If I ever fell in love with a woman,
she may be lovely and Blu!
Thanks for the crown my lady...
~~~~Felish
Archive for the ‘Connections’ category
LADY FELICIA LUJAN
May 6, 2013Anonymous releases (almost) everything they know about Rehtaeh Parsons
April 12, 2013
The loose collective of online activists known as Anonymous have released a list of statements they believe are facts in the case of Rehtaeh Parsons.
While the group has said they know the names of those responsible, they are not releasing the names right now.
"We have done our best to keep those names from being released," the group said in the statement below.
The Anaconda Fight Club Rocks
April 5, 2013I thought it was super cool that the Anaconda Fight Club in Barcelona picked up one of my digital composites on their Facebook page ~print screen courtesy of Brit 
~. How awesome! Now my work has touched Spain! Very cool… This fight club also looks sweet. Nothin’ like some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu right? Look at my name under “foto.” Here is a link to my original post Māori: Origins of a Warrior. It was a research piece and a poem! A big thanks to the Anaconda Fight Club!!
Happy Friday Fighters!
Read My Mind
March 28, 2013Today my friend Laura Krol sent me an email. She is a wonderful woman who I have known for many years. She is beautiful, funny, sweet, intelligent and she loves history. We have shared many interesting stories and this woman delivers a killer lecture. I told her I would have to share her email (click on the images to read the text). I love how well she reads my mind. When I got her email, I laughed because I have been working on research for this for a couple of weeks. I decided to take a break from the weights on Tuesdays and Thursdays (during my lunch) to write until I complete the piece,
but I did go to the gym today!
Check this woman out. You can read about her in
A Wild History by Terry Meyers.
You should also check out her book titled
Deming: Images of America.
Email to Felicia from Laura
(click on the image to read the text)
Email to Laura from Felicia
(click on the image to read the text)
An Interesting Look at Interests
March 1, 2013I finally got my “Voyager Category Cloud” or tag cloud up on this site. I must say that I am intrigued to see my interests weighted in print like this. Given my obsession with music, pop culture, and the gym, my metadata cloud is rather curious? It is kind of good to think that since I started this site in 2011, I have devoted most of my posts to the intricacies which pin down my mind. Of close to 700 posts, my cloud proves that many of them were filed under Edification, History, New Mexico, Symbols and Imagery, and/or Writers and Writing. What an interesting look at my interests~ and hopefully yours!
Acknowledged by a Poet•Writer•Sommelier
February 28, 2013
It’s always awesome to hear that someone interesting has been able to connect to me. Today I was told that “a creative writer” who “pursues her passion for the vinous” mentioned me on her web site.
Tonight I took a peek and discovered a lovely site being managed by a woman named Erin Brooks. Her web site is called “brooksonwine” and you should make time for a visit there.
I would like to meet Ms. Brooks, because we seem to have some things in common. She lives in New Mexico and works in Santa Fe. She went to CSF, and she is a writer who dabbles in creative writing and poetry.
I am honored to have a food piece I wrote in 2008 picked up by Ms. Brooks. Even more so now that I know she works for “Geronimo, New Mexico’s only four-star, four-diamond restaurant” as a resident expert of the spirits. She has been a “bartender, bar manager and sommelier” who dreams of being a Master of Wine one day.
I love this woman. She is an educated writer~ she is creative~ and she is giving me credit for some good food! Ms. Brooks said “here’s my favorite recipe for posole, which I found in an article titled “Tamales” by Felicia Lujan in Edible Santa Fe’s Winter 2008 issue.”
Thanks for the props Ms. Brooks. Maybe we will meet soon over a glass of your goods and a bowl of mine!
Awesome Women Tap Into the Collective Consciousness
January 30, 2013Last night I posted Eye 2 Eye. After I finished writing,
I checked my reader and saw that two of the deeper women
I have come to know posted something along the same lines
as I did. I truly believe in interconnection. I believe that our
energy and intellect can connect in ways that we are yet
to fully comprehend. Here are images I snapped from two
awesome posts by two awesome women~ Blu and Ela.
This is a prime example of the collective consciousness at work.
Vincent Van Gogh quote posted on
Mitablu by Blu on January 29, 2013
Black & White posted on
Me, Myself and Ela by Ela on January 30, 2013
~Thank You for the Cyber Props~
January 15, 2013
A special thanks for those who decided to see My Voyage Through Time fit for Blog of the Year. I do appreciate that. Thanks to Enchanted Solitaire (Morrighan), Merio, Writersfield (T~Sizzles), The Arkside of Thought (Sahm), and Fictional Machines (J.E. Lattimer). You are all amazing and talented people!
Wow~~ It was about due time I officially thanked the people who have contributed to the success of my site.
From August 18, 2012 thru January 15, 2013 I had received 14 awards from my peers and I want to take the time to thank all of you. Unfortunately I do not have it in me to do all of things I am supposed to do for each acceptance, still I want to say thanks. I appreciate each and every one of you thinking of this site when you had so many wonderful sites to choose from.
I give most props to Mita Blu for her creativity when making up fantastic awards for me and her man Sahm. She gave me a personalized “Striking Mind Award,” and she gave Sahm a “Full of Darkness Award.” I loved that! Thanks Blu! You can see an update to my most recent awards if you wish on my Awards from Cyber Space page. Also~ a big thanks to GMAN’s Galaxy, Enchanted Solitaire, Gothic Hearts and Bat Wings, River’s Flow, Heart of Paradise, and Dear Kitty.
A special thanks for those who decided to see My Voyage Through Time fit for Blog of the Year. I do appreciate that. Thanks to Enchanted Solitaire (Morrighan), Merio, Writersfield (T~Sizzles), The Arkside of Thought (Sahm), and Fictional Machines (J.E. Lattimer). You are all amazing and talented people!
Keep reading my friends!
Sincerely~
Felicia
A Digital Preservation Powerhouse
December 6, 2012
Wow~ what an amazing presentation just made by the inspiring “digital pioneer” Martha Anderson. Ms. Anderson is a powerhouse with the Library of Congress who will be retiring in a few weeks. I am sure she will still be active in my realm because she is so passionate about what she does. In a December 4, 2012 article on a Library of Congress blog, Mike Ashenfelder referred to Ms. Anderson as a woman “who is one of the driving forces behind American Memory,” the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), the International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC), and the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA). Mr. Ashenfelder is right about this woman having “an effect on most people she comes in contact with,” when you “watch her work a room at a conference.” I plan on writing more about her presentation when I return to New Mexico. Following are a few of her most powerful quotes and a great proverb she noted.
“When spiders unite, they can take down a lion.”
~African Proverb
“Never underestimate a community who is dedicated to a cause, works together, shows support, and learns from one another.”
~Martha Anderson, Library of Congress
“When a bunch of spiders get together, they are seen as a coherent whole.”
~Martha Anderson, Library of Congress
“Metadata is currency. It is touched more than you think and it is a living thing.”
~Martha Anderson, Library of Congress
“There is a lot of stuff endangered while we wait for the perfect access.”
~Martha Anderson, Library of Congress
Feelin’ Rita Ora
September 12, 2012
Rita Ora Rockin’ Shades
Rita Ora Hittin’ the Books
Today was the first day I heard four tracks off Rita Ora’s debut album. Ora has some hot flavor. I love this Roc Nation woman from the UK! Lou, BigC n BigL (tha DJPD Gurlz) you must check Rita O out. You will love her too! The song I have literally been listening to all afternoon and night is **Love and War** featuring J Cole singing “white flag.” Talent laced Ora has laid a perfect track with amazing lyrics! It is finally time for the song writing bombshell Rita Ora to be noticed here in the US. Her debut is hot and slammed three no.1z on the UK and Scottish charts. Jay Z knew what he was doing when he roped this lil Marilyn Monroe lovin’ powerhouse with a Skullcandy headphone fetish! Rita Ora— if you haven’t heard of her yet- she is a *keeper.
11*****Posted using WordPress for BlackBerry*****11
Meaningful Coincidence: A Visit to the Spirit World
August 22, 2012
**THE PEACE PIPE**
Photograph by Carl Moon
Image No. 417717, Photography Collection
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs
New York Public Library
For the last few days, I have really been thinking about being mortal. Over the last few years, I have had a handful of strange dreams which I believe connected me to a spiritual dimension. Monday night following a friends funeral, I found myself wondering how people would remember me when I am gone? Last night I contemplated where I would be laid to rest? It may seem odd to think about these things- but I am a Virgo- a planner- I am organized- I feel that there is a place for everything and everything should be in it’s place. I simply care about the little things, and apparently my personal legacy. When my thoughts are heavy before I fall asleep I dream lucidly. After posting about my family in Mora, New Mexico last night, I had a dream about the mountains there. I could smell the clean air and the rain. I could see the beautiful land and distant sky. I felt connected to my history. That would be a good place for my ashes to whisk away on the curls of the Northern winds into the trees. The dream seemed real. This morning I was amazed to see that while I was in dream land, there was a woman with ties to the North Sea thinking about mortality, connection, and spirituality just like me.
On October 18, 2011, I wrote a short piece to honor one of the most spiritual men I have ever known who had passed away. The post was titled The Death of Cloud Eagle. Ernest Eugene “Bo” Mirabal “Cloud Eagle” a celebrated Nambe Pueblo artist, educator, spiritual and community leader, died on October 13, 2011. At the time of his death, his father Ernest Mirabal was the Governor of Nambe Pueblo. I interviewed Cloud Eagle as a reporter for the Santa Fe New Mexican in 2000, and loved his symbolic take on his art pieces as well as his feelings about connectedness. I had many lovely comments on that particular post. One was from Phillip Kansa “Spirit Bear.” Another was from Cloud Eagle’s daughter Nakiva Mirabal who said her father was “free and flying with the eagles.” A former Governor of Nambe Pueblo, Thomas Talache also weighed in. But because of my thoughts yesterday, and my dreams from last night, I was stunned to find a comment from one of Cloud Eagle’s friends on my site this morning- it was a meaningful coincidence.
Stefanie Neumann linked into my site in her post titled “Oneness in Diversity – Einheit in der Unterschiedlichkeit” through her blog titled Kokopelli Bee Free Blog. While I was sleeping she connected with me. She calls herself a “Dreamer. Visionary. Connector. Peacefounder. Adventurer. Teacher. Lerner. Writer. Embodied Spirit.” Her site also says she is a “teacher for New Consciousness.” Amazing! What I found most interesting about this was her partaking in the pipe ceremony yesterday in memory of Cloud Eagle. If you do not know about the importance of this ceremony to Native Americans and how it connects people to the spiritual world, here are some quick and dirty facts. The pipe symbolizes prayer, the smoke symbolizes words, the fire represents the sun and the source of all life. Those things smoked in the pipe have roots because they penetrate the earth (a symbol of our mortality) and the smoke rises to the heavens (a symbol of the immortality of our souls). Yes- yes- Stefanie Neumann’s connection to me at that specific moment in time was indeed a meaningful coincidence.
The Saloon: A Piece of Me
August 21, 2012
Hillside near the Mora Cemetery where my great great
maternal grandfather Roman Valdez was laid to rest.
**Photograph by Felicia Lujan (2012)**
**A SHORT BACKGROUND**
Recently I was taken to see a building on the main drag in Mora, New Mexico. One of my oldest Valdez relatives gave me a personal tour of the street in the small town which my maternal ancestors called home, and my contemporaries call home. With the help of Facundo Valdez, I have slowly been collecting pieces of my Valdez family history. There was one particular building I was most interested in that day. It was the site of a former saloon and possible restaurant owned by my family. The Valdez family goes back in that area farther than people can remember first hand, but Jose Maria Valdez was instrumental in securing the Mora Land Grant. In 1851, he and Vicente Romero submitted a petition to secure the grant for the settlers of Mora. On my last visit to Mora, I captured many stories and took a variety of photographs, but for tonight I wanted to share my trials and tribulations with this particular piece of that history.
In 2004, I conducted an oral history interview with Facundo Valdez. In that interview he told me that my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez owned a saloon on the main street in Mora. The following week I checked the New Mexico Business Directories and did not find the saloon. I was very disappointed. Shortly after my maternal grandmother passed away in 2007, I decided to check the directories again. I had a feeling that she was encouraging me supernaturally to do so. I couldn’t believe it when I located an entry! As a writer I was very familiar with widows and orphans in typesetting, and to my amazement, I fell victim to just that. I had missed the entry a million times because it was a dangler under the next alphabetical town! My grandmother once told me that she would sing in the saloon as a young girl. I think she wanted me to find that entry and I did. There it was plain as day on page 400 of the 1906 New Mexico Business Directory, which reads “Valdez Roman A, saloon.”
**Archuleta Bar**
The former location of the saloon owned by my
great great maternal grandfather in Mora, New Mexico.
**Photograph by Felicia Lujan (2012)**
**TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF MY VALDEZ RESEARCH**
So far I can confirm that there was a saloon named after my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez. I have now confirmed the site and have taken photographs of the building which currently stands marked “Archuleta Bar” in black spray paint. This bar was “owned and operated” for over 25 years by Frances Archuleta who passed away in 2003. Her maiden name was also Valdez. In the 1880 Territorial Census, Roman Valdez was living in Herreras (Mora). He was 24 years old, and he was a “farmer.” His wife Porfiria was 21 years old. Here is my problem— I am stumped with the 1900 census records (12th US Census- Precinct 1- Mora County). There are two Roman Valdez men captured there in the same precinct, but I have a strong feeling they are the same man. Not only do they live in the same precinct, they are notably close to the same age? One man is listed as a “Bar Tender,” but was married to a Margarita Valdez. I do not recognize this woman’s name? She was 20 years younger than he, which is significant and there was an Ortega “sister” in the household?
According to a handwritten pedigree chart I obtained sometime back from Gabriel Meléndez my cousin, the Ortega surname is in this line. That chart should be accurate, as Meléndez is the Professor and Chair of the American Studies Program with the University of New Mexico. The age of this Roman Valdez and his profession is right on and in line with the 1906 ownership of a saloon, but what about the other entry in the 1900 census? That entry lists Roman Valdez with his wife, and my great great maternal grandmother Porfiria Maes. Could Roman have been married to two women simultaneously? I am not sure? Since it has been a few years since I have seen Gabriel, I may need to contact him and see what else he has come up with in regard to our family history? By 1915, the Valdez Saloon disappears from the New Mexico Business Directory, and by 1920 Roman was again listed as a “farmer” at 62 years old with Porfiria Maes Valdez (his wife) at 61 years old (14th US Census- Precinct 1- Mora County).
(LEFT) Photograph of my great great maternal grandfather Roman Valdez. The photo was given to me by Facundo Valdez Jr., and was found in Santiago Chapel behind a picture of the Virgin Mary. My great maternal grandfather Alfonso Valdez helped rebuild the chapel for the 3rd time in 1942 along with his brother Candido Valdez and other builders from the Mora Valley who cared to restore it.
(RIGHT) Tombstone of Roman Valdez in Mora, New Mexico
**Photograph by Felicia Lujan (2012)**
I will need to confirm that Roman died on April 2, 1924. My uncle took me to the grave site and I took beautiful photos of the tombstone and the hillside near the cemetery. Maybe I will ask to be buried there as well? I will need to track down a sacramental burial record and a certificate of death to confirm that he was about 67 years old when he died. He was still very young if that’s the case. So you see there is still so much to iron out, but at least I now have photographs of a site I have been wanting to visit for a very, very long time- the Roman Valdez Saloon.
Nice…The Striking Mind Award
August 18, 2012MT BLU rocks!!!!!
She made me my very own award
on August 17, 2012. She presented me
with a custom Striking Mind Award!
What a woman… I love lightning
and thunder. Check out my post
titled Zeus Sends His Message.
I am honored that she thinks I
have a striking mind!! Love it…
Really…. Thanks Blu 
****************************
WITH NO FURTHER DELAY
I PRESENT YOU WITH
FLUJAN
MY VOYAGE THROUGH TIME
Cyber Space Awards from Mysteries of a Wasteland, History of the Ancient World, and The Arkside of Thought
August 17, 2012
I finally took the time to update my “Awards from Cyber Space” page. By following this link, you can see the awards I have been given from anyone out there who cared to think anything about what I have to say. I needed to take some time to accept my last three awards. I am sorry for the delay. These three individuals have very unique sites and I am a follower of each. Thank you J. E. Lattimer for offering me the One Lovely Blogger Award. Thank you Maarit-Johanna for offering me the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thank you to Sahm Ataine King for offering me the Full of Heart Blogging Award. Sahm’s comment on the award post read—
“The second blog I’d like to nominate is that of Felicia Lujan. I do not know Felicia very well, but what I like about her blog is the excitement she exudes. As the name of her blog, My Voyage Through Time, implies, Felicia often goes on excursions of history, informing as well as telling a story. Now and then, she even engages in writing poetry and, you know what? It’s great stuff. Anybody who has a fondness for learning and enjoys history should be very pleased with what her blog offers.”
I do appreciate your thoughtful posts and your visits to my site. Following the awards, you will find the remaining conditions attached to the awards I have accepted in a wrap-up— Seven Random Things About Myself— a HEART Anagram— and 5 Award Nominations for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thank you to the following
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 30, 2012
Mysteries of the Wasteland
J. E. Lattimer
One Lovely Blogger Award
http://mysteriesofthewasteland.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/one-lovely-blog-award-nomination/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 31, 2012
History of the Ancient World
Maarit-Johanna
Very Inspiring Blogger Award
http://historyoftheancientworld.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/very-inspiring-blogger-award/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 15, 2012
The Arkside of Thought
Sahm Ataine King
Full of Heart Blogging Award
http://sahmataineking.com/2012/08/15/foh/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seven Random Things About Myself……
1……I don’t follow the leader- I make my own rules……2……I truly appreciate the little things……3……My desk is a digital arsenal which houses dangerous weapons…..4…..The appetite of my mind is like a ravaged beast……5……Today I was amazed by the storm over Santa Fe because I love lightening and thunder……6……I seek out people who are true to themselves and to their hearts……7……I hate materialistic people and “the plastics” or fake people.
My Heart Anagram.…..
H……ow often do you
E……xplore your hidden heart
A……nd invite it to seek true
R……iches? Hearts must seek
T……he golden riches of the mind.
My 5 Nominations.…..
The Arkside of Thought for the amazing poetry and
thought provoking contemplations.
http://sahmataineking.com/
MT BLU for the wonderful imagery and the creation
of the much needed Full of Darkness Award.
https://mitablu.wordpress.com/
Sacred Garden Doula (my cousin Jessica) for great
takes on mothering and the natural world of herbs.
http://sacredgardendoula.wordpress.com/
Daily Wild for a walk on the wild side.
http://dailywild.me/
Gothic Hearts and Bat Wings for the peek inside
the life of a goth chick.
http://gothicheartsandbatwings.wordpress.com/
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