#mywand

[paincorpsrarefinds]

Olympus Stylus Zoom 105 DLX 35mm Point & Shoot Film Camera - USED / UnTested

CAMERA DEALS: Seller: mywanderings (99.6% positive feedback) Location: US Condition: For parts or not working Price: 39.95 USD Shipping cost: 9.95 USD Buy It Now https://www.ebay.com/itm/115657756653?hash=item1aedbd4fed%3Ag%3AJPwAAOSwPpljJjhh&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338779481&customid=&toolid=10049&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[alhenacrimson]

Walking in the wizard world I realized I'm a reptile #slytherin #hornedserpent #pottermore #myhouse #mywand #mypatronus https://www.instagram.com/p/BqVuSTZAxpu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kgqqa0o15c50

[whatailsyoutraveler-blog]

These are the stones I've decided I'm taking to work with me tomorrow in my little leather spell bag: (left to right) Moonstone, Fluorite, and Labradorite. I've surrounded them with several amethyst points (to facilitate more harmonious spiritual attunement), my homemade mini wand (to stimulate creativity, even during the mundane), and an amphibole quartz point (to ground & calm). ▪ Being affiliated with the Moon themselves, Moonstone is a natural favorite of mine. A gentle reminder of life's great mysteries & the harsh realities of our cyclical existence. ▪ Fluorite is a powerful protector, a banisher of harmful invading energies. Much like it's beautifully complimentary colors, it brings balance to that which is disordered. ▪ This particular piece of labradorite means an awful lot to me. It was a central component in me manifesting my gender transition, both physically, socially, and spiritually. It helped me slice away all the nonsense that I had been carrying around that wasn't me, freeing me of past expectations. It helped me see that I deserve a chance to be who I really am. And so much more; I could go on & on about this one. ▪ May these friends help me through my day. Keep me grounded & powerfully me. Able to handle whatever comes my way with readiness & composure. ▪ ▪ ▪ #moonstone #fluorite #labradorite #amethyst #amphibolequartz #mywand #homemadewand #crystalgrid #altarspace #crystalspells #crystalwitch #chargingcrystals #transmasculine #ftm #nonbinary #trans #queer #lgbtq #queerwitch https://www.instagram.com/p/BnIHmVlgHmq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=pd1g0l92ldxt

[pocketful-of-poesy]

People Kill People - Ellen Hopkins

“Six teens. Six reasons to pull the trigger. Someone will fire. And someone will die” the inside flap reads: straight to the point, in the typical Ellen Hopkins style. This is a story tackling the topic of gun violence, specifically among teenagers. She dives into what causes the desire of gun ownership and most of all what drives people to shoot. The story follows the violence living inside of six teenagers whose lives are interconnected.

I first encountered Ellen Hopkins at the age of 15, and once I started I couldn’t stop. I flew through her books, always wanting more. She seemed to deal with issues and stories that other authors would never dare to touch, and my edgy, depressed high school self fell in love.

Flash forward to years later, I was browsing through the Barnes & Noble clearance shelf right before heading to the checkout counter. Much to my surprise there was an Ellen Hopkins novel, which I had heard nothing about, sitting pretty with a 50% off sticker. Why this relatively new novel from a popular author was on clearance, I had no idea, but a deal’s a deal so I picked it up. And I’m glad I did.

People Kill People shows a stylistic and structural shift in Hopkins’s writing. She moved from writing the entire novel in free verse to a structure which moves between verse and prose to enhance the flow of the story. The stories of the characters are written in prose, and the transitions between them are in verse. The style of narration is also unique, and might I say, groundbreaking. The story is told from the point of view of Violence. Violence is personified and given a devil-on-the-shoulder type role. We see the actions of the characters from its perspective and the thoughts that it pushes into their heads. I have never read a story told in such a way.

It opens with Violence speaking directly to the reader, creating an atmosphere which made my skin crawl. I mean, here are the first few stanzas, for instance:

That’s one way to set the scene. It sets up the whole argument of the story: that Violence is in everyone, whether they choose to embrace it or not.

The way that Violence tells the stories of the characters can be read on two levels, equally as haunting. The prose is written in second person. Firstly, it creates the effect of us seeing what Violence sees, as well as its thoughts and perspective as the manipulation is taking place. On another level, it gets to the reader personally. We feel as if we are living the lives of the characters. This, I think, is a stroke of genius on the part of Hopkins. We build an empathetic connection with these characters, these “villainous” gun-owners. The story told using “you” as the main pronoun brings about the realization that this could be you too. We see that these characters are just people, like you and me and your mother. People kill people.

Now for the plot.

Rand, now 19 years old, became a father at the age of 16 and promptly married his parental counterpart. He wants to be a police officer “to take out the bad guys. He wants to settle a very old score.” The score he wants to settle? His childhood rapist got let out of prison early.

Next we have Silas, 18 year old captain of the football team. He finds himself swept into the white supremacist movement, likely a result of the fact that his dad left his mom when he was kid for a Mexican woman. The source of his violence is quite obvious: his hate for people of color.

Daniel, the product of a love affair between an immigrant house cleaner and a married American man, is brought into play next. His mother was deported, leaving him to live with his father’s family, whom he eventually chooses the streets over. His anger is built up after having been beat up by his half-brother and Silas, and he also feels like he is losing the light of his life, his girlfriend Grace. Is it enough to make him lash out?

We meet Noelle afterwards, who has been prone to epileptic seizures as a result of an incident of road-rage induced gun violence. Her dreams have been crushed and she begins losing hope for her life. Violence slips into her thoughts, attempting to convince her that suicide is the only path for her.

Cami is Rand’s wife and baby mama. She grows sick of the stay-at-home mother role and begins selling marijuana to save up some extra money to take her son to Disneyland. Only this is a risky business, so she needs a way to defend herself if things get dicey…

Lastly we have Ashlyn, the love interest of Silas. Ashlyn witnessed her father stab her mother to death after years of domestic abuse. She learned from him to trade sex for favors. She joins the white supremacist group which Silas is part as a means of protection and to find a sense of belonging.

These characters illustrate the point that Hopkins is trying to make, her “thesis” if you will. All people are capable of violence; we all have that instinct lurking within us. It is our circumstances which enable it to rise to the surface of our consciousness. These characters are all driven by their individual circumstances to turn to the voice of Violence, tempting them to give into its call.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s tragic. It fully illustrates the heartbreaking consequences of gun ownership and leaves a powerful message with the reader. If you are looking for a compelling and moving read regarding this topic, I highly suggest this novel. It almost seems like an essay, or an argumentative piece, that is written in the style of a fictional story (if that makes sense). Nonetheless, it is a brilliant and moving piece of work from one of the most daring authors in YA.

Grab a copy here!

[lanternlightersblog]

#Repost @wongyang.yee • • • • • • Grosvenor Chapel Could not resist. #lamppostslove #nofilters #mywanderings #kialaikiake #londonwanderings https://www.instagram.com/p/CUCcemUMM25/?utm_medium=tumblr

[theseasidesew]

Rialto Bridge... Memories of beautiful Venice 🇮🇹 . . . #veniceitaly #rialtobridge #jo_melton_photography #mypic #takenonmyiphone #blackandwhite #nofilter #beautifulplaces #wanderlust #mywanderings #travelphotography #citybreaks #3nights4days #loveitaly #adriaticcoast #romanticvenice #bellissima #mytravelpics #takebeback #springinvenice (at Venice, Italy) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bun_10KHxus/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1d5c7jbnwpoxd

[palavra-sinceras]

Mais nova aquisição 😍😍😍 #MyWand #HarryPotter

[pattywithcherry-blog]

My wand

“Hornbeam wood with a Phoenix feather core 9 ¾" and Surprisingly Swishy flexibility” Expectations were better, but this result is also good.

[paincorpsrarefinds]

Canon A35F 35mm Rangefinder Point & Shoot Film Camera A35 F w/ Case - NOT TESTED

CAMERA DEALS: Seller: mywanderings (99.8% positive feedback) Location: US Condition: Used Price: 29.95 USD Shipping cost: 12.95 USD Buy It Now https://www.ebay.com/itm/115566826865?hash=item1ae851d571%3Ag%3A124AAOSwlBRjSytF&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338779481&customid=&toolid=10049&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[doggydrooler]

One down, 2more #deathlyhallows to go ⚡ #elderwand #pottermore #potterhead #potterheads #hogwarts #jkrowling #always #wand #magicwand #iamawitchnow #instanerd #nerdalert #nerdstagram #instageek #geekstuff #nerdlife #geeklife #mycollection #mywand #thetalesofbeedlethebard #like4like #followforlike #followforlikes #follow4likes #follow4like #instalike #instapic #igers #picoftheday #photooftheday #igersoftheday #igerdaily #ignation

[el-lado-oscuro-de-lapizza]

@mywander-lust @afufar @smallwoodlandboy-blog @hootievictoria-blog @taylortembertont9-blog @hotdormgirls431x @trillindieg7irls-blog @candidelfie8971 @sexandcoffeee @artzandmusiczloverstuff @s2nningbabes @inocencia-de-una-mirada @mauro-styles-fan @worldofmilla @let-it-shine-and-be @bestboobiesnet @thetropzilla @ginderellas-world @memesdelacomputacion @lets-instantbeardstudent-blog @cerridwen-als @chicaaleatoria @whatuniverseisthis @pure-good-vibes @love-is-a-real-shit-blog @29ariagni @giovanna-xix @hardforyou75 @itsiwanttohear @reinadelatristeza-blog 

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

[pocketful-of-poesy]

Night and Day - Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s second novel, Night and Day, is largely a story focused on love and marriage. It follows the trials of love in pre-World War England of four main characters: the wealthy Katharine Hilbery, poet William Rodney, lawyer Ralph Denham, and suffragist Mary Datchet. The changing of attitude toward the institution of marriage and what it means to love are brought to the surface through the story of these young characters.

The plot in a nutshell: Katharine Hilbery wants freedom, so she becomes engaged to William Rodney. All the while, Ralph Denham is infatuated with her and she becomes increasingly so with him. Mary Datchet loves Ralph. Eventually, William realizes his love for Katharine’s cousin Cassandra Otway. They become engaged, and so do Ralph and Katharine. Mary Datchet remains single, yet satisfied with her social justice work.

My one and only complaint with this novel is how long and drawn out it becomes with the will-they won’t-they shifts in plot. It creates this uncertainty about what is actually going on and who is actually in love with who, but perhaps that is exactly the point. Most love stories, which Night and Day essentially is, make love seem like this clear and easy to recognize feeling. It beats strong in the hearts of the characters, leaving them with no ounce of doubt of its presence. While heart warming to read, that isn’t the shape that love actually takes. It is confusing; gruesome; complex; and most of all, unexplainable and irrational.

Woolf illustrates those aspects of love in the slow-burning formation of Ralph and Katharine’s relationship. There is no rhyme or reason to them falling in love, yet we know it is their fate from the very start of the novel. They are able to penetrate the solid brick walls of each other’s minds in ways that no one else has yet been able to. It is the most young and naive character, Cassandra Otway, that points out love’s main ingredient. She remarks that Katharine and William did not remain in love simply because they do not understand each other. The admiration between the two is present enough, but love cannot be nurtured on that alone. Ralph and Katharine, however, share an understanding, as do William and Cassandra.

The emotions that Ralph and Katharine evoke in each other expose what perhaps may be a more realistic and less optimistic definition of love. It is not all sunshine and butterflies and twinkles in the eyes. Long before Ralph recognizes his love for her, Katherine’s engagement to Rodney hits him like a truck: “He felt for corners of his being untouched by his disaster; but there was no limit to the flood of damage…His life seemed immeasurably impoverished.” He goes on in such a depressed state, yearning for the affections of Katharine Hilbery yet unable to confess even to himself that he is in love with her, despite her unavailability being the direct cause of his misery. When he finally admits to Mary that he is in love, he says,

“I’m out of my mind. I can’t think, I can’t work, I don’t care a hang for anything in the world. Good Heavens, Mary! I’m in torment! One moment I’m happy; next I’m miserable. I hate her for half an hour; then I’d give my whole life to be with her for ten minutes; all the time I don’t know what I feel, or why I feel it; it’s insanity, and yet it’s perfectly reasonable.”

That last line is one of Woolf’s many profundities that I adore: it’s insanity, and yet it’s perfectly reasonable. What a simple yet accurate way to describe the indescribable! Katharine, known for being level-headed and reasonable, also goes through this emotional turbulence when she is running around the entire city of London in search of Ralph. This hysteria that accompanies love could easily and rationally be considered far from worth it, yet it is something that we spend our lives actively seeking. It is a thirst that must be quenched, which is why Ralph and Katharine continue to come back to each other.

Is the thirst even quenchable? I’d argue not, considering the fact that what could be an epic romance turns out to be utterly disappointing. When Ralph finally confesses his love to Katharine, “some roundness or warmth essential to that statement was absent from his voice…It was true that he had been happier out in the street, thinking of her, than now that he was in the same room with her.”  The climax that Woolf spends the majority of the novel building up turn out to be rather…anticlimactic. There is a consistent thread that Woolf weaves throughout the novel that love only truly exists in one’s head. We create this illusion of the object of our affection and that illusion grows in our imaginations to form a new shape—an idealized, and wholly fantasized, version of the real person. Therefore, our attachment is not to the person in the flesh, but the one conceptualized in our fantasy. When the love present in real life fails to measure up to that which we have been daydreaming, the relationship becomes unsatisfying and leaves us always yearning for more. The ultimate battle that we face in the trials of love is falling for the real person rather than the imagined.

Night and Day also presents a shift in the way women view their own definition of marriage. During her holiday at the Otway’s, Katharine discusses the institution with the elderly women. Mrs. Hilbery remarks that marriage is the “most interesting life” for a woman, and Lady Otway seems in agreement. Katharine, however, sees how miserable they must actually be:

“Both these elderly women seemed to her to have been content with so little happiness, and at the moment she had not sufficient force to feel certain that their version of marriage was the wrong one. In London, certainly, this temperate attitude toward her own marriage had seemed to her just. Why had she now changed? Why did it now depress her?”

Women have been so conditioned by the norms of society to think that “to be engaged to marry someone with whom you are not in love is an inevitable step,” but Katharine is beginning to question this ideal. Why can’t a woman pursue a marriage filled with love and happiness? Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be about, anyway? Woolf is pointing out that to marry for convenience, financial stability, family, etc are not reasons enough to marry someone, and it is ridiculous to think otherwise. Love and love alone should be the motivator.

As always, Woolf manages to push the traditional form into new territory with Night and Day. It is a love story, but only in the truest sense—exposing the trials and hardships as well as the limitations of this thing called love that is chased by us all. She unromanticizes the romanticized in her beautifully poetic fashion, exposing truths that many authors will shy away from.

Grab a copy of this incredible novel here!

[francesca79x-blog]

#augustwitchphotochallenge @sanguedirovo #wand #mywand

[ilvermornys-groundskeeper]

If only it were real

[pocketful-of-poesy]

The Voyage Out

Published in 1915, Virginia Woolf’s incredible novel The Voyage Out started her legendary writing career off with a bang. This debut novel is essentially a bildungsroman following young Rachel Vinrace’s adventures of love and life, while simultaneously delving deep into the complexities of human consciousness and relations.

Following the traditional Woolf fashion, the plot is quite simple. Rachel Vinrace, 24 years old and lacking in formal education, sails from England to the fictional South American destination of Santa Marina with her aunt and uncle Ridley and Helen Ambrose. Seeking new experiences, Rachel accepts an invitation for her and Helen to go on a picnic expedition with some of the English guests staying at a nearby hotel. It is this occasion that introduces them to an eccentric group of people whom they befriend, including two young men: the disagreeable yet “clever” St. John Hirst, and the romantic Terence Hewet. In a nutshell, Rachel eventually falls in love and becomes engaged with Mr. Hewet but then abruptly dies shortly after to a fever.

In regards to the unfortunate ending, I have read some criticism that claims it to be lacking in purpose or meaning as it is so abrupt and does not lead to any further plot points. On this I must disagree. Firstly, Terence’s reaction to his fiancée’s death is one that brought me to shuddering tears—a feat that the “classics” rarely, if ever, accomplish. Upon witnessing the cessation of Rachel’s breath, he views her death as a beautiful thing as it brought them “what they had always wanted to have, the union which had been impossible while they lived.” He finds unimaginable peace and happiness while sitting with the corpse of his lover. Once he is removed from her room, though, he recognizes the harrowing truth of death: that he would never see or converse with the lovely Miss Vinrace ever again. His previous serenity is instantly replaced with a brutal wailing agony. This is the final, haunting image of Mr. Terence Hewet.

The remainder of the novel after Rachel’s death is dedicating to the showing of the hotel guests’ handling of this misfortune. The event is of course discussed and condolences are expressed, but the standard talk and activities do not pause for an instant. This fact may be where readers are finding fault; there is no real closing event to the story, which is exactly the point. There would be no reality, no truth, in the alteration of the hotel’s atmosphere. To most our lives are nearly meaningless. One can be forgotten as quickly as one is met. It is only those accept parts of ourselves into their souls who are permanently affected. Terence’s state of agony is the conclusion of his story for a reason: it is the state in which he remains. Rachel became a part of himself, and this part is forever lost, never to be replaced or repaired. Life goes on after death, but only to those whose souls we were unable to reach.

The aspect of Woolf’s writing that initially caught my attention oh so long ago is her constant shift in perspective. Though Rachel serves to be the central figure of the story, Woolf allows us to see the world, plot points, and others through the lens of different characters. A contrast is exposed between what people think and how they act; how they feel and what they express; their opinions of others and their treatment of them. It is really quite telling of how superficial we truly are.

In this vein, I found the novel that Terence Hewet is concocting to be intriguing. He tells Rachel that he wishes to write a novel about silence—the things that people think and feel but refrain from speaking aloud. It seems that, in a way, The Voyage Out actually is Mr. Hewet’s novel. Upon their separation after this particular conversation, Hewet reflects on all they had discussed together:

“Their talk had been interrupted in the middle, just as he was beginning to say the things he wanted to say. After all, what had they been able to say? He ran his mind over the things they had said, the random, unnecessary things which had eddied round and round and used up all the time, and drawn them so close together and flung them so far apart, and left him in the end unsatisfied, ignorant still of what she felt and of what she was like.”

A pattern that I found throughout this novel was a sense of dissatisfaction in the relationship of Rachel and Terence, for both the characters as well as myself. Every time they nearly cross over into complete intimacy, something prevents them from reaching it. While discussing their dissatisfaction with love, it is said that, “the hopelessness of their position overcame them both. They were impotent; they could never love each other sufficiently to overcome all these barriers, and they could never be satisfied with less.” Rachel’s untimely death puts a stop to them ever overcoming those barriers, possibly further hinting that this “oneness” that Terence has been desiring with Rachel is not realistically achievable in Earthly existence for any two people.

The opening scene itself makes it known that marriage could not have resolved Terence and Rachel’s lack of closeness. As the Ambrose’s are walking through London, Helen begins to weep and “Mr. Ambrose attempted consolation; he patted her shoulder, but she showed no signs of admitting him, and feeling awkward to stand beside a grief that was greater than his, he crossed his arms behind, and took a turn along the pavement.” There is a disconnect on both sides. Ridley’s attempt at consolation is pitiful and quite telling of his character. On the other hand, though, Helen’s refusal to accept his consolation makes it impossible for him to do so. Her actions are rationalized by the thought that he “can’t possibly understand.” Perhaps this statement is true: even many years of marriage are insufficient in bridging the gap between the private minds of two people.

There is much more material that could be deeply delved into contained in this book than what can be put in a blog post. I wish I could speak forever about Woolf’s writing, but sadly real life gets in the way of that. This has just been a mish mash of what stood out to me personally. On that note, here are two small, random details that I also found interesting, but weren’t rich enough to warrant writing full paragraphs on.

Rachel’s discovering of her own stance on Christianity caught my attention. One of Helen’s initial criticisms of Rachel is that she blindly accepts the beliefs and values of the religion, but in Santa Marina Rachel finally comes to reject it. As she is sitting in mass, “all round her were people pretending to feel what they did not feel, while somewhere above her floated the idea which they could none of them grasp, which they pretended to grasp.” The way Rachel sees this and Woolf describes it makes any organized religion appear as mere ludocrity. Hullabaloo. Phony. And I love that.

Lastly, I found Hewet’s view of marriage, which I believe corresponds with Woolf’s herself, to be striking. He imagines himself saying to Rachel, “I worship you, but I loathe marriage, I hate its smugness, its safety, its compromise, and the thought of you interfering in my work, hindering me.” He finishes this thought believing that their marriage would be different; they would be able to avoid these aspects and be free. I believe that Hewet’s initial observation to be the most truthful, but perhaps that is just my youthful cynicism speaking.

Want a copy to read for yourself? Buy The Voyage Out now from Amazon