Vampyrique

6 minutes ago, MacabreEternal said:

Spent the morning putting up a curtain pole to hang black curtains from in my office.  This gothic domestication is the Western civilised dream being lived to the max.

Perfect. Now you just need some candelabra and a throne to brood upon as you disdain your fellow man from flights above.

1 hour ago, Requiem said:

My wife must be a goth then...

Aren't goth girls only goth girls because they can't get boyfriends from the football team and can't be bothered being feminist lesbians? 

If she is, then you're lucky because it's through no fault of your own that she's unhappy. 

That could be. Depression from rejection, yet too sad to be angry at men.

Don't tell me you missed my Type O Negative reference? That was specifically for you. Hopefully your subconscious mind got it. Or else my hypnotic hand is losing its touch. 

1 hour ago, Requiem said:

The daemons' names are too evil and esoteric to type on modern devices, and must only be spoken when the moon is full and cleansing rituals have been performed across the threshold and hearth. 

Never heard of Mrs Blavatsky, but she sounds hot.  

Imagine old Crowley with a wig on, only a bit fatter. That's Mama Blavatsky.

30 minutes ago, Requiem said:

Australian football is more like Gaelic football, except infinitely more interesting. That you remain ignorant of the great sport is concerning yet not unexpected. I suggest immediate research. 

Reading about Gary Ablett senior and junior is mandatory. Think of the greatest ice hockey player ever (Gary senior), then he has a son (Gary junior), and he plays for the same ice hockey team and is the best player in the whole league and wins the mvp and the competition trophy twice. 

I only insist on this knowledge because the world needs to know. 

Watch this immediately and exclusively: 

 

There's a Gaelic football?

From that video it actually doesn't look too bad. A respectable sport.

I never go to the gym for exercise. I much prefer the lab.

Is this the dream thread or the therapy thread?

Potatoes: the only vegetable worth eating.

On 1/25/2020 at 3:54 AM, Requiem said:

After perusing the extensive and opulent book shelves at Castle Requiem, I'm managed to located the two books in question. I have: 

'Liber Al Vel Legis (The Book of the Law') Redwheel/Weiser 2004, Hardcover, Red with Gold font on the cover. Contains facsimiles of Crowley's original handwritten draft at the back. 

'The Book of the Goetia - or The Lesser Key of Solomon the King', Softcover, Martino Publishing, Mansfield Centre CT, which is a glorious facsimile of the 1903 edition, containing all the charts, chants.

They're so evil I think I accidentally summoned three daemons between taking the books down and writing this post....

Hail Crowley. King of indecipherable books that suckers still buy in the 21st century! 

Names of said demons, or it didn't happen. I can't get mine to work. Not even a pathetic homunculus.

Are you familiar with Mrs Blavatsky? She's like Crowley's female equivalent but decades earlier. 

On 5/23/2020 at 6:07 AM, Requiem said:

I'm sure I could make a gothic girl very happy... she could be my cinnamon girl. 

Unless it's a typo on your part, that's a negative Req. You couldn't make a goth girl happy or she would cease to be goth - that's philosogothophy 101.   

On 7/23/2020 at 4:25 AM, Requiem said:

'Esoteric Warfare' is easier to listen to due to its more standard riff structures (sort of), but the tracks are just so strange and weak. Teloch, the new guitarist/songwriter was all at sea. At least 'Ordo ad Chao' has that gay abandon that is Blasphemer's last musical tantrum before he left the band. It has a degree of artistic thrust that 'Esoteric' just lacks.

But I don't enjoy listening to either album in I'm being honest and they don't get played at parties at Castle Requiem. 

Esoteric Warfare is bland and lifeless. I agree with you, Ordo's reckless gay thrusting is preferred.

On 7/22/2020 at 8:21 AM, Primal_Enigma said:

In the case of Metallica, a lot of people talk about St Anger as a bad album but I think many are maybe in denial, the true champion of awfulness is Lulu. I have tried listening to it a few times, but I can't listen to just one whole song. It's a major cringe. What's interesting is that people love to hate St Anger, but very few talk about Lulu, like they want to forget it ever happened. 

After taking a couple of loads, I'm not really sure what Metallica fans were really expecting. St. Anger isn't good, but it's not nearly as bad as people say it is. But in metal circles, herd is the word.

On 7/10/2020 at 4:43 AM, Requiem said:

I mean, it's just crazy. Why would anyone ever think that a relative of a genius could produce anything approaching the quality of the original family member? Just foolish of you Vampers....

Oh wait... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Ablett_Jr. 

Little personal joke there that probably only @RelentlessOblivion and @True Belief would truly appreciate. 

Speaking of foolish, I have Dacre's other book Dracul - a prequel exploiting the life of Bram Stoker - but, surprisingly, I've heard it is a lot better. Different co-writer. I'm not expecting much, not really at the top of my reading priority list. 

Aussie football? Is that rugby, American-style football or European-style football? I don't watch any of those. And I didn't get the joke, but I never trust anyone named Jr.

Distant relatives seems the theme:

I just finished The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu, a distant relative to the Countess. I enjoyed this novel. Two narratives entwined, including a retelling of the Bathory affair.

Dracula the Un-dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt. At times it was alright, at times it was dreadful. Hardly a worthy sequel to the original masterwork. Questionable character changes, cheap tie-ins and cliches, even a cringey Darth Vader moment.  

17 hours ago, Requiem said:

Did your skills in alchemy help to turn these books into pure reading gold? 

Not quite, I'm no John Dee. Quite the opposite. I tried turning some hefty tomes into audiobook form via Enochian magic, but I'm afraid nothing will be audible if my ears are cut off like Edward Kelley's.

15 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

It's great. It was the first novel I read by him and I love it. The Baroque Cycle is set in the same universe and it has a similar way of developing the plot through different narratives. The Baroque Cycle is where it's at if you're looking for philosophy and alchemy, though, there's a lot to chew on. Anathem is totally unrelated but also has a lot of musings on philosophy, and it's hilarious. Those five are my favorites of his. I also really enjoyed The Rise And Fall Of D.O.D.O. but it was a bit romantic and fluffy by comparison.

I'll be sure to pick up Cryptonomicon if I see it. He seems like an author that I would like. Alas, my to-read list is quite lengthy so I'm not sure when I'll even get around to The Baroque Cycle.

8 hours ago, Requiem said:

If I had a gun to my head I'd take a stab in the dark and suggest that no noose is good noose for those who fail to note the most-art of Requiem.  I didn't want to leave you hanging, so shot through my poisonous reply like a speeding bullet. Quite frankly, with an axe to grind and plenty of time to kill, I knocked them dead with my lyrical post that all agree is to die for and the silver bullet you need .   

That's all fake noose, but that's old news to me. Indeed, you're on fire with those arms of yours, but I'm afraid you're the one about to be roasted!

Now, any nous is good nous, and you'd be better off producing some so you can keep your wits about you. Otherwise, you'll be dusted off like tiny pieces heaped into a work of motes-art and swept up by a brume of bad punnery, no (dead)pan required. Best you stay bach, or my wolves, with their fur-elise, will keep you at bay-thoven, sonata thing you can do about it!

Okay, that last one was dreadful, near suicidal. Best we talk like Victorian gentlemen over tea and crumpets and discuss Anglo imperialism or some such matter?

@the_thrashing

Sounds like you need a cure for your ails, perhaps The Cure.

The goth scene is mostly about fashion and makeup. O the shallow vanity of identity!

19 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Yup, that's right. It follows three main characters who start off in very different places, converging and diverging over a few decades. Sometimes it's almost like reading separate books side by side, and they're actually split up that way internally (for instance The Confusion alternates in chunks between "Book 4: Bonanza" and "Book 5: The Juncto"), but it's really no different from any other book that switches viewpoints. Have you read Cryptonomicon?

I've actually not read any of Neal's books. I picked up the trilogy at a used bookstore because of my interest in alchemy and philosophy, and because they were pretty cheap and in hardcover format. Later I found a couple of his other novels including Anathem, but not Cryptonomicon. I know it has a great reputation, what do you think of it?

20 hours ago, Requiem said:

Oh hohoho, what do we have here... Young Vampyrique has raised his (severed) head to grace us with his (ghostly) presence. 

Pistols at dawn, sir! I feel it's my honour to defend Mother England. Obviously I'll be loading my flintlock with silver shot, and I guess it won't be at dawn. Pistols at midnight, sir! 

Albion lives! 

Paradise regained, I think not. But let's not make the mistake of raising the stakes.

Rest assured, grave concern should be undertaken when challenging the likes of me. After all, what good is a silent requiem...

On 4/23/2020 at 9:48 AM, FatherAlabaster said:

Revisiting some favorites in my downtime. Right now it's what I own of Neal Stephenson's books. I just finished the Baroque Cycle and now I'm on to Anathem, which has become one of my favorite science fiction novels (I've been diverting myself with science fiction since I was a kid so this is actually kind of a feat). I wish I could experience reading it again for the first time, without suffering the massive brain trauma that would probably accompany that loss of memory.

I have the Baroque Cycle (and Anathem) but have yet to read any of them. As I vaguely understand, the trilogy consists of different threads that are divided amongst the three books - is this accurate?

Vinyl sounds better to my ears. CDs could sound better than they do but typically suffer from loathsome hyper-compressed mixes.

Nothing at all, actually.

42 minutes ago, Requiem said:

I'm deeply disturbed to hear this from an Englishman. 

I'm afraid Paradise Lost is what they call England these days.

Hast thou not, O my  brother, convened with Quetzalcoatl himself and sought permission to appropriate said culture of He? Perhaps a humble token who, extant, represents the whole of the people can grant thee dispensation in accordance with the politica rectitudo of our current sinistral trend in time before it ceases to be?

How my ironic superiority complex doubly strikes me with pangs of guilt when Nile's music floods my headphones. Rather, it is a vile river of shame that is needlessly bled to their name. How dare it be that such fools can exist without Ra's eternal blessing! 

1 hour ago, Requiem said:

When the Bible was first translated into local languages and printed via Gutenberg's infernal machine, a lot of this mysterious forced trust took a different shape. Religious belief didn't disappear, which is really interesting - it just encouraged a new form of worship. 

You do see cults everywhere. Mankind was born in tribes, so it's little wonder tribes still prevail, albeit ideological ones in 'progressive' western societies. 

Also, regarding Crowley's books: I have a couple and gosh they're hard to read. Largely gobbledegook and claptrap. I was hoping for a little more coherence. Maybe I have the wrong books. 

 

Religious belief will always prevail, whatever the form. And groups of people need to believe in something, don't they?

There's a phenomenon that occurs in occult circles: the more abstruse, obscure and esoteric, the more impressive it appears to be, since it will seem that only the true initiate will grasp its true arcane wisdom and make use of it. It also adds to the psychodrama of the ritual. 

Which of Crowley's books have you got?

1 hour ago, Natassja said:

I always found interesting how some serial killers have a following in court like Bundy and Ramirez. Sort of along the same lines..just a thought.

The mental makeup of a serial killer makes for a fascinating study. I think it's common that when one sees another person's side of the story, sympathy ensues, even a sense of identity or affinity. Everyone feels misunderstood or struggles in life, so it's easier for most to relate to a 'misunderstood' outsider. People are more likely to be turned off by those who are successful, or those praised for being beautiful and seemingly 'perfect'. But rebellious attitudes and a collective sense of nihilism and cynicism towards humanity are probably a huge part of it as well. And perhaps some mental issues....

Interesting to note that one of Richard Ramirez' faithful admirers was deathrocker Eva O.  

7 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Ultimately the figureheads of these cults are charismatic people who know how to sell their idea. Generally you find the people who first join are outsiders looking for somewhere to belong, make it sound like you're offering exactly what those people are looking for and hey presto you have a following.

 

It's similar to the way organised religion operates actually - sell the idea that you have greater knowledge, appeal to people's inherent desire to belong and general want to believe in something, once you have a sufficient number of people you can start exploiting them to grow even larger as they try to talk their friends and family around...

This is true, but I think this only reflects the surface level. You're talking about persuasion but do not forget about the more insidious programming known as 'pre-suasion'. In other words, you set up the framework that guides people to the conclusion that you want them to reach; only, these people are convinced that they arrived at said conclusion by their own judgement. Thus, the emotional power in one's own belief takes hold.

Whether it be organized religion, science and academia, or any standard cult, a hierarchical structure involving levels and compartmentalization is vital to controlling the management and flow of information. If each person only has a small piece of the puzzle, then nobody can actually put together the entire picture or even has the authority to question the veracity of another who is seemingly more qualified in a particular field outside of your own.

 There are examples of this everywhere. Cults are everywhere.

20 hours ago, Natassja said:

Yes, I suppose he was and yes you are right when you get down to the bare bones of it all ..what do you think about Crowley? He is a really interesting character, narcissism much? These guys also have a lot of I dunno..like charm or something. Like some serial killers do. Good at pulling the wool over your eyes. Richard Kuklinski is one that stands out, when you see him interviewed he is quite likeable even. I can see why some people would fall for it, maybe like Charlie and the girls, but I guess you must have to be easy pursuadable. Or just full of drugs ? I'm interested in your thoughts of Crowley and the order as you always have something interesting and eloquent to say

Crowley is fascinating. He has certainly left his imprint on today's culture in both good and bad ways. Hardly the 'wickedest man in the world', yet it seems The Great Beast fathered much of today's degeneracy and hedonism. Nevertheless, his legacy has endured the dull tedium of the modern mind; that mundanity of materialism that robs us of our imagination. Perhaps that's something worth praising. Most notably, how many bands have paid tribute to Crowley and put magic to music? Too many to name.

Crowley was criticized relentlessly by the media so I can't blame him for firing back. I think he somewhat enjoyed the infamy even though that wasn't was he was striving for. I think he was an eccentric genius, but also a bit of charlatan. I rather like Crowley. Moonchild is an excellent novel, and his non-fiction is at least interesting to read though.

Scientology is interesting as far as cults go. Incidentally, Hubbard knew Crowley and Jack Parsons. Parsons was a Thelemite/occultist too who worked with NASA developing rocket propulsion technology. Amazing that NASA was spearheaded by Nazis and occultists. But why am I not surprised...