Bonfire night we find ourselves at a party with both bonfire and performance — not to mention Bertie’s cake with a sugar-printed image of the King and Guy Fawkes. The bonfire itself held a rather different but familiar figure. It is a strange ritual, as many noted yesterday. James may have survived but his son…
Bowie: Voyeur
I was disappointed not to be able to attend the Late Bowie conference at Kingston University London (whose Matt Melia also put on that resonant Ken Russell conference a few years back), but I was delighted when they put out a call for video work to play between events — honouring of course Bowie’s multimedia…
Lean into the Weird
I do always think of Hunter S. Thompson around contentious elections. Someone opined on Bluesky the other day that HST did more harm to so many mediocre male writers of a certain vintage than just about anybody else. Maybe. Who said it? I dunno: everything goes by so fast these days and my reading is…
Discombobulator!
I’m heading back to the UK a little earlier than usual so I can be part of this fun event! Hope to see some folks there. And there are the terrific exhibits on as well. So excited about this! Join us at The College of Psychic Studies for a FREE evening of mingling and merriment…
Devil’s Night: Owl-Blasted
I had an idea at the beginning of the month and finding myself at the end of October and the idea still unrealised, I sat down and made it happen. It’s not much of a thing but having visualised it, I needed to make it real. So here’s a little audio card for the season….
Conduits of the Unseen
Let me urge you, since there are a few days left, to do what you can to see Conduits of the Unseen: Women Artists Imagine Other Worlds at the Andrew Edlin Gallery just south of Canal [but do avoid Canal at all costs — ugh, the gauntlet of hawkers that fill the pavement!]. To the…
Animal Mummies
I headed up to the Berkshires on Friday to meet up with fab gal pal Stephanie to catch the Animal Mummies exhibit at the apparently newly-renovated Berkshire Museum. It seems like ages since I’ve been up that way but it’s always a lovely drive and not that far. Still haven’t made it to Edith Wharton’s…
Be Surreal, I Beg You
I am still snowed under with October work: Bridging the Invisible this weekend and How Tarot Became Magic next week, but I want to pause to recommend some reading to you that will give you 1) power 2) political resistance and most importantly 3) joy. Okay, some pain, too, just to acknowledge where we are…
Recommended *Free* Reads
I have a bunch of things to post — including certain tarot exhibits! — but trying as ever to do many things all at once and not wanting to neglect things here for too long, I thought I might share a few new reads that are free and interesting. If you’re following my witterings, chances…
How The Tarot Became Magic
HOW THE TAROT BECAME MAGIC with Dr Kate Laity Saturday, October 24, 5:00-6:30 pm Of course you know that Tarot is full of magic — but that wasn’t always known. The card game invented in fifteenth century Italy only developed an occult tradition in eighteenth century France. Why then? Who started it? What kicked it…