For the past 70 years, I projected that my golden years were a long way off. But was I wrong? Today, people drive past me yelling stuff like “Move over you old blankety-blank-blank!” And believe me, they’re not saying I look like Brad Pitt. People over 60 face a variety of Herculean challenges. From health […]
At the risk of never getting a cushy writing gig for Hasbro, what the actual sh**, Hasbro?! For those who didn’t hear, Hasbro laid off somewhere around a thousand people, almost all, if not all, of their Wizard’s of the Coast division (WOTC). This is darkly hilarious, since earlier this year Hasbro’s corporate hegemony tried […]
I’ve been using a heating pad in the winter months for years. It doesn’t matter if my back is hurting or not. I’ve always found the warmth of the heating pad incredibly comforting, especially when topped with a blanket. I put it on the highest setting and let this small electronic device cozy up my […]
The best part of the holiday season is tradition. Many families plan activities year in and year out, which is something most people look forward to (minus the jaded teenagers). Holiday movies are a tradition that shouldn’t get tiresome because they’re enjoyable, they help enhance the holiday spirit, and most importantly they can be watched […]
Winter – when the sun is down by 4:30pm and most things, including my motivation, start to shrivel. Last year, after a bad bout of seasonal affective disorder, I came to terms with the fact that leaving the house was both a necessary evil and part of the antidote. Despite this, I knew that committing […]
The excitement of an endless array of deals around the holidays drives many of us, myself included, to go card-swiping crazy. The Kindle you were going to get your cousin for Christmas is 80% off on Amazon? Perfect time to buy it! The air fryer you were going to get your college-bound son for his […]
On a frigid winter night in 1892, the villagers of Exeter exhumed the corpse of Mercy Brown. Her cheeks blushed, her lips still red – Mercy’s body was desecrated in the name of a centuries-old superstition of vampires. The deceased 19-year-old went on to become as famous as Salem’s witches and Fall River’s ax murderess, […]
Death Café. The name itself evokes a visceral response in each of us. From the moment we are born, we have a sense of what this unknowable event means, and as we grow, the culture and circumstances that surround us influence our perception of death. It is generally a grim view. I spoke with Jay […]
For good or ill, mankind has always had a fascination with vampires. Going back thousands of years, there are legends of demons that take their sustenance from the living. We have been fascinated by vampires in fiction – from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Bela Lugosi, from Hammer films to the worldwide phenomena of Anne Rice […]
When I walked into Earthtones Metaphysical Shop on Wickenden Street in Providence, here is what I noticed: a clean, calming space; two warm storekeepers; the layered scent of essential oils and manifestations; and Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” buzzing through the speakers. Mercedez Matos and Serena Barton-Zainyeh, a couple of five years, entered the metaphysical space as […]