If you go by the number of times her work has been reproduced, Pamela Colman Smith is probably the most popular artist in the world. She is the one who created the artwork for the so-called Rider-Waite Tarot Deck; the claim that she's the most popular artist comes from multiplying the number of Tarot decks with her…
Audiobooks I listen to a lot of audiobooks. And by "a lot," I mean this: There's a lot to unpack from this picture, including why I don't want to upgrade from Mojave. I've circled on the part to focus on first: While the picture only shows the first 31 files in my audiobook collection, I have a…
My father is giving away one of his prize possessions: the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1911. According to my father, this was known as the "scholars edition" because it was the last edition that could be used as a primary resource. For example, the article on penicillin was written by Alexander Fleming; the…
About a year ago, I posted my review of Economix, a graphic book that provides an overview of economic theory and practice through to about 2011. The author, Michael Goodwin, working with the artist Dan E. Burr, has occasionally posted additional comics on his website on topics like Obamacare and Net Neutrality. Recently, Goodwin and Burr have…
When I discuss the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) with folks, I usually point them to the following three on-line comics: Obamacare Obamacare Follow-up Trumpcare These three comics go over the details of health insurance in the US, the problems that Obamacare was supposed to solve, how well it solved them, where there was room for improvement, and…
Before we get into the fantasy, let’s deal with the reality: Sarah Avery’s book Tales From Rugosa Coven is an excellent description of what life is like in a Wiccan group. There’s the sense of family, the balancing of work and biological family and coven-mates, the bickering and the sharing, the interaction of Wiccans with other Neopagan…
Short version: Read Heretic’s Heart. Now. Long version: Yesterday, in my post on the death of Margot Adler, I mentioned that her book Heretic’s Heart was next on my reading list. Today, I unexpectedly had a free hour between medical appointments. I had the book on my iPad, so I started reading. I was only a few…
Once upon a time, a beautiful witch met a handsome wizard and they fell in love. Together they made great works of magic. They created unicorns and searched for mermaids. Many listened to their words: the seekers, the young, the wise, and the learned. And they lived… …perhaps not “happily ever after.” But they lived indeed! Once…
In the past few years, modern pagans have started to reclaim their history. As Ronald Hutton points out, pagans have always had a strong sense of “history” (an interest in past events), but not always in “historicity” (understanding what actually happened, as opposed to what you wish had happened).
Hutton’s Triumph of the Moon traces the factors that led to the founding of the modern Neopagan Witchcraft movement. Philip Heselton’s Witchfather focused on the life of one important individual: Gerald Gardner. In other words, Hutton told us about the times, Heselton told us about a life.
Michael Lloyd’s Bull of Heaven: The Mythic Life of Eddie Buczynski and the Rise of the New York Pagan does both. It does it a way that’s engaging to read. I’d never heard of Buczynski before Margot Adler recommended this book to me; now I understand his impact on the Craft.
My bookshelves were full of all the games I’ve purchased recently. The games had spilled over onto the floor, stashed in canvas bags so I could easily grab them to take to a friend’s place or a game night.
A friend of mine had a couple of bookcases she had to give away. They were the same style as the Billy bookcases I already had. I took action.