http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ Phil Hine's online journal. en-gb 2005-06-27T14:06:18+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2005_06.html I'm really not up to speed on this blogging lark, am I? One of my friends suggested that I looked at other people's blogs for inspiration, but whenever I read the blogs of luminaries such as Alistair Livingston or Joel Biroco I tend to come away just wishing I could be as eloquent as they, and feeling "why bother?". Occasionally, I start musing on some particular subject on the morning train, but more often than not, any coherent string of... 46@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2005-06-27T14:06:18+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2005_03.html What makes an object 'magical'? This is something I've been reflecting on for some time since reading a thread on some magical bbs or other, on 'charging' objects in order to make them 'magical'. Not long ago I was reading an ethnologist's account of documenting folk magic traditions in India. Looking into a man's hut, he saw a stone on which was painted an intricate diagram. He asked if he could photograph it. The man declined, and the researcher asked... 44@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2005-03-16T11:00:33+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2005_03.html Not long ago I was drawn into a contremps with another occultist on a discussion board over a particular subject. Gradually, as we both posted arguments, it emerged that although we were using the same term that we each had totally different meanings in mind, and it was not until we'd recognised this that we were able to move onto some degree of common resolution on the matter. It reminded me of a pub conversation some years back. I spent... 43@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2005-03-08T10:23:28+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2005_01.html Maria & I began the new year with a Ganesa Puja. Thinking back, that makes almost sixteen years for me as a devotee of Ganapati, so perhaps some reflections on the elephant-headed god are in order. After the puja, I felt calm, placid, light, open - all qualities I associate with Ganesha - and qualities which I find I too easily lose touch with in the hurly-burly of daily living. Ganesha is famed for his appetite, but though he digests... 41@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2005-01-13T12:19:33+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2005_01.html A few months ago I moaned on about my company's sudden decision to upgrade the phone system. Arriving back to work last week, I found this had magically occurred in my absence, and like everyone else there, I was faced with a brand-new digital phone with loads of cool features (voicemail, speed-dialing, conference calls) - none of which I'm quite sure how to work properly. My hopes for a nice relaxing first couple of days back in the office were... 40@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2005-01-09T14:54:57+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_11.html Following my earlier comments about the vagaries of hunting through London's bookshops I have to report a successful recent trawling. My first stop was Treadwells where I left a whole heap of old occult 'zines and various other bits 'n' pieces from the Eighties. So if anyone out there is hunting for, say, the first issue of Nox magazine, or Nick Hall's Chaos and Sorcery drop them a line. Having dropped off, I felt in need of another wander through... 38@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-11-16T10:42:56+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_11.html I'm currently reading Karen McCarthy Brown's Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn - a really enthralling book that is just streets ahead of anything I've ever seen by "occult" writers on the subject of Vodou. Brown is one of the "new wave" of academics who do not shy from placing themselves as subjects within their narratives so that their own feelings, experiences, etc., are part of the story. I've read quite a few works that take this approach recently... 37@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-11-11T13:20:19+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_10.html Word comes down on high that our telecomms network is to be upgraded. It's about time; I've been getting the point of offering managers a can with a bit of string attached as a subtle hint that our current system is on its last legs. So I've been sitting in on a number of interviews from eager telecomms providers and listening to a new kind of jargon - ISDN30, middleware, and screenpopping - a term that sounds like something that... 36@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-10-11T10:45:36+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_05.html I've had some correspondence recently on the lines of "you don't seem to be writing much, these days". There is some truth in this, as the lack of entries to this journal demonstrate. Thinking about it though, I've actually written a fair bit of late, it's just that most of it hasn't been thrust into the public domain. Hang on, that's not quite true, tho'. I've spent a fair amount of time on a couple of magically-oriented web-boards, and have... 31@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-05-04T06:17:05+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_02.html The new year brings thoughts once more of buying a DVD-writer, if only to try and reduce the hundreds of cd-roms piled around the flat. I should really go through them and sort out the data, but it's too boring to contemplate. On the other hand, if I had a DVD-burner, the task would be more exciting as I'd be playing with my new toy. At least that's how I think of it. What I also must do at some... 27@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-02-12T15:45:54+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_02.html Sunday. A very pleasant spot of Lalita Puja round at Gauri's place, followed by a convivial Thai meal in Tottenham. It's really nice to work with a group of people who are familiar with the puja form and relaxed with each other enough to extemporise on-the-spot. And slip things in, without breaking the tranquility of the moment. Sometimes, in a group ritual, you get those agonising 'moments' when it's collectively realised that something's been omitted and there's a kind of... 26@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-02-09T11:20:36+00:00 http://philhine.org.uk/journal/2004_02.html Reading Tim Berners-Lee's Weaving the Web puts me into a reflective mood about computers, and the way they've become increasingly important in my life. This is easily done, here in my office, where there's three of the things: the Apple Mac G4 with its 21" screen where magazines get put together, and the Pentium IV on which text files are marked up and powerpoint slides are carefully (but I will admit, not always lovingly) transformed into eps files; not forgetting the Server, the keeper of the company's files, into which I have to slide a brick-like tape at the end of each working day. And three floors below me, the Unix box which handles all the email, and patiently logs all websites visited and keeps our network invisible to all the lurking horrors out there on the worldwide web. This is my empire. 23@http://philhine.org.uk/journal/ 2004-02-03T06:44:34+00:00