Arts and Entertainment

The Human Canvas in Review

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The Human Canvas, an art show directed by Rochester resident Rebecca Coleman and sponsored by Naturist Rochester, took the stage at the Visual Studies Workshop on Sunday, January 21, at 2:00 pm. The show derived its name from the fact that the artwork was painted onto the bodies of seven models by Coleman and a fellow artist who wishes to remain anonymous. The designs ranged from the amorphous and swirling patterns that were painted on the models representing Fire (Cinnamea Sweet) and Water (Joe Piazza), to the intricately detailed patterns that were painted onto Mother Earth (Ginger Wilbert) and Death (Grace Kellie).

The painting was performed in stages, and each model traversed the length of the catwalk after each stage was painted, allowing audience members to view the work as it progressed. Performance art was also incorporated into the show, as each model not only worked to portray the life event or elemental force they represented, but also interacted with the Man (David Burmingham) as the show progressed.

Unlike all other models, the artwork for Man was not painted in stages. This artwork had been completed prior to the beginning of the show, allowing it to be far more detailed and complex. Instead, Man entered into the show clothed and the underlying patterns were revealed in parts as the other models removed parts of his attire throughout the show.

The show moved at a smooth and captivating pace, a tribute to the artist?s talent, as they worked hard to paint each new stage of artistic development quickly enough to keep the show moving. The length of time each model spent traversing the catwalk gave the audience plenty of time to appreciate the patterns while keeping the show moving along. Music, mostly dominated by powerful rhythms and percussion instruments, added to the primal nature the show was designed to convey and helped draw those watching into the experience.

When the final stage of the progression had been completed, the house lights were brought up and Coleman announced each model?s name and presented them with a bouquet. As each model accepted their bouquet, they then made one final traversal of the catwalk, giving everyone an opportunity to see the artwork more clearly under bright lighting conditions.

Models not already mentioned were Birth (Rhoda Brown) and Metal (Micha Callan).

Introspection, Memories, Personal Development, Writing

I feel like a writer

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I’ve been keeping a copy of Harald’s Story in a Word document. Tonight, I printed out a copy of it so I could share it with a couple of local friends. I’m amazed at how long it’s getting. It already spilled onto page eighteen, and the hero and his associates haven’t even set sail yet.

Of course, I also have to admit that I’m a bit nervous. I have no only the vaguest idea of how the story is going to proceed once Harald and company set sail. So I currently feel like I’m glibly writing my way off the edge of a cliff, so to speak. But I do take some comfort in the knowledge that when I originally started thinking about the story, I only had the first couple scenes planned and a very basic premise for the rest of the story. And since I’ve started writing, I’ve already developed that kernel into the seven “chapters” I’ve written so far, and I have a good grasp of the contents of at least three more chapters. So hopefully, the rest will come as I progress just like the current material has slowly developed.

But more importantly, I’ve rediscovered my love of writing fiction. I haven’t felt this excited about a story I was working on since I tried to work on the series of stories surrounding my characters Keylar and Amira. That was back just before Zech and I broke up (the break up that influenced my choice to abandon that story). Here I am, eight years later, and I’m feeling quite accomplished. Who knows, maybe I’ll eventually be able to “rediscover” Keylar’s story and return to it. I’ve always felt sad that I could never get myself back to a point where I could continue it. But in the meantime, I’m happy with my current project. Here’s to hoping things continue to go in such a positive direction.

Religion

Are Virginia Christians heading for a repeat lesson?

Bill Carrico, a state legislator in Virginia, has introduced HJ724, a proposed amendment to the state constitution that is designed to protect religious freedom, particular one’s right to express religious those religious views or participate in religious activity on public property. The exact paragraph that would be added to Section 16 of Article 1 is as follows:

To secure further the people’s right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience, neither the Commonwealth nor its political subdivisions shall establish any official religion, but the people’s right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including public schools, shall not be infringed.

Now personally, I don’t care if this resolution ultimately passes or not. However, it does strike me as needless and repetitive, which is apparently the same criticism the ACLU made of this legislation when it was originally introduced in 2005, according to the Galax Gazette. Truth be told, there is already legislation to uphold individual’s rights to participate in non-mandatory religious activity on public property. This right has been backed up in several court cases, as well. As such, one must wonder what good adding yet another piece of legislation to protect an already-protected right will do.

Of course, one must wonder about Carrico’s reasons for reintroducing this bill, and whether it will accomplish what he proposes. Carrico explained the need for the bill to the Galax Gazette as follows:

The amendment is needed to stem challenges against things like the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance and “in God we trust” on U.S. currency, Carrico said of his renewed efforts.

Now personally, I find the argument over the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency to be rather silly. But I want to specifically look at the matter of the pledge. The challenge to the pledge that I have seen is that students in some schools are expected to recite the pledge every morning. Some people, particularly atheists, have objected to this practice, as it requires them or their children to recite a pledge which currently includes a phrase affirming a certain belief aboout not a Supreme Being’s existence, but said Being’s relationship with reguards to our country. The challenge is that being required to say this pledge forces students to verbally endorse a particular religious belief — or even any religious belief.

This is where Carrico’s proposed amendment will not sufficiently address that challenge. Notice the last statement in the resolution’s summary:

The current constitutional provision parallels the federal free exercise and establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution and provides for the free exercise of religion “according to the dictates of conscience” and prohibits the General Assembly from compelling persons to participate in religious activity.

Noticed the italicized portion. No part of the resolution proposes to change that prohibition. So if requiring a student to say the pledge requires them to affirm a particular belief — or any belief at all — then such a requirement can still be challenged as unconstitutional. So Carrico’s resolution is not only needlessly redundant, but doesn’t even have the effect he intends. One might find oneself wondering what the point is, then.

Of course, to me, I find myself wondering if Virginians have considered that they are yet again opening a Pandora’s box. After all, it was only this past December that numerous Christians become upset when they realized that Liberty Counsel opened the door to allow Pagans to distribute invitations to their Yule festivities through the Albemarl County school system’s “backpack mail” when they championed the cause of Gabriel and Joshua Rakoski’s desire to use the same flier distribution system earlier in the year. I find myself wondering if Carrico has had the foresight to advise his Christian supporters that his amendment will similarly strengthen the (already well defensible) cause of any Wiccan students who wish to hold ritual on school property outside of school hours. After all, it would be quite embarassing for Christians to realize this too late and cry foul after the fact once again.

Introspection, Meta-Blogging

The problem with sources

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At some point in the last twenty four hours, one of my favorite liberal Christian bloggers made an update to a post he made about claims that the National Park Service staff were prohibited from giving an answer about the Grand Canyon’s age. This claim was made based on a statement issued by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, aka PEER. Bob’s update was to let everyone know that these claims appear to be unfounded and to apologize for being duped. He also provided a link to a lengthy explanation and retraction posted by Skeptic Magazine, who had also been duped by the story.

This is a clear case where some relatively simple fact checking (namely calling the National Park Services and asking whoever answers the phone whether they could comment on the age of the grand canyon) could have saved both Bob and the folks at Skeptic Magazine the trouble of wiping a considerable amount of egg off their face. Both parties admit this. But I don’t wish to be critical of them, as I can completely empathize with their position. Truth be told, this could have happened to me as easily as it happened to them. I’ve been known to trust sources without much fact checking as well, and I certainly don’t want Bob or the folks at Skeptic Magazine pointing their fingers at me and laughing should our roles ever be reversed.

Instead, I want to focus on the frightening (to me, at least) reality that this could happen to anyone. It’s easy to spread information simply because a source we trusted had an off day or otherwise got their information wrong. Perhaps their source was incorrect. After all, misinformation can get spread even when there’s no deceitful intent on anyone’s part. I’m reminded of Bogaert’s statistical study that I blogged about back in August as a prime example of that. An aquaintance had blogged about an LA Times article on the topic. After searching for the original study and reading it, I concluded that the newspaper article was somewhat misleading about the conclusions of the study. Granted, that writer hadn’t gone as far as repeating blogus claims, but I feel it’s still an issue.

So I find myself wondering what level of responsibility I, both as a conscientious individual and a blogger, need to take on when it comes to verifying my sources? The ultimate solution would obviously involve me checking every fact for myself as directly as possible. Unfortunately, I’m not a paid journalist. I have another full time job. And even my free time is split between multiple projects. So while the ultimate solution is attractive, it’s simply not feasible. So what would be a more reasonable solution?

Another obvious albeit vague solution would be to only use reliable sources. But how does one determine what sources are reliable? And don’t even reliable sources make mistakes? (I suspect Skeptics Magazine and any other journalistic group whose had to publish a correction or retraction would answer that question with a resounding “yes.”)

I don’t think I have an answer to my questions. I’m not sure anyone does. (Though I’m more than willing to listen to them if they do). But I suspect I will struggle with those questions for some time now.

Religion, Witchcraft

Concepts in Magic: Creation

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Back around Christmas, I read a blog entry by Mark in which he describes the difference between magic and miracle. While he was mainly investigating the topic while examining literature, particularly Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, it got me to thinking about the nature of magic as I understand it. This line of thought was further stimulated this past week while working on my Review of the movie, “The Covenant.” As a result I’ve decided to start a small series of posts on various concepts I consider important to the practice of magic.

For those who find this and any future entries while searching for spells or practical advice on casting spells, I must inform you that you will be severely disappointed. This is not my intent, as I generally do not believe that a public blog (or most other forms of Internet communication, for that matter) is an appropriate medium for disseminating that kind of information. Instead, this and future posts will be theoretical in nature, covering concepts whose understanding will, in my opinion, at least, enhance a witch’s ability to ply her magical craft.

The first important concept to understand is that creation is not a “done deal.” While many religious traditions teach that God or some other Divine Source created the universe like a “master clockmaker” who assembled everything and wound everything up enough to last for the rest of its existence, a witch understands that the creative forces are still in progress. They see the universe not so much as a mechanical wind-up toy, but as a living thing that has a more organic life. Under such a paradigm, both creation and desctruction are ongoing activities. In Norse mythology, this is represented by Yggdrasil, the world tree which holds up the nine realms. This tree is constantly being nourished so that it grows. That growth is then controlled by the harts which feast on its leaves and the wyrms that gnaw at its roots.

Norse mythology further corroborates that the creation process was not a “one time deal,” at least indirectly, when you consider that there is not a single creation myth in the lore, but a series of stories describing different aspects of creation. In one tale you have the uncovering of Ymir and Audhumla when the fires of Muspelheim and icy waters of Nifleheim combine, while in another tale, you have the creation of man and woman from trees by Odin and his brothers. (Indeed, one might go so far to ask who or what created the trees that were turned to human and when they were created.) This all suggests that the universe unfolded over a period of time.

More importantly, it suggests that there were a great number of players in the creation process. Creation was not done by a single Supreme Being all at once, but was a process where many forces and beings built upon one another’s part of the process. This brings us to the next part of the creation concept: We are participants in the process of creation as well as part of the outcome.

To underscore this concept, I again draw upon Norse mythology. As I mentioned earlier, Yggdrasil is nourished daily. The task of providing this nourishment is left to three giant maidens known as the Norns. These Norns are the embodiment of the Norse concept of wyrd, which can be roughly described as a hybrid of the more familiar concepts of fate and karma. (This is naturally an oversimplification, but a more careful examination of wyrd deserves its own post, which I hope to offer at a later date.) Upon applying this understanding to the myth, the symbolism becomes clear: The universe itself is propagated and nourished by the actions of all who are a part of it. In effect, the universe and its constituant parts, through their actions, guide its own own development and the creative process that is unfolding.

Magical work involves understanding this basic principle and applying it by acting in ways to influence the continuing process of creation in specific ways. Or as Crowley put it, it’s a matter of “effecting change in accordance with will.”

An understanding of creation as an ongoing process addresses one of the issues inherent in Mark’s characterization of magic. Under a paradigm in which creation is a completed process performed long ago by a single Creator, it’s hard not to see any attempt to alter that creation as a “twisting” of said creation. Furthermore, it’s inevitable that one sees that “twisting” as a purely negative and evil thing. The perfect clock cannot be enhanced, and therefore any changes are obviously bad.

An organic understanding of a universe that is still going through the creation process, however, allows for a universe that can be changed both for the better and for the worse. In such a system, especially a system which recognizes every individual as a co-creator anyway, influencing the process becomes natural and understandable. The question of whether said influence is negative or positive becomes a matter of further ethical consideration.

Movies, Paganism, Witchcraft

Movie Musings: The Covenant

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Seeing as I’m still only working part time, I had today off. One of the things I did to pass some of my day off was to watch the copy of The Covenant that I had rented. It was an interesting movie, and I mostly enjoyed it. I’m certainly glad that I did not waste the money to see it in the theater, however. It would not have been worth the extra expenditure.

The basic premise of the movie was actually quite good, and the special effects were about what you’d expect in such a supernatural thriller. (Though to be honest, I’m not sure it deserves that designation.) There were certain plot elements that were rather noteworthy, such as the idea of one person being able to will their power to another with the caveat that doing so would mean death for the one giving up their power. Unfortunately, these concepts were underdeveloped in many cases. Also, the concept of a darkling was introduced, but never sufficiently explained. Indeed the appearances of the darkling in the movie served little purpose, other than providing a convenient way to let the main characters know someone was “using.”

The other poorly emphasized plot element was at the end where Caleb’s mother visits her aged and dying husband. As a result of that meeting, Caleb’s father wills his power to the younger man, enabling him to defeat Chase. Such a sacrifice deserved much more attention than the brief blip in the final battle.

Of course, like any good thriller, they left the obligatory opening for a sequel. In the end, no sign of Chase was never found, leaving the characters and moviegoers alike to wonder whether the power-mad youth was truly gone or merely biding his time for another attempt at his goal. To be hoenst, I think that such a movie that shut all the doors on the possibility of a future sequel would be a refreshing change of pace.

When this movie originally came out, several friends in the Pagan community expressed their concern about it. They were concerned that this movie would create an insurge of youths with warped ideas of what real magic and Pagan spirituality was about looking to form “covenants” and gain the kinds of power wielded by the characters in this movie. And this concern is not unfounded. After all, I’ve fielded my own share of requests for spells to change one’s hair color or eye color from girls who had recently watched The Craft.

However, I think that the life-threatening aspect of “the power” in this movie might mitigate the tendency for boys and young men looking for the fast path to power after watching this movie. After all, I don’t know of many youths who are prepared to sacrifice their youth, let alone their lives, in the pursuit of power. So as long as said youths don’t try to separate that aspect of the movie’s premise from the rest, I’m hopeful that we won’t see an upsurge of “Covenant wannabes” in the near future. Indeed, in some ways, I’m thankful that Hollywood imposed some “price” on these characters in exchange for their powers, as I’m tired of magic being presented as a “get everyhing for nothing” ventures.

Personally, I think the bigger concern is that too many people will take the cautionary message in this movie too much to heart. I can see this movie reinforcing popular images of magic and the occult arts involving some sort of pact in which a person gives up their lives, youth, soul, or other “thing of value” for power. Unfortunately, this notion is no more realistic than the “something for nothing” concept expressed by other movies.

Of course, the underlying problem behind both concerns is the simple mater that we no longer require our youths to develop the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction, espcially when that fiction is presented to them via a large screen and surround sound.

Books, Paganism, Religion

Spending time with the Volsungs

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Over this past weekend, I decided to buy and read a copy of The Saga of the Volsungs. It was a relatively easy read, at only about 109 pages (with 20 of those pages being part of the translator’s introduction). I got through it in a couple of days — and it only took me that long because I was taking my time and taking breaks in between reading.

One of the first things that struck me is just how many themes it has in common with Tolkein’s books. The most notable one was the “broken sword reforged” motiff. In the saga, Sigmund’s sword (gifted to him by none other than Odin) is broken during the battle in which he falls. The fragments of the sword are then rescued from the battlefield by his wife, who later gives them to their son, Sigurd, so that he can have a new sword forged from them. This new sword is even stronger, and eventually enables Sigurd to kill the dragon, Fafnir. As I read the story, I couldn’t help but think of Aragorn’s sword the entire time. Of course, Tolkein’s tale lacks the whole part of the story where Regin tries unsuccessfully to forge Sigurd a satisfactory blade before the hero asks his mother for the fragments of his father’s sword.

The other thing I noted was how the gods and feats of magic were flawlessly weaved into the first half of the saga. Odin makes several appearances, both helping various heros and bringing about the doom of one (Sigmund). sadly, the fact that this saga is about warriors pretty much guarantees a strong presence of Odin rather than appearances of Vanic deities, but enough of my biases. I can at least take comfort in the fact that the mention of the she-wolf who kills Sigmund’s brothers being a shape-shifted witch probably shows some Vanic influences in the tale, even if poorly aspected. It made for a rather interesting read.

Reading the saga also reaffirmed just how family-oriented ancient Scandinavian society really was. Seeing how each family was left to seek justice — or more accurately, vengeance — for the wrongs done against their kin demonstrated the lack of central authority that historical commentaries can only describe in bland words. Of course, it also demonstrates just how treacherous individuals living in such a society truly can be.

The other thing I noted is that the ancient saga writers were not exactly verbose or descriptive in their tales. Actions are described matter-of-factly, and little attention is given to scenic details, if any attention is given at all. As such, the reading tends to be on the bland side, and doesn’t spark the imagination as much as one might hope. But it was well worth reading, for cultural/religious reasons.

According to one Amazon reviewer, another translator has published a copy of this saga with the Icelandic and their translation side-by-side. I may have to see if I can find a copy. It didn’t come up on Amazon, unfortunately.

Family, Grief

Remembering loved ones a bit late

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As I mentioned in my previous entry, my family suffered a tragedy during the time that my blog was offline. During the early afternoon of December 31, 2006, my Aunt Betty and Uncle Fred were killed in an automobile accident just a few miles from their home in Virginia. The Washington Post has an article which describes the details of the accident fairly well. Since the article was written, I believe that the two surviving victims of the collision (the driver of the van and her 5 year old daughter) have been released from the hospital. The woman, however, did lose a leg.

The whole experience was indescribable. My family first found out about the accident that afternoon when my father’s sister, Jennifer, called from York. Apparently, Uncle Fred’s daughter, Faith, called her. When Aunt Jennifer got through, she was hysterical. In fact, my mother had to ask her a couple of times who was calling because she couldn’t recognize Aunt Jennifer’s voice. During that call, we found out that Aunt Betty had died, but Uncle Fred’s status was still unknown. Aunt Jennifer called back about an hour later with the rest of the bad news.

Much of the rest of the night was spent relaying details to other members in my father’s family, as well as fielding calls from concerned friends who wanted to offer their condolences. we did manage to keep our standard New Year’s Eve tradition of getting friends and family together to play cards and eat snacks. And a good time was had by all, even with the underlying sadness and frequent phone interruptions.

One of the things that really struck me was how various people in my family chose to deal with the grieving process. Most notable was my aunt, Marlene, who went into overdrive in her role as the unofficial family historian. She spent much of Sunday and Monday trying to get as much information about Uncle Fred and Aunt Betty and their lives (including the details of Uncle Fred’s military service) and writing it all down. You’d have sworn that if she didn’t get it all in order right then, the information would be lost forever. But it kept her busy and allowed her to keep them alive in her heart and honor them in her own way.

To be honest, I’m not sure how I’ve dealt with this loss. I think that writing this blog entry is my way of grieving, in many ways. After all, the best way I can honor my aunt and uncle is to share them with the rest of the world. I just wish I had more memories to share.

One thing that I found surprising is how much it bothered me to not be able to attend the funeral services. Due to being out of work so much, I felt I couldn’t afford to give up the hours I was scheduled to work last week. And as the funeral was down in Virginia, I would’ve had to called off the entire week. And while my boss certainly would have understood if I chose to do so, I doubt my debtors would’ve been so understanding when I had no money to pay them.

Normally, I don’t think much of funeral services. I think they’re horribly long and dreadfully dull. And I certainly don’t think I get a lot out of them, personally. I’d rather take care of my own grieving and even my own goodbyes (as when I visited my grandfather’s grave the weekend after his funeral) more privately. But I realize now that the one thing I do like about attending funerals of loved ones is the communal aspect. While it may not be how I express my grief best, I do like being with my loved ones as they grieve, too.

Uncle Fred and Aunt Betty, you will be missed. May your souls find peace and comfort until they return to this world anew.

Meta-Blogging

And I’m back

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I’m pleased to announce that this blog is now back online. I’d like to apologize to my readers for the lengthy delay. The original plan was to move to a new hosting service over the weekend before New Year’s Day and be back up in time to celebrate 2007. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men…

Originally I had everything downloaded from my previous service by December 28. So on December 29, I contacted the new service I had decided to go with. I had some experience with their services, as they currently hose the website for Paths of the Old Ways, and a friend had nothing but wonderful things to say about them. Unfortunately, my experiences were radically different. Let’s just say that despite charging my credit card for a two year subscription on December 29, they had not provided me with the details to log into my account and upload my site when I called and demanded a refund this morning. And this was in spite of the fact that I contacted them several times via email and phone to get this information. Each time I talked to them, i was assured that the matter would be taken care of “immediately,” only to be forgotten immediately instead.

Fortunately, I spent today finding a much more attentive and responsive company to host this blog and my other sites. Indeed, despite the fact that I only signed on with them today, they’ve worked with me to get everything set up in under eight hours. So to my new hosting service, I say, “Thank you and may the gods smile upon you always.”

Beyond that, I hope everyone had a pleasant New Year. Mine was okay, though somewhat darkened by a family tragedy. But I’ll go into more details about that in an upcoming entry.

Meta-Blogging

Preparing for a move

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Howdy, folks. This is a quick entry to let you know that I’m getting ready to change webhosting services. I will spend the next day or two downloading all of my webpages on three subdomains, creating a backup copy of my Movable Type database, aquiring hosting elsewhere, and restoring everything to the new site. I hope to have everything done by the start of the new year, but who knows what will happen.

From your perspective, the change should be transparent. I’ll still be located at the northerngrove.com domain. So once I’ve gotten set back up and the new DNS information has propogated, things will be business as usual.

In preparation for the move, I’m disabling comments and trackbacks. That way, nothing gets lost once I start the moving process. I hope all my readers have a wonderful new year, and I’ll see you when the dust settles.

The thoughts of a gay witch living in upstate New York.