Horoscopes: 11.25.13

Aries: March 21 - April 20

When we choose to walk uncharted roads, critics often try to do their worst, but the rewards that wait for the adventurous are unimaginable.

Taurus: April 21 - May 21

There comes a time when we must all reflect on the impact our journey has had on others. The story is ours alone, but the supporting cast deserves some of the spotlight too.

Gemini: May 22 - June 21

New ventures can be both exhilarating and a little frightening, but you have to cast yourself off of the pier if you ever want to go anywhere.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

It's the perfect time for a little randomness in your life. Don't plan your steps today, just head out the door and go wherever it is the Universe pulls you to.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

You need a plan. It doesn't have to be set in stone, but you can't live every moment of your life simply floating on the wind. The wind dies down eventually.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Find a cafe with a view. Grab some coffee or tea. Bring a good book, and disappear surrounded by strangers.

Libra: September 23 - October 23

Support a friend's endeavors today. You'll be surprised how liberating and uplifting it can feel to help another rise.

Scorpio: October 24 - November 22

When a stone falls into a calm pond, it makes a ripple. While the ripple eventually vanishes, the stone that caused it will always reside beneath the surface.

Sagittarius: November 23 - December 21

You cannot walk down a dozen roads at once, and get anywhere. Learn to focus your energies, and watch your journey unfold.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 20

It does not lessen you to ask for help every once and awhile. On the contrary, it allows you to recharge with a fresher perspective.

Aquarius: January 21 - February 19

Physician heal thyself. If you want to continue to be a source of insight and wisdom for others, you need to heed some of your own advice.

Pisces: February 20 - March 20

Set aside some time to curl up with a little bit of yesterday. Feed your soul with the nostalgic recollections of an old romance.

Horoscopes: 11.11.13

Today's Horoscopes are brought to you by my iPod...

Aries: March 21 - April 20

Down the Rabbit Hole by Adam Lambert

Taurus: April 21 - May 21

Who Are You Now? by Barbra Streisand

Gemini: May 22 - June 21

I Feel Pretty by Natalie Wood

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

I Dreamed A Dream by Susan Boyle

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Applause by Lady Gaga

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Baby Can I Hold You by Tracy Chapman

Libra: September 23 - October 23

Sullen Girl by Fiona Apple

Scorpio: October 24 - November 22

I Want to Be Evil by Eartha Kitt

Sagittarius: November 23 - December 21

Monotonous by Eartha Kitt

Capricorn: December 22 - January 20

Wake Up by Alanis Morissette

Aquarius: January 21 - February 19

Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin

Pisces: February 20 - March 20

Pearls by Sade

Spread Too Thin...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to actually make you happy? Are you ones of those people who finds pleasures simply and effortlessly from those small humble moments life is filled with, or you the kind who needs the glitz, the glam and a parade of glitter wherever you go? Is there a happy middle between those two extremes?

What do I want? You can't expect the Universe to align the stars to grant you your wish, if you don't even know what that is anymore. I want to make art. Professionally. I want to write. Professionally. Is that the expected answer from me, though? Is that what Robert Mendoza should say? At some point, I became "Azodnem", then at another "The Cuban Witch", both with their own sets of expectations attached. Am I no longer either of those? Who is just Robert? I've slapped my artwork up at CafePress, Imagekind, and Zazzle. I'm even working on adding a store onto Etsy as well to help find forever-homes for some of those original sketches, photographs and treasures that have been hiding away in my old portfolios. They belong on walls, not in darkness. I have a book on Amazon, and am working on a children's book, and a young adult novel series. Great. Fanfare. But who is just Robert?

I was a poet once. Still am. Words flowed like the honey and tasted just as sweet on my fingers. Poets suffer. Artists suffer. It's what we do. It's our oxygen. I've suffered. Most of it my own doing, because for the longest time I refused to let go. I held onto my anger and hurt like they were precious uncut stones that I would eventually be able to turn into diamonds. Sparkle. They were nothing but rocks. Heavy ones. Sometimes, you get used to carrying a weight around for so long that you have no idea what to do when you've released it. You stand still. You sit. You think. You stare at the wall. I stare at the wall. I think. I sit. I stand still. My journey has felt as though it has crawled to a shuffle, and the things that should be bringing me joy have become "tasks" that need to be completed. I need to do this. I need to do that. Am I walking the same road out of habit? I've grown tired of these shoes.

This blog has no substance. No soul. Not like the other one I used to have over at Bravenet. My voice there was very different. I had swag. This one has come to feel almost like an "obligation", I've drenched it in Horoscopes, cheesy App Reviews, and cliche Halloween posts, because... well... isn't that what one would expect from someone called "The Cuban Witch"? Perhaps, I should have also added pictures of coconuts, palm trees and a recipe or two for a good mojito.

I need to tie all this together. I want the bits and bats of me need to add up to something whole, beautiful and complete, but perhaps that's the problem. They don't need to, or can't. Not yet. "Azodnem" is my Grand Central Station, a central hub branching out to all the little nests I've built, and "The Cuban Witch"? Well, maybe that's just Robert in drag.

Horoscopes: 11.04.13

Aries: March 21 - April 20

There is no crime in taking some time to absorb all the changes the Universe has brought your way. Cuddle up with yourself... and a good cup of tea.

Taurus: April 21 - May 21

You seem to struggle against joy, as if accepting it into your life would somehow diminish you. Do you love your sorrows so much?

Gemini: May 22 - June 21

You cannot wear two faces and integrity at the same time. One or the other will inevitably fail.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

You deserve abundance. You deserve happiness. You deserve joy. You deserve respect. You deserve self-respect. Now... rinse and repeat.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

The limelight needs to be shared, so that when it's yours alone you can appreciate its and your own true worth.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Sometimes we initiate change. Sometimes change is brought to our doorstep. How that change effects us, our thoughts or our world, however, is in our own hands.

Libra: September 23 - October 23

You strive for a sense of inner peace as if it is sometime so difficult to obtain. It is, so as long as you continue to cling onto your griefs or rages as though they were precious jewels.

Scorpio: October 24 - November 22

Life rarely turns out exactly how we would like it to, but that doesn't mean it's turned out wrong.

Sagittarius: November 23 - December 21

Pick your destination, get in the car, but let the Universe plot out the roadmap. The view will be so much more wondrous.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 20

Negativity and self-doubt often close doors and dreams that no other force would have been able to. When you stop doubting your own worth, you'll be able to see the light around you.

Aquarius: January 21 - February 19

Not every moment, of every day needs to be filled to the brim with bustling activity to have been well spent. Indulge in some quiet time with yourself. It's OK.

Pisces: February 20 - March 20

Never lose your sense of wonder for this world. No matter how long the years behind or ahead of you are... there is something new to find in every moment.

Maine "CAT"stravaganza

Meow!

Main "CAT"stravaganza

Just Married

Our Halloween wedding was planned in under ten days. We decided to keep it short and sweet, but filled with a lot of love, laughter and (of course) booze. Our guest list was intimate, but those who could be there were.

A new chapter begins...

Just Married: Brighton and I

Our fabulous wedding cake was made a very dear and very gifted friend.

Maleficent

Saving the best for last...

Maleficent
"Now shall you deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of Hell!"

Maleficent is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Walt Disney's 1959 film Sleeping Beauty. She is the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil" who, after not being invited to a royal christening, curses the infant Princess Aurora to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday. The character is Disney's adaptation of the wicked fairy godmother from the original French fairy tale.

Maleficent

Let the witchery begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
with a new witch post every day! Who's your favorite?

YouTube Treasures: Thriller at the NYC Halloween Parade

In honor of my favorite holiday, I present a few last minute lists of my favorite things that go bump in the night...

My Favorite Halloween Movies (in no particular order)
1. The Addams Family (1991)
2. Carrie (1976 / TV Movie 2002 / 2013)
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
4. Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
5. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
6. Dark Shadows (2012)
7. Monster Squad (1987)
8. Fright Night (1985 / 2011)
9. The Amityville Horror (1979 / 2005)
10. Dracula (1979) / Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
11. Once Bitten (1985)
12. The Lost Boys (1987)
13. Insidious (2010) / Insidious II (2013)

My Favorite Halloween Songs (in no particular order)
1. "I Put A Spell on You" by Bette Midler (Hocus Pocus Soundtrack)
2. "Oogie Boogie's Song" (The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack)
3. "Sally's Song" by Lili Roquelin
4. "Poor Jack" (The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack)
5. "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo
6. "Man With The Hex" by The Atomic Fireballs
7. "This Club Is a Haunted House" (feat. Ru Paul) by Sharon Needles
8. "Dead Girls Never Say No" by Sharon Needles
9. "Voodoo" by Adam Lambert
10. "Cry, Little Sister" (The Lost Boys Soundtrack)
11. "Black Magic Woman" by Santana
12. "Dark Lady" by Cher
13. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

YouTube Treasures: Eartha Kitt ~ I Want To Be Evil

Muriel

Muriel
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a 2013 American-German action-horror dark fantasy film with black comedy elements, co-written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola and filmed in 3D. It is a continuation to the German folk fairy tale "Hänsel and Gretel", which was recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in the title roles of a brother-and-sister duo of professional witch hunters. Famke Janssen stars as the deadly leader of a coven of evil witches that they seek out to destroy.

Muriel (portrayed by Famke Janssen)

Let the witchery begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
with a new witch post every day! Who's your favorite?

Haggar

Haggar
Haggar the witch is the one responsible for creating all of the Robeasts Voltron must destroy. Though she was once good and beautiful, she is now hideously evil, and is notorious for using her dark magic to cast hypnotizing spells over people. It was Haggar who was responsible for originally splitting Voltron into five components in the American version. In the Japanese version, she was one of Emperor Daibazaal's old love interests, and possibly perhaps even a concubine.

Haggar and Cova

In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Haggar went into hiding after facing defeat in the final battle, but later rejoined Prince Lotor in his conquest schemes. They strike a deal in which, if Lotor conquers the universe, she gets the magic of the lions while he gets the universe and the lions themselves. 

Cova
Cova serves ably as a witch's familiar, as much a tool or extension of her power as a pet. She can see through its eyes, and served as a spy until the Voltron team later took any appearance by it as meaning trouble.
 

Haggar, the Witch Action Figure

Haggar the witch was released in 1984 as part of the first series of figures in Panosh Place's Voltron: Defender of the Universe collection. Panosh Place, a small toy company based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was awarded the license to manufacture a line of Voltron toys for the popular animated series and released a single wave of 12 figures, several vehicles and a Castle of Lions playset. Although a second wave of items was planned, it was canceled prior to production, as Voltron's popularity waned.

Let the witchery begin! Celebrate Halloween all October long
with a new witch post every day! Who's your favorite?