Chalice

( gath )

If the body is a chalice

and the breath we breath

produces

the bloody wine

that fills it --

we are each 

              potential Jesus

the living bread.

Fear not,

             we

need not

          eat

each other

                   only BE

Jesus-like:

act as 

Jesus would act

if he were suddenly beamed to Earth

in nearly 2012

Everybody:

Be

the living sacrament, and then

No One

will be required to be

a sacrifice

again.

( beautifulflowerpictures )

Breath(e)

Breathe the breath of life

for as long as you can,

savour it,

like chocolate milk ---

it is the most precious 

material possession

you will ever gain,

and it is made material

each time it enters

your fleshly chassis-chalice.

Breath brings light

to dull brain corridors,

              brings wings

to sunken hearts,

              brings song

to stale dull words.

Breath is sacred;

                   it is

our communion feast,

the food we share

daily

hourly

minutely

secondly

instantly

now

with the rest of the world.

Breathe deep, 

friend,

and recognize each

moment

is sacrimental.

Remembering The Time

to the eternal diva,

Michael Jackson,

August 29, 1958 - July 25, 2009

who reminds us,
all too well,

that divas,

in their strive for artistic perfection
are, in the end,

only human

Today's Diva: Dolores Keane

Haven't listened to Dolores Keane

for a little while --

listened again tonight,

and I can't get enough of her.

Hope you too enjoy:

The Human Band Width

So,

let's imagine that it's true --

that on 

12/21/2012

the planet Earth,

Sun,

Moon

all the other planets

all align

with the center of the Solar System,

and we realize that this actually puts us

into a rather vulnerable position,

especially with regards to

Unpredictable

solar flares.

And our protective

ozone 

has a hole in it.

( godlikeproductions )

Listen,

I'm no physicist,

but I have a crazy idea :

let's imagine that,

the ethereal entity that unites

all humans -- the collective

soul, the breath,

the essence of life

 -- is composed

of something akin

to radio waves.

(To understand this, let me ask you this:

is there anyone on the planet -

brother, sister, mother,

grandmother, spouse 

friend

with whom you feel you have

some uncanny bond?

And do you ever have these bizarre

but wonderfully natural

moments when 

you're both thinking of each other

and one calls

the other --

only to find the other was intending

to call?

Or do you know

when something bad

is happening

to your brother

(sister/spouse/grandmother/

best friend)

?

What is it that links you to that person?

Well, I propose

that's caused by a form of

radio wave,

and you and that person 

just happen to be

tuned into the same channel,

so to speak.)

If you'll actually buy into

this bizarre proposal,

we are all,

more or less,

giant radio beacons,

and we are indeed

"in tune"

with a few of our 

closest family members and friends.

At one time, too, we could also

tune into the entire human life-force,

but now, our collective tuning

is way off.

But it is possible to

tune into a larger collective.

Centuries of deception

and discordance

and distrust of the other

has made it nigh impossible

to actually recognize

that humans all share the same band width.

If we cleaned out the receivers

in our hearts,

so to speak,

and if we could

tune everyone

into the same tone,

well, 

we might produce something akin

to a radio blanket

sort of like a shield of tightly woven

energy

that would protect us against

the hot hot waves

of the maddening sun.

And let's pretend for a minute that this

absurd flight of fancy

would actually work

to save the planet and all of humanity.

So this is the deal,

from 

Radio Makropoulos:

at a certain point in the not too distant future

we should all put ourselves

into the zone of

Selfless Love, and 

this would produce the 

necessary frequency

to imitate the 

ozone layer,

and save the Earth

and all its inhabitants.

(Sounds simple, right?

We just have to love each other.

Honestly.)

Of course, Selfless Love is preceded

by Self Love

because one cannot exercise

Selfless Love

of others if

one does not love the Self first.

So,

using my wildly idealistic and irrational premise,

the best way to save the world from final destruction

is this:

Step One:

Love Yourself.

Step One-A:

If you do not love yourself,

if you think your life is worthless,

or anything else like that,

it's time to give that routine up.

Just give it up.

You've been doing this

all of your life, and all it's made you

is miserable.

Instead,

recognize

that you got up this morning,

and somehow got yourself

to a place where you can read

this crazy woman's rambling.

You're able to eat,

communicate,

most likely move around,

and have an opinion.

And therefore,

you have value.

You are an individual worth loving,

and I love and respect you

for getting through this nutty blog entry.

So, there:

start loving yourself.

And

STEP TWO:

get on with the task of selflessly loving 

everyone and everything around you.

And then, well,

our collective love

will create a shield of

protection.

In my idealist blogging past, I declared

a trial run, to begin

11/11/11, at 11:00 am or pm,

in any time zone,

it really doesn't matter.

I keep thinking that would be a good idea.

So read my proposal above,

and my proposal for

11/11/11,

and then

do it.

I dare you.

If everyone on this earth

would suddenly decide to 

#1: Love Yourself

#2: Love the World Unselfishly,

well,

there may actually be something like

peace

on earth,

and we might have the side benefit

of actually seeing Jesus

face to face.

All Together Now . . . 

James Richard Verone, American Hero

( yahoonews )

I predict,

that within the next week, t-shirts will begin appearing

with this man's picture on it.

James Richard Verone

has offered himself up

as a symbol of what the United States health system has become:

James Verone is not

necessarily a criminal.

He appears to have been,

for most of his 59 years,

a law abiding United States citizen,

but at the age of 59,

he has no insurance

and he's ill.

So he robbed a bank of $1, so he could get put in prison

and receive medical care.

I'd say that's brilliant.

This man's face

signifies

one of the biggest problems in the 

United States of America,

the greatest country in the world,

the land of the free,

and you can believe it,

the home of the brave.

Our health insurance system has produced a

national psychosis that promotes a few

delusions:

we feel that the "better" citizens

have their own health insurance,

we work like dogs to keep

our rapidly decreasing policies,

and all around,

we feel

that we'd better not get sick,

or we're screwed.

All health insurance in America

(except, perhaps

that for the very wealthy)

has a cap -- a limit;

and the elderly,

the chronically ill,

have a "doughnut hole"

of indebtedness

to fear.

Mr. Verone was brave to do what he has done,

and we can either chastise him for

"manipulating the system"

(oh, before you do that, think:

how many people do you know

who are uninsured?

And afraid,

truly afraid

of getting ill?

And:

what would you do if that was your

brother, 

sister,

best friend,

cousin,

mother,

neighbor,

self

who decided to do this "crazy" act?

Crazy like a fox.

)

or we can 

pay attention to his message.

Good luck, James.

I sure hope you feel better soon.

Judy Collins "The Weight of the World" + "Kingdom Come"

I've been listening to Judy Collins' 

album "Paradise" alot lately;

it's really a fabulous album.

I think everyone should listen to these songs, and

yeah,

I'd like to sing them.

But I couldn't come anywhere near her performance:

Thank You, Judy,

one of my all time favorite divas.

I'm Singing Again

SUMMER FEAST FOR THE SOUL: Being Spiritual in the Age of the Cyborg

( sk8rrbol )

There is a message

on this blog,

on which I am consistent,

and it is a message about change

-- the dramatic change that I do feel we are all facing --

and an appropriate way to face it.

Humanity is changing so rapidly

right now,

we're going crazy.

Reality is shifting faster

than I can type this posting,

and faster

than you can read it.

Technology is overtaking us;

we can do with technology now things that

our bodies could not do in a lifetime;

we can use technology

to fix our bodies. 

We are living in the age of the cyborg.

( danpankraz )

Furthermore,
we are in
The Age of The Grid:

this is

a time when we can all be

in the same place, at the same time:

the same place,

(as long as we redefine "place"

as where we are in our minds)

at the same time.

Bottom line.

You know it and I know it.

People can play in Second Life

with folks on the other side of the world,

just as long as we agree to be there

at the same time;

people can blog about the problems they have

with their cars

as long as they agree to be on a car blog

at the same time;

people can do a number of things,

both licit and illicit,

with strangers,

all at the same time,

if we all agree to be here at the same time.

All you have to do is make sure you turn on your computer

at the same time I do, 

and I'm there,  as are you

along with

 several other hundreds of thousands of people

in the world.

Therefore,

the internet could be used

to unite humans

under one purpose--

All we'd have to do

is agree

to turn it on

and let it dictate where our mind is at

at the same time.

And humanity would be joined

in one spirit,

in whatever spirit

the people who commandeer the computers

put us in.

Isn't that funky?

Isn't that scary and wonderful?

This would be most wonderful if the spirit

we joined in were to be one

of cooperation and love.

This would also be wonderful if the spirit

we joined in were to be one

of spiritual growth and harmony.

Crazy right?

Well, here's a link to a group that is trying to do

precisely that:

I'm going to do it.

How about you?

Two Mints In One

Yesterday,

my friend Debra at

She Who Seeks,

posted something really interesting about

Two Spirit People,

the Native American concept of the human

who can have both the male & female

inside of them.

Please check out her blog for 

fabulous pictures.

In response to that,

I would like to post today

a link to a story at

Io9

titled

Bilateral gynandromorphism: a fancy way of saying you’re (literally) half male and half female

According to the story,

this cannot happen

in the world of humans;

it is only an animal condition, wherein

"Some have chromosomes that are expressed internally, whereas a different set are expressed externally. Nature has many ways of combining genes, and some of these combinations evince a distinctly binary way of looking at the world. Such is the case with a genetic condition known as gynandromorphism."

I'm not totally convinced this only happens with non-human animals.

Small Day

( invisiblegreen )

This day so quiet and

small, full of tiny

accomplishments,

like

a good night's sleep

despite

pollen-clogged airways,

a couple new bras,

a vacuumed floor,

an opening rosebud,

a silent sunset.

Is this

what life is for?

If I measure my days 

by material accomplishments,

today was a bust, but

if I measure my accomplishments

by pleasure given,

this is what I gained today:

a smile from the elderly woman

next door when I stopped

to chat; a gradual relaxation

from the trembling hands

of the cashier who wrapped

my new lingerie (she was

my student once: a shy girl

embarrassed by seeing

what her teacher wears

underneath.

I remembered her name,

and her major, and actually

made her laugh, and the trembling

stopped); a purr

of contentment from the cat 

as I brushed her; another purr

from the other

when I shared my lamb

at dinner.  A check

to help my landlady

with necessary repairs.

A quiet sunset, joy from a song I've always loved to hear.

And this poem,

if you can call it that.

Indeed this day -- 

this small, quiet day --

has been a booming success.

Lost in Space: Paradigm Shift:2012 (or thereabouts)

The human race, 

lost in space:

this is who we are

gripping tight

this wretched rock

we've traveled pretty far.

FULL CIRCLE

( copernicus )

It was shocking when Copernicus

moved the center to the sun;

the earth-moving truth

caused much despair

for a century or two

but eventually brought

intellectual breakthrough.

That is called paradigm shift 

(I've spoken of this before)

We're in another one,

now.

( nationalgeographic )

But this one is more

belittling,

more

difficult to digest

than coming to terms with the structure

of our own solar system.

At least the Copernican

shift

kept us somewhat central.

At least it

kept us in observable

space;

but this new shift,

well,

it asks us to perceive ourselves

in relation to

infinity:

in relation to

what's beyond the horizon,

lying hidden

under the under

belly of all being.

We're here,

at the brink of that understanding,

of being able to perceive

infinitely.

( thegodguy  *If you can make any sense
out of my collective rambling entries,
check out this guy's blog)

It's not half as scary as it sounds.

We merely need

to discard our conception

of time,

and with it

anything else that is

denominational.

( schoolloansblog )

Because once we've seen infinity,

we don't need to count

anymore.

Kutiman

If you haven't figured it out by now,

I am deeply inspired

by the internet's ability

to bridge differences,

and to facilitate collective artwork

that allows each individual to maintain

a shred of uniqueness.

It's most intriguing on the impact of this on music.

Here is my latest find in that regard --

Kutiman --

check it out; haven't much else to say about it.

(with gratitude to Dangerous Minds

for turning me on to this.)

Full Moon Coming (channelling)

( tracyastrosalon )

Full Moon Coming,

I can feel it in my bones;

I can hear it in the way they crack,

and the struggle in my brain

to keep me on the right track,

the track that I've defined

to keep me clear in vision

and balanced in my mind.

The week is slightly nutty,

and things just won't make sense;

but keep your vision clear

and the moon can be your friend.

The moon amplifies whatever state

of mind you're in when it is full,

so it's best to not be down,

smile at the day, even if

the smile's  a toil; 

that smile will soon

become a laugh

about the time that moon

reaches full.

( longislandpress - follow this link for news

about the lunar eclipse this Wednesday! )

Road Trip, II

The Magical Land

of the Second Part

of My Road Trip

(Pictures taken

not necessarily 

in this order --

~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

(all photos by Makropoulos)

With Respect To The Other People You'll Find, If You Type "Makropoulos" Into a Google Browser

Nikos Makropoulos,

singer:

;

Marina Makropoulos,

photographer:

www.phototheorem.com

;

World Chess Federation Deputy President 

Georgios Makropoulos

;

American Wrestling Writer,

the late

Georgiann Makropoulos

. . . and more,

many many wonderful more

Makropouli --

I am honored to be among them!

Just Be Beautiful, (Wo)Man

Just Be Beautiful (wo

)man;

just be beautiful;

be the way

you know you can be

when you are be

ing the most bea

utiful

you are.

Even if that means feel

ing

like you're going out in drag,

just be beautiful,

(wo)man;

be the way you know you can be

the most beautiful creature

you know you can be

if you took the chance

(even tried to dance)

as beautifully as you are:

Drag As Therapy

OK,

So I was listening to NPR,

my favorite driving companion,

this morning,

and I heard an interview with RuPaul.

(For the actual interview, see link at the end of this entry.)

Now, I have to admit,

I've always been intrigued by Drag Queens,

even though I never quite understood;

I lived in the West Village

of NYC, 

and happily went to the parades,

but this morning I made the connection

between going in drag

and finding the diva

in you.

And that's really not all that bad of a thing.

Gay Video & Lesbian Movies - Logo: Fierce TV

I've written before about

how we all

have the potential to be divas,

and I must admit,

I was taken by my friend Debra's comment

that a diva is a designation 

for a special talent,

and to give yourself that title

is a bit pretentious.

And I understand that;

I really do.

If you met me on the street,

you would meet

a very humble woman

who often does not go out of her way to look good

most of the time.

A woman (like many women) who

when using her talents, uses them with restraint,

because she was always taught

not to call too much attention to myself.

Humility is a good

and important

thing;

and I think we all need

to maintain it, to a certain extent,

but not to the extent

that we bottle ourselves,

throttle ourselves,

and refuse ourselves the opportunity

to express ourselves.

To be a diva

is to find the most beautiful thing inside of you,

and to not be afraid to flaunt it.

The world would be,

perhaps,

a much happier place

if we were all comfortable enough 

with ourselves to do that.

This doesn't always mean

dressing like a drag queen,

but if your inner beauty means

physical self expression,

so be it;

it may mean

being smart,

being a good cook,

being a deep lover,

being a gardener:

whatever brings out

the beauty in you.

But since we're so repressed,

so beaten down,

so painfully squelched,

drag is the outcome of self expression.

And drag is frightening,

and brave,

all at the same time.

Drag is therapy.

This blog is the place where I

am in drag,

unashamedly

and proudly--

and I bless RuPaul for this sentiment (paraphrased -

I hope RuPaul wouldn't be too offended

by my added interpretation):

I will make my special talent (be it my body, my mind, or my voice) as beautiful and true as I can possibly be,

as long as I live in it

on this beautiful planet.

Road Trip, Part I

( photos by Makropoulos )

A something in a summer's Day
As slow her flambeaux burn away
Which solemnizes me.

A something in a summer's noon—
A depth—an Azure—a perfume—
Transcending ecstasy.

And still within a summer's night
A something so transporting bright
I clap my hands to see—

Then veil my too inspecting face
Lets such a subtle—shimmering grace
Flutter too far for me—

The wizard fingers never rest—
The purple brook within the breast
Still chafes it narrow bed—

Still rears the East her amber Flag—
Guides still the sun along the Crag
His Caravan of Red—

So looking on—the night—the morn
Conclude the wonder gay—
And I meet, coming thro' the dews
Another summer's Day! 
(Emily Dickinson)

Road Trip

( worldhum )

Well,

Makropoulos is about to take

a road trip

to somewhere in the United States of

America.

I am already bemoaning the loss

of my beloved iPhone,

because it will be harder to get

my photos to my computer,

and then to this blog;

however,

I will try.

And I will also try very hard

to  comment along the way,

and you,

my dear patient readers,

can try to figure out where I am!

Right now, I'm just brain dead,

because,

quite frankly,

after a long hard semester of teaching,

sometimes I just want to sleep for about a month.

Hope to be able to add an entry soon!

( actionallen )