The Adventurous GIT

Edit Note: The original version was taken down for copyright infringement claims, apparently stemming from the song in the lengthy intro. Timestamps have been changed to reflect the latest version, embedded below. I thought I was done with him. A long and multi-part breakdown of his unscientific views on race should have done the trick. I spoke up against an "elder" who, once he could espouse his views free from association with the organization he founded, could rant his way into obscurity. It's a day for American Gods gifs. I make no apologies. Stephen McNallen is back with another video. This time, the video itself is as slick and polished as the honeyed words the old racist spat out in his previous videos. He has teamed up with Red Ice , an unabashedly racist and white supremacist network. I assume they are responsible for plucking the old man out from in front of his hearth and into the black-backed studio he now speaks from and set him up with all of

There are lots of Heathen 101 articles out there: How to approach the Gods , Are the Gods even there , Do They want to work with you , How much you're allowed talk to Them ... It can be rough trying to practice a religion rooted in the concepts of tribe and family all by your lonesome, I admit. There are group practices and rituals that won't really pare down to just one person, and there's something to be said for the connected nature of community that comes from being part of a Kindred. I sincerely hope one day to find (or create?!) one that I can work with to honor the community and the Gods. In the meantime, though, being alone is no excuse for not honoring the Aesir and Vanir with regular gifts and prayers. But what to do? There are so many rules that everyone on the Pagan Interwebs seem to want to lay down in a depressing "Heathen-er Than Thou" Mjollnir-measuring contest, it can quickly get confusing, especially for the fresh-faced newcomers who jus

An ant has no quarrel with a boot.  - Loki, The Avengers A very pointed question arises often in Pagan circles, and it is even more often used as a kind of Heathen litmus test in some circles: "Do you have a Patron Deity?"   What they're really asking is: Do you have the Pagan equivalent of "Buddy Christ"? Do you have personal chats with Divine Beings who, in some people's estimations, have "better things to do"? There are those in Heathenry (though by no means are these naysayers confined to those interacting with the Norse Gods and Goddesses) who would argue, stringently , that the Gods are so far removed from us, working on such a vast scale, that unless They are approached with the care owed a fire-walking, nitroglycerin juggling act, They can and will make your life and wyrd their plaything and it will suck . Thor, the office Nice Guy. Except that's likely the way our ancestors treated them. The Gods dealt with communities a

As a certain world-travelling pagan writer  recently pointed out , using the phrase "toxic masculinity" can be troublesome. By using the phrase, is a speaker implying that all  masculinity is toxic, or only certain types? Since I've dropped the label into both the title and will be using it throughout this post, let me define it as coherently as I can so there can be no future quibbling about what, exactly, I am speaking about. Toxic masculinity, for the purposes of this post, is defined twofold: (1) The behaviors, attitudes, and speech by which people of any gender or none attack (either verbally or physically) others who do not conform to a set or sets of behavior, appearance, and attitude that have been defined by certain cultures as inherently "masculine" or "male." (2) The behaviors, attitudes, and speech by which people of any gender or none argue or imply "male" as the superior gender, and/or interact with "female" in obj

Content Warning: Weight Shaming Havamal 20: A greedy bloke, unless he curbs his bend, will eat himself into lifelong grief: he's often derided when he comes among the wise, a man who's a fool in the belly. Translation -  Andrew Orchard - Penguin Classics The AFA's podcast recently decided to attempt a discussion about one of the most complex and personal topics affecting society today: obesity and weight. It went about as gracefully as you'd expect... "A" for effort tho... The first clue was the title, an elegant foghorn to the listener that a holier-than-thou lecture was incoming: "No Fat Heathens." Leading in with several Havamal verses, including the one above, the presenter somehow felt it was wise to dispense questionable dietary/medical advice on a podcast ostensibly dedicated to religious topics. I don't see a benefit to a full point-by-point breakdown like  some of my previous rebuttals , but there are some salient