wendy_ellese

 

The SuperMoon

What is The supermoon: A Full or New Moon that occurs when the center of the Moon is less than 223,694 miles from the center of Earth.

Remember when you were young growing up?  As a little kid, didn’t everything seem so big to you?  It did to me.  No matter what it was, I always had a sense of amazement on my face.  I was excited about life.  Everything was so animated and I was so intrigued.  Life just grasped me.  The world grasped me.  Even the love in my heart was big.  I used to always say to my mother, I love you to the moon and back. I never actually knew what that meant.  I mean, as a child, do you really know how far the moon is from your house?  How about the distance on the way back?  As I got older, the term never grew old.  I still use it to this day with my own children.

Speaking of the moon, I must say that to this day it amazes me.  In connection to the moon, I happen to be one of the biggest fans of astrology.  Since I was a young girl, astrology has played a huge role in my life.  My grandmother was a very spiritual woman.  She had me every weekend over at her house since birth.  She took me under her wing as I got older and welcomed me into her different world.  She helped to build my connection with earth and astrology.  I still currently feel the same passion inside my bones.  Growing up, one of my two favorite topics in school were Astrology and Greek Mythology.  I wanted to enhance what I have learned through my grandmother in a form of education.  I first became interested in wanting to know what each birth sign consisted of.  I wanted to memorize the dates to determine each signs strengths and weaknesses. Lastly, I advanced into memorizing the four elements.  Each element is attached to a category of three separate birth signs.  The four elements are Fire, Water, Air and Earth.  The four elements typically refer to the concepts in Ancient Greece, which clearly explains my connection with the two.

The Fire Element: Forceful

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

 

The Water Element: Emotional

Cancer (June 22-July 22)

Scorpio (OCTOBER 23-November 21)

Pisces February 19-March 20)

 

The Earth Element: Practical

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

 

The Air Element: Practical

Gemini (May 21-June 21)

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Aquarius (January 20-February 18)

How does the supermoon come to play within this story?  Well for starters, What is a supermoon?  Is it the moon on steroids?  Or is it the moon dressed up with a big S on its chest like Superman?  The Supermoon, is an astronomical term created by an astrologer, Richard Nolle, in 1979.  Astronomers called the supermoon, perigee full moon or perigee new moon in the past.  Perigee just means “near Earth.”  The supermoon is known for its closest approach to Earth in its orbit, ranging at about a 7% bigger look than an average Full Moon.  This is where a Full moon can be also known as the supermoon.

Because of such a huge connection to the earth, it is no surprise that I actually found the topic the supermoon very interesting.  I started to do some research on the supermoon.  What I found the most interesting were the amount of supermoons documented each year.  The most recent supermoon, who reached its peak of its full phase on the morning of Monday, November 14, 2016, was also able to be viewed the night before.  After reading this, I screamed.  I could not believe it.  I witnessed this actual supermoon with my own eyes.  This of course was not planned and happened by total coincidence, but I was still so very excited.  I was able to view the supermoon the night before on a casual drive to Target accompanied by my husband.  The classic case of last minute science project shopping for my children, suddenly turned into a memorable night.  I felt so distracted.  I could not keep my eyes off the moon.  In what felt like an instant hypnotism, I just had to say something.  I said to my husband, “wow, the moon looks so huge and bright.”  It is just amazing to me how beautiful it looked.   I felt this sudden gush of energy.  I was just so happy.  Could this have been my connection with Earth?  Or simply just a moment of silence from a long day of cooking and cleaning?  He replied “yes, yea it is.”  He is not a big talker.  This was actually a typical response on his part, but that did not stop me from admiring it.

The most recent supermoon was not only the closest and brightest supermoon of 2016, but also the largest since 1948.  According to NASA, the supermoon won’t come this close to Earth again until Nov. 25, 2034.  For the year 2016, there were a total of six scheduled.  There is one additional remaining to close the year out.  I have listed below the dates of each supermoon.

2016 Supermoon Dates:

March 9^th, 2016

April 7^th, 2017

May 7^th, 2016

October 16^th, 2016

November 14^th 2016

December 14^th, 2016 (upcoming)

With my passion in spirituality, I always loved when there was a full moon out at night.  I always felt that these were my luckiest nights.  Almost like I needed to play lotto, or something similar to that effect.  I also felt that on these nights I should be cautious.  Therefore, I always stayed home.  As odd as it sounds, the craziest incidents in my life occurred during nights with full moons. Well this was noticed since I actually started to pay attention and decided to base my theory on it.  But after speaking with others and reading on events reflecting full moons, I may not be alone in this theory.

Concerns with the supermoons are the effects that it has on the earth.  The effects can be based on the weather.  The weather can contribute to high tides and should be something to keep an eye on.  Plants and animals are also effected by the lunar effect.  Plants and animals use the circalunar clock to anticipate and prepare themselves for regular changes in their environments.  The recent supermoon in November 2016 created a difficult situation for an octopus in Miami Florida.  The octopus was found on the floor of a parking garage due to the rising sea levels in the area.

The supermoon is connected with moon cycles and human behavior as well.  It has been said that during a supermoon, people experience twenty minutes less of sleep.  I personally do not know how much truth is behind this research.  In my opinion, a world poll would have to been done in order to make that determination.  Hospital workers have been known to experience their own share of wild behavior in the emergency rooms and in labor and delivery rooms.  These behaviors are contributed to the lunar effect.  I guess in this case; it helps to have a lunar calendar at hand.  Lunacy and lunatic stem from Luna, the Latin word for moon. Many believe that people were more likely to show erratic behavior during a full moon.

Well if you did not make it to see the November 2016 supermoon, I have good news.  Even though this last supermoon will not come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034, there will be other supermoons to witness.  We have five upcoming supermoons for the remainder of 2016 going into 2017 with dates as follow:

Upcoming Supermoon Dates:

December 14, 2016

April 26, 2017

May 25, 2017

June 24, 2017

December 03, 2017

Although there are five supermoon dates listed above through 2017, there are predictions documented through the year 2100.  Isn’t this amazing in a world of the unexpected?  I will say that I am excited to know that the next supermoon is less than two weeks away.  I decided to make this a family affair and have my children involved.  I also plan on experiencing the upcoming supermoons dated through 2017 with them as well.  Even though my children did not know about the current supermoon that recently passed, I have filled them in on the history that surrounds it.  This is a great opportunity to have one on one time and to experience nature with them.  This is also a great talking point for them to be able to share in school with their teacher and classmates.  I tend to try to look at everything as a learning experience.  Sometimes in a world full of social media, hashtags and filters, we tend to overlook what is in front of us the whole time.  I want to live life through substance and enjoy the world in itself and all that it gives to me.

Blend of your political/social media observations

My blend of political/social media observations are that I am shock of how much the world has truly changed into a different era, since social media has broken the internet.

Who is John F. Kennedy? Almost everyone knows this name and what he stood for.  Who was once president of the United States of America, ask yourself how did John F Kennedy win his election?  The Presidential election of 1960 was one of the closest in American history. John F. Kennedy won the popular vote by a slim margin of approximately 100,000 votes to Richard Nixon.  Even though Richard Nixon won more individual states than Kennedy, Kennedy prevailed by winning key states with many electoral votes.  Let’s fast forward in time to the year 2016.  The current election with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was epic.  To give the readers a little history, Donald trump is no stranger in using social media during his entire campaign.  Twitter, was one of his key outlets.

There has been so many mixed emotions about this election.  I feel that many want change, but also fear change.  America is in need of a makeover.  Both candidates wanted different outcomes, but who would have done a better job?  The difference in votes that won Donald trump his election against Hillary Clinton was 219,762.  Similar to Kennedy’s election.  Now what makes this election so different?  Social media was one.  Instagram, Hashtags, Facebook, Twitter etc. and even celebrity influences paid a huge part.  The internet takes strong toll on how one may or may not feel, how one may think or even react.  Suggested change may not always be what is best for the situation.

Social media has gathered a world where one can live in state thousands of miles away, but with just one click of a button you have found a new friend.  With many looking up to celebrities as icons and hero’s, many people’s perceptions can be swayed.  Social media has made it easier to do this. Let’s be realistic, we now live in a world where rapper Kanye West has hinted that he is running for president in 2020.  When Donald Trump won his election, many people posted Kanye West picture in red, white and blue backgrounds with the numbers 2020 on it.  There is even a hashtag on Instagram representing   #kanyewestforpresident and #Kanyewestforpresident2020.

Is social media that “robot” world they used to warn us about decades ago?  Where the movie “Terminator” and many more similar movies stated that in the future, computers would take over?  We certainly live in a world that what we do and what we write on social media cannot always be erased.  Therefore, we have to be careful on how much of our personal lives should be exposed. How much of our family and friend’s memories should be shared for others, including strangers should see?  I certainly do not know how far things would go.  But I will say, as a little girl growing up the 1980’s, Nintendo was my only outlet to a world of imagination.  I would have never thought then, how advanced our generation would be now.  Can you imagine how things will be 25 years from now?

I decided to take my daughter out with me this weekend to run some “mommy” errands.  With such a busy schedule, I use my Saturday to go to BJ’s, Target, Home Depot and even the beauty supply store.  I am a mother of five.  I enjoy taking at least one of my five children out with me often to engage on some one on one time.  I space this time out in between my children so that I can distribute equal time with each of them.  This gives me the opportunity to create a comfortable environment, where they can speak freely with me without any judgement from their siblings.

 

We are in the car with the windows down.  The wind is blowing in our hair.  We are singing every song on the radio freely.  Let’s face it, we are not the next American Idol, but we are trying.  The next song is about to come on.  It is “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd.  I am in a good vibe to the song and to the beat.  My daughter is feeling the vibe as well.  We are smiling ear to ear.  As the song is coming to an end, my daughter asked me to lower the volume.  She wanted to express to me her thoughts on the “Mannequin Challenge”.  I looked at her puzzled and said, “Mannequin Challenge?”  Now the song does not use the term, “Mannequin Challenge” in it at all.  I was surprised that she knew what the “Mannequin Challenge” was.  Now those who do not know what the “Mannequin Challenge” consist of, let me give you a brief description.

 

• The viral challenge requires participants to stay absolutely still while holding a pose-like, say, a mannequin
• You play any hip-hop song in the backdrop, but many prefer Rae Sremmurd’s song “Black Beatles” ft. Gucci Mane
• Meanwhile someone else weaves in and out of the group capturing the dramatic poses in a recording

 

The effect of the “Mannequin Challenge” looks as if someone pressed pause during a movie, as people look like mannequins placed in various positions.  The Mannequin Challenge is the coolest new social media trend to take over Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, having people to go to great lengths to show off possible new and exciting ways to pose and freeze time. Anybody who is anybody has posted their own iteration of the challenge.  The hashtag alone #mannequinchallenge on my personal Instagram to date has 615,967 posts. Rae Sremmurd’s song “Black Beatles” ft. Gucci Mane is highly preferred because Rae Sremmurd paused a concert to do a Mannequin Challenge live on stage with his song playing as the backdrop. The video showed many concert goers completely still while the song played.  Once released, the popularity in using the song captured us all.

 

I mean let’s face it, one of my favorite movies growing up as a little girl was the movie named “The Mannequin”.  The movie came out in 1987.  Yes, I may be showing my age a little by stating this.  The movie consisted of a gentleman who was a department store window dresser.  He fell in love with one of the department stores mannequins.  The attraction was so real that the mannequin then came to life, but only for him.  So many fun things come out of this romantic comedy.  I always wondered as a little girl going into a department store if Mannequins were real.  I would stare at them waiting to see if one gives me a wink or a smile.  I would even touch them to see if they came to life.  I know that this may sound weird.  This actually gives the perfect example on how I was influenced as a child just by watching a movie on television.  This experience also helps me to reflect on my own children and how influenced one can be from the outside world.

 

I must admit, the song is catchy and so is the challenge.  It still has not outdone its five minutes of fame.  During our conversation I asked my daughter, “well how do you know what the Mannequin Challenge is?” Mind you, at almost twelve years old, she has limited availability to social media.  She does not own a cellular device.  Aside from home to school and school to home, her weekends consist of making s’mores, watching The Food network and playing big sister to her little brother.  During the long pause I thought to myself, social media has made me aware of an important issue.  The issue being the effects it has on our upcoming youth.  Similar to the effect it had on me as a child, when I watched the movie “The Mannequin”.  I asked again, “dear daughter please answer me”.  Her response was, “my friends were showing me the Mannequin Challenge during recess at school.  Brittney pulled out her cell phone to show us girls exactly how it is done”.  Now, I do not mind my daughter using her recess to unwind with her friends.  My biggest concern was the lack of control a parent can have over what influences their child when they are not around to protect them.  The lack of control can stem from many areas, especially from the internet, social media accounts, YouTube viewings, etc.  It was interesting on how my daughter’s engagement in conversation with me about the Mannequin Challenge, made her feel cool.  Even though I knew what the challenge was, I was not sure that she exactly knew that I knew.

 

The Mannequin Challenge became popular in schools before making its way to the worlds of celebrities, music artist, concerts, professional sports, and even in politics.  Kevin Hart, Adele, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Garth Brooks, Blac Chyna etc. are many of the few celebrities that have engaged in the challenge. The reunion of the music group Destiny’s Child happened during the birthday celebration of Kelly Rowlands’s son Titan’s second birthday.  The dynamic group decided to hop on the trend and post a video.  Blac Chyna, who gave birth to the first Kardashian heir on November 10, 2016 did the challenge in her delivery room.  Blac Chyna, Rob Kardashian, Family and friends created their version of the labor of Dream Kardashian.  The First Lady Michelle Obama included herself in the national phenomenon.  Even in the Clinton campaign, Hillary Clinton joined the challenge which included a cameo from Bill Clinton and Jon Bon Jovi.  Her slogan for the challenge was, “Don’t stand still, vote today.”

 

With such popularity behind this new trend, I should have not been so naïve that my daughter was aware of the Mannequin Challenge.  As I engaged more in conversation with her I was able to see the innocence behind her interest.  She began telling me how her friends in school would like to create a video of their own.  She went on and on about the type of wardrobe they would like to wear and the location they would like to record in.  This made me think wow, did the artist who created this song ever think that having it played in the backdrop during his concert would have increased this challenge to become such a big deal.  It amazes me how people come together to create such a happy moment. After all, the Mannequin Challenge is said to be created by some students in Jacksonville Florida, just this past October 2016.  Challenges are now becoming even more complex.  I have even seen challenges including others pets.  Yes, I said that correctly, pets!

 

During the beginning of the conversation with my daughter, I thought to myself that social media could have triggered a negative effect on my child with “no parental controls”.  I then realized that every category social media touches may not always turn out to be a bad thing.  I am not saying that social media does not have categories not one should not be alerted to, but this particular case is not one.  Social media made me more aware of another important issue, it can unite others and encourage them to build a connection of interest.  Proper approach behind everything one does is key. One thing I learned as a parent is to not over shelter my children.  I realized when I participate with them, I am not only monitoring their curiosity, I am also showing them that I am available to them at all times. This challenge may not be so bad after all.

 

I am close to home, after a long drive.  We are exhausted from a day full of errands and it is not even dinner time.  Somehow, I decided that dinner can wait an extra hour or two today.  I look at my daughter and said “well beautiful daughter of mine, I guess when we get home we have to get everyone in our family together at once”.  As we stopped at a red light, she looked at me and said, “why mom?”

 

I replied, “So we can put together our own “Mannequin Challenge” of our family sweetie.”  Her eyes opened wide.  Her body stood up straight.  She screamed with excitement.  She almost could not speak.  She said, “That would be so cool mom.  But wait, what can we do? What will we wear? What would be our theme? Do we include the pets?  After a deep breath and a sense of relaxation, she then looked at me and smiled.

 

Link to Rae Sremmurd – Black Beatles ft. Gucci Mane –  on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8m9zhNAgKs