Larissa Castagno

I promised people I would update everyone with my newsletter and I am wildly overdue. Maybe this week.

HAPPENING NOW: In federal court in MN, DOJ is struggling to articulate why a person following an ICE vehicle — so long as they are obeying traffic laws — can be stopped for "reasonable suspicion" of a crime.

Judge Menendez sharply questioning that contention.

A reminder if a woman called the cops or tried to file a report because a man was following her from a safe distance, the cops would tell her no crime had been committed & there's nothing they could do. It's a free country, yadda yadda.

But precious ICE babies armed for WW3? Well that's different.

Recently scored this lamp and thingy I’m gonna use as a simmer pot at the thrift store in Barre.

#hygge

Solidarity. You got this.

Grateful for writers and creators like #FrancinaSimone who have got me thinking a lot about words and the power they carry. I highly recommend her tiktok and courses on Patreon over at “The Midnight Scholar Society.”

I’ve decided to do this to honor my matrilineal ancestors and the women who helped raise me, including my grandmother who I lost a few years ago.

I’m rebranding my blog from “The Screechy Herald” to “Muse of Hermes.” I have been feeling rather stuck and I think that a big part of it has been the fact that words are spells and I don’t want to be ‘screechy.’

I’m also retiring my pseudonym “Raven” and going by my name: Larissa Castagno.

Trying to level up on a personal level while shedding old toxic habits will bring all the demons to the front.

Night Driving Editor’s Note:

Stephen runs a fabulous Vermont based, online writing group I have had the pleasure of attending off and on the last few months. At a recent sprint, I wrote an essay and some haikus about tiktok. They are posted here if you’d like to read them.

This is such a great reminder. Recently I cooked some cabbage and eggs while dancing to music in the kitchen, and I realized that flow state was the goal of being. Even if fleeting for a moment.

I don’t need facebook, because the co-star app gives me enough passive aggressive notifications, thanks.

Been stuck in a vortex of “what’s the point.” But meaningful purpose is around the corner. I can feel it.

Name this movie. One of my new faves. 👀

The moon is a wowsers tonight.

Something about these guys on the ceiling at the Bread and Puppet farm, it was quite an immersive haunting experience.

I do appreciate the vibe here on bluesky. Threads is full of people who are mad all the time.

It’s easier to call someone “performative” than it is to take an unpopular and visible stand.

We had an unintended litter of rabbits. (Seven!) And I was told recently this color pattern is known as “brindled”? Etymologically it might mean “marked by fire” or “burning.” Anyways, super cute, amiright?

Summer morning at Lake Memphremagog. The calm water reflects the sky. Mountains sit past the lake in the distance and a sail boat floats in the foreground.

Good morning.

I loved doing story time at MemSEC’s new Science and Education Center in Newport, Vermont! It’a an amazing place and I am grateful to be a volunteer here.

I gave a presentation earlier this year which neatly encapsulates some of the absolutely key issues around libraries and the frankly very complicated social media landscape. 📚

It was filmed, and here’s the first three minutes of the talk.

🧵 >>>

Yes. Also, as a neurospicy person, it helps me to get in my body, sing, and dance with other humans who haven’t been beaten down by society to be fake and superficial. 😂

Amazing 😆

I’ll be doing my first family story time in YEARS. So excited. Dusting off my penguin puppet and practicing my ukulele this week. I have missed this. 🎶 💃🏻

As someone with social anxiety, my life got so much easier when I started taking people at their word. If I feel a vibe shift, ask “what’s wrong,” and am told everything is fine, it’s now my prerogative to not inquire further. Or think about it. It’s up to the other person to communicate.

Why do people still use X?

Selfie of Raven holding her new library card

Picture of feet standing on either side of the US and Canadian border which runs through the building

Haskell Free Library & Opera House

I love my local library! It has the US and Canadian border running right through it. Got a card there yesterday to engage in some liminal magic.

It’s the summer solstice today. Trying to understand where I am headed. But feeling more and more like I am not going anywhere. At least for now.

Possibly! Found at an estate sale. They are vintage.