Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 24: A Word from Ray Villafane

| October 24, 2014

“‘Darkness’, as it inspires me, isn’t limited to expressions of evil, mayhem, and bad outcomes. Something can also be considered “dark” if it is unknown, misunderstood, or incorrectly interpreted.” ~ The Book of Dark Sentiments The Artistry of Ray Villafane (sample above) and his fellow Artists Andy Bergholtz and Chris Vierra who together form the creative […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 23: La Petite Mort

| October 23, 2014

Student and disciple of Nature that I am, it hasn’t escaped my notice that the cycle of the seasons – from the long, slow build up of Spring, through the heat of Summer, into the breathless bounty of Autumn, and then on to the flatline of Winter – bears a striking resemblance to sex; or […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 22: In Case of Vampire

| October 22, 2014

The label above would have been included with one of the ornately turned out and beautifully boxed kits consisting of masterfully crafted weapons and accessories created for defense against, and if necessary the destruction of, vampires, that were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Timing and anecdotal evidence suggest, although fall far […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 21: Destiny

| October 21, 2014

Old Norse belief held that the skein of your life was woven long before your birth, and that the timing of your death was thus inevitable. Only the quality of it – how you conducted yourself in that final moment – would determine if you were worthy of an afterlife in Valhalla.

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 20: An Aside About Cannibalism

| October 20, 2014

Back in the early 1980’s, a young man came to work for a company I was consulting for, and it fell to me to train him in the arcane arts of installing and troubleshooting security and fire alarm systems. I befriended him in  a mentor kind of way, and learned he had spent much of […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 19: A Few Words from Terence Hanbury White

| October 19, 2014

The world is at war. With everything. The world of humans strives for unbridled growth, and in so doing either sheds all care, or cooks up justifications for its extravagance, to the peril of everything that isn’t us. Religion is still being used as a reason to kill everyone else who doesn’t belong to “the […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 18: Privacy, Secrets, and the Sliding Scale

| October 18, 2014

If there is one very dark pit modern society is hell bent on careening headlong into, it’s the dangerous, dangerous, and I emphasize really fucking dangerous idea that demanding privacy is somehow suspicious, and tantamount to an open admission that you – indeed anyone who wishes to have it – must have “something to hide”. […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 16: The Bum Puff Fairy

| October 16, 2014

Today’s Dark Sentiment is about things that some people permit to smell bad but shouldn’t, for there have been times and places in history, including very recent history if you get around much, when the olfactory senses have found themselves in need of assistance that has to be nothing short of supernatural. The poem that […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 13: With Deepest Regret

| October 13, 2014

The study of any Martial Way that may lend itself to the harming or killing of another human being both broadens one’s horizons and limits options. I speak of limitations because if you are known to be skilled in empty hand techniques, a blade, or with firearms for example, you will be immediately suspected if […]

Dark Sentiments 2014 – Day 10: An Interview with Canada’s Last Hangman

| October 10, 2014

Before Canada eliminated the death penalty for murder on July 14, 1976, 1,481 people were sentenced to death, with 710 executed. Of those executed, 697 were men and 13 were women. The only method used in Canada for capital punishment of civilians after the end of the French regime was hanging. The last execution in […]