something everybody knows, but still...

This isn't news, really, but I thought I'd put it out there for people who may not know. Scribd is a great place for finding various occult texts and manuals; lots of good stuff on there covering pretty much any topic. A huge Chaos Magic library, Golden Dawn texts, Goetia, all kinds of stuff. Just fyi.

Musicka Mystica Maxima Festival

I think I found my dream gig- the Musicka Mystica Maxima Festival. It's being put on under the auspices of the OTO, and features people like John Zorn, Genesis P-Orridge (I still have my slowly decomposing Throbbing Gristle T-shirt, I won't lie), Nautical Almanac (!!!), a few others... I can't imagine a better crowd for hypersigilistic music, and a festival with rituals?! Please. Burning Man's got 'em, sure, but, to be honest, my peacock feather cape's at the cleaner's and my crotchless leather kilt's too small. Wish I woulda found out about it earlier, I would've loved to be there. Gotta keep my eyes peeled in case there's another.

Bandoneon Blues...es...

Why the fuck is a bandoneon so hard to find for purchase? and how the hell can a concertina-like instrument with paper bellows cost more than a full-size, black-laquer-&-pearl sitar with a resonator? Just sayin'.

Proof of UK anti-Roma sentiment, both cultural and institutional

These are links to various pages on the interwebz for people who live in the UK and don't, for some reason, think Travellers and Roma are being institutionally abused: http://www.monbiot.com/archives/1996/10/10/britains-ethnic-cleansing/ http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2003/11/04/acceptable-hatred/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/3683483.stm http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=119 http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2007/11/13/106414/gypsy-roma-and-traveller-children-speak-out-over-racism.html http://nickgriffin.eu/2009/06/17/bnp-leader-condemns-belfast-anti-gypsy-violence-and-immigration-policy-which-a *the above also notable for user comments which bolster the premise of the story, oddly. And here are a couple that are notable mostly for the comments: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090524070522AAjUwrX https://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=63903 Hope that clears a few things up for people.

Make your own ghost

This is kind of a fascinating article, even if it is on about.com (link through title). This seems very similar to invoking a god-form, and is pretty similar to techniques I employ in magickal workings- I don't believe in a literal, sentient deity, but I do believe that the mind is a very powerful tool that can change its environment with the right mindset and with properly focused intent. Thus, I believe that anything can be invoked, essentially; a god-form is an archetypical template (hence the reason for the mixing of pantheons employed in working- each pantheon is a mixture of archetypes that correspond cross-culturally), and can be anything. While I tend to invoke more traditional god-forms (on the occasions I invoke anything, which can be described as, "occasionally, but not all that often"), it makes sense that one could conjure Daffy Duck or Superman, if one so chose. The possibilities, as with anything, are limitless. I recommend "Pop Magic!" by Grant Morrison as a good starting point- it might have a lot of hype surrounding it and I don't endorse everything in it, but there are some good ideas and information contained in it. It's important to remember, however, that reading books is no substitute for actually practicing magick. Learn what you can, and take necessary precautions, but dig in and do it- book knowledge is no substitute for experience and practice.