Deck Review: Golden Art Nouveau Tarot (mini edition)

Lunaea Weatherstone (text) and Giulia F. Massaglia (art), Golden Art Nouveau Tarot (mini edition). Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2021. ISBN: 9780738769752. (Link to publisher)

Genre: Tarot decks

Subgenre: Rider Waite Smith, Art Nouveau

Format: Small 78-card deck with little white book in small hard box

Source: I own this one.  

 

Justice-XI card 

I first used this deck in April 2025. This small kit includes the 78-card deck and a little white book (LWB). The LWB is a typical Lo Scarabeo text in multiple languages. Languages featured are English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Russian. The LWB has 32 pages. We get 7 pages of English content. 

The LWB is very basic. You get a long paragraph describing what Art Nouveau is and how it works applied to Tarot. It then offers a suggested 3-card spread as a way to use the cards. Finally, we get the card meanings, which are just a few keywords per card. It is as minimalist as it can get. Can you do without the LWB? Yea, pretty much, but I always read through it anyhow. 

The cards are a straightforward Rider Waite Smith (RWS) clone. This is a reason you can do without the LWB if you wish. If you know RWS, you can use this deck just fine. If you are an intuitive and can do RWS, you can use this deck. 

The art is colorful and bright. Gold color is predominant, but it is not the bright gold you get in the standard size edition. That aside, the Art Nouveau style is beautiful, expressive, and elegant. The deck is basic in the sense it is an RWS deck, but it feels a bit fancy due to the Art Nouveau style. 

I find the cards very easy to read. They work well for individual readings as well as public readings. The small size and hard box make this deck a good choice for travel. Put it in a bag, toss it in your book bag, and you're good to go. 

The cards measure about 3 1/4 inches by 2 inches. The art has a white border. The art back design is not reversible. The cards have a soft glossy finish, and they shuffle easily. If you want a very traditional deck, this is a good option. It can also be a good option for beginners, but get them also a good Tarot learning book. I'd recommend the deck. I may even consider getting the standard size edition, but overall I am happy with this one. I really like it. 

4 out of 5 stars.  

 

Media Notes: Roundup for June 2025

 

  

 

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during June 2025.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com or other online source. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise). In addition, I will try to add other trivia notes, such as when a film is based on a book adding the information about the book (at least the WorldCat record if available).

• Goebbels and the Fuhrer (2024. Drama. Biography. History. War. German film, a.k.a. Führer und Verführer). Plot description: "Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is in charge of building public support for the Holocaust and for the war that Hitler is about to start." The film takes us from "from the "'Anschluss' of Austria in March 1938 to the murder and suicide in the Führerbunker in May 1945." The film offers an opening statement text about how it will show the orchestrations Goebbels did to shape the image of Hitler and the Nazis, from the perspective of the perpetrators. It goes on to state: "For only if we take an up-close look at the biggest villains of history can we strip the masks from their faces and thus disarm the demagogues of the present." Lest we forget, and we can only hope that in time we can disarm those demagogues and evil figures of today. Film opening also notes the dialogues are based on research and uses a good number of direct quotes. Film is in German, with English subtitles. The film then opens with scenes from 1945 and the last days leading to Goebbels and family joining Hitler in the bunker. From there, we get opening credits and start properly in 1938 to get the story from the beginning. Overall, it is a compelling film with some powerful moments. Don't go in expecting a big war action film. This is more a behind the scenes look at the Nazi war machine and its propaganda minister and how he was able to shape the narrative for the regime until it eventually falls apart. The film does look very good, good cinematography. Some critics argue the portrayal of Hitler may be a bit too nice, but I see that as it is from the view of Goebbels, who did idolize the Fuhrer. So it makes sense for the film. Not always an easy watch but a necessary one. If the history is of interest this is a film to watch. I am willing to give it the full 5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 6/7. 
• An interesting detail to me is that the film blends in historical footage with the plot of the film. It adds authenticity, but they also did a good job editing it to seem pretty seamless (other than the historical footage is black and white). 
• Often, the Goebbels family is seen and portrayed as the very loyal, ideal Nazi family from their Aryan image to beautiful children. In this film, it does a good job of showing how things really were inside the family from tensions between the spouses, to cheating on each other, to Hitler having to intervene to keep them together for the sake of keeping their image as "the poster" Nazi family. Franziska Weisz, the actress who portrays Magda, his wife, does a very good performance here. 
• Meanwhile, we also see some of the various schemes and machinations that Hitler's subordinates had against each other all to jockey for position with Hitler.  
• The film, naturally, shows Goebbels talent for propaganda, even showing some of the tricks of the trade that enabled the rise of the Nazis and convinced so many Germans to go along with the regime. To be honest, some of those techniques resonate even in some of the Western press today. 
• A small detail I did not know is Goebbels kept a diary, which they show him writing in the film. There are some published editions in English.  
• Needless to say, the movie does have some strong content, including some very graphic descriptions and depictions of how the Nazis exterminated Jews and other peoples. As the filmmaker stated in the opening, this is necessary to see in order to learn and never forget. 
• Death Wish 3 (1985. Action. Crime. Drama). Plot description: "Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods."  Charles Bronson returns for the third installment of the series doing what he does so well: killing and blowing punks who are abusing the neighborhood. It's a Cannon Group film, so that gives you an idea what we are getting. For starters, as usual, the cop are not just corrupt but mostly incompetent. The film does start a bit slow as Kersey (Bronson) gets to the neighborhood, settles into his old friend's apartment, and starts learning the situation. Meanwhile, the gang keeps terrorizing the area. The pace really gets moving about halfway through the movie. Also, like in previous films, once the bad guys kill his love interest, a young woman lawyer, you know the bad guys will not be around for much longer. Once Kersey starts to really clean house, the action and violence we are there to see picks up and keeps going to the end. Also, the ending leaves an opening for another sequel. It has some cheesy moments, and some one liners that entertain. By now Kersey's character is transforming from a man out for revenge to a full vigilante. I'd say a 3 out of 5 stars, in part for the slow pacing in the first act of the film. By the way, this is a film you watch without thinking too much about certain details, such as certain package deliveries Kersey gets by mail that you could definitely not get today. If you don't worry about such details, you will be good to enjoy the over the top action and violence. By the way, this film was released in the 80s, but it maintains very much a 70s exploitation vibe and aesthetic. Watched 6/8. Via TubiTv. 
• Film is also listed in the Grindhouse Cinema Database.  
• In actors you've seen elsewhere, Alex Winter, known for the Bill and Ted films, has a small role as one of the punks.  
• I watched and reviewed the original Death Wish back in April 2020 and Death Wish 2 in May 2020. 
• Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987. Drama. Action. Crime). Plot description: "Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey takes on the members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend's daughter dies from an overdose." It's the 80s, a time when illegal drugs were rampant and in pop culture, so it is natural Paul Kersey is back to clean up the town again and crack down on those evil drug dealers (and they are evil).  The man cannot catch a break. He wants to settle down, he is in Los Angeles again, new girlfriend, who has a daughter, but soon crime hurts him and his family making him once more become the vigilante doing what the cops consistently fail to do. It is a Cannon Group film, so again, you have an idea what is coming. This time, Kersey has a little help, from a wealthy newspaper owner who also lost a daughter to cocaine, and he is eager to hire Kersey to help him extract his revenge and take out the dealers by giving Kersey information on the criminal organizations, which he then uses to an advantage. Unlike previous films, where the crime was random and somewhat vague, the cocaine scourge is the key evil in this film. The movie overall is better than the previous one with a bit more intrigue and suspense, plus Kersey finds some creative ways to kill off the bad guys. And just when you think the movie will be over, we get a sudden twist revealing Kersey's benefactor is not who he appears to be. Kersey will need some guile and guts to get out of the jam and take down all the bad guys. Kersey is not messing around now. Anyhow, the film is entertaining; it does move along at a good pace, and it adds a bit of suspense and tension along with the violence you already expect. I'd say 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched 6/8. Via TubiTv.  
• In actors you've seen elsewhere. Danny Trejo has a small role as one of the evil henchmen.  Also in a small role that if you blink you miss it initially, Tim Russ, who played Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager, plays a small time drug dealer in the arcade scene and later in other small parts of the film. In addition, Mitch Pileggi, from The X-Files where he was one of the FBI bosses to Mulder and Scully, has a small role as cannery lab foreman. 
• Death Wish 5: the Face of Death (1994. Action. Drama. Crime). Plot description: "Paul Kersey is back at working vigilante justice when his fiancée, Olivia, has her business threatened by mobsters." Once more Paul Kersey, portrayed by Charles Bronson, tries to just settle down with a nice woman, and crime messes things up. This is pretty much the established formula of the series. Bronson now goes one more round to take out the bad guys in the final installment of the original film series, which is now entering the 1990s. The pace starts picking up around 40 minutes in as we get to see the mobsters doing mobster things while the law pretty much has nothing on them. Once the Mob really hurts Kersey, you know the mobsters are on limited time on this Earth. Once Kersey gets started, we get a creative kill or two along the way. You'd think by now criminals would learn not to mess with the vigilante. If anything, Kersey has had plenty of time to hone his craft. Still, the overall pace in this one is a bit on the slow side. There are some moments the plot drags a little. Not that Kersey is slowing down in his old age, but apparently the writers are. The main action pretty much comes in the last 15 minutes or so as the inevitable confrontation comes. Overall, not a terrible way to close out the series, but not that good either. By now, it feels like they are toning down the violence that was a trademark of the series. In the end, we still root for Bronson to take out the bad guys. 2.5 out of 5 stars. Via TubiTv. Watched 6/14.  
• House on Haunted Hill (1999. Horror. Thriller). This is a rewatch. I first reviewed this back in April 2021.  Watched on TubiTv on 6/14. 

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes:

• In the Heat of the Night (1988-1995. Police procedural. Crime. Drama). Plot description: "television series loosely based on the 1965 novel and the 1967 film. The TV series starred Carroll O'Connor as police chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as police detective Virgil Tibbs." Tubi got the series in last month, all 7 seasons, I figured I'd take a chance and watch it a bit at a time starting this month. Turns out I just kept binging along as I am in the middle of Season 6 as I wrap up the month. I will likely finish it in July. 
• In Season 1, Episode 3, in actors you may have seen elsewhere. A younger Gail O'Grady plays, wait for it, a mistress. Some folks may remember her better from her time in NYPD Blue where she was the administrative assistant in the detectives' room as well as, for a time, Det. Medavoy's mistress. She looked good then, but I think once she filled up a little she looks better in the later series. 
• In Season 1, Episode 7, again, actors seen elsewhere. Ted Lange, who played Isaac the bartender on The Love Boat portrays a charming polygamist. It is all amusing chaos until he is found poisoned in his jail cell. The six wives all brought him food at various points. 
• In  Season 1, Episode 8, Mariska Hargitay, known these days for Law and Order: SVU, plays the criminal girlfriend of an escaped convict. 
• In Season 2, Episode 1, Iman, model and actress, plays bar owner and mysterious woman Marie Babineaux. 
• Season 2, Episode 11, "A Trip Upstate," Gillespie has to confront his feelings about the death penalty when a man he helped to put away who committed murder and a bank robbery is about to finally be put to death, but before the execution, he asks to see the chief one last time. It is a simple yet moving episode. By the way, in actors you've seen elsewhere, Paul Benjamin, who among other roles played Whispers in Hoodlum, portrays the condemned man George Brownlow. 
• Once more, actors you've seen elsewhere. In Season 2, Episode 17, "Walkout," we get O.J. Simpson as City Councilman Stiles, who gets murdered. 
• Season 2, Episode 19, "Fifteen Forever," has to be one of the most moving and powerful in the series. After the local school wins a basketball tournament, everyone is festive, until a drunk driver kills a group of school kids and leaves the town suffering. One detail that amazed me was at the time of the episode there was no open container law, so Sgt. Bubba could not stop the one kid drinking beers in his car because having an open container was not against the law (at the time). By the way, the actress portraying the grieving mother with the daughter who ended up in a coma puts in one hell of a performance, very powerful. Also the revelation of who the drunk driver turned out to be was quite the twist, for me at least. 
• In Season 3, Episode 13, "Hello in there," a bank customer makes a reference to their sister having access to one of the new (at the time) ATM machines and warns the teller she is talking to, half serious, he may be out of a job soon. Prophetic words. 
• In actors you've seen before, Season 5, Episode 4, "Liar's Poker," John Saxon guest stars as Dalton Sykes, one of a group of high stakes poker players when the host gets murdered. 
• In actors you've seen before, in Season 5, Episode 10, "An Eye for An Eye," Claude Akins portrays kidnapper Benjamin Sloan. You may remember Akins from various films; I tend to remember him as Sheriff Lobo from BJ and the Bear and later The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo.
• In Season 6, Episode 3, "Brother's Keeper," in actors from elsewhere, Meschach Taylor, often known for Designing Women, plays Officer Luann's ne'er do well brother. Also in the episode we see a fortune teller doing a reading for a man; she is using playing cards to do the reading. 
• In Season 6, Episode 9, "When the music stopped," actors from elsewhere,  Robert Goulet guest stars as an aging country singer that Bubba idolizes.  
  

 

Short Book Review: Prospero Burns

Dan Abnett, Prospero Burns: the wolves unleashed. Nottingham, UK: Black Library, 2014. 

Genre: science fiction

Series: Horus Heresy, Vol. 15

Format: e-book

Source: I own this one 

 

This is a short note to remember that I read this book, and it was not very good. To be honest, this is not the author's best work, and I have read some of his other books. This novel is the other point of view in the events presented in the previous novel in the series A Thousand Sons (link to my review).

In a nutshell, the Thousand Sons, the 14th Space Marines Legion, are deemed heretical by the Emperor of Mankind for their use of psykers and sorcery. They decide to retreat to their home world of Prospero and keep doing what they are doing. When Magnus the Red, their primarch, has a vision of Horus' treachery, the Emperor ignores it and declares them heretical, sending the Space Wolves Space Marines to bring them to account. The previous novel offers the perspective of events from the view of Magnus and the Thousand Sons. It is basically the tragedy of their fall to chaos. The later novel looks at those events from the view of the Space Wolves, or so we readers are led to believe. 

A big part of Prospero Burns deals with one of the Space Wolves skjalds, or storyteller, Hawser. The novel starts with some flashbacks, but it is not quite clear what exactly is happening right away, so we spend a bit of time just deciphering what is going on, and how is it significant to the larger plot. It is not until the second part of the novel we get to the main events, which is why most of us picked up the book. As if that was not enough, Hawser is not all he seems to be, there is some mental manipulation going on, and some other machinations. Usually elements of intrigue can be interesting in these novels, but here a lot of it is somewhat convoluted, a bit too complex, and not always clear. Plus the novels focuses excessively on Hawser. 

At the end of the day, it also may help readers if you read A Thousand Sons before reading this one. In theory, the two books for a duology. In practical terms, you can pretty much skip Prospero Burns and keep reading the rest of the series. I do note in my review that A Thousand Sons is not that good either, but it is at least coherent. The big fault in that novel is that nothing really happens in it. A big part of is it a few Space Marines complaining they are bored waiting for their Primarch. But that is still better than Prospero Burns. If you have to pick one novel to get this part of the larger Horus Heresy story, pick A Thousand Sons if you must. I wish I had known that before I picked Prospero Burns up, but at least I can say I got through it. As for Abnett, he has much better books in the Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000, go find those instead. 

1 out of 5 stars (barely).  

 

This book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge: 

 

 

Doing the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag for 2025

I came across this prompt over at Pages and Tea, and I decided to take a chance on it. If anything, it's a nice and easy way to see what I've been reading so far in 2025 and what I might want to read before the year ends. The questions are as provided; the answers are mine. 

 

1  Best book you’ve read so far in 2025:

This is a bit tricky for me as I have read a few very good books so far in 2025. They are books that will likely make my top lists at the end of the year. However, I am going to go ahead and pick just one at this time, and that book is White Poverty (link to my review). Reverend Barber's book stayed with me well after I read, and I still think about some of the issues it raises. 

 

 

 

2  Best sequel of 2025 so far:

This is a sort of sequel in a series. I am choosing the Iron Warriors Omnibus (link to my review). The book is a bit of a spin-off of the Ultramarines novels in Warhammer 40,000. It's about as close to a sequel as I can get to answer the question. So get ready to root for the bad guy. 

 

3  New release you haven’t read yet, but want to:

I have a lot of books on my TBR list, but I keep hearing good things about this book on social media, including positive feedback from people I hold in good regard. So I am hoping, but not sure if I will get to it soon, to read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.  I have my copy already, just need to make the time for it. 

 

 

4 Most anticipated release of the second half of 2025:

I have one or two options here, but I am choosing Chuck Tingle's forthcoming at this time Lucky Day. I read his previous book, Bury Your Gays (link to my review), and while I liked it I did not love it as so many readers have, and that is OK.  When the publisher sent me an invitation to get the ARC (advance reader copy) of Lucky Day, I figured it was a sign to take another chance. So I downloaded the ARC, and I hope to read it soon. To be honest, I will add that the premise of Lucky Day intrigues me, so I am hoping it will be a good read too. By the way, I do love the book's playing card theme cover.

 

 

5  Biggest disappointment of 2025:

Sadly there have been some book disappointments, so I had a couple of options here. This time I am going with Prospero Burns, Book 15 of the Horus Heresy series.  While I know that Horus Heresy novels can be hit or miss, this was really one of the worst books in the series. Not bad enough to stop me from reading the next one in the series; in fact, at this time I am already reading Book 16 in the series: Age of Darkness, which is a short story anthology. Still, Prospero Burns is one I will tell readers reading the series to skip if they can. 

 

 

6  Biggest surprise:

This was the biggest surprise at this point as in it surprised me how bad it was. Given how the book was described and marketed, it just surprised me how bad it was and how it did not fit the marketing. The book is Ghost Station (link to review). Based on that book's description, I went on faith and had requested an ARC for the author's following book, but I will be honest in saying that based on having read Ghost Station I may choose not to read the other one. It is not often I label a book as bad, but yea, this one earned it.  

 

 

7  Favorite new author (debut or new to you):

In this case, it is an author new to me, and it is Lama Rod Owens. I read his book Love and Rage.  

 

 

8 Newest fictional crush:

I am leaving this one blank as I have not read enough fiction this year, let alone good enough fiction, to have found a fictional crush in 2025 so far. 

 

 

9  Newest favorite character:

Also leaving this one blank. See my answer for Question 8.  

 

 

10  Book that made you cry:

There may be a book in 2025 so far that pissed me off, but none that have made me cry. 

 

11  Book that made you happy:

It's a simple little book but Be More Vader made me happy while reading it and after.  

 

 

12  Favorite book to movie adaptation of 2025 you’ve seen:

 I have not read any books so far in 2025 that are getting a movie adaptation, or read any that I am aware is getting the movie treatment.

 

13  Favorite post/review you’ve written this year:

 I have a couple of options here too, but I am choosing my review of Bad Law for this answer. 

 

 

14  Most beautiful book you bought or received this year:

I have not really read, received, or bought any "pretty" books this year so far. Part of the reason may be that the books I often read are not ones for pretty covers.  So I am going to choose a cartomancy deck for this prompt, and that is Angelarium: Oracle of Emanations (link to my review). 

 

 

 

15  Books you need to read by the end of this year:

There are a few, but these are the ones that came to mind right away: 

• The Secret History of Big Foot (am currently reading this one) 
• The Rose at War (Warhammer 40,000) 
• Tarot for the Magically Inclined. 

 

 

And there you have it. If you do the prompts, feel free to leave a comment with a link to your blog, site, etc. so I can check it out, or just leave a few words in a comment as well. Have a great day. 

 

Book Review: Appalachian Mountain Christianity

Bill Leonard, Appalachian Mountain Christianity: the spirituality of otherness. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 2024. ISBN: 9780820367248.

Genre: religion

Subgenre: Christianity, Appalachia, lectures

Format: hardcover

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College

 

This small book looks at Protestant Christian traditions in the Appalachian Region of the United States. The main focus is on Baptists and Holy Pentecostals, including Primitive and Old Regular Baptists. The book also looks at snake handling churches in the region. 

The book is a text version of a series of lectures on the topic that the author delivered at Stetson University in 2023. The book features four lectures, presented as chapters in the book. The book is arranged as follows: 

• Foreword by Mitchell G. Reddish. He introduces the main speaker (the book's author). 
• Preface.
• Chapter 1. Looking for Christians in Appalachia.
• Chapter 2: "A Hart Chearing and Affecting Surmond." 
• Chapter 3: Revisiting the "Woman's Sphere." 
• Chapter 4: Otherness on the Margins. 
• Notes. 
• Index. 

 At 96 pages, this slim volume covers a lot of terrain. The first lecture gives us an overview of the topic. We get a bit of history with a look at modern times and how modernity has affected these often small churches. Next, we get a look at their preachers and their preaching craft. It discusses some of the techniques they use to deliver sermons and move their members. This is followed by a discussion of the role of women. Women get some leeway on certain issues, but they are also severely limited.  Let's be honest; there is a strong element of misogyny, and women do need to toe the line, stay in their "sphere," or risk shunning and/or expulsion. Finally we look at Pentecostal serpent handlers and the "no hellers" Primitive Baptists. 

I read this book for a few reasons. One, it has local interest. Our campus is part of Appalachia. We are at the border but still in the region. Many of our students come from places described in the book. As much as I can, I tried to read books about Appalachia just to learn more. Two, as a happy heathen, I am still curious about religious practices and beliefs of others, so I read it to learn more about the beliefs the book presents. Three, every so often we get students writing about and researching religion in the region. I read this book ot see if it is one I can suggest to those students, and I can say I would suggest it. 

For me reading it, the book was interesting, but it was not always an easy read. These churches have some beliefs I am not down with, to put it charitably. So be warned if you are not a Christian when reading this. That aside, the author treats the topic as an academic with a bit of detachment and plenty of citations and references. Even the work of local scholar Loyal Jones is cited often. Now this is an academic text, but it is a very easy and accessible read. I found myself reading through it at a good pace.  Part of the reason I am sure is these are lectures, so the author had to keep the work accessible to a listening audience. Unlike writing articles, where academics can get seriously verbose, ou need to be clear and accessible in your material for a public lecture. 

In the end, this was a pretty good read. Despite a few not so comfortable moments, I am glad I read this as I feel I learned a few things. Author has a way of humanizing these believers, and we do get a bit of a sad note as we see their way of life may be leading to extinction as they can't keep the pace of modern progress away away nor hidden from their communities. In a way, their days of being frozen in time are numbered. Personally, I would not shed a tear, but others may. 

If you want to learn more on this topic, this is a good selection. Locally, this may be of interest for some General Studies and Religion classes. I do recommend it. 

4 out of 5 stars.