Tag Archives: AEWCH

AA and D&D, art and reality, conspiracy and curation: Listen to me, esoteric scholar Peter Bebergal + countercultural pastor Barry Taylor talk about the uses of fantasy!

6 Dec

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor • Patreon

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib – this is the best way to support the show. You can also:

  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Share on social media (you know the deal with this one)
  • And if you want to explore my other main creative output – writing fiction – you can buy my debut novel, Hawk Mountain (and if you’ve bought it and loved it, give it a great review on Amazon and/or Goodreads!). All my creative projects end up supporting each other!

Friends,

The world accumulates new fantasies about itself, and as it does, it changes. We develop these fantasies, we curate them, alter them, cling to them, and mark what counts as “reality” by them. Reality is an aggregate of fantasies.

So…what fantasies serve us? How? And who are the best curators?

Well, I’d say two I know are my guests on this episode.

First, occult scholar Peter Bebergal, editor of Appendix N: The Eldritch Roots of Dungeons and Dragons and author of Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story of the Technological Quest for the Supernatural (which we talked about extensively the last time Peter was on the show – back on AEWCH 112 ).

Second, countercultural pastor and artist, Barry Taylor, who is also the author of Sex, God, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: Catastrophes, Epiphanies, and Sacred Anarchies. I met Barry through my friend and frequent AEWCH guest, Peter Rollins. Ive been wanting to have Barry on for a long time, and finally, needing to have discussion of art and fantasy and reality and religion, knew that this was the exact right moment.

We go all over the place in this one. From Dungeons & Dragons to Alcoholics Anonymous, from the problems with Graham Hancock to our acid trips. This is a great episode friends.

SHOW NOTES

WHAT BOOK YOU SHOULD READ?
I can’t say I’ve read Susanna Clarke’s epic British magic fantasy, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but I trust Peter’s curatorial sense. Since he recommends it, I may go read it now. Let me know if you read it too! If you want a book I’ve read on some of the themes here, read Grant Morrison’s excellent nonfiction book, Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us about Being Human.

WHAT OTHER AEWCH EPISODE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO?
AEWCH 47 features the psychoanalytic philosopher we talk about quite a bit throughout the show, Todd McGowan!

MORE ON PETER and BARRY
Peter is also the author of Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll. And here’s another interview with Peter, on RPGs and Appendix N.

Support Barry’s work via his Patreon! Here’s Barry’s website (you can also get his book from there if it’s sold out on bookshop.org), and a short profile of him in the Guardian. And do follow Barry’s Instagram – @UKBloke – for the great collages he makes and posts almost every day.

Until next time, enjoy your quest!
CH

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White magic after Ragnarok. Are Thoresen returns to AEWCH!

29 Nov

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib – this is the best way to support the show. You can also:

  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Share on social media (you know the deal with this one)
  • And if you want to explore my other main creative output – writing fiction – you can buy my debut novel, Hawk Mountain Obivously, all my creative projects end up supporting each other!

Friends,

You might have noticed that lately I’ve been wary of magic, but of course, spiritual development and practice are essential in the new territory we find ourselves in. So what paths of development? What practices?

I’ve asked writer, occultist, veterinarian, and acupuncturist Are Thorsen back on the show to discuss all of this.

Are was last on the show back on AEWCH 116 for what was the most directly occult and spiritual episode of the show. We shared some of the intense spiritual experiences we’ve had, and it was a vulnerable but very helpful episode for me (and one of the most popular show for listeners).

This episode has just as much spiritual adventure: Do gnomes actually wear hats? Why do some people spiritually develop through sudden revelation and others through practice? What evil beings begin to proliferate in 2019? What do the stories of the Elves and the Shoemaker and the Little Mermaid tell us about spiritual realities?

Are’s two most recent books in English are Travels on the Northern Path of Initiation: Vidar and Baldur, the Three Elemental Realms and the Inner and Outer Etheric Worlds and Encounters with Vidar: Communications from the Outer Etheric Realm: From Clairvoyance to Clairaudience , two books that draw on Norse mythology and find where it meets with the Christian mysteries of today.

SHOW NOTES

WHAT BOOK YOU SHOULD READ?
May as well go to some (sort of) source material – The Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington in this lovely-looking edition. You can also read

WHAT OTHER AEWCH EPISODE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO?
To get a little perspective on some of these spiritual beings and what we’re talking about when we talk about the archangel Michael, listen to AEWCH 126, which is where I explore Michael from many different directions.

MORE ON ARE
Here’s another interview with Are, in which he goes into the foundational ideas a bit more. And Are’s spiritual autobiography is in the book Transforming Demons: The True Story of How a Seeker Resolves His Karma: From Ancient Atlantis to the Present-Day. And of course, you can always listen to us in our first conversation.

Until next time, friends,
CH

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Is spiritual tech possible? My conversation with UFO scholar Diana Walsh Pasulka + media analyst and tech critic Doug Rushkoff on AEWCH 204!

23 Nov

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib – this is the best way to support the show
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes (with a link!)

Friends,

As the weird tech world of social media seems to be crumbling around us, and UFOs have made the mainstream news, and all our problems seem both fixable and unfixable by technological solutions… we feel ourselves detaching from the period that lasted roughly the last two decades, as well as its accoutrements and decorations and denials.

So where are we going? I wanted to take a look at some of these changing features, but to look at them with as many  factors in site as possible (at least in an hourlong podcast). 

To that end, I’m so happy to have brought to luminaries together: religion scholar and UFOs-in-culture expert, Diana Walsh Pasulka – author of American Cosmic: UFOs, Technology, Religion –(she was on the show back on AEWCH 144) and Doug Rushkoff – media analyst and tech critic – my friend, host of the Team Human podcast and author of so many books (most recently Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires was last on the show on AEWCH 125.

SHOW NOTES

WHAT BOOK YOU SHOULD READ?
I haven’t read this book yet, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt – but it’s Doug’s recommendation to. Whose Global Village?: Rethinking How Technology Shapes Our World by Ramesh Srinivasan.

WHAT OTHER AEWCH EPISODE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO?
One of my favorite episodes I’ve done on tech is AEWCH 183 where I talk about esoteric Christianity as a counter to the dangers of technology.

MORE ON DIANA and DOUG
Here’s Diana’s second appearance on Rune Soup. Here she is on a long (almost 3 hours!) podcast that often has… less interesting guests, the Lex Friedman show. And here’s her CV on her university’s site. Doug’s website is here. And be sure to listen to his podcast Team Human (which I’ve been on twice now!)

Until next time friends… uh, keep it real!
CH

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The Problem with Magic, Part 2. (And what to do instead of magic!) WEIRD STUDIES hosts on AEWCH 203!

9 Nov

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib – this is the best way to support the show
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes (with a link!)

Friends,

Let’s ask ourselves a question: What if the appropriate worldview now is neither materialistic or magical?

What if the task is to do is move on and bring forward – through our own individualities – the world from these opposing positions?

I started this conversation with (Though this is a standalone episode!) Phil Ford and JF Martel, hosts of the Weird Studies podcast, on the previous episode, AEWCH 202.

Now we offer our first indications of what we think works here in the face of our challenges and opportunities in this world. What are they?

Vow, prayer, gathering.

This is the second part conversation but it stands on its own. So excited to be walking through these uncharted landscapes with you! X CH

SHOW NOTES

WHAT BOOK YOU SHOULD READ?
For a great book on shifting the groundswell of being from scientific “facts” to the imaginative experience, read Meaning by Michael Polanyi and Harry Prosch.

WHAT OTHER AEWCH EPISODE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO?
I talk about Christian principles from an esoteric standpoint on the excellent episode AEWCH 181 with Rev. Patrick Kennedy.

MORE ON PHIL & JF/WEIRD STUDIES
You can support Weird Studies via their patreon . You can also sign up for the 8 week course, WEIRDING. Even though it’s already started, you can still jump in and get the previous lectures via recording. If that’s calling to you, go for it. Also, Phil and JF were on the show back on AEWCH 166, and I was on Weird Studies 107 (on which we talk about Joy Williams’s great novel, Breaking and Entering).

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The Problem with Magic: A two part conversation with Conner Habib + Weird Studies hosts, Phil Ford & J.F. Martel.

2 Nov

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib – this is the best way to support the show
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes (with a link!)

Friends,

As we enter into this weird world on the other side of the Viral/Trumpist/Nationalistic Collapse/Aesthetic/Opportunity Shock Portal (or, uh, whatever you want to call it), we find ourselves mapless and confused.

It’s apparent that we’re occupying something like a new world, or a new level in a game, or a new stage of development. So… what do we do? More and more people are turning to magic. Astrology, witchcraft, spellcraft, alchemy. But are these the right tools or do they simply feed into materialism more? (Hint: the latter)

I’m so happy to have two of my favorite supernature/strange times thinkers back on the show for this two part exploration of the problem with magic. Phil Ford and JF Martel are the hosts of the Weird Studies podcast, which I consider a sort of sibling podcast to AEWCH. They were on the show back on AEWCH 166 and I was on Weird Studies 107 (on which we talk about Joy Williams’s great novel, Breaking and Entering).

This is a two part conversation: part two will be released shortly, in which we talk about what tools we can use, if not magic, in the new landscape. 

So excited to walk through these uncharted landscapes with you!
X
C

SHOW NOTES

WHAT BOOK YOU SHOULD READ?
For another exploration of this topic from a very different angle, I recommend a book I don’t fully get on board with but is nevertheless a classic: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa.

WHAT OTHER AEWCH EPISODE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO?
AEWCH 148 with anthropologist Stuart McLean expresses the ways that the magical bursts through into the world to contour reality. 

MORE ON PHIL & JF/WEIRD STUDIES
You can support Weird Studies via their patreon . You can also sign up for the 8 week course, WEIRDING. Even though it’s already started, you can still jump in and get the previous lectures via recording. If that’s calling to you, go for it.

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On the occult significance of horror on AEWCH 201! PLUS: my horror recommendations

28 Oct

AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB 201:

THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF HORROR

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib – this is the best way to support the show
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes (with a link!)

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

Happy Halloween, friends,
As we move into a new chapter of AEWCH, I wanted to start off with something both eternal and of the moment: horror.
Horror has played such an important part in my life since childhood, and continues to grow in its influence on me. But I find most explorations – especially academic ones – into horror a bit banal. Can we think of horror beyond its political/economic function and metaphorical value? What does it do to us spiritually and culturally? What does it offer?
I’m very excited to share this episode with you.

PLUS: new theme songs by Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance! 

A two part (weird!) conversation episode coming up, starting next week!
XO
CH

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Duncan Trussell in conversation with Lisa Romero AND Mitch Horowitz in conversation with Dean Spade! It’s the final installment of AEWCH 200

12 Oct

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

Friends
Part three of the massive, mighty AEWCH 200 is upon us… and it’s a big episode! AEWCH 200 is three episodes over three weeks, featuring six conversations, each conversation has two previous guests of AEWCH in conversation with me on a theme. Here’s Part One in case you missed it, and here’s Part Two!

These are people I’ve loved talking to (most of them have been on the show more than once) in conversation with someone they might never talk to without AEWCH bringing them together. The idea is a sort of conversational alchemy. What happens when people in different disciplines speak? What sort of new substances arise?

For instance:

What happens when a paranormal expert talks with a mortician?
What happens when an expert on transhumanism and culture talks with a psychoanalytic theologian? What happens when a horror writer talks with a journalist of every day horrors?

This time it’s Part Three: Spirit & Hope Mystic comedian podcaster Duncan Trussell talks with occult teacher Lisa Romero + new age scholar Mitch Horowitz talks with mutual aid anarchist organizer Dean Spade!

SHOW NOTES GUEST WEBSITES & SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Mitch Horowitz – Mitch’s website • Occult America: White House Seances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation

Lisa Romero – Lisa’s website, The Inner Work Path • A Bridge to Spirit: Understanding Conscious Self-Development and Consciousness-Altering Substances

Dean Spade – Dean’s website • Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity in This Crisis (and the Next)

Duncan Trussell – Duncan’s podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour • my latest appearance on Duncan’s show

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

Being up to 200 episodes means AEWCH is in a tiny tiny percentage of podcasts that have lasted this long – something like 2%. I can ONLY keep doing this show if people support it on patreon.

I know post-pandemic times and economic roller coasters are affecting everyone in different ways. That said, the art and culture you love are great places to center support and love.

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes!

Thank you so much for everything, and enjoy all this big talk.
Love, CH

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AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB 200: PART 2 – MARK O’CONNELL & PETER ROLLINS on IMMORTALITY + SARA GRAN & UNA MULLALLY on ART!

4 Oct

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

Friends,
Part two of the massive, mighty AEWCH 200 is upon us! AEWCH 200 is three episodes over three weeks, featuring six conversations, each conversation has two previous guests of AEWCH in conversation with me on a theme. Here’s part one, in case you missed it!

These are people I’ve loved talking to (most of them have been on the show more than once) in conversation with someone they might never talk to without AEWCH bringing them together. The idea is a sort of conversational alchemy. What happens when people in different disciplines speak? What sort of new substances arise?

For instance:

What happens when a paranormal expert talks with a mortician? What happens when an occult teacher talks with a mystic comedian podcaster? What happens when a new age scholar talks with an anarchist organizer?

This time it’s Part 2: IMMORTALITY and ART Transhumanist critic Mark O’Connell talks with radical Lacanian theologian Peter Rollins + horror/mystery writer Sara Gran talks with journalist/artist Una Mullally!

SHOW NOTES GUEST WEBSITES & SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Sara’s website • Come Closer • The Book of the Most Precious Substance

Una’s website • Una’s column for the Irish Times

Mark O’Connell’s website • To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death

Peter’s website • The Divine Magician: The Disappearance of Religion and the Discovery of Faith

SUPPORT AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB

Being up to 200 episodes means AEWCH is in a tiny tiny percentage of podcasts that have lasted this long – something like 2%. I can ONLY keep doing this show if people support it on patreon.

I know post-pandemic times and economic roller coasters are affecting everyone in different ways. That said, the art and culture you love are great places to center support and love.

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes!

Thank you so much for everything, and enjoy all this big talk.
Love,
CH

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AGAINST EVERYONE WITH CONNER HABIB 200 is here! Three episodes, six guests, three weeks! Part One: Caitlin Doughty, John EL Tenney, Chris Donaghue, and Caelainn Hogan on Stigma & Repression!

27 Sep

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

Friends,
The massive, mighty AEWCH 200 is upon us! What makes AEWCH 200 different? It’s three episodes over three weeks, featuring six conversations, each conversation has two previous guests of AEWCH in conversation with me on a theme.

These are people I’ve loved talking to (most of them have been on the show more than once) in conversation with someone they might never talk to without AEWCH bringing them together. The idea is a sort of conversational alchemy: What happens when people in different disciplines speak? What sort of new substances arise?

This time it’s Part 1: STIGMA & REPRESSION Mortician Caitlin Doughty talks with paranormal investigator John E.L. Tenney + Sex therapist Chris Donaghue talks with investigative journalist Caelainn Hogan.

Each episode also features an opening monologue by me. So happy to offer this all to you over the coming weeks!

SHOW NOTES: GUEST WEBSITES & SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Chris’s website • Rebel Love: Break the Rules, Destroy Toxic Habits, and Have the Best Sex of Your Life

Caitlin’s website • From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

Caelainn’s website • Republic of Shame: How Ireland Punished ‘fallen Women’ and Their Children

John‘s website • Theoretical Weirdo: A Mish Mash of Ramblings about Weirdness

A PLEA FOR THE PODCAST FROM ME

Being up to 200 episodes means AEWCH is in a tiny tiny percentage of podcasts that have lasted this long – something like 2%. I can ONLY keep doing this show if people support it on patreon.

I know post-pandemic times and economic roller coasters are affecting everyone in different ways. That said, the art and culture you love are great places to center support and love.

If you don’t already, please do the following to keep AEWCH going:

  • Give via patreon – Patreon.com/connerhabib
  • Tell people about the show and, if it feels okay, to support it on patreon (especially if you already know your pals are fans of the show but don’t support it).
  • Give the show a 5 star rating and positive review on Apple Podcasts.
  • Tweet and Insta quotes from and thoughts inspired by episodes!

Thank you so much for everything, and enjoy all this big talk.
Love,
CH

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Hands on healing, Himmelbriefs, and hex signs: The Pennsylvania Dutch healing tradition with Robert Phoenix on AEWCH 199!

16 Sep

LISTEN HERE VIA SOUNDCLOUD OR ON Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Breaker • Anchor

FRIENDS! We are on our way to AEWCH 200 – that‘s 325 HOURS of free listening for everyone! – The ONLY way Against Everyone With Conner Habib exists is through support from its listeners via patreon.

Do you enjoy the show? Does it inspire new thoughts and conversations in your life?

If so, SUPPORT THIS PODCAST via Patreon. Your contribution is needed now more than ever.

Friends,
I grew up in small town Pennsylvania which always seemed outwardly magickless back then. De-enchanted, not spiritual except for the very obvious and plain religious traditions happening around me. What a striking discovery that the area I grew up in and even my tiny little town had its own healing, symbolic, esoteric christian tradtion: Powwow or braucherei. The tradition is found in books like The Long Lost Friend and hew symbols on barns and even in a nearby murder.

Learning about all of this grounded me in my past, it made me feel less confused about why I was born where I was born. So I wanted to talk about it. I asked powwow practitioner and author of The Powwow Grimoire, Robert Phoenix onto the show and we had a great conversation of all things powwow.

Very happy to have had such a friendly and enlightening conversation about the spiritual pulse of where I’m from.

This is the last episode on the way to AEWCH 200, which is a massive episode.
Enjoy it, friends!
C

SHOW NOTES

WHAT BOOK YOU SHOULD READ?
I was introduced to powwow in two ways. By a former professor of mine who recommended I look into it, but also in a form you can access – the book Occult America: White House Seances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation by frequent AEWCH guest Mitch Horowitz. It’s the first thing I read by Mitch, and it remains one of the best scholarly works on the occult in America, and its very particularly American forms.

WHAT OTHER AEWCH EPISODE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO?
Perhaps a surprising selection – but AEWCH 112 with Peter Bebergal, on which we talk about occult technology. The idea of “how occult tech works” flows in and out of my conversation with Robert. I wouldn’t say a definitive answer arises on either episode, but it’s good to hear differing perspectives, both of which indicate something “coming through” rather than “being done.”

MORE ON ROBERT
Robert’s website is full of posts, resources, and information. It’s an excellent site to learn about powwow. Maybe even better? Robert’s YouTube channel, which had a ton of short videos on the topic. Finally, here’s an interview with Robert (and Jason David) on the What Magic Is This? podcast.

He’s also a member of a paranormal researchers group, Spirit Searchers, which is available for investigations in Pennsylvania.

Until next time friends,
Be made whole,
CH

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