November started with a gorgeous red and lavendar sunrise. My bathroom was flooded with an amazing surreal glow while I showered this morning. How I wish I could've lingered just a little longer in that steam and light. My soul needs to get lost in the mists. Avalon... take me away! LOL.

This Morning's Commute.
In retrospect, it was probably a good thing that Brighton couldn't come up last night. He would not have handled this morning's commute with grace. The gypsy-van that picked me up broke down two blocks after I sat down. LOL. Everyone had to get off, and it took almost a full 45 minutes for another bus with enough empty seats to come get us. A tall, thin business woman caught a glimpse of one of the ferry buses half a block away, and started waving a little ticket at it like some poor mariner stranded on a lost deserted island desperately trying to wave down a plane passing overhead. He didn't stop. So... she decided it would be a good idea to chase the bus while screaming "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" I can still hear the clicky-clack of her heels on the pavement. I was half-an-hour late to work. No big. It all balances out in the end.

NYC's 2007 Halloween Parade.
Ana and I grabbed a drink and some chips before the parade, and headed towards the 6th Ave. barricades to find a spot. We unfortunately found one next to two chatty valley chicks who spent over a good part of the hour prior to the parade talking about hair. Their hair. The older prettier one will be coloring it pink today, but she's not sure whether she's going to do the bottom or just opt for some streaks. I say go for the streaks. LOL. Ugh.

In a karmatic turn of events, some woman showed up just before the parade began, and wedged her child between the two valley girls... "Oh... can my son stand here!" *SHOVE* LOL. He managed to instantly silence the valley girls, as he kept climbing the barricade screaming, "Spiderman!" at any... and every superhero he saw. LOL. I just LOVE children. The younger (now very agitated) valley girl turned to the little boy at one point and said, "If you fall and hurt yourself, I'm not going to help you. You're not mine."

A Few Parade Highlights:
Opened the Parade: Crowd of White Witches (dressed in white) saging the parade's path
Fierce Factor: A thin, muscular guy in heels and a tiny black tutu dragging a boom box
Sexiest Costume: The Roman solider at Panchito's
Coolest Moment / Section: A crowd of about 50 zombies performing Thriller
Most Original: Werewolf Borg
Most Variations Of: Batman
Not Enough Of: Wonder Woman
Lots Of: Things with wings (fairies, angels, demons, & winged drag queens)

The Daisy Cabs.
...at least... that's what I was calling them. For several weeks now, I've been seeing cabs in New York that have had their hoods and trunks painted with a very 60's / 70's flower motif. At first, I thought it was just one, but I've seen well over a hundred of them by now. Last night, (thanks to section in the parade) I discovered they are part of a project called Garden In Transit (http://www.gardenintransit.org). Behold:

Garden in Transit may be the most ambitious community collaboration and public art project in New York City history. From September 2007 and until year's end, New York City is being visually transformed, as the NYC taxi - the ubiquitous yellow icon -becomes a mobile artistic canvas, or Garden in Transit. As part of this art, education and creative therapy project, 23,000 children in schools and hospitals - in addition to many adult volunteers - have painted 80,000 flowers on 750,000 square feet of adhesive panels for a four month public art exhibition featured on taxis citywide.

 Today, Garden in Transit will be giving away free flowers in Union Square. How very cool is that?

Friends Gone M.I.A.
I miss my friends, Katie and Vincent. Katie and I met a few years back online, and we had so much in common. Both Cuban. Both Witches. Both Artists. We instantly clicked. However, she had been having issues with her husband, and whether it ended in seperation, divorce or a reconciliation... I'll probably never know. She cut her ties with me (pretty indefinitely), and I was very hurt by it. I'd like to think that I had been a supportive friend. She's been on my mind quite a bit recently, and I really hope that things have worked out well for her.

I also met Vincent online many years ago, and we were penpals for quite some time. However, once he and his boyfriend moved to New York, I barely heard from him. My e-mails often went unanswered, so I just stopped writing. They moved into the Chelsea area, (and I hate to be sterotypical), but I think that snobish muscle-boy-mentality the area is famed for caught hold of them both. I really started feeling that "Why are we talking to him?" vibe from them. *sigh* Whatever.

It really brings that old phrase to mind, "Are you a reason, a season, or a lifetime?" You can pretty much categorize eveyone you know into one of those three things. Interesting, huh? ~ but true.

A Farewell To Lady RoseMyst.
I think RoseMyst's unexpected and sudden passing has been felt by all of her fellow Bravenet bloggers to different degrees. The news of her death, and her husband's entries on her blog (and the community's subsequent posts) have had such a heavy impact on me. I barely knew her, and to be honest, had just started reading a few of her blog entries, but I wept for her, and for her family very much. She was barely two years older than I am, and I guess it made me stare my own mortality hard in the face. Ironically, on the first of the month, I had awarded her blog the Pagan Award from Azodnem.com for October.

When I got home after the parade last night, I made sure to light a small pale lavendar candle for her, as well as bit of incense (around 11pm). I sent my well wishes out for her and her family. This morning, my kitchen light was on when I woke up. I normally wouldn't have thought much of it. I might have left it on myself. Although, I highly doubt it, because the bulb in the kitchen has been out for the past few days, and I've been after my super to come and fix it. (I know how to change a lightbulb... LOL. I just can't pry open the damn light fixture. LOL) She must truly have been a wonderful and gentle person, because even "strangers" have been deeply moved by her passing. Farewell, RoseMyst.

Azodnem.com.
The reconstruction and redesign of Azodnem.com is pretty much done for now. *whew* I have a few more scattered pages that I'd like to get to, and touch-up by year's end, but nothing really urgent or monumental. It's the nature of my website to be expanding constantly anyway, but at least this monster project is over.

Also ~ just as an F.Y.I. ~ Azodnem.com finally broke 27,000 hits last night. Very cool.

MySpace.
Famous People. Fake People. Comic Book Characters. I love all the "fake" profiles that are popping up on MySpace, and I am very guilty of "friending" some of them. In fact, Wonder Woman is one of my top 20 friends. She and I go WAY back. LOL. I am probably the worst MySpace friend EVER though! I am rarely on. I never answer any of the surveys. I did, however, last night... send out personalized comments to everyone of my friends wishing them a Happy Halloween / Blessed Samhain. So... maybe... I'm not the WORST MySpace friend ever. LOL.

Shop Azodnem (http://www.cafepress.com/azodnem).
Yes, I am obsessed. LOL I think I have uploaded over 50 different designs in the past three months! LOL. Please PLEASE check it out. Feedback is very welcomed. I just finished uploading a Zodiac series I designed way back in 1999 (while still working at the Village Voice). My skills in Adobe Illustrator were... uhm... not as evolved... as they are now (LOL), but they are still really cute. So please be sure to "Shop and support your local Azodnem".

ebay.
My best friend, Mabelyn, might be coming over tonight (I hope) to help me photograph some of my soon-to-be-on-ebay auction items. It is finally time to get rid of some of those old unwanted toys that have been sitting in my closet these past years, doing nothing but fading.

Wolf & Dragon (http://www.wolfanddragon.com)
Brighton and I will be launching an online store in early 2008. We'll be featuring handmade candles, herbs, resins, as well as an exclusive onsite newsletter / mini-mag (which will be available as a print version or as a downloadable PDF) featuring interviews, horoscopes, articles, art, and advice on all things witchy. Let the witching begin! *waves wand* ~ ZAP ~

Samhain (October 31st)
Although, generally celebrated on October 31st, some traditions prefer November 1st. This is one of the two "spirit-nights" celebrated each year (the other being Beltane). Samhain is a magical interval when the normal laws of time and space are temporarily suspended and the veil between worlds is lifted. Samhain means "End of Summer", and it is the third and final Harvest of the year. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat. This is a sacred time for communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones, a time to study the dark mysteries, and a time to honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the wandering dead. Many modern-day practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were also lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set at the table and around the hearth for unseen guests. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and mischief. Traveling after dark was was not advised, because the "Wee-Folke" became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the spirits.

This was also the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the spirits.

Other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Halloween, Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn.

Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.