I always commemorate Presidents Day by remembering all (or many) of our presidents rather than just Washington and Lincoln: different themes each year have yielded interesting perspectives on both the institution and the individuals. This year, for instance, as I looked through several archives of textiles associated with presidential campaigns and commemoration, I was surprised to ascertain […]
A little child will lead them all. For the past few days I’ve been seeing superheroes. Superheroes like Emma Gonzalez, a teenager standing in the middle of unthinkable grief, speaking the boldest, most courageous truth to a country starved for it and to leaders willfully resistant to own it. In days that should be filled……
via Gun-Defending Adults, Listen to Our Children — john pavlovitz
Last week, it seems like yesterday, and it seems like a hundred years ago, I was at San Miniato al Monte monastery and cemetery in Florence, Italy.
The church was built in the year 1018 with no power tools, and workers who no doubt couldn’t even write their own names. It is beauty from a dark time.
It was an unexpected, moving, and beautiful find.
We (my husband, children and I) expected to find an old monastery at the highest point in Florence. We did not expect to find the huge cemetery surrounding it.
There was not enough time to spend there. I could have spent a week looking at the hundreds of touching statues that spoke of memories, but there by those who loved and those who lost their hearts. So many dates were from the 1940’s. So many were children.
The ghosts lurked far from us, watching us…
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What’s more fun that a space alien, dolphins in space AND cats in space? Not much.
Strange Adventures in a Deviant Universe – WPAD Science Fiction.
The critics say: Smart, Funny, Frightening, Intelligent, Entertaining, and IT MADE ME THINK.
Click on the link below to find out how to get your beautiful Deviant Universe Book and Poster.
via Beautiful Science Fiction Pin-Up Poster (How to get yours)
A Christmas Tradition – One of my favorite Christmas stories.
People don’t know who or what we are. We’ve kept it that way for centuries, as stories and myths over ride any sense of reality in the minds of men.
In December of 1875 tragedy came into our lives. My best friend Isabelle fell under the spell of rogue Vampires and almost killed my brother Max’s best friend, who was the son of my parent’s closest regular human friends. You see, for those of you who are new here, we’re Vampires. As part of the Modern Vampire movement, we go by the rule that nobody is ever turned into a Vampire without consent.
Anyway, scandal was the only word for it. Theodore Kings, my brother’s 26 year old friend was not only the smartest and most handsome regular human any of us had ever met, he was…
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These look absolutely wonderful!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
I made cookies!! Yes indeed, I really did. Most of you who know me are aware that me and flour and baking don’t really get along so well. And they actually came out pretty spectacular if I don’t say so myself. (Oh but my family told me too, along with my book club members at our cookie exchange, and the kind folks at my seasonal post office job!)
I first tried this recipe back in November, but the cookies didn’t come out so great texture- and shape-wise because of my high altitude. So I did a bunch of research, prepared a double batch, and set to experiment on cookie dough shape, oven temps, and timing.
The original recipe comes from my foodie friend Jodi over at The Creative Life In Between. I’ll share her original instructions, along with my high-altitude adjustments for those of you who share…
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Get this beautiful poster of Strange Adventures in a Deviant Universe with artwork by Jason Kemp as a THANK you for reading, enjoying, and sharing what you think.
The 13 x 20 inch posters are printed on beautiful paper – ready to frame or in to your wall.
Strange Adventures in a Deviant Universe – WPAD Science Fiction.
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Useful article for all bloggers and writers (and a fun read.) Thank you Nichole!
This is wonderful. A mood. A picture. A thought. A spirit. A door.
It’s almost Christmas- it’s time for Ghost stories and thoughts to chill your bones.
I thought I’d start off with a small scare.
It’s about doors- ones that we can only hope will stay
shut.
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Photo A.M. Moscoso
Photo A.M. Moscoso
The Empty Hall in the ” Raven ” by Poe
The Ripper’s last victim.
Nightmares.
Things that wait for us
patiently
in the dark
behind closed doors.
As most of you already know I don’t say certain things were meant to be. I don’t believe that bad things, or even most good things happen for a reason. What reason is there for a child to get cancer? What reason is there for someone to lose a limb, or a job, or a home to fire, or the freedom of speech? Bad things can make us stronger, or wiser, or closer to those we love, but that does not make them good, or reasonable.
I do believe in a certain amount of what I’ll call, for no other words, magic.
Let me tell you a story about something amazing. It is a story of magic. It is a story of creativity. It is a story of a group of people meeting by chance over the Internet and doing wonderful, amazing, magical things together – through love of storytelling…
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Dear Diary,
I missed the entire 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
I missed the Industrial Revolution. I missed the American Revolution. I missed the advent of electricity, flight, recorded sound, the telegraph, moving pictures, smooth jazz, photography, the Wild West, Art Deco, and most of all I missed the Victorian era. Yes, it seems that there was a period in which a great small sour looking Queen named Victoria ruled the world, told people not to make love, and then had many children herself. I do not understand that logic, but rulers are not often driven by logic.
Before I came into this modern world I now call home, I was living in a period now which is now called Baroque. I thought we would never change. I could not have been better. I loved the clothing. I loved the music. Life was good, especially if one was a Vampire…
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I’m going to confess something here.
One would think that I would gorge myself on spooky movies and books and music during the month of October.
But I don’t- I do a lot of writing and I actually get into my photography more and I do decorate but for the most part I indulge in ghost stories in all the formats that the modern world offers and my writing even takes on a darker edge during the Christmas Season.
It may have something to do with the fact that when my family gets together we used to end up telling ghost stories, or weird stories about the human oddities we all seemed to run into during the Spring and Summer.
I heard my first stories about demonic possession at a Christmas Party when I was about 8 years old and when I got back to school after Christmas break I went…
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The voice on the phone whispered, “are you coming over today?”
Why Tellias always whispers on the phone I will never know.
“I’m on my way,” I said. “I’m stuck on Hazel in the never-ending construction, but I’m on my way.”
“Good,” he said in a papery thin voice. “I have a lot to tell you.” Then he hung up.
A 2054 year old Vampire can have a lot to say, so I picked up a case of Poet’s Blood at Dave’s Bottle Shop.
When I arrived at the Queen Ann style farmhouse Tellias and Eleora were waiting for me on the front porch. Tellias was wearing tuxedo pants, a slate blue workshirt with the name Jose stitched on the pocket, and yellow flip flops. His pale blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Elena was wearing white Go Go boots, a red mini skirt, a black fake fur…
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