|
|
|
July 8th, 2008
09:42 pm - Optimism occurred well after the original depression
Three years ago, I was broken and beaten.
But there was a light in my darkness.
I never, ever thought that light would go out.
I found tonight that it had.
===
Originally, I was going to write only that.
As I type the entry, though, I find this needs to be tacked on:
But I know I will wait patiently, no matter how long it takes, to see this fire re-lit and receiving sacrifice again.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) optimistic
Current Music: "Perrier Blues", -JB
|
May 16th, 2008
11:08 am - Easing on down the Path of Study in ADF
Over the past weekend at Desert Magic, I was fortunate to sit around and banter about a variety of things with some great minds within ADF. And, because you all know me, no one will be surprised that we spoke about the current state of ADF's study programs.
Now that we have people working on Second Circle Clergy Training Program courses (and by Wellspring there will be at least one more person, with several more shortly after that), it's becoming more pressing to make sure that the courses are ready to go.
The CTP Outline shows how many classes need to be approved for Second Circle: four out of 12 are listed as "unwritten," though that word doesn't really indicate the fact of the matter.
There are completed requirement sets undergoing fine-tuning before presentation for three of those four, meaning that, really, only one class is still outstanding in the second circle of the CTP.
When Kirk and I sat down to revisit the Liturgist Guild Study Program last Sunday (and others joined us, notably Ceisiwr Serith, whose input was/is invaluable when it comes to liturgy), we hammered out five new courses, three of which should transfer directly into the Third Circle of the CTP as well (should the Clergy Council wish to go that route). We're also revisiting the structure of the original LGSP, which had a few issues. Fortunately, it won't affect current students at all.
It looks like only one course is left for the LGSP second Circle, and ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) druidkirk is working hard on that one. We may have a lot of stuff done for our students by Summerland.
I'm excited to see where we can take this program, and where other programs will go as well.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: "Lucky Stars", -JB
|
May 6th, 2008
12:48 pm - Lectures, rites, and festivals . . .
I was fortunate enough to be asked to give a presentation on ADF and Discoridanism yesterday. This meant that I got to talk about two of my favourite things ever during my lunch hour. I was very pleased.
Dr. Urban asked me in to speak on these things to his class, which is doing an entire quarter on "Neo-Paganism, Witchcraft, and Satanism". The next class meeting is on Chaos Magic and Play, and I had a wonderful discussion with the class (well, I enjoyed it. . . I hope they did too. . .)
I'm spending the next few days working with the ADF Dedicant Path Documentation, trying to work up a monthly schedule for Grove Meetings. I'm also working on the outline for the next few Druid Moon rites, since I realized that as I head out to Desert Magic, I'm leaving shawneen_bear and tanrinia without much guidance, and because we're still feeling this out, I want to make sure that we get that guidance in place in the future.
This next rite is a lovely fire ritual, so I'm excited to see what they come up with.
It's odd, but with Desert Magic right around the corner (I literally leave from work tomorrow to go to the airport) I find myself most excited about Summerland coming up in August. . .
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Tampico Trauma", -JB
|
May 1st, 2008
09:13 am - Prayer for Mothers
I spoke this prayer as I was doing a ritual the other night. I wanted to post it, too.
Let the light of a mother's love
never diminish in a child's heart.
Let the light of a mother's love
never diminish in a child's eyes.
Let the light of a mother's love
never diminish in a child's memory.
Let nothing come between mother and child,
and let the child always know the mother.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Some Gothic Ranch Action", -JB
|
April 30th, 2008
10:16 am - Ghosti and comics
I often refer to the concept of *ghosti as being something like a close friendship where you and your friend go out to dinner, alternating who pays. Eventually, you both forget who bought the last meal, and one of you just sort of offers to pick up the check on the very basic understanding that it will really all even out in the end.
The relationship then sort of dissolves into a series of, "Whose turn is it?" questions followed by, "I don't care; I'll get it this time," answers; or else the meal becomes a pretext for inviting the other person out, saying, "Let's go out to eat, since it's my turn anyway," when both parties know that it's not actually that person's turn.
Recognition of relationship, followed by understanding that the relationship is deep enough that it was already even before the other person asked the question. That's really what ghosti is to me.
Well, for future reference, it may work like the above, but ghosti doesn't work like this.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "One Particular Harbor", -JB
|
April 29th, 2008
11:15 pm - Friends
Sometimes, the only thing that keeps us sane is a good friend.
When you find one, never let them go. Never fail to give them another chance. Never turn away from them when they need you.
Sail on, sailor.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: good
Current Music: "The Captain and the Kid", -JB
|
April 24th, 2008
09:33 am - Cancer Run/Walk [Komen Race for the Cure]
Over the past year (or, in some cases, longer), my family has been dealing with cancer in various ways. We're not exactly low-risk, I've noticed. This goes for both my "real" family and my extended [ADF, PSA, and other Pagan] one.
The Grove and I have been walking in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Columbus race each may since either romandruid brought it up the first time as a service project for the Grove in 2004. We've had varying attendance throughout the years, but as I've thought more and more about it, I want to make sure that we bounce back to at least 8 people walking with our Grove. At $25 per person, that's $200 for research.
(I'd also like to have people who can't make it or can't walk 5 clicks or who don't want to get up to do it, "Sleep in for the Cure," which entails buying a $25 sponsorship and not bothering to show up.)
The Race is in downtown Columbus, on Saturday, May 17, 2008, at 8:00 AM. We usually walk instead of run (we often refer to it as the "amble for the cure" given the speeds we reach), but you can do either.
Please, mark your calendars and let us know if you'll be walking with us (or sleeping in and dreaming about walking with us). Everyone is welcome.
[Oh, for those interested, I've updated Chronarchy.Com.]
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "One Particular Harbor", -JB
|
April 23rd, 2008
02:49 pm - Skip's Ogham Book
Thanks to smithing_chick, I see that Skip's book on Ogham is out in a new edition. Go pick it up!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: working
Current Music: "False Echoes [Havana 1921]", -JB
|
April 22nd, 2008
04:05 pm - Trillium 08 in pictures
Some pictures from Trillium:
 |  | 
Help for Mormons | Trillium's Fire | A cool road sign
 | 
sleepingwolf stirring the shit | juxtaposem stirring the shit
(much shit was stirred at Trillium this year!)
juxtaposem and me at Fish Hatchery Road
Check out my hair!
(picture taken primarily because of the name
of the road, and singingwren's fondness for it)
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "On a Slow Boat to China", -JB
|
April 14th, 2008
02:37 pm - 10% off what?
Guess what? ADF Regalia is apparently having a sale: 10% off of most everything, from shirts to runes to bumper stickers.
But the best thing that's on sale?
Donations!
Yes, that's right! For a limited time only, you can make a $1 donation to ADF for only 90¢! You can even donate $100 at the bargain price of $90, and there's a wide range of other increments for sale, too!
Don't delay: donate to ADF while it's cheap!
edit: turns out this wasn't exactly intentional, so it's just become a limited time offer, to boot!
second edit: Well, time is up: prices are back to normal. But still: feel free to donate!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Frank and Lola", -JB
|
April 7th, 2008
02:31 pm - No one at the TSA likes the priest of a fire-cult
It is an interesting experience, seeking to travel across the country by plane. With the security standards in place, you have to check and see if everything you wish to take is, indeed, still allowed since the last time you flew, or if the things you wanted to take last time but could not are now allowed.
I pack very light when I travel. I no longer check bags, and I have never had to do without. I do, however, travel with a lot of ritual gear. When I saw that there are no shopping areas near the Desert Magic Festival this year and the point after that is "bring offerings!" I started to think about this again.
You can bring one book of "safety" matches on a plane. I didn't find anything (outside the general restrictions on liquids) on the TSA pages about highly flammable liquids (whisky and everclear, anyone?), candles, or other things of that nature. In general, I presume that makes it "okay."
Then again, I have found a new tin for my portable altars, which might just wow the TSA into submission, if they're of the correct generation.
It becomes more complicated, too. While I will (thankfully) be on the ground at sunset on May 8 (that was planned, right druidkirk?), I won't have any way to light a fire, which just makes things ever more inconvenient. Add to this that I will be in the air at sunset on May 12, and I just sort of look at it and sigh. They really frown on open flames on planes.
Stay tuned to your local news about the freak accident involving a strip-search of a fire priest by the TSA and strike-anywhere matches.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "False Echoes [Havana 1921]", -JB
|
March 21st, 2008
12:06 am - What do we want?
Posting during an LJ strike is like making ripples in a calm sea.
I love LJ downtime, LJ strikes, and really busy ADF festival weekends.
I'm so far behind on my Friends' List it isn't even funny. . . Stuff like this just helps me actually keep up with ya'll.
Catch ya tomorrow when you get back around to posting.
Or earlier, if you forget you're on strike. :)
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Volcano", -JB
|
March 3rd, 2008
09:31 am - Oh, and:
To those aware that, as of two months ago, I had plans to move west, those plans are entirely scratched.
I will be in Columbus for the foreseeable future.
Resolutions are coming. Plans are solidifying. Things are changing here and there.
To those unaware, well, no worries: Perhaps 20 people (on and offline) knew, and only those people who actually asked about my personal life (or came to a Grove business meeting) between June '07 and January '08 were among them.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Pre-You", -JB
|
February 5th, 2008
11:24 pm - A kiss in the sun
"I feel, when I kiss you, how recklessly my soul leans forward at my lips, as if to step across." - Plato, 4th Century BCE
My hand brushed her cheek lightly, yet firmly. I remember catching her somewhat off-guard, but not so much that anyone else would have noticed. My other hand was on her shoulder, drawing her closer and sliding back to encircle her.
There was something about that day in May, too. It was bright and warm, and both of us were far from our troubles. Not that we would have noticed, had they been closer: those troubles could not possibly have crossed our minds at that time.
I remember thinking, "I wonder if someone will see, if they might tell someone. I wonder if someone we know will spread the word." And then I remember thinking, "I don't care."
And then our lips touched, and I drew her in closer. Her new hat brushed my ear roughly, and I pulled her tighter. I felt a grin that rose from deep within me come to the surface, that burst out of me and broke the kiss, and I stood there looking into her eyes, grinning, and then laughing.
It wasn't our first kiss, and it would not be our last, but it was a kiss I will always remember. I was thinking about it as I drove home today, as I sometimes do. The thought is always out of the blue, always at an odd time.
But it is, and always will be, with me.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: "Dreamsicle", -JB
|
December 17th, 2007
06:05 pm - "Three Books? Nobody said anything about three books!"
Well, chalk it up to my usual . . . usual-ness. Seems that this coming holiday weekend, I'm going to be spending as much as possible in front of a computer, finishing up the rough drafts of at least three books (two of which, I believe, will go up for sale at some point; the third is for Grove members).
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) 3cg_blog is doing quite well at this point. I'm really, really enjoying writing this blog, "Leaves of the Willow". I think this is a function of how much I really love to talk about my Grove (yeah, you heard me: I love my Grove). *grins*
It's even got a solid, Druidical "9" as the number of LJ subscribers (of course, don't let that stop you from adding it to your own friend's list)!
Last night, Saturn was unbound in Tucson, and I daresay I felt it all the way over here in Columbus. I love Saturnalia, and I think I need to find a way to continue to do Saturnalia here in Ohio, now that our romandruid is gone.
As it stands, I'm off to get home and eat dinner. I'll think about these books more on the other side of this Thursday's liturgy meeting. Until then, I'm collecting treasures for Tuesday night's escapades. . . Chocolates, BloodRayne 2, Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, and a little somethin'-somethin' for my hostess. . .
Mmmm. . . Hostess. . .
Okay, it's obvious I need dinner now. . . And to call my girlfriend. . .
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Music: "Why You Wanna Hurt My Heart?", -JB
|
December 13th, 2007
04:13 pm - Wondering Why We Ever Go Home: Greece, 2007
 Journal Entry 14
04/13/07
2:30 PM
Eleusis
It is here, according to myth, that the earth opened to swallow Persephone. Today, you see cars as you look out from the shadows, but now, in the spring while Greece is in full bloom among the ruins of Eleusis, the mystery reenacted here makes perfect sense.
The top of the cave is covered in cactus, and the flowers, small yellow ones that look like black-eyed susans without the domestic violence, spread around the floor. Of course, the metaphor in that last sentence is silly, but it's the best way to describe them. Considering this spot is where the traumatic rape of Persephone took place, it is rather refreshing to see a lack of black eyes and violence.
 | 
Plutonion, with zylch and viedansante | Plutonion sign and site description
This is, mythically, where the rape of Persephone took place.
On the balance, for such a violent event, Eleusis and this cave are now very peaceful. I'm listening to chirping birds, doves, and the breeze: these are the dominant sounds of this place, not the far distant breaks of trucks, motorcycles tearing through town, and cars honking at lazy landscapers.
 | 
Modern Eleusis viewed from the Plutonion | One of the pits next to the Plutonion
Yes, this place is beautiful, calming, and full of hope for the time ahead. It is spring.
 |  | 
Lesbian Stones! | The Telesterion | Telesterion steps
Bonus!
The Temple of Artemis at Brauron
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Tampico Trauma", -JB
|
December 12th, 2007
10:01 am - Mice that don't eat peanut butter, and the best Yule gift ever. . .
This entry will contain what some of you consider to be sacrilege. And some of you will think it hilarious.
Let me begin at the beginning with a quick recap of how we got to the past two weeks:
- There is a hole in my house
- Mice had been entering through said hole
- We have caught most of the mice
- There is one mouse left
Yesterday, I spent my lunch hour beneath my deck doing the final sealing the window as best I could in the rain and mud. I will need to do more work to fully seal the hole, but I believe that the mice, at least for now, no longer have access to the innards of the house.
It is this one mouse, then, that is left. We were catching mice at a rate of 1.2 each day in late October, and until today, we could not determine *why* we could not catch this last mouse.
We know this mouse is a female, because she's nesting. We can hear her. In the walls. Nesting.
Boy mice are lazy-ass sons-of-bitches. They don't nest. And girl mice tend to nest when they get pregnant, which leads us to many deeper issues that I'm sure you can all guess.
We cannot poison the mouse: we have cats, and a rat-poisoned mouse, if found by the cats, will poison the cats. The mouse has not been caught by the cats, because I can't let the cats roam free in the house throughout the day due to Tina's plants and the presence of Tina's birds. Thus, our strongest weapon in the game of cat-and-mouse (i.e. the freakin' cats) is unavailable during most of our turns.
Tina won't let me use an inhumane trap, which is fine by me: the PETA traps Tina purchased are actually *amazingly* effective when it comes to most mice. (I do own a couple of "Lucifer" mousetraps, though, thanks to viedansante's sense of humour).
This morning, Tina discovered exactly why our traps, baited with peanut butter and a dog biscut, had been ineffective on this particular mouse up to this point: this mouse eats only fine, dark chocolate.
I should have known when I found her doing the backstroke in Tina's Mexican hot chocolate mix, now that I look back on it. I also should have caught her then, when she was frozen and staring at me through the plastic baggie the chocolate was in. I thought, wrongly, that I couldn't catch her at that point, that a simple grab wouldn't do it. Instead, I watched to see how she'd gotten to where she was. I haven't had a chance to get her since.
This morning, though, I was informed that somehow, she had gotten up three shelves in the pantry and gotten into Tina's dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's, possibly by climbing, but more likely by either an acrobatic jump of approximately two feet, or by gnawing patiently through a wall and then through the back of the cabinet. Apparently, the girl has some fine, fine taste. And she'll go to many insane lengths to satisfy that craving.
I now have a plan. A dastardly, evil plan, if I do say so myself.
On Dec. 1, I received a box of fancy chocolates from druidkirk for Yule. I've eaten a couple, but the plan was to bring the majority of them in to work and let others have whatever Maggie didn't want.
Now, though, the plan has changed. If no mouse has been caught this evening, the bait in the trap is getting a serious upgrade. I know what the mouse likes: dark chocolate. I know where the mouse is nesting: next to the heating ducts. I know where the mouse can and will get: all over the basement and in the cupboards.
Really, it all combines into the chocolate being the perfect Yule gift, in my little twisted mind, should this work. There's nothing I'd like more than to be rid of this mouse with a taste for expensive chocolate.
(My thank-you note to druidkirk for the chocolate, which was going to go in today's mail, has had to be altered a tad as a result of this new, exciting development.)
I know this is a mouse after some of your own hearts. When I catch her (and I will catch her, trust me), is there anyone who would like to keep her? If not, well, at least she'll have a very fulfilling last indoor meal of very fine chocolate.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "On a Slow Boat to China", -JB
|
December 7th, 2007
01:16 pm - Overhauling the Cranes' Site
Not long ago, Three Cranes Grove, ADF, began discussing how to make our site more visible, reorganize it, and make it more informative and welcoming. Several ideas have been presented at business meetings, on the email list, and between seamus_mcnasty and I.
We're in the process, as a result, of a massive content overhaul for the site.
One of the things we started doing (partially to make the site look more "live" and partially just to keep us mindful of content) is writing a blog each week (updates on Sundays). We called this blog "Leaves of the Willow," hearkening back to that iconography that gave the Grove its name. I spent some time organizing it and started updating it just after Samonios this year.
You can read the blog itself, with five weeks of Sunday postings already up, here:
http://threecranes.org/blog/
LJ users, of course, can just read it here: 3cg_blog
I'm looking around to see if other Groves have blogs, too: a page of Grove Blogs might make a good addition to the ADF site, really.
This weekend, I intend to live-link a number of things on the site, from this blog to our new picture galleries, as well as a few Grove bios and new deity bios. I also found our very first newsletter and uploaded that, too.
Oh, and we have a new password for the members' side of the site. Check with a Crane who was at last night's business meeting for access :) That will also be live-linked this weekend.
Looks like I have several pages that I need to upload the most recent version of, too :)
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/sad.gif) uncomfortable
Current Music: "Coconut Telegraph", -JB
|
December 4th, 2007
03:59 pm - St. Barbara would understand these schemes and dreams and ploys. . .
An impressive quote today, in the comments on a story about "intelligent design" being taught in Florida schools:
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
--Phillip K. Dick
Evolution = Reality
Creationism = Belief
Intelligent Design = Snake Oil
Today is St. Barbara's Feast Day, and I'll be celebrating. I feel somewhat ashamed, though, that I can't do what I did last year: I think that St. Barbara will understand that I've spent my grocery budget already. So, it will be a very, very small party of three dining in celebration of the day. And besides, my gods, the kitchen is just a mess right now.
I think, to make up for this, I will have to ensure that I celebrate St. Gulik's Feast Day next year. On that day, maybe we'll make something he'd really like: fried gum on the bottom of a movie theatre seat, cookie crumbs from the back of the cupboards, and month-old Jell-O for dessert.
Then again, maybe we'll just make sure that it covers all five Discordian elements: Orange, Prickle, Boom, Sweet, and Pungent.
Damnit, why did I have to end up with a Discordian Saint as one of my patron saints?
Please St. Barbara, save our miserable skins!
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: discontent
Current Music: "Tampico Trauma", -JB
|
December 3rd, 2007
05:43 pm - Two months? Really?
Last night, I made a resolution to write to the inmate I work with, and to do so once per week. I realized recently that I was already writing something for the Grove once per week, so I might as well package that and send it off. If nothing else, it will help someone feel like they're a part of something.
Today, I also sent my old Yule Ritual, which was written so that it could be done without offerings. I have recently been thinking about writing a full cycle of 8 solitary rites. Hell, I already write them for me; it wouldn't be hard to actually type them up.
It's been almost two months since I've written to the prison, though. I feel terrible about that: it's not like I'm not thinking about it, because it consumes a high portion of my thoughts. But, like all things, I have trouble actually managing to do it sometimes. I hope that I can manage to send things more often. I recently told my best friend that I spend so much time thinking about people, and enjoying the thoughts and the knowledge that I love them deeply, but I don't ever remember to say it. I don't call people up to tell them I was thinking about them. I don't send them letters, or I half-write them and don't send them because I get side-tracked.
Two months. Geez. What the hell, ya know? What the hell was I doing that was more important?
But then, I ask that question so often about so many things, it seems.
Current Location: Southeast of Disorder
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Waiting for the Next Explosion", -JB
|
|
|
