Inciting A Riot
Lighting a fire under comfortable thinking.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
I don't want you to turn out that way.
It is raining tonight in Chicago. The kind of thunderous rain that demands you turn off all the lights in your house and grab a cup of something, whether or not you drink it. The requirement for a dark and stormy night is a drink in your hand and viewing of nature doing its thing.
It was dark and stormy at work today. Not for long, but for a moment. The kind of storm that is a signal of things to come, a harbinger of paths taken and steps yet to be walked. Inner storm, mind you.
The conversation was innocent enough. A woman is at the cash register with her son. He couldn't have been more than 5.
Son: Can I buy some jewelry?
Mom: [eyes immediately down to her wallet] No.
Son: But moooom! It's less than $25, so can I have some jewelry?
Mom: No. [hands over money, looking at the back of the register, the PIN pad device, anywhere except my face]
Son: Mom. Can I just have this one piece of jewelry?
Mom: No, because I don't want you to turn out that way.
| Your Thoughts? |
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Thin Bashing... It's a thing.
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| Unless you like other dudes, I guess. |
| Your Thoughts? |
Friday, May 31, 2013
Maiden, Mother, Who?! (A Discussion of the Triple Goddess)
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Upcoming Appearances (And a Little Witch)
Firstly, a quick plug for my Etsy shop - TorchandPaintbrush.Etsy.com - and for some of the new offerings in it. For example, did you see this adorable original painting: Little Witch?
The original is only $40, but the print is available as well for $10! There is a lot more in the shop, and updates and more listings are coming! Make sure you're following @TorchandBrush on Twitter for deals and all the latest shop updates!! Or, if you're not a Twitter fan, you can (and totally should) Like the page on Facebook! Facebook.com/TorchAndPaintbrush
| Your Thoughts? |
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Episode 78: Inciting A Threeway Riot
| Your Thoughts? |
Saturday, May 4, 2013
My Beltane (Or: Earning my 'Dirt-worshipper' Title)
| The beginning of an interesting summer. |
Beltane happened this week. And, here in Chicagoland's south suburbs, it was a phenomenally beautiful day. The weather hit the low 80s; there was not a cloud in the sky, and I could not fathom any reason whatsoever to stay indoors. Funny, when I was a kid, I would stay inside on bright, sunny days in Texas - as bright, sunny days seem to plague Texas, which sounds nice, except for that whole lack of rain and 6 months of 100+ degree weather. No, here in Chicago, a beautiful day of sunshine is to be celebrated with being outdoors. So, what did I do? I dug in the dirt.
| Your Thoughts? |
Monday, April 29, 2013
Maiden, Mother, Who?
Neopaganism is chock full, loaded to the gills, filled to the brim (can I get a few more references for "there's a lot of this stuff in here"?) with allusions to a Great Triple Goddess. The Fabulous MMC is in the building. Can I get a what what?!
| Word. |
| Your Thoughts? |
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Little Witch Academia & Bubbles are people
Yesterday was seasonably warm. I almost typed unseasonably, because just a few days ago I was mulling over whether I should buy one more sweater this season or if I could wait. Let us all hope and pray that, with Beltane just 3 days away, we are finally - FINALLY - out of winter. But, it is the end of April and beginning of May and that makes it seasonably warm to be in the upper 60s.
I was sitting on a bench outside of my store enjoying the sunshine for the first time this year, and I wrote a poem. Now, a bit of me wants to make some sort of significance about the subject of that poem and the fact that Partner's family experienced a loss yesterday around the same time I was writing. But, we all know where my head has been lately, so this poem should come as no surprise.
I've been writing a lot more lately, but this one I liked. At the bottom of the poem is a movie about witches. So, stick around. The poem is called 'Bubbles are people'.
Bubbles are people and the
air in them are souls and
it all comes from the great
3-year-old at the end of the
fiery cold universe
waving around a wand
dancing in a field
like a stock photo
the perfect toothy smile
staring at us from behind
every pane of glass at
your store of choice's
frame aisle
a black and white window
into stock photo heaven.
Maybe that is heaven.
to become photoshopped and perfect,
hanging out with your
seven perfect
brothers at the end of a
pier in New England somewhere.
fragile fleeting
soap bubble spheres waiting to
be replaced by your less than
perfect Christmas photo
where the dog just wouldn't
look at the camera.
| Your Thoughts? |
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Accidental Racist (Or: How to make a bad situation worse.)
What has people talking is the confusing nature of the song. At its heart, the song is obviously a working out of Paisley's assumed confrontation with a Starbuck's barista who apparently didn't like the singer's Confederate Flag t-shirt. Paisley says that he didn't mean anything by the shirt except that he is a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan. The country crooner goes on to lament about how he'll never understand what it's like to be a black person, because it's impossible to truly walk a mile in another man's shoes. He finds it sad that we can't rewrite history, that we must walk on eggshells when it comes to racial issues, and that he can't have 'southern pride' without assuming the southern blame for slavery.
And then LL Cool J is there. And there's a strange, rapped diatribe about how black people get mistreated for the way they look, too, and how it's not ok for him to assume that Paisley's confederate flag wearing, cowboy hat donning, southern pride having persona is racist...or something. It's a bit muddled as to why LL is there...other than the classic "I have black friends who will sing on this record with me, so I'm obviously not a racist" thing.
There's a lot to unpack in a song like this. Let's Riot, shall we?
| Your Thoughts? |
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Podfade Question
While the term doesn't technically apply, since Pagan podcasts are not some collective series, I think there is an element of 'jumping the shark' attached to the inception and growth of the show The Pagan Rapport. It's a podcast about podcasts and podcasters. We've gone meta, folks.
Don't get me wrong. I love the Pagan Rapport, and I am very glad it exists. The host asks the questions many folks, myself included, have always wanted to ask our favorite personalities that keep us company on commutes, road trips, gym excursions, and house cleaning. But, it's definitely a full circle concept. If I'm being very honest, and I suppose I am, my opinion is that most of the longest running shows are kind of running on fumes these days. Shows that used to be about content and challenging, innovative conversations have become 5 minutes of introduction followed by 60 minutes of music. Shows that used to offer magical advice or tips on witchy living have devolved into diaries showcasing what they had for lunch on Tuesday. All of these things are nice in their own way. I like to be introduced to music I may not have otherwise found, and many of these voices have become like friends and I enjoy hearing about their lives. But, it's not why I tune in to Pagan podcasts.
In short: I think most of us have said what we wanted to say.
| Your Thoughts? |
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Women's Sizes? (Men, too!)
Weight is a funny issue. Not funny in the sense that people clutch their rib cages in an attempt to calm the stitch formed from guffawing until tears streamed down their cheeks in a blushing river of chuckles, but funny in a dry, ironic kind of way. The way that internet memes aren't and are funny.
Weight is a sensitive issue. Delicate. Easily offensive and offending. But, we all come in different shapes and sizes, and ain't that grand.
Up until last year, I had never managed a clothing store. Since last year, I've managed two. One of the funniest phrases I hear women say to me is:
Where are your WOMEN'S sizes?! You know...for real women?!
What they're asking me is 'where is your plus size section?', but that's not what they say. They ask me where the clothes are for "real women", and, yes, I've had quite a number of women refer to themselves as "real women", whereas clothes for, say, a size 14 or a size 8 or a size 2 are for "skinny little girls". I think my problem with this is the same problem I have with gay men's obsession with wanting a "str8" acting partner, with muscle guys talking about shrimpy guys or slim guys making fun of meatheads. It's the problem I have when I hear the comic nerds making fun of the popular jock, and when the idiot muscle head makes fun of someone who'd rather spend their time reading than doing reps.
It's the fear and loathing of the dreaded OTHER....
| Your Thoughts? |
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
teetering (New Poem) & Book News!
Hopefully some of you out there will like my poetry enough to want a book of it...maybe you'll tell your friends and they'll buy it, too? That would just be the bee's knees.
Ok... All that out of the way, here's a new poem. Not in the collection. From my fancy new poetry journal. Wrote it today. How many of you can relate?
| Your Thoughts? |
Thursday, March 21, 2013
With a piece of chalk
| Your Thoughts? |
Writing to God
This time, however, I've taken up journaling my prayers. Like to god. God. G-d. Whatever. To THAT that is.
As you know, I've been having some personal issues regarding deity, belief, etc. My response to all of that was the decision that I needed some kind of faith in my life. Something that connects me to the infinite. And, I get that on some level, my words might only be written down on paper in a black leather journal, but I've decided not to care. The act is cathartic at least and deeply spiritual at best.
| Your Thoughts? |
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Web Comicy Goodness!
It's been almost exactly a month since I wrote a blog post. No reason in particular except... I finally, FINALLY bought a new computer! (Feel that jealousy sink in.) It was so horribly slow, and I just didn't want to take the time to write on it. While my iPad will do in a pinch, I have too many pages and links and such open when I blog that I just never ended up doing so. I changed jobs and have been quite engrossed in that move. Then there was that week my parents were in from Texas...which turned into the 2 weeks that Partner's mom was here...is here, actually. Upstairs. Making something that I hope wasn't once the stomach of something else...or the brains... At least it's not meatloaf.
For whatever the reason, Happy St. Patrick's Day! In all the hilarious sharing that goes on in the social media sphere on a day like today, I found a new web comic to love called Happle Tea. It is described as 'a webcomic about mythology and other things.' I've only just started on the back catalogue, which extends to 2009, but I'm in love. Instantly. I rarely love webcomics, because there's so much that goes into loving a webcomic... You know...all that physical labor involved when you love something that is found on a website... Some examples of the goodness that intrigued me:












