You have GOT to see this movie!!!!

Action, personal drama, romance/sex, humor, attitude...what's NOT to love?

Yes, yes, I'm a "Star Trek" fan, from way back...but this movie is bloody INCREDIBLE! My favorite of the movies has pretty much stayed at (like most people) the EVEN numbered movies, particularly "The Wrath of Khan" and the "Next Generation" movies.



THIS movie had the theatre - including my friend who was "enduring" the movie out of friendship - wrapped up from start to finish! My friend (who got us the premiere tickets) has NEVER liked ANY of the "Star Trek" franchise. And, indeed, DISliked it, because people (like me) were avid "Star Trek" fans and she didn't "get it".



This movie's casting and chemistry showed her why- The entire cast was spot-on, pretty much. Quinto, as Spock, was an eerie perfect doppelganger, even to the early series periodic emotional displays. Chris Pine, as Kirk, is as spontaneous and stubborn ... and creative ... as Kirk as ever been. Pegg's Scotty, Cho's Sulu, Saldana's Uhura, Urban's McCoy, Ryder's Amanda and Cross' Sarek were all perfect! Perfection squared, even...

So, even if you don't like "Star Trek", but DO like a great action flick - go SEE this movie!

Make your choice and VOTE!

This election is one that brings many questions, concerns, party lines, opportunities for both good and bad - no matter WHICH person or party or issue you vote for. I'm not promoting either party or candidate; I simply want Americans of all flavors to exercise their right to vote!

If you don't make your opinion known - by VOTING - you may as well not have an opinion. Nor a voice. Check out this video, with some famous folks saying the same thing: "Don't Vote" campaign

America is not perfect - NO country is, despite how much we love our respective countries. But we can each try to make it better, by making considered decisions on putting them on the line on November 4th.

I love America. I love it for what it has been, what it could be, for the opportunities it gives us. There are horrible events and periods in the past, which we, today, cannot change. Just accept and go on, looking to the future.



If you don't vote, you can't gripe about the results-!

Modern Metal Masterpieces!

Having decided as a child that she would be an artist, Danielle Miller took metal as her medium of choice after discovering her passion for metals in high school. Her passion for the material led her to study metalsmithing/jewelry at Tyler School of Art at Temple University.



She has been actively selling her jewelry since 1994, adding motherhood to her list of accomplishments along the way. Danielle has had an online shop on Etsy.com since 2007, as well as participating in shows.

Her clean, simple geometric forms create elegant and comfortable jewelry with a modern, playful twist.

Many of my pieces have kinetic elements designed to attract and engage the wearer. The kinetic elements that I incorporate into these structured pieces add unexpected fluidity and movement. Pearls or stone settings may spin like a propeller, slide freely across wires like an abacus, or rock to and fro like a see-saw. These articulated parts rely on the wearer for motion, which can be a simple turn of the body or a deliberate manipulation of the movable parts. This dynamic aspect of the work creates an intimate and unique relationship between jewelry and wearer.

These concepts are easily seen in her work, such as the Bubble Charm Necklace, shown at the top of this post, which has matching earrings, the Baby Bubble Earrings and the Cascading Bubble Earrings.

Danielle Miller's work is meticulously handcrafted using traditional jewelry making techniques: hand-fabricating, soldering, casting, forging, etc. in her home studio, which she is justly proud of.

Check her website and blog to keep up with Danielle's work and activities.
And don't forget to check out her wonderful shop on Etsy, DanielleMillerJewelry.

A Renaissance Artisan: CelticGoddessJewelry

Celtic Goddess Jewelry was started in early 2001, and has been selling on Etsy for 2 years and still counting! Andee Harston is a Buddhist pagan living in the Orlando area and a wonderfully charming and stimulating young woman. Andee creates and sells celtic and pagan inspired jewelry, including wonderful tiaras, art (painting and photography) and bath and body products. The latter are available in her 2nd Etsy shop, SacredWaters, which is temporarily closed, due to Andee’s recent travel.



I met Andee while she was putting together a promotions pack for members of our Street Team on Etsy: the EarthPath Artisans Street Team (EAST). She had designed very cute containers and was diligently soliciting items for inclusion and assembling the packs for distribution. We stopped at Starbucks for coffee and had a marvelous brainstorming session. I found Andee to be cheerful, intelligent with a sharp humor and very creative.



Looking at the pieces in Andee's CelticGoddessJewelry shop confirms this and the feedback from customers is universally positive, even enthusiastic. There are so many lovely pieces in her CelticGoddessJewelry shop that it's hard to narrow it down for a feature.

I strongly encourage you to visit her shop and browse through its beauty and positive glow. You will find many non-pagan-specific pieces, as well as pagan oriented, and all lovely!

Here is an convenient Mini Ritual tin, for performing rituals while traveling! Check Andee's shop for all sorts of pendulums and pendulum charts, as well!

Andee's tiaras or crowns are incredible, such as the Harvest Goddess piece shown above and the "Tatiana" crown (perfect for a renaissance faire or a bride!) shown here.

Thought for the Day: What's in a Word?

Most people don't think about the simple power that words have. They simply use them and move on, never thinking about how the words they use came to have the meaning they do.
By "meaning", I mean the emotional context (the CONnotation), as much as the actual definition (the DEnotation).
You hear someone upset and cursing a blue streak and may be shocked. But think about it: a word (or phrase) is only a collection of sounds until we (society or individuals) give those sounds a definition with an associated emotional context.



A colleague on Etsy made a profound post on her blog yesterday (click here for the post, pointing out a specific instance: how do people react when someone says they are a witch or mentions witchcraft? Revelate said:

Words are powerful. They are tools and are loaded with energy. Words can bring on intense emotion. Spilling tears, steaming anger, delirious joy and belly laughs can all result from words. The energy attached to a single words can create a vivid picture in your mind's eye. You may feel emotion and be transported to a different place with the energy of one single word. A fine example of this attached energy is found in a related group of words; Witch, Wicca, and Witchcraft. To many they immediately are negative, words that stir up ideas of "the devil" and of animal sacrifice. What really bothers me about the negative attachment to these words is the fact that the ideas of Wicca and Witchcraft being practices of devil worship and causing harm to living beings is ignorant.

If you are pagan, Wiccan, druid, shamanic, Buddhist, Taoist or a member of any non-mainstream spiritual path, I'm sure you have encountered these reactions. If you are a member of a mainstream spiritual path (Christian, Jewish, Moslem), you may have used those words in a negative context or reacted in a negative way, without even realizing it. Or realizing why...

Please go to RevelationsNorth, Revelate's blog, to check out the full post - you won't be sorry!

I believe that most people are inherently good, in that they do not go out of their way to cause harm to another person, physically or emotionally. I may be wrong. People in groups tend to react differently; they get caught up in the "mob mentality" and become dangerous. But, please, THINK about the way you react to certain words or phrases. If it's a negative reaction, examine the reason. It may be valid...but it may NOT.

Walk on the Geeky Side with LizStaley!

LizStaley’s journey to the geek side of creativity began long, long ago in a state a few over from her current residence. When liz was very little, she wanted to help her mother paint ceramics. Her mother, knowing what kind of “help” a young child with a paint brush could be, gave liz a paintbrush, a cup of water, and a rubber ducky. It took poor liz awhile to figure out that whatever you paint is supposed to change colors when you paint it, though! (her mom is just as “evil” as liz, apparently!). Suffering from PTPD (Post-Traumatic Painting Disorder), she has been a creative fiend ever since: crocheting, making very cool buttons (drawn from sci-fi, do drawings, sew, and come up with new ideas!

In LizStaley (Liz' shop on Etsy), you can find an incredible array of cool, different and nerdy items: hand-crocheted fishnet gloves (fingerless and otherwise), buttons with great and smart-alecky sayings from various TV shows, movies and games, unique keyboard wallets and keyboard button chokers!



Liz' keyboard wallets are amazing! Crafted from keyboard circuit board covers, with handsome images (usually anime, but not always), they have one pocket for bills, and two pockets for your ID and credit cards. They are very sturdy and even survive washing and drying!


I also like her keyboard KEY chokers - especially
"ByteM3"!



And the buttons in Liz' shop are legend!! Wait...she hasn't done that set, yet! Seriously, she has button packs from the series "FireFly", the "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Star Wars", "Labyrinth" and "SpaceBalls" movies, as well as gaming oriented and just plain geeky or sassy buttons! We're hoping to badger her into making some for "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" next! But, in the meantime...why is the RUM gone????? (couldn't resist!)

LizStaley is a born geek whose hobbies include (of course!) watching anime, playing tabletop role-playing games (Dungeons and Dragons; Big Eyes, Small Mouth; D20 Modern, West End Games' D6 System, etc), building web-pages, and playing on GaiaOnline[dot]com. She also has a gallery on DeviantArt and Flickr, both of which you can find with the user name lizstaley as well.

Tribbleyarn is a work in progress, where liz will be selling her handspun yarn, in the future!
Liz’ blog has all sorts of interesting posts, from crafting with YouTube videos, coverage of conventions (anime and other) and more! Click HERE to visit liz’ blog. Fair warning: Liz is an emote junkie, so when you visit her blog... BE WARNED!!

Liz also writes and illustrates a story that she publishes to the web. She’s been working on this project since high school, with it evolving as she did. It may eventually even be published! You can check out her story by clicking HERE.



"Tribble Claus" is LizStaley's entry for Etsy's EAST
Winter
Wonderland Challenge.

Isn't he adorable???



If you want to VOTE (all Etsy members get FOUR votes) and be put in for a chance for a FREE PRIZE PACK, to be awarded to FOUR VOTERS, click HERE! It costs nothing to VOTE, look at really great pieces and possibly WIN some really GREAT PRIZE PACKS, with earrings and other great items.

Feeling Better with SummerSea Herbs!

SummerSea is an incredibly gifted and giving artisan, as the members of Etsy's EAST (EarthPath Artisans Street Team) and any of her friends and colleagues can tell you. For example, the proceeds for her Cold and Flu Tea go to benefit breast cancer victims who are struggling to make ends meet while struggling to stay alive.


Tracy Wilkinson of SummerSea Herbs has been a practicing Green witch for many years and has been a certified medical Herbalist for ten years. All of her products, whether teas, essences, resins, oils or smudges, are made with the utmost care and skill. Making herbal products is an absolute joy for Tracy. Making them the best she can is an obligation for her. Packaging them as responsibly and attractively as she can is her gift to the environment, as well as to her client. Her love of Nature comes through in her work AND in her lovely product photographs.



Tracy’s concern for the environment means that she keeps packaging to a minimum, with reusable, recyclable containers. Her concern for her patrons means that she uses only the best ingredients:

“I make my herbal products with the finest organically grown and ethically wild-crafted ingredients available. Why Organic? Because I believe that my products are truly better when I use ingredients which have NOT been irradiated, treated with pesticides or sprays. Your body and spirit needs good, clean energy! Making every product with only organic ingredients costs a little more, but it's worth it!”

SummerSea Herbs is a small company, and she personally makes all of her wonderful (and wonderfully packaged!) products in small batches, by hand. This ensures quality control and product effectiveness.

“I have taken great care in blending your item. All my medicinal and magickal formulas are tried and true, developed from the personal needs of my community over the years. It makes me very happy to help people through the use of herbs!”

Whether you want a delicious tea or need an incense blend to assist in magickal workings, you can be confident that any product you purchase from SummerSea Herbs will be the absolute best! I have purchased several items and will definitely purchase more!

For further information and to keep up with SummerSea Herbs, check out Tracey's blog HERE.
While you’re at it, pop over to the Winter EAST Challenge and VOTE! You can vote for up to FOUR items, just by “Adding Item to Favorites”. It’s FREE and, best of all, Etsy members who vote are put in for a random drawing for a FREE PRIZE PACK, with LOTS of great items made by EAST members. There will be FOUR winners! Click HERE to check out the entries! You can see SummerSea's entry below :)