and warm except indoors.”—H.D.F. Kitto (1897-1982), The Greeks quoted at Life Outdoors.
• “From Pamela Anderson to Tonya Harding: The Decade That Turned the Sex Tape Mainstream.”
• Nude selfies: are they now art?. Lockdown has triggered a boom in the exchange of intimate shots – and now a new book called Sending Nudes is celebrating the pleasures and perils of baring all to the camera.” About Sending Nudes: short stories & poetry [Bookshop, Amazon, Publisher]—”An intimate collection of fiction, nonfiction and poetry that uncovers the various reasons people send nudes. Some touch on feminist issues, while others focus on aging and our flawed human bodies. Some are light and playful, and some go deeper. The common thread is: they all raise interesting questions about the nude, and why we are compelled to send it. With the pandemic, and more people sending more nudes than ever, this anthology could not have come at a more appropriate time.”
• “A Documentary Lays Out the Boy Scouts Sex Abuse Scandal.” About “Field of Vision – Church and the Fourth Estate.”—”When a reporter uncovers a file that reveals a shocking series of child-abuse allegations in Idaho’s Boy Scouts, the investigation rattles a tight-knit community and implicates the Mormon Church.”
• “Evangelical Leaders Condemn Christian Nationalism.”—”Here’s a welcome development.”
• “It Only Sucks to Be a Cog in the Machine When the Machine Is Capitalism.”
• “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, chapter XVIII (Thorin speaking) quoted at A Merrier World.
• Tiktok—”When you pill the carpet off your floor and FIND A BASEMENT YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT”
• “Aging Beer in a Sunken Ship Sounded Like a Good Idea. Thieves Thought So Too. Local brewers in Mar del Plata, Argentina, spent months trying to make a unique brew by aging a dark ale 66 feet underwater. Then the barrels went missing, setting off a whodunit.”
• “What Would Happen if I Just Drank Wine — No Beer or Liquor? Is a French-influenced wine diet the secret to a longer, healthier, drunker life? Let’s uncork some answers.”
• “30 Hand-Cranked Machines Comprise Amusing Series of Miniatures by Artist Federico Tobon.” Watch “29 automata in 6 minutes.“—”All the tiny machines I made for the #makevember​ challenge in 2017. The videos were uploaded originally to Instagram -hence the square format.”
• Looney Labs has redesigned Aquarius: The Card Game of Elemental Connections! Also “Aquarius 3.0” details some of the redesign. There’s a solo mode as well, for whatever design version you might have.
• “Omniscience Isn’t Evenly Distributed. I can’t believe you’re not mad about the same thing I’m mad about!”
• “A Vague But Official Pronouncement About a Thing.”—”I know there is a thing!”

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