“The veil between the worlds is thin tonight.”
Or actually last Friday night. So they say. Of course, in all kinds of traditions including nominally Christian ones, the veil between worlds is reputed to be thin from All Hallows Eve to All Souls Day.
You couldn’t prove it by me. The veil (if any) between worlds (if any) remained its usual cement-thick self.
Vladka Peltel has those I wish I didn’t care about politics blues. She’s talking about this season’s billionaire disarm-the-peasants dream, Washington state Initiative 594 (which I agree inspires even my anti-v*ting soul to want to get out and you-know-what). If you don’t live in Washington and think I-594 doesn’t affect you, take another look. Win or lose, it affects us all. (And yes, this is politics and nooz and if it weren’t from TZP, I wouldn’t be linking it. Never fear, I’m also working on a post about hermitting, knitting, candlelight, and the veil between worlds. Coming soon.)
Just in time, Elizabeth Tate of Students for Liberty offers self-care tips for activists. I especially applaud, appreciate, and understand that last one: Make Something Tangible. In my experience it always helps if the materials used in the tangible “something” are earthy and natural: rock, brick, dirt, cotton, wool, wood, etc. Today I sort wool and locate matching wooden needles. Tomorrow … I knit. We’ll see about the day after. —– Via Rational Review News.
Been saving a couple of these links for weeks and surely should have posted them before Halloween afternoon. But … oh well. Happy Halloween, anyhow. Here you have: 23 cats who are so very over their Halloween costumes. And 15 dogs who don’t seem to mind their costumes quite as much. (Although I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them plotted revenge against their humans (H/T Karen). And for the humans, paralympian Josh Sundquist says when life gives you lemons … make Halloween costumes.
Yep, omphaloskepsis. That’s a new word I got from jed. High-falutin’ way of saying “navel gazing.”
That’s what I’m supposed to be doing, starting Saturday and going through the end of the year. I’ve gotten several nice messages wishing me “Happy Hermitting.” I’ll be here for you if you need me. I’ll be thinking of you. I hope you find what you’re looking for. Many of the messages are tinged with envy — busy parents and full-time workers and people with a thousand other commitments wishing they, too, could have a retreat.
I agree it’s a privilege. Absolutely.
ChrismaKwanzaaHannukahYule gift season is coming right up. Yes, stores are taking down their gauze cobwebs and pointy witches’ hats and soon endless repetitions of “The Little Drummer Boy” with thrum throughout the land.
Let me get ahead of the game by telling you briefly about one really cute book for the kids on your list.
The fact that the author is a very nice person who recently got (you’ll pardon my expression) scr*wed out of her socks is a factor in my recommendation — but a small one. The book is fun on its own merits. The fact that it was written by Sue Hensler Schmidt, who lost her job when JPFO peddled itself to SAF, just makes it personal.
Emory Hospital, which has successfully treated four U.S. Ebola sufferers, shares its learnings and its protocols. (Tip o’ hat to PT) Obamacare and the part-time workforce. I know this isn’t a good thing for people who want full-time work or for people who prefer honesty and small government. But in the long run, one of the best things that could happen to health insurance is to break its artificial link to employers. Maybe O’care will eventually do that. Flu shots: actually bad for the elderly. GOA alert to gun owners about our status as “domestic terrorists.” Nothing new or surprising;…
… 8,000 glowing balloons will outline the wall’s course. This is a visualization. More images here.
I have no idea what, if anything, these three topics have to do with each other. But they’re what’s on my mind, so here goes.
Okay, not hermitting yet. So here are some newslinks. Just vaporware so far, but Forbes thinks cops might soon add ‘Net-connected guns to their growing arsenal of monitoring gear. Nastiest political tactic of the year: siccing SWAT teams on your opponents and critics. A southerner apologizes for bigotry. But with the southerner being Fred Reed, things don’t quite come out the way northern liberals might wish. Nooz you can use (if you’re really into alternative housing): grain-bin homes. (I love the stuccoed one, but I’d like to know how you keep these things from getting hotter than the hinges of…
