Brian Johnson
@bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social
Literary, nonfiction, and TTRPG editor | Humanities research consultant | Former CRM archaeologist | Translator of grimoires | Scholar of the arcane https://bjohnsonfreelance.com/
Good news, everyone! My latest publication, _The Book of Theyzolius_, is finally available through general retail distribution channels! So if for some reason you wanted to pick it up but weren't able to make purchases via Lulu, you should now be able to do so on the other site.
Just one other thing: I highly recommend listening to this — if you choose to listen to this — through a pair of good headphones or stereo speakers if at all possible; the difference in sound quality is pretty striking.
Brian Johnson@bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 2d agoWell, I did it — recorded my first song: a stripped-down electric blues invoking the mythology of the crossroads as a site for making bargains with dangerous powers, and of the goddess Hekate who patronizes such places and the unquiet dead who congregate there. Happy Halloween! 👻
Just one other thing: I highly recommend listening to this — if you choose to listen to this — through a pair of good headphones or stereo speakers if at all possible; the difference in sound quality is pretty striking.
Brian Johnson@bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 2d agoWell, I did it — recorded my first song: a stripped-down electric blues invoking the mythology of the crossroads as a site for making bargains with dangerous powers, and of the goddess Hekate who patronizes such places and the unquiet dead who congregate there. Happy Halloween! 👻
Perfect, bare-bones blues for a chilly autumn evening. Love this.
Brian Johnson@bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 2d agoWell, I did it — recorded my first song: a stripped-down electric blues invoking the mythology of the crossroads as a site for making bargains with dangerous powers, and of the goddess Hekate who patronizes such places and the unquiet dead who congregate there. Happy Halloween! 👻
Well, I did it — recorded my first song: a stripped-down electric blues invoking the mythology of the crossroads as a site for making bargains with dangerous powers, and of the goddess Hekate who patronizes such places and the unquiet dead who congregate there. Happy Halloween! 👻
Pale Host of Hekate, by Brian Johnson
track by Brian Johnson
bjohnson.bandcamp.com
Well, I did it — recorded my first song: a stripped-down electric blues invoking the mythology of the crossroads as a site for making bargains with dangerous powers, and of the goddess Hekate who patronizes such places and the unquiet dead who congregate there. Happy Halloween! 👻
Pale Host of Hekate, by Brian Johnson
track by Brian Johnson
bjohnson.bandcamp.com
In today's @theguardian.com, an article about the #Voynich work Colin Layfield and I have been doing: www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
A medieval manuscript has confounded scholars for centuries. Have they been reading it wrong all this time?
Researchers argue incorrect binding of Voynich manuscript radically changes ideas about its drawings and indecipherable text
theguardian.com
David Rankine's study of the Canterbury pentacle manuscript (Canterbury Cathedral Add. MS 23), a 13th-century text of apotropaic charms and seals (featuring my translation of the Latin), is now available for pre-order from Hadean Press! hadean.press/products/the...
The Canterbury Pentacles
The Canterbury Pentacles provides the first English translation of a unique early manuscript whose power lies in the accumulation of a wide range of charms, both image and text, which could be activat...
hadean.press
What does Robert Plant say when the waitress at a diner asks what he'd like to drink? "Shake for me girl!"
#urgent unhoused disabled queer SWer. Low on hotel + food funds. But just lost pain + anxiety meds with hotel switch (gabapentin). Very sick and can’t walk unless doctors fix. Can’t risk streets without meds Ko - fi pinned paypal: nachash358 cash app: doriangrey358 #homelesssky #mutualaid
In Search of Adventure is now live on Backerkit. It's a collection of five starter adventures for OSE and Bree-YARC, with cover art by @juanochoa.eurosky.social and adventures by @dgchapman.bsky.social @gonzohistory.bsky.social and others. Includes a starting town with plenty of plot hooks.
In Search of Adventure
A collection of starter adventures for Old School Essentials and Bree-YARC
backerkit.com
Quest for the Unknown: The Caverns of Anamosa is now live on @drivethrurpg.com It's a remix of the classic B1 In Search of the Unknown adventure, imagined as the first part of an adventure path. Written for OSE, Shadowdark, and Bree-YARC. #ttrpg #dnd #osr #shadowdark
Here, have a slow blues in D minor that's loosely inspired by the necromantic binding spells of the Greek magical papyri.
Here, have a slow blues in D minor that's loosely inspired by the necromantic binding spells of the Greek magical papyri.
My favorite time of year is fast approaching, so I felt compelled to throw together a little seasonal medley 🎃🦇 "Vampire Killer" (Castlevania; Satoe Terashima) v. "The Munsters" (Television; Jack Marshall) Yes, the sound is terrible; my amp is a shoebox, and I'm recording through a webcam. Sorry 🤷
My favorite time of year is fast approaching, so I felt compelled to throw together a little seasonal medley 🎃🦇 "Vampire Killer" (Castlevania; Satoe Terashima) v. "The Munsters" (Television; Jack Marshall) Yes, the sound is terrible; my amp is a shoebox, and I'm recording through a webcam. Sorry 🤷
y'all, the Secret Chiefs 3, secretly one of the best bands in the world, are plotting to release two records a year for the next six years: www.kickstarter.com/projects/sec...
Secret Chiefs 3: ACT III
Ambitious waves of new music are coming. Help us make it happen right!
kickstarter.com
Make your favorite film sound as boring as possible without giving away the title: Two brothers attempt to navigate the Cook County, Illinois tax system.
Dan Hon@danhon.com · 2mo agoMake your favorite film sound as boring as possible without giving away the title: A chief technology officer is worried about keeping his spreadsheets private.
I came across this hickory tussock moth caterpillar curled up on one of the few remaining leaves of a tiny tree, having evidently eaten most of the others. The tree itself is growing out of a small patch of accumulated organic matter in the recess between two girders of an old railroad bridge.
What did the Englishman ask his mate after the latter said he finally got intimate with his girlfriend? "Copernicus?" (I'm sorry)
Today is the *official* release date for _An Exposition Upon the Sphere of the Cosmos_, my translation of Cecco d'Ascoli's demonological commentary on Sacrobosco's _De sphaera mundi_, with an introduction and bibliographical annotations by Mat Hadfield!
An Exposition upon The Sphere of the Cosmos: The Astrological Nigromancy of Cecco d'Ascoli
Mathew Hadfield and Brian Johnson demonstrate that Cecco d'Ascoli's is instrumental to understanding how illicit religious practices, astrology, and philosophy were transmitted from Arabic and Byza...
amazon.com
Today is the *official* release date for _An Exposition Upon the Sphere of the Cosmos_, my translation of Cecco d'Ascoli's demonological commentary on Sacrobosco's _De sphaera mundi_, with an introduction and bibliographical annotations by Mat Hadfield!
An Exposition upon The Sphere of the Cosmos: The Astrological Nigromancy of Cecco d'Ascoli
Mathew Hadfield and Brian Johnson demonstrate that Cecco d'Ascoli's is instrumental to understanding how illicit religious practices, astrology, and philosophy were transmitted from Arabic and Byza...
amazon.com
If you missed last week's #CoffeeWithACodex featuring a 13th century astronomical text + diagrams, you can watch it now on YouTube! youtu.be/OSVK6_PEl6g
Coffee With A Codex: Astronomy in Latin (Ms. Codex 826)
YouTube video by SchoenbergInstitute
youtu.be
Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies@sims-mss.bsky.social · 3mo agoFor #CoffeeWithACodex (12pm ET, on Zoom) on July 23, curator @leoba.bsky.social will bring out Ms. Codex 826, an astronomical work originally written in Arabic and translated into Latin by Gherardo da Cremona, including glosses and diagrams. #medievalsky Register here: https://bit.ly/3RAagTq
Surprise book launch day! My edition and translation of the Liber Theyzolius (AKA Theysolius, Theyzelius, etc.) is now available for purchase. www.lulu.com/shop/brian-j...
The Book of Theyzolius
When King Alfonso X of Castile and León commissioned the scholars in his employ to collect and translate the wisdom of the ancients for the benefit of his kingdom, their search took them far beyond th...
lulu.com
Surprise book launch day! My edition and translation of the Liber Theyzolius (AKA Theysolius, Theyzelius, etc.) is now available for purchase. www.lulu.com/shop/brian-j...
The Book of Theyzolius
When King Alfonso X of Castile and León commissioned the scholars in his employ to collect and translate the wisdom of the ancients for the benefit of his kingdom, their search took them far beyond th...
lulu.com
