Watch “That Time Pojo Took DC” on YouTube

My nephew recently went on a trip to DC and I loved seeing all these pics♡…

My girl, Janet

This is a very touching and very moving story. It was shared by someone I know well. I urge each of you to reach out and help Janet and others like her if you are as moved as I was when I read this. We can all do more.
~~~Felicia

Congratulations Sister

~~Katelin Marie Lujan~~

My youngest sister graduated yesterday. She walked across the stage to receive her diploma with her fellow Pojoaque High School class mates. I am so proud of Katelin. She has plans to attend UNM and I’m sure she will be another successful Lujan. I can still remember when she was just a little girl. Time passes so fast. She is a beautiful woman now.

~~Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (a graduate of PHS) takes a selfie with the PHS Class of 2014~~

It was a very nice ceremony with awesome representation. There were four Pueblo Governors present (Pojoaque, Nambe, San Ildefonso and Tesuque). Congressman Ben Ray Lujan and the newest Mayor of Santa Fe, Javier Gonzales are both Pojoaque graduates who inspirationally addressed the students. Ben Ray pulled an Ellen and posted a selfie with the graduates to his Facebook page.  

Katelin Marie was a happy baby. She still has a beautiful smile. I can remember the cute cards Katelin made me when she was a little girl. She loved to bake with her mom. Our dad and her mommy have done a good job raising her right. I look forward to seeing what she will become. She has a very supportive family, so she is going to do great.

Congratulations lil sis!!! You worked your butt off to get where you are today. Always work hard and smile big no matter what you may encounter on your journey into a new chapter of your life. We will all be here for you every step of the way.

~~Katelin Lujan and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan in Washington, D.C. (2014)~~

Mystique and JFK

• Inside the Kennedy Mystique by Chris Matthews (Smithsonian Collector’s Edition~ Summer 2013) •

Today I picked up JFK: The Ultimate Guide. The magazine is the newest Smithsonian Collector’s Edition (Summer 2013) and features 14 articles about John F. Kennedy. It was kind of expensive, but it will be a good one to save in my personal collection.

Tonight I read the introduction by Chris Matthews of MSNBC and NBC. This piece is titled “Inside the Kennedy Mystique.” I like JFK as an icon/symbol of several things, but I didn’t know that “Kennedy was a dead-serious student of history.” Really?!? At age 14 he read about WWI in The World Crisis by Winston Churchill. At age 14? I have to say that the Matthews piece alone has already made me like JFK even more. I can’t wait to read the rest of the magazine. I will write about each article I like after I read them over the next few weeks.

In the Matthew’s introduction, I learned that JFK’s father believed that his son was too shy to have a successful political career. As it turned out, “the politician would prove to be charming beyond both expectation and belief…” and that “charm made him almost irresistibly attractive to men as well as to women. It also helped him keep people at a distance.” Sounds true, and I may have known that already? Who knew an introvert could be so charming?

I have read about JFK over the last few years, but I never knew that he was very sick as a child? I was surprised to learn that he kept his medical conditions and pain secret in order to serve in the Navy during WWII. He also stayed quiet about this through his political career and while he was President of the United States of America. Kennedy had scarlet fever when he was a boy, he thought he had leukemia when he was a teenager, he had Addison’s disease and his back was very bad. The Catholic Church administered the Last Rites to JFK four times! Wow… Something I didn’t know? Matthews says that “as president, he took a half-dozen shots of painkillers a day simply to function.” He often used crutches, tried not to pick up his children, and had to be lifted into Air Force One with a forklift. Really?

I guess any politician must surround him or herself with intellectuals in order to be successful. It takes so many different kinds of people and perspectives to insure an accomplished career, in turn leaving a solid legacy. The other thing that stood out to me in the Matthew’s introduction was that JFK called his political speech writer, Ted Sorensen his “intellectual blood bank.” I absolutely love that term of endearment!

Anyhow~ I look forward to reading the other articles featured in the Smithsonian publication. I’m sure I will learn other interesting things that I didn’t know about my most favorite intriguing man. He is indeed a historical icon enveloped by mystique.

Among the Gifted

I was very honored to be asked to develop a design to promote the 2013 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference. This is my second promotional design for WORDHARVEST. The first one I designed was for the Hillerman Prize. Over the last week, I worked to complete a flyer for Anne Hillerman and Jean Schaumberg.

Anne and Jean founded WORDHARVEST 11 years ago, which is “devoted to the art and craft of writing.” WORDHARVEST sponsors the Tony Hillerman Writers Conference. I can’t wait to continue learning from these well known authors, and maybe one famous scriptwriter that I have never met. Anne and Jean have put together a fabulous array of gifted writers. This year, the conference will feature Anne Hillerman, James McGrath Morris, Kirk Ellis, Craig Johnson, David Morrell, Margaret Coel, Christine Barber, Linda Jacobs, Steve Havill, and many others!!

It would be awesome to talk with James McGrath Morris. He is the author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power. As a former journalist, I have to read that book and get a special autograph from McGrath Morris. Joseph Pulitzer was a “media baron” who settled in St. Louis. The baron “transformed American journalism into a medium of mass consumption and immense influence.” How can I not read a book about the rise (and arguably the fall) of a champion of the Democratic Party? The media powerhouse is said to have “used his influence to advance a progressive political agenda and his power to fight those who opposed him.”

I would also love to meet the Emmy award winning screenwriter/producer Kirk Ellis. Ellis was the writer and the co~executive producer of John Adams (the HBO mini~series). He is also working on Blood and Thunder, which is an epic drama about Kit Carson and the Navajo Wars. In 2009, Ellis agreed to work on the adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway book Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir by A. E. Hotchner. You know I have to meet him right?! I adore Hemingway. Ellis also worked on the TV mini~series Into the West: Hell on Wheels and Anne Frank: The Whole Story.

I really can’t wait! Here is the design I came up with for the conference. It is sure to be a great!

~Designed by Felicia Lujan~

President can order cyber attacks

Good To Know

President can order preemptive cyberattacks if needed – Computerworld.

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The Heat Rocks!

Yeah!! Yeah!!! Yeah!!! Yeah!!!! Loved this!

Miami Heat White House Visit (2013) posted by

one of my favorites “Champion Since.” This is what

I’m talkin’ about! Get ready to see the Heat take it

yet again this year! Nice… 🙂

Felicia

The Knowledge Martyr~ Aaron Swartz

~RIP Aaron Swartz~
May you reach binary heaven.

 

“Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations.”

~~~Aaron Swartz
Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto (2008)

Frank Kingdom once said that “questions are the creative acts of intelligence.” His words are so powerful. Tonight I was going to post about something else, but when I signed on to the internet, I learned about a tragedy. I am saddened to learn that one of the greatest pioneers of the open movement has paid the ultimate price in his quest for knowledge.

Aaron Swartz the founder of Demand Progress, paid with his life on Friday. The 26 year old was just a baby in the world of technology. He was facing federal charges, close to 40 years in prison, and at least a million dollars in fines for his part in a political movement demanding the freedom of information. In the words of Herodotus,”this is the bitterest pain among men, to have much knowledge but no power.”

The young genius is said to have killed himself, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s true. If information and knowledge is power, how much can you demand before the powers that be make sure you disappear? I used the digital library JSTOR (Journal Storage) just yesterday to write my last post Seduce the Moon. Swartz has hacked that library and some close to him say he was depressed about the decisions he made.

As a hero, Swartz authored the Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto. He didn’t sign the manifesto because he did not believe in the ownership of information. Swartz called it “outrageous” and “unacceptable” that scientific articles are provided “to those at elite universities in the First World, but not to children in the Global South.” If you have never read or do not know of this manifesto, I would encourage you to read it.

The dark haired champion said “we need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world. We need to take stuff that’s out of copyright and add it to the archive. We need to buy secret databases and put them on the Web. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks. We need to fight for Guerilla Open Access.”

He has been called a political martyr, a hacktivist, a web genius, a felon, a committed liberator of information, a hero, a distinguished hacker, a pioneer, and an open access guerrilla. Swartz was all of those things~ though I think he was indeed a felon with good intentions. He was more brave than I. May he rest in peace among the 1z and 0z. May his soul reach binary heaven where knowledge is freely available.

An Immortal Legacy

•Stars and stripes in honor of Ben Lujan Sr.•

~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What we have done
for ourselves alone dies
with us; what we have
done for others and
the world remains
and is immortal.

~•Albert Pike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~
Tonight I attended the services of a well respected member of my home town. Ben Lujan, Sr. was a Democratic member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. He represented his district for decades, and was the current Speaker of the House. To many he was even more than that. He was a father, a brother, a husband, a cousin, and a friend.

I wanted to pay my respects for several reasons. The main reason was for his son~ Ben Ray (or respectfully Congressman Lujan). Not long ago a very good friend of mine passed away in a tragic accident. Ben Ray and my friend Kim were very close when we were young. When she passed away, he made time to attend her services. That act alone~ amongst all of his accomplishments impressed me most. He is worth my respect and so is his family.

One of the most beautiful things I saw tonight was an American flag. The local fire department was flying the flag in Speaker Lujan’s honor. The flag flapped against the cold and dark with a single spotlight on it. It would have been wonderful to see our state flag waving in the wind as well. It was a very touching sight.

When I walked into the Ben Lujan Gymnasium, tonight, the musicians were singing El Shaddai. That was one of Kim’s favorite songs. It seemed so appropriate. Two large photo collages and a video with historic and family photos made me cry. My heart was breaking for another Lujan family as the entire valley gathered to remember a great man. Marcus Cicero once said that “the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.” This is so true. He will forever be remembered.

I’m not sure why I ponder my own legacy when I am faced with the passing of those I know? Maybe it is because I am an archivist plagued by the clutches of history and genealogy? Maybe it is because I am highly analytical and contemplative? I do believe that our legacy truly lives on through our family ties.

After seeing all of the touching photos of Ben Sr. it became very clear to me. He was the well respected Speaker of the House, but that defined only a portion of his life. As Mitch Albom once said “death ends a life, not a relationship.” In the end~ it is our family which defines the larger part of who we really are or who we are yet to become.

In the end~ our legacy never stops. The torch is merely carried on by those who we have loved and touched in special ways. A legacy is indeed an immortal flame.

Who Would Wonder Woman Vote For?

Wonder Woman has been a feminist icon since the 1940s. She graces a star-spangled suit, the magical Lasso of Truth, and she is part of the Justice League. Wonder Woman is a symbol of liberation and female empowerment. The most famous inked heroine is indeed the symbolic triple threat. She is strong, smart and beautiful. I know who she would vote for~~ do you?

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Make history and VOTE!
~~~~Felicia
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Marilyn Monroe Will Visit with Writers in Santa Fe

Post cards for the 2012 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico

I am so happy and so honored to receive an official request to be a part of the 2012 Tony Hillerman Writers Conference team! This will be my second year. Last week Jean Schaumberg paid me a visit and dropped off some conference post cards. She told me that she and Anne Hillerman would like to have me back this year. Jean asked me which days I would be willing to work? Well— of course my answer was **everyday!!

This year, the conference will run from November 8 thru November 10. It is such a magical event filled with books, pens and paper, computers, connections, and great minds! The conference inspires me to push forward with my unique ways of expressing myself both in writing and orally. This particular conference has been bringing upcoming and successful writers/authors together since 2004. Jean (also of the School for Advanced Research) and Anne (Tony’s daughter and a former New Mexico journalist) are the women behind WordHarvest and the writers conference. The conference is hand tailored by these two phenomenal women.

Tony Hillerman passed away in 2008. Since I am always wondering about the man behind the legend, I decided to learn more about him. I have been taking the time to read through some of his early work as a journalist with a daughter who followed in his footsteps. I knew he was a reporter for many years when he was young, but I didn’t realize the vast amount of knowledge he had with regard to New Mexico politics in the 50s and 60s? It seems that was his cup of tea! He moved from writing about politics to writing award winning mysteries. This morning at 6:00am, I received an email from WordHarvest titled This Just In! Hillerman Writers Conference Updates. The newsletter said there will be a special event to remember and honor Mr. Hillerman. The presentation will be delivered by his daughter Anne and photographer Don Strel.

In the Bravos: News from WORDHARVEST faculty and alumni section of the email, I was super excited to see novelist/author David Morrell making a return with new research on *my* woman! It’s a sign!!! Ahhh— who believes in those things anyhow eh? Still— I am beside myself…. I met Morrell last year here in Santa Fe. He is the author of the bloody and intense Rambo. Morrell “is also a former professor of American Studies.” He will deliver his newest cultural-icon essay titled Marilyn Monroe: Legend and Tragedy. The only thing missing from this particular conference will be JFK, which in all reality is the real tragedy…

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For more information, visit http://wordharvest.com/

Wordharvest Writers Workshops | 1063 Willow Way, Santa Fe NM 87507 | Phone: 505-471-1565

________________________

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A Study of Ancient Minds

There is a Community Lecture on September 12, 2012. The lecture starts at 7:30pm and will take place at the James A. Little Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The lecture is titled Reading Ancient Minds: Metaphor, Culture, and History Making. Scott Ortman, an Omidyar Fellow with the Santa Fe Institute and a Lightfoot Fellow with the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center will likely deliver a powerful presentation. Following is the abstract for this lecture.

How much does culture influence the fates of human societies? Our experiences with contemporary politics suggest that the varying ways humans construe the world do make a difference, but the traditional view in many fields is that, in the big picture, material forces trump human conceptualizations. Ortman argues that we don’t actually know the answer yet, but that new approaches in archaeology may suggest an answer. Cognitive science suggests that conceptual metaphors are the building blocks of human conceptual systems; Ortman illustrates how one can discover these metaphors through archaeological and linguistic analysis and discusses how these methods enable one to see the role of culture in history using examples drawn from his research on ancestral Pueblo societies of the U.S. Southwest.

Sounds super interesting doesn’t it? I love the study of metaphors, symbols, signs, imagery, and other elusive forms of communication. If I go, I will go alone with just a thinking cap and a notepad- oh and of course my crow sign!