An irregular hodgepodge of links gathered together … Omnium Gatherum for June 27, 2021

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

• Ghosts I Have Seen: Austin Spare, Spirits and Spiritualism with Robert Shehu-Ansell, of Fulgur Press, presented by The College Of Psychic Studies. Thursday 22nd July 2021: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm (UK Time), online. “Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956) was one of the first professional English artists to publicly embrace the occult and paranormal. Fêted by his contemporaries for his skill as a draughtsman, throughout a working life of more than fifty years, Spare never wavered from his vision of a world populated by spirits. In this fully illustrated lecture, the expression of Spare’s interest in spirits and spiritualism will be traced throughout his life, work and friendships; from his early experiments with planchettes and automatism, c.1904–1910, to his later large pastel series, c. 1955, ‘Ghosts I Have Seen’.”
• “No, Disney Isn’t Trying to Own the Norse God Loki“—”I know the whole “Disney steals the god Loki” story sounds plausible, because Disney did actually try to claim the phrase Dia de los Muertos before public outcry shut them down, so they have shown they are ready to be cultural appropriators if they think there is profit in it. And if they ever do try to claim ownership of medieval books and their contents and the names of the gods within them, or any other thing that properly belongs to the entire world and should always be freely available to everyone, then we should indeed fight them on that. But that’s not what is happening right now.” Also “Petition demands Disney stop trademarking Norse gods.”
• “Godkiller: Spiderland Returns in Black Mask September 2021 Solicits” About Godkiller hardcovers and Godkiller: Walk Among Us – Complete Collection—”The beloved, ultra-not-for-kids, dystopic saga about teenage orphan Tommy and escaped slave-girl Halfpipe who travel through a post-nuke, fascist-run wasteland in search of a new heart for Tommy’s dying sister.”—”From Matteo Pizzolo (CALEXIT) and Anna Wieszczyk, the comic that Zac Thompson said “pushed me further than I’ve ever been pushed” returns to ratchet up the chaos, spitting punk rock fury, thundering into your eyeballs and running roughshod across your brains with its often mindbending, sometimes horrifying, always clever & devious tale of sci-fi magic, apocalyptic sex, and subversive mindbombs.” One review says “A singular vision full of fresh elegant brutality and dark humor, it’s like some genius commissioned Chuck Palahniuk, Terry Gilliam, and Aleister Crowley to reinvent dystopia fiction.” Apparently one of the covers also has a character in one of Crowley’s iconic poses, from Aha! in Equinox I, 3.
• “‘An Unquiet Grave’ review: grief-stricken widower gets lost in the after-wife. On the anniversary of his beloved’s passing, a man tries to bring her back from the dead”—”At what stage in your Average Joe Shmoe’s grief does a black magic ritual appear to be a viable option? Was counselling too expensive? Did the self-help books fail? And what fast-track studies did he undertake to become an Aleister Crowley-style mega-mage just a year from the catalytic tragedy? Gymnastic suspension of disbelief is required to be settled with the idea before Jamie the Warlock gets cracking with the incantations.”
• Rod & Ring: An Initiation IntoA Mesopotamian Mystery Tradition by Samuel David on preorder—”History tells us of the mystery traditions of Isis, Dionysius, and Mithras – but what of the mysteries of Inanna, Enki, and Dumuzid? Author Samuel David’s Order of the Rod & Ring seeks to fill those lacunae with a spiritual journey that combines traditional Mesopotamian praxis with a contemporary paradigm. Immerse yourself in this mystery tradition as you undertake a mythopoetic journey informed by historical, religious, and cultic practices, as well as mythology, and research from experts in the field of Assyriology. Prepare yourself to approach the shrine of the gods as their supplicant; take up the Divine Measures bestowed upon humanity as their servant, and brave the dark as you descend into the depths of the Underworld; be reborn as the temple steward and pass through the Heavenly gates to present yourself as one worthy to be entrusted with their holy regalia: the Rod and the Ring.”
• Occult Imperium: Arturo Reghini, Roman Traditionalism, and the Anti-Modern Reaction in Fascist Italy [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by Christian Giudice, due Dec, 2021—”Christian Giudice’s Occult Imperium explores Italian national forms of Occultism, chiefly analyzing Arturo Reghini (1878-1946), his copious writings, and Roman Traditionalism. Trained as a mathematician at the prestigious University of Pisa, Reghini was one of the three giants of occult and esoteric thought in Italy, alongside his colleagues Julius Evola (1898-1974) and Giulian Kremmerz (1861-1930). Using Reghini’s articles, books, and letters, as a guide, Giudice explores the interaction between occultism, Traditionalism, and different facets of modernity in early-twentieth-century Italy. The book takes into consideration many factors particular to the Italian peninsula: the ties with avant-garde movements such as the Florentine Scapigliatura and Futurism, the occult vogues typical to Italy, the rise to power of Benito Mussolini and Fascism, and, lastly, the power of the Holy See over different expressions of spirituality. Occult Imperium explores the convergence of new forms of spirituality in early twentieth-century Italy.”
• “Healthcare Has a Race—and Gender—Problem. Elinor Cleghorn on the Struggle for Black Women to Be Heard.” More about Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by Elinor Cleghorn—”A trailblazing, conversation-starting history of women’s health–from the earliest medical ideas about women’s illnesses to hormones and autoimmune diseases–brought together in a fascinating sweeping narrative.”
• “George Barbier’s Imaginary Lives.”—”It’s always satisfying when one perennial subject here connects to another. Imaginary Lives is a story collection by Symbolist writer Marcel Schwob that George Barbier lavishly illustrated in a new edition published in 1929.”
• “Dessinateurs et humoristes: George Barbier“—”One of the regular Bon Ton contributors was George Barbier (1882–1932), an artist whose work has appeared in several posts here, and who I look for now and then when browsing library archives. Searching for new Barbier may be at an end, however, since the more recent uploads at Gallica include almost all of the books that he illustrated. It’s no surprise that these have turned up eventually—it was only a matter of time—but among the cache there’s a unique item that I’d never have expected to see.” “As for the Barbier scrapbook, if you like the artist’s drawings this is a delight to look through, a cornucopia of camp frivolity replete with all the usual crinolined ladies, powdered wigs, mischievous Cupids, tiny dogs, and almost as many nude males as there are females. There’s also a picture bearing the title “The Great God Pan” although as a representation of the deity it’s closer to Aubrey Beardsley than anything from Arthur Machen.”
• “The art of John Alcorn, 1935–1992.”—”Another member of the Groovy Set, John Alcorn was a very prolific illustrator and designer whose career included a period at Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast’s Push Pin Studios. Alcorn’s art predates the groovy look, and also extends beyond it, but since I have a taste for this quasi-psychedelic style all the examples here are from the late 1960s/early 1970s.”
• “What If Procrastination Is an Essential Part of Our Writing Process?.”—”For as long as I am involved in those tasks, the thing that I am supposed to be writing remains in glorious, perfectible potentia. As Annie Dillard puts it in The Writing Life: ‘It is a glowing thing, a blurred thing of beauty. Its structure is at once luminous and translucent: you can see the world through it.’ It remains on the cusp of realization; it belongs to tomorrow.”
• “Paramount Options Rediscovered Wright Novel for Seven Figures.”—”The rediscovered, initially unpublished, novel by Richard Wright, The Man Who Lived Underground, has been optioned by Paramount in a seven-figure deal. The manuscript was discovered in 2010 by Wright’s daughter, Julia Wright, who found it in his archive at Yale. (Wright died in 1960.) Initially rejected by publishers—Wright had submitted the book after the success of Native Son, but found no takers—the title was published in April by Library of America.” About The Man Who Lived Underground [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by Richard Wright—”A major literary event: an explosive, previously unpublished novel about race and violence in America by the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy. Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer system. This is the devastating premise of this scorching novel, a never-before-seen masterpiece by Richard Wright. Written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers, it would see publication in Wright’s lifetime only in drastically condensed and truncated form, and ultimately be included in the posthumous short story collection Eight Men (1961). Now, for the first time, by special arrangement with the author’s estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than any other (“I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration”) is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, “Memories of My Grandmother.” Malcolm Wright, the author’s grandson, contributes an afterword.”
• “HC Inks Deal with MLK Jr. Archives.”—”Judith Curr, president and publisher of HarperOne Group, negotiated the deal with Amy Berkower, president, Writers House and agent for the King estate; and Eric D. Tidwell of Intellectual Properties Management, manager of the King estate. The deal gives HC world rights to publish new books from the archives across all formats, including children’s books, e-books, audiobooks, journals, and graphic novels in all languages.”
• “Lessons of a self-published writer: independent bookstores are good, Amazon not so much..”—”Despite a pandemic, Engel—and his cameraman Brady—visited 30 bookstores between New Orleans and New York, asking booksellers why they did what they did, and why it’s important. The results are now here, in a second documentary called The Bookstour, which you can watch by making a donation to BINC, the wonderful nonprofit fundraising organization that supports booksellers in need.” Watch “The Bookstour” trailer.
• “Jean-Paul Sartre: between existentialism and Marxism.”—”French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, born on 21 June 1905, is remembered primarily as one of the main proponents of existentialism—a philosophy centring on the absolute freedom of the individual, which was popular in Europe in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Less known is his political activism and commitment, from World War Two onwards, to socialism.”
• “Barriers, Privileges, and Invisible Labor: A Sino Diaspora Translator’s Perspective.”—”As a racialized, genderqueer woman translator working with Chinese literature, I translate as a form of reclamation and resistance. There has been an increasing number of discussions in the literary translation community recently about whether any translator should have the right to translate any text. This question, however, can be quite simplistic and misleading. It overlooks the power dynamics at play in the field, such as the barriers that affect who can break into translation and the undervaluing of less formal forms of expertise such as lived experiences. It overlooks that, in addition to working as a translator on the page, marginalized translators often need to “translate” many times over, performing additional emotional labor when it comes to justifying their anti-oppressive approaches to translation and navigating biases in the publishing and translation industries.”
• “Decolonizing Your Bookshelf: The What, the Why, and the How.”—”Decolonizing your bookshelf means actively examining and resisting colonialist narratives in the books that you read, and diversifying your reading to include books by authors from communities that have been victims of colonialism and systemic racism. The importance of combating the cultural and psychological effects of colonialism perpetrated through language was argued by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in his classic work, Decolonising the Mind. While the very act of reading and writing in English and other European languages across the world, and especially in former colonies, cannot be dissociated from colonialist underpinnings, the practical and subversive potential of the colonized appropriating the colonizer’s language to counter colonialist narratives cannot be ignored.”
• “Yes, No, Maybe So: A Generation of Thinkers Grapples With Notions of Consent. Recent novels, philosophical inquiries, young adult and romance fiction, films and television shows join a robust academic literature to explore the term and its limits.”
• “Why bother organizing your books? A messy personal library is proof of life. As the French writer Georges Perec wisely put it, book arrangements are ‘hardly any more effective than the original anarchy.'”
• “The Rich, Weird, and Frustrating World of Depression-Era Travel Guides. The ‘American Guides’ were unusual not only for their shaggy opulence and Americana maximalism, but also for their source of funding: the federal government.”
• “Towards the Heart of a Book: In Praise of the Epigraph. Thomas Swick on the Importance of the ‘Ceremonial Gate'”
• “The Imitation of Consciousness: On the Present and Future of Natural Language Processing. Stephen Marche Considers AI, Machine Learning, and ‘the Labyrinth of Another’s Being'”
• “5,500-Year-Old Burial Mound With Stone Circle Unearthed In Ukraine.“—”In east-central Ukraine excavations of a unique kurgan or burial mound have been underway for more than 1.5 months. The discovery was made during road works in the village of Novooleksandrivka, some ten kilometres south of the large town of Dnipro.” Watch “В Новоалександровке раскапывают древний скифский курган” (An ancient Scythian burial mound is being excavated in Novoaleksandrovka)
• “Discovery of ‘Dragon Man’ Skull in China May Add Species to Human Family Tree. A laborer discovered the fossil and hid it in a well for 85 years. Scientists say it could help sort out the human family tree and how our species emerged.”—”Scientists on Friday announced that a massive fossilized skull that is at least 140,000 years old is a new species of ancient human, a finding that could potentially change prevailing views of how — and even where — our species, Homo sapiens, evolved.” Also “‘Dragon man’ fossil may replace Neanderthals as our closest relative.”—”A near-perfectly preserved ancient human fossil known as the Harbin cranium sits in the Geoscience Museum in Hebei GEO University. The largest of known Homo skulls, scientists now say this skull represents a newly discovered human species named Homo longi or “Dragon Man.” Their findings, appearing in three papers publishing June 25 in the journal The Innovation, suggest that the Homo longi lineage may be our closest relatives—and has the potential to reshape our understanding of human evolution.” Also “Dragon Man: ancient skull from China could be new human species. A huge cranium found in the Songhua River in China represents a new sister lineage for Homo sapiens. It dates to at least 146,000 years old.” Also “Massive human head in Chinese well forces scientists to rethink evolution. ‘Dragon man’ skull reveals new branch of family tree more closely related to modern humans than Neanderthals.”
• “Crushing climate impacts to hit sooner than feared: draft UN report.”—”‘Life on Earth can recover from a drastic climate shift by evolving into new species and creating new ecosystems,’ it says. ‘Humans cannot.'”
• “Chinese rocket manufacturer outlines manned Mars mission roadmap, timetable.”—”China’s prime rocket manufacturer has unveiled a roadmap for the country’s future manned Mars exploration missions, which not only includes manned landing missions but also Mars base building.”
• Yeah, but where are they going to find quarters for the machine?! “Tide to Design First Laundry Detergent for Space, To Begin Stain Removal Testing on International Space Station in 2022. The Procter & Gamble laundry brand partners with NASA in a Space Act Agreement to explore how to efficiently clean astronauts’ clothing in resource-constrained environments, including the Artemis Moon missions and future Mars missions.”
• This ought to hold up in the space washing-machine! “Ultralight material withstands supersonic microparticle impacts. The new carbon-based material could be a basis for lighter, tougher alternatives to Kevlar and steel.”
• Is it … blood from when they MURDERED A PLANET?! “Pluto is covered in huge red patches and we don’t know what they are.”
• “NASA Head Seeks New Funding for Annual Moon Landings ‘Over a Dozen Years’.”
• “Even the Hubble Space Telescope’s backup computer is glitching now — raising new questions about what’s gone wrong.” Also “Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. NASA Completes Additional Tests to Diagnose Computer Problem on Hubble Space Telescope”
• “Electric Vehicles Won’t Save Us. Why EV’s are false prophets in the fight for a better world.”—”This isn’t a story about Elon Musk, or Tesla, or a contrarian take about how “oil is good, actually.” I unconditionally support electric vehicles in their quest to take over the primacy of gasoline-powered vehicles in the market. But I don’t save that enthusiasm for their prospects on society broadly. From the perspective of the built environment, there is nothing functionally different between an electric vehicle and a gasoline propelled one. The relationship is the same, and it’s unequivocally destructive. Cars, however they’re powered, are environmentally cataclysmic, break the tethers of community, and force an infrastructure of dependency that is as financially ruinous to our country as it is dangerous to us as people. In order to build a more sustainable future and a better world for humanity, we need to address the root problems that have brought us to where we so perilously lie today.”
• “A Messy Utopia Is All We Might Get. Climate change didn’t just wreck the planet; it closed off and reshaped the future. Even utopia—if we reach it—will be a mess.”
• “AI helps return Rembrandt’s The Night Watch to original size. Rijksmuseum reproduces Dutch master’s work in all its glory, 300 years after it was cut to fit between doors.” Also Operation Night Watch
• “Facebook Filed a Patent For an AR Hat, The Latest in its Evolving AR Push“—”Forget AR glasses, according to a new patent registered by Facebook, The Social Network is developing an AR hat, which would expand the immersion of the device, and facilitate more advanced AR experiences within an isolated, standalone unit.”
• “What Happened to Electronic Civil Disobedience?.”—”I first encountered electronic civil disobedience when researching a later project by EDT. My journey into the topic was littered with broken links, 404 pages, static screen grabs. I wondered why these works of net-based protest art had been largely forgotten, and whether there was any merit in dusting them off today. ”
• “Google turned me into a serial killer.”—”As I was scrolling through my inbox today, I stumbled upon an e-mail from a former colleague of mine who wanted to inform me that a Google search of my name yields a picture of me linked to a Wikipedia article about a serial killer who happens to have the same name as mine.”
• “Do Chance Meetings at the Office Boost Innovation? There’s No Evidence of It. For some, the office even stifles creativity. As the pandemic eases in the U.S., a few companies seek to reimagine what work might look like.”
• “Genome study reveals East Asian coronavirus epidemic 20,000 years ago.”—”An international study has discovered a coronavirus epidemic broke out in the East Asia region more than 20,000 years ago, with traces of the outbreak evident in the genetic makeup of people from that area.”
• “Fifty-nine labs around world handle the deadliest pathogens – only a quarter score high on safety.”—”That still leaves a large proportion of scientific research on coronaviruses carried out in countries with no oversight of dual-use research or gain-of-function experiments. This is particularly concerning as gain-of-function research with coronaviruses is likely to increase as scientists seek to better understand these viruses and to identify which viruses pose a higher risk of jumping from animals to humans or becoming transmissible between humans. More countries are expected to seek BSL4 labs, too, in the wake of the pandemic as part of a renewed emphasis on pandemic preparedness and response. While the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stark reminder of the risks posed by infectious diseases and the importance of a robust biomedical research enterprise for saving lives, we also need to keep in mind that such research can carry risks of its own. Good science and smart policy, however, can keep those risks in check and allow humanity to reap the benefits of this research.”
• “Maybe We’re Asking Vaccine Skeptics the Wrong Question. There’s a better way to frame their options.”—”all of us are going to get vaccinated one way or the other. Sooner or later—and probably sooner, since the supercharged delta variant already accounts for 10 percent of U.S. infections, and that share is doubling every two weeks—people who don’t take one of the approved vaccines will get the virus. They might think of that as an alternative to vaccination, but it’s not. The virus will do the same thing the vaccines do: It will provoke their immune systems to develop antibodies. The difference is that the virus, unlike the vaccines, will attack their bodies and quite possibly kill them.”
• “Israel Is Sending Robots With Machine Guns to the Gaza Border. The ‘world’s largest open-air prison’ gets a new set of guards.”
• Wait. Hold on. What exactly is in this ‘cultured meat’ being made in Israel? “Future Meat Technologies Launches World’s First Industrial Cultured Meat Production Facility. Company opens the first industrial cultured meat facility, with immediate outlook toward U.S. expansion.”
• “The Gas Tax is Obsolete. Here’s a Better Idea. It’s based on the simple principle that those who benefit should contribute.”—”The solution is to evolve from a “user pays” to a “beneficiary pays” system. This approach recognizes that in our modern economy there are many beneficiaries who are not “users” of the national highway system but are definitely dependent on it. Right now, many who benefit from our transportation system do not pay for its upkeep or improvement. For instance, anyone who has packages delivered to their front door or uses ride-sharing services or shops at a retailer that gets goods delivered by truck are beneficiaries of the national highway system even if they never get behind the wheel of a car.”
• “Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles’ Lands at AMC. Author Anne Rice’s well-traveled ‘Vampire Chronicles’ novels have found a new TV home: AMC Networks.” Also “‘Interview With the Vampire’ Series Ordered at AMC.”—”AMC is officially moving forward with a series adaptation of Anne Rice’s “Interview With the Vampire.” News of the series order comes just over a year after Variety exclusively reported that AMC had acquired the rights to Rice’s book series “The Vampire Chronicles” and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches.” “Interview With the Vampire” is the first series to be greenlit out of the acquisition.” Also “‘Interview With The Vampire’ Series Greenlighted At AMC; Rolin Jones Set As Showrunner, Mark Johnson To Oversee Franchise”
• “50 Vintage Photos Of Pride Parades In The U.S. These photos highlight the evolution of LGBTQ Pride over decades.”
• “The 400 Years Project. A photography collective looking at the evolution of Native American identity, rights, and representation.”
• “The Media Pays Attention When Trans People Die, But The Living Are Struggling With Grief. Violent attacks and discriminatory laws have taken a toll on the mental health of trans people. Many wish there was as much attention on the well-being of those living with traumas as there is on those who have been killed.”
• “The doctors are not all right. Doctors need mental health support, but the medical profession often punishes them for getting it.”
• “Why Play at Orientalism?“—”To build the history of the world into a single game, code, or narrative would be the height of hubris. Yet, although Paradox gets one aspect right—different eras demand different engines—it makes the horrible assumption that the pinnacle of civilization is the modernity of the global North.” “orientalist games can tell us a lot about what orientalist accounts of history assume and what arguments they make. As we analyze game mechanics, we must be ready for the representations we find there, pleasant or not.”
• “Orchid Thought to Be Extinct in UK Was Discovered Blooming on the Rooftop of London Bank.”—”The small-flowered tongue orchid, or serapias parviflora, is normally found in the Mediterranean, and hasn’t been seen in the UK for over a decade. But 15 plants have been found on the 11th floor garden of the Japanese Investment Bank Nomura in the City.”
• “Lego develops first bricks made from recycled plastic bottles. Activists welcome move but warn recycling should not be default solution to plastics crisis.”
• “Postal Service Makes the Sun Shine Bright With Forever Stamps.”—”The Postal Service highlights stunning images of the sun that celebrate the science behind the ongoing exploration of our nearest star. Printed with a foil treatment that adds a glimmer to the stamps, the images on these stamps come from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft launched in February 2010 to keep a constant watch on the sun from geosynchronous orbit above Earth. The striking colors in these images do not represent the actual colors of the sun as perceived by human eyesight. Instead, each image is colorized by NASA according to different wavelengths that reveal or highlight specific features of the sun’s activity. One of the stamps highlights sunspots, two feature images of coronal holes, two show coronal loops, two depict plasma blasts, one is a view of an active sun that emphasizes its magnetic fields, and two show different views of a solar flare.”
• Tweet—”This chart is a work of art. I hope multiple people got paid well to make it and I hope they get hit by a bus.” “The longer you look at it the more things you find wrong with it” Also “CNN Has a Strong Contender for the Worst Chart You’ll Ever See“—”This chart is a violent crime.” Also tweet—”ftfy” (fixed that for you).

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