First Satya brand product on this review list
I've loved this brand as a staple, I've burned a lot of Nag Champa.
Kinda biased. But. Nice sandalwood scent, some evasive perfume notes in there.
There is kind of a botanical downturn that happens here and there.
A bit powdery, a bit sweet, definitely woody.
Three or four notes happening that complement each other.
Also enough complexity to their interactions that it's interesting.
There something in here that almost reminds me of frankincense.
Also another scent interaction that feels rare/mysterious/beautiful to me
Like a hint of "treasure" occasionally lol idk how to describe it.
Yeah really good, lightbut rich scent overall it's not too strong.
Pleasant!
HEM "Champa" Masala Incense (India)
In the past I've had a mixed experience with HEM incenses.
I liked the octagonal boxes, but there were some that have felt low quality.
This one is a really good basic one.
The stick is hand made. The scent is very easy going.
It's classic champa, while being a bit woodier than other classics like Satya Nag Champa.
My first though, especially before burning the stick, was that it's more papery smelling.
It's sweet, flowery, but very natural and dissimilar to any typical fake smells like that.
You can't go wrong with this, I'd go as far to say it's good to have on hand.
Nothing too wild going on, just a solid try at a timeless scent in a long stick.
In comparison to Tulasi's Moon incense, this scent is much preferable to me.
Pretty mellow, slight lemon top note.
The base scent is mainly all the scent.
It's woody, almost bready at times,
And that turns fluctuates in and out of a (real not fake) floral feel.
Almost like Champa flower, there is a powderiness comparable to products like Nag Champa.
In contrast to the Moon scent, it's surprising this stick is as dark as it is in color.
The scent is light in its woodyness, very much not heavy or too perfumy.
It's pleasant, slightly sweet, not overbearing or distracting.
Burns kinda fast, but iirc these aren't expensive.
At points there are some minor similarities to Moon.
If choosing between them, I recommend this, any time of day regardless of what's in the sky.
Paine's "Red Cedar" Thrift Box in Cones (From Maine)
Somewhat harsh woody smoke,
One or two notes, maybe a very subtle third..
Campfire smell that rounds off into semi-sweet cedar.
Sometimes a powder note?
Sometimes a ham note lmao
Not super complex, not an attractive smell to me, but inoffensive.
Rustic and earthy in a basic way,
But at times has a slight spice to it that turns into cedar.
It's fine from far away, but you get less of the campfire smell which is the best part imo..
Cone ember smokes less the lower it goes, cones sometimes do that, flipping them can work.
It's fine. This brand to me is very New England white older people gift shop core.
It's not bad, it's not amazing.
Though supposedly it's not much more than the wood ground and pressed,
So can't really expect much beyond that.
I'll just say off the bat, I don't like this one typically.
Really distinct and noticeable.
Technically a woody base, but frequently overpowered by top notes.
Cheap floral note sometimes,
Pine oil note sometimes, lemongrass may be a good description as well.
The color of the stick is dark in color, and the scent corresponds to this?
It's a mid/high range smell, but in a fairly dense way which is interesting.
Old timey and neutral to feminine up close, and with a slight curiousity factor that isn't good or bad.
The curiousity factor is more the further away you are, but in a not great way.
All the notes mix in a way that's hard to describe, it's somewhat a distracting smell if I'm honest.
Paine's "Balsam Fir" in Logs (From Maine)
Nostalgic smell for me so it's hard to put into words.
It starts warm, almost with a rich powder smell.
Next there's woody section that's more distinct than the first,
And it transforms into the smell of burning spices.
Not just any spices though, specifically mostly sage, with a hint of rosemary.
So there's kind of a cooking turkey thing that happens like a third of the way through.
Campfirey sometimes, but in a way that's twisted and unfamiliar because of that sage.
The smoke is between harsh and not, it pretends it's harsh though like it's presence is big.
It does smell like a fragrant tree. Makes a room smell really specific and inviting.
Like the other popular Paine's, it's rustic, and kind of a non-traditional incense smell.
Not bad, kind of one note seeming overall, pleasant enough. Better than Red Cedar imo.
✎GENDER✎
Quariwarmi - Peru
Hijra - India
Māhū - Hawaii
Two Spirit - Native American
Fa'afifine - Samoa
Fakeleiti - Tonga
Burrnesha - Albania
Galli Priests - Rome
Femminielli - Italy
Brotherboys/Sistergirls - Aboriginal Australia
Los Muxes - Zapotec
Chibados - Angola
ｔŘΔ𝓝ⓢ Autonomy< Research
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(Primarily critique of modern conservatism in current events)
This is a consolidated page preamble. I could talk about why documenting this topic in this way is important to me for too long. Writing things out in lengthy sentence form was becoming overbearing.
The broad topic of this list concerns critique of modern conservatism in current events. There is a large focus on Trump 2.0 admin. I try to link stories from a variety of sources, not all I may agree with. The purpose in linking is to note the story, not claim my linked source to be perfect or unbiased. Research the story from different angles if you'd like. I haven't read every word of every article, I try to only include things I think are important and true but I can make mistakes. Some links contain stories of greater weight than others. Check Wayback Machine if something's not loading.
The purpose of this list is to address the extreme cognitive dissonance and hypocrisy regarding modern Christianity's relationship with politics and power. I grew up in the Clinton and Bush years in the USA. I grew up hearing Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on the radio. I had Christian schooling K-12. I was taught about the teachings of Jesus. I was surrounded primarily by only conservative Christians my whole childhood. Regarding politics, I was taught about how democratic politicians (and more quietly the voters as well) weren't very good people. They were the out group, misguided and lost at best, purposefully evil and immoral at worst.
I now exist in that "outgroup". I believe I have a broader understanding of the world, and a better defined image of my morals (decided moreso by my self, based on research and a lot of critical thinking, vs being told what to think). This being said, I should note that I'm not totally content with a lot of the democratic party's current representation. I have critique for them, I acknowledge they're imperfect and at times severely disappointing. Having said that, the opposition, and the political missions therein, have become more and more bold and disturbing to me over the past decade.
The biggest reason I keep this list is because I feel I will be lied to in the future. Based on consistent defense, support of this administration, and "anti-woke" sentiment by some people in my life, I would rather catalog the information about the points of daily concern, because there are many.
Further, there is an extreme dissonance when comparing what people are willing to accept as leadership now, compared to the values and warnings I was continually informed of as a child. I am keenly aware of who and what I was taught to believe was evil and un-Christ-like. For blunt example: the democratic leaders that people around me didn't like were painted as such: Atheists, immoral, false prophets, worldly, adulterers, foolish, corrupt, liars, slanderers, possessed by wealth/power, crude, narcissistic, callous to those who need protection, and possibly the literal anti-christ described in the Bible. If we take a leader like Trump, the below list of links (that I'm fairly certain are not all "fake news") can prove that he rigidly embodies the trappings of all of these traits. Therefore, it is a harsh reality to still hear complacency and at times flowing praise regarding him and people like him. This makes me feel distrust, resentment, and confusion.
I don't want to keep this list to make people feel bad for no reason. I don't want to be mean or cruel, that seems to be modern conservatism's thing (maybe that's an offensive dig, sorry, but there does seem to be an air of aggression and revenge).. I simply cannot square that I was taught a very rigid moral foundation of right and wrong, and now the culture who taught me that seems to have gone completely limp regarding criticism of un-christlike power. Obviously, I personally find the normalization of far right attitudes and policy objectively regressive and terrifying.. But further, this past decade has made the values I was taught seem even more insincere and removed from actual Biblical and Jesus-centric teaching. What's worse is that this movement will claim those teachings as it's immutable foundation (but in practice it's clearly not about that?).. Yet people who profess to be true Christians don't typically seem to care, which does say something. I no longer personally adhere to the 2000s American Christian worldview, I can't and don't want to judge people from that standpoint. It's more that I can see so many adults choose the easier path (fear and bigotry) instead of the more difficult path (love and learning). This is very disappointing. I want to document the underlying details and happenings of this time period. In some ways, without keeping them, (assuming the far future will be less far-right politically) I can't stop thinking I'll just keep getting "everything was fine". Granted, it has never been fine, It's not just this leadership, there is lots to critique and note about America's past leaders and government. Though, currently, it seems to me that it's more amplified, and (I check myself often about this) I don't believe I've been tricked or am personally making that realization up due to my biases. Some more caveats: It's important to note that we live in an informational ecosystem driven by clicks, frequently making use of outrage. This doesn't necessarily make information about these current events untrue, or even exaggerated misleadingly in most instances (barring news youtubers over-exaggerating title/thumbnails, that shit is annoying and unforgiveable). It's more something to note, that especially when it comes to a topic like Trump himself, he is simply good for news presenters business-wise. Also, while I'm human and am very capable of these ways of thinking, I don't want my critique to be only due to "my team not winning". I frequently try to compare these times to others I've lived through, trying to considered if there was equal weighted warranted criticism of leaders I voted for. I'm not quite convinced of that. It seems like, (to the best of my understanding) even held to worldview standards fairly different from my own, things seem to be going concerningly. Keeping a list like this is first and foremost for my own sanity, because hopefully it can place that picture together in the future where my memory will fail.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/business/media/pentagon-press-corps-briefing-gaetz-loomer.html
Watching clips of this I see Joey Mannarino in the background?? https://x.com/JoeyMannarino/status/1995523507573461462
The things he has said about trans people and immigrants.. I guess I would appreciate it if we stopped pretending that this party has no problem welcoming extreme far right people into official positions. Like you go to his page and things are really racist and the topic is hate. Nick Fuentes acceptance and infighting over that has been a thing, but it's not just him. Extreme and dangerous positions are becoming normalized, it's hard to deny that. But the few times I've talked to conservatives (who I assume would not identify as far or alt right or racist) it seems like, these opinions are far away, not in the room with the leaders. But they are?
If you support not helping people in need, that is an un-christlike position. Idc if you've been radicalized to believe that any "daddy government" help is bad. Bottom line, there was support, and it's now being used as a game piece. That's not how feeding the hungry works. If any of your internal reaction to reading this is "well they were buying chips and soda", I don't know how to help you. I don't want to sound arrogant or like I think I'm better but, fix your heart. https://wsvn.com/news/politics/trump-administration-asks-supreme-court-to-halt-order-providing-full-snap-payments-for-november/
Like ik he's between joking and not here. But being serious for a moment, a christian would never say this, even just being silly. It really seems like Trump isn't a practicing christian. Like who cares yes, but, there are christians who think he is devout, chosen by and following God in his decisions. This is a small moment but, I've lived years surrounded by christians and they would never talk like this in public or private. Just, for the next time someone tries to tell me that's a facet of why he's important or worth putting trust in. https://www.foxla.com/news/trump-admits-hes-not-heaven-bound
Yes there are democrat officials who are annoying, not ideal, etc. Don't care abt that critique, I agree. The president, on his platform that the civilians can go to see the president's personal posts, has openly branded the binary opposition party broadly as, what the post says. Yes democrats have in recent years leaned heavily on being "not trump", a highly annoying quality, I agree. "Hate" "evil" "satan" qualifiers pretty insane for the president to be posting. Random facebook aunt with 50 friends posting behavior, coming from the man the country is looking at to be the leader. Something seems not good about that to me? https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115307908213210605
Sit with the fact that the president posted this to social media,. The future sucks so bad wtf. This plus how he responds to the press in the link above is so wild, picture any other president acting this way, you'd think they have a crazy ego and are not very trustworthy because they're constantly saying things that are not very, hinged. But it's ok because it's trump? How is any of this normal or good or doesn't come with a fair percentage of ending badly? https://people.com/donald-trump-threatens-war-on-chicago-with-ai-apocalypse-now-image-11805043
It's unreal how mad this makes me. Does anyone here understand the ramifications of taking away sex ed?
Freestyling here but sex ed helps people have kids when they're ready. Sex ed prevents spread of STIs.
Sex ed DEMONSTRABLY GIVES KIDS SKILLS to understand abuse. You want to take that away, because it makes you,
the adult with your narrow worldview, uncomfortable.. This comes from a culture where they NEVER fucking talk about sex,
unless it's about how evil and messed up and rampant it is (but thats just about the horrible teens being sinful),
we just won't talk about all the weird shit that goes on behind the scenes.
Sweeping things under the rug and pretending it isn't happening is the DEFAULT.
The culture this comes from does not care about children's innocence. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-08-21/california-sex-ed-funding-cancelled-by-trump-administration-radical-gender-ideology
Random but this shit is crazy.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/12/robert-morris-texas-megachurch-indicted-sexual-abuse/
Similarly, r slash notadragqueen is a source that makes it somewhat simple to bluntly understand the most
extreme hypocritical elements that can (and do) exist and grow within conservative, or fundamentalist, or far right culture. Edit: also the instagram reichwingwatch does similar curation, though at times this feels like libsoftiktok style and gross to look at. I don't mention these sources to disparage conservatives or christians, or try to paint all of them as bad people. Moreso it is to prove that there are creeps, abusers, and rotten fucked up people that can come from every community. Historically I have found that the modern american christian community prefers not to reckon with this fact, and instead seems to prefer to deflect from their own shame by repeating and amplifying rhetoric that inflates creep/abuser/p*do activity among communities they don't like. Having these stereotypes become normalized does harm to innocent peoples mental health.
These are links I compiled from when I was doing research for the purpose of explaining abortion legalization beyond modern American Christian feelings. I obviously understand why some people feel the way they do, and it is not a fun topic. But it is real, and state (+ the possibility of federal) bans effect so many people's lives. The issue is frequently presented to me as a cut and dry concept: it's a sinful abomination. Some fringe positions go as far as to say it's satanic, or a sacrifice to a deity like ba'al. I understand people have bad experiences. I'm not saying the medical system has always been perfect. I understand there is a lot of anti-abortion propaganda that people read and spread. Again, I understand why people are concerned, they have empathy and act accordingly. Unfortunately the topic is more complicated than typically presented, in that outlawing it does do measurable harm in many ways (therefore that is not an effective position for the harm reduction desired based on that empathy). Trying to explain this can get complicated, and it's likely easier for some to just stop at "it seems really bad/gross/evil, it shouldn't be legal". But if we're not taking into account multiple sides, and not measuring harm levels beyond what "I personally feel to be offensive"/what an anecdote or pamphlet or pastor continually says, (in my opinion) that isn't a well rounded standpoint to be advocating on the issue from. In my view of advocacy (which maybe isn't right for all people, again just my opinion), we should strive to be knowledgeable, zoomed both in and out with our view, and closest to the overall conglomerative truth as possible. I also would like to see abortion rates lowered. That's why I definitely advocate for sex ed (age appropiate? sure? I know ppl get enraged over any mention of anything these days), and the promotion of safe sex with knowledge and tools like condoms. I firmly believe that the more we know, the less mistakes will be made.
I made this list quite a while ago, I'm sure some things are outdated. It's also imperfect and a bit all over the place. Perhaps I'll work on it again one day.
Does outlawing abortion actually lead to less people having kids? Take examples of people who have complicated medical history regarding reproduction and/or have had issues in the past. If they live in an area where they have access to an abortion if something goes wrong, that would imply that more of those types of individuals would be willing to participate in trying to get pregnant. Conversely, if these people live in an area where access to abortion is severely restricted or criminalized, people are less likely to take the chance of trying and potentially end up living out a horror story. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/25/1171851775/oklahoma-woman-abortion-ban-study-shows-confusion-at-hospitals
ELON SPECIAL
WARNING: This is pretty much all criticism
I know people who love Elon, I understand why. I don't feel the same, and I wanted to explore why in an attempt to explain myself more accurately.
I made this list a while ago, it could likely be updated, but since he's not running around with a prop chainsaw anymore I don't have the time or energy.
It's still my opinion that his personality/worldview mixed with the amount of power he has is dangerous.