Old Book Smell is Wonderful

[this blog post to be edited & finished later] 

 
One of my favorite scents of all time is old books. In part because books symbolize my love of knowledge, and in part because I worked in rare books and archives for a while (was graduate work focus), and because libraries have often been my happy place.

-- smell with memory and some of mine
-- feelings evoked
-- chemical compounds
-- link to history

UPCOMING: Comparing Book Scented Candles

If you have a favorite book or library scented candle, let me know! So that I can include it in the final blog post comparing results.

No! Girls are NOT Like Apples on Trees!!!

Some of you may have seen the below image floating around the interwebs. People are posting it as some kind of moral insight, a lesson about the truth of virtuous girls and courageous, righteous boys.

What a horrid thing -- no way! My "n and "o" keys cannot handle the amount of NO here! I suppose I would not be reacting so strongly if I had not been raised with similar beliefs, and experienced firsthand how damaging they are. Don't teach your daughters this bull.


There is SO MUCH WRONG HERE that I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just put a bunch of bullet-ed paragraphs here. 
-- The notion that a girl exists to look pretty on a tree to wait for a boy to come along and pick her makes her main potential in life to revolve around waiting around for a man. And not just that, but to wait around for him to take the action that affects her life. She is a passive object here (an apple) while he gets to remain an active agent in his own life. She is just the victim/object of his choices. She has no agency in her own relationship choices.

-- An apple is meant to be consumed!!! Do I even need to explain this part?! -- This sets up a system of comparison between women that a patriarchal society/mindset might use. We do not need to allow competition & comparison between women in order to get the attention of that boy who will choose us for consumption.
-- The poor little apples at the top think something is wrong with them because the boys aren't scrambling to get them. *UGH* More reinforcement that girls self-worth is only validated by the outside judgement and action of men/boys. *PUKE*RETCH*

-- And all those poor little consumable girls, just waiting for life validation and worth, can't even turn to the other apples and look for support or begin to the conversation about what bullshit this is because they are all busy competing with & judging one another. They have all been conditioned to fail, and have little or no way out of this system.

-- Women do not need to compete with one another for anything other than consensual sporting activities or contests. Allowing ourselves to be trapped in such a framework of isolation & judgement of on another is harmful at best, and destructive to everything around us.

--  The wording diminutizes women into girls. If they are old enough to be in a relationship, they are women or becoming women. Keeping them small is a means to more easily power-tip over them and keep them in their place. Likewise, using the term 'boys' also takes away a bit of their power/responsibility on the situation.

-- Judgement and labeling like "good" "easy" "top" "bottom" are such enormous bull-hockey I don't even know where to start on that one.


-- Teaching men and boys that their job is to judge and objectify the opposite gender is so damaging to who they are. It takes away these boys' inherent sense of worth and place in society and cheapens it by twisting it into a false power dynamic. One that will not serve them well; one that twists the idea of what real beauty and worthiness is, and corrupts their responsibility towards their fellow, equal humans. It also states that their own worth & bravery is dependent on them scoring the correct apple from the tree.


I'm sure there's more to be said. Post it in the comments.
Some worthwhile comments from others in a discussion of this topic: 
"You are not an apple waiting to be chosen, and you are certainly not rotten. Get out of the damn tree and choose your own life, your own adventure, and your own boy if you want one. But first, go be whatever and whoever it is you want to be. Sitting around in a tree is a waste of your potential." - T.M.

"...the creator of this might think that it will inspire self-esteem in the apples at the top of the tree... but it objectifies ALL of the apples." -- G.M.  
 

Halloween While Being Eastern Christian

I really don't know why this question comes up in Orthodox circles, but for some reason it does:  Should Orthodox Christians celebrate Halloween?   I think the real question that needs consideration is: What exactly is going on with the holiday and it it an actual threat to your way of life and the Eastern perspective? Let's also remember that this is a Western holiday in a Western cultural context, so when engage in the debate of whether it's appropriate for you or not, you'd better come at it from the actual perspective & understandings of your religion; not some other kind of Christianity.

Some people are concerned that Halloween is a Pagan religious holiday (modern style Paganism, not ancient), and so don't want to participate in another religion. This article from an Orthodox blogger, Recovering Pessimist, is an interview with a modern practicing pagan who discusses their celebrations at this time of year, and shows that Halloween has nothing to do with it. 

The priest at St Mary's Orthodox Church would exhort people in this article to not be paranoid or superstitious -- don't give things power that have none. In your merriment, don't profane death, do not mock other people's sufferings, and remember: "let’s be honest: no one was ever possessed by the devil because he or she dressed up for Halloween or passed out licorice".

A short episode (number six) of Be the Bee states my perspective perfectly. Christians don't need to be afraid of Halloween -- there is no threat there. We can celebrate it as a day for fun, friends, and silliness, and use it as a chance to grow closer to God and each other through communal activity.