Raquel profile picture

Raquel

First say to yourself what you would be; then do what you have to do

About Me

A molten mix of common sense & insanity. Not to mention, I'm chock-full of goodness. Chock full, I say!!On the shameless self-promotion tip: I am a member of the Ya Habibi Dance Company, a troupe which explores Raqs Sharqi, American Cabaret, Tribal Fusion, Turkish Romani and other styles of "middle eastern dance". We rock, you should hire us...just sayin'.
Look to this Day! For it is Life, the very Life of Life. In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence. The Bliss of Growth, The Glory of Action, The Splendor of Beauty; For Yesterday is but a Dream, And To-morrow is only a Vision; But To-day well lived makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness, And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope. Look well therefore to this Day!
Kalidasa
I saw you dancing last night
on the roof of your house all alone.
I felt your heart longing for the Friend.
I saw you whirling beneath the soft bright rose
that hung from an invisible stem in the sky.
So I began to change into my best clothes in hopes of joining you,
even though I live a thousand miles away.
And if you had spun like an immaculate sphere just two more times,
then bowed again so sweetly to the east,
you would have found God and me standing so near
and lifting you into our arms.
I saw you dancing last night
near the roof of this world
---Hafiz
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My Interests


Image From Kitty
BELLYDANCE, munkeys, cultural anthropology (read: Julian White/Marvin Harris/Stepen Tyler/Clifford/Geertz), music and dance (various kinds with a keen interest in Romani music and dance, together or apart these two things bring magic to my life), keeping the plant and animal life of this world as healthy and prosperous as possible, ridiculous conversations with my friends, The Monty Python state of mind, watching rugby. I'd really like to travel, so if anyone knows how I can circumnavigate the globes with stops in the British Isles (Scotland,Ireland and Wales), Turkey and Egypt, Greece, Myanmar, India, New Zealand and Australia for under 2G's I'd be interested to know.
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I'd like to meet:


In no particular order: Lao Tzu, Jack Johnson, Emily Dickinson, Hatshepsut, other dancers, Gandhi, Jesus, my grandmother Naomi, mmmm Johnny Depp, those people who are NOT interested in propagating the mainstream American Dream 'cause they know it's an illusion, Bob Dobbs, Lenny Bruce, Mr. Mandela, George Carlin, the person who keeps stealing my socks (seriously yo, it's getting to be a problem)

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Music:

Middle Eastern (classical and techno-groovified: Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Hossam Ramzy, Georges Lammam and his very talented ensemble, Selim Sessler, Jeremiah Soto, Tim Rayborn, Azam Ali, Natasha Atlas, Nancy Ajram, Ando Drom, Romani Puceanu, etc), Anything and everything by JACK JOHNSON (sage and groovy music), CAKE, Modest Mouse, BECK(naturally), Gnarls Barkley, Ben Lee, Bjork, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, The Killers, Incubus, Nucleus, Que La Chinga?, Franz Ferdinand, The Donnas, Sleater-Kinney, Radiohead, Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella, Billy - Lady Day, Etta and Sarah Vaughn (some people think it's Aretha, but to me Sarah has the voice of God), Yeah Yeah Yeah's, ABBA, Moulin Rouge, Yerba Buena, Bob Marley, AC/DC, Beastie Boys.....

tabbycat214

Movies:

A Streetcar Named Desire, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Best Soundtrack in ages), Cool Hand Luke/Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, I

Television:

I don't really watch television any more. I get my Zombie-facation from a multitude of other vices. However, I do have lots of shows that I think are great when I get a chance to see them, are on DVD or I'm just nostalgic about.
Thundercats, The Simpsons, Lost, Six Feet Under, The Muppet Show, Freaks and Geeks, Antiques Roadshow, Out of Ireland (PBS Saturdays in general), I Dream of Jeannie, Is Martha Stewart back on TV? if so, I love her show!, You Can't Say That On Television, I tried to avoid Sex and the City but it was just too much fun, METALOCOLYPSE!!

Books:

Specific books would be impossible but I do have favorite authors: any Jane Austen, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, Naguib Mahfouz, Isabel Allende, Alice Walker, ee cummings, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sandra Cisneros, Jim Davis, Michael Ondaatje (Coming Through Slaughter should be required reading), James Joyce, Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl, Langston Hughes, JRR Tolkien, Victoria Holt, If Chins Could Talk (i.e. Bruce Campbell - he is a god, by the way. Not THE God, but a god)
REMEMBER THIS:

Heroes:


My parents, Marvin Harris, Professor Todd Young (thank you for not being easy!),Shoshanna, Erika (I love you always, soul sister),Artemis Mourat& Dalia Carella (I want to grow up to be these women), Astryd deMichele, Samia Gamal and Tahia Carioca, Tim Burton, Amy Brown, that kooky motley crew I call my friends.

adopt your own virtual pet!
MWAHAHAHA! This is one cold cat!

St. Teresa

My Blog

News from the Front

Kitchen-Floor Conflict Intensifies As Rival House Cats Claim Same Empty Bag.onion_embed {background: rgb(256, 256, 256) !important;border: 4px solid rgb(65, 160, 65);border-width: 4px 0 1px 0;margin: ...
Posted by Raquel on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:20:00 PST

The Musicmakers and the Dreamers of the Dream

Putting experience and inspiration into words is a tricky endeavor, but I will try....Mendocino Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp....such a practical name for such a place, such an experience. ...
Posted by Raquel on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:43:00 PST

Lemma Ignotus Aliquot

Descant finit`e Cerulean sparks; veiled umber What can come of this?...
Posted by Raquel on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:07:00 PST

The Space Between Knowing & Understanding

Ah, Janet Hobbs. I am seriously in Love with this woman....she has a knack for writing so straightforwardly what is a jumble-bumbly mess in my head. As some of you know, I'm in quite the dynamic and ...
Posted by Raquel on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:28:00 PST

Your Heart is a Magical Kitchen

a very dear friend wrote this to me not so very long ago and I am so grateful.  It's been a rope of light to hold onto and meditatively climb when I'm in my darker place. Such wise and wonderful ...
Posted by Raquel on Fri, 25 May 2007 10:11:00 PST

Breaking Up is (Not So) Hard to Do

Have no fear, this is no weepy romantic breakup blog.  What I'm talking about here is an internal break up, break away, break out....and it has been such a wonderful waterslide of work. Let me ex...
Posted by Raquel on Fri, 25 May 2007 05:04:00 PST

Lovecats

Through and throughThe Cure: The Lovecats Add to My Profile | More Videos...
Posted by Raquel on Tue, 22 May 2007 09:35:00 PST

This is the 5th time, so I suppose I should

Tagged! OK, Here are the rules...1.) Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.2.) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things as well as pos...
Posted by Raquel on Wed, 16 May 2007 08:46:00 PST

Sick Day Siskel

So I've been sick with some mysterious something the past two days and, as with any good sick day, you pretty much don't want to do anything (Hey, movie watching is the one thing I can do th...
Posted by Raquel on Fri, 11 May 2007 12:18:00 PST

Ala Nar

"Throughout my life, by means of my life, the world has little by little caught fire in my sight, until a flame all around me, it has become almost luminous from within. Such has been my experience i...
Posted by Raquel on Fri, 11 May 2007 10:32:00 PST