Thứ Năm, 30 tháng 4, 2015
New Bessie Smith Movie Coming Out
I'm excited to see it. I wonder if there will be any references to hoodoo as there are in Bessie's songs. I'm also really pleased that they are not whitewashing her sexuality. Bessie was at best bisexual but I strongly feel that she was a lesbian who only married men out of societal pressure. I'm also pleased that Queen Latifah is playing Bessie Smith. The movie debuts on HBO on May 16, 2015.
Bessie Smith - Lady Luck Blues (1923)
In Lady Luck Blues, Bessie sings about various good luck charms and rites, such as horseshoes and knocking on wood, as well as mentions performing a work involving using goofer dust in a love rite to draw her man back. I've always wondered if this song was truly about a man or was Bessie simply changing the gender and pronouns of her lover in order to create a song that was acceptable to society of that time.
Trivia: After Bessie died in a car crash at the age of 43 she was buried in an unmarked grave. Janis Joplin, who credited Bessie for her inspiration, later paid for a headstone for her grave.
Thứ Tư, 29 tháng 4, 2015
Book Review - The Art Of Hoodoo Candle Magic By Cat Yronwode
The book is, The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic by Catherine Yronwode.
I almost didn't read this book. I had been tipped off by a couple of people that everything in the book can be read for free on Cat's site. After eventually breaking down and reading it I can guarantee you that everything in the book can be found on Cat's site or easily elsewhere online. I can also assure you that this information is also the same information that she teaches in her hoodoo course, that is the candle magic part. So if you want to save money by just reading her website or even printing out pages of her website for your own personal use you can. If you want everything compiled into one book then you can purchase and read the book.
The info itself is good and gives not only a basic overview of hoodoo candle magic but also gets into some specific areas with detail, such as loading and butting candles.
The one issue I do have with the book is the author's inclusion of another man's work. The author included Mikhail Strabo's book, How To Conduct A Candlelight Service. The author is long dead but the material is presented as if it is an official collaboration between the two authors. The material of Strabo's book has a completely different tone that Yronwode's book and should not have been included in my opinion.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, I give this book a 7. I have to take off points because the information is available for free online. If the information was not available for free online I would easily give it an 8 or 9. The information itself is still good though.
I almost didn't read this book. I had been tipped off by a couple of people that everything in the book can be read for free on Cat's site. After eventually breaking down and reading it I can guarantee you that everything in the book can be found on Cat's site or easily elsewhere online. I can also assure you that this information is also the same information that she teaches in her hoodoo course, that is the candle magic part. So if you want to save money by just reading her website or even printing out pages of her website for your own personal use you can. If you want everything compiled into one book then you can purchase and read the book.
The info itself is good and gives not only a basic overview of hoodoo candle magic but also gets into some specific areas with detail, such as loading and butting candles.
The one issue I do have with the book is the author's inclusion of another man's work. The author included Mikhail Strabo's book, How To Conduct A Candlelight Service. The author is long dead but the material is presented as if it is an official collaboration between the two authors. The material of Strabo's book has a completely different tone that Yronwode's book and should not have been included in my opinion.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, I give this book a 7. I have to take off points because the information is available for free online. If the information was not available for free online I would easily give it an 8 or 9. The information itself is still good though.
Thứ Hai, 27 tháng 4, 2015
Thứ Sáu, 24 tháng 4, 2015
Thứ Tư, 22 tháng 4, 2015
Spirit Dream
So my granddad passed away before New Years. Well, the other night I had my first dream of him. In the dream he and my grandma, who is still living but paralyzed from a stroke, were sitting in this house or living-room setting that I did not recognize. My granddad told me that I could kill someone by shooting a bullet at some one's picture. Don't ask me why he said that, he just did. Then my granddad starting asking questions about pictures and wanting me to show them to him or tell him about some pictures. I didn't know what he meant and I told him that. Well, he looked a bit frustrated and then my grandmother tried to talk but started to cough something fierce. I then wake up. Not the next day but the day after I was talking to my sister-in-law and I mentioned the dream. She then told me to go talk to my dad because my dad was talking about pictures. So the day after that I went and talked to my dad. It turned out that the day before my dream my dad had gone to my uncle's house and had gotten a whole box full of old pictures of the family from decades ago and was going through them. So I smiled and knew it was an actual spirit visitation and not just a dream.
Thứ Hai, 20 tháng 4, 2015
2 Year Anniversary Of Quitting Smoking
April 10th was my 2 year anniversary of quitting smoking. I can't believe how far I have come. The entire trip has been relatively smooth and easy. I have not once cheated and smoked a cigarette, although I still continue to smoke in my dreams. In fact, last night I had another smoking dream, a dream where I am smoking a cigarette and am enjoying it only to then realize that I had quit smoking. I normally wake up feeling guilty. However, in waking life I have no desire to smoke a cigarette. In fact, they now repulse me. I get ill when I smell a cigarette.
When I start vaping I started on about 24mg of nicotine e-liquid and then worked down to 12mg, then 6mg and now I vape 3mg nicotine e-liquid. So the next step would be to move down to 1mg nicotine e-liquid, if they even make such. However, I'm in no hurry to quit vaping as I really enjoy it and of course it's safer than cigarettes.
The battle for vaping rights is not over with. The FDA continues to threaten new legislation that would be implemented next year that would basically hand over the entire industry to Big Tobacco and force people back to smoking cigarettes by making the vaping experience be unsatisfying. Additionally, many state and local governments are going all-out Nazi against e-cigs and vaping and are trying to pass draconian laws. In once city, sorry can't recall offhand, they want to make it illegal to vape in a vaping shop. That's how insane the haters can be.
I still encourage current smokers to try vaping. I would very much like for all current smokers to transition over to e-cigs. However, the main hurdle is the stubbornness and stupidity of some smokers who think that since they are currently healthy then therefore they don't need to transition. Well, the whole point is to transition before you develop adverse health problems from smoking, not to wait until they develop. The reason being is that some people don't get a second chance to try to change their life around. If a person waits until they are diagnosed with COPD then they need to realize that they will never be cured or recover from it. They will have it the rest of their lives.
Just to recap some benefits of vaping:
-No stink.
-No staining of teeth or fingers.
-No having to go outside in the heat or cold. (When I was a smoker I was so addicted I would stand outside during a raging thunderstorm just to smoke.)
-Breathe easier. The smokers' cough quickly disappears after transitioning.
-Huge choice of flavors.
-No tar means no cancer-causing chemicals.
-No offending of nearby people. The majority of people are cool with e-cigs and people vaping. Only a few paranoid Nazis think that being near a person vaping i dangerous. I vape in public all the time and not once has anyone acted like they were offended or asked me to stop or go elsewhere to vape.
-Easy to get around bans. Even in places where there are e-cig bans it is incredibly easy to vape with no one knowing. Since there is no stench or smoke there is really no evidence that one was just vaping.
When you realize there really are no benefits of smoking then current smokers should realize that they need to transition. Current smokers should realize they are not in love with nor addicted to cancer-causing tar in cigarettes. It's the nicotine they are after and e-cigs completely satisfy that craving.
When I start vaping I started on about 24mg of nicotine e-liquid and then worked down to 12mg, then 6mg and now I vape 3mg nicotine e-liquid. So the next step would be to move down to 1mg nicotine e-liquid, if they even make such. However, I'm in no hurry to quit vaping as I really enjoy it and of course it's safer than cigarettes.
The battle for vaping rights is not over with. The FDA continues to threaten new legislation that would be implemented next year that would basically hand over the entire industry to Big Tobacco and force people back to smoking cigarettes by making the vaping experience be unsatisfying. Additionally, many state and local governments are going all-out Nazi against e-cigs and vaping and are trying to pass draconian laws. In once city, sorry can't recall offhand, they want to make it illegal to vape in a vaping shop. That's how insane the haters can be.
I still encourage current smokers to try vaping. I would very much like for all current smokers to transition over to e-cigs. However, the main hurdle is the stubbornness and stupidity of some smokers who think that since they are currently healthy then therefore they don't need to transition. Well, the whole point is to transition before you develop adverse health problems from smoking, not to wait until they develop. The reason being is that some people don't get a second chance to try to change their life around. If a person waits until they are diagnosed with COPD then they need to realize that they will never be cured or recover from it. They will have it the rest of their lives.
Just to recap some benefits of vaping:
-No stink.
-No staining of teeth or fingers.
-No having to go outside in the heat or cold. (When I was a smoker I was so addicted I would stand outside during a raging thunderstorm just to smoke.)
-Breathe easier. The smokers' cough quickly disappears after transitioning.
-Huge choice of flavors.
-No tar means no cancer-causing chemicals.
-No offending of nearby people. The majority of people are cool with e-cigs and people vaping. Only a few paranoid Nazis think that being near a person vaping i dangerous. I vape in public all the time and not once has anyone acted like they were offended or asked me to stop or go elsewhere to vape.
-Easy to get around bans. Even in places where there are e-cig bans it is incredibly easy to vape with no one knowing. Since there is no stench or smoke there is really no evidence that one was just vaping.
When you realize there really are no benefits of smoking then current smokers should realize that they need to transition. Current smokers should realize they are not in love with nor addicted to cancer-causing tar in cigarettes. It's the nicotine they are after and e-cigs completely satisfy that craving.
Thứ Sáu, 17 tháng 4, 2015
Thứ Hai, 13 tháng 4, 2015
Thank You, St. Expedite
Once again, you have come through for me in my time of need in a very quick and efficient manner. Thank you, St. Expedite!
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