La Guadalupana

Happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is going well.

A deep freeze has settled over southern Arizona. The cold front moved in last night with snowy-looking clouds and rain, and today we dealt with temperatures only in the 50s with rain on and off throughout the day. The mountains were covered with clouds and precipitation, giving them a smoky, eerie look and on my Facebook feed, people who live in the mountain communities were posting pictures of the snow.

We had planned on going to the 4th Avenue Winter Street Fair, an annual street fair in downtown Tucson where vendors gather to sell their wares and display handmade crafts. But with the weather being as it was, there was no way in hell we were going to subject our baby or ourselves to the elements. So, we stayed home until it was time to go to Confession.

Since our other church is located in a largely Mexican area, I thought we might be able to catch the Guadalupe celebration since today is Her feast day. Though we arrived long after the procession and festivities had ended, I was still delighted to have gone because I got to see my favorite Carmelite priest. The Benedictine Abbey he was called to teach at was out for the Christmas break, so he came back here to Arizona and attend to his pastoral duties here. In turn, he was happy to see us as well. Of all the priests I've encountered and known here in Diocese Tucson, this Carmelite is one of the few who has a consistently strong, bonafide connection with the Holy Spirit. As we were leaving, we saw the rector of the church and said hello. He'd been working outside, getting the lights strung up around the courtyard and the decorations in place for Christmas.

The decorated courtyard. This will look nice once the sun sets.

In honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I will post a few classic songs in Her honor. Lady Guadalupe is special because Her appearance in Mexico in the 16th Century was the first documented apparition of the Virgin Mary in the New World. When She appeared to Juan Diego to request a church built in her honor, She appeared speaking not Latin or Spanish, but Nahua to him so that he would understand and relate to Her. And when Her roses left their miraculous imprint of Her image on Juan Diego's tilma, Lady Guadalupe appeared in a way that when ordinary Natives saw her, they too could relate to her through her dark features and Aztec-specific symbolic imagery.

Despite many people over the centuries using Lady Guadalupe as a subject of theories and prophecies, the fact is that Her appearance in central Mexico spurred a mass conversion of a scale never before seen or seen since. There is a reason the phrase "non fecit taliter omni nationi" ("God’s done nothing like it for any other nation" (Ps. 147:20)) is often seen specifically on images of Lady Guadalupe. Will there be a repeat of the conversion scale seen in Mexico in other parts of the world or even here in the US? Maybe. It is written that prior to the arrival of the Conquistadors, Mexico was itching for something else, something bigger. The state religion had its human sacrifices and pagan rituals, but the people were searching for something more. When Our Lady appeared, everything fell into place.

Enjoy the music. Viva!





*Note: the title of this post, "La Guadalupana", is a Mexican-Spanish phrase used to describe female devotees of Lady Guadalupe. Male devotees are "el Guadalupano" and plural is "los Guadalupanos".

Indian Earworm: Idhi Oka Nandanavanam

Greetings!

I came across this trippy video on Facebook this morning while I was checking my feed.

This gawdy '80s+seemingly acid trip-inspired video proved to be quite the earworm. It's from a Telugu-language South Indian film called Adavi Donga. From what I could parse from the grammatically-mangled Wikipedia entry, the movie is about a man who is orphaned as an infant and raised by wild animals in the jungle; an Indian version of The Jungle Book as it were. Unfortunately, I could not locate an English translation of the lyrics to this song. It might make sense if one could actually know what the song is actually about! Indian music videos aren't necessarily presented in context with the scene, even if the song is related to the scene.

Of note, the lead actor of the film and the lone human male in the video, Chiranjeevi, would follow the path of many entertainers and venture into politics. He was an MP for the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Indian National Congress (similar to our Senators here in the US). Chiranjeevi also served in the Indian Ministry of Tourism until 2014. Chiranjeevi still remains active in Tollywood (Telugu language) media.

Have fun watching this bit of Tollywood fun. And if there are any Telugu speakers who come across this blog, would you please be so kind as to leave a translation of the lyrics to this song in the comments? I would appreciate that very much.

Sticky Little Fingers

Greetings!

Ever since he found a whole cache of concerts and rare footage of his favorite band, The Rolling Stones, my husband has their music playing on the computer daily. I don't mind, as it is a welcome break from the Mexican ranchero music I hear my neighbors playing.

This got me thinking, while it will still be a while before the baby's first birthday, what should we get her? My husband and I decided to start a tradition where for our children's first birthday, they will get an article of clothing featuring one of our favorite classic rock bands (both American and British). Screw "Rockabye Baby"! Who needs creepy British nursery rhymes, when you can get better music sung by creepy British rock stars instead!

How appropriate for a toddler. Pic found here

While perusing the internet for a suitable garment, my husband saw the onesie above and decided that when the time came, he would get that specific one. The caption "sticky lil fingers" is a reference to the Stones' Sticky Fingers album.

Why rock band clothes?

Why not?

After all, the family that rocks together, rolls together!

Never stop rocking, even if you wind up in a wheelchair. Pic found here

Big Bad Bill

Here's a fun bit of music for your enjoyment.



Yes, that is the very same Van Halen of "Jump" fame. Aside from the unexpectedly catchy tune, it may surprise you to learn that Eddie and Alex's father, Jan Van Halen, made an appearance playing the clarinet in the background. Mr. Van Halen was a classically trained musician, and it pleases many a fan of the band to see that his sons learned well from their daddy.

As for the song's title, the first thing that came to my mind was THIS Bill!

Bill the Cat of Berkeley Breathed's most famous (and recently resurrected!) cartoon, Bloom County. Pic found here

Good night world. See you in the morning.

9/11-A Tribute

14 years ago, two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, causing them to collapse and result in a massive loss of life. Later on in the morning, a plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, where the US Military is headquartered. Finally, a plane that was headed for the White House was diverted and crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania after the passengers mutinied and took over the plane. While everyone on board those respective flights lost their lives, the Pennsylvania plane stands out because it failed to reach its designated target.

Though theories abound about who (or what) was behind the devastating attacks, one thing remains certain. On 9/11, America as we knew it ceased to exist. What was previously a republic barely held up by democratic means became a full-fledged fascist plutocracy of the likes seen only in the Third World. George Bush would plunge America into two very costly wars, and oversee a decline in both American prestige and power, domestically and abroad.

I was only 11 years old when 9/11 happened and it made my future, however bright it might have been, ever so much darker.

I made this video a couple of years ago with the intention of uploading it to Youtube for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Though it never made it onto Youtube then, I decided to upload and show it to you here and now.

May the innocent souls who perished as a result of these diabolical actions rest in peace.

Fun with Tesla Coils

Last night, while cruising around on Youtube, I stumbled across videos featuring "singing" Tesla Coils. Basically, these are Tesla Coils synced up to music, their charges zapping to the beats.

This video was the first one I'd seen with the singing coils. The House of the Rising Sun is a good song to play on any medium.

Another one that I liked. I thought it was the most spot-on of all the singing coil videos I'd seen

As a faithful Whovian, I just had to include one with the Doctor!

When my kids are old enough, my hubby and I are gonna teach them how to build Tesla Coils. If the grid in our area can handle it, maybe we can make music with our Tesla Coils too!

An Ode to Skinny Brows

I'm not in any way a fashionista. I could care less about what is deemed "fashionable" on display on runways in New York, Paris, etc. This mostly holds true for makeup and beauty trends as well. When it comes to beauty, I try to keep up as much as my income and energy allow, which is not very much.

But no matter what, there is one thing I absolutely refuse to conform to current trends.

My eyebrows.

I have very thin, some would call, severely overplucked eyebrows. And I like to keep them that way.

Growing up, I had thick eyebrows that were flat and manly. They had no real shape to them and got my glasses greasy every time I frowned. Since no woman in my home provided any incentive for me to have them professionally shaped, I took it upon myself to do something about it when I was in high school and old enough to start figuring out what makeup was. An old eyeliner pencil, some tweezers, and some time in front of a mirror provided the foundation for the look I now bear. At the time, I credited some inspiration to Pam Anderson, who I thought rocked the skinny brows.

Me, age 18. I do not have any pictures on my computer of me younger than this

Once I moved out here to Arizona, my super-thin brows took on more refining and inspiration from chola girls I would see on the bus from time to time. This meant drawing on my eyebrows with pencils so as to give them shape and definition.

Before I figured out what blending was, haha #blendingfail

Style trends nowadays call for fuller brows. Ones that aren't so thin and "artificial" looking.

To this I say, screw you, trend forecasters! I spent just about all my teenage years with man-brows, and I will NOT yield one hair towards going back to those days. I don't look good in anything other than skinny brows, and I will tweeze the hell out of my brows to keep them that way.

Admittedly, full brows are not for every one. Same goes for skinny brows. What works for one doesn't always work for the other. But it just irks me to no end to see models and celebrities with eyebrows that I think look more appropriate on men (see: Kylie Jenner, the Kardashian klan).

Skinny brow wearers of the world, you are not alone! It's totally cool to give mainstream beauty the middle finger. You don't have to follow the flow to look beautiful. I certainly don't, therefore, I don't feel beholden to such trends like "fuller" eyebrows.

Like Fleetwood Mac sang, "you can go your own way"

Daily Daily Sing to Mary

This beautiful Catholic hymn I discovered while reading up on the structure of poetry, is attributed to St. Bernard of Cluny. After listening to the hymn being sung, I realized I'd heard it many times before, but only in Spanish. I was not aware that an English version even existed. The Holy Spirit has ways of guiding one to fortuitous places.

Daily, daily sing to Mary, 
Sing, my soul, her praises due. 
All her feasts, her actions worship 
With the heart's devotion true. 
Lost in wond'ring contemplation, 
Be her Majesty confess'd. 
Call her Mother, call her Virgin, 
Happy Mother, Virgin blest. 

She is mighty to deliver. 
Call her, trust her lovingly. 
When the tempest rages round thee, 
She will calm the troubled sea. 
Gifts of heaven she has given, 
Noble Lady, to our race. 
She, the Queen, who decks her subjects 
With the light of God's own grace. 

Sing, my tongue, the Virgin's trophies 
Who for us her Maker bore. 
For the curse of old inflicted, 
Peace and blessing to restore. 
Sing in songs of peace unending, 
Sing the world's majestic Queen. 
Weary not nor faint in telling. 
All the gifts she gives to men.

tamtam