Blog Archives
General Update on Stuff & Things
I’ve had a number of questions about what I’m up to lately so here you go:
What am I currently reading?: I’m working my way through the wonder charm and prayer book Sannion compiled for me out of thousands of Norse, Germanic, Old English, Faroese, and other sources. Most of what I’m reading is academically focused: “Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom,” (Matthew has an important passage relevant to eunuchs and eunuchs are relevant to my dissertation); “Contextualizing Gender in Early Christian Discourse: Thinking Beyond Thecla” by C. Stichele and T. Penner. I’ve read it before twice, but it’s an excellent study on the various lenses we can use to engage with a text. Finally, I’m about to start “The Gods of the Ancient Slavs” by Znayenko. I’m not holding my breath on that one – I suspect the scholarship is out of date, but who knows? I might be pleasantly surprised.
What am I watching?: America collapsing season 2024. *sarcasm* On tv we just finished the series “Fallout” and enjoyed that quite a bit. It had character arc for the main female character, which is so rare. We’re getting ready for the final season of “Evil”, though I do wish they’d have a Catholic consultant just once. Still, it’s entertaining. I like police procedurals so I’ve been really enjoying the show “Will Trent” and just started watching a new show called “Tracker.” Not sure yet about that one, but each episode is getting better and the characters more tightly written. As to movies, I loved the movie “Cabrini” though my one issue was that she wasn’t shown praying enough for an average lay person let alone a saint who spoke of the absolute necessity of prayer. I watched the 1973 “Wicker Man”, the perfect Beltane movie, on April 30th. That’s always an uplifting family film. I’m waiting to watch the movie “One Life” – it’s out now on prime but I know it’s going to make me cry.
What am I listening to? : I’m really enjoying The Long Dog Street Band. Sannion introduced me to their music awhile back and it’s potent. It has a very Appalachian vibe to it and some of their music reminds me of post-civil war ambience and melodies.
What am I working on academically? : I’m working through revisions on my dissertation proposal. I need to have it done in within the next couple of weeks. I’m also trying to keep my Latin and German up to par. I’m getting ready to teach a summer course on Ancient Christian Texts and I just finished a fantastic course on Christian Mystical Texts. I absolutely loved this class. I work at a university that requires two theology and two philosophy courses for every student. It’s part of their undergraduate core. The intro course is set (Faith and Critical Reason in theology or, I think, Introduction to Philosophy) but then students can choose from a large selection of courses in either field for their second requirement.
What am I doing for fun now? : I’m learning Ladino. It’s a language very much like Yiddish but instead of coming out of Germany and Russia, it was the language that developed amongst Jewish peoples expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. It has Balkan, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, French, and of course a lot of Spanish influence and comes out of medieval Spanish. It’s fascinating. I’m doing a six week online course for fun and relaxation at the moment, but I plan to keep up with it after the course is over.
What’s up with my art?: I have two shows at the moment, one in Poughkeepsie and one in Beacon. Folks can follow my art adventures here.
What am I playing on guitar? : a lovely renaissance piece called “Spagnoletta” (anonymous) and a Baroque piece called “Canarios” by Gaspar Sanz. I also have a piece by Carcassi, but that, while lovely, is very much a type of etude and hard as hell. Lol. Then scales. Lots and lots of scales.
What religious writing am I working on: well, slowly, veeery slowly I have two projects in the works. One is a small novena book for Idunna. The other is a “basics of spirit-work” book, sort of all the things I wish I’d known before I started doing that Work. Both are going to take awhile because I’m focused primarily on academic work right now, which is also part of my religious work (Teaching is a service I give to Odin), and that’s eating up most of my time at the moment.
So what are you all up to? ^__^
Bookversary! Viva il Coltello: In Honor of the Castrati
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Originally released on March 24, 2020.
This book is about the castrati, a group of singers who dominated the stages of Europe for centuries. This is a work of love and devotion, a small collection of offerings, words spun together to honor a group of men the last of whom died a century ago. They were great and their voices haunt us still. May these words summon their music, their voices, their stories, and their presence that they may live again through the power of our memory and our retelling. They are part of a group of honored dead that many in my tradition venerate. This book is a brief introduction to them and to that process. Viva il Coltello.
Buy on Amazon
A Little Fun
Ok, folks, I’m gallery sitting today, and I have a bit more time on my hands than usual, so I thought I’d ask y’all for recommendations. If you are so moved, tell me
*what you’re listening too,
*what you’ve watched recently, and
*what you’ve read recently
that you enjoyed enough to recommend. Feel free to post in the comments.
Here are mine:
I’ve been listening to this song obsessively the past two days. I love Brown’s voice.
I watched “Strays” last night and it actually made me cry. It’s a beautiful movie. It is NOT, I repeat NOT child friendly (despite justice happening in the end). I highly recommend it. I’m serious about it not being a kid’s movie though. We watched it as a fluke, expecting it to be funny but essentially for kids. It really, really, REALLY is not. Funny and sad, heart wrenching ,and infuriating in equal turns, it hits on some heavy themes. There is a happy ending for all but Doug. Doug got what he deserved.
Finally, I’ve been reading a collection of Wendell Berry’s poetry, a volume gifted to me by my mom. He was one of her (and my) favorite poets. If you haven’t read him, here are a few of his poems. His poetry is wistful, evocative, makes my heart hurt sometimes, and makes me long for another place and time. I move better in the world having read them.
So, … what would you all like to recommend?
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Movie Review: Chevalier
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Finally (!!!!!!), I got the chance to see Chevalier. It was a fantastic film and I highly recommend it. It’s about Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799. He was a noted composer, master violinist, and fencer (he even became an officer in the King’s Guard and later had a military career). He wrote the first string quartets by a French composer and his music likely influenced the work and sound-world of Mozart. One of the real highlights of the film is that the score includes quite a bit of Bologne’s own music which is a true feast for the ears.
Until recently, Bologne was basically erased from history and for a combination of reasons. Not only was he black but he also led a military regiment against Napoleon in 1792 – not something that would have endeared him to the man who reinstituted the code noire. Fortunately, the past few years have seen a growing interest in his life and works and this movie is one outgrowth thereof. It’s currently available on prime or hulu.
This site talks a bit about the fact vs. fiction of the movie. See also here and here. Most significantly, unlike what the movie depicts, Bologne’s father did not abandon him, but moved to Paris along with Bologne’s mother when Joseph was nine. The prodigy received a stellar education though, as the resistance to him becoming head of the Paris Opera showed (musicians refused to work with someone of mixed race and his candidacy had to be withdrawn), he did have to confront racism and prejudice, even while having access to the highest echelons of French society.
Anyway, the movie is really gripping, well-paced, well-acted, and richly shot: both the costumes and the music are lush. I highly, highly recommend it.
Here is a list of Bologne’s surviving works. You can listen to one of his quartet’s here.
Day 11 – For Loki
One of my readers mentioned play lists for the Gods in a comment on yesterday’s Loki post.
This reminded me of my favorite Loki play list, which my husband compiled for me as a gift a couple of years ago. (I’m afraid that despite having been a professional dancer, despite having musicians in my family, despite playing or having played three instruments myself – I used to study piano and violin and now I study classical guitar—I do not have the zen for putting playlists together for particular Gods). This particular playlist focuses on how Loki may choose to manifest in the West – as in the American West. I do think our Gods take on the feel and energy of the spaces we inhabit too, and this is why we always see regional cultus wherever we go.
Here is the link.
If any of you have playlists for Loki, please feel free to share them in the comments.
Bookversary! Viva il Coltello: In Honor of the Castrati
Affiliate Advertising Disclosure
Originally released on March 24, 2020.
This book is about the castrati, a group of singers who dominated the stages of Europe for centuries. This is a work of love and devotion, a small collection of offerings, words spun together to honor a group of men the last of whom died a century ago. They were great and their voices haunt us still. May these words summon their music, their voices, their stories, and their presence that they may live again through the power of our memory and our retelling. They are part of a group of honored dead that many in my tradition venerate. This book is a brief introduction to them and to that process. Viva il Coltello.
Buy on Amazon
A Great Song
Sannion posted this the other day – I’ve been obsessed with this song since I first heard it on the radio. The main character acts justly (and I love how the song writer — Hardy– painted these characters so thoroughly in so few strokes). The injustice, which I think the events in the song seriously highlights, lies in our supposed justice system. Anyway, take a listen. Warning: domestic abuse figures in the song.
Check it out here (for some reason, I can’t embed the video itself).
Gangleri's Grove 