A few years back, after receiving several requests for more information on topics covered in the blog, I made a lengthy list of over 50 books to indulge our olfactive bookworms. In retrospect, that list was a bit daunting. At first, I was planning to just do an updated tighter edit of that list but instead,…
Category: Books
A Holiday Gift Guide For Difficult People
Let’s face it, I’m difficult, you’re difficult, Aunt Kathy is difficult, everyone is a pain in the ass to buy for. No matter what you celebrate this time of year, you may find yourself with a difficult person on your list. It’s not that they are rude or mean about your gift, its just…
The Great Stink of London
What happens when a city of 3 million inhabitants has a sewer system that serves 1 million? The Great Stink! But can stench alone kill?
Santa’s Creepy Friends: A Gift Guide
While I appreciate the decorations and lights of this time of year, there is something I find very daunting about the holidays. All this cheer, all the merriment, the world becomes a Disneyland ride, and it is all a bit…well, boring. As David Sedaris put it: While eight flying reindeer are a hard pill to…
Ephemera Guide: Grimm & Glorious
Hello my darlings, I’m so sorry I’ve had another unintentional summer hiatus from the blog. I’ve been writing my dissertation which is like slowly slashing my heart with a thousand papercuts. But the end is in sight, and I finally have a few minutes to catch up. Keep your eyes peeled for a new article…
The Death/Scent Reading List
Over the last year I have had several requests for more information and deeper reads on subjects brought up on the blog. So after banging around my shelves a bit, here is the Death/Scent reading list. Some of them are staples of both olfactive and death literature, others are weird and wonderful deep cuts. This…
Ephemera Guide: Valentines For Dark Nerds
Every month I like to boost those products, books, and people that have been giving me life over the past few weeks. This month things have a Valentine tilt, but with that dark musky nerdy vibe that is starting to become my hallmark. So here are a few gift ideas for your immortal beloved.
Ephemera Guide: Poetry, Revolutionary Knitting, Smells & Soap
In this month’s Ephemera post I’m boosting a melange of things that have been giving me life over this dark winter from poetry to soap, so let’s get started.
The Live Girl’s Krampusnacht Gift Guide
Happy Krampusnacht everyone! It’s that special time of year when we gather round the fire and hope that we will not be carted away to the lair of a horned sasquatch with a sadistic streak and a penchant for children…oh the holidays! It’s in Krampus’ honour that we present this year’s holiday gift guide. If you survive the…
The Body as Art: The Jewelled Saint (Scent the Scene)
In this series, we examine aspects of death and bereavement through art, olfaction, and imaginative thinking. Feel free to follow along at home and leave your take on this scented death meditation below. This Week’s Muse This month we are going to be examining human remains used in artistic pieces. Some of these works serve…
Ephemera Guide: Pumpkin Spice, Perfume, Piggies, and Getting Your S@#t Together
Hello dearies, September rarely gets any love. We are so ready for Summer to end and the sweet gothy goodness of October and Halloween to begin that we treat September as a throwaway month. It has become a collection of days counting down to October 1st, when it is socially acceptable for us to put up…
The Fragrance of the Soul: Olfaction & Death in Ancient Egyptian Religion (Egypt Part III)
This post is part of an ongoing series on fragrance in Ancient Egypt. Find out more about the sacred business of Egyptian perfume-making in Part I and how mummies ended up in magic incense in Part II. As a society, we have an anosmic view of history. We don’t think about the way things smelt or…
Ephemera Guide: Witches, Britches, & Bad Bitches
The keystone of a decade and a half of my life was ballet. I was entirely devoted, and I still have the dancer’s feet to prove said devotion.Being a muscular country kid, and on the short side, I didn’t fit the lead roles occupied by the Primas. Instead, as a plucky Sujet Danseur, I played…
The Lost History of Women in Chemistry: Mariam, The First Alchemist
This post is part of D/S Women’s History Month series, click here for more women from our alchemical past. In the Indie perfume universe, the word alchemy pops up a lot. It graces the title of several popular companies. It also tends to be the word we use once words fail to describe the…
Ephemera Guide: Maidens, Princesses, and Books
Hello, dearies, the next instalment of the Lost History of Women in Science will be coming out tomorrow. See Part I here. Until then, I wanted to hold you over with some book and blog suggestions to keep you occupied in the meantime. In the spirit of this month’s theme, they are focused on science,…
The Lost History of Women in Chemistry: Tapputi, The First Perfumer
This post is part of D/S Women’s History Month series, click here for more women from our alchemical past. On the day I’m sitting down to write this post, it is International Women’s Day, and all of March is Women’s History Month in the US, so I thought it would be a splendid time to…
Farewell Eco
On February 19th, the world lost a brilliant mind and soul, perhaps the last true Renaissance man. Umberto Eco has been like a literary godfather to me over the years. It was The Name of the Rose that made me learn Latin in grade school. His work on semiotics opened me to a new way…
Recommended Reading: Heavenly Bodies
If you are in the market for a coffee table book that will certainly get people talking, I can not recommend enough Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs by Paul Koudounaris. This photo-heavy book explores the surviving examples of Catacomb Saints. What’s a Catacomb Saint you say?