The Pond: April 30, 2021
Kitschy Christian conversion cartoons, the Techno Tarot, nearly naked yoga, humongous animal deities, and more!
JUMP IN. IT’S THE WEEKEND. Here are this week’s five reflections.
1. Crazy Christian tracts on Twitter
WHEN I WAS A KID I was obsessed with Chick religious tracts. You’ve probably seen them lying about, intentionally ‘forgotten’ at the laundromat by a concerned Fundie who wants to save you from the perils of astrology, premarital sex, and watching too many Real Housewives of Hoboken re-runs. I liked the tiny rectangular publications for their kitschy cartoons. And I ended up collecting a massive selection that I eventually tried to donate to Goodwill (who declined) when I moved from Hawai’i. No-Context Chick Tracts on Twitter brings you the best of the looniness without the actual mental illness.
2. Techno Tarot
THERE IS SOMETHING delightful about 8-bit computer art. I was never a fan of video games, but I appreciate the challenge of having to create something memorable from limited media. Kara Stone dreamed up the Techno Tarot several years ago. Her take on the classic Waite-Smith deck is both whimsical and accurate. Before displaying your reading the opening alert instructs you to: “Place your thumbs on the screen and attune to technology.” And isn’t that what we do every day on our phones and keyboards without thinking about our future?
3. Saving your ass (and core)
SITTING THROUGHOUT THE “YEAR OF COVID” did a number on my lumbar. This video prescription from yoga instructor Aston King inspired me in countless ways. Occasionally I remembered to do the exercises.
4. Massive wild animals wandering Russian streets
FINALLY SOMETHING STRANGE from Russia that doesn’t involve hacking. Vadim Solovyov has created these surreal composites that he posts regularly on his Instagram. A quote I admire from Zeena Schreck:
“Since the so-called Age of Enlightenment, our shaky anthropocentric, rationalist egos have been brainwashed to forget what ‘primitive’ cultures once understood: Animals can be manifestations of celestial beings in disguise; they possess supernatural abilities, and they can be our spiritual guides and healers.”
5. Happy Birthday bulls everywhere!
HERE’S YOUR READING, TAURUS, from May’s Horoscopes for Moderns which debuts tomorrow for all signs. Paid subscribers can look forward to May’s horoscopes arriving in their inbox first thing in the morning. And everyone else can take advantage of this weekend discount and save 10% on a paid subscription to WOODRUFF (and receive their horoscope too.)
Love,
“FREDERICK WOODRUFF is like a four-dimensional eyeball capable of not just understanding and interpreting bodies in space, but translating their movements into the entire socio-political, psychological zeitgeist.” —Cintra Wilson, author of Fear and Clothing, Unbuckling American Style