Tonight, I got home from a Kindred Study Group, where we went over stanzas #31 through 45 of eight different translations of the Havamal.

When I got home I gave the kids a bath, and got them ready for bed. They asked me to tell them a story about Thor. I told them I'd look for a good one to read them, but they insisted I just tell them one without reading it to them.

So I told them the story of Thor and Loki regaining Thor's hammer, by wearing women's clothing and pretending to be the Goddess Freyja among the Giants. And I told them the story from memory, and added little details that I knew they would enjoy. They loved the cleverness of Loki...and they knew all along that Thor would end up beating the crap out of a bunch of Giants, and were anticipating it throughout the entire story. They seemed to love it, and to hang on every word.

So when that was done, they wanted to hear another story. So I told a follow-up Loki story. I told them about how the walls of Asgard were built, and how Loki turned himself into a horse to lure away the powerful horse helping to build the walls. And how Loki was the mother of Sleipnir. The kids loved that story! Though they thought Loki having a baby horse was a little odd.

Any how, it was fun telling the stories in my own words...and trying to get the pacing and the details just right, so that the kids would really get into the stories and enjoy them. It was a challenge, but they liked the stories so much more told in this way...than when I read from a book. I thinks its more personal from memory...

Mark

The registration packets were mailed out to those on their mailing list on Friday (2/8/2008). I'm not 100% sure I'm on the mailing list, though I should be. This packet will be available on the HSA website soon. But as a special treat...here it is on our site (Courtesy of the KCWMU). This is the real packet. Download it...print it...fill it out...mail it in!

http://www.ghostvigil.com/documents/2008HPF_PreReg_20SinglePages.pdf

If I'm reading the documents right, a Day Pass is $65...and runs from 9 AM until 9 AM the next day.

If you register before March 31st, you can register for the entire weekend for $120. Before April 30th, its $160. And after May 1st, its $195.

You can sign up to do work-exchange to attend the Festival. You give them $160 as a deposit, work your assignment...and if you do what you agreed to do, you get your $160 back after the Festival. These work-exchange spots are limited...so plan ahead!

Thanks!

Mark Stinson

The Remodeling of this blog continues! I'm adding seperate blogs for all of my interests, but all of these blogs will feed into this main Void Pulp Press blog.

Please be patient with me as I add additional blogs, shuffle posts to the new blogs, and make everything look right!

Thanks,

Mark

You know...I started Void Pulp Press in 1985. I was in High School. An acquaintence of mine was doing a cartoon about one of our teachers, and hanging it on the bulletin board. He got bored with it, and stopped...and I picked up where he left off. I drew a few installments of the parody comic strip with a pencil, and then my dad suggested that I ink the comics with a pen...and he would print them up for me at a copy store. And my multi-million dollar publishing career began! LOL.

Here we are 28 years later. This blog has served several purposes...and for a long time it was called the Kansas City Comix Scene. But, the Comix Scene here in town has changed...I've changed...and the goals of this blog has changed. So I'm renaming the blog...and rebooting the look of it. First...the change of name. Void Pulp Press will be the name, and the new look will be coming soon!

Mark Stinson

EDIT: The changes are fully in progress at this point!

Well, its been a year and a half since I finished page 5 of this story! And its been years and years since I initially pencilled this. But I finished page 6 today.

CLICK "READ MORE" TO SEE HOW THE PAGE DEVELOPED.

Read more!

Perhaps some of you have not read an H.P. Lovecraft story. Or maybe you haven't read one in a few years. If you haven't read Lovecraft...or very much Lovecraft...its easy to disregard him as just another "horror author."

But he was heavily influenced by Lord Dunsany...a writer/poet who heavily influenced Tolkien as well. And while Lovecraft did write tales of weird horror, featuring old gods and cosmic threats that dwarf the wisdom of mankind...he was a wonderful fantasy author as well. There's a sense of wonder even in Lovecraft's darkest stories.

I read a wonderful Lovecraft story to my kids tonight, as a bedtime story. Its called "The White Ship." Its about a lonely lighthouse keeper...and his journey upon the White Ship...a magical ship that takes him to worlds of dream. There are only a few dark moments in the story, which I was able to change as I read it. I don't want to give the kids nightmares! I told Elizabeth, I hoped she dreamed of travels aboard the White Ship tonight...

Read the story if you are interested. It will take you 10 or 15 minutes, and it will leave a bitter-sweet smile on your face.

THE WHITE SHIP

Mark

O.K. Playing a Role-Playing Game the other night for the first time in awhile made me start thinking about gaming. And recently, I began purchasing/downloading game books on the internet.

I have a large collection of Dungeons & Dragons, Alternity, True20, and Classic Traveller gaming material. And this has prompted me to think about what games I would like to play.

First...I never really got to give True 20 a fair chance. It seemed like a great game system. And now I've found their resource materials for playing True20 Fantasy, in a variety of historical eras, even. But the True20 game I really want to DM or play...is one called Sidewinders...which is basically Old Wild West Gaming. Man, I miss Boot Hill!

Second, Alternity is kick-ass. Wizards was stupid to stop promoting and making materials for that game. The dice dynamic was amazing...and puts d20 to complete shame. Complete shame. So, I'd love to play Alternity again...expecially something in sort of a Bladerunner setting...something cyberpunk like that.

Third, I really miss Traveller. Simple rules...trying to make a buck in space...huge over the top combat scenes (at least that's how we played it!)...and you have a game that was perfect when we were 14 or 15. Looking over the old Classic Traveller materials has made me hungry to dust off this old game and put together a one-shot or two-part Traveller game.

So, what games are you hungry to play? What games do you miss? What games would you kill to play again soon? Go over to Lords of RPG and post the game you'd like to play on our Message Board.

:-)

Mark

P.S. I updated my Lords of RPG gaming site, if you want to check it out.

At the 2008 Festival, I would like to give some workshops on Heathenry. I have three ideas for workshops, and I'd enjoy doing all three...but I want everyone's input.

1. The first workshop would be a primer on Heathenry, and the differences between Asatru and Wicca. While both are pagan beliefs and there are some similarities...there are many interesting differences that actually assist us in defining both of them...and understanding both of them better. While I come at it from a Heathen perspective, I have read extensively about Wicca...and have a great interest and respect for Wicca. So I think this would be a topic that would spark some amazing discussions within the workshop. I would also talk about some of the controvertial topics that come up when you talk about Heathenry...while it would not be a major part of my talk, I would talk about the prison ministries and the subject of Race...and the attempts by white supremicists to twist Heathenry to serve their own purposes. I think this would be a lively workshop.

2. This workshop would deal with Alfs (Elfs), Wights, and Trolls...with some comparisons between the Celtic beliefs and the Norse beliefs about these spirits or creatures. There are some similarities between the Celtic and Norse beliefs, but again...there are some very interesting differences that are fun to talk about. This workshop will deal with how to get along with these beings (essentially "The Rules to Follow"...how to avoid getting them upset with you...and how to be a greatful benefactor for anything they might do for you.) I'm researching this workshop now...and having a lot of fun with it. The unseen beings of the Otherworld are an interesting lot.

3. The third workshop would focus specifically on Heathen religious rituals. Blots, Fainings, and Symbels, how each is done, and what each one means. Each of these have a unique history...and while people do these three rituals very differently, there are very specific steps that are usually included. For those unfamiliar with traditional Heathen rituals, and mostly aware of Wiccan rituals...I have to think this will be new material for them. I don't want to put on an actual ritual, but instead talk about them and walk everyone through their steps.

Like most pagans, it is not my goal to "convert" anyone to my religious beliefs. My main goal by being able to present workshops at the Heartland Pagan Festival in 2008 is to let everyone know a little more about Heathenry (a fairly misunderstood topic.)

So, do these workshops sound interesting? Do you have any suggestions to make them better? Perhaps you don't like the sound of one of them? I'd like to hear some opinions...

Thanks,

Mark

hey all!
I've got a new blog. This one will still be up for now, but probably not updated anymore.
The new blog address is

http://davebryantgo.blogspot.com/

and here is a vid too, just for fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXjZqiqVSpU

-Dave

The 2008 Heartland Pagan Festival will be Thursday, May 22nd through Monday, May 26th, 2008. This Festival is a yearly event put together by the Heartland Spiritual Alliance . It is a large gathering of pagans at Camp Gaia...and people attend from all over the country. They usually have anywhere from 500 to 1000 people attend the Festival.

Though the registration packets have not come out...and the workshops have not been scheduled (we're getting a pretty good jump on this talking about it already), I know we're hoping to contribute to the Festival with workshops and possibly holding a Heathen Faining.

In 2007, I was a featured speaker at the "Festival of the Three Moon" (the Festival's title in 2007), and also presented two additional workshops. All of these talks and workshops were about the paranormal. My friend, Jamie King assisted with the workshops, and we both found the Festival and the Festival-goers to be amazingly kind and open to new people and new ideas. We really enjoyed it.

Jamie is hoping to present some paranormal workshops, and I will be presenting workshops about Heathenry. (Details on what the workshops will be about will be posted here very soon.)

Here's the HSA's Mission Statement...

Heartland Spiritual Alliance is an organization, which is dedicated to promoting the appreciation and acceptance of a variety of alternative religions and philosophies. HSA encourages participation in educational programs and activities; most of which deal with the various nature oriented or nature connected religions of the world, the similarities within all religions and the respectful free exchange of spiritual beliefs. We strive to maintain a well organized, dynamic and smooth running organization within an atmosphere, which allows people of all religious traditions to coexist peacefully. One of our goals is to consistently host a Festival, which promotes personal and spiritual growth and leaves a living legacy for the next generation.

This event is well worth attending...

Mark Stinson

O.K. I haven't drawn anything new in quite awhile. Too busy with ghosts, and such. But for a CCN Message Board Sketch Challenge...I drew two images of Thor. Not the Marvel Thor...the mythological Thor...

Mark

Ambigrams are words or phrases that can be read in more than one way or from more than a single vantage point, most commonly right-side-up and upside-down. The Ambigram.Matic Website is the world's first and only online Ambigram Generator! Flip any word, different words of the same length, or even an entire (symmetrically spaced) sentence on its head, and read it both ways!

These were a few words I typed in...putting only one word in the top space and hitting "Go." Can you read all of them? You can also put two different words of the same length in the two spaces, and get a combined Ambigram. See what you can come up with!

Mark

2008. Its 2008 already? I turn 40-years-old in 2008. That'a s pretty big benchmark in my life. 40. Hmmm....

I am still a police sergeant for the KCMO Police Department. I have a wife and three wonderful kids.

For over two years now, I've been involved in paranormal investigations. I founded Ghost Vigil Investigations two years ago...and GVI is a successful group and part of the TAPS Family. A few months ago we started the Ghost Vigil Youths program.

Over a year ago I became interested in Heathenry...or the Asatru religion. It is the religion of my Northern European ancestors prior to the Christian Missionaries showing up. We're talking about Odin, Thor, Tyr, Frey, Frigg, and our other Elder Kin. A group of us are building what is called a Kindred here in Kansas City. This is our website, in case you are curious regarding what I'm talking about!

While I haven't been drawing very much, much of my Killers Gallery artwork was included in a serial killer trading card set and a 2008 serial killer calendar. This has inspired me to add some artwork to my Killers Gallery, but I have not gotten off my arse and begun yet. Not yet...

I've also built a website dedicated to the Historic Elmwood Cemetery and I administer a Role-Playing Game message board. And don't forget the Comic Creators Network message board. Up until recently, I was the Co-Manager of the TAPS Family. That got to be a bit much, with all the other stuff I have going on...and I wasn't 100% happy with the management folks I was working with. So I bowed out gracefully.

O.K. Most of that had nothing to do with drawing or comics. And I know that. Its why I've been away from this blog...and not posting very often this past year. It just seemed like all my non-comicbook hobbies really took off. But, since it appears I'm the only one posting on this blog anyway...it might have to undergo a transformation in the coming months...

Mark

Well...O.K. It was never really gone. And there were some hard-core message posters and visitors that never left. A big thanks to them for sticking around...and posting now and again. So what do we mean by "Its Back?"

Last night, we deleted over 5,000 spam usernames. With this many spammers registering, it was impossible to approve/activate legitimate newcomers to the message board. But this will happen no more. If you register as a new member, I will activate your username...and get you posting within one day of your registration.

Go ahead...you know you want to...pop on over to comixboard.com, read a few strings, and post something!

Mark Stinson

Enjoy this big Stinson Dance Party, and watch my little ones dance their hearts out!

Mark

(If youtube.com is blocked at your workplace, click here to see the video)

Erianne, over at the Pagan Resources and Repository Forum sent me information on how to contact a Heathen Gothi that she knows. I also found the Central States Heathens yahoo group, here's their link:

Central States Heathens.

And after my month long search (or more), I've found one heathen in Carthage, MO, one in Eudora, KS, several over in Topeka, there's one or two in Lawrence, and a handful in Salina, KS. Those are the close ones at least!

And I'm communicating with the Godhi, who appears to be very knowledgable and generous.

We're planning a get together on an upcoming Sunday and possibly a blot in September. If you are a asatru heathen, and are interested in talking more about this...please contact me. And if you know a traditional heathen, tell him/her to Contact Me. Thanks...

Mark Stinson
Temple of
Our Heathen Gods

How Does One Worship the Heathen Gods? If someone is not familiar with Heathenry, this question would definitely come to mind.

This varied greatly. Heathenry existed for thousands of years, with no written rules, or codification. There were temples scattered about, but there was no central authority dictating rules and methods. So Heathenry varied from region to region, tribe to tribe, and decade to decade. But there are some worshipping techniques from the past that have been reconstructed.

Understand, that for the most part, these people did not bow down to their gods. They honored their gods, they respected their gods, they sacrificed to their gods, and they prayed (communicated) with their gods. But their gods were seen as their kin...part of the Folk...or part of their village or tribe. They treated the gods as mentors, or elders in their tribe. Many saw them and treated them like honored ancestors. They saw them as walking among them...and being a part of their daily lives.

I talk with the gods. Mainly in my quiet moments. Driving to work. Driving back from work. The other night I was waiting for someone to show up for an appointment, and I took the 15 minutes I was waiting to just converse with the gods. In the middle of the night at work...when nothing is going on...I'll speak with the gods. Their handiwork is all around us, and I think they listen.

When I do talk to the gods, I do not ask them to do little things for me, or ask them to make things happen for me. A small child may ask his mother for the smallest of things, but I am not a small child. A lamb may depend on his shepard for direction in even the smallest of things, but I am not a lamb. I'm an adult human being, and the gods expect us to make our own decisions, fight our own battles, and make things happen for ourselves. They gave us life, they aren't going to live it for us. So what do I pray about?

Usually I thank them for what they do. AsaThor protects the world from destructive forces and evil, and he shows us that we should not treat enemies as our friend...but as the enemies they truly are. Odin sacrificed his own eye and went through great trials in order to obtain wisdom and knowledge, and he showed us how to take whatever honorable action we can to accomplish a goal that is important to us. Tyr was so courageous that he knowingly sacrificed his own hand so that the gods may bind a horrible monster called the Fenris Wolf. He placed his hand in the creature's mouth, as part of a trick to bind the beast, and Tyr shows us that in order to help and protect our families and community, we should be willing to risk whatever it takes.

I will ask them to show me strength, or to give me courage. I'll tell Odin, "As you sacrificed your eye for wisdom, if I work hard and make every effort to find other Heathens in my area...grant me the wisdom to eventually find them." I don't ask him to find them for me. I often say to Thor, "Give me the strength to protect my family when I am with them, and watch and protect them at times that I am unable to be with them." But there is a concept called "a gift for a gift." The gods deserve to be treated with respect, and when you ask for a gift or favor, you should offer a gift or favor. Perhaps you promise them to take a certain course of action, or to conduct a blot (see below) in the near future, or you pledge your loyalty to them.

Besides talking with the gods, there is also the more formal blot (pronounced "bloat"), which is similiar to the word for bless. This article talks in detail about blots, their historical significance, and their structure.

A blot is simply a ritual. Not a magical ritual in the Wicca sense of the word. But a structured method of honoring the gods, drinking mead with the gods, and then the blot usually transitions into a gathering, celebration, party, or festival. This can also be referred to as a faining. At the time I am writing this, I have not participated in a blot or conducted a blot. So I can't say much more than what I've read...but it can be a loud boisterous, joyful event. I am looking forward to my first blot.

And there's an event called a Symbel or Sumbel, I've seen it spelled both ways. This event consists of the participants taking turns talking and bragging. When its your turn you brag about the exploits of a god, a hero, an ancestor of yours, or something you have done...and then you drink. And then its the next person's turn and they follow suit. It can be very structured with the first round of bragging being limited to the gods, second round to heroes, the third round to ancestors, etc...but it can also be very unstructured. But Symbels were a way to pass on and remember great deeds and stories, and a way to get to know your friends and kin better. I've heard these are difficult for Americans to do sometimes, because our culture teaches us not to blatantly brag publically, but that's what's required at Symbels.

Mark Stinson
Temple of
Our Heathen Gods

Recently, I was reading some posts about Karma on a metaphysical message board I visit occasionally. But, to some degree...the "Karma" being described there was an over-simplified version. Sort of this "bad things happen to bad people" sort of cosmic justice concept. For me, when Karma is oversimplified like this, it becomes a simple matter of coincidence and selective-memory. When something bad happens to a bad person, everyone says..."Oh... wow... that was Karma at work." Nevermind the decades of profit and the good life the bad person earned while being bad. Nevermind all the good things that happened to that bad person...those weren't Karma. So we throw all those good things out. They don't count. Just that one bad thing everyone points at and says "There's Karma." When an innocent child dies of cancer, no one mutters "Karma" under their breath. You know what I'm saying?

The Norse and Anglo-Saxons had a concept called "Wyrd," that had to do with all actions affecting in some way every other action, and that everyone's actions came together to weave reality. For them, past events and actions affect future events and actions, but in a mysterious way, future actions (since they are part of this woven reality) also affect past events and actions. Everything is connected. Not predestined, but connected and influential over an individual's wyrd, or ability to continue weaving reality. But the concept should not be over simplified into the "justice to the evil-doer" message that seems to be represented in a "New Age" concept of Karma.

I know that for some, what I'm about to say isn't cheerful, but couldn't it all be as simple as our lives are harsh and difficult, because that's just how it is. The world is a dangerous place. There are many selfish and dishonorable people. Our bodies are biological, so they are vulnerable to injury and disease. As advanced as we are, we can't completely prevent SIDS, car accidents, child-molesters, cancer, heart disease, violent crime, falling down stairs, depression, mental illness, war, slipping on banna peels, strokes, drug addiction, marital infidelity, teenage pregnacy, rapists, murderers, road rage, cavities in our teeth, the common cold, wife-beating, plane wrecks, terrorist incidents, hatred among different races, religions, and cultures, etc. etc. etc.

Couldn't it just be that this life is not easy, and we should rise to the challenge? We just have to live our lives the best we can, live honorably, help others, and maybe, just maybe we'll leave behind a legacy with our children and the memories they (and others) hold of us?

No one has to agree with me on this. This is personal to me, and I hope you all find something that makes you happy. But I'm done working towards the carrot-on-the-stick...Heaven, transcendence, Nirvana, the next vibrational level, or any of that. I'm going to live this life, right here, right now...and when I'm done...there will be a handful of people, maybe more, that will say..."That guy lived a full and honorable life."

I'll leave whatever exists beyond this life, if anything exisits beyond this life, to the gods.

Mark Stinson
Temple of
Our Heathen Gods

Now, I'm still learning...and there's a lot to learn. So I'm not an expert in any of this of course. This is a complex religion with a complex history, so this will take years to learn...and I'll never know it all. But I'll do my best as a Newbie to describe the "Purpose of a Heathen Life" as I understand it right now...

First off, remember that the belief system of these Germanic/Northern Gods spanned thousands of years, never had a central authority or structure, was never put into writing (until Christians wrote it down), and varied from village to village, person to person, and even year to year. There was no pope, no dogma, no codified belief system. It was different for each person, in many ways. Even more so that centralized religions. So, there is not just one way of looking at any of it.

A heathen lives this life...because it is his/hers to live, and leaves whatever may come in the next life to the gods. We've heard of Odin's Vahalla for the warriors after death, and Bilskirnir was Thor's feasting hall for the workers and thralls after their death. And Frigga had a palace for married lovers that had be especially dedicated to each other, so that they could live together forever. But many of these myths came later...and were not the central purpose of the religion. You did not live or make choices in life based on a particular afterlife you were working toward. I'll write more about this sometime. It sort of complex, and because if was not a main focus of the religion, it tended to vary region to region and over the years.

So the religion focused on living your life with honor, with strength, and with independence, dependent on no one. Even the gods. You respected and honored your Folk and your ancestors. And you lived your life in a way that you would be honored and respected as an ancestor. Theirs was a culture of oral communication, and to be remembered and live forever, you had to live a life that people would remember and tell stories about. This sort of afterlife was much more the focus than a supernatural one.

If you took an oath, you kept it. If offered hospitality, it was a great insult not to accept it. And when you were in a position to offer hospitality, you offered it. I'm learning that hospitality was a very big deal. Feasting and toasting were both a big deal. Your family, your kin, and your village were very important.

So, a heathen's purpose in life was to live their life well. Work hard, fight hard, be direct and honest, eat well, drink well, keep your oaths, and take care of guests...and by doing these things you would live an independent honorable life that was full and worth remembering. And in a culture with very little written word, being remembered and continuing your family were your only guarantees of any sort of immortality.

Mark Stinson
Temple of
Our Heathen Gods

So some one stole the Mainasha drawing I have up on this blog and used it to make these horrible animated gifs on some weird web site that makes gif codes for myspace. Can you believe it. They put there name all over it like they created it. so I had to contact the website administrator and have it taken down. the site was called 123code. or something like that.

I have been making lots of art cards. Like the ones dave use to sell at conventions. I am trying make 100 of them so I can sell them and raise so money for a new apartment.

I dropped out of the Kubert school. As it turns out I really hated 2nd year so after this year I am not returning. on the upside I got a job in NYC working at a place called MADA Design. I get to draw some really cool stuff too!

Also got a table at otakon and did really well. it was alot of fun.

Anyway here is some of the art cards I did if anyone wants to see.