2023 Word of the Year: Magic!

I remember as a child deciding at one point that I knew magic did not really exist and that I would never actually be transported through the wardrobe to a world of wonder. That thought sunk into me and I've remained rather disappointed in the world for its mundanity ever since.

But in doing an exercise in Rev. Sarah Bowen's book Spiritual Rebel called Taking Out the Sacred Trash, I realized that this was a belief I didn't need to carry with me any more.

No magic, really?

"You have to believe we are magic
Nothing can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don't let your aim ever stray” --Magic, Olivia Newton-John

"For effective magic is transcendent in nature…”; --Middlemarch, George Eliot

"I have always loved visiting places of ritual and magic at special times of year—" --The Ponies at the Edge of the World, Catherine Munro

"The world is so full of magic and surprises," --Jane Goodall

Magic, yes, really!

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Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

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What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!". Wings of R...

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Why it springs to mind: Relevant thoughts about how we view aging and how we treat the aged in our society. In this story, young people protest the existence of old people in an assisted living facility for taking up resources. Not far from the callous viewpoint of people sometimes expressed in the national news. Where read: The last story in Stone Mattress: Nine Tales (2014) a collection by Margaret Atwood Summary: Wilma and her boyfriend Tobias escape an assisted living facility, Ambrosia Manor, that has come under attack by protestors carrying signs that say "Time to Go" and "Our Turn" who think the old people are just taking up space and resources. Memorable: the delightful use of Charles Bonnet Syndrome as a character trait for Wilma Quotes: "We have to be kind to one another in here, she tells herself. We're all we have left." "According to Tobias, women hang around longer because they're less capable of indignation and...

Shel Graves' Sensorium

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