I asked for a waist cincher from Ms Martha, A rope and Bondage bag from Maui Kink, and a corset from BigGalsLingerie.
Human sacrifice at Herxheim is a hypothesis that’s difficult to prove right now, but we have evidence that several hundred people were eaten over a brief period,” [Bruno] Boulestin says. Skeletal markings indicate that human bodies were butchered in the same way as animals.
Other researchers suggest that the people were merely cleaning up the bones of the dead for a ceremonial reburial. But vultures, etc., would do that job for free--and still do in some parts of the world.
But wait, this is Marija Gimbutas' Old European Culture, the peaceful ancient matriarchies. Were they eating each other?
I think that it is safe to assume that prehistory was much more complicated than we imagine when we look at it through lenses of theory.
Originally published at Wander Radio. You can comment here or there.
Ok put this number in your cell phones – (918) 289-2687
That is the New Wander Radio Listener Line where you can call and voice your opinion. Who knows I start getting feedback I’ll play it in the show and you can become part of the show. You can also send me text messages there. Technology is so cool – I wish I knew how to use most of it.
NOTE: Deadline has been extended to December 18. Some people are still getting things to me, and I won't be able to look at the materials until then anyway.
This project aims to honor Lilith by recognizing Her many facets and faces, both historically and in modern practice. She is the untamed feminine, the wise counselor, the grieving mother, the shifting hermaphrodite, the first woman, and the sacred dominatrix. Perhaps because of Her complexity, it seems that She is making her presence known to more and more unsuspecting folk in recent years.
The first chapter of the book will attempt to collect and organize references to Lilith in various cultural lore and practice (Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Judaism, Kabbalah, folk tradition, and modern Western occultism).The majority of the book, however, will consist of devotional material and reflections from those who have experienced Her.
I am currently accepting rituals, poems, essays, songs, and other original material for this volume. The book already has a publisher (Knickerbocker Circus Press) and should be available in the early part of 2010. Please email questions and submissions to anyakless@gmail.com
today i’m thrilled to post our final gift idea/wishlist from some of my favorite people around: design bloggers! every year i invite some of my favorite colleagues to share the gifts they’ll be giving and (hopefully) receiving and this year i’m excited to have over 20 of my favorite bloggers as part of this year’s roundup. it’s always fun to see what people who make a living of hunting down cool things have on their wishlists so i hope you’ll enjoy their picks (and non-product gift ideas!) as much as i did. thanks so much to everyone who participated this year: joanna of a cup of jo, julia rothman of book by its cover, joy of oh joy!, abby of style me pretty, emily of once wed, allan chochinov of core77, victoria of sfgirlbybay, jill of inhabitat, jean of notcot, vane of brooklyn bride, katie runnels of the constant gatherer, jan of poppytalk, rebecca wood of beautyeveryday, birdie of dear ada, lena corwin, maria vettese of 3191, megan of not martha, brooke of inchmark, susan of art esprit, erin and nicole of bird & banner, and julie of LAist.
CLICK HERE to view all 21 bloggers’ gift lists after the jump!
Design*Sponge, 2009. | Permalink | 26 comments |
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Top Story: We are still in the midst of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, but that event seems to be increasingly haunted by the upcoming/overlapping UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen. This reality was noted by Reclaiming Witch and community organizer Zay Speer at the Pagans at the Parliament blog.
“The Parliament may be taking place on the other side of the world from Copenhagen, but Copenhagen is not very far from peoples’ minds. There are at least eight talks here with “climate change” in the title, more in the descriptions, and it is appearing as a persistent subtheme throughout the conference, from all traditions. Despite not having a voice on any of the Ecology panels, we Pagans are working it in too. The Community Night Pagan ritual hosted by Melbourne Reclaiming ended with an activist-style raising of energy for the healing of Mother Earth, ‘all the way through to Copenhagen!’”
Can religious groups influence the debate over a new global climate pact? U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon seems to think so, saying that religious leaders “can have the largest, widest and deepest reach”, and hundreds of religious folks are coming, some directly from the Parliament, to make their voice heard.
“[Sister Joan Brown] will be among numerous preachers, rabbis, ministers and other faith-based figures who are bringing a spiritual presence — and, often, a strong point of view on the political issues — to Copenhagen. At a time when political leaders are struggling to pass environmental legislation in the USA and elsewhere … as many as 100 religiously affiliated representatives from the USA plan to attend the summit, estimates Tyler Edgar, assistant director for the environmental arm of the NCC. Worldwide, she says that number will likely run ‘in the hundreds.’”
What will these mainstream religious voices for a tougher climate change pact at this “Woodstock of the environmental movement” say? According to reports from the Parliament, they may sound amazing like Pagans, even if the Pagans weren’t invited to most of the panels on climate change and the environment (with one exception). Don’t believe me? Check out the blog of a Franciscan Nun heading to Copenhagen for a beautiful evocation of sacred Earth. We may not be there, but the nature-reverent ethic many of us hold does indeed seem to be traveling “all the way through to Copenhagen”.
In Other News: We turn once again to the international epidemic of witch-hunting. Some think I’m trying to equate Western Paganism with innocent folks accused of sorcery and witchcraft in Africa and the Middle East, but my reporting isn’t about questions of identity, but about a simmering religious and cultural phenomenon that won’t be contained much longer in the mostly-ignored developing nations. This isn’t merely about controversial blessings, or even American-funded witch-hunting churches, but of this madness spreading right to our doorstep.
“An evangelist church leader who tortured his 10-year-old daughter and kept her prisoner for four days with no food because he was convinced she was a witch was jailed for eight-and-a-half years today. The twisted 39-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, dripped boiling hot plastic over his terrified daughter’s feet and beat her senseless after she became ‘possessed by evil spirits’. The girl was held prisoner and force-fed olive oil and milk for four days after the man became convinced she had powers to make people fall asleep, Coventry Crown Court heard.”
Even when it does happens “here”, some may be tempted to write this off as an “immigrant” problem, but that ignores how easily we “rational” and “civilized” folks in affluent first-world nations drift into the same madness when certain triggers are pushed. We need to address this problem, not because the accused “witches” are Pagan, but because hysteria is an easily exportable commodity, and some very prominent people here at home seem to be very tempted to see if it can make them a prophet profit.
Turning to my ongoing coverage of the Pagan presence at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, I present an audio interview with Reclaiming Witch and community organizer Zay Speer. Speer works with the Onondaga Nation, part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, on environmental and interfaith issues. We talk about how she came to be a part of the Onondaga delegation, what the Onondaga hope to accomplish at the Melbourne Parliament, working to end the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, and her own experiences as a Pagan at the Parliament.
If you are a Pagan podcaster, or host a Pagan-friendly radio show, you are welcome to download this file to play on your program. Be sure to credit the Pagan Newswire Collective as the audio source. For more Parliament-related audio, check out my discussion with Ed Hubbard, a PNC correspondent, and my interview with Pagan Scholar Michael York. For more great Parliament coverage, stay tuned to the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest news.
Salon.com gives some more coverage to the upcoming documentary about Norway’s black-metal scene “Until the Light Takes Us”, which I’ve mentioned here before. Movie critic Andrew O’Hehir wonders if the documentary-makers went too far towards making controversial figures like Varg Vikernes seem like “misunderstood Robin Hoods” instead of “Satanic church-burning maniacs”.
“Do Aites and Ewell owe the viewership a clearer explication of Vikernes’ ties to white nationalist groups, his long record of troubling racial, sexual and religious rhetoric and his public flirtation with Nazi ideology? You won’t learn this in the film, for instance, but Vikernes is viewed as the philosophical father of the musical-political subgenre called “National Socialist black metal,” or NSBM. Or is it fairer to this disturbing and complicated figure to present him on his own terms, without recourse to prejudicial buzzwords? (For the record, Vikernes has not called himself a Nazi since the late ’90s, preferring the invented term “Odalism,” said to signify “paganism, traditional nationalism, racialism and environmentalism,” along with an opposition to modern civilization in all its forms.)”
I haven’t seen the film, so I can’t comment, but it does seem like a calmer, even friendlier, tone may be welcome after the waves of sensationalist reporting and media on the topic. I certainly couldn’t see the film-makers gaining the trust of the local black-metal scene had they gone in looking to portray “Satanic church-burning maniacs”. Again, whatever its flaws, I still think this will be a welcome asset for those wanting to explore Pagan and Heathen spirituality in underground subcultures.
In a final note, according to Cumbrian Witch Marcus Katz, Wicca is no stranger than pigeon racing.
“We offer a very open, authentic and down-to-earth approach. We don’t consider it any stranger than people joining a pigeon-racing club, which is something I find bizarre!”
So there you go. Wicca is equal-to or less-strange than the sport of pigeon racing. Please take note.
That’s all I have for now, don’t forget to check the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest updates and links from Melbourne, and have a great day!
supermarket sarah is one of my all-time favorite sites! the premise of the site is that you get to actually buy art, clothing and objects right off sarah’s walls! so for this peek, we get to look past the walls, and peek into the london home of sarah bagner and boyfriend henrik delehag. not surprisingly, it’s filled with art! {thanks sarah and henrik! photographer: james gardiner; stylist: elkie brown} -amy a.
[living room above: The rug is from Buenos Aires when I was there on a shoot. “Calma Chicha". The "Never give up" banner is made by Phoebe Eason. I found the antique chest - now my coffee table - at the Brighton market. I made the figurines on the chest.]
[photo above: The hanging lamp was made in glass by my mother, Susanne Bagner, who is a glass artist.]
[artwork above the mantle: The small paintings of Swedish sauna scenes are by the Swedish artist Ann-Christine Jensmar, the two moustache characters and mason portrait are from Brighton. The Reward poster is made by Henrik Delehag. He lost his sketchbook that he had been working on for years full of beautiful typography spelling my name ‘Sarah’. We were so sad when he lost it. We managed to hunt it down eventually after we fly postered Broadway Market with this £300 reward poster.]
[The silver crown on the toilet is by Fred Butler. The bathroom artwork is all from the Henrik Delehag collection]
CLICK HERE for the rest of sarah’s art-filled peek and all the images on one page.
Design*Sponge, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments |
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I've been telling myself not to worry about it, so that's exactly what I'm trying to do. The whole house needs to be deep cleaned, and I need to buy a ton of food, and all those other last minute things that have to be done before having company need to be done. I'm just not into it.
But I'll do it all by the time the first guests arrive tomorrow evening. I figure if I wait until the last minute, the little ones won't have as much of a chance to un-do everything before they get here.
Good excuse, eh?
this east hampton, new york home of allison julius, husband zachary and brother louis marra has gone to the dogs – literally! the trio named their home ‘casa b’ in honor of their family pets (both living & deceased) – boston, beckham, biana, and blanche. they’ve subsequently monogrammed everything with a letter ‘b’ - from robes for guests to glasses, linens, cocktail napkins and soaps. the biggest tribute of all is a 44″x44″ neon script ‘b’! when they’re not at the beck and call of their pooches brother louis and sister allison, run the chic hamptons design boutique maison 24. it’s proof positive that you can mix business with pleasure! {thanks louis, allison and zachary! and special thanks to marili forastieri for the beautiful photographs.} -amy a.
[Our home is typical Hamptons modern, built in 1991. The living room ceiling is open the full height of the two floors and gives the space a wonderful, open, airy appeal. Although we've re-decorated over the years and re-built the back deck and outdoor kitchen, what we fell in love with initially, still makes the house ideal for us; a large open living room/kitchen/dining area which is great for entertaining but also separates the main floor guest rooms from the main floor master bedroom and the second floor master bedroom and loft.]
[dining room: our vintage dining table is from Gustavo Olivieri. It is lucite that has been carved to look like a weathered tree trunk with branches to support the glass top. Our dining chairs are from Fornasetti and are part of a collection of Fornasetti furniture and accessories We've amassed over 20 years of collecting. We have white shag area rugs throughout the house, which compliment our vintage furniture and also provide a great contrast to the dark stained wood floors.]
[dining alcove with buffet: The feature here is the Fornasetti black & white Malachite wallpaper]
[The red photograph of the light-box mounted fish is called "Orson Welles" and is by artist Dirk Westphal]
CLICK HERE for the full maison 24 peek and all the photos on one page!
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if you’ve read design*sponge for any length of time, you’re probably pretty familiar with camilla engman. if not, well then, you’re in for a treat! camilla’s an artist/illustrator living in gothenburg sweden. both her illustrations and her home reflect that airy, clean and light look that is so typical of swedish style. aren’t those white floor are gorgeous? {thanks camilla!} – amy a.
[The armchairs are copies of the Papa Bear armchair by Hans J Wegner. I didn't knew about the original before I bought the copies. I just liked how they looked. The dog is a Danish/Swedish farmdog, Morran. The cloud on the wall is made by Lisa McNamara. I made the table myself. The lamp and plant pedestal are thrift-finds.]
[The lamp is by David Trubridge. The chairs are Arne Jacobsen, Sjuan/seven. The concrete pot wasmade by my brother]
[Above: Bedroom shelf with Sara Paloma pottery. The print is "Kiss and tell", Camilla Engman.]
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last week i hopped on the subway to have dinner with my friend llubav in williamsburg. walking up bedford avenue, i decided to indulge in a little window shopping at catbird and found myself walking out with these beautiful cards. i didn’t know anything about the artist, but knew that i had to have them. so when i finished dinner i rushed home to find more information on the cards.
from the late 1950’s through the end of the 1960’s, textile designer walter erhard produced a line of christmas cards under the name imp press. in 2002 vigo cards bought the assets of imp press (along with the rights to erhard’s card lines) and started producing box sets of erhard’s beautiful work. i love the rich washes of color in erhard’s images and the way the spirit and style of the 50’s shines through in each piece. my grandmother’s apartment used to be full of work that looked like this so these pieces tug on my heart strings in a really sweet, sentimental way.
you can pick up a box of 10 cards for around $15 (try vigo for a store near you, or call catbird or terrain to place an order), or, if you’re like me, you can save a few to frame. these cards will definitely be hard to part with for me…
CLICK HERE to see 17 more beautiful walter erhard card designs after the jump!
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First of all, I am thrilled to be guest blogging on Design Sponge this week. I have long made Design Sponge a daily stop and love the ideas and inspiration I find here. For my posts this week, I thought it would be fun to do a little holiday prep through projects, inspiration, and gift guides, so check back in each day for some really fun holiday inspiration.
Today’s DIY project is my new favorite. I have always loved really tactile, cozy type ornaments on our tree, made with wool, yarn, things like that. Clothes for your tree, that’s what these ornaments are. Truly easy to stitch up. No kidding! Each one will take about 30 minutes start to finish (with all your supplies out and at the ready). Why not gather supplies, invite some crafty (or even semi-crafty) friends over, and have an ornament making party? This project is the perfect kind of “talk and sew” project, and impromptu, casual gatherings are the ones I love the best during the holiday season. You can spend some time with friends, and come away with something memorable and adorable. Consider assigning each person a certain supply item and pool your resources. (You could, of course, make these on your own as well. But with friends, music, and egg nog, who knows what you will come up with!?)
CLICK HERE for blair’s full project how-to after the jump!
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today i’m thrilled to welcome a new blogger to the d*s guest blog: blair stocker of wise craft. blair is behind some of my favorite diy projects on the web, so i was ecstatic when she agreed to join us for a week-long celebration of holiday crafts! each day blair will be sharing a project that’s perfect for the holiday season- and for those of you who prefer to make, rather than buy, gifts. today blair is kicking things off with an adorable clothing ornament project. i’m a huge fan of my friend llubav’s clothing ornaments (which used to be sold at my favorite store in the world, the now closed hable construction on perry street. sniff sniff.), so i was excited to see a version of this type of ornament broken down into steps! this seems like the perfect way to spend a cold winter afternoon.
click here to check out the full project steps on the d*s guest blog! and welcome, blair!
*stay tuned for our annual design bloggers’ holiday wishlist today at 1pm! we’ll be featuring over 15 of my favorite design bloggers’ lists of products they’d like to give and receive.
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http://www.countryseat.com/guildsNV-S
which also sells supplies. Anyway, , I wrote to one of them and received an almost immediate reply. The woman was very helpful and said that she'd bring my letter to the next meeting, which took place on Friday. While waiting for an update, I decided to do some more searching for resources. I found
http://basketweavingsupplies.com
AND
HTTP://www.seatweaving.org
both of which sell supplies and tools. You can also find items for chair caning at the second site. Then, I stumbled on
http://basketmakers.org
which has alot of great info and resources for beginners and more advanced weavers. Today, I located a wonderful channel on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/user/basketmaste
This woman has all sorts of videos up and is very descriptive.
But I'm wondering if anyone here can help me from a blind perspective. It's all find and good to read things on the web and to watch videos, but as a totally blind student, I've got a few questions. Should I buy my tools and materials separately or could I actually get some use out of a kit, minus the books and diagrams? How do you mark the centre of the reed or other material being used so that you can line up the spokes or stakes equallY? I'm considering bump-ons, since I can remove them easily. What tool do you use to make measurements, particularly for the width? I have a measuring tape, but it's the soft kind, and I'm afraid that I'll accidentally cut it when trying to cut the reed. Is there a braille tape measure out there like carpenters use? I know there's a talking one, and will get it if all else fails, but it was a bit pricey the last time I checked and I'm not sure, in any case, if it has incraments between one and half an inch, like 5/8 of an inch etc. I'm also interested in a substitute for brass caliper or a reed gauge, since I'm sure those aren't accessible. Has anyone worked with a myter box or small saw? If not, how do you deal with things like handle notches. Assuming that you buy naturals or undyed materials, how do you add colour if you can't see it? From the little information I've found on basketry and the blind, they kept mentioning coil weaving. Is this the easiest method? Should I start with it? Please feel free to coment on anything that I've missed. Hopefully, if I'm able to take some classes, all of these things will be resolved quickly. In the meantime, I'll continue to watch those videos, review the websites and take some more notes.
As a sidenote, I actually learned, on my birthday, that the father of Markos Vamvakaris made baskets. I swear I had absolutely no idea of this when considering taking up basket weaving as a trade. But it sure is interesting.
- Mood:happy
Similar thoughts ran through my mind last night watching an even smaller town's "Parade of Lights."
The procession was about one block long: two pieces of fire apparatus, the local mountain search-and-rescue group (yellow jackets, hard hats, head lamps), another flatbed truck or two, various kids and dogs.
On the sidewalk, Father Christmas greeted spectators and drinkers.
Even though the American Thanksgiving holiday was established during the Great Depression to signal the start of the holiday shopping season, many towns now re-celebrate that spending spree with a "Parade of Lights," a secular solsticial event.
Most seem to be sponsored by downtown merchants' associations. (You can't have a traditional parade at a shopping mall.) Stores stay open late hoping to sell things to the spectators.
Some years ago, a Pagan group had a float in Colorado Springs' Parade of Lights, a first in that city, often jokingly called "Fort God" for its combination of military bases and big-name Protestant "ministries," like Focus on the Family.
Maybe the frankly secular and capitalist nature of the event was a plus. Pay your entry fee, get a place in the parade.
Other parades, such as those on St. Patrick's Day or Columbus Day, have their definite sense of "ownership." Sponsoring organizations are pickier about who they permit to march.
I wrote "frankly secular," but we Pagans see a brave display of light against the incoming darkness--not to mention the cold wind sweeping down from the mountains ahead of today's snowstorm.
We are used to the dichotomy of light and dark, of order and chaos, Apollo and Dionysus--or their equivalents. Perhaps commerce and gift-giving are another pair.
These pairs will contend with each other forever.
That day and the next was spent transferring my 4 g of music and my far less than 1 gb of documents into the Mac. I still don't have a storage device except the Zenstone. But it's all done now so I'm happy. Friday was also the day of the stove burners. I cleaned the top of my stove and was very happy, but then I saw that the burners were all dirty. I cleaned one with Bi-O-Kleen Conscentrated, which is very powerful but all natural, and it did a wonderful job. But it took an hour or more to do. So I went down to get brilo, one of the very few times I reached for something synthetic. But before I could go back up, Grandma told me that she was watching Frosty The Snowman. And you guys all know by now how I am with Christmas shows. So down on the counter went the burners and into the livingroom I went to watch it. But unfortunately, it was already three quarters of the way done, so there wasn't that much to wach. After that, though, came Harry Potter, so I stayed cause I love the books and the films. Believe it or not, they didn't ruin them like they do with most books brought to the screen. Grandma fell asleep maybe a quarter of the way through, and by three quarters, I'd decided that I'd better get myself upstairs so I could work on a burner or two and get to bed. So that's exactly what I did. I fixed two more burners, and seeing that it was passed 12, decided to call it quits. As for how they turned out, I honestly think that the one cleaned with Bi-O-Kleen looked much better.
Then, at last, it was Saturday. Mom said she'd be coming at nine and would call me at 8:30. So I set my alarm for 8:05 so that I could take a shower, do the dishes and get ready. No such luck. Grandma came up here a bit before the alarm. She said that she'd tried to call me, but of course, my phone died, so she couldn't reach me. Anyway, it was rush rush but I didn't care. We were going shopping! But first, we went to Perkins. It's a local diner with delicious pancakes and Annie. Annie's the sweetheart waitress with the truck driver's mouth who makes me laugh every time I hear her. , I had a cup of coffee with a scoop of vanilla iced cream inside, some blueberry pancakes, breakfast fries and some sausages. The whole thing was yummalicious! I've still got some leftovers so might have them late tonight or tomorrow when I get up.
Then, it was onto the stores, but not before Joanie gave me the surprise of my life. Into my hand, she put $200! It was my birthday gift to use however I'd like. I almost cried and couldn't speak. I was in total shock. Mom had slipped me a hint in the restaurant, but to have it happen was truly something. So yeah. After my shock, we hit the stores! First, we went to Best Buy, where Joanie picked up a wireless Tivo thing so she could record movies and then convert them to vhs for me. They didn't have my compact flash cards there, so I was a bit disappointed, but ah well. And their mobile phones were so tiny! They were horrible. But soon, it was onto paradise, aka Good Will. Mom and I went in and Joanie stayed in the car and read/relaxed. We shopped for three whole hours! I got myself three coats that I picked out by myself, a huge stack of videos (many unopened), a pair of rugged winter shoes, and a small air mattress for whenever. I figured I could use it when I go camping, if I have a guest who I don't want to sleep in the same bed as me or just whenever. I also bought Mom a Christmas gift, which of course, she knew about. Every year, I let her pick out her own gifts and then I buy them. This time, it was a ceramic tiger cub with his/her Mom. Mom She's nuts about animals, particularly jungle ones. She's got a leopard print couch! lol So yeah, she was happy. She also got some holiday stuff like tins for cookies to give as gifts once the baked goodies were inside, but she bought those on her own. While we were there, we saw the most amazing little girl. She was so smart, let me tell you. Athena didn't waste anything on her. She asked all sorts of questions of her mother. She was curious about everything and not in a winey "Mommy, buy me that" sort of way. She even pointed out that something was too much money. I complimented her and her mother and both were enjoying it. We saw them a few times more before leaving and each time she made me laugh. I said, stupidly now that I think about it "how old is she," and *she* answered me "five." Now that's a kid who knows her stuff. By the time we were done, we literally needed a basket ontop of the cart cause it was full. The casheers laughed when they saw how much we bought, which, in turn, made us laugh. It really was ridiculous. Mom got playfully mad when she saw that everything I bought was on sale and she didn't get any sales at all. "How does she do it? She's blind!" We laughed ourselves silly. Joanie made me worried, cause she said that the used videos might not work, but for a dollar a piece, I'm not complaining.
On our way home, we went to a store whose name isn't coming to mind, but it was one of those junk stores that I adore with all the old electronics and stuff. Still, they did have some very nice futons that were really expensive from my perspective. The lowest was about $100 something. There, I picked up presents for Dad and Aunt Dawn Dawn (matching organisers that I know they'll need as they continue with their classes), and a few princess colouring books for my niece Cayla.
The day ended with a trip to Shop Right, where Mom bought all my food for me as a last birthday gift. I got tons of tv dinners that she insistaed on buying, even though I felt bad cause of the amount, some wonderful cold cuts, half and half, butter, eggs and potato chips (crisps). We had a small conflict because of a break down in communications and Joanie was commenting again but I guess she was just being herself. All in all, it was a fantastic day. And when I saw how much I'd actually spent altogether, it was made even better. After going to three stores and loading up on goodies, I only spent $56 and change. Opa!!! Me very happy.
Last night, I searched on youtube for some Christmas shows and found The Year Without a Santa Claus. Either I'm nuts or they added stuff in there that they normally don't show in the tv version. Either way, I loved it. I then proceeded to spend a few hours writing my own Christmas story. I do that every year or two, ad this one just came to me as if I had to write it. I promise to share it with you as soon as I proofread it one last time.
Today was calm and quiet. Tonight, Joanie did something she hadn't done in years. She cooked! I don't mean she grilled or threw something in the microwave. This time, she really cooked something from scratch. It was homemade fried chicken with French fries. Well, those were frozen but I'll cut her some slack. lol A friend seasoned it a bit for us and she brought it home where we added some of our own touches. It was absolutely delicious! And then, of course, Joanie and I had the iced cream cake. Mom and Grandma had a bit of wine so they didn't want any tonight. But it was really good.
Tomorrow, Grandma's taking me to see Mrs. Kottas at another local diner. I haven't seen her in over a year so am really excited. I'll let you know how it goes. I got her a little gift too, so hopefully, she'll like it.
- Mood:good
49. Treason's Shore- Sherwood Smith
Here lies the common failing of ends-of-series. Smith was too rushed. Don't get me wrong, this is a great book with a great final story, but Smith could have easily written two books and actually tied up all the loose ends. Because this book tries to span an entire decade, huge chunks of the character's lives are simply glossed over which is really unsatisfying in a series that very successfully connected the characters to the reader. I feel cheated.
50. Caryatids- Bruce Sterling
As always, Sterling has interesting plots and characters and intense complicated worldbuilding. It's too bad his writing drives me crazy.
Top Story: I’m very pleased to present, as part of my coverage of the Pagan presence at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, an interview with Pagan scholar Michael York. Michael York is Professor of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at Bath Spa University College, UK, an instructor at Cherry Hill Seminary, and author of “Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion”. We discussed the evolving place of modern Paganism at the Parliament, the importance of the Pagan voice in interfaith interactions, and how polytheism promotes democracy.
If you are a Pagan podcaster, or host a Pagan-friendly radio show, you are welcome to download this file to play on your program. Be sure to credit the Pagan Newswire Collective as the audio source. For more Parliament-related audio, check out my discussion with Ed Hubbard, a PNC correspondent, as well as host of MagickTV and Pagans Tonight. There are more scheduled Parliament interviews, so stay tuned to the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest news.
In Other News: William Booth at the Washington Post looks at the oft-misunderstood cult of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. An anthropologist interviewed for the piece makes the argument that this growing, and controversial, faith is a true reflection of contemporary Mexico.
“The authorities have condemned Santa Muerte as a “narco-saint,” worshipped by drug traffickers, cartel assassins and dope slingers. But the worship is more a reflection of contemporary Mexico, says the anthropologist J. Katia Perdigón Castañeda, the author of “La Santa Muerte: Protector of Mankind.” The cult is an urban pop amalgam, New Age meets heavy metal meets Virgin of Guadalupe. It is no accident that it is also cross-cultural — that the centers of worship are the poor, proud heart of Mexico City and the violent frontier lands of Laredo, Juarez and Tijuana. The cult borrows equally from Hollywood and the Aztec underworld. Altars, necklaces and tattoos honoring Santa Muerte also make appearances in Mexican American neighborhoods from Los Angeles to Boston. “The believers may be drug dealers, doctors, carpenters, housewives. The cult accepts all. No matter the social status or age or sexual preference. Even transsexuals. Even criminals. That’s very important, that the cult of Santa Muerte accepts everyone,” Perdigón told me, “because death takes one and all.” Where mainstream Mexican Catholicism promises a better life in the hereafter, “central to the devotion of Santa Muerte is the fact that the believers want a miracle, a favor, in the present, in this life, not when they are dead,” Perdigón said.”
I find it very interesting that while many modern Pagan religions are quite self-conscious of mixing pop-culture with our Paganism, or of modernizing ancient sacred imagery, the followers of Santa Muerte seem to do it instinctively. Focusing more on necessities than proprieties. I wish I could read J. Katia Perdigon Castaneda’s book, but it appears to be only available in Spanish, a language I have not mastered.
I have an update on the case of Ali Sibat, a former Lebanese television presenter who was arrested and sentenced to death for sorcery in Saudi Arabia by the Mutaween (religious police) in Saudi Arabia, but I’m afraid it isn’t good news.
“He was condemned to death last month, and the religious court may confirm the sentence as soon as Thursday. The family’s lawyer, May Khansa, has tried desperately to persuade Lebanese politicians to intervene to save Mr Sbatt’s life – the Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, and President Michel Sleiman are aware of his case and so is the Sunni Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan – but so far without success. Sheikh Qabalan did, however, say that what Mr Sbatt did on television was merely psychological help for people who have lost hope and did not involve black magic. The family wisely appealed to Sunni prelates for help rather than dignitaries from their own Shia background. Their local member of parliament has been asked to assist – uselessly, it appears – and Ibrahim Najjar, the Minister for Justice, has said he has done “the necessary”, whatever that is.”
Saudi lawyers have asked for a million dollars to make a legal appeal, and it seems only the intervention of King Abdullah could save his life at this point. I’ll have more on this case as it develops, but it looks like another innocent person will soon be killed by a government for alleged supernatural crimes.
Why do white supremacists feel the need to subvert Pagan, Heathen, and Christian faiths? Because their own sad attempts at building a “religion” are so transparently political that federal district court judges have no problem denying them equal treatment in court cases.
“In Conner v. Tilton, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111892 (ND CA, Dec. 2, 2009), in a decision unusually detailed in its analysis for a case brought by a prisoner pro se, a California federal district court held that the White supremacist Creativity Movement is not a “religion” for purposes of the First Amendment or RLUIPA. In the case, an inmate sought the right to practice various aspects of his purported religion in Pelican Bay State Prison. In deciding the case, the court relied on the definition of “religion” articulated by the 3rd Circuit in Africa v. Pennsylvania.”
In short,”what’s good for white people is good” just isn’t a comprehensive world-view that addresses “fundamental and ultimate questions having to do with deep and imponderable matters”. There may be (and are) racist Heathens, Pagans, Muslims, and Christians, but they at least have the fig-leaf of an actual faith-tradition when considering legal matters. This sadly means that racists will continue to distort our faiths for their own ends, but at least the misguided may have some chance of interacting with genuine non-racist permutations of those faiths as they move through life.
In a final note, Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, who has been covering the plight of child witches in Nigeria, brings us the news that notorious (and popular) witch-hunting mega-pastor Helen Ukpabio is suing a local activist and witch children charity. Why is she suing them? For making Ukpabio look bad when her followers raided a conference on Witchcraft and Child Rights.
“Helen applied to the Federal High Court in Calabar for the enforcement of her fundamental rights. She claimed, among other things,that the conference on Witchcraft and Child Rights, held on July 29 in Calabar – which her members disrupted- and the arrest of her church members on the said date constituted an infringement on their rights to practice their christian religious belief relating to witchcraft. She asked the court to issue perpetual injunctions restraining me and others – From interfering with their practice of christianity and their deliverance of people with witchcraft spirit … From holding seminars or workshops denouncing the christian religious belief in witchcraft … From arresting her and her church members etc.”
The activist, Leo Igwe, has sent out a press release regarding the lawsuit. Due to oppressive British libel laws, Bartholomew wasn’t able to reprint the entire thing, so I’m making it available here. I’ll try to keep you posted as new developments in this case arise, but I strongly suggest you also read Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion for the latest updates as well.
That’s all I have for now, don’t forget to check the Pagans at the Parliament blog for the latest updates and links from Melbourne, and have a great day!
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