iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

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...

hadean.press

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...

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Warning: old dog trying to learn new tricks.

A desktop featuring a computer screen displaying Cubase recording software, along with a Focusrite audio interface and a coffee cup.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What does Robert Plant say when the waitress at a diner asks what he'd like to drink? "Shake for me girl!"

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lumpenpoledancer @daturabombs333.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

#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

OP in playboy hat with hair pulled back. She has pink sun glasses on. Her rosary is a penetrant, and she’s standing in front of “666” graffiti

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Todd @thirdkingdom.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

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.

backerkit.com

In Search of Adventure

A collection of starter adventures for Old School Essentials and Bree-YARC

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Todd @thirdkingdom.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

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

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Here, have a slow blues in D minor that's loosely inspired by the necromantic binding spells of the Greek magical papyri.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This started as a joke comment on a friend's FB post, but, like all good memes, has since metastasized into an earworm within my psyche that can only be exorcised through performance.* (*I am not a singer. I am barely a guitar player. This is my best attempt at doing both at once with 0 rehearsal.)

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Here, have a slow blues in D minor that's loosely inspired by the necromantic binding spells of the Greek magical papyri.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

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 🤷

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

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danny? @maayascarlet.com · 02/09/2026

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...

kickstarter.com

Secret Chiefs 3: ACT III

Ambitious waves of new music are coming. Help us make it happen right!

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

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.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

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.

A fuzzy white caterpillar with longer black tufts, curled up on a leaf of a tiny sapling. Most of the tree's other branches have been defoliated. The tree itself pokes up from the recess between two rusted steel girders above slow-moving water.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

NB: This joke originally said "got to third base with his girlfriend" before it occurred to me that that's pretty much only an American euphemism. See, this is why I'm such a good copy editor.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

What did the Englishman ask his mate after the latter said he finally got intimate with his girlfriend? "Copernicus?" (I'm sorry)

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Can't be demoted? Hell yeah, video game tenure.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

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!

amazon.com

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...

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

amazon.com

An Exposition upon The Sphere of the Cosmos: The Astrological Nigromancy of Cecco d'Ascoli

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

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

youtu.be

Coffee With A Codex: Astronomy in Latin (Ms. Codex 826)

YouTube video by SchoenbergInstitute

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Repost for the Monday morning crowd ☕💀

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Yeah, same 😅 I frequently have to remind myself of just how small the fishbowl in which I'm swimming actually is 🐟

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

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...

lulu.com

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...

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I chose the option which seemed most likely to get the book into the hands of those who would be interested, while also marginally remunerating myself for the hundreds of hours of work I put into it.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

A final note: Why self-publishing? Because the book pertains to an incredibly niche topic, and would never sell enough copies for any publisher to make a profit.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

It's also the first substantive English translation of any part of the Alfonsine Liber Razielis, and includes an explanatory introduction and extensive annotations, along with translated excerpts from the Liber Razielis itself which further contextualize the material found in the Liber Theyzolius.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

It also includes an operation for acquiring the spirit of a deceased person as a familiar, which bears similarities to necromantic procedures found in much later sources. This publication is the first complete edition of the Latin Liber Theyzolius, utilizing all of the extant textual witnesses.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

The Liber Theyzolius is one of the appendices to the 13th-century Liber Razielis compiled at the behest of King Alfonso X, and comprises a discourse on the secret names used to command the spiritual forces of the cosmos — a precursor to material found in the Summa Sacre Magice.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

🧵 — I've personally gotten a ton of mileage out of the Logeion and Cappelli resources.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

It's been almost 8 years since I worked in the industry, but somehow the usual suspects are again/still doing everything they can to eliminate cultural resource management as part of the regulatory process.

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John Lowe @archaeocore.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Friends, read this and then the thread in the quote-post for the public comment link. There is a huge attack on historic preservation laws right now. I think even if you aren’t sure about historic preservation, I imagine most of us have some historic building, or site, or battlefield we care about.

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lumpenpoledancer @daturabombs333.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I’m getting very little traction and reach today… please help with that? 🙏 If you can do nothing else, please reblog. Weekends are very hard for MA. And it’s been dead today too. I won’t be safe outside.

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Lamp of Goth @larkfall.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

New release, a collab with my friend Borehole. Taking in blackened dungeon synth, discordant doom, and celestial choirwork. Central track is a strange improvisation that might sound like Essoupi meets Coil... a few copies of the tape remain! blaggardrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dark-v...

blaggardrecords.bandcamp.com

DARK VALLEY x BOREHOLE - There is a Borehole in the Dark Valley, by DARK VALLEY X BOREHOLE

3 track album

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I had the pleasure of joining host Alexander Eth on the Glitch Bottle podcast along with my co-author Mat Hadfield to talk about our new book, _An Exposition Upon the Sphere of the Cosmos: the Astrological Nigromancy of Cecco d'Ascoli_! Find it on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

youtube.com

💀#177 - Astrological Nigromancy of Cecco d’Ascoli with Mat Hadfield & Brian Johnson | Glitch Bottle

YouTube video by Glitch Bottle

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

youtube.com

💀#177 - Astrological Nigromancy of Cecco d’Ascoli with Mat Hadfield & Brian Johnson | Glitch Bottle

YouTube video by Glitch Bottle

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

The Javascript ninja is lurking just off screen, preparing to strike at the oppressive HTML daimyo.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I was just digging out my old music collection to rip onto a new hard drive, and the memories came flooding back 🤣

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

My very specific pet peeve is multi-CD sets in jewel cases, because manufacturers are completely arbitrary in placing the internal hinge on either the left or the right, and I'm pretty sure I've broken every one I've ever tried to open.

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Brian Johnson @bjohnsonfreelance.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Do we have any sources suggesting why Venice/Venetians specifically became identified as magical masters of gold-digging in German folklore? Was there a significant immigrant population from there working in that industry at one time?

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