My New Favorite Things

Ah, I can feel fall in the air. It's getting very very close, isn't it? And I cannot wait! Perhaps it is because we are so close to my favorite season that I've been in a better mood than usual. Probably. Just wait until October. I will be a far cry from my normal self, I assure you. haha

Since my last post I have discovered a book, a movie, and a singer that I want to say great things about because they made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So follow me on this little trip into some of my new favorite things...

Seasons of Witchery is a book I heard about just before it was available in June. It's by an author named Ellen Dugan whom I had never read before but the description of the book intrigued me. It is a book about the Wiccan Sabbats with a great deal of information on each one concerning its history, its symbolism, and even Esbat rituals for the full moons that occur around the time of each Sabbat. I typically use the ritual suggestions Silver Ravenwolf provided in Solitary Witch and I have copied into my BOS the history of each holy day that appeared in Scott Cunningham's books, most recently in the book Book of Shadows. The information Ellen Dugan gives seems great to use with what I have already, to expand on my normal tradition a bit. I read the entire book in one night and I have no doubt I will read it many times over in the future. In fact, I will probably be checking out her other work in the future as well because I love her style. She made me laugh on numerous occasions. Aside from the ability to provide information in general, the ability to put personality into a book pertaining to Wicca is the most important thing for me and she nailed it.

You can find this book on ebay and amazon among other places because, as I said about Hedgewitch, there are also numerous online Wiccan shops and book shops that also have it.

My favorite movie of the month (which may not be so much a surprise considering I am me) is Paranorman. Now, I am sure many of you are wondering why I am watching a cartoon but I blame it on my Tim Burton obsession. Cartoons like Paranorman amuse me and I loved it. I loved that it was about a little boy dealing with a very big gift, a little boy made an outsider because of his gift, I loved the take it on the witch (you'll have to watch it to see what I mean), and I love that at the very end there was a reference I have never heard in a "kid's" movie before that sort of made me realize how far we've come as a society from my childhood, which was not so long ago. So, no matter your age, if you want to see a cute movie that also has very serious undertones about the power of hatred, the reasons that tolerance should be promoted, I recommend this movie to you. 

Yes, Elle King is my new musical obsession. Like most people I first heard the above song thanks to commercials for Mob Wives Chicago (I don't like the show...they just don't have the umph I love about the original Mob Wives) and I have had this song on a playlist for a while now because of that but it wasn't until today that I bothered checking out her other songs. This chick writes songs like I wrote poetry when I was a teenager and not only does she have a bad ass bluesy voice I can't get enough of, her lyrics are ballsy and real. She tells it like it is, something I never get tired of hearing from women in music. I have listened to her all day. I just can't stop. Considering it is only about once or twice a year that I find a new artist I actually like, that should tell you how great she is. 

Need I say more? I don't think so. Her talent speaks for itself.

She has the talent and the attitude of Adele with perhaps a little more of a punch if such a thing is possible. What's not to love about that? :)