Is it ever right to lie about your path or aspects of it?

I usually don't feel the need to lie about any aspect of my path. I am not ashamed of it by any means and could care less about what anyone else thinks. Tonight was a little different. I bought some bourbon as an offering and the person I was with asked, "What are you going to do with that? Drink it or make something with it?"

In the past, I have answered honestly and it would be as if my words hit Teflon. The fact I follow a path other than Christianity simply does not and will not exist in this person's mind. Even though it can be irritating, it's something I can put up with, most of the time. After all, who am I to tell someone else what to think in the relative privacy of their own mind?

But tonight, I knew it would be more of the same and I was tired of it. So I lied. I remembered reading on a forum about some bourbon muffins someone made as an offering for a deity so that's what I said - I thought about trying some bourbon muffins (apparently, I'm a horrible liar and can't make a lie out of whole cloth. I need source material.)

Even as I was doing it, I didn't like the fact I was lying, much less what I was lying about. True, my answer wouldn't be accepted if I did tell the truth but does that matter? Not really, not in my mind.

So here's the question(s): Is it ever right to lie about your path? Am I just holding myself to too high a standard (and apparently failing)? Should I just get over myself, shut up and go watch Pepe the Prawn?

A small prayer

A while back, I got an idea for a story about a devotee, complete with a prayer woven through it. As the story progresses, we find out exactly what said devotee will do for his gods. Maybe the story will be ready to be born...someday.

Two lines, "Invisible to mortal eyes, let my cry come unto you," I can't claim but I also don't remember the source of them.

Here then, is my small devotional effort:

Prayer

Oh Lord,
Invisible to mortal eyes
Let my cry come unto you.

Take, O Lord,
My hands and
use them as you will.

Take, O Lord,
My mouth and
speak your wisdom.

Take, O Lord,
My heart, My mind
and my will.

Fill my soul, O Lord
Grant me sweet oblivion.

IA! IA!
Hear me,
O Priest of the Elder Ones!

IA! IA!
CTHULHU F'TAHGN!

Wake.


(What? Who'd you think it was going to be for? ;-) )

(Mostly) Finished Paintings...

First off, a declaration: it's 11:44 p.m. and it's still hot. It's still humid. Who needs hell when you have summer in the South?

Now on to the paintings.

Here's Red, 7"x9" oil on birch:

I like the way this one turned out but...that hand! It gave me fits! I ended setting up a small mirror and holding a sketchpad to get the right position. Now that I look at it, I may have to tinker with the color a bit...or maybe I'll just leave it alone so I don't mess it up.

Music Box, 5"x8", oil on birch:

I really like the shape the dancer's body makes, although I will tinker with her face and arm a bit more. I just don't like that "daub" of a mouth and she's kind of muddy looking to me. Perhaps it needs a few more highlights too.

The Bee, 3.5"x4" (more or less), oil on birch:

This is one of those "end of the day" paintings I did just for myself. I found a dead carpenter bee on the walkway in front of the house and I had to immortalize it. I love my bee.

Now that I look at them together, I think it's pretty obvious when I paint from life and when I paint something purely from my head. The life (well, death) one is more painterly.

Crop Circle Discovered in Sumner County?

Joannie Snigglebotham, Sumner County News staff writer

Residents of upper Sumner County had a mystery on their hands last Wednesday morning. A strange symbol appeared in a slightly overgrown grass pasture, resembling what is popularly known as a crop circle.

Word about the circle got out early, with people parking along the road to see it. Since the pasture was on a slight incline, many stood on the roofs of their cars in order to get a better look. Local authorities were contacted after the crowd began to get out of control late in morning and several people ignored the posted no trespassing signs. They tramped across the field to get a closer look.

By Wednesday afternoon, speculation was running rampant in this community. "Aw. ain't no mystery to that thing at all," said local resident Ira Smith. "It's just some damn kids playing a prank, that's all." Another resident, Vera Green, didn't know what to think. "It's just strange, isn't it? It just appeared overnight. Nothing like that's ever happened here before."

Unfortunately, the crop circle was destroyed before researchers could arrive to study it. The owner of the field, who did not want to be identified, mowed the field after the crowd of onlookers began trampling the grass and littering. Terry Onsmore, of the Sumner County chapter UFOrce, was allowed to enter the field after the field was mowed to take as many readings and samples as possible. While the results of the soil and plant samples will not be available for several weeks, magnetic readings taken at the site were promising.

"There were several places in the field where the needle nearly went off the scale," said Terry. "I came into this project convinced it was a complete hoax, not I'm not so sure. Readings of this kind are extremely hard to fake. What the heck happened out here?"

No one seems to know the answer to that question. There were apparently no strange sounds or lights the night before. This was verified by Azra, who lives across from the field. "I was working on a deadline," she said. "So I was up nearly all night to finish. I went out several times to take a break and look at the night sky. I didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

Crop circles are relatively rare in the United States. They are most often seen in Great Britain and depicting fanciful designs. Many who study crop circles believe the crop circles contain messages vital to the human race, although there is no credible evidence of that message being understood at this time.

In progress: Red

Okay, I guess I lied. Even though I feel my brain tripping merrily off on its very own little roadtrip, I'll ramble a bit about Red Riding Hood.

Even though this painting isn't finished yet, I wanted to go ahead and post it. I consider this a "sister" piece to the werewolf painting in my icon. The entry about Little Red Riding Hood on that paragon of knowledge, Wikipedia, mentions the story may have come about around the same time the werewolf trials were going on. (Who knew there were even such a thing as werewolf trials in the Middle Ages?)


Well, that's all I needed to spark this idea. The other painting is based on the old German legend that says witches would plant tomatoes in their gardens in order to draw werewolves to them. So...who said the wolf in the woods was just a wolf? Why does Red here have a wolf mask? Is she trying to fool the wolf and sneak past him to Grandma's house? Is she really a wolf herself, wearing a human mask and carrying a second wolf one? Is she hunting herself or is she just smug because she's getting away with the ruse?

Good questions, huh? I rather like them. I'll let you come up with your own answers, though.

Okay, I think I'm done for real this time. I'll post Red again when it's finished.

Oh yeah...btw, I didn't forget to put in the hand that's supposed to be holding the mask. I just haven't gotten it where I like it yet. She's not really that orange either. I guess all that red is messing with the scanner a bit.

In progress: Freya

Click the graphic to see a bigger version.

Freya is interesting and complex. She is a warrior, riding her boar into battle. As leader of the Valkyries, she is a psychopomp who claims half the fallen dead and takes them to her hall, Sessrumnir. She is a witch, who taught women the art of seider, prophesy and magic.

Of course, there is that other side of her. Lusty, sensual, beautiful. There's no hangups for this girl, she'll willingly use whatever skills she needs to in order to get what she wants. Just look what she did with (to?) those dwarves for the Brísingamen.

When I began this sketch, I wanted to reflect a bit of her complexity. It also seems natural, after facing so much death, to want to reaffirm life. Here she is, in the wood, her warrior's armor is shed, except for her Valkyrie helm by her side (minus the wings, which I haven't gotten around to putting in yet.) She is now wearing a traditional Norse dress and the Brisingmen is around her neck. Eventually, somewhere in the background will be Bygul ("Bee Gold" or Honey) and Tregul ("Tree Gold" or Amber), her two grey cats.

Of course, one of my own cats couldn't let this be without making his own mark so just ignore the spot there in the upper part of the sketch. I still haven't figured out whether it means, "This is worthy. I claim it as mine" or "This is what I think of you and your pathetic scribblings."

I'm not sure I really want to know.

(I also have a few more sketches and a painting in progress to post but I'll do it tomorrow. My brain is nearly gone at the moment.)

What?! No way!

There is no way it's been nearly a year since I updated this thing. Good god.

:::insert _headdesk_ here:::