Mad pumpkin skills at the Palm Beach County Library

If you need some last-minute pumpkin decoration ideas for Halloween, a couple of examples from the local (Jupiter) branch of the Palm Beach County Library:

What else was topical at the library? A book about Zohran Mamdani and Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed:

Also, a reminder of the true threat to the traditional culture and value system of the United States. Featured by the librarians:

What will your life be like after enough additional immigration to generate European levels of population density here? You will be freed from the tyranny of the private automobile and will be able to wait for, then crowd onto, public transit. Life After Cars:

The time spent waiting for the bus can be put to good use with some Craftivism:

Crafting a Better World: Inspiration and DIY Projects for Craftivists: A Dynamic Craft Book with Hands-On Projects, Learn to Make Art that Makes a Difference (Amazon):

It all started with a tiny stitch and a big prick. For the first two years of the Trump presidency, I watched in quiet dismay as he assaulted every aspect of our democracy and our decency. He felt anathema to the aspirations for my practice as an artist.

I STARTED MAKING THESE CHOCOLATES when George W. Bush was elected and haven’t stopped. They’re a delicious way to express my constant outrage that a woman’s right to bodily autonomy is so often based on laws made by men. We talk a lot at our shop about how not all women have vulvas and not everyone with a vulva is a woman, but everyone can be angry about violations of basic human rights. With this recipe, you can re-create these chocolates to enjoy them on your own, give them to a friend, or sell them at a bake sale to raise money for abortion access funds. I hope they serve as a sweet reminder of a woman’s right to choose.

FURIOUS VULVAS

Makes 10–100 vulvas, depending on the size of the mold

INGREDIENTS

¾ teaspoon pink Hawaiian alaea sea salt; honestly, any flaky high-quality sea salt will work! If you use table salt, use ½ teaspoon and add more to taste.

1 scant tablespoon pink peppercorns

1 pound dark chocolate (Make sure it’s a high-quality chocolate sourced in ethical ways! We use 65% Republica del Cacao and we love it.)

EQUIPMENT

A vulva mold (see below)
A spatula, preferably an offset spatula
A parchment-lined sheet pan

DIRECTIONS

1. Procure your vulva molds! You can find an abundance of vulva molds online. Searching for “vagina chocolate mold” (even though I know you know that the vagina is the internal genitalia and the vulva

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A clever neighbor’s project…