Blog Archives

Essay: Five Days in a Mental Hospital

5/28/2017

SELF ESTEEM BINGO IN HEAVEN

By Christoper Sloce
QuailBellMagazine.com

Thursday
I would have taken a picture but they took my phone so I wouldn’t hang myself with Tetris. First group activity: a 5 x 5 bingo board with platitudes in each square. It was called Self-Esteem Bingo. The group counselor called them and we had to search for the aspects of self-esteem so we could get a piece of candy or something.

I thought we were supposed to mark down things we thought we saw in ourselves. I ended up sitting and staring at a square reading “an attitude of gratitude”.

Forget Fairytales: The Wise Walrus Series

5/27/2017

The Wise Walrus

By Christine Stoddard
@cstoddard
QuailBellMagazine.com

Capital News Service: Racial Bias and Crime

5/24/2017

Racial disparities in marijuana arrests seen across Virginia

By SaraRose Martin
Capital News Service
QuailBellMagazine.com

*Editor's Note: Though this report covers an area-specific problem, we would like to assert that this is a wide-scale problem affecting many African-Americans throughout the nation. We encourage our readers to speak out against this injustice in their own towns. Refer to our submission guidelines to submit your own piece about racial injustice.

RICHMOND – Hanover County, just north of Richmond, has about 88,000 white residents, and in an average year, 246 whites are arrested there for marijuana possession. That represents a rate of 280 white arrests for every 100,000 white residents.

Review: We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

5/20/2017

How to Use All Caps Tastefully: A Review of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

By Erynn Porter
@erynn_porter
QuailBellMagazine.com

Samantha Irby knows how to introduce herself, she’s able to step into the spotlight and scream “THIS IS ME!” and have everyone look at her. Her collection, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, opens with “My Bachelorette Application.” The essay showcases her love of television and her comedy. The essay in an application format, explore who Irby is and her many quirks.

Interview: José Rivera, Jr.

5/20/2017

Queer Latinx Artist Reclaims Queen’s “Somebody to Love”

By Kaylin Kaupish
QuailBellMagazine.com

Of all their songs, “Somebody to Love” is one of Queen’s most famous. While it does not hold the operatic and theatrical qualities of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the song is powerful, emotional, and shows the remarkable range of Freddie Mercury’s voice. The song was released in 1976 on their album A Day at the Races; it sits alongside another powerful song, “White Man,” which discusses the inhumane treatment of Native Americans by European immigrants. “Somebody to Love” is a monologue by a nameless person who is desperate to find love. The lyrics are poignant and pleading, with the singer declaring, “Each morning I get up I die a little. Can barely stand on my feet. Take a look in the mirror and cry, ‘Lord what you're doing to me?’” While the lyrics don’t offer specifics on the narrator or his story, that did not stop them from speaking to José Rivera, Jr.

Beyond Art: Beth Van Hoesen's Boots

5/19/2017

Beth Van Hoesen’s Boots: A Feminist Inquiry

By Sally Deskins
QuailBellMagazine.com

Recently at the University of Wyoming Art Museum, viewers witnessed Beth Van Hoesen’s (American, 1926-2010) talent for technique and passion for her models through some of her animal prints alongside the work of John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851), and John Woodhouse Audubon (American, 1812-1862) in Audubon & Van Hoesen: Illustrating Animals. Still, Van Hoesen’s work goes beyond the animal, though many might be familiar with her domestic side, via commercialized calendars and notecards of cats. Though these surely exhibit her abilities and popularity, I write this article in response to high art culture, an experience of which gave light to those in the field who might overlook her breadth for these very reasons, and I hope to, even in a small way, reignite her authenticity as an artist.

Mental Health Awareness Month: Depression

5/19/2017

Coming Out of the Room: A Journey Through Major Depressive Disorder

Words by Emily Linstrom
Image by Julia Margaret Cameron

I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder at 23, though it’s been enjoying a rent-free existence in my right anterior insula since puberty. There are many types of depression—manic, atypical, situational, etc.—and they all sort of fall under an all-roads-lead-to-Rome type umbrella. And because depressives really are like snowflakes—no two the same, and yet exactly the same—I am the product of equal parts genetic predisposition and childhood conditioning.

Social Media Graphic: Shareable Inspiration

5/19/2017

Contemplate and Share

By The Quail Bell Crew
QuailBellMagazine.com

Essay: Seven Lessons on Life, Luck, and Control

5/18/2017

7 Things I’ve Learned in 7 Years of Sobriety

by Ben Emerling
QuailBellMagazine.com

Lucky number seven, Seven Seas, Seven Heavens, Seven Continents, Seven Colors in the Rainbow, Seven Notes on a musical scale, Seven days in a week, Seven Wonders of the World and for me seven years of sobriety. I say lucky for me because I shouldn’t be alive today. A lot can happen in seven years and the greatest part about being sober throughout, is the fact that I cherished every moment. So much can happen in seven years and so much more can happen if you are constantly changing. Through my years of sobriety these are the seven most important things I have learned.

Distill My Heart: Laurel, Greek Gods, and More

5/18/2017

Laurel Wreaths: A Brief Hydrosol Encounter

By Dr. M. Leona Godin
QuailBellMagazine.com

This brief and admittedly drunken hydrosol encounter with laurel (Laurus nobilis) was inspired by Cathy Skipper's Hydrosols class at the School for Aromatic Studies.

Last week I ordered my little arsenal of sensory indulgences from Aromatics International because they were the only (recommended) online aromatherapy shop I could find that was not sold out of this delicious hydrosol. It was my first time ordering from them, but I'll definitely order from them again.

I must confess that I'm a slut when it comes to buying essential oils and hydrosols. It is my firm belief that not all companies can provide all your needs, they must have specialties, and expertise, and so as with clothes, groceries, booze, and pretty much everything else, I have no interest in shopping one place exclusively. My impression is that in the world of aromatics, it is best to steer clear of those companies that tell you they can fulfill all your needs, i.e. beware the multi-level marketing when it comes to aromatics, and probably everything else too.

Ok, enough PSA for today. Here's my hydrosol encounter with one of my all-time favorite trees, the laurel.

<<Previous

SELF ESTEEM BINGO IN HEAVEN

The Wise Walrus

Racial disparities in marijuana arrests seen across Virginia

​How to Use All Caps Tastefully: A Review of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Queer Latinx Artist Reclaims Queen’s “Somebody to Love”

Beth Van Hoesen’s Boots: A Feminist Inquiry

Coming Out of the Room: A Journey Through Major Depressive Disorder

Contemplate and Share

7 Things I’ve Learned in 7 Years of Sobriety

Laurel Wreaths: A Brief Hydrosol Encounter​

How to Use All Caps Tastefully: A Review of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Laurel Wreaths: A Brief Hydrosol Encounter