blog_hund

Grennung Hund Heorþ

Meanwhile in Theodism (It’s still shitty)

I’ve been pretty bad about updating this, I know. Life or something.

But a few months ago Thorbeorht Linleah, un-noted theodsman and dubious scholar of Seaxneat, wrote a post in response to my older highlight on the abusive and bigoted nature of Theodism that effectively amounted to “#notalltheodsmen.” I was going to link to that post, but in the long tradition of heathens owning their words in accordance with their stated values, Thorbeorht seems to have taken it down, so I can only provide a screencap of WordPress’s notification I got.

Also in the grand tradition of heathenry, Thorbeorht has recently decided to disavow “postmodernism” in Heathenry, quoting C.S. Lewis of all fucking people to back up his argument, in favor of the more pure traditions of the theodish expression of Anglo-Saxon ethnic religion, using language pretty much straight out of McNallen’s big book of “I swear I’m not a racist buuut…” and has gone on to migrate from the aggressively “SJW” outlet of Facebook in favor of the free speech-centered outlet that hardly anyone who isn’t alt-right seems to use, Minds.

Truly, the world is full of surprises.

Regionalizing Paganism: Modern Mythology

I’ve talked a bit on this blog about my fondness for adapting our practices– and the stories we tell– based on our locale. Many of us are not residents of the lands our gods were first known in; even those who are, the land has changed a great deal in some cases, developed or been otherwise disturbed.

One way I do this is in creating ‘modern myths,’ a vainglorious way of styling my short stories. I have a lot of them- some posted here (and scarcely ever read compared to my more ‘dramatic’ posts), others collected elsewhere (like my poorly edited, self-published book). My most recent piece is as much an exercise in fun as anything, but I figured I’d share it, mostly because it’s short and might be amusing.

Submitted for your entertainment: A story about a wily coyote.

Thoughts on Ma’at

We’ll now take a break from the regularly scheduled programming (My Being Pagan series that none of you were aware is going to be a proper series) for a few musings on Kemeticism. Specifically, on Ma’at.

Being Pagan: Moving On

I’ve had several conversations recently with a peculiar manifestation of Christian baggage, both in a total newcomer to Paganism and from someone who has been tentatively engaging in it for years. Most people, as I talked about last week, come to paganism with an adversarial view of Christianity, but what I didn’t spend time on is the fact that others arrive because some fundamental aspect of their former religion simply didn’t work for them.

This can actually be more difficult to deal with because rather than simply overlooking aspects of holdover baggage, or dismissing pagan ideas because they associate them with Christianity, some people may in fact cling to elements of Christianity and attempt to force a cross-shaped object into an Ankh-shaped hole, as it were, because they *don’t* hate their background. The issue with this is that it can still result in a critical stagnation in someone’s growth because they default to the easy road, rather than the productive one.

Being Pagan: The Thing Many Pagans Forget to Do

Overlong Intro:

In my decade-plus experience of being part of the modern pagan movement, I have noticed a recurring issue across nearly every tradition I’ve encountered, among pagans both new and who have been involved for decades. It’s an issue that I struggled with for a time and that most first-generation pagans are going to encounter. That issue? Not being pagan. Bear with me.

Your Highly Irregular PSA Re: Bigots in Heathenry

I’ve been away from blogging for like, months. I am trash at running a blog, that much is clear; in fairness I’ve been transitioning to living in Poland which, as it turns out, is like… A bit different from Texas. Part of it is just that I don’t have a lot to blog about that’s pagan-relevant though and I just have not felt like writing in the last while.

That said, I feel like for my relatively few followers it’s worth noting: r/Asatru, whose moderators I took a few shots at in my great book of grudges some months back, who pointedly argue “we are not affiliated with White Marsh Theod beyond one member of our team” has now invited a second member of White Marsh and noted transphobic thrall of one Forvrin to moderate on their subreddit along with Theod-worshiper/possible member/who-keeps-track-of-this-Habsburg-family-tree-anymore Mark Stone.

For those keeping score, that means that heathenry’s largest community on reddit is run by pedophile defending bigots which will come as little surprise to like… Anybody familiar with Reddit. Truly this is the heathen renaissance. You know, because there’s so many more dicks on public display.

Steven McNallen, The Wotan Network, and How Is This Guy Still Around Even

Steven McNallen, dubious Asatruar of more dubious fame as former head of the racist-as-fuck Asatru Folk Assembly, recently announced his new project, “The Wotan Network.” In the regrettable video in which this was announced, the old coot has eschewed any real pretense of paganism and has effectively opened the door to anyone of any religion (because he’s such an accepting guy) so long as they’re sufficiently willing to contribute to the fight to preserve the white race (oh, wait).

While I wait for Mr. McNallen’s inevitable appointment to a staff position in the White House following this announcement, a few thoughts are bouncing around my head. Why do people even still listen to this guy? How is he still around? Why is it never these kinds of people who succumb to dementia or something like that, instead of incredible, moral and upstanding people like my great grandma? What ever happened to Steve to make him such a cunt?

Most importantly of all, though, over all of that, is one thing: Oh my god you are the worst ever why will you not just fucking crawl in a hole and never come out again you are like the worst racist old uncle in the history of racist old uncles why is your search history nothing but “hot gaping Stormfront bukkake.”

You suck, McNallen. Go away.

A Follow-Up to a (Mostly) Measured Response

I made a post yesterday which, I want to be clear, I stand by entirely. There have been a variety of responses to it so far and I expect there will be more, but what I regard as the official response from White Marsh Theod has been offered on r/asatru. I would like to give answer to it openly and publicly (EDIT: Due to concerns about shifting narratives from respondents and an accusation that my earlier post is “dangerously close to libel” in its citing of a public record of the State of Texas, I am posting a screenshot of the above post where Forvrin confirms that “No question of these facts are in dispute” for posterity in the event of its removal or editing.)

Heathenry’s Theodish Problem: Sex Abuse, Bigotry and the Primacy of the Tribe

The problem with initiatory traditions, particularly mystery traditions, is that they’re susceptible to abuse and the sheltering of abusive individuals. This is a problem that Wicca has grappled with for decades and that, from what I can see as an outsider, has improved somewhat.

Heathenry, on the other hand, still has its problematic bastions, in particular in the Theodish community, which today is rife with abuse, cover ups of that abuse, and general bigotry toward several groups. The history of Theodism is easy enough to find online, from its beginnings as a revealed religion when a Wiccan calling himself Merlin (now Garman Lord) allegedly had a vision of Woden instructing him to create the religion now called Theodish Belief all the way to the dissolution of Winland Rice and the subsequent rise of theods like White Marsh and Œþelland today.

Sutekh and the Black Land

To the west were the great spires of stone, black and grey and red, scraping at the sky with their great peaks. To the east were the great swamps and the vast woods, stretching off to the sea, spanned by vast rivers and marked by their own green hills. Between them was a wasteland, an endless expanse of grass; the vast desert plain that brooked neither stream nor tree, where the great herds wandered far and long for good grazing, where the eagles soared over leagues of yellow sea.

Blog hund

The older I get the more I’ve settled into knowing that what we create isn’t who we are. Vulnerability will be my life time struggle, it just doesn’t come easy for a fella like me. But I know everyday I show up and become present with my friends it points towards something better.

Man I sure did miss this pretty girl. Glad to hang my hat in this honky tonk town.

Leaving this silly creature later on today for 2 weeks to head over to the UK to shoot a project ✨ I’ve actually never been to Europe so I’m really looking forward to it.

If you happen to own a Land Rover (that’s running, lolz) drop me a line! I’d fancy getting stuck in the English country side

It’s good for a man to take a portrait with his best hound

My buddy Shane, and one of my very favorite Nashville artists, brought over a new piece to hang above my bed! I love his work so much, all the feels 😊✨

Someone’s finally up

The little home I built 😊

It feels so good to be home y’all! I’ve had a bunch of rambling in my bones the past few years but whenever I come back to this space I never wanna leave. This house makes me so happy, wish I could describe it better, but I love my little home!

Glad to be hanging my hat in Nashville for a minute and reconnect with my community ✨

Whenever I start getting close to the South folks start asking me when I’m pumping diesel “hey, does that dog hunt?” Without fail. Part of what I love about heading home 🙃.

And I always respond “Yes’er, organic quinoa bowls.”

Just kidding. I literally never say that.

Put my blue collar shirt on the past few weeks, trying to remember where I came from. I love photography like nothing else in life. But some of my finest days where on a tractor in a field. I’m thinking my hands are gonna get a bit dirtier this year.

But for today we’re back to living the dream and sitting in the worlds finest hot spring 😊

Emneord: hund

En er for lille og en er for stor … Men denne lille fyr..

Er nu sød.. Har lånt dette billede af Kira Eggers..ska’ nok aflevere det tilbage efter brug.. ;o)

Nu er jeg en af dem der både har kat og hund.. Jah.. unger har jeg da også beriget denne verden med..men nu er det altså lopper det drejer sig om.. De små bæster der bare lever for at give kløe og bidemærker.. Og det siges..at når et pindsvin har forvildet sig ind på en gåtur.. hen over din plæne.. så har lopperne indtaget din bolig..

Så når din hund eller kat tar de mærkeligeligste stillinger inklusiv hurtige bevægelse med poterne jah..så er de nok blevet bolig til et dusin af de små bæster.. næsten uden opsigelse af lejekontrakten.. Ta’ dig selv til lommeuldet og pung ud til diverse loppe midler.. Joh..de ved skam at de små fyre er.. en lille guldgruppe.. Når der skal indkøbes bekæmpelse… til og af bæsterne.. Men loppe plagen er.. over os.. Og lidt underligt er det efter sådan en hår vinter, at selv skovflåten lever på! bedste besyv.. Så husk!! at kikke efter når.. du nu alligevel skal have… dit daglige bad.. De kan sidde de mærkeligste steder og suge dit blod.. Og vi skal huske, at de kan være skyld i at staten skal punge ud til… en lang sygemelding hvis du! bliver smittet med… deres Baktusser…

OG så lige en SIDE bemærkning … Der var engang for nogle dage siden.. DER lød der en stemme om, at der var for mange udvalg her i lille Danmark.. Puh..ha’… det var en svær nød, at knække.. Dengang var der opstået ca. og næste 300 udvalg jah.. nu efter nærmere eftersyn såh… er der opstået over 600 nye… med den siddende regering … joh… barnepiger eller drenge har vi fået… i rigelige mængder … det må ”SGU” være en OMMER … De har det jo næsten som.. de kære lopper..de formere sig i rekord fart.. Hmmmm… Bare en tanke..

Solen skinner og det er weekend .. såh.. selvom der er store fare for… bid, af de små væsner ..så skal naturen nydes..

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Hovsa / En dag i Vorbasse… Man ku’ kjøwe, en hest der..

Kan man kalde det ” Sild i en Tønde” ?

Vejret så da ikke godt ud.. men det var tivoli…

Det der var der ingen der skulle få mig til… ;o)

Man vågner.. jah slår sine øjne op..den første tanke er det er i dag man skal af sted.. Lada’en køre som en drøm efter at ha’ fået skiftet sine, bremse Caliber.. i for… Mon det spare på benzinen..jeg tro det gør.. Nåh..men nu skulle vi af sted.. En tur på ca. 60 km… Ungerne blev pakket ned i poser og drikkelsen sat godt spændt fast på bagsædet.. Husk sele.. det koster at glemme..

Det gik der ud af i øs regnvejr..men da vi så Vorbasse i sigtet så blev det kun til et par dryp.. Menneske jah..eller biler i striber..og underligt mon ham der skulle vifte bilerne ind.. Kunne vist se at vi skulle til markede.. Jeg havde da ikke blinket af… så det kan nok ses på os jyder, når der skal handles.. Blå plads … det skal man vist huske.. for ellers kan man ikke finde vognen igen og det var lige det der skete, da vi skulle vende snuden hjemad.. Trætte og nedslidte efter den vandring.. gade op og gade ned og lige ind i den næste bod hvor det man havde købt.. kostede lidt minder..

Men sikke en masse mennesker det kan samle… nogle skulle da nok få en krikke med der fra.. andre kom slæbende med store bamser jah… altså dem i alverdens farver og 100,-kr fattigere … lodder i spande vis … det var atter en nitte..godt man ikke kom til at slæbe på sådan en… så ingen held i sprøjten den dag..

Folk hyggede sig.. bænke med indbygget alt til våde numser.. Regnslag til 20,- kr. når det styrtede ned ellers 10,- jah… for solen nåede da også at skinne.. Og ikke at forglemme det store tivoli.. hold da op for en sving tur det blev til for ungerne.. og underlig for min pung.. blev lidt tynd for hver gang.. Men pyt ungerne kom ned med et kæmpe smil … nok et tegn på at de hyggede sig og havde det skægt.. Jeg kom lige med en tur i det der spøgelses tog.. og skulle man i grunden blive bange.. når der stod en og sagde BØH.. Uhhhuuu.. og så ud i det blå…

Nu når man er sådan et sted, kan det næsten ikke undgås, at man støder på nogle man har set eller kendt før og det skete da også.. i Vorbasse og en fad Øl..blev klemt ned.. jah… jeg vidste jo, at Lada’en ikke kunne finde ud af, at køre med sprut i karburatoren så.. tre timer efter var, det vist fordampet.. Men sjovt, at hilse på og få en kop tår kaffe i et telt, hvor der blev solgt smådyr.. Og skal lige sige, at en lille hest godt ka’ sparke.. hvis man kommer for tæt på… godt den ikke skulle med i bagagerummet hjem ad.. Hmmm.. det kunne ellers ha’ været hyggeligt.. nåh.. men det ville naboerne nok heller ik’.. syntes om.. Pære kan godt.. DUFTE af land..men de er ellers gode, til champion..

Havde givet ungerne lov til, at købe et sibirisk hamster… hvad der så blev til to.. men så fik jeg en skide go’ ide… For knægten har det med at spille lidt højt og han blev forelsket i en Nymfeparakit og så fik han lige en historie med, at den ville falde ned af pinden, hvis den skulle leve i musik med alt for høj bas.. og nu er musikken kun moderat her i det lille hjem.. Yes.. nu kan jeg også høre TV avisen.. uden afbrydelser.. med et råb.. SKRU NED… Så alt i alt såh.. vil jeg gerne høre et lille fløjt i ny og næ.. så gevinsten blev da af de bedre.. Og nu er vi også blevet en familie med fugl..

Der findes ikke det man ikke kan købe, til sådan et marked.. lige fra dikkenoter til dikkedarer og så en drømmefanger… hunden kunne jeg kun, drømme om… For jeg holdt mig i skinnet… men hvor det dog fristede, da jeg så.. de små http://j.b5z.net/i/u/2154044/i/Chihuahua121.jpg … Hold op.. jeg var solgt… Tænk, at kunne putte den i lommen, når man skulle hjemmefra… ingen pasning.. den er jo ikke større.. end en underkop.. nåh… det blev så ikke denne gang..man blev hunde ejer..

Næste år skal man af sted igen… Så vi ses til Vorbasse markede ca. sådan ved samme tid.. Mon man ikke så skal have de store lommer med.. man ved jo aldrig hvad man, lige kommer forbi.. Og nu.. må, jeg så se.. om Lada’en kan finde Gelsted om ca. 3 uger.. Der skulle der også være Marked.. hmmm.. det er jo på Fyn.. Man ved jo aldrig.. om man lige står og mangler den lille, som sælges der.. Håber at vejret bliver lidt mere tørt og at solen viser sig fra den gode side.. Mon man også bliver vinket ind der… eller om man får lov til at hilse på broen … Hm… ham der vinkede ved Vorbasse kunne da ikke vide, om jeg skulle ha’ været et smut tur til Tyskland..

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Hovsa / Dåbsattest til alle dyr, der ikke er i bur..

Vi er jo et land med mange love, forbud og regler.. Vi har alle et nummer lige fra den dag, vi kommer ud i lyset.. Altså er vi et registreret folk, målt og vejet. Et regel sæt er sat op for , os to benede..lige fra vi blev født..

Jeg ved ikke om vi elsker, at blive sat i snor… men det er nok sådan nogle føler.. Så var det, at jeg tænkte … og det blev endda højt.. men hvad så med vores dyr, dem på fire ben kunne det ikke gøre det nemmere, hvis de også skulle have en dåbs attest.. Næsten som da, vi skulle opskrives i mande tal, sådan som den gang og ca. der omkring, hvor Jesus blev født..

Vejen er jo allerede lagt… for koen, grisen jah..selv den lille høne, er jo registreret… så hvorfor ikke bare tag det store spring og få det obligatorisk for, alle vores (hus) dyr.. Vi så gerne, at der blev indført et kørekort, når der blev tænker på at anskaffe sig en hund.. Det kunne da blive gjort meget nemmere..de skulle jo bare have en dåbsattest uanset om, det er hund eller kat.. For vi skal jo ikke gøre forskel … Et dyr er et dyr og vi mennesker er jo de klogeste ” Tror jeg nok ” Det kunne måske også få handlen af hunde over grænsen til, at falde og her tænker jeg så.. lige i de kriminelle baner.. Bare nogle eksempler …

Denne side er så lidt bredere med sine oplysninger…

Og hvad er forskellen når man ønsker, at anskaffe sig en følgesvend … jah.. et nyt medlem i familien.. og her kommer jeg så til t tænke på rig og fattig… dyret er nok ligeglad..om den får en stamtavle eller en dåbsattest.. hvor kommer det ord ” rig og fattig ” så ind… Joh.. en hund, kender ikke sin egen pris i kroner og øre … det må jo være os mennesker, der har gjort den til noget, der et status symbol.. En blandings hund tænker nok det samme, som en der er avlet til at se ud som en ting af porcelæn… bliver jeg upopulær nu.. jeg er ligeglad, for her drejer det sig ikke om kroner og øre … nej.. det handler om, at dyr også er levende væsner.. som skal have lov til at være det, som de er født som… Og ta’ ikke fejl.. jeg ved godt. at der er forskel på om feks. hunden har et medfødt gen, for at jage eller vogte…

Nå det var den dåbsattest.. det skulle gøres obligatorisk, uanset om vores dyr er født til industri eller hygge dyr eller til at gøre gavn i samfundet… Det kunne måske også være en løsning for, de uønskede og at vi mennesker ikke bare lod stå til, når deres naturlige instinkt fortæller dem, at de skal formere sig.. Og for at det kunne tage alvorlig af os mennesker, skulle der kunne falde en bøde eller fratagelse fra, at have ret til at have og erhverve sig et dyr… Det skulle så være nogle, der kunne have det som fast arb. ( Måske kunne der opstå, nogle nye job titler) til at administrere det, på lige fod med, at have jobbet som politi eller skatte far..

Måske kunne vi blive enige om, at det kunne gøres over skatte billetten.. Vi betaler jo alligevel til de uheldige episoder der, måske opstår.. når vi ikke kan magte vores dyr.. Og lige for, at slå det helt fast … dyr er også levende væsner… som fra begyndelsen var skabt til, at leve i naturen og ikke kan gøres til noget menneskeligt.. De har stadig deres instinkter intakt.. eller måske! er der nok nogle, der vil påstå….

Hvorfor ikke slå det stort op! i stedet for, alle de lappeløsninger..

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Hovsa / Bjergvandring / Skovvandring… skulle vi ikke tag, en tur til vandet.. når vi nu er i gang..

http://www.stenlillegarn.dk/Malerier.htm

Nu er foråret ved, at få sit tag i den danske natur… Og kunne tanken så ikke, komme i flyvende fart ind fra vest.. Vi skal ud og nyde naturen i stedet for, at sidde der bag skærmen… Eller den krøllede avis…

Bare prøve at leve et farligt liv … ta’ en tur op i højderne og lade sine tanker få.. den skønne fred.. Som det er ved, at GÅ en tur, i den friske luft.. Og vi som dansker, kan jo afprøve det her… http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmelbjerget Et skøn sted i den danske natur… Så snup du en træner med bjerg sko og hele mullevitten. Og huske, at øvelse gør mester.. selv fra, små steder.. Du kunne jo også ta’ til Alperne og springe ud fra en klippe iført denne.. http://www.fdm-travel.dk/frankrig/alperne/

Nu inden vi kommer til skoven … kunne man jo lige se denne http://www.vacasol.dk/Danmark/Vestjylland/

Og bare trække vejret.. fornemme den saltede duft der kan mindes.. En gå tur ved vandet kan rense sjælen og man får lyst til at drikke den varme kaffe sammen uden, at skulle gemme sig bag ved avisen..nåh..nej det var skærmen…

Men som det er med vandet, sådan er det også med den friske skov duft.. Og en rolig og stille… måske endda med raske skridt ”GÅ TUR.. Husk HUND”… kan man få nogle, herlige billede ind på sin egen radar… inde i skoven, kan man søge læ i for kulde og blæst også selvom at det er tidlig forår.. Nyde en madkurv, sammen med hele familien. Denne glæde er næsten gratis endnu.. Der er kun transporten, hvis man ikke har den gode, at eje en bil… http://www.sl.life.ku.dk/Nyheder/SpecialeforsvarBerit_isab021208.aspx

Nyd naturen så længe den er bevaret..man ved aldrig, hvornår det er slut… Husk veje og bygninger optager enormt meget plads.. Og skorstenen forurener.. Og der er kun fire mdr. til at ferien starter.. Er det mon farlig at ta’ en flyv tur i faldskærm?

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Hovsa / Jeg er håbløs forelsket.. og jeg ved, at han aldrig bliver min… ;o)

Og kan man andet..med de bløde og skønne øjne han har.. Muskler som bare sidder, hvor de skal og håret i de skønneste farver.. Han er lærenem, lydig, og så går han allerede til døren, når han skal tisse. Snoren er den også ved, at mestre… Men desværre skal han med sønnen, når han finder et sted at bo.. Og det bliver til et savne.. Men en der vil juble, er den røde hankat.. for så er han atter sin egen.. og skal ikke spise på bordet.. Man skal jo være gode ved de dyr, man anskaffer sig.. Og lige her kan man også smide ORDET ANSVAR IND…

Men jeg prøver, at vinde hans tillid og det er ved at lykkes.. trods stor protest fra min søn.. men selvfølgelig skal han med når det lykkes, at finde en bolig, hvor man må ha’ en lille tæppetisser af en stor hund ;o)

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Hovsa / At.. være afhængig af de små venner … Jah..det er ik’ en ko…

Lige siden jeg var ganske lille har mit liv indeholdt de små levende væsner… Dem med fire ben eller et sæt vinger… Og underligt nok så har jeg givet det vider til mine børn… Hvad er? en tilværelse, hvis man ikke har et eller andet dyr siddende på sine skulder, eller til at gå en tur med … Her er katten så af en anden mening den vil være sine egen og ikke en i snor..

Min mor kunne nok ha’ sagt noget andet end at jeg holder meget af dyr..for da jeg var lille var det jo lige som hende det gik ud over… En gang, med Larver i alle farver og der var nok over et par hundrede.. Regnorme i glas, Mus der har det med at sætte en særlig dunst, marsvin der næsten siger lyde for at fortælle jeg er her også.. Katte skal have fisk også gerne råt.. og når godheden løber af med en så gemmer man jo til natten nej.. Katten.. Og en gemt sild i 20 grader lugter ikke lige som lagkage.. Men hvad man skal jo være go’ ved sine dyr.. Man kan også holde fisk i fangeskab..

Jeg ville gerne ha’ været dyrlæge..men det dur ikke sammen med, at man ikke kunne tåle at se blod eller nåle for den sags skyld.. Så det blev kun til dyr i hjemmet og i stald.. Kan man klappe en hest eller for den sags skyld en solsort unge med åben gab.. Katte killinger og harekillinger har prøvet, at lide under mine forsøg med at putte en sutteflaske dybt i munden på dem og det lykkes næsten hver gang, at se dem blive store og finde en ny mor eller far.. jah.. en solsort kan nu nok bedst lide, at have luft under vingerne så det fik de..

Mit liv har altid indeholdt menneskets bedste ven.. kan man ikke sige det om en kat..den kommer da når man kalder altså siger dens navn.. OG når man ikke må have en løve som kæledyr så kan man vælge noget der ligner… Så det kom til at gå ud over det der hedder Abbysininer.. Jah… det blev nok til flere for der er jo noget der hedder avl.. Det blev vist til mange og Hr. mis blandede sig også engang.. Det kom der nogle flotte farver ud af.. og det hed stadig killinger..

Høns, gedder, grise endda med hænge vom, heste, kalve som bliver til køer, krybdyr dog ikke edderkopper for de giver mig kuldegysninger, haletudser, biller jah..jeg kunne blive ved.. men mit liv har altid indeholdt et firbenede væsen eller noget der kunne flyve.. og det gør det endnu men lidt mere i moderate mængder.. Man kan jo ikke have en hest i en have hvor der er 5 m til sin nabo kun eller det kunne man vel godt så kunne man undgå at svine naturen til med en plæneklipper der bruger benzin.. og så skulle man nok invitere sine naboer på en kop varm kaffe ind imellem…

At klappe en kat giver ro til sjælen siges der … så hvorfor giver man ikke bare mennesker et med fire ben i stedet for tabletter? Og nu når vi er ved det.. så skal man være god mod sine dyr.. Man må ikke sende sin kat til himmels på en raket… man må heller ikke bruge sit boldtræ til, at lave sin collie om til en bokser.. Man skal også huske at heste kan li’ græs puh.. det er næsten et helt leksikon, at holde af de firbenede og dem med vinger.. Poppedreng ve’ ha’ sukker ja ja..men dyr ka’ også få diabetes.. og så bliver de dyre i forbrug.. En dyrlæge ved godt, hvad han vil ha’ for en vaccination… Så husk at få det gjort….

OG vær så GOD ved dine dyr… det er også levende væsner..

Avery Jennings

Profession

Stan (dog; best friend)

Karl Fink (friend, possible crush)

Marjorie (maternal grandmother)

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First appearance

Latest appearance

Avery Jennings is the deuteragonist of Dog With a Blog. Avery is extremely hardworking and very serious. Avery cares about her family and is not afraid to take risks. Avery is also a straight-A student with a perfect attendance record.

Style

In Season 1, Avery was sophisticated and girly, with ties and collared shirts that were tucked in, sometimes with sweaters. She also wore knee socks and hair straight in this season. In Season 2 and Season 3, her look is more funky and fun with layers. She wears more graphic tees and jeans. Her hair is curly in these seasons. Her style seems to be more girly and fashionable. Also her hair color became more darker and less blonde.

Personality

Avery is a smart, nice and sweet girl. She loves school and learning new things. She is very nice to people and loves her family and friends, especially her dog, Stan. In Season 1, Avery was shy and a little awkward. She wanted everything to be perfect and always made rules. In Season 2, she seems to be more confident and fun. Her style also changes a bit and is more fashionable and girly.

Description​

Avery is a sweet, studious and smart girl. She is considered a "goody two shoes" who can be a little mean at times, but cares about everyone. Her appearance changes overtime as she matures from sophisticated to girly. She sometimes tries to look like a rebel so people won't think she is boring and always follows the rules. She has a very slim and a bit muscular body.

Relationships

Tyler James

(2011-Present; Step-brother) Tyler and Avery are typical step-siblings. They might say that they hate each other, but deep down they have a special bond. They usually make fun of each other, but they still love each other. They, along with Chloe, always try to keep Stan's secret safe. They also help each other whenever one of them needs help. (See Tavery)

Ellen Jennings

(1998-Present; Mother) Ellen is Avery's mom. Avery hates Ellen's gifts but she loves her and hates to let her down. Ellen loves Avery and gets in her buisness at times. They have a special mother-daughter relationship and love each other a lot. They spend a lot of time together and always try to help each other. (See Elavery)

Chloe James

(2011-Present; Step-sister) Chloe and Avery are really good friends and have a sisterly bond. Chloe likes having Avery as her sister. They tell each other everything and don't like to let each other down. Chloe idolizes Avery and hopes to be just like her when she grows up. Chloe and Avery also like to play pranks on Tyler and wake him up with silly songs, created by them. (See Chavery)

Bennett James

(2011-Present; Step-father) Bennett and Avery show a lot of ineraction on the show. They care about each other and Avery goes to him whenever she needs advice. Avery may be Bennett's favorite child because of her behavior. Avery makes Bennett really proud when it comes to school. Avery feels as though she doesn't spend enough time with him in 'Pod People from Pasadena'. (See Bavery)

(2012-Present; Dog, Best Friend) Stan is Avery's best friend who cares a lot about her as well as him, they have the best relationship and Avery is Stan's favorite person/animal, who she loves and takes well care of. Stan may be nosy on Avery's buisness at times but really loves her. Stan sees Avery as a cool person who knows is his real best friend. Avery does her best to keep Stan's Secret safe because of people who want to make experiments on him. (See Stavery)

(Best Friend) Lindsay is one of Avery's best friends. They like to hang out with each other and never let each other down. They get along very well and always help each other. They, along with Max, are best friends. (See Lavery)

(Best Friend) Max is one of Avery's best friends. She, Avery and Lindsay are all best friends. Even though Max is a little different from the other girls, she's still a good friend and loves both Avery and Lindsay.(See Mavery)

(Rival; Turned To Friend) Karl is Avery's rival turned friend who previously used to be sworn enemies with her, often in academics. However, later in Season 2, Karl reveals to Avery he knows Stan's secret, at which she makes Karl swear he will tell no one, thus turning over a new leaf for the both of them.

Nikki Ortiz

(Best Friend) Nikki is one of Avery's best friends who is also dating her step-brother, Tyler. They get along very well and love spending time together. Avery also taught Nikki how to whistle and gave her advice about boys, especially Tyler. (See Navery)

Dustin Pitt

(Ex-Boyfriend) Dustin was Avery's first crush and in the episode Avery's First Crush, Avery tried to get Dustin to like her by saying that Tyler would hang out with them. Later in this episode, he becomes her boyfriend. But later, in the episode Avery's First Breakup, Dustin breaks up with Avery. (See Dustavery)

Wes Manning

(2013-Present; Ex-Boyfriend) Wes and Avery are mutual crushes who met in Too Short; when Wes saw Avery he liked her but he was too embarrassed to talk to her. In Howloween, the two connect over their shared love of Halloween. In Lost In Stanslation, Avery attempts to tutor Wes in Spanish, with the help of Tyler and Nikki. In the end, he asks Avery if it would be inappropriate if he asked her on a date in Spanish, and she unknowingly replies that it is. In Avery B. Jealous, Wes asks Lindsay out on a date, making Avery extremely jealous. In Avery-body Dance Now they go to the school dance together, Wes gets jealous that Avery is spending so much time with Karl and they reveal their feelings to each other and become a couple. They break up in the episode Love, Loss, and a Bean Bag Toss when Wes and his family move away. (See Wavery)

Blog hund

Paganism Isn’t Dying; It’s (Finally) Maturing

There’s been some discussion of late in the pagan blogosphere as to whether contemporary paganism is dying. I think the answer to that is a clear, obvious, and resounding “No,” but more than that, I think it’s important to address what I believe is happening to paganism. I believe that yes, as John Halstead and Mat Auryn state, paganism is changing. But where they see it pulled apart by entropic forces or hijacked by hostile ones, I rather see a different direction to the flow. Paganism is finally starting to take the first incremental steps to emerge from its overlong adolescence.

One of the biggest symptoms that seems to be cited as evidence for paganism’s allegedly impending demise is that its institutions are beginning to fail. While I’m willing to allow that this is the case, I don’t believe that it’s indicative that paganism itself is failing. Jonathan Woolley seems to have been the first alarmist in this particular train, and I believe it’s telling that the first man to sound the death knells of (in his case, British) paganism is a figurehead of one of Paganism’s most outdated institutions. It’s no great mystery that I believe paganism must move- and is moving- past its feeble, ill-defined roots as “nature-based religion.” The first post I made on this blog was a testament to that. But it seems that some people would rather it stay the same as it’s always been.

Woolley laments the decline of the OBOD and its aging membership, but he seems to fundamentally misunderstand that that organization is part of the old-new paganism. It’s a vestige of a historically illiterate romanticism that yes, has played a large role in defining modern paganism, but is beginning to decline. While Wicca and Druidry still enjoy preeminence in the pagan sphere, reconstructionist traditions are coming into their own, in large part due to increased accessibility afforded by social media and to the efforts of knowledgeable individuals within those traditions to open doors once shut to those without fairly rigorous academic training.

It is my belief, and my hope, that paganism will continue to diverge as it presently is, to encompass a number of traditions and to fulfill its definition of being an “umbrella” under which many distinct religions may be found. Part of this process is going to be the decline of Paganism’s more “venerable” institutions, as people move to more distinct and indeed more clearly defined and, from my view, more spiritually fulfilling traditions.

I will allow that British paganism in particular may yet be declining. I am less familiar with that particular community, though I do speak with a number of British pagans on a semi-regular basis. I simply think that is important to not confuse paganism for pagan institutions, which rarely prove to be especially durable, particularly when they are built on such nebulous foundations.

While Woolley provides a fairly thorough examination and does, at least, allow for many explanations for the problem he’s perceived, John Halstead takes a rather less nuanced view. At one point, he offers pagans’ self-absorption as an explanation for the decline. Even so, the way he actually quantifies that decline is rather suspect; he mentions that Cherry Hill Seminary may be on the verge of ceasing to exist as it does now, that CUUPS is faltering, and that a glorified pan-pagan petition is lacking in signatures. Once again, institutions are mistaken for the community itself, with the addition of conflating paganism with common pagan politics.

The issue with Halstead’s assertions are that institutions like Cherry Hill, while having some value, were never particularly viable in the first place. They cater to a fairly murky, broad-spectrum notion of what paganism is to begin with; a seminary such as Cherry Hill simply is not adequate for actually producing tradition-specific clergy, and with “paganism” alone meaning nothing definable in religious terms, “pagan” clergy are similarly undefinable. It’s rather hasty to ask why Cherry Hill is failing, rather than asking why it existed in the first place.

Likewise, CUUPS, as an extension of Unitarian Universalism, could be said to be failing for the same reasons that UU churches more broadly have failed to gain traction in a great many places. Of all the UU churches I’m aware of in my state, very few of them have a sizable congregation, let alone manage to attract a significant number of pagans. Most do not even have a CUUPS chapter in the first place. In truth, CUUPS falls victim to the same faults as the UU organization itself; it is an ill-defined, superficial substitute for a real spiritual endeavor. These churches provide little more than a meeting place for pagans, in practice; they may host rituals, but in many cases that I know of there are a number of different types of pagans at any given chapter, with little real cause to share in disparate rituals.

Halstead’s solutions, as ever, primarily focus paganism into a force to further his political views rather than to serve as any sort of religious expression. A great deal of time could be spent on this, but it really comes down to the common issue of his posts and his interactions throughout the pagan community: Halstead is an atheistic humanist first and foremost. He is not a practicing pagan and engages in nothing identifiably pagan beyond the same outmoded nature-centric quasi-spirituality that the movement is beginning to discard.

While he may raise a few good points about pagans’ obsession with identity and with how we are viewed, I don’t believe these are the core issues facing paganism. Rather, they are a way to distract from the development of truly distinct religious traditions within paganism- traditions that do not preclude working together, mind you- in favor of a monolithic pagan identity that can be channeled into serving a particular political slant. It is a rejection of paganism as religion and an embracing of paganism as an activist ideology, where the gods are secondary to politicking, if not outright discarded.

Which brings me to Mat Auryn’s post on this subject. He does take the time to refute the politicization of paganism into one or more echo chambers, but still misidentifies what I believe is actually occurring. After all, institutions like that Asatru Folk Assembly show that for good or (far more often) ill, pagan groups have always been politicized. But the fact of the matter is that these divisions and demarcations within the pagan sphere are not a bad thing, in and of themselves.

Twenty or thirty years ago, newcomers could not reasonably find reliable information or communities for traditions like Fyrnsidu, Brythonic paganism, Kemeticism, and others of their nature. When I first came to heathenry, there was no identifiable Anglo-Saxon Heathenry. The best one could hope to find was something along the lines of Swain Wodening’s books; badly edited reskins of Norse heathenry, which in itself was barely distinct from vapid chest-beating Asatru. When I was introduced to paganism, for several years I wasn’t even aware of any kind of distinct traditions outside of Wicca, Druidry, Asatru and eclecticism.

Yes, paganism is splitting, dividing down into smaller and smaller groups. And that’s okay, because while not every group is good, while not every community is constructive and helpful, a whole new generation is beginning to take shape. New traditions with distinct, clear-cut rituals are forming, information is available for people to formulate true religious practice rather than only giving lip service to the gods. Paganism isn’t perfect, and it still has a great many problems. But it isn’t dying. It’s finally growing up.

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82 Responses to Paganism Isn’t Dying; It’s (Finally) Maturing

A well thought-out response except for this statement:

“He is not a practicing pagan and engages in nothing identifiably pagan beyond the same outmoded nature-centric quasi-spirituality that the movement is beginning to discard.”

Your presumption that nature-centric spirituality is not Pagan is unfounded.

I tend toward Michael York’s interpretation of paganism as either being revivalisms of cultural traditions from the European/Mediterranean world, or traditions directly inspired by those traditions (such as Wicca or Druidry). Vague, culturally non-descript nature spirituality does not really fall within the scope of that.

I don’t believe it’s presumption, or that it’s unfounded. Rather, I am stating plainly that I do not regard such things as pagan, because there is nothing that makes them fit within the scope of paganism. Vague nature-centric spirituality has more in common with the New Age movement than with paganism. The closest it gets to anything distinctly pagan would probably be modern druidry, but even that at least upholds some pretense of Celticism.

Paganism has been primarily characterized by Earth-honoring spirituality since the late 1960s. To claim that such practice is not Paganism is patently absurd.

Correction: The term paganism has been co-opted by romanticists or poets since the 60’s. And that doesn’t make it correct, no matter how many times you read Keats, Yeats, or Graves.

Ancient pagans didn’t call themselves “pagans” fool. If there is any anachronism here, it’s yours.

You should learn to read, you boob (I mean, you called me a fool, so I figured since you were being an 80s cartoon villain). It’s co-opted no matter who used it. Christians or “pagans” themselves. The argument is with what it meant and who it was meant for.

So whatever point you tried to make was moot.

So you’re mad that I’m misusing a Christian term of derision?

You are using a term that describes people from districts that have no converted to Christianity from their ancestral culture, albeit derisively.

And you’re doing this for the reason of politicking and controlling the narrative of pagans. It’s clear you and Green have an agenda against polytheists as pointed out by Lettuce.

My only agenda is to shut down literalistic polytheists who claim the whole of Paganism and the whole of Polytheism for themselves.

Roger that. Mine, too. The idea that polytheists get to define what Paganism “really is” is both absurd and offensive.

At least we’re confirmed now that your agenda is to shut down polytheists. Since I’m not claiming all of Paganism for myself (because Druidry and Wicca both tend toward non-polytheistic philosophy), you don’t really have a leg to stand on. I am not saying “No one but polytheists can be pagan.” You’re inventing that statement and accusing me of it. I’m saying “Bigoted atheists who resort to making snide remarks about theistic pagans not being progressive and having imaginary friends do not have a place in paganism and I will do my part to make them feel like they are not at home here.”

Non-polytheists are more than welcome in paganism, as far as I’m concerned. Bigoted antitheists like yourself and Mark Green who simply want to mobilize the community for your political projects while insulting pagans with actual religious practices are not. I’m not going to apologize for taking that position.

Why is modern Paganism that doesn’t draw on ancient traditions not really paganism to you, though?

Also, I’m finding this trend of pagans arguing with each other through passive-aggressive blogging is reductive. This behavior is not helping paganism.

“Also, I’m finding this trend of pagans arguing with each other through passive-aggressive blogging is reductive. This behavior is not helping paganism.”

Not helping, kind of like a bunch of atheists brigading a polytheist blog in order to silence dissent in the public sphere isn’t helping, huh?

First, you’re assuming everyone who disagrees with you is an atheist. Which is wrong. Second, you’re confusing disagreement with silencing. Third you’re confusing a few people commenting on a blog with “brigading”.

No, it can’t be that the guy who runs the Atheopagan blog is here (Who also commented on your own personal Facebook page about believing in “fictional characters”), and a guy who derided polytheists on social media as not being progressive for “believing in imaginary friends” aren’t atheists. The guy who said he was Pagan because he “fucked in the woods”.

No, never. They’re only atheists because they disagree with me.

And it can’t be that every time you, or your followers, are criticized you come out in force to try to silence the opposition. Who are generally polytheists. Or attempt to portray us as trying to push you out when we are literally saying “this definition doesn’t fit everyone and should be expanded”, while clinging to painfully out of date terminology that fits your political ends.

Fucking in the woods is awesome!

fucking in the woods doesnt make you a pagan

just makes you a pervert

I’m an atheist, and proud of it. I see zero evidence in either history, etymology, or common usage to believe that to be a Pagan, one must be some degree of reconstructionist. That’s just a baseless claim.

No one is trying to silence you. We’re trying not to be defined out of existence by your distorted definitions of what Paganism “really is”.

And yes, I believe they are fictional characters. And yes, I’m allowed to do that and still be a Pagan.

No one is claiming that you must be reconstructionist to be pagan. You’re building strawmen. If you can’t engage in this discussion without putting words in people’s mouths, perhaps you should extricate yourself from it.

You are claiming that you must root your Paganism in some historical Pagan culture in order to be a “real Pagan”. This is false. Perhaps you should consider doing a little less tap dancing about your own rhetoric.

I’m not dancing around anything. You’re being deliberately disingenuous about what “reconstructionism” entails. It isn’t as if Wicca or Druidry are in any way reconstructive.

ANYTHING drawing traditions from old times is to some degree reconstructive. Lovely tap dance, pal, but no dice.

That is a patently false representation of reconstructionism.

Yawn. Nice tap dance.

Get new material.

“I’m an atheist, and proud of it.”

Congratulations. Do you want a cookie? You can join your neckbearded cohorts over in the corner, or on r/atheist, whichever you prefer.

“I see zero evidence in either history, etymology, or common usage to believe that to be a Pagan, one must be some degree of reconstructionist.”

No one is saying that you, specious fuck. We’re trying to chisel out a place for ourselves at the Pagan table that you flip-side Protestants want to dominate, and say “Hey, maybe the definition of Paganism isn’t as expansive as you otherwise believe it to be”.

But it’s well known that you lot don’t want us around.

“No one is trying to silence you. We’re trying not to be defined out of existence by your distorted definitions of what Paganism “really is”.”

Bull fucking shit. You’re brigading fucking polytheist blogs any time they dispute you. You’re so indoctrinated into a Protestant worldview that you think you’re above it, and you can’t allow anyone else try to crawl out from under it.

If you’re an atheist, why the hell are you clinging to a religious identity, other than to masturbate in your smug, imperious way? If you want to be next to nature, go join a trekking or woodscraft society. The Catskill 3500 club lets you join after you hike 39 mountains and give them 20 dollars.. If you believe in the divinity of nature, then you’re a shitty fucking Atheist.

“And yes, I believe they are fictional characters. And yes, I’m allowed to do that and still be a Pagan.”

Again. Congratulations. Only in your dissonant, cognitively diminished way could you ever reason that you should have a place in public while you routinely insult and disrespect other people.

Seriously: ever look in a mirror? Words fail me.

Everything you’ve had to say in this comment section has amounted to you wanting to go around beating your chest telling people their gods are fake and they’re backwards savages and expecting polytheists to respect you for it and pat you on the back. Forgive me if I think the actual religious have more right to a seat at the table than someone who just plays pretend and mocks those who take their religion seriously.

Forgive me if I think the actually religious–like me–deserve as much respect for their beliefs and practices, which we take quite seriously, as those who congratulate themselves that they are talking to invisible people when conducting theirs.

What beliefs? All you’ve done is make the biggest possible show about the fact that you don’t believe in anything, and anyone who does is a fool.

I believe in the Universe, as revealed through the process of science. I believe it is magnificent and worthy of reverence. Your suggestion that atheists don’t have beliefs shows how little you know about the subject.

>If you believe in the divinity of nature, then you’re a shitty fucking Atheist.

While I don’t necessarily disagree with you that this is an atheistic (or at least pantheistic) view, does believing that material nature is divine make one non-pagan? Historically, there is some indication that this may very well have been a theological outlook of some pagans. In the Roman Epicurean poet Lucretius’s work, “De Rerum Natura”, or “On the Nature of Things”, he makes the following criticism:

“But well and excellently as all this is set forth and told, yet it is far removed from true reasoning. For the very nature of divinity must necessarily enjoy immortal life in the deepest peace, far removed and separated from our affairs; for without any pain, without danger, itself mighty by its own resources, needing us not at all, it is neither propitiated with services nor touched by wrath. The earth indeed lacks sensation at all times, and only because it receives into itself the first-beginnings of many things does it bring forth many in many ways into the sun’s light. Here if anyone decides to call the sea Neptune, and corn Ceres, and to misapply the name of Bacchus rather than to use the title that is proper to that liquor, let us grant him to dub the round world Mother of the Gods, provided that he forbears in reality himself to infect his mind with base superstition.” (2.644-660, trans. Rouse-Smith)

He certainly agrees that it’s incorrect to identify the Earth, the sea, corn, and liquor as gods themselves, but the fact that he raises this criticism indicates that this view must have at least been widely held enough in his pagan culture to warrant correction from a literate, philosophical class. I don’t personally hold this view (I’m more of a Neo-Platonist myself), but if big-umbrella-paganism is seen as drawing its various traditions from pre-Christian pagan cultures in Europe and the Mediterranean, it seems like this view would not have been non-existent in at least one of those cultures.

As a general rule of thumb, you cant claim to be a believer if you believe in nothing.

I don’t claim to be a “believer” in tbe sense of believing in that for which thete is scant evidence. But you don’t have to be that kind of believer to be a Pagan.

No, you just claim to be an Atheist who wants people to accept his non-religion as religion because reasons.

And that, fundamentally, is where you are simply wrong.

“I believe in the Universe, as revealed through the process of science. I believe it is magnificent and worthy of reverence. ”

A worship of a concept, like a universe, is not rational thing. The universe, if you count it as a thing with no being/consciousness, does not supply one with what they need or want because it is beneficent towards beings who live it. It would be an after effect of how it runs.

You might as well thank your car for getting you to a gas station before it ran on e.

“I believe in the Universe, as revealed through the process of science. I believe it is magnificent and worthy of reverence. ”

I think dinosaurs are cool and awe-inspiring. Doesn’t mean I’m going to make a feeble attempt to construct a masturbatory religion around them.

Ever heard of live and let live? Tolerance? DIVERSITY? Just because my religion doesn’t look like yours doesn’t make yours “real” and mine not. And the more you double down on this nonsense, the more unreasonable you appear. Do you consider Zen Buddhism “not a religion” because it has no gods? If so, you dispute the overwhelming majority of religious scholars.

And really, chum: “feeble”? “Masturbatory”? You’re revealing yourself to be a defensive and angry person who is a lot more insecure about your position than you represent.

Since someone was kind enough to share this with me: http://i.imgur.com/McFbDdy.png

Presented for your consideration: Tolerance in action.

Your point? At no point in that quote do I claim that yours is not a religion, nor that you don’t belong in the Pagan community.

For the record, tolerance doesn’t mean agreement. It means willingly sharing a community with those with whom you disagree. Tolerance doesn’t mean that I have to respect your beliefs…merely your right to have them.

Y’know, I’ve given it some thought and I take it back, the dinosaur thing makes more sense than your Neil deGrasse Tyson lecture of a “religion.”

Don’t worry, I *tolerate* you, I just think what you do is pointless and asinine.

Well, and I think that what you do is going talking to yourself. But if that gives you some kind of satisfaction, by all means, carry on.

If you tolerate me, that means I get to be in the Pagan community, too. That’s all I’m advocating for here–it’s a big tent, and I’m in it, and so are you. hrafnblod has made clear that his bigoted intent is to drive Pagans like me out of the community, and that is textbook intolerance.

The author of this blog was not passive aggressive. The authors he mentioned in said entry were passive aggressive. This author is just aggressive.

I agree that nature-centered spirituality has more to do with the New Age movement than *ancient* paganaism(s), which often were no more ecologically responsible than modern monotheists (albeit with less technological power to destroy).

But I too go with Michael York’s definition. I’m not sure what source you’re working with though. In *Pagan Theology*, he defines paganism as the “fundamental and atavistic human urge to express honor and homage.” He explains:“Worship at this nonreflective and almost spontaneous stage of human growth, stripped of its theological overlay or baggage and expressive of the root level of religion, is what I am identifying as pagan.” According to York, “pagan” behavior “is unconscious, automatic, or reflexive” and “is natural and becomes part of the consequences that spring from any fundamental human need to worship or express veneration.”

This human urge which York describes is common to deity-centered polytheists, nature-centered eco-Pagans, and even atheistic Naturalistic Pagans.

The issue is, John, that accepting that definition doesn’t mean “Interpreting anything else in York’s work as loosely as is required to include atheopagans.” You’ll forgive me if I’m not going to adopt your particularly colonialist interpretations of pagan primitivism.

As it always seems to, this boils down to the root issues that paganism is, and must, move away from. The idea that it is “religion without rules.” A community where anything goes, where anything can be included under the umbrella. If we accept York’s definiton of modern paganism as based in the pre-Christian cultural traditions of Europe and the Mediterranean, then we can’t really also include any “unconscious, automatic or reflexive” exercise of religion under that banner.

Why not just define Paganism as any religion that finds inspiration in the religious practices of ancient Pagans?

I essentially do. Emphasis, mind you, on “religion.” And once more, I think that the definition of modern paganism is best directed only towards that specific geographical and cultural area, considering that (particularly extant) African, American, Asian and other such traditions tend not to self-identify as “pagan.”

“Your presumption that nature-centric spirituality is not Pagan is unfounded.”

You could make that argument for a few *very* new traditions. That is only a small piece of Pagan religions. However, historically informed Pagan religions usually are based in the continuity, and preservation of the tribe or, I guess, society.

I’m not trying to exclude retro-Paganisms, just include Neo-Paganisms.

It’s clear you’re trying to include all versions of paganisms. That’s very clear. What is being seen is that you’re trying to include said other paganisms in this vision of a sky falling, where only the “deserving” get to survive. And it’s only if we all pull together under some “community” or “leadership”. Because if we don’t, things will change even more than they have, and you (and co.) won’t like the end result.

“Pagans tend to be a ego-centered bunch (myself included).” You were at least half right.

Oh look, another deity worshiper succumbing to dogma pushing. I’m a Pantheist, I worship Nature first and foremost and rarely deal with god/desses and I will stand in immovable defiance of anyone who tries to tell me I’m not “pagan enough” or who wrongly supposes that nature-centric spirituality is “vague” and “New Age” and only considers it worthy if it somehow, someway includes deities.

No one’s discussing dogma at all, save the people who are deliberately obfuscating the point that this post was making and quite frankly, flat out lying about what was said within it.

Reading comprehension is hard, guys.

Oh look another LARP’er who can’t even spell right

Thank you for your article, it made for an interesting read. Although it’s nice that you think so, I am not a “figurehead” of OBOD – I don’t have any formal role within the Order, other than being a current member of the Ovate grade. I’m also very grieved that have got the impression from my article (as others have also done) that I was claiming that OBOD was currently declining in membership. This is actually not the case, and indeed is rather the opposite (the membership has grown to some 20,000 people worldwide – up by 4,000 since 2015). My point was actually quite different; that in the UK, few people under 40 are attending Pagan events (camps, moots, gatherings, conference), and fewer people are organising events on a voluntary basis. This is coming off the back of a gradual decline in the number of specialist Pagan and MBS bookshops, that took place throughout the late 2000s, tied to broader trends in the industry. These factors do not evince a collapse in numbers; but they do represent a decline in “the Pagan community” and could indicate problems further down the line (if groups like OBOD aren’t appealing to younger generations, for example).

One of the things I find deeply ironic about reconstructionism as a whole (and the reason why I do not practice it myself) is that the religious epistemology it adopts is basically identical to that of Christian Primitivism. The idea that there are certain authoritative sources of information, that must be consulted in order to re-create the religion of an ancestral generation who had (somehow) “better” access to the gods than we do today – it’s utterly typical of Mormonism, and is pretty concordant with all Revealed Religions. Druidry and Wicca, by contrast, are primarily focussed upon gaining direct access to the divine; through procedures (some of which are innovations, some of which we’ve inherited from our ancestors) that we find work. I find this to be far more true to what we know of the spiritual priorities of our pre-Christian ancestors – who in general seemed far more concerned with getting it to rain on time and punishing thieves than they were with an abstract “divinely sanctioned” standard from their distant past. It’s worth remembering that they wouldn’t have called themselves “Pagan” either.

Of course, I do not believe that this rather obvious adoption of the spiritual architecture of 19th century Christianity by Pagan reconstructionism in any way reduces the spiritual validity of the enterprise: I daresay the gods are rather flattered that you’d go to all that trouble on their behalf. But to adopt a position of superiority based on this effort, compared to other traditions runs the risk of missing the point of the practice itself – that is, to get closer to the gods – and rather reaffirms the proximity you have to Christian Primitivism (who make a similar kind of claim to back up their authority relative to other Christians).

Most scholars who study Paganism today agree (contra Michael York’s rather exaggerated and actually rather colonialist theory) that “Pagan” religions are a bunch of very different traditions that are united only by their common history, rooted in an intersection between Romanticism and Enlightenment philosophy. This is as true for the Reconstructionist movement as it is for Neo-Druidry or Wicca.

It’s curious that you’d say that “Nature spirituality” is outdated, when we are currently living through a period of time when concern over our environment has never been greater, and a broader passion for nature has scarcely been more strongly voiced before now (I think of the new Nature Writers, the power of conservation charities, and the positioning of nature and wellbeing alongside one another). To suggest that our ancestors employed the category of “Nature” and related to it as we do is clearly nonsense; but most of the OBOD members I know are well aware of this (far from being “historically ignorant” as you allege). The point is that this category – and our relationships based upon it – is important to us today, and for good reason. This doesn’t mean our ancestors can’t inspire us in new ways to honour and celebrate that relationship.

If you would prefer to look to the ancestors for a Rule, rather than ideas, that is of course your choice. I do not believe you are wrong to do so. And it’s clear we’re engaged in quite different spiritual projects. But this does not negate the common history we share, nor does it mean that what I am doing is bunk, just because it doesn’t look like your way.

For what it’s worth, of the three articles I linked in this post, yours was the one I took the least exception to if only because it was narrow in its overall focus and wasn’t quite so heavily slanted as Halstead or Auryn’s. That being said, this comment is a doozy. Let’s get started.

You are a figurehead of OBOD in the sense that you are speaking as a member of the group, publicly, online. Frankly, your blog post probably represents the most publicity that OBOD has gotten in years. You can’t speak as a member of the group while avoiding the burden of your voice being associated with that group, much as people seem to want to do that. I certainly understood the thrust of your post, that conventional pagan communities, as they’ve been known since the mid-20th century, are in decline in a lot of ways. That’s why the bulk of this piece addresses that.

You can attribute to me the position of a strict reconstructionist, and you’d be wrong, and you can talk about how reconstructionism is no different than hated Christianity, and you’d be a cliche. Likewise, I know that pagans in the past would not have called themselves ‘pagan.’ That’s also why I took the time to address in my post that I believe that part of the maturation process for contemporary paganism is to divide itself, for people to focus in on more specific religious identities, which themselves grow more distinct. It’s maturing in the sense that paganism looks less and less like a product of the ’60s and more like a broad swathe of only tangentially related, primarily polytheistic religious traditions.

As to the outdatedness of nature spirituality, I stand by that. And I don’t think that the politicization of paganism and environmentalism is doing either anything other than disservice. But there is a difference between placing a priority on ecological responsibility and engaging in directionless, ill-defined and frankly vapid “nature worship.” I’m not saying that reconstructionism (a word that, oddly enough, occurs only once in my entire original post and even then, is effectively mentioned in passing) is the only proper avenue pagan spirituality or religious development can take. It is, after all, only a methodology, it’s not an ideology unto itself. I’m saying that unapologetically religious, typically polytheistic traditions are finally developing in earnest after decades of archetypalism, murky pantheism and outright atheism without defined praxis or frankly defined anything. And I believe that’s a good thing.

As to your assertion that I am looking for “Rules,” I would say only this: take your reactionary, empty-headed rebellious inclinations and shove them up your pompous Druidic ass. We may share some history in the origins of the modern pagan movement, but I’d just as soon we don’t share a future in it.

*There’s* the hrafnblod I remember!

And here I thought you’d forgotten me.

Still holding court over at reddit?

Winning hearts and minds where e’er he goes…

I’d have a beer with him/her. Standing by principles, protecting actual polytheists from nebulous “atheist” and “nature worshipping” “Pagans” who seem in my view to be nothing of the sort but like the notoriety each label contains is the kind of person I want to associate with.

Thanks for this, I love a good tête-à-tête. I’ll address your comments in turn.

You are quite right to say that my comments will be associated with the Order of which I am part. I have never denied this. But this is not what being a figurehead means. I’ll defer to the Cambridge Dictionary:

I was simply assuming this was what you meant. As I have no leadership position within OBOD, with real power or otherwise, I felt it was important to clarify this, rather than let you masquerade under any illusions about my role. As for publicity, it is true that OBOD is quite selective with the amount of exposure it courts formally, but having seen the response to my original article, I now see much of the wisdom in that – especially as the Order is continuing to grow, regardless of its “low” profile. While I do think there are signs this growth might not be sustainable long term, I don’t view publicity as a good metric for assessing this. If it were, then the Loyal Arthurian Warband would be the largest and fastest Druidic group in Britain (it isn’t).

In drawing a comparison between Christianity and reconstructionism (strict or otherwise), I was not making a criticism. Nor was my remark about “Rules” meant as such either. I have a great deal of affection for (and respect for) many forms of Christianity, although there are some churches, individuals, and teachings that I would strongly criticise. My point is simply that reconstructionism is no more able to escape modern religious sensibilities, needs and contexts, than syncretic forms of Paganism; and that both syncretism and reconstructionism have parallels to pre-Christian practices. Both have their own, distinct virtues; I just happen to be more drawn to the former. I don’t have a problem with people who are drawn to the latter. What I do reject utterly is the sort of disdain that some reconstructionists and hard polytheists have for supposedly inauthentic syncretism, as “something out of the 60s” or “directionless, ill-defined and frankly vapid “nature worship” or “archetypalism, murky pantheism and outright atheism”. When you speak of atheism, Jungian archetypes, pantheism, and eco-spirituality in those ways, it’s pretty clear you think they’re bad, not just that you’re not into them yourself. By contrast, I’m just saying different strokes for different folks. And that my land worship is anything but vapid, thanks.

In terms of your point that the “Big Tent” definition of Paganism is being moved away from, in favour of an efflorescence of smaller, more defined religious traditions: I actually agree with you, certainly in America. In Europe, the trend is slightly different, however – rather than becoming more avowedly (and particularly) religious, there’s been a tremendous growth in small-p pagan “cultural” forms – particularly around environmentalism and nature-reverence. But people remain apathetic – even downright hostile – to belief and religious identification. If you check out my most recent article in G&R, I talk about some concrete examples of this. The distilled point of my article was that established Pagan organisations like OBOD could do more to engage with this groundswell of interest. Rather than forge a grand “Pagan” category, I suspect what we’ll see in Europe is Pagan traditions integrating smoothly with the folk cultures of their respective countries.

I’ve clearly hit a nerve with my rather arch response to your article. But I hope you will forgive me, as this post is one of a number of responses to my own writing that have both taken my nuanced critique as an opportunity to give OBOD a kicking, and have also disagreed with my piece only after misconstruing most of what I was actually saying. I love OBOD, and believe it represents a powerful storehouse of wisdom – so to have my arguments used in this way is really quite aggravating.

I just want to say, in this entire thread full of people I should agree with, you’re just about the only one whom I can safely say “wow, they seem reasonable,” about. You carry yourself in debate very honorably.

Reblogged this on Gangleri's Grove and commented:

a good thoughtful article (and a particularly entertaining ‘cherry on top’ of Halstead getting his ass handed to him lol).

yes, “paganism” is growing up, finally growing out of its ‘nature religion’ roots and into thriving, Deity driven cultus. it’s about time.

Was linked here by a friend, interesting article (Im not a pagan or anything similar but i enjoy researching that sort of thing, I identify as a Christian and have no plans to change that)

Now the previous nuke zone of the comment section i seriously moronic, paganism in the traditional sense of the word (not the weird co opted versions by the hippies) it does infer some belief in theism or at least some vague form of spirituality, you cant be an atheist and a pagan at the same time, thats about as moronic as a guy as a idiot on reddit describing someone as a communist nazi. Just seems to me as an outsider that people are just taking the word “pagan” back to what it means from people who use it as a political rallying point for their edginess, personal gain or weird faux atheistic views.

The all-in-one structure is intrinsically unstable and for that reason no more viable as a blueprint for religious organization than as a blueprint for any other sort of organization.

What is bound to die is the all-in-one way in which we have tried to organize Pagan traditions. The only structure left by which to organize Pagan traditions will be and is as panta-en-pasin.

Here alone will all our traditions be free to mature and flourish autonomously, rather than as through common denominators inevitably treated by all-in-oners not only in isolation from but as more fundamental than the traditions themselves.

To create a dichotomy between “nature worship” and deity cultus is like asking, “Did you walk to work or did you pack your lunch?”

Deities are whatever they are. “Nature” is everything not under control of the human ego. It is the orbits of planets, it is trees and flowers, it is most of your bodily processes, and it is most of your psychic processes.

You can be in awe of it. You can see it as the source of Power and Mystery. But “worship” seems like the wrong verb, if you mean by that praising it and asking it for favors.

Obviously, to the extent that gods are not controlled by the human ego (and I realize that their artistic representations are such), then they would be in Nature too. And we know that even the gods are subject to Fate.

I am off to Heartland Pagan Festival later today, where I will be speaking about “nature religion” and other things. Thanks for giving me some new talking points. 😉

There was a good post on /r/AskHistorians recently about the degree to which Greek and Roman polytheists believed their gods to be anthropomorphic people, or the degree to which they viewed them as identical to the forces of nature: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6cr4sl/just_how_literal_did_the_greeks_believe_their/

The top post is worth a thorough read, but if I’m not misremembering, the conclusion is that both views likely did exist, as evidenced by Lucretius’ criticisms of the latter idea (the idea must have been broadly spread enough for someone to feel encouraged to write against it).

I don’t, actually, use the word worship for what I do. But you don’t have to be a worshipper to be religious.

Yes, you do. Religion: relinking. The human soul with the divine. You know, GOD(s). What you have is a vaguely defined spirituality, NOT a religion. Please do yourself a favor and look up the word religion and its origins and stop placing yourself in a position of authority on something you quite obviously know nothing about, since you are an atheist. Which is totally fine in my book, have at it. Just don’t call it religion.

Not surprised OBOD is having a hard time. Recently OBOD friends started kicking out everyone who was either conservative or not an environmentalist. One member, before I was kicked off for saying it’s wrong to want to harm someone for hunting WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE LAW, was making a list of every member that either made positive comments for hunters, conservatives etc. or liked such comments.

Posted to soon. The poster would never say what such a list was for, but I somehow doubt it was a list of who to ask out for lunch.

Interesting read. My spiritual community is in the Greater Boston Area and it has been booming in the past five years. That being said, it looks nothing like the Pagan communities I grew up with. CUUPS is largely extinct as is the long standing Dianic organization. I think all of these changes are an opportunity to grow, diversify, and deepen.

A very interesting read! Thanks for sharing! Myself, I have also noticed local groups really maturing and gaining traction. For example, they now have a physical temple space which they rent that they manage to pay for, which is great!

Blog hund

As many of you may have noticed, we at the Hungry Hounds took a long break over the holidays from posting. Of course, that didn't mean a pause in cooking and eating, just a pause in posts while we relaxed with family, enjoyed time with our kids, and caught back up on work. This week our Madeline turns two, and last month Gideon passed the six-month mark. Gideon is (finally) mostly sleeping through the night, and Madeline is getting more and more fascinating as her vocabulary grows and she is able to share what she's thinking. Last week when we mentioned her upcoming birthday she asked us if "Maybe. maybe. I can eat cake. that'd be DEEEELicious!" Well cake you shall have, Madeline! We will be making her this subtly sweet Haitian classic ginger cake, Bonbon Siwo. It is a warmly spiced Haitian gingerbread cake that is dark and dense with coconut milk and blackstrap molasses, and boldly flavored with fresh ginger, cloves and cinnamon.

Rustic Sausage Lentil Stew

This week our toddler Madeline added the word 'brrr' (accompanied by exaggerated shivers) to her vocabulary. What frigid chill inspired this? When we got up yesterday morning in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, it was 69 °F (21 °C). serious cold in her Caribbean world. In the spirit of enjoying this cooler weather, Rebecca requested a hearty lentil stew with the local sausage we had on hand. This Rustic Sausage Lentil Stew is straightforward to make and easy to adapt. This stew avoids the thick heaviness of many traditional lentil stews by using green French lentils that remain whole and al dente during cooking. While hearty, the stew is surprisingly light and bright.

Hearty Buckwheat Salad with Creamy Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

We discovered three bags of buckwheat groats in one of our suitcases when we returned to Haiti a few months ago. some toddler packing assistance, perhaps?! Buckwheat is one of our favorite salad grains that we make seasonal adaptations of throughout the year. I especially love the nutty flavors of buckwheat with a creamy sweet roasted garlic vinaigrette and toasted vegetables. Beets and carrots are all plentiful in our Port-au-Prince markets this time of year, and we love the slightly offbeat grassy flavor of local okra in the mix.

Aunt Mary's Spiced Pumpkin Bars

My Great Aunt Mary was a meticulous and brilliant woman, who also happened to have a stellar repertoire of holiday baked goods. She passed her recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Bars down to my mother years ago. I returned to Aunt Mary's recipe after a run of failed pumpkin bar experiments. Aunt Mary's Spiced Pumpkin Bars are a homey old-fashioned bar, with a soft texture, warm spices and gooey cream cheese icing. With only a few minor tweaks from the original, I present to you, the best pumpkin bars you will ever eat.

Saffron and Garlic Poached Tilapia

Crisp Thai Cucumber & Peanut Salad

A Caribbean flu hit our household in Haiti this week. First Paul, then me, now the kids. Sigh. During times of illness, my go-to comfort food is the reassuringly simple, cool, and refreshing cucumber. Cucumbers are my vegetable equivalent of chicken soup. As I gradually felt better throughout the week, my cucumber salads became more elaborate and flavorful. This Crisp Thai Cucumber & Peanut Salad, a Thai-inspired riff, is crunchy, sour, and salty, with a hint of coconut sweetness.

Pittsburgh Style Haluski

Just over a week ago, Hurricane Irma swept past Haiti; bringing heavy rains, wind, and flash flooding to many of the communities we work in. These have been busy days of travel, hearing the stories of survivors, seeing the damage first-hand, and responding with food and emergency supplies to families who lost everything. My final trip last week was to the small community of Goyave, high in the mountains overlooking the coastal city of St. Marc. Goyave is a farming community that had been devastated by Hurricane Matthew last year. I was there to join in the celebration of a successful harvest and the end of an MCC project to help these farmers rebuild their gardens and livelihoods. Each of the 200 families who participated in the project brought a symbol of their good harvest. Soon our outdoor meeting area was filled with piles of beautiful fresh produce: cabbages, militon squash, corn, beans, avocados, onions, leeks, sour oranges, bananas, plantains, passion fruit, pumpkins, bell peppers, hot peppers, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and yams. As we finished our meeting, a community elder stood up to speak, he reiterated his thanks for the project that had helped the community rebuild, and added that we all must remember the Haitian proverb, "Men ale, men vini, fe zanmi dire." This essentially translates as 'reciprocity is what makes for lasting friendships.' He advised that there were times when one needed to receive help, such as after a Hurricane, but that one must always work to give back. "It is bad for friendships if only one side gives," he said. So the community celebrated their rebuilding and their harvest by giving freely, to each other and to our group of visitors. It was humbling and beautiful to witness and receive this generosity. Arriving home late at night, dusty and tired, with a bag full of fresh cabbages and onions, I thought back to other celebrations and shared meals. I remembered many potlucks and meals with friends from our Pittsburgh days, and one of the region's classic comfort foods for shared celebrations -- Haluski. While there is much debate on whether Halsuki is authentically Polish (as is claimed by most Pittsburghers), there is little controversy about how simple it is to make, and delicious to eat. It is comfort food at its best: caramelized onions, cabbage, and kielbasa mixed with buttery egg noodles. A hearty and rustic crowd-pleaser, and a celebration of the season's bounty.

Praying for Haiti -- Hurricane Irma

This evening, Hurricane Irma, a category 5 Hurricane and one of the largest on record, is churning westward towards Haiti. The most serious of its effects will likely reach Haiti Thursday evening. Across Haiti people are praying for a miracle. While the eye of the storm is unlikely to make landfall in Haiti, its winds and rains are expected to bring tremendous suffering. In river valleys across northern Haiti, families are bracing for floods. On windswept mountains, people are looking out to sea, praying for protection. New parents are holding their children tight, praying that their roofs will hold during the storm. The farmers we work with across the Artibonite and Central Plateau are anxiously watching their crops, hoping they will not be washed away. We pray tonight for the safety of our staff, for our partners across Haiti, for the tens of thousands of people in the storm's path without protection or a safety net. We pray that in the months ahead, Haiti and her people will have the strength for the slow and painful work of reckoning and rebuilding. Just eleven months after Hurricane Matthew, we pray Haiti has the resilience to struggle back to its feet, once again. Please pray with us.

Rich and Salty Coconut Blondies

Blondies, for those of you unfamiliar, are a brilliant dessert creation that takes a chocolate chip cookie, and mashes it into bar form, reminiscent of its brownie cousin. My Mom made blondies for us growing up, and they have remained a key dessert on my easy-and-failsafe shortlist; requiring only that you dump ingredients into one bowl, mix, add in some treats, and bake. These Rich and Salty Coconut Blondies are a densely gooey treat. As many of our North American readers have cool temperatures this long weekend, consider firing up your oven to bake these decadent Rich and Salty Coconut Blondies.

Orange Cilantro Grilled Chicken Skewers

We love the flavor of grilled food. When we moved to Haiti, we missed our decade old baby Weber grill so much that we ended up bringing it with us to Haiti -- impressively packed by Paul's Dad in his suitcase. We debated admitting this embarrassing dependence, recognizing the ridiculousness of bringing our grill to Haiti. But wow, do we love to grill. Local oranges and herbs make a lovely punchy green marinade for these Orange Cilantro Grilled Chicken Skewers. A light zesty marinade to add to your summer repertoire.

Market White Bean Salad

As a way of settling back into our life in Haiti, I have been visiting local markets. I love the challenge of putting together meals with my daily market finds. I had a pot of beautiful local white beans soaking at home as I headed out to shop for this weeknight salad. My market haul yielded local cherry tomatoes, kale, green beans and shallots. I made a bold citrus vinaigrette for my Market White Bean Salad, and served it with grilled fish. A fresh hearty salad to round out a meal with new friends.

Slow Roasted Ginger Honey Pulled Pork

Since our last post, Rebecca and I have been in transition mode, moving back to our life here in Haiti from the US. With bags fully unpacked, two kids settled, and a week of work under our belts, it was time to celebrate this weekend. Meat in Haiti is free-range and very flavorful, but also tends to be quite tough. This lends itself to low and slow cooking. This Slow Roasted Ginger Honey Pulled pork is deeply flavored, and easy to make; perfect for weekend sandwiches under the mango tree after the kids are down for the night. It is good to be home again!

Returning to Haiti & Tuna Sandwiches for the Road

Growing up, car trips were synonymous with delicious, homemade pickle-filled tuna sandwiches. In our own small family, we've continued the tradition, and tuna sandwiches are inevitably present on trips and during life transitions. Next week we'll be returning to Haiti after our medical sojourn and remote work from the US. After much road trip inspired research and development, we've honed our favorite flavor combination: crisp apple, sour pickles, fresh dill, green onions, lemon and mustard. Onward to Haiti.

Homemade Blueberry Soda

In less than two weeks, we will be back home in Haiti, with both a chattering toddler and tiny newborn in tow. On my bucket list of foods to enjoy before we leave are the delicious peak-of-summer blueberries that line our local farm stand. So this week I boiled up a batch of blueberry syrup to make into tall frosty glasses of Homemade Blueberry Soda; a thirst quencher on these steamy Indiana days. For more blueberry additions to your cooking, try: Summer Chicken Waldorf Salad, Blueberry Bay Leaf Quick Jam, Hoosier Milk Tarts with Berries, and for a blue tinted breakfast, Blue Corn Griddle Cakes with Lime Butter.

Marinated Tomato Mozzarella Salad

It has been a bit of a blur since Gideon's arrival, as we remember what it's like to go weeks without a full nights sleep. Little Gideon and Mom are both doing well, and so we are on track to returning to Haiti in early August. As we wrap up our last weeks here, stateside, we are relishing the tastes of North American summer: impossibly good sweet corn, tart local blueberries with a dash of cream, and fresh peak-of-summer tomatoes and herbs. This Marinated Tomato and Mozzarella Salad has been a frequent highlight on our table these last few weeks. It is ready in minutes, bursting with summer flavor, a balance of bright sweet tomatoes and creamy fresh mozzarella.

Summer Chicken Waldorf Salad

Gideon just crested his second week of life, and we are happily adjusting to the logistical maneuverings of being a newly minted family of four. We have tried to eat most meals together as a family with Madeline, and now little Gideon has been joining us. As Madeline holds court from her highchair, swinging her legs and filling her cheeks to capacity, her little brother sleeps soundly in middle of the table. Recently, I have found myself craving sandwiches, and their one-handed portability is especially great for multi-tasking with small kids. This week, with my father-in-law's delicious barbecue chicken and some classic Waldorf ingredients in the fridge, I decided to make my own non-traditional version of a Summer Chicken Waldorf Salad. I started with a classic base: chicken, celery, grapes, and apples. Fresh produce from a nearby farmstand inspired some summery additions; a smattering of blueberries, fresh sweet corn on the cob, and parsley. I cut the thick mayonnaise base of a traditional Waldorf dressing with greek yogurt and seasoned the salad before pouring over the dressing with extra lemon for brightness.

Baby Gideon

It is with great relief and joy that we welcome the newest member to our family. Baby Gideon, a healthy baby boy, was born at 1pm yesterday in Goshen, Indiana. Both mama and baby are doing well now, and sleeping peacefully beside me as I type. Given the complications of the pregnancy, the risks of delivery in Haiti were simply too great; a painful reminder of how so many families lack access to good quality healthcare. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness for our little boy, and all the people who helped he and Rebecca get through a difficult surgery and recovery.

Rhubarb Strawberry Cake

Madeline is quite focused on her Papa these days. We hear her little voice calling out 'Papa' from her crib when she wakes up in the morning; she sits riveted in her highchair in the middle of the kitchen to watch Paul cook; she babbles on early morning walks with Paul, trying out her new words of the day; Madeline bangs on the door when Paul is working, shouting 'book. Papa;' and she maintains a steady chant of 'Papa. home,' as we drive home after an overnight at her grandparents. My favorite though, is her own made up game of Marco-Polo with her father. Throughout the day, Madeline will frequently interrupt her playing, eating or reading to say; 'Papa?' with a questioning lilt. Paul will respond 'Yes, Madeline.' and she will give a small nod of satisfaction, and go back to her play.

This year our Father's Day celebrations will be spread over both this weekend and the next, as we plan to welcome our new baby next Friday. For me, celebrations bring to mind cakes, and given my dislike of baking, fool-proof is a requirement. This Rhubarb Strawberry Cake has a rustic moist vanilla base, with jammy pools of cooked strawberry and rhubarb dotted on top, and a sweet crunch of caramelized sugar.

Mediterranean Beef Kebabs

"COOK!" "COOK!" . "Mmmmmm!" Our 16-month-old daughter will proclaim as she urgently points to the stove around meal times. Our Madeline is both patient and persistent in her quest for food, and will next proceed to helpfully list all her favorite foods for us to cook, meat. blueberries. strawberries, with the ever present refrain; "COOK!" Yes, our daughter is a voracious carnivore who swings her little legs and claps her hands in delight when she gets meat for her meals. These Mediterranean Beef Kebabs are one in a long-line of meat dishes Paul has concocted for Madeline, and they are as delicious as they are simple to make! And if you give them a try, you might just find your guests swinging their legs in delight too.

Simple Rhubarb Danishes

It is high rhubarb season here in Northern Indiana where Rebecca and I are spending these last weeks of her pregnancy. Since rhubarb is something we can't find in Haiti, Rebecca has been doubling down on it while we are here. We eat rhubarb strawberry jam on our toast, in yogurt, and as a topping for ice cream. We make batch upon batch of rhubarb strawberry jam bars, and of course many a rhubarb cream pie. These Simple Rhubarb Danishes are easy (for a pastry), delicious, and elegant -- great for a crowd, or in scaled down version for a weekend breakfast.

Honey Citrus Grilled Chicken

Three cheers for the Memorial Day weekend. This week has felt long with work during the day, and preterm labor most nights. While my appetite has been weak lately, I have had an odd hankering for sweet and sour flavors. With this craving in mind, Paul has been working on this delicious and simple Honey Citrus Grilled Chicken, and it is a knock-out win for me!

Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Bars

We made these Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Bars five times in the last two weeks. Each time we swore to ourselves it would be our last. But then another picnic would pop up on the calendar. Each time we turned to the jars of crimson hued roasted strawberry rhubarb jam perched in the fridge, tempting us. And so another batch of Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Bars would hit the oven, followed by much happy gobbling.

Spring Picnic Orzo Salad with Asparagus & Feta

We love outdoor eating, and as temperatures rise in Northern Indiana, we've been honing our pasta salad line-up for the picnic season. Spring Picnic Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Feta is an edgier alternative to the traditional picnic classic. In our pasta salad, we replaced the larger pasta with small rice shaped orzo, added crunchy asparagus, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes, and tossed it with an assertive garlicky lemon vinaigrette, herbs and feta. Enjoy this early picnic season with Spring Picnic Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Feta.

Henan Citrus Chicken Broth

Henan Citrus Chicken Broth is Paul's non-traditional adaptation of the famous aromatic Daokou chicken from Henan province, China, near the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Already a deft broth maker, Paul has honed his technique and varied his flavor profiles during my pregnancy, in empathic response to my near-daily nausea. I love this broth's bold citrus aroma and flavor, subtle honey sweetness, and rich background spices. Its a great broth on its own (Paul's favorite), or with fresh steamed veggies and rice (the way I like it best). This recipe is adapted from Carolyn Phillips' wonderful new Chinese cookbook All Under Heaven.

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Troy Hunt

Hi, I'm Troy Hunt, I write this blog, create courses for Pluralsight and am a Microsoft Regional Director and MVP who travels the world speaking at events and training technology professionals

Weekly Update 75

Every now and then, I look at one of the videos I've just recorded and only realise then how tired I look. This was one of those weeks and it was absolutely jam-packed! There was some awesome stuff and there was some very frustrating stuff. Let me add briefly to the latter here: The joy of participating in online communities is that we have these melting pots of diverse backgrounds and ideas all coming together in the one place. A huge portion of what I've learned personally has come from very robust debates within these communities and in turn, I hope others have also learned from me. These discussions are awesome; they make us all better people and better professionals.

I've Just Launched "Pwned Passwords" V2 With Half a Billion Passwords for Download

Last August, I launched a little feature within Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) I called Pwned Passwords. This was a list of 320 million passwords from a range of different data breaches which organisations could use to better protect their own systems. How? NIST explains: When processing requests to establish and change memorized secrets, verifiers SHALL compare the prospective secrets against a list that contains values known to be commonly-used, expected, or compromised. They then go on to recommend that passwords "obtained from previous breach corpuses" should be disallowed and that the service should "advise the subscriber that they need to select a different secret". This makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Weekly Update 74

I had plans this week. Monday was going to be full of coding work around Pwned Passwords V2 (and a few other HIBP things) then Texthelp went and got themselves pwned and there went my day writing about the ramifications of that. This is a genuinely important issue and the whole concept of the JavaScript supply chain needs much better thought. We've got the technology, it's just that most people don't know it exists! I did then later get around to posting my "dark web" piece too. It's a scary read because it has dark stuff, hoodies and green screens and we know that's scary because that's the message we keep getting fed! Actually, not so scary and.

Making Light of the "Dark Web" (and Debunking the FUD)

I'll start this post where I start many of my talks - what does a hacker look like? Or perhaps more specifically, what do people think a hacker looks like? It's probably a scary image, one that's a bit mysterious, a shady character lurking in the hidden depths of the internet. People have this image in their mind because that's what they've been conditioned to believe: These are the images that adorn the news pieces we read and we've all seen them before. Hell, we've seen literally the same guy over and over again. See that bloke in the bottom right? He's the guy! No really, I wrote about him last year and exposed his involvement in everything from state-sponsored.

The JavaScript Supply Chain Paradox: SRI, CSP and Trust in Third Party Libraries

A couple of years back as the US presidential campaign was ramping up, the Trump camp did something stupid. I know, we're all shocked but bear with me because it's an important part of the narrative of this post. One of their developers embedded this code in the campaign's donation website: <script src="https://github.com/igorescobar/jQuery-Mask-Plugin/blob/gh-pages/js/jquery.mask.min.js" type="text/javascript></script> See the problem? This tag was in the source code over at secure.donaldjtrump.com/donate-homepage yet it was pulling script directly off Igor Escobar's GitHub repository for the project. Now, imagine if Igor took a dislike to Trump. Or someone else took issue with the bloke.

Weekly Update 73

I'm not entirely sure how I've gotten to the end of the week feeling completely wrung out whilst having only written the one thing, but here we are. In fairness though, I've put a heap of work into Pwned Passwords version 2 and finally completed the data set. There's some coding work and other logistics to complete before it goes live, but the plan for now is week after next so I'm looking forward to that. This week, it's all about minimum password lengths. In isolation, that sounds a little mundane but in the context of the broader picture of how authentication has evolved, I think it makes for an interesting discussion. By pure coincidence, I was very happy to.

How Long is Long Enough? Minimum Password Lengths by the World's Top Sites

I've been giving a bunch of thought to passwords lately. Here we have this absolute cornerstone of security - a paradigm that every single person with an online account understands - yet we see fundamentally different approaches to how services handle them. Some have strict complexity rules. Some have low max lengths. Some won't let you paste a password. Some force you to regularly rotate it. It's all over the place. Last year, I wrote about authentication guidance for the modern era and I talked about many of the aforementioned requirements. I particularly focused on how today's thinking is at odds with many of the traditional views of how passwords should be handled. That post has a lot of guidance.

Weekly Update 72

I'm home! It's nice being home 😀 This week I start by getting a couple of things off my chest, namely some pretty wacky reactions to my suggesting that we're never going to see a coders' hippocratic oath and how I feel when media outlets say "the dark web". Plus, I've got news around running workshops in Europe with Scott Helme and me finally getting a content security policy on this blog. That last one in particular makes me very happy because it really shouldn't have been this hard, but it was (for reasons I explain in the video) and it's now working fantastically! All that and more in this week's update. iTunes podcast | Google Play Music podcast | RSS.

My Blog Now Has a Content Security Policy - Here's How I've Done It

I've long been a proponent of Content Security Policies (CSPs). I've used them to fix mixed content warnings on this blog after Disqus made a little mistake, you'll see one adorning Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) and I even wrote a dedicated Pluralsight course on browser security headers. I'm a fan (which is why I also recently joined Report URI), and if you're running a website, you should be too. But it's not all roses with CSPs and that's partly due to what browsers will and will not let you do and partly due to what the platforms running our websites will and will not let you do. For example, this blog runs on Ghost Pro which is a managed.

I'm Teaming Up with Scott Helme to Run "Hack Yourself First" Workshops in Europe

This is probably the most self-explanatory blog post title I've ever written! But be that as it may, it deserves some explanation as to how I've arrived at this point and like many great ideas, it began over some beers. I've just arrived home to the Gold Coast in Australia which I frequently describe to people as "the sunny part of the sunny country". I'm literally sitting on a beach writing this blog post and frankly, I'd like to spend more time here. I spent 37% of 2017 away from home and whilst I had many fantastic experiences, it's both hard work and time away from a young family. Consequently, I'm trying to do shorter trips (the one.

Upcoming Events

I usually run private workshops around these, here's the upcoming public events I'll be at:

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Copyright 2018, Troy Hunt

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. In other words, share generously but provide attribution.

Disclaimer

Opinions expressed here are my own and may not reflect those of people I work with, my mates, my wife, the kids etc. Unless I'm quoting someone, they're just my own views.

Published with Ghost

This site runs entirely on Ghost and is made possible thanks to their kind support. Read more about why I chose to use Ghost.

Column: Follow Your Arrow

North American Paganism is being slowly choked by exceptionalism. There, I said it. If you’d like to skip ahead and scream at me now, just scroll down to “comments” and say what you need to say.

First, let’s talk about the Lord of the Rings. Of all the characters who inhabited Middle Earth, there were but a handful who could potentially subjugate the ring. As a reminder, the ring was enjoined with the spirit of Sauron, the most powerful servant of evil. He is both the master of the ring and the spirit to which the ring wants to return.

[CC0 Creative Commons license from Pixabay user ColiN00B.]

The other is Gandalf. As a fellow Maia (the equivalent of a demigod in the Lord of the Rings universe) equal to Sauron, his will is as powerful. Tolkien suggested as such. Gandalf could possibly overcome the will of the One Ring, subjugate it and destroy Sauron. But Gandalf would then have become the Ring-Lord and Tolkien adds that the ring “would have been the master in the end” (see “Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien,” letter 246).

What would follow from Gandalf’s control of the One Ring would be oppression through righteousness, executed to the point that peace would be weaponized. Gandalf would enforce his will to create a lawful harmony by dominating all free thought while acting as a wise and gentle saint. The free peoples of Middle Earth would live in eternal peacetime, enslaved with feather collars.

[Joel Lee via Wikimedia Commons.]

Exceptionalism is that same path, and it is a simple concept: nothing more than the belief or perception that a group or institution is extraordinary in some way. That we, or some of us, have some type of unique insight into justice, civility or spirit, and it haunts us. It’s not a poltergeist constantly seeking attention and manifesting with clarity. It’s a shadow that we can glimpse, but takes time to recognize. It wants to not be seen, so where is it?

Well, it’s there when leaders victimize followers by claiming special insights into spirit, but it’s also there when someone uses ancestry to justify spiritual identity.

This is troubling. It makes the key to religious training and spiritual access based on descent, and I think it needs to be called out every time, all the time. It’s why I recoil when someone claims that they have a special witch’s mark or are special because they are the seventh child of a seventh child. It’s why I lose confidence when someone states that their hair color gives them spiritual authority, and it’s why I reject that a lineage of witches makes you a witch.

Sure, it’s great you have teachers in your family, and yes, it’s great that you avoid the coming-out-Pagan experience, but you have to learn the Craft. You have to practice the Craft. You have to work the Craft. It’s about spiritual attainment through work and merit not an occult lineage. To suggest otherwise is to create a Pagan aristocratic class that is at best oligarchical and at worst racist.

We can’t seem to get away from it. Have a look around in our introductions, especially at spiritual gatherings, where we learn that a presenter comes from a “long line of priests” or is “a native Irish druid” — really, pick any country and insert it there. It starts off as a marketing ploy and then a justification for expertise. If it were true, then children of doctors could perform surgery.

If the inherent racism were not enough, it also leaves us open to spiritual victimization. Like the One Ring, spiritual predators will lure with exceptionality. They will use lineage and personal gnosis as a means to justify their superiority and ultimately, they focus on a single objective: to create spiritual debt. Because the great thing about spiritual debt for these people is that it can be commoditized.

That debt can be turned into loyalty, work, even cash. It can be used to demoralize individuals and it can make them surrender psychologically, emotionally, and even sexually. Just ask Jim Jones, one of the most famous perpetrators of the strategy. It’s why I have all my students watch the documentary Jonestown. Yeah, it’s creepy. I think it’s also required watching. It won’t immunize one from spiritual predation, but at least it opens one’s eyes to what it can do.

In many ways, the modern Pagan movement involved a rejection of the spiritual authority of religious leaders from other faiths.

What I think is most sad about exceptionalism isn’t about this narcissistic control and superiority. Rather, it is how it blinds us to the strength of the ordinary. You are special because you are you and that is all that’s needed. We are all born with the same spiritual toolbox. No one’s is shinier, bigger, or more effective than anyone else’s.

There are no human mediators to the gods. There are no priests to grant you access. We are all equally ignorant and equally capable.

The Hund Blog

Monitoring Cron Jobs

Hund's webhook integrations are robust solutions for reporting statuses and custom metrics to your status page. These are ideal if you need to report information from your platform, or if Hund does not integrate with a monitoring service you use.

Today we will be looking at using webhooks to report the health and run times of cron jobs.

Reporting Statuses

Upon creation of a webhook component, you are provided with a unique webhook URL and key:

We can send a POST request to the provided webhook URL with component's current status . The reported status must be a valid status integer ( -1 : Outage, 0 : Degraded, 1 : Operational). If you do not provide the status , then a status of 1 is assumed.

We shall start off by making a simple shell script, report_status.sh :

This script takes three arguments: your webhook key, your watchdog ID, and an exit code. This cURL command is silent and will retry up to 3 times, with a 10-second timeout per request.

This cron job runs every day at 23:00. Our report_status.sh script will always* run with backup.sh 's exit code (i.e. $? ).

Just like that, you are reporting the status of your cron job. However, what if the server is down, or it is unable to resolve hund.io? That is where the dead man's switch feature comes in.

* report_status.sh will not run if set -e is used and backup.sh fails with a non-zero exit code.

Dead Man's Switch

We want to ensure our component's status is accurate, so we need to report an outage when the job stops running for any reason. Webhook watchdogs have a "dead man's switch" option that can report an outage when the component's status is not received when expected:

Here, we have configured the dead man's switch to expect our status report every day, with a consecutive check threshold of 1. With such a low threshold our webhook watchdog would immediately be considered "dead," and an outage state would fire after not receiving statuses.

A one-minute cron job can safely use a low consecutive check threshold without worrying about sensitive reporting. If such a cron job were failing intermittently, Hund's event backend would only notify you of the outage upon the first failure (depending on your consecutive check threshold). A restoration notification will only fire after the intermittent failures have stopped.

Reporting Run Times

It would be valuable to see how long our cron job takes to run. Webhook metric providers are for reporting arbitrary datasets, so let us define our new run_time metric:

Here, we have defined the metric's title and a custom y supremum. The y supremum is assumed to be our least upper bound for the data.

This new run_time metric we have defined can be used to initialize new run_time metrics on other components if desired.

Now we need to report our metric to the metric provider URL presented earlier. We will start off again with a simple shell script, report_time.sh :

This script takes three arguments: your webhook key, your metric provider ID, and a start timestamp. This cURL command is sending a POST request with our run_time data.

Note: % must be escaped in crontab since it will convert to a newline.

Here we are reporting both the cron job's status as well as its run time.

We define our start and end timestamps with millisecond precision by using date +%s.%3N . In our report_time.sh script, we use bc (i.e. basic calculator) to calculate our duration, which is necessary to perform floating point arithmetic. However, our calculated duration may not have a leading zero for sub-second values, though we can easily use sed to ensure we have a JSON-valid float.

We could alternatively report millisecond durations by instead using date +%s%3N , without requiring bc and sed .

After some time, an interesting graph has developed on our component:

There exist many services for monitoring cron jobs, but we can see that Hund provides a more robust solution than others, packaged in a status page service.

Hund's webhook metric provider allows us to report arbitrary datasets that can provide great insight into performance, while the webhook component provides confidence in operational health.

You can try Hund for free today, no credit card required.