Lately I've been reading some books from my youth.

I've started rereading all of H.P. Lovecraft's stories, in the order he wrote them, using S.T. Joshi and Hippocampus Press's variorum edition, so it is just the most accurate version of the story without footnotes. I haven't read many of these stories in years. I knew it before, but I'm struck ( Read more... )

And so, the October 12, lesser feast of Aleister Crowley ( Read more... )

I decided I wanted to read a book about Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, the strange Bloody Baron of the Russian Civil War who briefly reestablished the Mongolian empire and attempted to restore the Russian empire. There are many rumors about this strange figure who may have believed he was the reincarnation of Genghis Khan, and who some even today view ( Read more... )

I am pleased to see that, in my absence, my journal was awarded the Keeper of Traditions badge for consistency, and the Endless Source of Ideas badge. It seems that by simply thinking of this journal, which is often, it somehow breathes life into it.

I recently saw an article and video about Colin Farrell's new foundation. I don't think I've ever ( Read more... )

My New Year's resolution is to check the pockets of my pants before I put them in the laundry basket instead of hoping I remember before I put them in the washing machine. I don't want another pen explosion like last month. But I also intend to be more active here, in part to keep track of my reading. It being the tenth day of January and this only ( Read more... )

Recently, on one of the Native American Facebook feeds I follow I saw reference to The Cherokee Little People Were Real, by Mary A. Joyce. Joyce is also author of such books as Underground Military Bases Hidden in North Carolina Mountains, Tangible Evidence of Jesus, and Spy in the Sky. I do not in fact believe they are real, but I at least find it ( Read more... )

I've been watching the life cycle of the shrine on the corner.

On Thursday night, November 30, at about 8:40, I was sitting in the living room with my three kids watching Team Spidey. Meanwhile, according to the Los Angeles Times and ABC7, a fifteen-year-old, was walking home with at least one friend when someone stopped him and asked, "Where you ( Read more... )

Last night, we looked out the window and saw about four police cars at the end of our street, about three houses away. They were surprisingly quiet, and I assumed they were executing a warrant on a house where we suspected drugs were dealt ( Read more... )

I rewatched Road to Perdition today for the first time in well over a decade. It's a gangster film about fathers and sons. It's visually stunning, probably in part because it's based on a graphic novel. There was a lot I had forgotten, but unfortunately I already knew all the major twists and turns. What I appreciate most is the theme: A father who ( Read more... )

Oscar is preparing to make his first reconciliation or, as they used to call it (and many still do) confession or penance. I have mixed feelings about it. I love the Church, and this is the tradition that has been passed on in my family since time immemorial. But the older I get, the harder I find it is to believe in anything, and I'm not good ( Read more... )