Category Archive for Press
I’m a contestant on a TV game show: CTV Battle of the Generations! Competitor on pop culture trivia quiz show.
Ever dream of being on a TV game show? I did… and I’ve now achieved that goal! On July 31, watch me compete on CTV’s new primetime quiz show, Battle of the Generations!
Battle of the Generations is a pop culture trivia television show, so it was a perfect fit for me as a subcultures blogger. In each episode, four contestants from different generations (Gen Z, millennial, Gen Z, and boomer) battle it out over questions about popular culture from 1945 to the present.
The new CTV (Canada network) gameshow puts contestants through different type of trivia battles. Sometimes, contestants go one-on-one against each other. Other times, they answer rapid-fire questions, and might have the option to pick the pop culture category or generation.
You can see me compete against three people on Episode 7 of Battle of the Generations, which airs on CTV at 9pm PT and ET on Monday, July 31! If you miss it, you can stream the gameshow on CTV’s site.
I can’t tell you more until the episode airs, but it was a thrilling experience to represent millennials on a new TV game show. (We filmed in Toronto in January — the producers selected me after a screening process, and flew me in for the shoot. Above is what I wore on-screen: skeleton swim top by Towers Swimwear, skirt is vintage.)
The game show questions are all about pop culture (films, music, trends, tech, celebrities, etc), which span various generations. Herein lies the fun: the boomer might be familiar with a 1950s film star, but be clueless about viral TikToks.
Do you like watching TV game shows? Hit the buzzer with me and see how I fare on Battle of the Generations: my episode airs Mon, July 31 on Canada’s CTV! Whoever comes out on top and unlocks the Vault gets $25,000.
(Photos of me by Bindipop, taken at Gabriola Island’s Malaspina Caves in British Columbia. More photos from this girls getaway to come; see my reels on @LaCarmina Insta for sneak peeks.)
Another announcement: I’ve embarked on a new social media series, which I’m titling “La Carmina Redux!” I’m leveling-up my older content with revamped photos and tips about destinations worldwide — like Malaysia (above), India, Morocco, Taiwan, and Easter Island.
Why? I’ve been haphazard with my socials over the years as they weren’t my primary focus. Also, upload quality and editing styles have changed over the years (remember when we added Instagram photo borders, and did dog-ear selfies and boomerangs?)
I want to give my older travel / fashion photos justice and have them fit today’s vibes — so I’ve archived a lot on past posts on @lacarmina Instagram and am launching a “best of” series, one country at a time. From now, you’ll get more frequent uploads of both new content and re-edited throwbacks to my trips in 70+ countries, along with my latest travel recommendations.
For example, here’s a look back at my 2017 Langkawi, Malaysia travels with Her Majesty Yukiro. Luxury beach resort Casa del Mar treated us like queens with sunset dinners by the ocean, dragon fruit rum cocktails, and a boat tour of a lush mangrove forest with a bat cave.
Throwback to my 2018 trip to Valparaiso, Chile: a UNESCO site known for its rainbow street art. It was a joy to stroll the hilly streets and get inspired by energetic murals, found art, 3D installations, and other creative works by Chileans. More photos in this blog from the trip.
“I’m going on an adventure!” One of my favorite memories of New Zealand (2016) was wandering through Hobbiton, the pastoral village from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. The real-life Shire is a 2.5 drive south from Auckland, and visitors must book a tour in advance.
What a joy to duck into the tiny homes and gardens of Frodo and Bilbo — and then laze at the Green Dragon Pub with a Southfarthing brew and warm cheese scone. As JRR Tolkien famously wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” (More from my Hobbiton Tours visit here.)
A lot of you loved my 2019 Goth guide to Paris, France (see the redux post on @lacarmina Instagram). As I wrote: Don’t be put off by Paris because of all the beret-wearing influencers traipsing around the Tour Eiffel. J’adore the City of Light for its magnificent history, architecture, fashion, cuisine… And there’s a spooky side to it for my fellow Gothic travelers
Each of the “redux” post includes tips on things to eat, do, and see like:
– Be an unabashed tourist and hit up the legendary art museums, opera house, jardins.
– Paris is one of my favorite cities for simply walking around and admiring architecture (such as Art Nouveau doorways).
– Goths, haunt Père Lachaise cemetery with its vampiric and bat lore (look for markings like the one above)
– And of course the Catacombs, stacked with skulls and bones!
Please let me know if you’re enjoying the new “La Carmina Redux” series on my social media @lacarmina (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook). Some of my past “lewks” and edits don’t fit with today’s vibes, so I’m having fun revisiting older pics and giving them new life.
For example, I visited Petra, Jordan in 2014 (here’s the Insta post). It was magnificent to see the ancient city, which lost under the sands until it was rediscovered in 1812.
Must sees:
– Wander through the siq, a narrow winding gorge leading to Petra
– Be awed by the famous Treasury, carved out of sandstone
– Say hello to the friendly camels and donkeys
The full blog post about Petra, Jordan is found here.
For more “redux” travel / fashion throwbacks, add me on @LaCarmina Instagram. I’m also posting more frequent photos and reels of recent travels — I hope you dig the levelled-up content.
And I invite you to watch me battle a boomer, Gen X, and Gen Z over pop culture questions on my CTV game show, Battle of the Generations!
Thank you to Vancouver is Awesome for interviewing me about my work, new book and latest TV appearance. I’m also featured in The Vancouver Sun’s “Five Things to Do This Week.”
Watch me rep millennials and take on challengers for a cash prize on Battle of the Generations! My game show episode premieres Monday July 31, 9pm on CTV (and can be streamed from their site afterward). Who do you think will win this Canadian trivia / game show?
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My new book is out! La Carmina’s The Little Book of Satanism: A Guide to Satanic History, Culture & Wisdom.
Thank you for your support for The Little Book Of Satanism: A Guide to Satanic History, Culture, and Wisdom, which is now out! My latest nonfiction book — about the development of Satanism and its values — is available everywhere in paperback and digital, published by Ulysses Press / Simon and Schuster.
To get a copy, simply Google “The Little Book Of Satanism“ and your country name. You can also ask your local, indie book shop to order it for you. Or find my book at the links below:
ORDER NOW from Amazon ♡ Kindle (digital) ♡ Barnes and Noble ♡ Bookshop
♡ My Simon & Schuster book page has links to other retailers worldwide — including UK stores ♡ Chapters/Indigo ♡ Amazon Canada ♡ Dymocks Australia.
I’m grateful to all who reached out — thank you for supporting the book, and I hope you enjoy reading it! Here’s a look at the cover design of The Little Book Of Satanism — I love how it turned out.
The cover design is in my signature purple color, with an elegant font and subtle pentagrams. The publisher and I wanted to avoid the “scary, heavy metal, black and red” type look typically associated with Satanism. Rather, I hope the cover conveys that the religion has a rich historical and cultural basis, and is a meaningful path for many worldwide.
Thank you for supporting The Little Book Of Satanism by sharing this post!
To celebrate my book release, Joey Wong and I did a photoshoot in Akihabara, Tokyo. This is the Electric Town district known for its anime and manga shops, video game and purikura arcades, maid cafes, and otaku / nerd everything.
(Wearing a Kikirara Shoten skirt, and Cruella black/white pearl necklace by Lily Streeter. The “Satan is my Daddy” cropped t-shirt seemed appropriate for the occasion.)
Here’s a peek at the inside pages of The Little Book Of Satanism.
As I trace “the Devil’s hoofprint” on society and culture through the centuries, a theme emerges. Time and time again, it is the marginalized that are labelled as Satan’s bedfellows, and suffer unjust consequences from ostracism to jail and executions (such as with the witch trials).
As The Little Book Of Satanism is a short and accessible guidebook, I hope it can help a general audience better understand what Satanism really is about. Many people thinks of Satanists as they are portrayed in horror movies: evil followers who believe in a real Devil, and invoke him for nefarious means. This isn’t at all what religious Satanism is about, and it’s time to lay these damaging, pervasive stereotypes to rest.
My book is 145 pages so it’s a quick read. You can easily pack the small paperback in your bag to read on public transit, or on your travels. The sections of The Little Book Of Satanism are as follows:
– Introduction: Sympathy for the Devil
– Part One: “Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself”
– Part Two: Historical Satanism—the Middle Ages to the Early Twentieth Century
– Part Three: Modern Satanism—the Mid to Late Twentieth Century
– Part Four: Satanism Today—the Twenty-First Century
– Conclusion: Your Own Personal Satan
It was apt that we did this shoot in Tokyo — because that’s where I first became intrigued by Japanese Satanism, and started writing about it for this site and other publications. Contrary to stereotypes, practitioners value personal self-expression, critical thinking, anti-authoritarianism, and other positive values.
Only about 1 percent of Japanese residents are Christian, so Satanists in Japan don’t grow up with the theocratic influences that one sees in places like the US. (I discuss this in detail in my OnlySky article about Satanism in Japan).
However, Japanese society is notoriously conservative, collectivist and conformist. In this context, Satanists find meaning in the metaphor of Lucifer as the ultimate rebel. Many were drawn to unofficial translations of Anton LaVey’s works, and resonated with the ideas of pursuing one’s self-interest and not bending the knee (especially in the context of a society of polite passivity).
I hope my book provides a short but comprehensive overview of the religion, and helps to answer questions readers might have about Satanism. For instance, there are sections with illustrations about the meaning of Satanic symbols (like the inverted pentagram, and the goat-headed Baphomet). I also discuss ritual practices, origins of the concept of the Devil, Satanic art / literature / music, the influence of individuals like Aleister Crowley, and more.
To give you a better sense of the contents, here’s the back copy of The Little Book Of Satanism:
Satanism is often misunderstood as a religion that worships an evil Prince of Darkness. But in reality, modern Satanists are nonviolent and consider the Devil to be a positive metaphor for the pursuit of knowledge, reason, and justice.
A window into the fascinating culture and practices of Satanists, The Little Book of Satanism details the Devil’s footprint on historic events over the centuries and dispels misconceptions about ritual abuse and serial killers. In addition to contextualizing the core values of practitioners, this accessible guide covers:
SATAN’S BIBLICAL ORIGINS ● HISTORICAL SATANISM, FROM WITCH TRIALS TO THE SATANIC PANIC ● THE CHURCH OF SATAN AND THE SATANIC TEMPLE ● THE DEVIL IN POP CULTURE ● SYMBOLS AND RITUALS
Written by award-winning journalist La Carmina, The Little Book of Satanism shines a light on the religion’s affirmative values that oppose arbitrary authority and champion scientific rationalism and personal liberty.
Thank you again for your kind encouragement! I’m grateful to all who reached out and shared my book on social media, or pre-ordered it.
THE LITTLE BOOK OF SATANISM: A Guide to Satanic History, Culture & Wisdom is published by Simon and Schuster, so you can get it anywhere in the world. Ask your local bookstore to order it, or search for the book title and your city/country to find it.
You can ORDER MY BOOK via Amazon ♡ Kindle (digital) ♡ Barnes and Noble ♡ Bookshop
♡ Link to other retailers worldwide — including UK stores ♡ Chapters/Indigo ♡ Amazon Canada ♡ Dymocks Australia.
The Little Book of Satanism is my fourth book. My previous books include Cute Yummy Time and Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo (published by Penguin Random House).
Get The Little Book Of Satanism here — and please tell your friends!
The new book has gotten some great press so far — including features from CBC Radio, Forbes Magazine, Columbia University Magazine, Fodor’s, Metropolis, and other major publications. It’s been fun to do interviews and podcasts with a variety of media outlets.
Book reviews of The Little Book of Satanism have also been coming out. OnlySky says: “La Carmina offers a fresh, brisk, accessible introductory overview of Satanism, past and present. La Carmina’s deftness in writing a “little book” on Satanism is most laudable.”
Reviewer The Magical Buffet writes: “It is no easy task to unweave the tapestry that creates what Satanism is today, but La Carmina does an excellent job untangling the web and laying out a timeline for us to follow. In “The Little Book of Satanism,” author La Carmina makes a compelling argument for modern Satanism and the role a modern take on Satan could play in your personal spiritual practices. If you’re even slightly curious, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of this book.”
Thank you again for your interest in The Little Book Of Satanism! If you have any questions or want to interview me about the book — please contact me here or leave a comment below.
And if you might be willing to share my book with anyone who might be interested, I’d be most grateful. You can also find me @LaCarmina on all social media.
FIND MY BOOK on Amazon ♡ Kindle (digital) ♡ Barnes and Noble ♡ Bookshop
♡ My Simon & Schuster page links to other retailers worldwide — including UK stores ♡ Chapters/Indigo ♡ Amazon Canada ♡ Dymocks Australia. Thank you!
Pick up The Little Book Of Satanism here — and thanks for sharing this post.
LA CARMINA
