On 10 October 2009, I wrote an article about the movie “Agora.” I finished off by quoting some Spanish media as stating that the film has yet to find a distributor in the United States.
Agora opened in October in Spain, topped the box-office raking in $8 million in its opening weekend, and then went on to gross $30 million, outperforming many Hollywood movies. Despite its success, it sat without a US buyer for six months. Finally, the US rights to Agora have been picked up by Newmarket Films and a release is planned for 2010. This is a movie that promises to be of great interest to all pagans with an interest in Egypt at the beginning of the Christian era.
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 12:01 am
filed under: Tonys Mishmash
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With all the buzz about Dan Halloran being hailed as the first openly Heathen elected official, I was fortunate to be granted an interview with another openly Pagan elected official, Jessica Orsini, who was elected to public office in April 2006, and re-elected in 2008, as Alderwoman, 3rd Ward, City of Centralia, Missouri. Jessica’s uniqueness does not end there, as she is also one of only two transgender elected officials in the country.
In the interview, Jessica describes her transition from a soft-polytheistic Wiccan to a hard-polytheistic Hellenic Reconstructionist. For those unfamiliar with the practice of Hellenic Reconstructionism, also known as Hellenismos, the interview provides a fascinating insight into just how ancient Greek religion can be practiced in a manner that is vibrant and relevant to today’s world.
The interview appears in its entirety on The Witches’ Voice, better known as WitchVox. I have included copious footnotes so as to make it as accessible as possible.
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 12:35 am
filed under: Legal, Pagan Issues, Politics
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On Thursday, 11 February 2010, which is the day before PantheaCon starts, Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS) will be holding their Winter Conference. The conference will feature Steven Posch, a veritable legend in the Twin Cities’ pagan community, fondly known as Paganistan.
I had the pleasure of meeting Steven at the Sacred Harvest Festival 2008. For some reason, he wasn’t as heavily promoted at this event as he was at the previous year’s one. I made a point of attending his workshop and participated in his impromptu sunset rituals as he had come highly recommended by my good friend, Macha Nightmare. I was not disappointed, as Steven has an entertaining inimitable style.
I have fond memories of sitting around a campfire relaxing with newly made friends, including Steven. The booze flowed freely, but not quite as freely as the conversations. Steven had a great sense of humour and was a pleasure to hang with.
There is a substantial discount for those who register before 6 December.
Tony Mierzwicki
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 6:25 am
filed under: Events, Pagan Issues
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Various pagan email groups are buzzing about Dan Halloran’s victory on Tuesday night, 3 November 2009, in his Northeast Queens City Council campaign. The campaign was won by addressing grassroots issues that mattered to the community – maintaining the character of the area by preventing large-scale real estate development, and the promotion of education, neighbourhood safety, and small business growth. Halloran received 13,694 votes compared to his opponent’s 12,380. Halloran had to overcome a smear campaign claiming that his religion furthered anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic views and that it was supported by neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Like many pagans, Halloran was raised a Christian, or in his case, a Roman Catholic. His university studies took him from a purely academic interest in Germanic mythology and lore, to embracing Heathenry, (more…)
posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 8:57 pm
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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