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How I Lost My ASMR
By Paige Towers
QuailBellMagazine.com
It’s not like I just woke up one morning and my ASMR was gone.
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The Thistles and Fairies of the Botanist Gin
By Dr. M Leona Godin
@drmlgodin QuailBellMagazine.com *Editor's Note: We're pleased to present Dr. Godin's column Distill My Heart. From craft distilling to perfumery, the botanicals in your favorite gin to the history of rosewater, Distill My Heart investigates and appreciates the science and aesthetics of spirits, aromas and flavors through the lens of a doctor of philosophy.
I'll admit upfront that I loved The Botanist before I ever tasted it. When my boyfriend told me about a gin, which , in addition to nine traditional botanicals, features 22 others that grow wild on the Scottish island of Islay, I was immediately smitten. I asked him to nab the last bottle in the shop where he works and hide it till payday. Meanwhile, I would look into these botanicals...
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How I Date Myself (Literally) As An Autoromantic
I am autosexual and autoromantic. In other words, I am in a sexual and emotional relationship with myself. This is what it's like to actually date yourself.
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Reprogramming At-Risk Youth: PCYF Fundraiser at the Los Angeles Athletic Club
By Mia Moraes
QuailBellMagazine.com
A tight knit family of friends and colleagues all met in the presidential room of the Los Angeles Athletic Club this past Saturday, the 13th of February 2016 for a collaborative effort to push forward the expansion of the Pacific Coast Youth Foundation. PCYF was started as a tribute to Ernie “Bubba” Cooper Jr., brother to Executive Director Daniel Cooper and son of Advising Director and former FBI Special Agent Ernie Cooper Sr. Star athlete Ernie Bubba Jr. passed away in 2010 at the age of 25 from heart complications. It’s been five years since Bubba’s passing, yet his memory lives forever in this organization and his spirit and his heart continues to pulsate within it. It’s a foundation geared providing pro-social activities for at-risk youth that motivated them to strive and help them cultivate a sense of passion and self-esteem. Partners now with the Orange County Department of Education and the Joplin Youth Center, a CrossFit Inspired Program for this youth has been created.
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Harriet Tubman Selected as the New Face of the $20 Bill
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Wednesday that Harriet Tubman would be the new face of the $20 bill. This would mark the first major bill change since the late 1920s. Also, Tubman will be the first African-American and the first woman in over a century to be featured on U.S. currency.
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Online Theater Group Specializes in Frightful Tales
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was afraid of the dark. She covered her eyes (but still peeked through her fingers) during scary movies. That little girl loved to write and make up stories. When she was older, she discovered books by Bram Stoker and Stephen King and was wooed by the darkness and suspense. That little girl grew up to be Liane Moonraven.
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The World Won't Let Me Own The Friend Zone
Self-identified relationship anarchists like myself express discomfort with labels. The way society tends to use labels gets problematic pretty quickly. Polyamory still endorses the usage of hierarchical labels like “primary relationship” vs. “secondary relationship” in a way that simply doesn’t fly with relationship anarchy. Many of us are still searching for labels that express our affections on non-hierarchical terms that better match our feelings. When people offer more fitting alternatives relationship anarchists can use in place of the ones we like less, I often see the term “friend” popping up as the most desirable word to use. I get it; the word “friend” feels natural, safe, and affectionate word choice because it doesn't involve put force you to rank your relationships on an ordinal scale.
You're not being a good lover to anyone if you're not being a good friend at the same time. That’s why “friend” was my go-to term for so many years. To me, friendship is love and love is friendship. That includes love that isn't romantic. I was satisfied with using the term “friend” to describe my loved ones to others. The Friend Zone is a comfortable place for me to be as sexual and romantic as I please. It’s other people who weren’t comfortable with it. When I abandoned the usage of hierarchical labels in favor of the "friend" label, I didn't realize just how much effort I would have to invest in protecting my relationships from getting lost in mononormative translation. I found out the hard way that the word "friend" still has plenty of cultural baggage to unpack. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Fairy Tales Revamped
Interview by Gretchen Gales
@GGalesQuailBell Cover Image by Courtney Kenny Porto Gallery Images by Shelby Geistfeld QuailBellMagazine.com
Move aside Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, and yes, even you, Disney.
On April 9th, RNG Gallery in Council Bluffs, Iowa showcased an exhibition of art called "Once Upon A Time...A Twisted Fairytale." Female artists challenged conventional endings of fairytales with their own empowering versions. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Poetry of Alchemy: Distillation, Transmutation and Shakespeare's Sonnet 33
I do love my booze, but even beyond the literal satisfaction of imbibing spirits, distillation offers a wonderful metaphor. You take a thing that you really really like, put it into an apparatus, subject it to fire, force its volatility, and are rewarded with a high concentration of the thing you liked about the thing you like. In other words, you make the thing you like more like the thing you liked about that thing. Get it? No? Ok, I'll try again, but first let's drink to our health... Ah, that's better. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Stumping Trump: Observations from a Protest
“How do you spell ‘Donald Trump?’”
“K-K-K!” A woman with a megaphone led the chant. Through an act of hasty politeness, I was stuck holding her Trotskyite banner at the time. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
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Polyamory Is About You - Not Just Your RelationshipsNow that polyamory is entering the mainstream world, people need to start recognizing polyamory as a relationship orientation rather than a mere lifestyle choice. In reality, having multiple relationships is a consequence of being polyamorous. You don’t need someone else in your life to identify as polyamorous. It’s a feature of your individuality that shines through your relationships. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Is There A Jermeister Goin' On at the Burnzone? A Modest Proposal Regarding College CelebrationsAnother championship. Another celebration. College students running in the streets. Jumping on cars. Overturning apple carts, throwing trash cans, even making orgy towers to the horizon as a jest to the very concept of gravity and safe sex. This was the scene in Villanova, Pennsylvania, after Kris Jenkins nailed a three in the last seconds to bring a NCAA Championship to the Villanova Wildcats. Even horses are no longer safe. And after Draymond Green drank an entire barrel of beer and pretended to be a bowling ball when the Golden State Warriors won a NBA championship, we wonder each year: what is too much? What is the line between celebration and a riot? What even is a riot anymore? The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
What It's Like Being a Thin Guy Who Hates His Body
By Zack Budryk
QuailBellMagazine.com
It’s 10 P.M. and I’m shirtless in front of the bathroom mirror. I have to remember to put my shoulders back, and then I like what I see a little better. I’ve still got traces of love handles but my abs are visible and my stomach flat. I step forward a bit and I swear to God my reflection grows several inches in either direction.
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What to Do When Your Parents Don't Believe You Have a Mental Illness
*Editor's Note: From On the Grid Zine published March 31st, 2016.
When you confide in your parents or authority figures, you expect to have support when you tell them something major, like the state of your mental health. Though some parents show support and love to their children, too many ignore or criticize their children when they express what they are feeling.
Take Danielle Zavala, who wrote a post for NAMI Massachusetts about how she didn’t see a psychiatrist for her problems until she was 19: The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Poetry Is Alive!
National Poetry Month crept up on us. The rhythmic howl of Alan Ginsburg is whispering to you from the bookshelves or your teacher’s syllabus. The flowers in Frost and Keats metaphors are sprouting to the call. The days are becoming longer & coffee shops around the world will be filling up with spoken word artists fedoras, statement hairstyles, and handmade wool scarves. The crowds will be eating up the words of Maya Angelou and the internet will be blown up with small Instagram shots of haikus from typewriter poets like Tyler Knott.
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Is OPP Ever A-OK In Polyamorous Relationships?As a whole, poly people are not down with OPP. OPP, the acronymized shorthand for “One Penis Policy,” is the slang term that refers to a man who prohibits his cisgendered girlfriend from dating anyone who doesn’t have a vagina. Thus, he is the only penis in this woman's life. Based on the amount of relationships suffering under OPP, being the only guy with a penis in some cis lady’s love life is oh-so validating in a power-trippy kind of way, which is totally uncool/sexist. Nonetheless, many poly people apply this concept to anyone who tries to restrict their partner’s potential dates to a certain gender. As far as most the polyamorous world is concerned, OPP is a toxic cocktail of sexism, entitlement, insecurity, and the abuse of boundaries. Nonetheless, there are still people out there live happily ever after in OPP-described relationships without experiencing any negative effects. So how can you tell the difference between the 2? Personal satisfaction. |
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