Danica Swanson

@danicaswanson

322 Following

5047 Followers

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Time for a re-intro. I'm a GenX writer, eldergoth, senior editor, and music journalist. I've lived solo in a studio in Portland, OR for 16 years. I was born in NW Illinois but grew up in Honolulu, Hawai'i. I'm long-divorced, feminist, queer-identified, and have no kids or pets. My life pretty much revolves around reading, writing, learning, music, home decorating, and religion. I'm basically a monastic without a monastery. The majority of my interests probably qualify as niche. Here are some interests I’ve rarely casted about, but would gladly do so more often in the right contexts + cozy corners. - gift economy and culture - dark ambient music - "shop talk" for professional editors - cottages and tiny homes - goth home decor - darkness retreats/meditation - car-free living - dance (especially bellydance) - subterranea (basements, caves, etc.) - right-to-die movements - my Swedish + German ancestry and family history - monasticism in modern polytheistic religion - philosophy of work and leisure

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Who else was a fan of Icehouse in the '80s? Their later releases got more attention. But "We Can Get Together" is the track I keep returning to most often all these years later. Still love it as much as I did back then. I recall searching record stores for a 45 RPM record of this song, but couldn't find it anywhere. Just had to hope I'd see it show up on MTV... lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjW9drEedRI

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"Content is having to say something. Art is having something to say." Brilliant. 💜

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Slowcore Quote of the Day (a bit of history): "Slow living is part of the wider slow movement which began in the 1980s in Italy. Faced with the opening of a McDonald’s in the heart of Rome, Carlo Petrini and a group of activists formed Slow Food, a movement that defends regional food traditions. [...] "Carl Honoré, one of the most well-known authors and speakers on the slow movement, helped bring the concept of slow living into the mainstream in 2004 with the publication of his book In Praise of Slowness. Honoré explores how Slow Food sparked a broader slow living movement with ‘slow’ now being applied to other areas of life which have experienced huge acceleration, including work, parenting and leisure." ~ Beth Crane, "What is Slow Living?" https://slowlivingldn.com/what-is-slow-living/ (See the bottom of this page for a list of resources on slow living - podcasts, books, TED talks, etc.)

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Well said. It's a kindness to let people know they're seen and appreciated, as long as the compliments are sincere and you're mindful of how they're received. Also important to remember that most people can tell the difference between genuine appreciation and idle flattery or manipulative social climbing.

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Portlanders: would y'all be up for an inaugural /farcasterfridays IRL meetup? Dec. 6 is the next first Friday date. How 'bout the new Memento Mori goth cafe on NW 24th? It's open 8 AM to 3 PM. I've been meaning to try it soon anyway, so I'll plan to go that day and cast a mini-review of the place even if no one else can make it.

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Farcaster’s own Alex Roth, aka @supersigil, is releasing his new album Spectres this week “in dark corners of the internet” including Bandcamp and Sound. Here's "Tree of Life," one of my favorite dark ambient tracks from the album. Love the Jungian themes.💜 🎧 🎶 https://alexrothmusic.bandcamp.com/track/tree-of-life

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Is there a FC channel or group chat for cannabis nerds that focuses on health and therapeutic uses? I frequently use cannabis topicals, tinctures, etc., and read deep-dives on cannabinoids and terpenes in relation to various health issues. But I don't smoke weed at all. (I did smoke back in my university days tho). Picked up this CBGA tincture at the farmers' market yesterday. @thecurioushermit - this might be your wheelhouse?

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Today marks the first day since returning from my travels that my mind was spilling over with words upon waking up — to the extent that I grabbed pen and paper so I could write before even getting out of bed. That didn’t happen at all while I was in Honolulu. Missed it greatly. It helps a lot that: 1) I’m back to my yoga + Pilates morning routine; 2) I have extended solitude free of interruptions; and 3) I can sleep in a cool, quiet, ultra-dark room. In Honolulu I didn't have any of the above. I had to sleep in a warm room that let in a lot of light/noise. Even with A/C + eye mask + earplugs, I didn't sleep well. And I was under a lot of stress, too. So I was exhausted every day. In relation to FC, my exhaustion typically shows up as “I want to cast about (thing) or respond to a thread, but I can’t think clearly enough to sort out my thoughts on it.” So this “mind bursting with words” thing is a really good sign. Excited to finally return to my normal writing + casting rhythms.

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"...creators are going to be at the center of the onchain community economy and they are going to earn 10x more than ever before." Speaking my language there. I've been out of the loop for the past few weeks, but I'm starting to catch up now. Setting aside more time this weekend to get up to speed on Moxie news.

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Love love LOVE the new "following" feed. I'll probably also check the "home" feed sometimes, but "following" will be my go-to from now on.

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Anyone happen to have a Portland-based real estate appraiser to recommend? I can search for one online of course, but thought it was worth asking here for personal recs too. Feel free to DC me.

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I've been quiet lately as I dealt with a death in the family, a funeral, and related duties for the past month. Thanks to @trishd for "holding down the fort" for the BSS channel. Now that I'm back to my daily routine, I'll be casting more in the channel and returning to our publishing queue. A bit late, but Trish has inspired me to share an old photo of my own ancestor shrine from 2012. I like the similarity of the skull candles in the lower left corners of our photos!

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We can pin casts to our personal profiles now...?!? I missed the announcement of that change. I've been wanting pinned casts for ages. Thank you Warpcast!

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On the off chance that someone reading this doesn't know about the wonders of Tiger Balm, here's your nudge to try it. Recently I suffered a lower back injury (my first, and hopefully my last) that left me in pretty severe pain. I tried a bunch of things to ease the pain while the injury healed, but Tiger Balm was the only thing that really helped. After using it every day for about a week plus returning to my yoga and Pilates routine, I'm pain-free once again. 💜

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Finally I've unpacked everything from my travels. This is the first day of being back to my familiar daily routines. It is glorious. As predicted, I missed my AeroPilates machine greatly while traveling. What a relief to have daily access to it again. I feel better already. Pilates, yoga, and dance are the only forms of exercise I truly love. I still have a lot of FC and Moxie news to catch up on. But now that I have access to my support infrastructure again, I have more time and space to think, so I can devote more attention to it. Excited to get back to writing, editing, and publishing!

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Love the autumn views from the southeast window of my studio. 💜

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Spent the last 36 hours on a spur-of-the-moment road trip/overnighter holiday to Eugene, OR with my good friend @popegrutch. Had an absolute blast. Enjoyed the beautiful cloudy cool days, fresh air, lunch at The Glenwood, dinner at Track Town Pizza, leisurely walks around the city, and '60s hippie tunes on his car radio. (Current earworm: "The Trip" by Donovan). Of course it helps that I have many fond memories of that city, especially from the "old days" when I lived in Riley Hall at the University of Oregon (early 1990s). That's when I first came out as queer, got into the goth scene, discovered Paganism, and did an awful lot of tripping on LSD (lol). Great to revisit my old stomping grounds. Even managed to get a couple of snapshots. (I'm not much of a photog, as you may have guessed). Probably the most fun I've had with a friend in years. After a month of funeral stress and family duties, the trip was like balm for a weary soul. Also, I kind of want to move back to Eugene someday? I think. Maybe?

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Me: Great to be back in Portland! I think I'll stay put for awhile. Also me: Oh, @popegrutch is making a short trip south to Eugene tomorrow? Of course I'll join in! (I love Eugene. Went to school there a long time ago, and lived there for many years. Haven't been back there in ages...)

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I was so exhausted when my flight arrived at PDX last night that I forgot to cast my "goth shoe selfie"... lol. But I did remember to take it. Great to be back home after a month away! Love the grey skies and autumn leaves.

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