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I have finished reading the novel "Gothique" by Kyle Marffin. This was the best novel I've read with gothic subculture characters. I would go so far as to declare it the ideal "goth novel". The novels of Poppy Z. Brite and Anne Rice have always been favorites in the scene but the stories don't directly involve the gothic subculture.



Storm Constantine is frequently mentioned as a popular author among goths but I've never read her work. I did recently buy a thick book of the collected Wraeththu series.

This evening I went to a big used book sale held by the local library. I found some really good books; "Servant Of The Bones" by Anne Rice, "The Morning Of The Magicians", "The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross", "Jude The Obscure", and two volumns of Joseph Campbell's "The Masks Of God". I also got many other books for just $6.75.

Last night I watched the TV movie version of "Poseidon Adventure" and the David Lynch movie "Lost Highway". I bought the "Poseidon Adventure" because I'm going on the Gothic Cruise. The first half of the movie portrayed the modern cruise ship experience so it was worth watching for that. Cruise ships really do sink sometimes. I've seen some videos on YouTube of a Greek cruise ship sinking after the crew abandoned all the passengers. So, never sail on a Greek cruise ship!



"Lost Highway" surprised me with several slight references to the goth subculture. For one thing, it used a song from a This Mortal Coil album which was a pleasant surprise. Marilyn Manson had a bit part. David Lynch also used some Rammstein songs although I'm not very familiar with that music. Need to buy a few albums.



Robert Blake looked very creepy in this movie. He looked like an extremely ugly vampire with no eyebrows.

I spent most of the day creating a custom pageflake because I've learned that LiveVideo will be integrating pageflakes into their web site. This really excites me because I may be able to promote myself in the vlogger community using my programming skills. I can create many widgets related to vlogging.



I converted my Gothic Cruise countdown timer into a pageflake and added it to my Pageflakes page. It took me a long time to get the timer working because I had to deal with some advanced JavaScript, i.e prototypes and closures. I cannot add it to my LiveVideo profile yet because that is still in beta.

Today I finished reading "The Magician And The Analyst: The Archetype Of The Magus In Occult Spirituality And Jungian Analysis" by Robert L. Moore. It is a short book which explores the psychology of initiation rites in occultism. The original title of the book was "The Varieties of Occult Experience" but unfortunately the author found the subject too vast. Moore describes those seeking occult knowledge as questers who seek a ritual elder to guide encounters with extramundane agencies.



Moore's theories go a long way in explaining the reason for some common aspects of ritual practice. For example, he offers an extensive explanation of the purpose in drawing a magic circle of power. This is to establish a "liminoid space" in which to cross the boundary from the mundane to the extramundane or sacred space. He also emphasizes the need to practice stewardship of the ritual space including the banishment of entities manifested in order to properly terminate the ritual and effect a return to the mundane world. The return to the mundane world is an important part of the myth cycle and to remain in liminal space would mean a chronic experience of the numinous.



I don't employ any rituals but I suppose it is important to understand their psychological basis and detect unconscious substitutions for ritual practices. Unfortunately this book does not explore the full nature of the "technician of the sacred". It is narrowly focused on the initiation ritual as a process of psychic transformation and neglects to support its theory with examples or extensive discussion.

I've bought two books to prepare for the YouTube Philadelphia gathering on July 12th, 2008 (aka YoTube). I don't think this event needs a lot of preparation but I may want to visit Philadelphia more often so it seems worthwhile to do some research. I do plan to shoot a lot of video while in Philadelphia so it would be useful to know where the tourist sights are. Philadelphia is one of the cities that has been extensively photographed for the Google Streets View so I'll be able to virtually walk the streets to familiarize myself with several downtown neighborhoods.



The first book I'm reading is "On The Make: The Hustle Of Urban Nightlife" by David Grazian. This is an ethnographic study of the Philadelphia nightlife establishments; i.e. restaurants, nightclubs, cocktail lounges, and bars. It mentions many amusingly named hotspots like Swanky Bubbles (my favorite name), Tangerine, Bleu Martini, Buddakan, etc. This is the perfect book if you want the inside dope on the Philadelphia nightlife. It also serves to make Philadelphia seem like an exciting destination and provides some context for the modern scene. I'm not sure if it covers the theaters, cabarets, and performance spaces that I'm interested in.



For the historical context I bought the book "Walking Tours Of Historic Philadelphia" by Edward Colimore of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Since the gathering will be held in Independence Park, this book will probably be more useful to me because it describes all the tourist attractions you can walk to in that area.

Yesterday I read 100 pages of the vampire novel "Gothique" by Kyle Marffin. It is the best book I've ever read set in the goth subculture. The characters even frequent a nightclub by the name of "Rimbaud's Cave" which I thought was pretty cool.



Today I received the Zoot Suit Hat I won on eBay. It is a black hat with a white band and a red feather. It looks like a gangster hat. The brim seems kinda large to me but maybe I'm just not used to wearing hats.

Today I received the novel "Gothique" in the mail. I found this book in the Vampire Database on this site and it looked pretty interesting because it is set in the goth subculture. The first chapter seemed almost hostile towards goth and gives me the impression that the author just wanted to create a story in which goths could be murdered.



I also got the "Psycho 101" CD by the band Deepest Symphony. This is one of the bands that will play live on the Gothic Cruise so I want to build up an appreciation for their music. I think this is their only album.

I checked out the Corporate Goth web site tonight. This site interests me because it may provide fashion tips for looking elegant. Being an "elder goth" I cannot get away with fishnets and other flamboyant styles. It would just make me look ridiculous and creepy. After a certain age the best you can hope for is sartorial elegance. Vintage clothes and fancy suits are great for a more sophisticated look.



I will hate growing old but one of the advantages is that you become very well-informed and wise. I still like the goth subculture but sometimes it seems juvenile to me and I long for something more profound. I have a far more sophisticated understanding of the well springs of my dark imagination and feel myself to be more of a master. I can more confidently dismiss the ignorance of those around me.