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.

Thin Bashing... It's a thing.

Unless you like other dudes, I guess.

What I'm about to write is going to make many folks feel instantly pissed, but...you know...Riot and all.

CAN WE STOP MAKING FUN OF THIN PEOPLE?!

I know... I know... You're thinking, What the f*ck is this guy talking about?! Make fun of thin people?! The media loves them! Everyone loves them! It's fat people that get made fun of! And, here's the thing, folks, plain and simple:

Everyone gets made fun of. Everyone gets marginalized. Sociologists - people that study whole groups of people - like to use the metaphor of a pendulum when describing group think. The pendulum will swing to an incredibly conservative group mindset before swing back to the middle and then all the way to the liberal/left side. We idolize electronic music and then long for acoustic. We adore iPhones and then jump to Samsung. Or...not. 

But there's this thing that's been happening on Facebook and Twitter and all other forms of social media for a few years now, and it's this glorification of big alongside the marginalization of small. A sampling from my Facebook feed in the last hour...Ahem:

Maiden, Mother, Who?! (A Discussion of the Triple Goddess)

Greek mythology is beloved the world over for its tales of heroism, literally creating an entirely new genre of literature known as the epic poem specifically to tell the tales of the gods. The residents of Mt. Olympus are unique in the classical world of deities in that they are perhaps the first major example of gods that resembled the people who worshipped them. And, there’s something quite nice about that. I mean, Anubis is swell and all, but I’m not sure I’d be comfortable inviting him over to my house for hot dogs and wine spritzers what with him sizing up my Pomeranian. Or would he? I suppose technically he’d have the stomach of a man, but the brain of a jackal. 

Sorry. Not the point. I digress.

There’s a word for this kind of thing - dressing up gods in the skin of man, rather than, say, a jellyfish or a candy bar. Actually, there are a few words for this kind of thing. Let’s all learn them together, shall we?

Upcoming Appearances (And a Little Witch)

Rioters! This summer is already becoming jam packed with appearances for one very lucky Rioter. ME!!!! For the first time, I've been asked to speak / appear at various events around the Chicagoland area this summer. The first one is in just over a week! Hope to see you all out and about. As new dates get added, I'll update you all!

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

Hint: Special coupons MIGHT just be coming to followers of the Twitter feed and/or Facebook page!

Ok... To the dates...

Episode 78: Inciting A Threeway Riot

Episode 78: Inciting A Threeway Riot

News: Maryland abolished death penalty, Coburn - self background checks, Jayson Collins comes out, Tylenol eases existential crisis pain, Arizona Trans restroom, Rhode Island, Delaware, & Minnesota legalized gay marriage, recreating faces from chewing gum

WOTD: verbicide

Tips & Tricks - Wishful Gardening

Music - Moonshadow - Mandy Moore

Gripe Department - Sylvia Browne

Music - You'll be mine - The Pierces

Spirituality - Maiden, Mother, Who?

Poetry - Bubbles are people

Email the show: FireLyte@IncitingARiot.com

Tweet the show: @IncitingARiot

Facebook.com/IncitingARiotPodcast

Love and Lyte,

Fire Lyte

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.

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.

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.

AND NOW FOR WITCHES!!!!  

Accidental Racist (Or: How to make a bad situation worse.)

Brad Paisley is a talented, successful country singer. He's also the source of the hashtag that's been blowing up Twitter in the last day or so: #AccidentalRacist. It's a song that was released yesterday, featuring guest rapper LL Cool J (otherwise known as the guy that bicep-curled every lady on the View).

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?

The Podfade Question

The question was recently posed on Twitter and responded to by a number of pagan podcasters, most recently - and most eloquently - by Gillian of Iron Powaqa. Has the era of Pagan Podcasting ended? I think it's fairly safe to say a new pagan podcast, at least one worthy of any kind of note, hasn't really come out since around this time last year. That was the time a show called The Pagan Rapport, hosted by Silver Shadow, was first released. The Pagan Rapport is a great show. I've likened it to Behind the Actor's Studio, but for Pagan podcasting.

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.

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....

teetering (New Poem) & Book News!

I'm organizing my poetry collection for its first official publication. Upon the advice of some friends who are authors or are in publishing or are just friends, I'll be putting it out myself. It will be available in both printed and Kindle format. Pricing is going to be really, really reasonable. (Like...under $10 for a print and under $5 for eBook...still figuring out the details.) I have an ISBN number already. Woot!

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?

With a piece of chalk

For me it was theatre and poetry working in tandem to keep me sane, keep me fulfilled, and keep my star burning bright enough that nobody else could squelch the light. For me it was bloody poetry that poured from my veins like I'd made a proper vertical incision on my wrist that kept me from carrying out the act. For me it was a spotlight and speaking events that nobody attended or cared about, but that I dominated and set records in and excelled.

For me

It was realizing that 

they didn't control me

or my light

and not even my dark

because I am the spark

the light of the whole

fucking

universe.

And they could never, ever put it out.

For this boy, it is a piece of chalk and killer dance moves. Click to watch the movie below. It will steal your heart.

Writing to God

Recently, I've taken up journaling. Again. I used to journal in high school - side note, if you ever happen to run across a brown leather bound journal with the word JOURNAL embossed on the front and all my deeply personal crazy scrawled across the pages...I lost my high school journal back in college. It's somewhere between Texas and West Virginia. So...you know...keep a look out.

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.

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.

I digress. 

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: