Watch "The Atheist Card Trick"

This is so entertaining.

I ask questions like that a lot.  It makes people throw rocks at me, but that doesn't stop me from asking questions. 

Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, March 7, 2023

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, March 7, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "Crafts." I'll be soliciting ideas for crafters, upcyclers, artists, sculptors, painters, woodworkers, quilters, scrapbookers, artists in residence, Applied Arts majors, Municipal Art majors, Museum Copyist majors, Public Art Manager majors, Studio Arts majors or minors, Generalist majors, Hobby minors, art collection curators, gallery owners, art shop owners, junk shop owners, craft store owners, makers of arts and crafts supplies, philanthropists, an anonymous benefactor, activists, volunteers, teachers, parents, superheroes, supervillains, other creative people, upcycling, painting, sculpting, woodworking, quilting, teaching art, volunteering, making donations, supporting creative people, offering crash space, yarnbombing, discovering things, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, sharing, fixing what's broke, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, craft sheds, art schools, art classrooms, arts and crafts studios, artist colonies, arts and crafts farms, hobby rooms, homes with a giant space for arts or crafts, yarn stores, fabric stores, arts and crafts stores, unfinished furniture stores, upcycle junk shops, fiber fairs, street fairs, art shows, Triton Teen Centers, community centers, intentional communities, clubs, fibercraft circles, sewing circles, quilting bees, sketch fests, Thalassia, the Maldives, the Recycle Bin in Mercedes, makerspaces, other creative hangouts, craft history, art movements, art history, ethnic arts and crafts, folk arts and crafts, historical or archaic crafts, still life featuring cultural artifacts, landscape art, art movements, wabi-sabi, Feel and See Art Movement, Touchy Feely art books, edible art, arts and crafts media, creme pastels, Paletta durable art media for making visual-tactile art, zetetic arts and crafts supplies, game design kits, ColorADD, Feelipa, diversity, inclusivity, trial and error, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.


Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

Artists of Destruction is about famous artists as warmongers.

Arts and Crafts America imagines a world based on creativity.

The Bear Tunnels includes historic crafts.

Daughters of the Apocalypse requires creative use of remaining materials.

Frankenstein's Family takes a scientific approach to creative materials.

Polychrome Heroics has various characters and locations relating to arts and crafts. Some characters like Shiv, Turq, and Tarnish use these for self-soothing or therapy. In the Calliope thread, Calvin works at an arts and crafts store. There are multiple artsy places such as Yarn Over, the Recycle Bin, and Woolgather Hill.

Or you can ask for something new.

I have a linkback poem, "Besa" (9 verses, standalone).

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

( New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )

Birdfeeding

Today is sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows, two mourning doves, two starlings, a female downy woodpecker, and a fox squirrel.

In the rain garden, white crocus have flowers but aren't open, yellow ones have buds. In the goddess garden, winter aconite is blooming and orange crocus have buds. Under the maple tree, yellow crocus are blooming.

EDIT 2/28/23 -- I took a few pictures around the yard.

I started using the hand fork to remove more leaves from the tulip bed, and dumped a trolley of leaves over an oak seedling.

Purple miniature irises are blooming near the daffodil bed.

EDIT 2/28/23 -- I finished raking leaves off the tulip bed and dumped them over a dogwood seedling.

EDIT 2/28/23 -- I started clearing dead stems from the purple-and-white garden.

Bingo

I have made bingo down the I, G, and O columns of my 2-1-23 card for the Valentines Bingo Fest. I also made 4 extra fills.

I1 (Rainbow Obsidian - Bringing Light to Dark Places) -- "Brightness in the Shade" (standalone)
I2 (Nuummite - Empowerment of Untapped Potential) -- "Quantifying Language" (Polychrome Heroics)
I3 (Erythrite - Perception & Perspective) -- "Taarradhin" (Polychrome Heroics: Rutledge)
I4 (Celestite - Peace & Serenity) -- "Chrysalism" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
I5 (Zincite - Creative Catharsis & Vulnerability) -- "Creative Catharsis and Vulnerability" (Arts and Crafts America)

G1 (Jet - Guidance Toward Goals) -- "Trumspringa" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
G2 (Onyx - Self-care) -- "Not Self-Indulgence, But Self-Preservation" (standalone)
G3 (Tourmaline - Reconciliation) -- "The Children of Chelm" (Clay of Life)
G4 (Vesuvianite - Releasing Bottled Anger) -- "Accidental Breakage" (Eloquent Souls)
G5 (Ulexite - Paradigm Shift) -- "The Language of Unity" (Polychrome Heroics: Bitter Ice)

O1 (Wardite - Preparation) -- "Vemödalen" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
O2 (Apache Tears - Uncovering Grief to Heal Old Trauma) "Scabulous" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
O3 (Quartz Crystal - Amplification & Versatility) -- "Parea" (Polychrome Heroics)
O4 (Labradorite - Awareness of Layers of Reality) -- "Occiolism" (A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows)
O5 (Kammerite - Moral Compass) -- "Marines Don't Do That" (Polychrome Heroics)


B2 (Pink Calcite - Emotional Wholeness) -- "Tretår" (Eloquent Souls)
B4 (Morganite - Unconditional Love) -- "Firgun" (Polychrome Heroics: Shiv)
B5 (Xenotime - Self-Reflection & Acceptance) -- "Comes as No Surprise" (standalone)

N1 (Blue Lace Agate - Speaking Your Truth) -- "Of Mountains and Deserts" (The Ocracies)

Review: Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate

Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate (2.82 ounces / 80 grams) by The Art of Chocolate

This dark chocolate bar is divided into 4x6 squares.  The spices are black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.  It is vegan and palm oil free.  This is some of the best dark chocolate I've had, rich and creamy without tasting sour or bitter; I'm pretty sure it's the best vegan chocolate I've had.  The spice gives it an aromatic curry touch with just a little bite.  It's not organic as far as I can tell, but it still makes me think of the clinical-grade chocolate from Terramagne, very comforting.

No, there's no actual haggis involved, it just uses the same spice blend as that dish.  If you liked spiced or curried chocolate, you'll probably love this.  Also, definitely consider using that spice blend in other chocolate things.  I think I'd start with a devil's food recipe and add this.

Most highly recommended.