New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
On one of the last nice days of October, I met up with a friend in Chicago. We hadn't seen each other in a few years, despite living only an hour away from each other. We had kept in touch mostly through social media. After a while our conversation turned to social media, and the fact that both of us had cut off contact with certain friends and family in the past couple of years. Since the election of Trump to the United States presidency, a common theme has emerged among my friends: rather than tolerating racist and sexist friends or family, we had just walked away from them. With the 2020 election coming up, the refrain of, "I just unfriended my aunt/dad/cousin/high school friend. It ...
Long before the birth of the Bedazzler, the crafting world has been drawing folx in with the allure of making things with their own hands. Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment that comes from making it yourself. Pride of workmanship and seeing your project come to life brings a true satisfaction. The joy that a handmade gift brings to the recipient is well worth the many hours invested. To be honest, we would be doing it anyway for the sheer joy of the act. Crafters talk about their craft of choice with a passion that is often missed in this world. My husband tells me that when I talk about crocheting a light comes on in my eyes and you can hear the love in my voice. Relating the ...
In Jack Finney's supernatural short story, "Where the Cluetts Are," a young architect tries to dissuade his nouveau riche clients, Sam and Ellie Cluett, from building a brand new Victorian mansion from one-hundred-year-old plans: "Look at the fancy trim all over the house inside and out. When those plans were drawn I suppose it could be bought from stock. Today it doesn't exist."1 He's talking about scroll-saw cut woodwork or "gingerbread." To call fancy wood trim gingerbread was originally an insult. The invention of the scroll saw in the mid-1800s made it easy to cut curves and curlicues into boards. Because it was so popular—it defined the American Gothic and American Bracket ...
It was Samhain, and my altar was set, black candles glowing. I had cast the circle, and I was settling into the rhythm of the ritual, when I sprinkled some of my special Samhain incense on a charcoal block. To my surprise, instead of smoldering, the incense ignited. I watched, unsure of what to do, as the flame rose up in my censer. Then the smoke alarm in my apartment went off. I quickly put out the flame, and closed the circle. The loud piercing sound of the alarm drew the attention of my three cats, which all were scampering about saucer-eyed, mewing loudly. To make matters worse, the smoke alarm in my apartment is connected to a central alarm system at my manager's apartment, so it ...
