Podcasts about psychomachia

This is the second of a series of posts about the literary alchemy of J. K. Rowling, a discussion jumpstarted by a post by ‘Iris' at a Strike fan website, an article that championed a Jungian perspective on this subject. The first post in this series, Literary Alchemy – A Primer for Those Interested in J. K. Rowling's Artistry, both explained what the ‘Iris' post asserted and reviewed much of the critical literature that the brevity of the S&E Files article prevented her from discussing. See that post for links to this material. The conversation between Nick Jeffery and John Granger above was recorded in the same spirit as the first post was written, namely, simultaneously a welcome to Strike fans and Rowling readers who have learned about literary alchemy only recently and an introduction to the work of the last twenty five years on this subject. Upcoming posts in the series will include a counter-point discussion in the debate Rowling is fostering about whether a psychological or spiritual perspective is better for understanding art and life and a review of the alchemical signatures that crowd Rowling-Galbraith's Hallmarked Man.This post is largely links to sources for points Nick and John discuss in their naturally enthusiastic and contrarian conversation, question by question. Enjoy!1. Welcome to the Conversation! (Nick) I just sent out an article about literary alchemy, John, in response to an article written by ‘Iris' and posted on the Strike-Ellacott Files website, a piece titled ‘What is Literary Alchemy? Spotting symbols that map Strike and Robin's growth.' What advice or guidance would you give to, say, Cormoran Strike readers who are brand new to the subject? * There are three types of alchemy and it is important to understand the common ground they share and the differences between them;* The first type is alchemy proper, which is to say ‘metallurgical alchemy,' the sacred science of purifying metals and the adept's soul via the creation of a Philosopher's Stone that will transform lead to gold and exude an elixir of life, the drinking of which will bestow immortality;* The second and third types of alchemy derive from interpretations of metallurgical alchemy's aims and the symbolic texts detailing the work in the hermetic laboratory;* Literary alchemy is the use of metallurgical alchemy's language, colors, sequences, and symbols in plays, poetry, and story to foster an edifying and transformative experience in the artist's theater or reading audience;* Psychological alchemy is Carl Jung's use of metallurgical alchemy's texts during and after WWII to illustrate his ideas of the integration of the conscious and unconscious aspects of the human mind;* Metallurgical alchemy was practiced in China, the Levant, India, and Europe within the revealed religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity until its degeneration in the late Medieval period and eventual evolution into the strictly materialist chemistry we know today;* Literary alchemy has been a continuous stream in literature from Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and the Metaphysical poets through to Dickens, Yeats, the Inklings, Joyce, Nabokov, and J. K. Rowling;* The academic study of “alchemy in literature” was the province of Baconian and allegorical readings of Shakespeare (cf., Beryl Pogson, Peter Dawkins, Martin Lings) until the late 20th Century and the advent of academic specialists in ‘Hermetic Studies,' e.g., Stanton Linden, Lyndy Abraham, and Charles Nicholl (cf., Cauda Pavonis: A Journal of Hermetic Studies, 1982-2000).* Jung and his followers used their psychological interpretations of metallurgical alchemy as allegories of the soul to interpret mythology (cf., Erich Neumann, Marie-Louise Von Franz, Robert Johnson);* Jungian analysis of story using Jung's ideas of subconscious archetypes within a collective unconscious was popularized by Joseph Campbell in his guides to Joyce's Ulysses and his more well known works on mythology (e.g., The Hero With a Thousand Faces);* ‘Isis' in her S&E Files article, ‘What is Literary Alchemy?,' suggests that Rowling-Galbraith is writing an allegory of soul transformation in the Cormoran Strike series using metallurgical alchemy's symbols and sequences as understood by Carl Jung and his disciples rather than as used by English writers since the 13th Century;* It's a challenging theory, the depth of which is hard to grasp without an appreciation of the types of alchemy, what they have in common, and their differences in approach and subject matter.2. The Lake: (John) What I found most fascinating in your post, Nick, was your best guesses about where Rowling would have learned about literary alchemy. She claimed in 1998 that she'd read a lot of alchemical texts from which she set the “magical parameters” of the Hogwarts Saga; if you had only three chances to name one of those books, what would you choose? * Charles Nicholl's The Chemical Theatre;* Titus Burckhardt's Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul (or Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Acience and Sacred Art);* Lyndy Abraham Summerhaze's Marvell and Alchemy or her Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery;* Martin Lings' The Secret of Shakespeare3. Carl Jung, Alchemy: (Nick) I see you're chafing at the bit, John, with book titles I haven't mentioned so let me name-drop the author not on my list because, as you pointed out, he wasn't really a literary alchemist so much as a psychologist who discussed alchemy as a means of illustrating his own ideas about the ‘Great Work.' You've written, though, that literary alchemy as with metallurgical alchemy is a subset of soul-allegories or Psychomachia. Don't Jung's ideas jibe with that? * Yes and no!* Jung's ideas of the soul and archetypes (or archetypal forms) are based on late 19th Century Volkischer German ideas, which is to say, modern and materialist (some say ‘vitalist') premises. His hostility to Christianity and Judaism was grounded in his acceptance of Darwinian evolution and derived philosophically from Nietzsche (see Richard Noll's The Jung Cult and The Aryan Christ).* He conflates the spiritual with the psychological, consequently, and embraces integrated individual psychological health as the telos of human existence, none of which is consistent with traditional metallurgical or literary alchemy (see Titus Burckhardt's Mirror of the Intellect, Philip Sherrard's ‘An Introduction to the Religious Thought of C. G. Jung,' and Harry Oldmeadow's ‘C.G. Jung & Mircea Eliade: ‘Priests without Surplices'? Reflections on the Place of Myth, Religion and Science in Their Work.'* Psychological alchemy, insomuch as it is ‘Jungian,' is well removed from the other two types of alchemy. Which is not to say that Rowling is not a Jungian and hence a Jungian psychological alchemist.4. Back into the Lake: (John) You covered in your article, though, Nick, the several reasons to think it possible, even probable that the evidence from Rowling's life suggests she is using Jungian ideas in her literary alchemy. Iris over at S&E Files obviously thinks that is the case. What are the for and against ideas with respect to Rowling being a Jungian? There's Plenty of Evidence That Rowling IS a Jungian Writer:John Granger's discussion in Troubled Blood: A Jungian Reading* Robin's name-dropping Jung in conversation about astrology;* The Jungian notes sounded throughout Strike 5: Archetypes, Synchronicity, Persona;* The connection between Jung's illustrated ‘New Book' and Talbot's ‘True Book;' and* Pointers to Cupid-Psyche myth as understood by Jungians (see below)The Advent of Prudence Dunleavy, Jungian Psychologist, in Ink Black Heart* Hard to imagine a more sympathetic portrait of a Jungian than half-sister Prudence!* She clearly was the genius behind the Rokeby reconciliation in Hallmarked ManThe Cupid and Psyche myth underpinning the Strike series* A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus (note the discussion here of the Jungian understanding of this specific myth)* Ink Black Heart: Strike as Zeus to Robin's Leda and as Cupid to Mads' Psyche* ‘Rowling Points to Myth of Cupid and Psyche in order to Console Strike Fans Disappointed with Hallmarked Man‘* The Hallmarked Man‘s Mythological Template (Nick Jeffery, John Granger)Anything Else? Oh, yeah —* Rowling studied mythology in her ‘Classical Studies' program at UExeter and almost certainly encountered Jungian interpretation of myths there (e.g. the work of Neumann, Johnson, Campbell).* Rowling told Val McDermid if she had not become a successful writer she would have sought training and certification as a psychologist. * Her work reflects a broad reading in psychology (cf., Louise Freeman Davis' ‘J. K. Rowling and the Phantoms in the Brain,' ‘Cormoran Strike and the Itch that Cannot Be Scratched') and it is likely that she has read her fair share of Jung and Jungian authors during her studies.* Rowling benefited from psychological therapy and exercises herself when suffering from depression, the experience of and recovery from which she depicted in story via the Azkaban Dementors and Robin Ellacott's treatment for PTSD in Lethal White.And There is Plenty of Evidence That Rowling Is NOT a Jungian Writer:* Rowling has never been asked or revealed how she learned about literary alchemy; this includes, of course, any reference to Carl Jung, whose work was not focused on literary alchemy per se but a psychological interpretation or explanation of metallurgical alchemy's symbolism.* All that Rowling has revealed about her experiences as a patient seeking help with depression are about Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which treatment modality owes nothing to Jung or to Jung's students.* It is possible that Rowling encountered esoteric metallurgical alchemy, the precursor to literary alchemy, in her study of astrology, the complementary traditional sacred science to alchemy, a skill-set with which we know she was accomplished. That route to alchemy would have led her to Perennialist interpretations of alchemy, most notably Titus Burckhardt‘s Alchemy, Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul; the paperback cover of the Penguin Metaphysical Library edition of that book (1974) features an androgynous giant named REBIS standing on a dragon and a winged golden sphere (i.e., Rubeus, Norbert, Snitch).* As mentioned above, it is more likely that she encountered literary alchemy in her study of Shakespeare. The year she was studying for her A Levels, she traveled to see a production of King Lear which has prompted the idea that it was on her list of texts to prepare for her tests. The most challenging interpretation of Lear then in print was Charles Nicholl's The Chemical Theatre (1980), a book that explains almost every scene in perhaps Shakespeare's greatest tragedy as a parallel step in the Great Work of alchemy. If the budding astrologer was fascinated by this allegorical interpretation of the Bard, the most popular work in print at that time that championed reading Shakespeare as the author of soul allegories was Perennialist Martin Lings‘ The Secret of Shakespeare (1984).* Literary Alchemy is a tool set employed not only by Shakespeare but by a host of Rowling favorite authors to include Dickens, Nabokov, Lewis, and Tolkien. This view of alchemy, that is, as an allegorical depiction of the soul's transformation that affects that same cathartic experience in its theater or reading audiences, is the one found in Rowling's work, which is well removed from psychological alchemy, an analytic art which, though it springs from metallurgical alchemical texts, does not aim at the transformation at work in the sacred art or the science of traditional alchemy. * Rowling's use of chiastic structures and psychomachian allegory, tools that complement literary alchemy in spiritual perspective and aim, make a Jungian rather than a literary and Perennialist view of alchemy seem unlikely.* Alchemy: Jung, Burckhardt, or Maclean? John Granger, April 2007* Rowling's Soul Triptych Psychomachia: Is It From Shakespeare's ‘Macbeth'? John Granger, September 20245. The Debate at King's Cross: (Nick) So, John, you've mentioned Jung quite a few times in your posts about the Mythological framework of the Strike series and even written about the Jungian ideas of animus and anima with respect to Cormoran and Robin's relationship. You seem fairly confident, though, that Rowling is writing from the traditional esoteric ideas of alchemy a la Shakespeare rather than Jung's. Why is that? * Everything you just said!* As noted, Jung's ideas are modern and psychological while the stream of literary alchemy in English Literature is almost exclusively more Medieval and pointedly spiritual;* The Most Notable Exception: Angela Carter's The Passion of the New Eve (1977), that reads like a Jungian ‘Red Book' slide-show (think Bombyx Mori) or a transgender Odyssey written for feminists. Rowling has never mentioned her to my knowledge but it would be surprising if she hadn't read this book more than once. What Alana Bolton Cooke wrote about Carter's Passion could be said about Rowling's literary alchemy if she is a Jungian writer (or about Galbraith's fictional Elizabeth Tassel?):Angela Carter in The Passion of New Eve (1977) uses the exoteric phases of alchemy and Carl G. Jung's theory of esoteric alchemy as a means of demonstrating allegorically the idea ofrebirth and renewal. The purpose of this allegorical method is to produce an 'alchemical' change of thought in the reader about sexuality and gender associated with women's repression and liberation. In the novel Carter develops themes and ideas explored in her essay, The Sadeian Woman: An Exercise in Cultural History (1979), an analysis of the Marquis de Sade's pornography and its affect on the roles of men and women in society. The clash of opposites involved in combining alchemical symbolism, feminism and pornography within the fiction can be seen as representative of the state of chaos present in alchemy before the beginning of change. The circular narrative and alchemical structure of the fiction creates a literary version of the alchemical process as it brings together opposites involved in chaos, represented by events and characterisation that the protagonist, Evelyn/Eve, experiences, until, in the manner of alchemy, harmony is reached. The harmony created represents women's empowerment. Carter uses Evelyn's individuation process to encourage growth within the reader by altering patterns of thought to bring about change through self-confrontation and self-knowledge. The structure of Carter's fiction, thus, corresponds to the process of esoteric alchemy contained within the structure, imagery and symbolism of exoteric alchemy. The fiction is designed to stimulate the unconscious of the reader and make conscious hitherto unknown and repressed thoughts about gender and sexuality to bring about change in the lives of men and women.* I think what Rowling said she was trying to do with Harry Potter's meeting with Dumbledore at the dream-like King's Cross strongly suggests she is aware of the two approaches and wants readers to discuss them – but that she has made her own choice, however conflicted she may be.* In her 2008 interview with Adeel Amini, Rowling said that her hope for Harry's post-mortem conversation with Dumbledore at King's Cross was to stimulate “a debate” among readers about whether it was a psychological moment, that is, a fantasy in which Harry understands what he's been missing all along, or a spiritual event in which he is actually speaking with the late Headmaster:Enough Potter-plot, I think. Moving on to a slightly more contentious issue, Rowling has categorically said that she does believe in a higher power, a statement reinforced by her childhood church-going (“Till I was 17,” she clarifies). It must be difficult to reconcile her religious beliefs with those that denounce Harry Potter as anti-Christian, I wonder aloud. Rowling's expression does not change a fraction. “There was a Christian commentator who said, which I thought was very interesting, that Harry Potter had been the Christian church's biggest missed opportunity. And I thought, there's someone who actually has their eyes open.“I think he said it before the publication of the seventh book, and with the publication of the seventh book I think that clarified a lot of people's view on where I was standing. But I should emphasise that I am not pushing a specifically Christian agenda, and indeed till the very last moment in book seven, one can interpret what happens to Harry after he presents himself with death as him going into an unconscious state in which his subconscious reveals to him what he already knew.” I hum in faux-comprehension of what she's referring to; luckily my clued-in companion is nodding wildly. Proceed. “Any re-reading of Chapter 35 will show you that there's nothing that the Dumbledore he sees tells him that he couldn't have guessed for himself or already realised, and of course there's a key piece of information that Dumbledore doesn't articulate that Harry has realised. So you can deliberately interpret it that way, or you can say that he did go into a state of limbo beyond which there was another life, and that idea was expressed repeatedly, and most explicitly at the end of book five, Order of the Phoenix, where Harry understands that there is an ‘on', that you do go on. “I wanted there to be a debate there, so of my three main characters - when they come into the room which examines death at the Ministry of Magic - Hermione, the ultimate sceptic and a hyperrational person, hears nothing behind the veil and is scared of it. Ron is just uneasy; Ron is someone who does not grapple with anything deeper than beer, if he can avoid it. Harry's drawn to it, and therein lies Harry's slightly reckless, almost morbid streak, because Harry does have a hint of that dangerous adolescent trait which is the attraction to death.” Heavy. Obviously with this ambiguity, you do get a fair degree of misinterpretation as well; there is a certain section that does dislike Harry Potter intensely. “Oh, vehemently,” says Rowling, before muttering under her breath “…and they send death threats.”* I think that “debate” she's trying to foster is between the psychological, call it ‘Jungian' “just inside your head” subconscious perspective, and the authentically spiritual view of her work (well, of art and human existence, too, of course). And that this debate is one she has had for most of her life. Check out her comments about the “greatest missed opportunity” and explain to me how that doesn't line up with her preferring the spiritual, albeit “not explicitly Christian,” to the psychological and humanist. 7. Jungian Readings of Rowling's Work: (Nick) John, you're familiar with what has been written by Potter Pundits because of your PhD critical literature surveys; what are the better ones about Rowling and Jungian psychology and what do they emphasize? Here are seven off the top of my head (and Thesis ‘Works Cited' drafts):* Grynbaum, G.A. (2000). The Secrets of Harry Potter. The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal: Reviews From a Jungian Perspective of Books, Films and Culture, [online] 19 (4) pp. 17-48* Patrick, Christopher and Sarah (2007), ‘Exploring the Dark Side: Harry Potter and the Psychology of Evil,' in Mulholland (ed.), The Psychology of Harry Potter, BenBella Books, pp 221-232* Gerhold, C. (2011). The Hero's Journey Through Adolescence: A Jungian Archetypal Analysis of “Harry Potter.” PsyD. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. * Rectenwald, Bob (2019). ‘Carl Jung's Impact on the Work of J. K. Rowling' * Skipper, Alicia and Kate Fulton (2021) ‘Out from the Shadows into the Light: Persona and Shadow in Harry Potter‘ in Anne Mamary (ed.) The Alchemical Harry Potter: Essays on Transfiguration in J. K. Rowling's Novels, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2021, pp 79-96* The Unfolding Journey, Jung's Shadow Self in Harry Potter: Confronting the Darkness Within (YouTube video)* My own Troubled Blood: A Jungian ReadingBob Rectenwald's piece is the best of the six I didn't write but it shares the several faults all the Jungian pieces make:* the first failing of even the best Jungian readers is the assumption that Rowling is a Jungian, which is an open question;* the next is that Jung's ideas (and Joseph Campbell's) are indisputably true; and* the last is, when alchemy is mentioned, the critics do not clarify either the commonalities of or the differences between literary alchemy, psychological alchemy, and Jungian analytic psychology. * Note, though, that Rowling, while aware of such Jungian tropes as the Hero's Journey, tweeks it shamelessly, adding a symbol of Christ and resurrection scene in every Potter story (cf., How Harry Cast His Spell, ‘The Harry's Journey,' pp 21-28).* Read her brief PotterMore piece on alchemy and note that it is written in such a way that it can be read as confirmation of either a psychological or spiritual perspective on alchemy and art:One interpretation of the ‘instructions' left by the alchemists is that they are symbolic of a spiritual journey, leading the alchemist from ignorance (base metal) to enlightenment (gold). There seems to have been a mystical element to the work the alchemist was engaged upon, which set it apart from chemistry (of which it was undoubtedly both an offshoot and forerunner).This “original writing” by Rowling, especially the words “spiritual” and “mystical,” suggests that she is a Perennialist rather than a Jungian, at least with respect to her understanding of alchemy. But the debate is still possible with Jungians who read those words as cyphers for the subsconscious contact they hold we have with archetypes.8. Back to the Alchemy: (John) I think the real question of whether Rowling's literary alchemy is predominantly literary and spiritual or psychological in orientation comes down to the postmodern confusion about the immaterial aspects of the human person, which is to say, the soul (or mind, psyche) and the spirit. Rowling's recent work may seem prosaic or secular to a casual reader who compares it to the relatively otherworldly and “obviously” symbolic Potter books, but she loads each Strike book with Shakespearean romance of soul and spirit, i.e., alchemical dramas, and hermetic tropes. I'm writing a piece now about the lions, dogs, incest, and the red man and white woman in Hallmarked Man, each of which are touchstones of alchemy. I think, though, that your work with Rowling's favorite books and her epigraph sources, Nick, point to a strong spiritual rather than psychological foundation in Rowling's work —* Louisa May Alcott, Little Women* Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle* The Victorian Women Poets in Running Grave* Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh* Robert Browning, The Ring and the Book* The Jungian love of the I Ching, Running Grave's epigraph source9. Jung in Running Grave: (Nick) Rowling's favorite writers, from Shakespeare and Nabokov to C. S. Lewis and Victorian Women poets, all clearly believe in a world-transcending spiritual realm. Given the quantity of the Jungian scholarship in Rowling Studies that Iris referred to and you've mentioned, it's curious -- if Rowling is aware of it and is resistant to it -- that she doesn't push back against it explicitly in her work. Can you think of a character that seems something like Jung in the books, someone as bad as Prudence Dunleavey is good? I can think of three:* United Humanitarian Church's guru Jonathan Wace in Running Grave: his “psychologizing of religion,” the comparative religion avenue to denial of any true faith, the psychological critical analysis of a patient using mythological tropes (”Artemis”), the cult leader, and the abuser of women and children -- he's a ringer for Jung! * Paul Satchwell, one-eyed serpent with a one-track mind, in Leamington Spa, a true Jungian artist working psycho-sexual motifs graphically on canvas:Naked figures twisted and cavorted in scenes from Greek mythology. Persephone struggled in the arms of Hades as he carried her down into the underworld; Andromeda strained against chains binding her to rock as a dragonish creature rose from the waves to devour her; Leda lay supine in bulrushes as Zeus, in the form of a swan, impregnated her.Two lines of Joni Mitchell floated back to Robin as she looked at the paintings: “When I first saw your gallery, I liked the ones of ladies…”Except that Robin wasn't sure she liked the paintings. The female figures were all black-haired, olive-skinned, heavy-breasted and partially or entirely naked. The paintings were accomplished, but Robin found them slightly lascivious. Each of the women wore a similar expression of vacant abandon, and Satchwell seemed to have a definite preference for those myths that featured bondage, rape or abduction. (Troubled Blood, 542)* And then there are the Masons, kind of an old school Jungian cult in Hallmarked Man. Like the UHC and “harmless” fraternal and charitable group with Christian touches but which doesn't change a man or human nature per Hardacre (and which harbors the rich and powerful like Lord Branfoot). * Coupled with Prudence, the Front of Jungian Beliefs, we get the front and back of Jung in Rowling's work, a characteristic touch of Rowling nuance as she did with Islam in Hallmarked Man.10. Conclusion: (John) I'm obviously not a Jung fan and I don't think Rowling is writing Jungian psychomachia in alchemical symbols a la Angela Carter, but I see how people would come to a contrary conclusion; Rowling's ‘spiritual not religious' public statements and political positions with respect to Same Sex Attraction and abortion line up much more easily with New Age and Jungian types than with any kind of orthodox Christianity. The great thing about essays like Isis' at S&E Files is that it brings more people into the conversation of what literary alchemy is and the various approaches to it. You've been reading about literary alchemy for several years now, Nick; what do you think the person whose first encounter with the subject was the S&E Files article do to hone their alchemy detection skills? * “Read your books and online talks, John!”* How Metallurgical Alchemy Worked and How it Became Literary Alchemy (from Deathly Hallows Lectures, Chapter 1):Alchemy, in a nutshell, was the science for the perfection or sanctification of the alchemist's soul. This heroic venture I need to say straight off is all but impossible today because the way we look at reality, at ‘things' per se makes the Great Work itself almost an absurdity. Unlike the medieval alchemists, we moderns and postmoderns see things with a clear subject/object distinction, that is, we believe that you and I and that table are entirely different things and between them is there is no connection or relation. The knowing subject is one thing and the observed object is completely ‘other.'To the alchemist that is not the case. His efforts in changing lead to gold are based on the premise that he as the subject will go through the same types of changes and purifications as the materials he is working with. In sympathy with these metallurgical transitions and resolutions of contraries, his soul will be purified in correspondence as long as he is working in a prayerful state within the Mysteries (sacraments) of his revealed tradition.Now, historically there was an Arabic alchemy, a Chinese alchemy, a Kabbalistic, as well as a Christian alchemy; each differs superficially with respect to their spiritual traditions but in every one, the alchemist was working with a sacred natural science or physics to advance his spiritual purification. This was only possible because he looked at the metal he was working with as something with which he was not ‘other' but with which he was in relationship, artifex and artifact in sacred art imitating and accelerating the work of the Creator creating a bridge, so that, as lead changes to gold or material perfection, his soul was going through similar transformations and purifications.The common ground is the logos in every created thing, to include persons (cf. John 1:9), which are all continuous with the Logos fabric of reality. As much as the alchemist identifies with this metaphysical ground, purifying himself of the ‘old man' or ego-driven individual and identifying himself with the spiritual Heart or light within him, that light will become his dominant quality, hence his “illumination” or “enlightenment”. And lead or solid darkness turning into gold, hard light.How does this edifying magic become the scaffolding for Harry's adventures? Largely through the genius of William Shakespeare. Hermetic wisdom and alchemical efforts were such commonplaces in Elizabethan England that Shakespeare and his contemporaries recognized, I think. that the magic of staged drama is essentially alchemical. If we groundlings are all watching what's going on up on the stage and everything is working the way it's supposed to, the subject-object distinction dissolves inasmuch as we identify with the characters and their agonies through our logos-imaginations. As they go through their changes, like the metals in a crucible, we identify with them and pass through the same cathartic moment.As the great dramatists of that period realized, “if what we're doing is alchemical, why don't we use alchemical imagery and language, too?” And, voila, literary alchemy is born. This stream of English literature in which narrator or characters and the reader or audience in correspondence pass through the stages of the alchemical work, the black the white and the red (basically dissolution, purification, and then perfection) runs through the next five centuries of poetry, stage work, stories and novels. You may not have recognized it, but its a big part of things you have read.* Literary Alchemy: Sacred Science, Sacred Art, and ‘The Alembic of Story':A Perennialist Explanation of J. K. Rowling's Signature Hermetic Symbolism This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Viduslaiku mistiķes un dzejnieces Hildegardes no Bingenas darbus no jauna atklāj gan izdevēji, gan mūziķi. Kultūras rondo saruna par viduslaiku mistiķi un dzejnieci Hildegardi no Bingenas. Un iemesls šai sarunai – grāmatā izdota viņas liturģiskā luga "Tikumu ordenis". Stāsta izdevuma idejas autore, ilustratore un priekšvārda autore Linda Mence un tulkotājs Mārtiņš Laizāns, kā arī vokālās grupas „Putni” vadītāja Antra Dreģe un senās mūzikas pētniece, grupas dalībniece Dārta Paldiņa. Luga "Tikumu ordenis" stāsta par dvēseles ceļu, pieņemot 13 tikumus, pretim Dievam. "Šī luga ir kā apsolījums, ka beigās viss tomēr būs labi," sarunā atzīst darba tulkotājs no latīņu valodas Mārtiņš Laizāns. Hildegarde no Bingenas (Hildegard von Bingen, 1098–1179) ir viduslaiku mistiķe, dzejniece, komponiste, dziedniece, klostera vadītāja un sludinātāja, kuras dzīve un darbi turpina pārsteigt un apburt arī šodien. Garās dzīves laikā Hildegarde pierakstījusi un interpretējusi savas mistiskās vīzijas darbā Scivias (no lat. Sci vias Domini – “Zini tā Kunga ceļus”), sarakstījusi medicīnai veltīto "Causae et curae" (“Cēloņi un ārstēšana”), dziedinājusi slimos, pieņēmusi dzemdības, komponējusi ne vien “Tikumu ordeni” (Ordo Virtutum), bet daudz citu skaņdarbu, vadījusi klosteri un radījusi pati savu valodu Lingua Ignota. “Tikumu ordeņa” atdzejojums un ilustrācijas ir mēģinājums ieklausīties viduslaiku mistiķes vārdos, ļaujot tiem zaļot balsī, domā un rokās. Liturģisko lugu "Ordo Virtutum" Hildegarde sarakstījusi ap 1152. gadu tolaik nesen uzceltajā Rupertsbergas klosterī. “Tikumu ordenis” ir alegorija, kas stāsta par dvēseles ceļu atpakaļ pie Dieva. Tā iekļaujas psychomachia tradīcijā, kuras aizsākumi meklējami vismaz 5. gadsimtā ar Prudentiju (348–405), kura darbā Psychomachia dvēsele cīnās ar grēku, palīgā saucot personificētus tikumus. Grāmata ir bilingvāla, Hildegardes no Bingenas liturģisko lugu var lasīt gan latīnu, gan latviešu valodā. Izdevis apgāds "Neputns".

Season 5 Episode 11 is here and this episode continues to follow our new structure including the following segments:Throwback Track Faceoff: We will be comparing and contrasting two throwback metalcore songs. This week we dove into I Am by Hands Like Houses and Psychomachia by I The Mighty. We discuss lyrics, vocals, instrumentals, song meaning, etc. Coaches Corner: This segment features health and wellness information/tips to help you meet your goals. This week we discuss three quick life lessons from regularly going to the gym. Song of the Week: We select a new metalcore song each week to highlight/share with you all. This week's song of the week is "Caramel" by Sleep Token. Exercise of the Week: We select an exercise to highlight, describing the exercise, alternative exercises, muscles targeted, pros & cons, optimal volume, and more. This week we discuss the seated dumbbell incline curl. Follow us on Instagram @mc_muscle!

Howdy, readers. Watchers. Listeners, Sunday. Monday. The days of the week, the months of the seasons, the cosmic words of the wild. All is set in the Northern hemisphere, as winter earth protects itself from the barking nights of snowfall. Slowly, catching breath, to speed up action, for Spring to save us with the flowers, and post-skeleton tree blossom, to hit the marks of the future.Stars, planets. Poetry. Motion. Moving: forward into the NEW is NOW. I made this film 8-years ago, and found it recently. For your pleasure. XBE BRAVE and TAKE THE BEST CARE OUT THERE! SENT I.M. MARIANNE FAITHFULL“the best biography of Marianne I ever read” Judy NylonIf you are a paying subscriber, please drop me a line, and I will be happy to send a free COLD LIPS PRESS publication (2021) about Marianne Faithfull's life, with artwork from an original commission by Sam Jackson, from the UK shortly, and some available now in Europe. The limited edition zine features rare photographs, artwork and foreword by myself, interviews with Warren Ellis & more.Coming back at you very soon: recent interview by Kelli Ali x Martin Eder on a naughty rooftop in London's Noho.In the meantime, the cave studio is preparing to record the long-promised Psychomachia audiobook, and release the book digitally. Before the flowers burst their banks, and flood us with their summer scent.

Dear Readers,I got what I needed Going for a Burton (that's an English RAF term from WWII, like we're going off to die). I'm at the press conference for the biggest show the Design Museum has ever hosted, with 32,000 tickets sold in advance. Much as I'm falling out of love with absorbing myself in the worlds of other people, I ask this most powerful man (who has maintained his independence through an autonomous style that stems from a wonderfully 20th-century cardboard clunkiness) a single question. I extend the invitation to enter his temple and listen to the wisdom of this master world-builder, the creator of Wednesday on Netflix, Mars Attacks!, Edward Scissorhands, and a canon of identity-inspiring creations, by pressing PLAY on the little film I've made reporting on the experience above.He talks about techniques and emphasises that it's all about mastering these in whatever art we choose to deliver. The first rule of witchcraft is to keep a tidy house, but how we define "tidy" is up to us. Living in other people's worlds has been a habit of mine. Art activates, allowing me to find myself sitting opposite Tim Burton who is exceptionally rare. He is unique. He is special. A mega-talented embodiment of the gothic who articulates his critical mind in these onscreen dramas of G-pop's [general population/consumers] relationship with home duties in the sanitised Americana of 50s suburbia. Burton's drawing descends from growing up in the suburban “Horrorwood” of California's Burbank where he took an unpretentious revenge upon the superficial. I grew up in the suburbs too.“Burbank made me want to make monster movies.” I get it.There he sent his work into art competitions, which led him to be fast-tracked on a sponsorship into the Walt Disney-founded CalArts school where he was enabled to explore his interior world, with confidence, as an obsessional artist. This is his legacy.“Each [film] leaves it's emotional scars.”Engaging with his work is like stepping into alternative, often scary, magical kingdoms. Speaking to Maria McLintock, the curator as she guides us around the show (a true privilege of being a war-torn member of culture press) her Vivienne Westwood skeleton earring swings with the same charm as her knowledge and integrity. “It's about 60%” of what's been seen in the World of Tim Burton shows which have shown everywhere from New York's MOMA to Lafayette Art and Design Center in Shanghai over the past 10 years.How does it differ to the Labyrinth shows I've seen advertised for Madrid? She's dying to see them: “They're more immersive,” says the former RIBA editor, whose knowledge of architecture creates the perfect ‘housing' for a tunnel of Allison in Wonderland to walk through. “People keep on saying this is immersive. It's not, it's more of document.”Whether Burton is a higher-res Edward Gore or an all-new Edgar Allan Poe, a tripped-out Goethe, or a Nick Cave of the Movies, it doesn't matter in a graveyard. These characters haunt us with their sublimity, ultimately embodying rebellion. Goths are eternal because death is eternal (as far as we know), and death carries powerful imagery: headstones, spiders, skulls. It's perfect that he pairs with Alexander McQueen, as proper goths canonise the act of not being mainstream cool. They embrace the coffin-cold fact that we're all going to die, but they do it on their own terms.Whether gaming is replacing movies or any art form or media is taking over is irrelevant, this is the show which views Burton as an all-seeing artist. This is why the big screen has allowed him to become an unusually family-friendly weirdo, defying the odds. His drawings of characters trap us in the simplicity of fairy tales, where children find solace in extremes. Although this show demonstrates versatility, this is a filmaker exploring the boundaries of victimhood, blurring the internal and external. The peripeteia of turning our wounds into badges of shame, then into medals of honour. It voices a universal truth. Do we walk through the broken vessels that smash to the ground around us, attacked and reacting? We can engage, ignore, sweep our house, or become injured. We all inhabit the houses of others, seeking answers from what has been missing, the art is to feel full of self (not full of oneself) and content in that rather than shamed or unworthy.Yet, what we allow into our systems (or whatever is present) shapes our journeys. Be it unfiltered water, chemically-sprayed coffee, or the myths of others. I was married to a director, so can tell you they are the gods of their creations, little would get finished without them. We enter the temples of other people through literature, music, gaming, and we choose alt Heavens and Underworlds, immersing ourselves in Utopian fantasies where impossible romanticism reigns. But what we create, we can only create ourselves. Sure we collaborate, as is discussed in the film above. Yet I am here to make an inquiry. I seek escape through the ‘Burtonesque' existential monochrome, mirroring a cartoon fear of darkness as a companion in the ironic danse macabre to the inevitable: death. I am here because the Burtonesque beats black like my coffee and heart. The gothic lifeblood channels life as an outsider. Yet I wish to belong. The dilemma of being a true rebel yet accepted by those we perceive to be “inside” requires a humble acknowledgment of our shared flaws as we walk towards the grave.There is no dumbing down or fading out the "black jeans on the beach of life" joke of being here one minute and gone the next. We choose to enjoy the ride, striking a Beetlejuice meets Robert Smith hero's pose against the paradox of beauty standards which true rebels are able to defy. (I am sure Cathi Unsworth and John Robb's goth books say much of this, with far more detail.)Burton discusses ‘the system' that tells us we aren't allowed to operate. What do you do? For me, seeking magic in others is a quest to find it within myself. In my worst of times I have had no protection against this. Hail the new witchery, the return to paganism, the need to understand and create order using more ancient traditions than this era of madness where we can see injustice in rising fundamentalism against females (I'm talking about Trump and the decline of western civilisation, mirrored in Jack Nicholson's presidential performance in Mars Attacks! as we forward-march toward a dumbed-down spectacle the Salem-esque dumbed-down fear states of 'merica) but it's so basic we can only loveheart a reaction. We are frustratingly disabled to affect geopolitics as we drop our mouths in awe at the online superficiality of the post-Covid 2020s. It's akin to the Wellness Dilemma, where justice is offered as the responsibility of the individual rather than as a responsibility of community management. The Wellness Dilemma is a mirror on consumer rights operating in carelessness for anything other than profit. We are facing serious issues of climate change, wars and over-consumption, walking hand-in-hand with trauma as victimhood flexing in a drama ritual, where space is taken up by injured parties, average accidents competing against violence rites of stabbings parading beneath a lack of societal management of equity. Everyone deserves a voice, and the power to use it, but in what system? Armies of protein-rich gym babies train for a war of healthy positivity against a past generation who self-medicated beneath banners of smiley faces or war-hangovers and first-generation struggles. I sense this may be one of my last occasions where I need to confront the ghastly aesthetic of a world policed by beauty standards imposed by ‘beauty' companies in the free-market warzone of brands, houses, offices, and entertainment institutions built to annihilate our financial empowerment. Subtle demands to comply with regimes that layer us with artificial masks of botox and filler that protect us from emotional empathy and the risk of deeper connections. Look at Madonna. Look at Robert Smith. We are symbolic parodies of the flaws of illogical systems in poorly designed worlds, we are perfect in an imperfect world, where it's challenging to determine if these designs are intentional. In the end, does it matter? Culture is a natural defense system like hitting ouch on instant messaging, to receive an animal vid or guru-shared platitudes that feel (sleepy) hollow against the backdrop of authenticity solved in a world of Wednesday.Sure, we manage our houses, filling our wells with what serves us, our revenge is to take space. To be nourished physically and metaphysically is essential, but it's hard to compare these acts as great as the spectacle of the movies, the big screen paintings which allow us to escape. I vow to write more fiction (my most popular posts here). Navigating a landscape where choice is often intertwined with financial empowerment and cultures, we must invent our own, but when they're symbols of the slavery? O Lord, yes, I would like an electric Mercedes Benz. Manifest!We must remember we're in a perpetual negotiation with the structures that seek to confine us, but not relive the horror of living in a world of overconsumption. And forgive ourselves for what we cannot afford. Our power is how we boundary our responses to outer worlds that govern us. Sometimes that requires sitting in stagnant waters, plunging to the depths of our malnourished wells, and rediscovering our needs. For me, this journey has taken me to an Andalusian mountain, battling with my soul and demons to face the hermetic dawn. I still would like an electric Mercedes Benz. That's my reaction to the Trauma Scale which operates universally; male, female, trans, everyone is entitled to suffer. Whether it's rape on a refugee camp to the bullying on social media, or sharing micro-details of foodbank trauma as drama ritual of victimhood, where space is occupied by the injured and the injuring. How is there equality in these rubrics of competing for attention amid societal neglect? What we do with our injuries defines our agency, resilience, and leadership potential, applicable to all teams. We all engage with pain, and there's a comedic tragedy in empathy, but black and white as Burton's lens is, it does not patronise with guilt; instead, he explores these wounded vessels with a perception of agency and resilience. Like any creative act, we can criticise rather than celebrate (particularly under a Beschdel lens) but there's an intimacy which the exposure-driven antics of contemporary pop culture are born from. “If it inspires you, if it makes kids want to draw, then that's a thing.” Resilience is my new tidiness. I want to claim my power with the stories I tell myself, as I know it shapes our realities. We can become interdependent with the worlds which inspire us. This is the point in having successful figures, artists and ideas, rather than just pedestal creations as being better than us. Much of our system amplifies the celebrity culture born from movies, where the industrialisation of the Star Machine creates a Warhol-esque religion of gossip and behaviors, often driven by sociopathic tendencies, glorifying chaos. It's like any dogma, astrological or otherwise, there is unlikely a single code. How we navigate the complex matrix of media and art as information in this digital age is on us. The lines between success and worthiness blur in a quest for ethical sameness. Burton is an outstanding artist in world where secretly, the weird are celebrated, because the world has gone weird, governed by dull tech bros and cartoon boardrooms with no control on government. Has it ever been different? That is what makes fairy tales eternal and keeps the town criers' crying. The aspiration to conform, through patronage or substandard revolutionary rebelliousness, leads to feelings of low self-esteem and comparison, dragging us into voids of negative capability. If we harbour a damaging self-fulfilling lack of belief in our own houses, we merely assign our power to others. “Do it from your heart because you want it, not what it leads to.” This mantra speaks volumes. We have to own our own shadows, remember not relive, and know gossip or faux-concern of the Other, and what they do or think, rarely serves anyone, merely enabling averageness. We are in a tidal onslaught of individual ‘empowerment' being exploited to sell things to or from, we owe it to ourselves to heavily police what content/art/entertainment/news/information/people/other is worthy of our short lives. This duality can be a terrifying preoccupation, the management of self-control when most of life can appear to be beyond our control. We are forced to be consumers, indexed by popularity. We have all smiled whilst being f**ked. I'm not getting into a feminist critique here, the self-portraits drawing clowns (on napkins) is a get out of jail card, from this distance. The personal, whatever (although I did enjoy the trooping of the mystery front-rowers backstage after the Q&A, who were they?!). I vow to watch Sophie Koko's animations. There is so much to consume, to create, but for me, the tensions in myself have been preventative from doing what I need to do for myself, so to hear this God speak, gives palpability to the distractions of explaining the issues of the day being explained as art versus industry, or how the rational coexists with the irrational, or progressive philosophies versus conservative risk aversion. Our biggest challenge is building our own capacity to prove our capability, to hold our own houses strong, and be as fabulous as Edward Scissorhands.Last day to enter Burton's World: April 21st 2025https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/the-world-of-tim-burtonMy news: I'm proud to support one of the stars in my life, Pete Astor, with his THE ATTENDANT project on 21st November. I love the music, with Paul Weller's bassist and Ian Button on keys, they're also joined by the voice of fine London talent, Sukie Smith. Pete was one of the first signings to Creation Records (Oasis, Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain), and we last played together when Psychomachia was first published. It's a really early show. I'm on by 7, so come early. Tickets are limited and available here:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-attendant-tickets-1039379641487I'm excited to build on what I've been doing over the past year, and I won't keep you long. I will be using the date to complete the audiobook of Psychomachia, and will be releasing it exclusively to paying subscribers here. I share these words for free to all, in the hope to inspire.From the desk of Kirsty Allison is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.      To hear more, visit kirstyallison.substack.com

In this episode, Kurt and Leo interview Kali Kazoo, a creative powerhouse and artist extraordinaire! Kali Kazoo has an impressive career as an animator who creates fantastically catchy music. We talk about her time as a dedicated artist in two different realms of the entertainment industry, and we hear stories about her run-ins with some remarkable people while being one of those extraordinary people herself.Listen as we discuss being an animator, show host, and musician. We discuss issues facing creatives in the entertainment industry, her "obsession" with sea foam (the color, not the substance), Grodius Maximus from GWAR, and ... the LA Public Sanitation Department?It was truly an honor and a privilege to have held this interview! Listen to her latest album, 'Long Live The Loser' on any streaming service! You won't be disappointed!Links:Kali Kazoo WebsiteJust One Song PageCredits:Music: "Psychomachia" by Kali KazooMixing and Editing of Episode: Kurt BoehmkeShout Outs:Toshi Kasai and Tommy Meehan (Grodius Maximus)

bleu noir. First and foremost, a friendship composed of Edouard-Marc and Bastien. Two companions who, in their distinct singularities, come together to converge towards a common universe. Complementarity is created from the beginning of the project to the finishing touches of their musical collaborations. A sincere, imaginative, and heartfelt approach. Random but shared experiences, such as numerous musical events ranging from concerts to festivals, inspire them. All of this leads to beautiful creations like this EP named: Naviguer à vue. “Naviguer à vue” is the story in a fictitious and picturesque imagination, of a collective adventure taking place on a boat. The construction and launching of it, welcoming "Hordes" of people, are represented by "Recherche hivernale". A long aquatic journey through "Brume épaisse", filled with “Emergences of details”, as beautiful as they are stressful. Presented to the people on the boat is an internal and collective struggle, "Psychomachia". A battle between vice and virtue, between the humble human and the one of a self-centered and selfish society. “Inno”, floating on the surface and swimming, between two worlds, unable to leave the fluid and yet aware that it exists. A track that could have been called “Innolude”. The sound translations of these different emotions and sensitivities, vectorized by “Diversions currents then landscapes”, make this EP a true journey. Today's premiere is the second track from this great release, "Brume épaisse." This eerie, aquatic techno odyssey is defined by a powerful bassline that builds tension like The Marin, bringing thick coastal fog over a southern seaside city. "Brume épaisse" boasts a delicate yet murky atmosphere, perfectly grasping the essence of a late-night after-hours track. “Naviguer à vue” EP is set for release in the second half of April. https://soundcloud.com/lowvolumerandomization https://soundcloud.com/user-676721263 https://www.instagram.com/lowvolumerandomization/ https://www.instagram.com/bleunoirr/ Follow us on social media: https://soundcloud.com/itsdelayed https://linktr.ee/delayed https://www.itsdelayed.com https://www.facebook.com/itsdelayed https://www.instagram.com/_____delayed https://www.youtube.com/@_____delayed

Top Christian artist I.N.D from Poland has released new music on an EP entitled Psychomachia. Lead vocalist Alina joins us to talk about the new music and faith. Experience and find out about two of the tracks from this EP entitled "Inside" and "Two Ways."Get a copy of "Psychomachia" by messaging I.N.D thru Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/InNomineDei Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On The Literary Life podcast today, Cindy Rollins, Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks begin their series on The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis. Today you are going to get a crash-course in Medievalism through Lewis' story, and we hope you will enjoy this book as much as our hosts do. Angelina kicks off the discussion even while sharing her commonplace quote, sharing some information about the epigraph and front matter. She gives us some historical context, both for where this books comes in Lewis' own timeline, as well as some ideas of the journey of the soul and medieval dream literature. Thomas gives some background on Prudentius and his allegorical work The Psychomachia. Angelina goes into some comparisons between The Great Divorce and Dante's Divine Comedy. Thomas talks about Nathanial Hawthorne's short story The Celestial Railroad as a satire of Pilgrim's Progress. Also, if you haven't read and listened to E. M. Forster's Celestial Omnibus, see Episode 17. As they get into discussing the Preface, Thomas give us some information on William Blake. We will be back next week with a discussion on Chapters 2-6. Be sure to check out Thomas' upcoming mini-class on G. K. Chesterton taking place live from June 26th through July 7th. Register at HouseofHumaneLetters.com today! Commonplace Quotes: We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them. Man cannot discover them by his own powers and if he sets out to seek for them he will find in their place counterfeits of which he will be unable to discern the falsity. Simone Weil, from “Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God“ A poet is not a man who says “look at me”, but rather a man who points at something and says “look at that.” C. S. Lewis No, there is no escape. There is no heaven with a little of hell in it–no plan to retain this of that of the devil in our hearts or our pockets. Out Satan must go, every hair and feather. George MacDonald, from “Unspoken Sermons: The Last Farthing“ MCMXIV by Philip Larkin Those long uneven lines Standing as patiently As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park, The crowns of hats, the sun On moustached archaic faces Grinning as if it were all An August Bank Holiday lark; And the shut shops, the bleached Established names on the sunblinds, The farthings and sovereigns, And dark-clothed children at play Called after kings and queens, The tin advertisements For cocoa and twist, and the pubs Wide open all day– And the countryside not caring: The place names all hazed over With flowering grasses, and fields Shadowing Domesday lines Under wheat's restless silence; The differently-dressed servants With tiny rooms in huge houses, The dust behind limousines; Never such innocence, Never before or since, As changed itself to past Without a word–the men Leaving the gardens tidy, The thousands of marriages, Lasting a little while longer: Never such innocence again. Book List: The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald The Personal Heresy by C. S. Lewis and E. M. Tillyard The Aeneid by Virgil The Divine Comedy by Dante Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan The Holy War by John Bunyan Ourselves by Charlotte Mason A Preface to Paradise Lost by C. S. Lewis The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake Paradise Lost by John Milton Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

Dear ones, My life is a f**king magazine. Pages of projects, my life, twixting and twaining. I've grown up in them. You are your experience, and in the same way that you are what you sleep with, you become what you do, I guess.I wasn't sure whether to hammer your inboxes daily with micro-content, a la Patti Smith, in the run-up to my biggest news to date (beyond Psychomachia) or to just throw it ALL down here.Because what I really want to share is our. Beautiful. Single. (You can nab a pre-order of here).But it feels more honourable to make a cover star award of Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade - arguably the most important indie label in the history of the British recording industry.  We met as judges on the Doc n Roll Festival, he memorably said, “I bet you like performing,” as we hustled together for a group shot. He's right. Just gotta stay away from manifesting drama in one's personal life, and love you what you do - but like all those Wellness Live Ya Best Life aspirational platitudes - how do you jump off the cliff by a bungy rope if you ain't stapled in financially?When I went back to university at 25, bounding in all Educating Rita, like a spring daisy from another nervous breakdown/rehab (again), I did a BA in New Media Journalism and Radio, it taught me to be pretty self-sufficient and DIY, editing across media, coding, I was working in BBC Radio as a researcher by the second year, reporting at celeb parties and on September 11th, before making radio documentaries for 1XTRA, R2, etc. Authenticity has become more and more apparent to my sanity over the years. I've taught Media Ethics, Broadcasting, Pop video courses, loads of zine workshops with victims of torture, and minority groups, after school clubs - that sort of thing before getting more and more quasi-academic, and wannabe Doctor, shifting between teaching vocational media work to City & Guilds, B-Tec, undergrads and some Masters (in a particularly sketchy institution).  I've also consulted internationally for cash. I've become more and more capable over the years, but it also means I am pretty multi-skilled and good at problem solving, but it also prevents me from working to true calling. As life does for most people who have to earn a living.  The reality of being a writer and performer is that without compromise to industry demands, you're on your own.Which flips me back to Geoff Travis -  there was a crossover period when I was still trying to lecture and edit Ambit (Ambit won in the end, despite it being a charity, and the money not being as good as teaching, I felt more committed to the responsibility of helming this great institution).I invited Travis to give a guest lecture when I was leading a class on the Music Industry to American undergrads (employed by the brilliant writer, Heidi Dunbar James).  I was surprised what I knew, despite having written about music since my early days, DJing etc, you may know from PSYCHOMACHIA, which examines  the patriarchal nature of the 90s music industry as fiction, I've been around it forever -  before editing Ambit I was the “Off The Floor” editor of the arts on DJMag, but have never felt part of the boys club -  despite knowing so many of the wheeler dealers who have hustled through life making money from music -  we all feel like outsiders sometimes. My DJ moniker took a non-female angle, K-Rocka - a nickname, and it was through doing a series of lectures about the music industry in the UK, I kinda realised that actually I'm likely qualified as much as anyone else -  but the guest lecture from Geoff Travis was landmark - I hope you may have time to listen to this founder of Rough Trade, I've added the lecture as a podcast here.  It's a masterclass in independence. He's very cool, casually reeling out how he didn't sign The Stone Roses, and being at one of The Strokes first gigs, and not knowing that one of The Libertines was going to end up a heroin addict. There's also the pain of board meetings, not really being in it for the money, and the backend of the music industry. It's solid - thank you to the students of that class for their questions…Gil and I started sharing our work live in 2018.   He's what one may call a “professional musician”, his first A&R was John Niven and he's been signed to major labels and produced John Martyn among others. He was performing with Little Barrie when we met, at a book reading for Tony O'Neill (who also used to work in music, playing keys for my friend Kelli Ali, but also Kenickie, Marc Almond and others. His first book, Digging the Vein was published by Wrecking Ball Press who put my novel out). Gil and I became friends after that signing, and in the maelstrom of our relationship, his band with Little Barrie imploded - as bands do - despite their only single as Pet Weapons being loved and played by Lauren Laverne.Gil commenced on The Long Road of who am I, why am I, etc.  The important road.We collaborated before we got together -  co-writing a poem that introduced him at Red Gallery, 15 December 2015.  And by NOLA, 2018, we were making a film for Jeffrey Wengrofsky's festival in NYC, me writing a poem, chalking it up in the streets, filmed, and Gil then made music to accompany it.  We later showed it at the Liminality show at Gallery46, first performing together there. We then played other galleries, like the Bomb Factory in North London. In Berlin, The Social, Pikes Ibiza.   We've now done a couple of tours.Our friend Martyn Goodace did the Das Wasteland compilation which was our first  release, on vinyl, from Berlin days…We met Blang! Records boss Joe, who works with Paul and Jules, Beth and La, with his wife, after the first show we did out of lockdown, in Sheffield at Sidney & Matilda, a great venue, supporting Band of Holy Joy. (There's a documentary about Blang! Records which is worth finding - about antifolk and why they started)The sound guy at Sidney & Matilda was good, turned me onto local hip-hop poet Otis Mensah - but in the basement, people were conditioned to not stand close to each other and it felt like we were defo sharing air.  By the end of the tour - it was a futile underground party of sweat-filled sardine dancing in venues in Edinburgh and North Shields.  But that first night, it was that kinda romantic dream: a record label coming up to you after a show and showing interest.  Blang! Records were later doing a residency at the Hope n Anchor is Islington and asked us to play.  We filmed the shows for them, and they offered to put out a single.  Initially it was suggested we did it with Pink Eye Club on the flipside, but we played them Rock n Roll Is A Deathwish, after they'd chosen Paradise Burns - that's what's coming.  There are 50 lathe-cuts. The artwork's by the brilliant Bert Gilbert - “northern Marina Abramović” -  who's showing at the forthcoming Horror show at Somerset House, curated by Jane Pollard and Ian Forsyth (who directed 20000 Days with Nick Cave).  We've done a beautiful UV spot bespoke print and they really are limited and beautiful. Bert used Gustave Doré as her main influence on the piece.  A modernised rising of a new enlightenment, we can but dream.David Erdos has been super-kind in his review of the single in International Times. Comparing us to everyone between early Dylan (the first record I ever DJed was Subterranean Homesick Blues), and my vox being halfway between Wendy James and Siouxie Sioux. (It's in that link…he's a genius, love his acting too…)****I would like to invite you to our single launch at Rough Trade East on Wednesday -  there are some free tickets, but they are going fast…Jonny Halifax Invocation, Sharon Gal, Savage Pencil, Gil, some poets, we'll all be celebrating the first look of The War Issue of Ambit, which coincidently is equinox (the end of summer) and World Peace Day. I began talking about this “War issue” of Ambit back in 2020, with a submission that stood out, and went public on it in April. It's resulted in 50+ international contributors selected by myself and my brilliant co-editors in Beirut, Sarah Chalabi and Zeina Chamseddine of Dongola Books. We launch in Beirut,  supported by British Council Lebanon, 18 November.There's so much to say about this issue -  and the magazine does it.  Order here.  It's a reaction to the spectacle of War we receive in mass media through mainly direct experiences from Poets, Writers, Artists.  For me, it says more than most news orgs.****If you sneak onto our Bandcamp - you'll see the artwork, but as there's a holiday tomorrow, perhaps I'll have time to make a lil video.x. Love n light.Please come on Wednesday if you can. A few free TICKETS HERE. To hear more, visit kirstyallison.substack.com

W cyklu "Wielskie księgi" dziś poemat "Psychomachia" Aureliusza Prudencjusza Klemensa. Gościem audycji będzie doktor Michał Gołębiowski, z którym porozmawia Paweł Milcarek redaktor naczelny kwartalnika Christianitas.

This lecture discusses key ideas from the work of the early Medieval poet Prudentius, the Psychomachia, or the battle for the soul It focuses specifically on the contributions made near the end of the poem by two virtues in particular, Faith and Concord. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 2000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can find Prudentius' Psychomachia here - https://web.archive.org/web/20020429135514/http://www.richmond.edu/~wstevens/grvaltexts/psychomachia.html

This lecture discusses key ideas from the work of the early Medieval poet Prudentius, the Psychomachia, or the battle for the soul It focuses specifically on the more difficult battles against two vices in particular - Luxury/Indulgence (Luxuria) and Greed (Avaritia) - which seem to be winning the battle for the vices over the virtues. They are defeated by Sobriety (Sobrietas) and by a combination of Reason (Ratio) and Good Works (Operatio) To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 2000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can find Prudentius' Psychomachia here - https://web.archive.org/web/20020429135514/http://www.richmond.edu/~wstevens/grvaltexts/psychomachia.html

This lecture discusses key ideas from the work of the early Medieval poet Prudentius, the Psychomachia, or the battle for the soul It focuses specifically on the first combats in this battle, those of Faith vs. Worship of the Old Gods, Chastity vs Lust, Patience vs Wrath, and Pride vs Humility To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 2000 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler You can find Prudentius' Psychomachia here - https://web.archive.org/web/20020429135514/http://www.richmond.edu/~wstevens/grvaltexts/psychomachia.html

Today - I've recorded my unscholarly translation of Prudentius's Psychomachia for you. Originally written in Latin in the fifth century, I was thrown out of Latin for making up stories about Orphelia in the Underworld, so it's hardly scholarly. But Praise Be to the miracle of Google Translate, a dictionary, and other translations, the tools I've used for translations of Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Verlaine. The result is likely as wild as the cartoons of the illuminated manuscript (c.1016) which attracted me to steal this “War of The Soul”, or “Battle of Vice and Virtue” as the title for my novel, I needed something better than the various working titles since I began drafting back in 2005: Medicine, Old Street Eagles, De-railed, The Dublin Notes, The Icarus Project, So Fist, and Papershoes. Psychomachia felt like a heavenly intervention and the perfect allegory for a girl who wakes up all Jean Genet, in the 90s, unsure if she's murdered the arch patriarch of rock n roll.

Vanessa Skantze is a Butoh artist who has performed and taught in the US and Europe for over 20 years. She became a student of Jinen Butoh founder Atsushi Takenouchi in 2003; having already co-created the sound/movement improvisation ensemble Death Posture in New Orleans. Currently based in Seattle, Washington, Vanessa is a co-founder of Teatro de la Psychomachia, a DIY space that has hosted national and international performing artists and musicians for more than a decade. Collaborations with sound artists have been a constant practice in solo and group performances; Vanessa embraces the art of deep listening improvisation as an essential communion with the body instrument and all life.  When you are done with listening to Vanessa's interview, check out Tim's new solo album Solo. The album can be purchased now on bandcamp.

"The greatest cultural beacon this planet has produced” - Irvine Welsh"A modern day Patti Smith" - Johny Brown, Band of Holy JoyKirsty's work explores the power of the free individual, unconstrained by straitjacket of institutionalised, homogenised culture. She is the chief editor of the great counter culture bastion, Ambit and founded Cold Lips and the Vagrant Lovers. She is also a huge literary contributor to MÜ Magazine. She spends her time in London and Berlin.Her first novel, Psychomachia, is an unputdownable tale of the REAL '90's rock n roll scene, told through the eyes of Scarlett Flagg, a woman brutalised by an era where sexual violence, money and fame at all costs and impenetrable patriarchal cronyism roamed free and unencumbered to lure, screw over and jettison women. It's a fabulous, very personal and emotional read. Confrontational, visceral, a hugely progressive thinker and always one step ahead of the rest of us, I feel very honoured to have Kirsty on the podcast.I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is a music podcast that does music interviews differently. I'm Giles Sibbald and I'm talking to extraordinary musicians, DJ's and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in their lives to amplify their own creativity, pursue new challenges, overcome fears and bounce back from mistakes.- brought to you by Hey Sunday, the mothership of the experimental mindset™.Podcast logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

On this week's episode of the best indy comic focused podcast, the CDB Crew discuss the first volume of the body horror erotica comic, InSEXts. It's an odd comic and did bring out mixed feelings from the hosts, but they definitely had a lot of fun discussing it. The crew also talks about the new Zoe Thorogood short comic, Harvey Award nominations, and Vault Comics plan to celebrate Pride year round. As for this week's roundtable, the Crew discuss the recent article from the Hollywood Reporter regarding the Big Two and the lack of compensation given to their creatives that make them billions of dollars through movie and tv adaptations of their work and what ways can we as consumers and fans help change this process for the betterment of the creatives. Also, please stay to the very end to find out who was attacked by a giant spider in the middle of recording! Other books discussed this episode: The Silver Coin #1-4 (Image) by Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, Jeff Lemire, Michael Walsh and Toni Marie Griffin; Beyond the Clouds vol. 1 (Self Published and Kodansha) by Nicke; and Alice in Leatherland #1-3 (Black Mask) by Iolanda Zafrandino and Elisa Romboli. Psychomachia by Zoe Thorogood https://m.tapas.io/episode/2231877 Comics Deserve Better is a weekly podcast hosted by Brian, Carrie and Darci which covers the world of Independent Comics. For a list of episodes, socials and emails, and to request a topic for a future episode please visit comicsdeservebetter.wordpress.com. (Episode Artwork by Ariela Kristantina and Bryan Valenza)

Series II, Podcast K: OthelloPsychomachiaDemonic Iago, Angelic DesdemonaRepentance vs. Suicide3 Key Lines6 Specific NotesNotes:The quotation of Thomas Mann is from Thomas Mann, Joseph and His Brothers, tr. John E. Woods (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Everyman’s Library, 2005), p. 669. For the Donald Duck psychomachia see “Donald’s Better Self” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald%27s_Better_Self and “Donald’s Decision” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald%27s_Decision. Both Thompson quotations are from “Notes on Shakespeare” in Philip Thompson, Dusk and Dawn: Poems and Prose of Philip Thompson, ed. Gideon Rappaport (San Diego: One Mind Good Press, 2005), p. 220.Questions? Email DoctorRap@zohomail.com

On The Literary Life podcast today, Cindy Rollins, Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks begin their series on The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis. Today you are going to get a crash-course in Medievalism through Lewis’ story, and we hope you will enjoy this book as much as our hosts do. Angelina kicks off the discussion even while sharing her commonplace quote, sharing some information about the epigraph and front matter. She gives us some historical context, both for where this books comes in Lewis’ own timeline, as well as some ideas of the journey of the soul and medieval dream literature. Thomas gives some background on Prudentius and his allegorical work The Psychomachia. Angelina goes into some comparisons between The Great Divorce and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Thomas talks about Nathanial Hawthorne’s short story The Celestial Railroad as a satire of Pilgrim’s Progress. Also, if you haven’t read and listened to E. M. Forster’s Celestial Omnibus, see Episode 17. As they get into discussing the Preface, Thomas give us some information on William Blake. We will be back next week with a discussion on Chapters 2-6. Listen to The Literary Life: Commonplace Quotes: We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them. Man cannot discover them by his own powers and if he sets out to seek for them he will find in their place counterfeits of which he will be unable to discern the falsity. Simone Weil No, there is no escape. There is no heaven with a little of hell in it–no plan to retain this of that of the devil in our hearts or our pockets. Out Satan must go, every hair and feather. George MacDonald A poet is not a man who says “look at me”, but rather a man who points at something and says “look at that.” C. S. Lewis MCMXIV by Philip Larkin Those long uneven lines Standing as patiently As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park, The crowns of hats, the sun On moustached archaic faces Grinning as if it were all An August Bank Holiday lark; And the shut shops, the bleached Established names on the sunblinds, The farthings and sovereigns, And dark-clothed children at play Called after kings and queens, The tin advertisements For cocoa and twist, and the pubs Wide open all day– And the countryside not caring: The place names all hazed over With flowering grasses, and fields Shadowing Domesday lines Under wheat’s restless silence; The differently-dressed servants With tiny rooms in huge houses, The dust behind limousines; Never such innocence, Never before or since, As changed itself to past Without a word–the men Leaving the gardens tidy, The thousands of marriages, Lasting a little while longer: Never such innocence again. Book List: Amazon affiliate links are used in this content. The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald The Personal Heresy by C. S. Lewis and E. M. Tillyard The Aeneid by Virgil The Divine Comedy by Dante Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan The Holy War by John Bunyan Ourselves by Charlotte Mason A Preface to Paradise Lost by C. S. Lewis The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake Paradise Lost by John Milton Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis Thanks to Our Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by New College Franklin. We want to encourage you to check out their 2020 Spring Preview Days happening online via Zoom conferencing. Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy’s own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

The concluding chapters! Skip plot summary @11:31 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.Com Make an itunes review and contact us for a chance to win a goodie or two! DNA²   By Masakazu Katsura   Topics: Dragonball GT and the character design of Vegata and Bebi What did Karin do at that ambiguous ending? “Psychomachia” the will of Junta, and how he overcomes the demon junta is the type of conflict that has been illustrated for years. In the style of mind over matter Psychomachia is the name of the Medieval work by the Latin poet Prudentious. It depicts the personification of human virtues and sins antagonising each other. Will makes the comparison of the devil and angel trope that reflects the conscious of those who are in a moral dilemma. The way mist and smoke used to avoid rendering detail in scenes. Why is Mazakazu Katsura’s art style so good? Catharsis of death and killing the antagonist. What is methyl (and acetyl) tags? A brief description of the gene switches we all have. For more information on this and how epigenetics work you can watch the PBS documentary, ‘The Ghost in our Genes’   Differences from the anime:   No incest motive from Lulala. Mori’s DCM bullet is the one Karin believed was for her future husband but in the anime Mori’s bullet is the one that Karin hits Ryuji with, this makes Ryuji a returning antagonist in the anime. In the anime, Mori can use a high-tech device so to mind control the Demon-Junta and everyone with his DCM* In the anime Lulala is free from Mori’s mind control and is able to go back to the future. In the manga, she is killed before she’s born via a time paradox   *DCM (DNA Control Medicine), in episode one we called it DMC by mistake. What our dream casting would look like:   Karin: Emillia Clarke, Francesca Reale, Camren Bicondova Ami: Lachlan Watson, Kyôka Shibata Tomoko: Francesca Reale, Kiernan Shipka Kotomi: Sei Shiraisei Junta: Choi Woo-Shik   Other notes: the contucky friend chicken,                                Plot Summary:   The Iwasaki siblings attempt to humiliate Kotomi once again, and although they succeed to some extent, they still fail to make her lose in the Olympic try-outs. Afterwards Kotomi breaks up with Junta. Kotomi, more confident than ever, realises that she would feel more welcome in Germany then in Junta’s arms. She slaps Junta, yet still tells him that he is a friend, same as Ami. Ami makes her feelings for Junta clear; she loves him but only as a friend. And that now is not the right time to start a relationship.   A corrupt government official travels from a possible future of Karin’s. Mr. Mori, whom has come to intercept a message from Junta’s child, the child who also happens to be the son of Aoi Karin. Mr. Mori tells Karin that he was responsible for switching the DCM bullet that was meant for Junta, in doing so he has created a timeline where Mr. Mori has amassed an army of psychic soldiers consisting of Junta’s children. All of the children obey him except Karin’s child, who has chosen to rebel against Mori’s regime and defeat his siblings, even going so far to prevent his birth at the cost of a better future. For Karin this means that she may fail her mission but it also means that Junta and Karin’s feelings for each other are valid in that they are not influenced by the DCM. Now Mori attempts to kill Karin so that he can succeed in his plans.   Meanwhile Junta discovers that the time line has changed, the Mega-playboy will eventually sire 101 children. The youngest, Kawasaki Lulala, has come back in time and has chosen Junta to father her children. Basically, she wants to sleep with her father in order to breed more psychic soldiers. Deeming Junta as the perfect candidate she injects him with a substance that speeds up the Mega-playboy transformation, to a point that we shall call the Demon-Junta.   As Karin fights off Mr. Mori’s robot she is ambushed by the Demon-Junta and Lulala. Lulala goes in for a killing blow only to be stopped by the real Junta, who has gained back control of his DNA through sheer willpower, and taken it back from the Demon-Junta.   Junta denies being Lulala’s father, saying that such a person is a demon, one that he will never become. Junta banishes Lulala from existence and creates a paradox in Mori’s goal. The time police arrive to arrest Mori yet Mori takes credit for resolving the Mega-playboy problem by exacerbating the issue. To avoid arrest, Mori kills himself regardless of how the paradox may have changed his nefarious goal.   Karin is permitted to stay with Junta for longer before she heads back to the future. She goes on a date with him as a girl of the modern era would. During the date they visit Ryuji in hospital, Tomoko looks after Ryuji but is surprised to see that Junta isn’t dating Ami. And although Karin wants to stay with Junta, she decides to go back to the future. Junta has no memory as to what happened in the summer he spent with Karin and turns Ami for help. But what is certain is that Karin knows exactly what happened.   The End.   Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk Twitter - @RealJamesFitton Website – Weappreciatemanga.com Email – Weappreciatemanga@gmail.com

Episode no.8 of the Doris Day Or Die Podcast, an experimental, free improvisation, noise and new music podcast. Goodbye? Music and sounds:1. All Phenomena Are Dependently Arisen - Uneasy Chairs, Vanessa Skantze, Chad Allen and Justin Smith (Live At Teatro de la Psychomachia)Subscribe, rate and review to Doris Day Or Die on iTunes!Listen on FeedburnerDoris Day Or Die on Facebook. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #4a4f56; background-color: #f1f0f0} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 15.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; color: #323333; -webkit-text-stroke: #323333} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}

Episode no.1 of the Doris Day Or Die Podcast, in which I play various experimental, free improvisation, noise and new musics by people I'm acquainted with and/or live recordings I've made. Over time the music content will shift and expand according to my interests. Interspersed with music and sound are casual conversations with my coworker Robert. Topics include but are not limited to: his pet guinea pig Squeaky, various libraries he visits regularly and so much more. Conversations will evolve eventually just as the music will. Music in order of appearance in this episode:1. "Saa Baa" - Li Jianhong2. "Visiting Microphone" - Greg Kelley3. "Live At Teatro de la Psychomachia" - Ryosuke Kiyasu4. "This Is Not What We Want" - Sin:Ned5. "Untitled #1" - Wilson Shook & Uneasy Chairs6. "Song For Esther" - V. ValeSubscribe, rate and review to Doris Day Or Die on iTunes!Listen on Feedburner Doris Day Or Die on Facebook.

Here is a recording by Amy Hall of a lovely passage from near the end of Psychomachia (or “Battle within the Soul”), written around AD 400 by the Spanish-born Latin poet Aurelius Prudentius Clemens (whom you may now befriend on Facebook). Psychomachia 770-784 Amy Hall pax plenum Virtutis opus, pax summa laborum, pax belli exacti pretium […]

Here is Brendan Boston reading a section from the iambic preface that Prudentius wrote to his hexameter mini-epic, the Psychomachia, composed around AD 400. It discusses food, and how important nutrition is for the body. He covers many interesting topics that you wouldn’t expect, like food for your pets for example. Making sure that you […]