Essay

Hollywood Icons, Control, and the Stories We Consume Hollywood Icons, Control, and the Stories We Consume
This presentation explores a fictional conspiracy narrative about Hollywood, celebrity control, public humiliation, and reinvention.
By Kristine Romeroa day ago in Chapters
Superstitions of Appalachia
Do not whistle at night, you'll summon them. If you hear a woman screaming, it's not what it seems. When someone calls your name, don't answer, even if it seems to be a familiar voice. What's the worst that can happen? A mimic might follow you home, calling your name at all hours, disturbing your mind and trapping you in your dreams. Movement will seem impossible, and you'll struggle to breathe. They call it sleep paralysis, but in the hills of Appalachia, it's believed to be something more sinister. Smudging with cedar is suggested to ward off the spirits and cleanse your home.
By Kassie2 days ago in Chapters
Sign Language
Sign Language By Katherine Aguilar People can learn every day of their lives. Sharing what they have learned from others keeps the learning going. It's even more impactful when an adult learns from a child, because the child becomes the teacher and you become the student.
By Katherine Aguilar9 days ago in Chapters
RICH
Rich By Katherine Aguilar The life you always wanted ,is the life y ou always had. It just morphed into something richer than you ever expected, with what you had and what you added. It became full.
By Katherine Aguilar10 days ago in Chapters
Deer Season in Appalachia . Content Warning.
Autumn arrives in Appalachia. Fallen leaves quilt the ground in a patchwork of vibrant yellow, orange, and red. Frost finishes off the plant life that survived the scorching summer sun. The die off clears the paths to hunting shacks and tree stands.
By Kassie2 months ago in Chapters
Snowfall in Appalachia
There is something spiritually moving about snowfall in Appalachia. During the winters, I spent a lot of time upstairs in our old block house. It stayed warm from the wood heat rising to the downstairs ceiling, heating the floors. When the snow began to fall, I raised the wooden framed window and watched. The air was crisp and cold, with a hint of wood smoke and pine. Big white flakes drifted slowly to the ground, as if time had slowed. Snow covered the bare tree branches and dead grass in a purifying cloak of white.
By Kassie2 months ago in Chapters
A Fall Day in Appalachia
My kitchen is a cluttered mess. Canning pots and jars are scattered. Bushel baskets of apples line the wall. Apple peelers are attached to my table, and full stainless steel bowls sit in the middle. Crocks of apple peels submerged in water sit in corners. In a few weeks, I will have several gallons of vinegar to bottle. Pots of hot vegetable soup and chili sit on the stove. Apple pie cools in the oven, and a pumpkin roll is chilling in the fridge. All ready to feed family coming to help stir. The apple butter kettle sits in the middle of the yard, washed and ready to fill. A pile of wood to keep the apple butter cooking is close by. I work setting up the food tables. The tables are heavy with soups, desserts, breads, and gallons of apple cider. Hot coffee is brewing in the house as family starts to arrive.
By Kassie2 months ago in Chapters
Infrared Lights & Yellow Lights of Caution
Is an experience still new if it ends up exactly where you knew it would? This week, I tried infrared light therapy. It’s one of those new technologies that is “backed by science.” Being under the lights is supposed to improve collagen production, improve skin conditions, speed recovery after exercise and a million other claims we’ve all seen on social media ads for treatments and devices.
By Kate Baggott2 months ago in Chapters
Becoming the Model Kate
Week 2/52 of the “try new things every week challenge to myself.” I can now add fashion modelling to the skills section of my C/V.
By Kate Baggott3 months ago in Chapters
Taming Wild Uncertainty
We are all, always, trudging forth into wild uncertainty. Will I still have a job next month? Do I understand this emerging technology well enough (i.e. are my decisions about using AI for some menial tasks but not creative ones correct)? Will I be able to keep both my kids in university this year? My uncertainties are not yours, but I know you have them too. Regardless of the unique nature of uncertainties, my best life solution -- when I am not tempted by that space where worry meets self-pity -- is to dive into my most creative tendencies and write my way through. So, I am regulating that impulse and committing to doing one new thing every week for a year. It's a big deal for middle aged folks, believe me. We love our comfort zones, but I haven't found a new show to stream since the end of Riot Women and The Other Bennett Sister, so now it the time to break out. Last night, my friend Rose invited me to see Mimi Oz with Silver Reeds at LaRev . New to me bands, a new to me venue and a new kind of hang out for one of my Camp Neekaunis friends and I. It's a good place to start, I think. In my experience, the emotional response to doing new things is at worst, a "well, that was OK, but I don't need to do it again," to absolute euphoria that lasts for days. This is how doing new things 1/52 worked out:
By Kate Baggott3 months ago in Chapters
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM REMEMBERS
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True.” — Revelation 19:11
By THE HONED CRONE3 months ago in Chapters
Refractive Index
“Look mama, it’s a whale,” the little girl pointed out over the ocean. It was a cold day but warmer than most in the town of Whittier Alaska.
By Raine Fielder3 months ago in Chapters