On the road
Regarding last week’s cover story [Where Long Islanders go to die: Your streets are killing you, Dec. 16]: We need more of these articles. I think that you are tapping into a burgeoning quality of life or death sentiment in suburbia. Keep up the good work.
Michael R. King
Manhattan
Dog’s best friend
What a great, informative article! Who knew that such a disease could be passed from dogs to humans? I feel so relieved that Ms. Bannan wrote this article [Now they tell us, News, Dec. 16] so that now my family and I can take the proper precautions.
Sharon-Adrianna Gordin
Manhattan
First, grab a broom…
I would like to praise the Long Island Voice for featuring articles that involve new age/metaphysical/magical-studies articles [ Above & Beyond, Dec. 2]. It’s nice to know that there are other religions being practiced on Long Island and all over the world, even witchcraft. I myself would like to get into witchcraft, but I have no idea where to start looking. I am mainly interested in magical studies, for example, spells for peace, healing, spells for good luck, too. I was just wondering whether the Voice would list some informative witchcraft Web sites or recommend some books on magical studies. Just need to be pointed in the right direction, please. Thanks, and keep up the great work.
Rena
via e-mail
Sorry, but our “staff hack” position is already filled
Kudos to Stacy Albin. Her gift for misrepresentation and shallow reporting knows no bounds [Awe in the Family, Exit Zero, Dec. 2]. I’ve seen her at work. I was one of the students in the standup-comedy class she recently ridiculed [Class Clowns, Nov. 4]. And here she is in one of the most uniquely populated areas in the Free World and the only “witches” she can find are those afraid to admit their beliefs to even family members, having learned their craft from reading some books!
I, having lived and worked with women and men who are traveled the world to study the ancient and current practices of witches, shamans and mystics, can attest that the women in this content-empty article are as clueless about what they are “practicing” as are most followers of these so-called traditional spiritual practices. There’s more to it then reading a few books and declaring oneself a witch, much less a teacher. The fact that I’ve read the complete works of Shakespeare, more than once, makes me neither a scholar nor teacher.
Basically, these are just bored, underemployed people latching on to radical, eyebrow-raising behavior in order to support their feelings of being different. It gives them a “look-at-me” image, filling in the gaps their jobs or otherwise empty lives leave barren. They’re textbook examples of the people who end up dead in places like Jonestown and Waco. But in reality, who really cares? What I care about is the fact that Ms. Albin and this publication call this journalism. It’s just pathetic. It’s not even humorous. I imagine Ms. Albin is quite simply one of those people who enjoys making fun of people. Why not? It’s just so much easier to poke fun at people like these women, then attempt to perform any real research into a very interesting topic.
Reading this publication is like touching one’s tongue to a nine-volt battery. You know it’s gonna make you feel funky, but you do it anyway. It boggles my mind that you can’t find more talented writers. For goddess’ sake, give me a column. I’ll do it for almost-free.
Thomas Evans
Massapequa
Every witch way
Stacy Albin’s piece Awe in the Family [Exit Zero, Dec. 2] states that Amy Krinner believes that Wicca is a Celtic religion, and as with so much of New Age spirituality this statement is based on imaginative emotive feelings rather than fact. Wicca is Teutonic, that is, in contemporary language it is Germanic in origin. The word “Wicca” is itself Germanic, more precisely Angle-Saxon, and not Celtic. The pre-Christian Celts practiced what is usually described by scholars of the Ancient Celts as the Old Religion, and to be overly terse most Celts believed in gods, goddesses, spirits and nature religion. At this time, there was also a smaller group of Celts in Celtic society, called Druids, best translated into English as the seekers of wisdom. The Druids were and still are both male and female natural philosophers, or what we would now call scientists. Druids do not believe as practitioners of Wicca in spells, potions and “magick” [magic].
Followers of the Druid Way have nothing to do with Satan, which is an Islamic-Christian-Judaic belief. For Druids, there is no heaven or hell. There is only Nature, the knowing of Nature, and we cannot dominate Nature without dire consequences.
Happy Alban Arthuan. Happy Winter Solstice!
Will Petry
Williston Park