From #Sanguinarius, on dal.net, this evening:

<.christina02> A lot of people think it's overrated and blown out of proportion, but I think it's fun.
<.Chanamira43> vampirism?
<.christina02> No, Twitter

You can visit Channel #Sanguinarius homepage at http://irc.sanguinarius.org/ and follow the links to the web-based chat applet, or log onto dal.net with your favorite IRC client.

Current Mood: amused

I have three recently released podcasts or radio interviews available:

#1) Shadowdance podcast #029 - Vampires (2009-06-29)

In this episode, Michelle and Jackie visit Chris’s backyard around midsummer and revisit and update the topic of vampires, which they last looked at in 2006. A lot has changed in the past three years, and the hosts look at every aspect of the community in this ninety-minute rollercoaster ride.

About the Show
The purpose of Shadowdance is to explore, reveal, and interpret hidden world of fringe culture and alternative spirituality through interviews, music, art, and discussion.

Format: mp3
Quality: 128 kbps

Listen or download at:

http://www.shadowdancepodcast.com/2009/06/21/shadowdance-029-vampires/

Alternate download site:

http://rapidshare.com/files/249694907/Shadowdance_podcast__029__2009-06-29__-_Vampires.mp3

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#2) Unexplained World - 2009-06-01 - Vampire Interviews [show_527357]

Join us on this night, as Edward Shanahan & Annette interview those from the Vampire Community.

Format: mp3
Quality 32 kbps

Download at:

http://rapidshare.com/files/249697036/Unexplained_World_-_2009-06-01_-_Vampire_Interviews__show_527357_.mp3

==========

#3) c2c - Michelle Belanger - Hauntings & Vampires (2009-05-26)

Author & lecturer Michelle Belanger discussed her most recent work with hauntings, as well as the realm of spirits and dark forces. She also spoke about her life as a psychic vampire.

First hour guest, author Whitley Strieber reacted to Brother Dimond's assertions (from the 5/25 show) that UFOs are demonic in nature.

Format: mp3
Quality: 48 kbps

Download all 4 segments at:

http://rapidshare.com/files/237949953/c2c.2009-05-26.1-4.WhitleyStrieber-AlienEncounters.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/237949954/c2c.2009-05-26.2-4.MichelleBelanger-Hauntings_Vampires.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/237949955/c2c.2009-05-26.3-4.MichelleBelanger-Hauntings_Vampires.mp3
http://rapidshare.com/files/237949956/c2c.2009-05-26.4-4.MichelleBelanger-Hauntings_Vampires.mp3

Current Mood: lethargic

Shadowdance podcast #029

In this episode, Michelle and Jackie visit Chris’s backyard around midsummer and revisit and update the topic of vampires, which they last looked at in 2006. A lot has changed in the past three years, and the hosts look at every aspect of the community in this ninety-minute rollercoaster ride.

About the Show
The purpose of Shadowdance is to explore, reveal, and interpret hidden world of fringe culture and alternative spirituality through interviews, music, art, and discussion.

Format: mp3
Quality: 128 kbps

Listen or download at http://www.shadowdancepodcast.com/2009/06/21/shadowdance-029-vampires/

Current Mood: productive

Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism
Joseph Laycock

The academic and sociological significance of this work can't be underscored enough. Laycock offers a sweeping scholarly examination of the vampire community and the process of self-identification as a vampire. He counters many of the negative stereotypes of the vampire community and posits thought-provoking arguments regarding ontological diversity. I strongly encourage everyone to obtain a copy of this book and link to it as a resource for vampirism and the vampire community.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0313364729/sanguinarius

Praeger Publishers: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C36472.aspx

Religion Dispatches Article: http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/rdbook/1438/modern_vampires%3A_your_neighbors_and_spouses/?page=1

Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism
Joseph Laycock

Chapter 1: What Is a Vampire? or, The Varieties of Vampiric Experience
Chapter 2: Why Vampires?
Chapter 3: The Vampire Milieu
Chapter 4: Initiatory Vampire Groups: Vampirism as Apotheosis
Chapter 5: The Vampire Community
Chapter 6: Vampirism and Religion, a Dialogue
Chapter 7: Out of the Shadows
Chapter 8: Vampires and the Modern
Bibliography & Index

Names You May Recognize (Mentioned and/or Contributed Material):

Atlanta Vampire Alliance, Daemonox, D'Drennan, Don Henrie, Dozens of Groups/Houses/etc. (House Dark Haven, House Eclipse, House Kheperu, House of the Dreaming, House Pantheon, House Quinotaur, House Sahjaza, Temple of the Vampire, Order of the Vampyre, Ordo Strigoi Vii, etc.), Eclecta, Father Sebastiaan, Father Vincent, Goddess Rosemary, J. Gordon Melton, Kiera, Lady CG, Lady Dark Rose, Lord Alistair, Madame X, Maloryn, Martin Riccardo, Merticus, Michelle Belanger, Nicholas, Sanguinarius, Sarah Dorrance, Shadowlore, SoulSplat, SphynxCatVP, Stephen O'Mallie, Vlad & Sky, Voices of the Vampire Community, Vyrdolak, & Zilchy

Inside Cover:

Vampires are not just the stuff of folklore and fiction. This book explores the modern world of vampirism in all its variety.

Around the globe, untold numbers of people are identifying as "vampires" and following the ways of "vampirism". But what does it mean to be a vampire? Is vampirism a religion? Is it a fantasy? Is it a medical condition? Based upon extensive interviews with members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and others within vampire communities throughout the United States, Vampires Today looks at the many expressions of vampirism.

In the past two decades, modern vampirism has come under increased study, yet most scholarship has portrayed the vampire community as a cultural phenomenon or, at worst, as a religious cult. Having interviewed many vampires across the country, both "lifestylers" and "real", even those "reluctants" who try not to be vampires, Laycock argues that today's vampires are best understood as an identity group and that vampirism has caused a profound change in how individuals choose to define themselves. As vampires come "out of the closet", either as followers of a "religion" or "lifestyle" or as people biologically distinct from other humans, their confrontation with mainstream society will raise questions about the definition of "normal" and what it means to be human.

In this book, readers will meet "lifestyle vampires", who adopt a culture and a gothic ascetic associated with the vampires of art and legend. They will be introduced to "real" vampires, who feel that they must actually consume blood and/or psychic energy for their well-being. They will hear from members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance, and they will learn about the Order of the Vampyre, the Ordo Strigoi Vii, and the Temple of the Vampire.

There is no doubt that anyone who reads this book will find the details of real vampire life -- including vampire role-playing games, grimoires, "vampyre" balls, vampire houses like House Sahjaza and House Kheperu, the vampire "caste" system, and other details -- utterly fascinating.

Current Mood: busy

Vampires Today: The Truth About Modern Vampirism
By Joseph Laycock

Publisher: Praeger Publishers (May 30, 2009)
List Price: $39.95
Format: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0313364729
ISBN-13: 978-0313364723

Amazon Pre-Order: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0313364729/sanguinarius


Description: Vampires are not just the stuff of folklore and fiction. This book explores the modern world of vampirism in all its variety. Based upon extensive interviews with members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and others within vampire communities throughout the United States, Vampires Today looks at the many expressions of vampirism: "lifestyle vampires," those who adopt a culture and a gothic ascetic associated with the vampires of art and legend; "real vampires," those who believe they must actually consume blood and/or psychic energy for their well being; or others who self-identify in some way as vampires. Is vampirism a religion? Is it a fantasy? Is it a medical condition? Is it a little bit of each?

Throughout the world, untold numbers of people are self-identifying as "vampires" and following the ways of "vampirism." Over the years, but particularly in the past decade or so, vampirism has come under increased study, yet most scholarship has portrayed the vampire community at best as a cultural phenomenon and at worst as a religious cult. In this book, author Laycock explores the modern world of vampirism in all its variety. Having interviewed many vampires across the country, both "lifestylers" and "real," even those "reluctants" who try not to be vampires, he argues that today's vampires are best understood as an identity group and that vampirism has caused a profound change in how individuals choose to define themselves. As vampires come "out of the closet," either as followers of a "religion" or "lifestyle" or as people biologically distinct from other humans, their confrontation with mainstream society will raise questions about the definition of "normal" and what it means to be human. In this book the reader will meet "lifestyle" vampires, who adopt a culture and a gothic ascetic associated with the vampires of art and legend; and "real" vampires, who believe that they must actually consume blood and/or psychic energy for their well being. The reader will hear from members of the Atlanta Vampire Alliance and will learn about the Order of the Vampyre, the Ordo Strigoi Vii, and the Temple of the Vampire. Even before Dracula and Bella Lugosi, people have been fascinated with vampires, and this interest has continued, through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and other novels, to HBO's new series True Blood and the recent big-screen hit Twilight. Readers will find the details of real vampire life--including vampire role-playing games, grimoires, "vampyre" balls, vampire houses like House Sahjaza and House Kheperu, the vampire "caste" system, and other details--utterly fascinating.


Additional Notes: The author holds a Masters of Divinity from Harvard University, a recipient of a grant from the Pluralism Project, and currently enrolled in the Division of Religious and Theological Studies at Boston University where he's working on his PhD. He has presented on the topic of vampirism at the American Academy of Religion Conference in San Diego where he argued that "vampirism" should not be classified as a new religious movement (NRM), to faculty at the University of Michigan and other institutional bodies on the sociological and emergent scientific aspects of vampirism, and has a paper in queue for publication with Nova Religio concerning the Vampirism & Energy Work Research Study conducted by Suscitatio Enterprises, LLC. He is very well versed in the structure of the vampire community, has interviewed many individuals from diverse paths, and attended multiple gatherings.

Current Mood: tired