occasional posts by risa aratyr
Risa Aratyr The people of Troy awoke one morning to find the Greeks gone without a trace. Ok, one trace. One measly guy, all on his lonesome, standing in front of the city gates next to a humongous wooden horse. Poor schmuck was so gutted about being left behind, he was only too eager to spill the … Read more THE COMPLEAT CASSANDRA: Positive Negativity
Somewhere between 1260 and 1240 BCE, Paris, a young, cocky, cock-centered prince of the powerhouse Anatolian city of Troy, went to Sparta on a state visit – and took Helen, Queen of Sparta, home with him as a souvenir. It was congrats and wine all around at the welcome-back banquet. Only Paris’ sister Cassandra looked … Read more THE COMPLEAT CASSANDRA: Negative Positivity
Canadian-born Blair Zarubick has been a permanent resident of the US of A nearly all his life. His mum brought him to the States at such a young age, he retains barely a memory of the Great White North. The boy got his Green Card at least 10 years before most of got our driver’s … Read more HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: a true tale
The majority of Wiccans and Wicca-adjacent neo-Pagans celebrated Samhain – the Feast of the Dead, summer’s end and the beginning of winter, the Celtic New Year – on Halloween. A lesser number of us will celebrate it on the true cross-quarter day; the exact midpoint between autumn equinox and winter solstice. This year, here in … Read more Eve of Destruction
Saving the planet? Stopping the horrendous strife in the Middle East? Getting enough undecided voters in swing states to cast their ballots for Kamala? All worthy contenders for the title of this post, but no. In the last week or so, my existential-stress meter shot way past maximum, shattering my ability to compose coherent, moral/political … Read more The Impossible Task