I’ve spoken before about how we didn’t have cable TV when I was a kid, which meant that I didn’t regularly catch many cartoons. Instead, I watched a lot of PBS programming… like Mr. Rogers, Bob Ross, and Antiques Roadshow.
What we did have were a bunch of VHS tapes. And I watched them so frequently, I think I literally wore out a few of them. There was Fievel Goes West, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and The Fox and the Hound, and so many others… but chief among them was Aladdin.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I watched that movie. I didn’t just know the songs, I knew every single word from start to finish. I’d say I put it on repeat, but that is kind of a misnomer, isn’t it? With VHS tapes, you had to stop and rewind before you could watch it again.
Such a great movie demanded some memorable merchandise.
At some point, I acquired the Aladdin handheld video game, manufactured by Tiger Electronics.
Anyone else remember these things? Looking back, they were terrible, and yet they still used to keep me entertained for hours.
And who could forget the classic SNES game?
You start out throwing apples at palace guards in the market. Easy enough, sure, but eventually… you have to fly through the Cave of Wonders while it’s all crashing down. I honestly can’t remember if I ever beat it or not.
Anyway, that was a fun trip down memory lane. If anyone still has a Super Nintendo they’d like to loan me, I think I’m overdue for another playthrough.
Good morning and happy Monday, friends!
Some big news this week… I’ve got a new song coming out on Friday!
You can’t watch it until Friday at 7:00PM, but here’s the “upcoming” page on YouTube where you can get notified as soon as it’s released.
I’m really excited to also share that you can catch me at Phoenix Festival in Apopka, FL next year in March. I’ll be playing a concert and presenting a workshop.
Last week, I wrote an article about casting circle. After a couple more articles, I’ll have a complete series on the basic elements of Wiccan ritual. Hopefully someone will find that useful!
We decorated the tree as a family and I put up our Christmas lights outside.
Those are a couple of my favorite ornaments. I think we’ve got a good balance of nerdiness and witchiness going on, right?
On Saturday, we had a misa at our house. It was amazing. Here’s a picture of our boveda…
Since it’s the season for sniffles, I also made some elderberry syrup. I think I’ll make a video soon on how to prepare it because it’s such a great home remedy, plus… making your own is way cheaper than buying it.
And on Sunday, we went to see Wicked. I had very high expectations. I’d never gotten around to seeing the live version, but always heard such great things! I’ll be completely honest with you, though. The first half of the 3 hour experience was a little meh (I fell asleep for about 20 minutes), but I definitely enjoyed the second half.
Later this week, I’ll be finishing up the edits to DuQuette’s interview and posting it as the next episode of M3. Really looking forward to sharing that with everyone.
That’s all for now! Stay tuned for more!
Aerik Arkadian 
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