Therioshamanism: Lupa Goes to the Death Cafe →
Yesterday I attended Portland’s first Death Cafe. No, this wasn’t a group of stereotypical goths moping over Poe and lovely cadavers. Instead, Death Cafes are a new phenomenon, local events in which people meet in a cafe to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss the realities of death. They’re often organized by people whose work revolves around death, such as end-of-life specialists, hospice nurses, and the like. Rather than being a showcase for local funeral services or an evangelizing platform for a particular way of approaching death, Death Cafes are opportunities for people to come together and talk about this rather taboo subject in a safe, confidential and nonjudgmental environment.
Here in the U.S., death isn’t something most people talk about, not unless it’s necessary. That leads to a lot of people feeling unprepared for dealing with it when it happens, and I include myself in that. For all that I surround myself with death–the remains of animals, plants and fungi, none of whose deaths I caused or witnessed myself–there’s still a lot that I don’t understand or accept about it. I haven’t experienced the sudden death of someone very close to me, for example, and though I know how heart-wrenching it can be, I’m not entirely sure how prepared I am for it. Rather than sit in dread, though, I’d rather find out from other people what their experiences have been, and what advice they might have for the day when I go through the same.
And that was one of the key benefits from yesterday’s event.
Read the rest here: http://therioshamanism.com/2013/04/29/lupa-goes-to-the-death-cafe/
Want to help create more ethical options for omnivores? →
The Portland Meat Collective has changed Portland’s relationship to meat. What’s next? Meat Collectives Across America.
I just donated to the Meat Collectives Across America Kickstarter! If you want to support an approach to producing and distributing meat that is good for the animals, the environment, and people’s understanding of where their meat comes from, please consider donating a few dollars to this project!
WOOHOO! Abney Park is headlining at GEAR Con in Portland this year!!! →
They’re one of the few musical acts that I really, really like to see live, and I always miss them when they’re in town. BUT NOT THIS TIME.
Heh. April Fool’s, steampunk style. (You can see the original—in text—here.)
PNW Pagans - Want to be a part of Sunfest’s main ritual? Info meeting in April!
Hey, all!
So just as a reminder, I’m the ritualist for this year’s Sunfest, held by Other Worlds of Wonder. This yearly Solstice festival has been a mainstay in the Portland and surrounding pagan community for a number of years, and this year it’ll be the weekend of June 20-23. They’ve asked me to design and lead the opening, main, and closing rituals this year, along with other activities.
The main ritual is going to be a walking pathworking; we’ll be traveling across the earth, beneath the sky, and into the ocean (metaphorically, of course) to discover just how much everything in this world relies on the Sun. I’m going to need some folks to help embody some of the beings folks will be meeting along the way.
To that end, I’m holding an informational meeting for those interested in being an active part of the ritual process! It’ll be Thursday, April 4, from 6pm - 7pm at Magnolia’s Corner at 4075 NE Sandy Blvd. in Portland. All are welcome, though do be aware that minors are not allowed after 7 (since it is a coffee and wine shop). We’ll be discussing the ritual itself, what you’ll need to do as a participant, how the ritual setting is structured, and other salient details.
There’s more information about the ritual and such that you can read up on here on my website, and if you can’t make the meeting but still want to be a part of the ritual, please feel free to contact me :)
Hey, Portlanders and those in the region—the Rose City Steampunk Film Festival has gone to TWO days this year, Sat. Feb 16 and Sun. Feb 17! You can see some of the films they’re showing here on the official website: http://www.steampunkfilmfestival.com/
Just a reminder—this is coming up THIS WEEKEND!
Hey, Portlanders and those in the region—the Rose City Steampunk Film Festival has gone to TWO days this year, Sat. Feb 16 and Sun. Feb 17! You can see some of the films they’re showing here on the official website: http://www.steampunkfilmfestival.com/
FFS. Really?
So apparently there’s a reality TV producer going around Portland this week trying to find pagans to go on some pagan-themed reality TV show (didn’t see that one coming, did you?) I’m really, really hoping that nobody falls for the “Oh, we’ll be ever so respectful!” line, because you know what? It’s reality TV. Its entire schtick is to make the people involved look as loony and awful and unlikable as possible.
Want to go on there to get noticed for your acting abilities/pagan celebrity status/somebody please buy your screenplay? It won’t work. You’ll be a flash in the pan, and if anyone remembers you it’ll either be other pagans who lost whatever respect they may have had for you because you went on the show and helped them portray paganism as this “weird, ooky-spooky cult”, or it’ll be professionals who don’t take you seriously for about the same reason. Nobody’s career was made by going on reality TV as the freak of the week, and you stand to have more damaged than gained in this endeavor.
Want to go on there to educate people about paganism and because you don’t want someone who’s a worse representative to go on there? Again, it won’t work. Anything profound or educational you might have to say will be edited out in favor of things that actually sell ratings.
Really, if you want to have any idea how reality TV has treated pagans, just watch Fiona Horne in Mad, Mad House, or Donna Thompson in Wife Swap, both from a few years ago. It’s not flattering, and it’s definitely not a good representation of what pagans are like in real life. Horne already had a strong media career prior to Mad, Mad House, and Thompson didn’t achieve overniught celebrity status in the process (nor were her actual accomplishments in life as a pagan and otherwise showcased), so why would it be any different for anyone else?
If you want an example of a good response to use if these people contact you, Anne Newkirk Niven, editor-in-chief of Sagewoman, Witches & Pagans, and other pagan magazines, put it really well here in this FB status. A choice quote:
This is why our community is so hostile to the whole “Reality Show Witches” gig — because we know instinctively that in order to make good television, you’ll have to ramp up the drama, wackiness, and general “not like the Jones’” vibe of the Pagan/Wiccan community. This is the *exact* opposite of how we want people to think about us. We want to be seen as normal, ordinary people — who just happen to believe in gods outside the Abrahamic paradigm — and that would make mind-numbingly dull television. In short, your “respectful” project is a null set — if it’s “reality” tv it has to be ramped up with drama, and that’s not respectful.
So, in short—if these people approach you, and you have any respect for yourself or your community, just tell them you’ll pass. It’s not worth it, and if they can’t find anyone to go on there, guess what? No show happens!
For Portland-area comic geeks/etc.
Hey Portlanders—in case you didn’t know, the Wizard World Comic Con happening next month is NOT a local convention! Unlike Stumptown and Rose City, this is a HUGE corporation putting on conventions across the country. They deliberately scheduled their convention the weekend before the Emerald City Comic Con up in Seattle, which is the biggest comic convention in the Pacific Northwest IIRC. I’m asking you as a lover of local culture and business to NOT patronize the Wizard World Comic Con! http://www.wizardworld.com/wizcon.html
Escape From Green Island →
Rest stops offer much needed rejuvenation to the weary, but not if travelers end up trapped. Then they’re just stuck with nowhere to go.
That’s exactly what’s been happening to native Chinook salmon and steelhead migrating in the McKenzie River. A tributary of the Willamette River, its cool, habitat-rich waters once flowed around Green Island near Eugene. But decades of agriculture, mining and dam construction so altered the lower McKenzie, the channel around the island now only fills partially, mainly during winter floods.
The result? Fish that swim into the channel during high water find good habitat. As water levels drop, however, the fish end up scattered in small pools and ponds fed by groundwater springs. They can survive, but they may be trapped through the summer, until fall and winter flows return.
[Lupa’s note - this is why I add $2.50 to my electric bill every month—to directly aid salmon and their habitats. I also pay a little more for 100% renewable energy; even in the middle of winter when my heating bill is up, it’s been worth it. Any Portland General customer can sign on, and you may wish to check with your own power company to see if they have any green energy options.]
Page 1 of 5
