Original Publication Information:
Suedomsa the Magazine December 1997 Volume One,
Issue Two
Introduction by Andy Marx
Animal Rights
The ultimate human achievement is comfort. Usually acquired by having
money, comfort is a television in your bedroom. Comfort is a two bed, two
bath apartment. Comfort is a leather jacket with the Batman insignia
embedded in the back. Comfort is a college education, 18 pairs of shoes,
and Scream sequels.
What comfort is not is watching other people suffer. Comfort is not when
your cat is run over by your neighbor (although comfort is suing your
neighbor for emotional damage to your psyche and the damages pay for your
new computer keyboard with all the letters A through Z).
It's hard to condemn anyone else when I grew up with the same value system
that insists we make ourselves as comfortable as possible (after all, no
one likes to shit in an outhouse). We all have the right to better our
situations, I do believe, but I was also given great training by my
parents and my community on how I can better myself. I have ther
preparation so I don't have to live homeless, or without an education or
without a job.
What do we do with all the pople who lack the training and preparation?
Ostensibly, the answer is education. But a wise teacher told me that
education is not medicine for everything. If we don't educate them, are
there other alternatives? Plus, what kind of education is really called
for here? Job training? College degree?
I believe in the right to be as comfortable as I can make myself. But
there's a part of me that wishes I could take the rest of the world up in
comfort with me. It's not realistic, but it maybe possible.
Making Candles in a Small Jiffy by Dara Shifrer
The three main wax sources are craft stores, grocery stores, or ugly old
candles. You may think crayons are a good idea, but they are toxic and
they stink. Craft stores also carry wax dye, wax scent, and little rolls
of wick string, if you're the advanced sort.
Containers are your wonders to spawn. Don't use plastic or styrofoam or
any such thing. The mouth of the container should be wide enough for airy
burning, but not so wide that three wicks are the only answer.
An empty coffee tin is placed within a big silver pot which is half-full
of boiling water. The hard wax is placed within the coffee tin. This is
all done in a double-boiler fashion. Your pores will enjoy the steam
too.
As your wax melts and you occasionally check and maybe stir it, as your
whim moves you, you can prepare your container(s). The homiest way is to
stick a toothpick or a wooden skewer (depending on your container's mouth
width) through the wick maybe an inch down on the length of the wick. The
wick length hanging should rest a little on the container bottom when the
toothpick rests on the edges of the container mouth. Slip the bottommost
length of your wick through a paper clip and be sure it's the right length
and paper clip weight so that it hangs fairly straight down the center of
the candle.
Now when your wax is melted, you are ready for the pouring. Don't coat
the top tip of your wick, but feel free to pour in the fashion you feel is
safest and cleanest.
Let the candles sit for a good while without disturbance until you see a
well develop in the top center of the candles. Refill the wells with
melted wax. You can do this as many times as your analness pushes you.
The next day you should feel free to remove the stick you used and to play
with your new personal candle.
As you have gone through a few of these sessions, you'll doubtlessly feel
the urge to branch out to molds, library book suggestions, and your own
creative genius. This is encouraged at large by the candle-making
world.
