In the Pagan traditions, Halloween is one of the most important holidays of the year. It is called Samhain (pronounced SOW-in in Irish, SOW-een in Wales, SAV-en in Scotland) and Sauin in Manx. It means summer’s end, and it is often pronounced phonetically as “SAM-haine” in non Gaelic speaking countries. It is the last of the three harvest festivals, often referred to as the “Last Harvest.” Though some groups do not celebrate the coming of the new year until Yule, Samhain is usually considered the end of the old year in almost all Celtic based traditions. This holiday is also known as Fleadh nan Mairbh, All Hallows Eve, Hallowtide, Harvest Home, Hallowmass, Hallows, The Day of the Dead, All Soul’s Night, All Saints’ Day, Third Harvest, Samana, Old Hallowmas, Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), Samhuinn, Dyedy (Ancestors Slavic), and Vetrarkvald (Scandinavia).

As with most Celtic holidays, Samhain begins at sundown. This night is called Oiche Shamhna in Irish, Oidhche Shamhna in Scots Gaelic, and Oie Houney in Manx, and it is the primary focus of the celebration. It is a time of fairs and festivals. Some witches may celebrate two Samhains (October 31st and the nearest Full Moon), while older customs had the festival extending for three days. The old date for Samhain was when the sun enters 15 degrees Scorpio, but the Catholic Church made this date Martinmas.

While individual remembrance and communion with the dead might be sought by people at any time during the year, there is no other time when such a deep communal connection could be forged than during the Samhain season. The rituals of Samhain involve a more intense union with the dead in the time-honored fashion of all communal bonding, with feasting. As a harvest festival, there are few times of the year when we can enjoy such bounty as nature provides now. Sharing a solemn meal, “in the sight of gods and mortals,” placed mutual responsibilities on all participants. By inviting the dead to such a feast, the living were reminded to honor their ancestors, while the dead were encouraged to take a hand in the well-being of their living kin. In this way, celebration of Samhain is a kind of ancestor worship.

Most Samhain customs fall into two broad patterns. The dead, present as invisible entities, entered through open doors and windows to partake of the festivities. There was also the practice of the Dumb Supper, where places were set
for those who had departed. It was called a “dumb” supper because
everyone was to remain mute through the entire meal. In other traditions, a certain amount of food might be set aside exclusively for the dead. In some cases, a specific type of food, usually some kind of cake, was made solely for them. The most classic example of this pattern is the boued an Anaon (“food
of the hosts of the dead”) custom in Brittany. The Anaon (a word
related to Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld) are the gathered hosts of
ancestral spirits. They are usually portrayed as hungry for sustenance
from the world of the living. A large amount of food was set aside for
their sole use and had to remain untouched by all human agencies for
the entire feast. Eating the food of the dead, even if one was
desperately hungry, was a terrible blasphemy. Anyone who did so was
condemned to become a hungry ghost after death, barred from sharing the
Samhain feast for all time. This aspect of the dead is very similar to
the Hungry Ghost festival of China.

The other pattern of this Samhain custom encouraged the recycling of the offered food into the community. This may be seen most in the Welsh cennad y meirw, “embassy of the dead” custom. While the wealthier members of the community put together lavish Samhain feasts for their households, the cenhadon (the poor) took on the collective identity of the community’s dead by going from door to door in disguise. At each house they were given a portion of the food that had been set aside for the dead. Refusing them food for any reason was sinful and retaliation in the form of destruction of property was acceptable and encouraged. This may be the true origin of the “trick” aspect of our modern Halloween, though the reasoning has been lost. In any event it was a way to encourage the time honored traditions of community and charity.

Also at this time, the flocks were brought in from the fields to live in sheds until spring. Some animals were slaughtered and preserved to provide food for winter, and the last of the crops was gathered from the fields. Any crops left on the field after this time were taboo. Bonfires (bone-fires) were built, and bones from the feasting were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year. All hearth fires were extinguished and relit from the village bonfire, and later the ashes were spread over the fields to protect and bless the land. The hearthfires would burn continuously until Beltaine unless calamity struck, in which case the hearth fires would be extinguished and relit from “need-fire,” a similar magical practice that was engaged as the name implies, when needed.

The period from Samhain to Yule, the “time which is no time,” is very magical and at the same time very dangerous. The veil between worlds is thinnest at this time. None should walk alone at night while the dead return to visit their kin and the doors to the Faery Realm open. The ghosts of all persons who were destined to die in the coming year were said to walk through the graveyard at midnight on Samhain. Going about in costume was an ancient practice designed to ward off spirits bent on causing mischief. Villagers would dress as ghosts to escort the dead to the city limits, while at the same time detering the angry or evil ghosts from doing any damage by appearing to be one of them. People dressed in white, wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender. Many thought ghosts possessed an evil nature as a rule and so for protection, jack-o-lanterns with hideous candle-lit faces were originally carved out of turnips and carried as lanterns to scare away the malevolent spirits. Later pumpkins were used when Celtic settlers reached America.

Samhain is also the beginning of the cider season, and apples, a favorite food of the dead, are traditionally buried for their consumption. To honor spiritual visitors and gain their favor for the coming year, a Fleadh nan Mairbh (feast of the dead) is laid out. Many folks leave milk and cakes (Bannocks) outside their door on Samhain. In Belgium, small white cakes or cookies were prepared as Cakes for the Dead. A cake was eaten for each person gone, with the belief that the more cakes you ate, the more the dead would bless you.

In addition to communion with the dead, divination of the future was a common practiced as people focused on the coming year. Certain traditions, such as bobbing for apples, roasting nuts in the fire, and baking cakes which contained tokens of luck, were actually ancient methods of telling fortunes. Stones were marked with names and thrown into the bonfires. In the morning, these stones were retrieved and the stone’s condition foretold the person’s fortune. New Year resolutions are a common practice on Samhain.

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When the Romans invaded Britain, they brought with them many of their festivals and customs. One of these was the festival know as Pomona Day, named for Pomona, the goddess of fruits and gardens. Also celebrated around the 1st of November, the Celtic Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day eventually combined to form the basis of our modern Halloween.

In 800 AD, the Roman Catholic All Hallow’s Day was switched from May to November 1st to coincide with the Celtic Samhain in an effort to convert the Pagan masses. The eve of All Hallow’s Day became All Hallow’s Even and slowly evolved into the familiar word Hallowe’en. Mexico observes a Day of the Dead on this day, as do other world cultures. Our modern celebration includes all of these influences, Pomona Day’s apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain honoring the dead and the Otherworld, and skeletons and skulls from All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day.

As thousands of Irish and Scottish immigrants flowed into America, the Hallowe’en practice of Trick or treat evolved. Beginning sometime around the 1840s, the old tradition of going door to door asking for donations of money or food for the New Year’s feast was carried over to the US from the British Isles. Traditionally, curses were heaped upon those who did not give generously; while those gave from their hearts were blessed. During the 1920′s, Hallowe’en antics became a way of letting off steam for the poor living in crowded conditions. Eventually however, innocent acts of vandalism, such as soaping windows, gave way to violently cruel acts which needed to be brought under control. Organizations like the Boy Scouts, in an attempt to pacify the holiday, encouraged good children to visit shops and homes asking for treats to prevent criminal acts. These “beggar’s nights” became very popular and evolved into what America calls Halloween. From these varied origins, the term “trick or treat” was derived, though this greeting was not commonly used until the 1930′s. As early as 1910 however, American manufacturers were making or importing products just for the holiday.

I haven’t been feeling well. I think I am catching a cold. For those who read my webnovel, I only just finished this week’s page, so head over if you checked earlier and it wasn’t up. I’m also afraid there won’t be any Writer’s Choice Featured Questions this week, though feel free to tackle last week’s question or try the Socrates_Cafe topic.

I don’t remember if I mentioned… but my business class is now down to two students. Me and the lady who insulted me. Joy….

Well, I’ll make a longer post later in the week. Only two more classes, tomorrow and next Monday, and then my posting schedule should be back to normal. (Hopefully)

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Chapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbroken

Chapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with  what she has
Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an ass

Chapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
Chapter 3.4  in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
Chapter 3.5  in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened

Chapter 4.1 in which a doctor makes his rounds
Chapter 4.2 in which Glory is asked some awkward questions
Chapter 4.3 in which Glory adopts a pet
Chapter 4.4 in which Glory gets a surprise, but decides she should not have been surprised at all
Chapter 4.5 in which Glory explains why there are no debts where duty is concerned
Chapter 4.6 in which a shapeshifter is an enemy to no man
Chapter 4.7 in which Glory defends Toby’s right to make a phone call

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In Cornwall, unmarried men and women would traditionally buy highly polished apples called Allan Apples on this day and sleep with them under their pillows. Before dawn, they had to wake up and eat the fruit without sound, then go outside and sit under a tree. The first person that passed was their future spouse.

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Owagit is a Native American holy day.

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The 11th day of Koiak is a Feast of Osiris in Abydos.

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The Celtic festival of Fyribod or Forebode is a notable day for rain and bad weather.

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This the 12th day of Koiak and the first day of the Isia – Zetesis and Heuresis, the six-day ceremony of the “Search and Discovery,” ending with the Hilaria on the 3rd of November. As the nights grow longer, darkness increases. The gilded image of a cow is shrouded with a black linen vestment to display as a sign of the mourning of Isis. This continues for four days. On the first day, actors impersonating Isis, Nephythys, Anubis, Horus, etc., searched for the body of Osiris. Hathor, in her aspect of the World Mother is honored. This is the Day of Transformation into the Bennu Bird.

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The 13th day of Koiak is the second day of the Isia – Zetesis and Heuresis. This is the Day of Going Forth of Hathor and the Ennead

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The House-Senate conferees dropped the Helms Amendment barring tax-exempt status to groups who embrace witchcraft.

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This is the third day of the Isia – Zetesis and Heuresis. On the 14th day of Koiak, the Bennu comes forth transformed.

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Among Celtic peoples, October 31st is Oidhche Shamhna, Samhain Eve, November Eve, the First of the Three Days of Samhain, Oidhche Alamaise, or All-Hallow Eve. Samhain, “summer’s end” or “one together” is a great fire festival held in honor of the goddess Samhain and in remembrance of the dead. It was also the final harvest of the year when old and surplus livestock was slaughtered and preserved. Some of this meat was eaten at the feast along with the New Year’s beer or wine.

People dressed in robes and masks to ward off evil spirits before leaving their homes. Irish “guisers” would go from farm to farm, guided by turnip Jack-o-lanterns, collecting tribute for Muck Olla, perhaps an old god. Candles would be placed in windows to help guide lost spirits home.

On Samhain Eve, all the fairy hills open wide for the Fe-fiada (spell of invisibility) was removed. Bonfires were lit and church bells rang throughout the night. In Scotland and parts of Wales, families would build huge bonfires and each person would throw in a marked white stone. If any stone could not be found the next day, the thrower was doomed to die within the following year. Peeling an apple in a single strip and tossing it to the floor over your shoulder was said to reveal the initials of your future spouse. The tradition of bobbing for apples was originally divinatory. A young woman who capture one had to take it home and place it under her pillow in the hope that she would dream of her future husband. A Scottish tradition is that those born on All Hallows Eve would have the gift of second sight.

Marking the beginning of winter, this is also the Celtic New Year’s Eve. The veil between worlds is very thin. Families left their doors unlocked and set out food and drink for ghostly family members who would visit that night. A Dumb Supper, a meal eaten in total silence, might be held to which the spirits of the dead were invited. In Breton, the dead roamed the Earth and the living should entertain them with music and prepare a feast of curds, hot pancakes, and cider set on the family table covered with a fresh white table-cloth. Libations of milk may be poured over the ancestral tombs just as in Ireland and Scotland, libations of milk are poured for the fairies. Soul Cakes may be given, treats to nourish wandering spirits which were handed out to English and Scottish children. This is the origin of our modern trick-or-treat custom.

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This is the fourth day of the Isia – Zetesis and Heuresis. A feast in honor of Sekhmet, Bast and Ra occurs on the 15th day of Koiak.

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I’m going to exchange the phrase “political candidate” here for the simpler term of “leader.” What are the proper and moral responsibilities of any leader?

A leader should strive to be the kind of leader they would want to follow if the roles were reversed. A leader who says one thing, and does something completely opposite, is a hypocrite. Such a person is not trustworthy. The proper and moral responsibilities of a good leader is not to betray the trust of the people who have selected him/her to lead. It is the foundation of their position, the only thing that qualifies them for the job.

Morals shift with each generation. However, as I read it, a moral responsibility is simply an agreement to take responsibility. Though most people try to finagle their way out of responsibility, one expects a person with morals to take responsibility for every action or lack of action. Even more so among politicians who have basically volunteered for the role by dint of their position. Yet, this is something that the last few generations of leaders have deferred. If their promises do not pan out, they are not responsible. It’s simply business as usual. The fact that so few politicians ever follow through on their campaign promises has led to widespread lack of faith in the political system in general. There is a lack of trust.

The proper actions of a leader is that they take responsibility for their failings and try in earnest to follow through on their promises. It is expected that a leader will act with decorum and propriety (yet scandals plague most politicians). A leader should be someone who is aware of their place as a role model to and representative of their followers at all times. To forget this is to disavow responsibility. A leader without responsibility is what we currently have in the White House. I think we can all agree that leaders do have a moral responsibility to not only be true to the moral compass of their followers, but to hold themselves to an even higher ideal of right action. It’s never good for the common person to lie, cheat, steal, or kill. It’s even worse for someone in a position of power to do those things (through political promises, acceptance of spurious donations, tax cuts for big business, or war). A leader is the public face his/her community shows to the world. S/he must therefore adhere to a higher ideal of conduct than the common man. A leader is both a role model and a representative. A leader should strive to represent everything right about his/her community while at the same time doing everything in his/her power to reduce and correct everything that is wrong.

Some might say that this expectation is unrealistic. I know that this is not how most leaders act. But, it is only because we do not penalize them for failing to live up to such expectations that most of our politicians are rats and our political system a sewer. We are as much at fault as our leaders for not forcing them to be better than we are. It is that we have lowered our expectations and forgiven them their lack of responsibility that we cannot trust our leaders.

Now here’s something a little different. I’m kind of tired (I’ve been going since 6 AM), so I’m not going to look up old questions from the featured questions BB. These are my question(s) for you this week. It’s technically one question I suppose, but you can answer it in parts or in its entirety…

Many religions feel you should be willing to die for your faith. Some religions encourage or (in the past) have encouraged their believers to kill in the name of their faith. What do you think of this? Is it better to be willing to live for your faith, or die for it? Should you be willing to kill to defend your beliefs? Think of a scenario in which you’d have to live, die, or kill for your faith. Could you do it? Which one is harder? What do you think of people who would tell you that only if you can kill or die for your faith are you true to its tenets? Feel free to explore these questions from any angle I haven’t suggested if you can think of one.

Consider this: Among the Maya, there was/is a phrase: in la kesh. Roughly translated, it means, I am another you. Like the word Namaste, it is used as a salutation, giving respect to the one addressed. “I honor the divine in you;” “your spirit and my spirit are one.” In pondering the above questions, if it became necessary, would it be better to die for your beliefs or kill to protect them? Either way, a piece of the divine would be removed from the Earth. So could you justify killing to preserve yourself, assuming that you are better than the one who seeks your death? Would having to kill lower the value of your faith in your eyes?

I know, impossible questions, but great for speculation, I think.

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Chapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbroken

Chapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with  what she has
Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an ass

Chapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
Chapter 3.4  in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
Chapter 3.5  in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened

Chapter 4.1 in which a doctor makes his rounds
Chapter 4.2 in which Glory is asked some awkward questions
Chapter 4.3 in which Glory adopts a pet
Chapter 4.4 in which Glory gets a surprise, but decides she should not have been surprised at all
Chapter 4.5 in which Glory explains why there are no debts where duty is concerned
Chapter 4.6 in which a shapeshifter is an enemy to no man

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The 4th day of Koiak is the Festivals of Sobek.

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This is the Mesopotamian festival of Ishhara, sometimes equated with Ishtar.

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Hathor Goes Forth to Her people on the 5th day of Koiak.

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Japan’s Hi Matsuri, “fire festival,” is celebrated at night in the village of Kurama near Kyoto. People carry flaming torches in a procession to purify their homes. The parade ends at a shrine at midnight where the gods are said to descend to earth.

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The Orionids meteor show peaks on or around this date. It began on the second of October and will end on the seventh of November. It is associated with Halley’s Comet.

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The 7th day of Koiak was a Ceremony in honor of Thoth, and also a Festival for Selket.

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The feast day of the Saints Crispin and Crispinian, twin patrons of shoemakers, is a continuation of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus.

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Aban Jashan is a Zoroastrian festival of water.

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Sybil Leek died of cancer on this day in 1982.

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In Cornwall, unmarried men and women would traditionally buy highly polished apples called Allan Apples on this day and sleep with them under their pillows. Before dawn, they had to wake up and eat the fruit without sound, then go outside and sit under a tree. The first person that passed was their future spouse.

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Owagit is a Native American holy day.

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The 11th day of Koiak is a Feast of Osiris in Abydos.

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This morning, I was awoken by my mother banging on the wall we share with our neighbor because apparently their water heater broke and was gushing water, water which was filling up our basement. This was at 5:30 or so. Our basement is sealed, but theirs is not. So when it rains, and their basement leaks, we still get a flood. She banged on the wall and yelled for a good half hour (this was after knocking on their door and ringing the bell).

My neighbors are ignorant (in more ways than being dead to the world when they are sleeping). They are loud and indifferent to the fact that the wall we share has no insulation. We hear everything they do over there. We know that the husband left the wife for “spending all his money on alcohol and pot,” and we know she’s up half the night either talking on the phone (loudly) or hanging out on the porch or inside with friends, partying. We know, half the time when her kids are visiting from their father’s, that they don’t get up till 10am or later (it’s quarter after 10 now) and that they miss more school than they attend. In all likelihood, she will be busted for truancy, if she hasn’t been already, maybe for neglect, and maybe for the drugs and alcohol.

What’s my point? I would like to say that I forgive and forget, but in this instance, I can’t. She hasn’t done anything specifically to me, by I find her very existence an affront to my existence. This isn’t just a case of me assuming I know better and adopting a self-righteous attitude; she’s not just a bad neighbor, she’s a bad mother. She doesn’t seem to care about her kids, not at all. I’m thinking the only reason she takes them for visits is to get out of some child payments or to hurt their dad. If she’s staying up all night, she’s not really spending time with them during the day.

Mostly I am able to forgive most anyone for most anything. I never forget; forgetting a wrong is just stupid. You need to remember so that you can be prepared when/if it happens again. If you never forgive, a person can never be any better than they’ve shown themselves to be, and that’s not fair. Forgiveness is easy. Forgetting is impossible. No one can do it unless they’ve got amnesia.

But what my neighbor is doing is going to affect more than our basement. Her kids are going to grow up and think that this kind of behavior is acceptable. What she is doing is perpetuating her bad habits on another generation. What she is doing is ensuring her kids will never rise above the gutter she dwells in. I’m sorry. I can’t forgive someone when they won’t even admit there’s something wrong. And really, it’s not my place to forgive her. She hasn’t wronged me beyond annoying the heck out of me when I’m trying to sleep. I just hope her kids are smarter than they’ve shown themselves to be.

It’s now after 10:30. Whenever they finally wake up next door, they’ll discover that their water has been turned off by the city because that’s what my mother had to do to save our furnace from being flooded. The water was a good 8 inches when we caught it. In all likelihood, when our neighbors finally do get up, they will not be grateful for the fact that we probably saved them money from further water damage. There will be much cursing and yelling and banging of things. There will not be a thank you. In fact, if anything they will blame us for their lack of water. I cannot forgive this… lack of good grace. I am tired of making excuses for the asses of the world. Ignorance is something I cannot forgive. Ignorant people need to grow up and stop forcing other people to take care of their messes.

Here’s another blog game. The rules:

1. Comment on this blog and ask for a letter.
2. I will give you one.
3.
Think of 5 fictional characters whose name begins with that letter, and
post their names and your comments on that character on your blog.

heidenkind gave me N. Here are my 5 picks…

© CRAWLING CHAOS PICTURES 2000

N is for Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, Dark Pharaoh, avatar of the Outer Gods. Probably the jolliest of the Great Old Ones in H P Lovecraft’s mythos books. Well, jolly is maybe stretching things. Maybe personable (when he’s not trying to drive you mad) is a better word. Still, one of my favorite Lovecraftian deities, and not just for the Egyptian characteristics. If you don’t mind the madness, he’s a pretty fun entity to have around, preferably in human form of course. In one of his other forms, well… you might be dinner.

N is for Captain Nemo, scourge of the modern world. In his Nautilus, he wages warfare on humanity from beneath the waves. Where, oh where, is Captain Nemo now? We could really use him. He was a scientific genius who roamed the depths of the sea, trying to save humanity from itself by basically blowing us out of the water. Hurray for Captain Nemo, the first eco-warrior!

http://www.marvel.com/universe/Cable

N is for Nathan Askani’son, the offspring of Scott Summers and the cloned version of the love of his life, Jean Grey. (Yes, I am a comic book nerd ). His birth was orchestrated by the evil evolutionist Mr Sinister as a secret weapon to get out from under the thumb of his master Apocalypse. When Nathan was born however, he was infected with a techno-organic virus which would have killed him had it not been for a time traveler who took the infant into the future. There he was taught to use his telekinesis to keep the techno-organic virus at bay, though at the cost of using his TK in any other way. He became a great warrior despite all that and fought and destroyed Apocalypse in his own time. Later he returned to the time of his parents as Cable where he continued to battle Apocalypse in order that his future would never come to pass. (Ha! And you though soap operas were convoluted!) Basically he’s a big old fail whale though because Apocalypse just doesn’t stay dead, ever.

jonhexlives.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

N is Nathaniel Essex, a deranged evolutionist contemporaneous with Charles Darwin. After his wife’s repeated miscarriages, he became convinced that evolution was at play. He exhumed the body of his son, but his wife caught him at it and went mad. He began collecting personages of unique disposition (mutants) and experimenting on them in the hope of improving mankind. Around this time, Apocalypse woke up from his perennial slumbers and discovering the new mutant population, put Nathaniel Essex in a machine which made him into the immortal Mr Sinister, so that he could continue his experiments in perpetuity. Though quite insane and psychotic by anyone’s standards, there’s a fundamental difference between Mr Sinister and Apocalypse. Ultimately, Mr Sinister wants to improve mankind, even at the expense of a few broken eggs. Apocalypse though, he wants a battle royale wherein everything dukes it out and the last man (or thing) standing is obviously the “perfect” being. Kind of lonely if you ask me.

Um… kind of stymied for the fifth one.

http://www.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/vip/premium.php?theme=guide

How about Nosferatu? Nosferatu was the first vampire movie. Though nosferatu is actually a Slavic word meaning unclean, in this instance, it was used as another word for vampire (which really has confused things since then). Max Schreck played as the evil Count Orlok (I know, not really an N). It was rumored that Schreck was himself a vampire playing the role of a vampire. Very cool, eh? (Though of course, he was not.) In essence, Nosferatu was an unauthorized film version of Stoker’s Dracula, to which the film company could not obtain rights. So all of the main characters were changed slightly, or in the Count’s case, very much).

And there you have it! lol

Just popping in to leave you all with this webcomic. It takes a while to load if you’ve got a slow connection like me, but it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it if you’re a history buff. Did I ever mention my past life in South America? I’m pretty sure I was Oimelc, which is a people not mentioned in the webcomic (before the time frame of the webcomic actually)… but seriously people, check it out if you have any interest in history, mythology, or ancient cultures. I am so jealous of the artist. This is a masterpiece! Look along the sides of the comics; he uses the Maya counting system. This is soooo cool. I am such a nerd. lol

So I am not sure how much I’m really going to get out of this class. The guy teaching it, I think I mentioned he was a shyster in another post. He’s nice enough, but he likes to talk… about himself. Which is not necessarily a bad thing since he uses his business exploits as examples for the rest of us (all four of us), but it doesn’t seem like he has any experience in the field that I want to go into. And he talks really fast and uses power point slides, but doesn’t give us time to write anything down. Though he’s said that he’ll give us print outs of everything when he’s done, he still hasn’t. Maybe in the final class?

I’m picking up some stuff and maybe it will make more sense when I actually go out and try to get funding and open my own business, but right now, it’s just a lot of talk. I get the sense he’s trying to push me into E-commerce though; I think because his wife sells books on e-bay. So he’s more familiar with e-business than an actual store. I asked him how that works and where the books are kept before being sold, and he suggested a closet…. that’s um, really not feasible. I may sell some things online once the store opens, but I’m not going to keep my books in a closet! I have to keep my clothes in the closet… there’s no room for a store too! lol

Yesterday, we presented our business plans. I was the only one who actually made one and stressed over doing it properly it seems. The one guy was a no-show. Either his back was bothering him (since he mentioned he’d had an operation last week) or he thought there wasn’t a class since it was Columbus Day or he decided not to come back. Who knows. The rest of the class are all female except for the instructor. One wants to open a kitchen design company, and the other says she wants to be a grant writer, but she doesn’t seem to be very focused… Maybe that’s something to do with her age since I’d say she’s about as old as my grandma. The other woman is probably in her fifties. I’m not sure how old our other classmate is, maybe around the same age as me. He wants to open a trucking company. I’m kind of the baby of the class at 34.

The kitchen design lady is nice but doesn’t speak up much. The older lady who wants to be a grant writer is very scattered, wandering off on tangents whenever she speaks. She’s very overbearing and a little rude. She was all for my bookstore until I mentioned it was for all religions, including Pagan ones. Then she had to open her mouth and give her opinion that Paganism is not a religion… that “95% of this country is Christian”… that Pagans look weird and rob graves… I haven’t said what my religion is because I have to go to class for three more week and I don’t want to have a big fight with her or distract from what I am trying to learn, but I told her she was wrong and that (obviously) Pagans do not rob graves. WTF lady….!

I’m really considering sitting elsewhere. Obviously there are only four people in the class, so I can sit anywhere I want, but since I have to keep going to class, I don’t want to offend her. I’ve only had two classes so far and I am already sick of her. One of my biggest pet peeves is ignorance, hence the reason I want to open this store, but I don’t think it would be fair for me to sidetrack the class in order to educate her. She goes on and on about how she wants to make the world a better place for her grand kids and how she values diversity and tolerance, and then she goes and makes asinine assumptions about what Pagans are and do. She’s only tolerant of what she considers diversity, cultural diversity… diverse religions need not apply apparently. I Really wanted to say, “I’m a Pagan. Does it look like I have graveyard dirt under my nails?” but all I said was (in a small voice), “I’m sorry, but you’re wrong.”

I hope her grand kids grow up to be Pagan….

I know that my store will not go over well with certain people (in fact, I expect there may be occasional vandalism and protesting from a certain subset of Christians who can’t bear the thought that there are actually other religions out there), but I’d expect that anyone looking to be an entrepreneur would be a little more open minded or at least know when to bite her tongue. She could be alienating a potential client with her stupid-speak (actually, she has, since I won’t be going to her if I start looking for grants). Pagans are everywhere and look like everyone. We have normal jobs and normal hobbies… which do not include grave robbing. You’re more likely to find disillusioned Goth teens robbing graves than Pagans. I have enough ghosts in my house without pi$$ing off an entire graveyard! lol

Utopian Books will be a religious bookstore located in the Lehigh Valley. It will be a retail business focusing exclusively on religious books, paraphernalia, and services, catering to the full mosaic of religions existent in the Lehigh Valley and respecting all belief systems. Utopian Books will exist, not only to provide a service to minority religions neglected by larger chain stores and “novelty” stores which focus exclusively on one faith or related faiths, but also as a safe place for people to explore a variety of faiths in a non-judgmental environment. In periods of economic depression and political unrest, people become more interested in metaphysical subjects as they look for an answer and hope. Utopian Books would provide them with a constructive outlet for their worry, as well as a way for them to feel like part of a larger community.

As someone who has worked in retail since leaving high school, I have an understanding of the tasks required in running a business. For the past five years, I have worked as a supervisor in Borders Bookstore where I have taken the metaphysical/religious section from a ranking of 33rd in the company to 13th by attention to customer needs and proactive ordering. In addition, I have been a life long reader, specifically of history and religious books with an emphasis on ancient and alternative belief systems.  I am knowledgeable of most religions both monotheistic and polytheistic, as well as the mythology and history involved in their evolution. Though I make no claims to being an expert in all religions, I am conversant in many and open minded about all. I am respectful of all religions and feel that neglect of this broad demographic is a disservice to individuals and the community at large, whereas a bookstore catering to all religions will increase public awareness of diversity as well as civic pride. Initially, it is unlikely that I would hire more employees than myself with occasional help from my family. I would probably not hire anyone to work in the store until it had been open for a few months, simply because the client base may not warrant additional employees in the beginning. When the time comes, I would prefer open-minded employees with some expertise in one or more religions.

Utopian Books will be located somewhere in the Lehigh Valley. Potential locations include Allentown, Jim Thorpe, the Westgate Mall, or some as yet undiscovered location. The Allentown location is an empty Church with a moderate parking lot. The asking price is $499,000. The Jim Thorpe location would be a buy out of the Occult Emporium, including stock and apartments. The owner is asking $500,000 for building and merchandise, but admits the building needs work. The Westgate location is a former restaurant with moderate parking, price currently unknown.

I hope to have three sections to the store, a partially separated area for monotheistic religions, a partially separated area for polytheistic religions, a main area for general metaphysical subjects and paraphernalia, and at least one enclosed room for the purpose of rental to groups for religious ceremony, meet ups, study, interfaith, etc. It seems reasonable that if funding for one of these buildings was found, additional funding of at least $150,000 would be needed for remodeling, initial stock, and related expenses. Stock would include books, but also possibly CDs, DVDs, calendars, candles, oils, and other religious supplies.

Current competition includes Borders (Whitehall), Barnes and Noble (Whitehall), Hackman’s Bible store (Whitehall),  the Occult Emporium (Jim Thorpe), the New Age Shop (Bethlehem), and Ostara (Bethlehem). Borders and Barnes and noble are massive chains without a focus on my particular demographic. Though they have access to a great variety of books, they do not have the knowledge to recommend specific books to customers looking for more in depth information. Due to their size, they are generalists and tend to stock books of very general interest. Hackmans’ focus is entirely on Christianity. While they are certainly leaders in their demographic, they exclude all other faiths and only cover a small percentage of my demographic. The same is true of the Occult Emporium, the New Age shop, and Ostara. All three cater to the Pagan demographic and to greater and lesser degree, the New Age community, but they also exclude a large percentage of my target demographic. My only other potential competitor is Amazon.com. They have a selection larger than superstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble but lack the personal touch that I would provide along with my knowledge. Though some books at Amazon can be “paged” through online, buyers must rely mainly on feedback from other buyers and then wait until the book arrives to know whether the book meets their needs. Currently (and so far as I know), there are no religious bookstores on the East coast that are open to all faiths. The only bookstore I know of similar in vein to what I propose is the Bodhi Tree bookstore on the West coast.

As a bookstore catering exclusively to a religious demographic, there are various business tactics that I would adopt to attract and maintain business. I have been collecting information on holy days of various faiths for close to a decade. This could potentially be used to offer specific faith-based discounts during religious celebrations. In addition to a community room to be rented out as needed, it would also be possible to set up consultation between customers and experts in the community for a small fee.  Depending upon the parking situation, it would be possible to set up community fairs based on seasonal holidays.

Customers would be drawn from various sources. Religious groups exist throughout the Lehigh Valley and can easily be contacted through the phone book. Depending upon their needs, a bulk discount could be offered for any orders placed through the store. Most religious organizations also post a weekly or monthly bulletin for their constituents. It’s unlikely that many would object to including a coupon to the store to save their followers money on religious supplies. The bookstore can also be advertised in the Morning Call and other local papers and possibly on a billboard (Grand Opening). There could also be advertising on the internet and in religious magazines, though the extent of that would depend largely on how much business I decide to do online. Finally, it would be necessary to have an ad in the Yellow Pages, stating the demographic of the store (all religions, all the time) more clearly than the name of the store does.

five questions for this week
unfeatured questions stolen from the featured question chatboard, dated from October of 2007
Please use the new Share button
to answer these. That makes it almost like the regular featured
questions.

Answer any one or all of these questions in the coming
week. I try to mix the whimsical with the serious here, so hopefully
there is at least one question here for everyone. Again, since Xanga has been so thoughtful as to add the new SHARE button, please use that when answering any of these questions. Using the Share button allows you to answer the question almost in the same way that you would a normal Xanga-sponsored featured question.