Hope Floats

On New Year's Eve we are told to look back and reflect on the past year and to dream of what we want ahead but the future seems to be a CD caught in a loop, Has anyone noticed that gas prices are raising AGAIN! I voted last year for a man who has his image posted on bummer stickers with the words "HOPE" written on it but what I should had voted for was change. We are still in two wars, the jobless rate is still climbing, good American's are losing their homes, while the banks are up to their same old dirty tricks and national health care?I'll believe it when it happens WTF! They say that hope floats but I can't help but feel we good Americans are sailing on the Titanic and there are just not enough life boats for us all! In the Titanic only the rich got on the life boats! WTF!

You got to shop around

My mother's illness inspired me to be more aggressive in looking to find health care. Last month my Cobra coverage ran out and so I logged in to Blue Shield to see about buying my own heath care. It makes me want to pack my nags and move to Canada, where they have national heath care! The best package was found by contacting Blue Shield directly but I couldn't help but feeling like I was buying auto insurance, buying a product you pray you never have to use!
Here is another rub. This year my Internal Medicine doctor retired! Rats! He was a damn good doctor and I've been with him since my freshman year of college. I feel like I lost a best friend! For he knew more details in my life than my family and friends!
Now I have to shop around for another doctor and what a nightmare for how do you go about finding a good doctor. My mother has a wonderful doctor, Doctor Sy Oang! He was wonderful during my mother's follow up from the hospital. But he is very popular and I don't think he's able to handle more clients. The hospital assigned my mother with an excellent cardiologist, Dr. Aditya Ambegaonkar but I don't need a heart doctor. Due to my mother's stay at PIH I was greatly impressed with her Internal MD Abbid Shah but I don't know if he has his own practice and wouldn't go to him anyway. He's very young and handsome and i just wouldn't feel comfortable allowing this attractive man to see me in a state of undress , under those unflattering lights of an examining room , looking at me warts and all. (I don't have warts but you get the idea.) It's just such a roll of the dice finding a truly good doctor to put your life in their hands, Don't know what I'm going to do to find one but at least I have bought health care!

Back by popular demand

 

Since my mother's bout with pneumonia, I feel like I've been derailed from the tracks of my so called life, I just can't seem to get back into my regular routine. Last Monday was the first times in weeks I actually put pen to paper and began notes for a novel I started last summer, it felt wonderful but strange. I haven't been to the West Hollywood for a month, spending most my time in Pasadena, wandering around like a zombie through my old haunts. Trying to reconnect with my old self, dreams and ambitions. Today I had to pick up stuff for home repairs at Home Depot which made me drive by Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital (the Home Depot is right across the streeet from the hospital). Just seeing the place made me feel like I've been kicked in the gut. I hate that place.

What is strange, it's truly a wonderful hospital. The rooms have a feeling like a warm, modern hotel. Even the ER is rather a nice for an ER, very clean and comfortable. The medical staff not only performs with sheer professionalism but with compassion!And I'm not just talking about the nurses or staff of doctors, such as Abbid Shah M.D. and Aditya Ambegaonkar M.D. (damn is that a mouth full!) but the volunteer staff at PIH are lovely and ever so kind! Still, that place brings back such painful memories, such as my father dying there, and he didn't go gently into that final rest. I just never want to re-enter that place! I admire anyone who works at a hospital for all hospitals in my eyes have the charms of Dante's Inferno!

When I got home I just wanted to detach myself from all memories of hospitals, doctors, illness and decided to book my tickets for the San Diego Comic Con 2010! I was shocked that opening night preview was ALREADY SOLD OUT! Damn: the Comic Con is not until July and already some tickets are sold out? Not that I mind, I can care less to be among the first groups of geeks and freaks to hit the floor. Last year I felt like a salmon fighting to go up stream.

Due, to my mother's health I'm not certain I'll be able to make it to next year's Comic Con but I can always sell my tickets if I had to. But I just feel I need get in touch with something playful and fun and connect with my inner geek!

Doctor, doctor, give me some news

Thank you for those of you who send my mom good wishes for her recovery. She had to be hospitalized for pneumonia. She was in Whittier's Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital for five days! She was lucky that she had the same doctor assigned to her case. Last time she was in the hospital for Congestive Heart Failure II kept meaning one doctor after another. This time only had to deal with one during most of her stay. He was a wonderful doctor, always checking in on her each morning and also taking time to make an extra visit to address my issues and concerns. I know I can be a bitch on wheels and very demanding but Doctor Abbid Shah, M.D. was always considerate of my feeling and answering my questions. hey, I have only one mother! Doctor Abbid Shah,MD was always very detailed with his supervision over my mother's case, he was also as handsome as a prince from the Arabian Nights yet spoke with an English accent which was rather surprising. Poor man must have a nightmare when he and his family travel by air! I had a gal pal with the last name of Said and she was always having to go through that extra baggage check experience. He may sound like Ringo Starr but looks like a Shah but he does not look like a terrorist! But iI don't want to get onto my beef with this so called HomeLand Security. I was very pleased with how the whole staff at PIH treated my mother. The hospital is very clean and the offer great services like Free Valet parking but no matter how lovely a hospital is there is something so depressing the whole atmosphere in a hospital. I don't know how people handle working in one. I don't understand why there are so many TV shows about doctors and hospitals, for I see nothing glamourous about hospital or the people who work in one. I had a college girlfriend who's main ambition was to married a doctor, so after she graduated she moved up to the Bay Area and sure enough I got an announcement that she was engaged to a doctor. Talk about the power of the secret! Still, what a shallow dream! I don't dream of being married to an award winning writer such as Neil Gaiman, I want to BE an award winning writer like an Neil Gaiman! Be the dream don't marry the dream! Besides I think marriage and relationships can be dream killers! Does anyone watch the TV show "Madmen"? Last Sunday's show was great, it showed Betty Drader drinking wine, smoking with the intensity of Ibsen"s Hedda Gabler and dreaming of a love affair like a 1960 Madame Bovary. It showed how the frustrated house wife isn't interested in have a sexual affair (like her lustful husband Don), the show showed she wanted the adventure of a romance. If you wonder about why we had a woman's movement watch that show, for poor, cold Betty Draper is detached from her husband, children and most of all herself! Well, I guess I got off the subject again! I just want to say my mother is home and thank you all for your kind words of support!

Excuse me?

Our President Obama has just won the Nobel Peace Prize! EXCUSE me! He has just escalated the war in Afghanistan! What part of peace don't they get! I support our President; I voted for him! But damn: the man isn't walking his talk! I want all our troops HOME!

Catch 22

Damn: the nightmare never ends. Today my mother is weak and her breathing is labored, the home nurse says her pulse is low and we called the doctor to make an appointment. Eight thirty a.m. Wednesday morning. Asked nurse if I should take her to ER but I know if I take her to the ER it will wear her out more , waiting around for hours just to admit her! He said to monitor her so it's no sleep for me tonight! I know that the ER would be very hard on her. Feel like I'm caught between the proverbial rock and hard place!

A pretty face is like a melody

I was going through the photos I took while at the World Con in Montreal and noticed this one I took at the signing wall, that gave a quick bio of each writer, (as if people at the con needed to read a bio of who Neil Gaiman was!) I remember this photo gave me a good laugh, for that man hasn't look that pretty for at least a decade! Made me wonder why they used such an old photo of the Dream King? I must admit, when I first saw the talented writer, five years ago, I was impressed by how handsome he was! He was showing signs of aging, there was white hairs in that famous jet black mane but still a damn, rock-star handsome man! I had seen him often from a distance but due to his huge fan base never bothered to go through that pain in the proverbial ass of waiting in a signing line (God Bless you DreamHaven Book Store!). So not until I went to the world con in Montreal did I notice how much that poor man has aged! And not in a good way! I was shocked to see how haggard and gaunt his face looked! He looked like a man in his mid-fifties pushing sixty than a man who is going to be 49 this year! Plus he had a bit of a gut, which was real odd for his arms were very slim and lacked muscle tone. It was so depressing! The first day I saw him walk by me, I wanted to break out in tears, for it was so sad to see once such a handsome man change so.

So why did they post this glamour shot? It reminded me those flyers I get from yoga studio, advertising a workshop and on the flyer they show a youthful, buff , sexy man and when you attend the workshop you realize that this photo was taken YEARS ago and the yoga teacher is no longer young and often a bit heavy set. Do they they think we woman are as shallow as men and are only interested in a pretty face?

Love among the ruins

This is my favorite photo of the Dream King Neil Gaiman, for he's wearing color! Not exactly an unattractive man but far from the glamour short above. The poor man bags under his eyes had excess baggage and his complexion was so swarthy and blotchy. After seeing him I wondered what a 33 year old Amanda Palmer saw in him, but then when one is a 48 year old famous, talented and wealthy man, it's easy for a man to attract a much younger woman. Then to be fair , Mr. Gaiman can very very charming. Still, I was rather shock and depressed to see how much he had aged!

Once apond a midnight dreary

The heat is triple digits hot and the foothills are a blazed, it hard to believe that it's actually Fall and soon it will be sweater weather and we will be sipping hot cider and sharing ghosts stories on a chilly Fall evening.I believe the reason I love ghost stories so, is because I find comfort in thinking there may be another reality than this, My heart has been broken too often to bring me faith in this one.

Danger, danger, don't talk to strangers...

I was reading Miss Canary's blog and she was writing about being in a new town and how wonderful it is to meet new people. In this country we are so paranoid about trusting strangers. As a child I was taught the American mantra :"Danger, danger , don't talk to strangers" but that is just a great injustice to our spirit, Yes, there are BAD people OUT there! And some wicked , sick,evil people out there wishing to cause us harm but most victims of violent crimes know the person who commits the crime to them. And some mass murderers get away with their crimes because they count on strangers not coming to the aid of other strangers. So we American's keep up this emotional fence of defense around them but I believe that most people are really kind. I love to travel because it gets me out of my comfort zone and makes me go out and communicate to strangers. If you are careful and keep your awareness of your surrounding you can avoid being a victim of crime and most people just want your money. If if comes down to it SHOW them the money and run like hell. It's just money, let them have it! Still in the everyday world most people aren't out to harm you. I notice that now people are hiding behind their BlackBerry or I phone, chatting to strangers they'll never meet (sharing more details than they share with their co-workers who see them everyday!) So instead of sitting in a Starbucks or even a Sport's Bar and sharing a simple thought with a stranger we choose to remain ALONE! Put down the damn phone, look up from your laptop and connect with the human being next to you. While at the WorldCon I smiled at a woman wearing a Worldcon badge and I asked her what she did for a living. She was a writer and invited me to join her group at the bar. That evening I met a group of wonderful, fun people , (one who I still write to on Facebook , the amazingly, talented Virginia O"Dine) we dined then went out and explored the night-life in Montreal. Now, if I wasn't the type to talk to strangers or had my head buried in my BlackBerry I would had spend a lonely evening in my hotel room instead of having a good time in a super town with super people! So Talk to strangers!

A Civil Tongue

Yes, what Kanye West did to Taylor Swift while she was receiving her MTV reward was just plain rude behavior but a lot of fuss has been expressed because Taylor Swift is so young. EXCUSE ME? I don't care if Ms. Swift was a 45 year old grown woman, IT WAS RUDE BEHAVIOR! What are people saying, it's okay to be rude to adults? Yes, it was classy of Beyonce to gave up her spot light to the young Ms. Swift but where the hell was security at the MTV rewards to allow this classless jerk to jump up on stage and take her mike away? And the staff of the MTV awards should had given the young artistic the air time to speak. Why did Ms. Beyonce had to do it? Security should had taken Mr. West off the stage and escorted the man OUT of the theater and send him home and allow Ms. Taylor to give her speech! The MTV staff action were just as rude and heartless! Still, no one should act so rude to anyone, no matter their AGE!

I see dead people

Neil Gaiman Tweeted an interview he gave to "Entertainment Weekly" voicing his opinions on this new pop-culture passion for vampires on screen, film and books. It's well worth the read, for he does point out some very insight facts on why so many people are hook on tales about the Undead.
One being that vampire fiction does address our struggles with are ideas of human sexuality and we are a culture obsessed with sex. From Madonna parading in her leather corset outfit like a latter-day whore of Babylon or the Jonas Brothers with their purity rings, we are self-absorbed with our sexuality. But this is nothing new, ever since man and woman went out and became fruitful we human creature make rules on that drive that sends us soaring. Plato wanted to band flute players for he thought that the music lead to licentious behavior. Caesar Augustus wrote laws on sexual behavior, trying to outlaw homosexuality,
Our sexual nature is a great source of study and entertainment.
Another issue Mr. Gaiman bought up was the conflict that Aides has had on our ideas of sexual practice. Whither it's HIV, S.T.D.S or Herpes , sex can be dangerous, Even Oparh had a show discussing our young people having "RainBow Parties", a game played by girls and boys where a rainbow of lipstick rings and put on a boys penis. Damn: whatever happen to "Spin the Bottle".
I an also understand why Mr. Gaiman brought up the Christian idea of Communion, where the body and blood of Christ is taken. But that is only a symbol of utr union with the divine therefore the name Communion. Our Christian forefathers realized that they were giving the pagans a new religion and pagans need the mystery of the ceremony of book, bell and candle.
What the talented writer Gaiman failed to address was the fact that these vampire stories are well written stories that are character driven. In the book of Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse romance with vampire Bill isn't an easy ride in the coffin. Bill leaves her and breaks her heart. She a work-class girl that has to deal with everyday reality of paying the bills and being drawn into her co-workers personal dramas.
I recall reading Ms. Harris first book while I was dealing with a boyfriend who was cheating on me viva the Internet. Ironically the book was his for he was a great fan of comic books, SF, Fantasy and Horror fiction. I found myself relating to the pain of the heart broken Sookie.
I haven't read the "Twilight" books but i feel that the reason for the frenzy over these books is the fact that it addresses the sexual issues of teenage girls.
Sookie is an outsider and most girls in high school feel like outsiders and here are books addressing their own true desire to be loved for the outsider they are.
But still, what is more powerful is the fact that these characters are so damn interesting. We care about Tara Thornton who in the TV show "True Blood" seems a bit more interesting than Sooki. Vampire Eric upstages vampire Bill. And Lafayette Reynolds is one of the most noble characters in the show. Actually the show "True Blood" is really all about Gay Rights then vampires. But if it's the lives of the undead or small town working class folks dealing with super-natural creatures, we stay tune, buy the books, go to the movies because we care about the characters because they remind us of the issues we are dealing with and are so damn interesting.

Holy hostile takeover

Holy hostile takeover Disney bought Marvel comics for 7.4 BILLION dollars!

Great that's all we need, more mind control over our children from Mighty Mouse! Like Disney needs to make MORE money!

I have a feeling they're going to do for comics ,what they did for pop music. Hanna Montana is a money machine!

Damn!

Photo taken of a cute little coffee shop and gift shoppe in Montreal.

Who will stop the pain

Last night noticed that my mom's left forearm was red with a bloody colored bruise. It was the arm that the Home Nurse took her Blood Pressure. My mother skin is like onion skin and can't take any slight bump or pressure. She's in no pain but want the Home Nurse to look at it so another day of worry and waiting! When will things return to normal or will they ever turn back to normal?

(The photo was taken in Montreal at the Bontique De Shalla Design, there are loads of interesting shops and art galleries throughout the City of Montreal this store sales the wonderful art work by a very wonderful artist Nicolin Gublin. Her works are a beautiful pop of color.)

What do you mean I can't cook with salt!

My mom's heart doctor to cook with no salt; WHAT! almost every you cook with needs a little salt. So I went to Von's supermaket and bought a lot of fresh produce and fish. Yesterday I made shrimp, rubbed with olive oil, garlic , lemon juice and seasoned with Mrs. Dash. Saute it with fresh tomatoes, chopped garlic and unsalted (sweet butter) butter and served over bow paste noodles and steamed asparagus, a one bowl wonder meals. Actually very tasty and a quick meal for the shrimp only needs a few minutes to cook. It's just the prep time. Peeling, cleaning the shrimp and cutting the veggies.

This photo was taken in Montreal at a creepy looking theater called "Maison Hantee" a purple building that was also the home of a cafe called the Angry Chef. Saw if walking back to the convention center. Thought it was a perfect site for a SF/fantasy World Convention.

Cooking with gas

For anyone who send in their prayers I would like to thank you. My mother is home but the doctor didn't give me very good news I don't even dare to write down for I'm afraid if it is written it will be done. Awoke at seven a.m. and just broke down in tears. They say the strongest steal is made my going through the hottest fire but I just feel like a noodle that has been drooped in boiling water and now just limp.

Photo was taken in Montreal, front entrance of St.Patrick Church.

Calling all prayers

Spend two hours at urgent care, then seven hours in the hospital ER to find out my mother has Congestive Heart Failure! Good heavens! Spend another two hours waiting for the staff to put her in a room! Finally she's in a room , I'm home exhausted, ate , showered, pray now sleep. Please send my mom your prayers!

The photo is a beautiful church in Montreal , Staint Patrick's church.

Viva La France

One thing I love about Montreal, it was like being in France but the people don't have the attitude. everyone was rather sweet and were more than willing to speak English . This tiny cafe was delightful and served up a tasty breakfast. The waiters were all young flirtatious and playful. When I walked in one cute young waiter shouted out :'You're alone? How can that be?" I smiled and they sat e down at table in the center of all the action. The cafe music was rather interesting, when the song "That's Amore" came up, one it was sung in French , which was odd and all the waiters sang along out loud, which was amusing. I was writing in my note book and wrote down some numbers and trash the pice of paper in my empty drinking glass, while leaving the waiter asked me if I wanted the ting piece of paper I answered no , then he smile "Could it be your phone number?" I laughed and when out to hit the convention floor with a smile on my face.

just around the corner

It's hard to believe that just across the border you can be in a different world. Montreal had just a European feeling to it and I loved walking around and just looking at the city. Sipping wine at a corner cafe and listen to the natives speak french.

Anticipation

Spend last week at the World SF /Fantasy Con in Montreal, Canada called "Anticipation". I always wanted to see Montreal Canada and attending past con with my ex-boyfriend I knew the people attending the con would be interesting and friendly. Cons are also great in giving you discount rates for hotels, plus one of my favorite writers Neil Gaiman will be speaking there so it was a win, win, I wish Neil Gaiman felt the same respect for me that I feel for him but then I'm rather a mature fan and he can less what a woman of my age thinks of his works. Passed by him in a hallway and he looked at me as if I were persona-non-grata, sigh, Well, you can not please everyone. Still, a damn interesting speaker and his books are wonderful! However, even the brilliant talent of Neil Gaiman was upstaged by the beauty of this beautiful city! It has an old world French charm and feeling to it. Plus ,the people were so kind and friendly! The men very French and flirtatious! I couldn't believe how often I was asked out! Met some wonderful writers and publishers while at the con as well. I chose not to stay at the Delta hotel which is H.Q. for the event and can care less for staying in a hotel where the head-lining writers would be at. Big deal if you see a great writer like neil Gaiman walk through the lobby I prefer quiet. The Delta was known also as the main party hotel and after a day of attending panels and walking around the town the last thing I wanted was to be kept awake by the sound of people having a good time. Even though I was invited and went to a few parties myself. I stayed at the InterContiinental Hotel, a beautiful and comfortable hotel. The room was huge , hated leaving it to attended the con which was just across the street. Also, very different, never stayed at a hotel where a cork-screw was supplied in my room , also they supplied free condom? Excuse me? Must be a french thing. Still , I had a wonderful time walking around the town, meeting very interesting writer and publishers in the hotel's bar, ..flirting with handsome french speaking young men, attending the panels and gaining insight into what makes Neil Gaiman tick. That man is amazing, he always looked exhausted, never looked rested, huge bags under his eyes but was always kind to his fans who came up to him and asked him for a autograph or a photo opt. It seems I'm the only person that brings out the rude, dark side of his force. Sigh. Maybe, I remind him of a bitch of an ex he once had. Don't know. it is what it is and I still had a wonderful time in a beautifuk city.I will be posting more photos of that enchanting town!

We welcome you to Munchkinland...

&nbs

Maybe because this was the third time I attended the ComicCon but this year wasn't that much of a thrill, over crowed and felt as if I was being pushed into a hard sell. Spend most of my time at the Hotel Del Coronado. A charming place to stay with a private beach.

The one big thrill I got was seeing the cast of "True Blood". But damn, talk about Munchkinland! Most of the cast were tiny, small people! except for the actor who plays the Viking Vampire Eric. He is truly a hottie! Very tall and handsome and I usually don't like blond men. Still, great fun hearing their remarks during a Q%&A, They film parts of the show around here in Southern California and I have seen some of the cast members walking around town. It's my favorite TV show. The books are written first person and not as sexual and a fun and thrilling page turner but the show is also well written and brilliantly acted, I look forward to each new show! And I'm not that much into vampires.

During the Comic Con I saw one of my favorite master, Fantasy writers Neil Gaiman walking around the floor with his newly, declared girlfriend Amanda Palmer. They are so well suited for each other, they reminded of that Art Major couple you see on every college campus. (Of course, a couple you see at your ten year class reunion) He in his dramatic basic black (trying so hard to look like the Bad Boy - read his Tweets and you see that he's far form a Bad Boy but one soft-hearted pussy cat in love) and she in her arty Bohemian-Thrift Store chic. Strange there is a 16 year difference between the two but she looks very mature for 33 so I didn't notice the age gap. But still, I find it ironic that if Mr. Gaiman was a woman in love and involved with a person 16 years his junior he would be lable as a "Cougar"! Still, they seem perfect for each other!

Still, the con gave me very few thrills or chills. I enjoyed more my time on Coronado Island, reading, drawing, sipping champagne on my private full ocean view veranda and walking on the beach. It was a lovely weekend with a detour.

Three little words....

 

According to Cosmo there arer four words to keep a man from cheating,"You are so hot!". Oh, really? They say it's due to a man's fragile ego and if you think he's hot he will never cheat on you! Oh, PLEASE! What about the hot little woman who will also tell him that he's hot? My ex-cheated on me because he was a college professor and a young female student told him he was hot and the most brilant man in the world. I told him he was hot but then I wasn't an nineteen year old college girl! If a man wants to cheat he will no matter what words you use!

Look at me....

 

In the 1920's we had the Lost Generation, a generation of young people who had survived the First World War, they were a bit dark, exploring hedonism for they saw some of their beloved friends of youth died, they indulged in cooktails and drugs and sex and in greed and were bitten by the Great Depression and yet they survived and raised young people to face yet another world war. This genereation produce the Baby Boomers. some became Hippies exploring hedonism calling it Free Love, drugs and sex and yet they were a bit naive and sweet, preaching peace and love. This generation produce what the writer Tom Wolfe would call the Me Generation, there was a lot of sex, cocaine was the drug of choice, hedonism was draped in Hoston, Generation X was next and safe sex, drugs and greed-real-estate the fast fix for little work and quick cash was the chosen profession and still the Internet was just a dream, now there is Twitter, My Space, Face Book and hedonism rules, sex is a given. no longer ideal talk of love & peace, martinis and drugs are the chosen recreational past time, they have been bitten like their great,great, grand parents by a new market crash but the dream of earning fame with little effort or talent is their new dream the Look At Me Generation. Just how many people can we tempt into looking into our Twitter page is the real new drug of the day and even actual, talented, people like Neil Gaiman and his new girl friend Amanda Palmer are hooked on this new high. But true art comes from within those silent moments when that inner voice of truth and beauty speak to us and plus all great art comes from hard work and if you're a writer, a poet, song-bird or painter it is done alone! It's doing the damn thing that produces great art not Tweeter away shouting "Look at me, look at me, aren't I clever!" This is a new dark age. easy money, will not be that easy, the spent generation is over one must embrace safe. It will be wonderful to see what come next!

I'm talking about the man in the mirror

 

Well, I'm totally pissed off! There will be a memorial service for the King of Pop at the Staple Center! Okay, fans want to mourn. I'm cool with that, but not on my dime! All the traffic control and police service will come out of the tax payer! Excuse me! We just had a raise in taxes and Public Services have been cut but the City Officials state that we can pay the small fortune it will cost to host that circus of a memorial for a dead pop-star (who's star was fading before he died)! Makes my blood boil! There wasn't such a fuss over John Lennon or Elivis death!

Oh, what a circus,oh what a show...

 
News is that maybe The King of Pop last rites will be held in Neverland, say it's not so! I wanted to drive up the coast for the long 4th of July weekend but now, forget it! All, those grieve possessed maniacs fans heading out to Neverland, camping out and causing traffic jams ruin any plans for a weekend get away up north. I even heard that the'ye going to have a public viewing and lay him in state like Eva Peron!As a matter of fact since the death of the Pop Icon I feel like I'm seeing a restaging of Evita and I'm Che.
"Sing you fools, for you got it wrong,enjoy your prayers for you haven't got long, the Queen is dead the King is through, he's not coming back to you! Show business kept us all alive since November 30, 1982 but the star is gone the glamour worn thin that a pretty sad state for a State to be in..."
Monday a guy asked me what shocked me more the news of Michael Jackson death or the death of John Lennon? How can you compare the two? John Lennon was murdered, becuase he kept in touch with the real world. He was open to his fans and lived a fairly normal life for a super star. Michael kept himself locked away in his own fantasty world and was far from grounded or real. Plus, for all these fans that are weeping , playing his music, camping out where were they when his last CD came out and no one bought the damn thing?

The Kng is dead long live the king

 

Just heard that Michael Jackson died today and surprised that people are so shocked that he died so suddenly but are you really that shocked? That man has been through a lot of painful and stressful stuff. The trials where details of his personal life put out for all the world to see, losing Neverland Ranch, selling his personal treasures, living in the shadows hiding from the public eye and not truly living a normal or healthy life style and people are shocked that he died at the age fifty? What concerns me more are his children. The Press is going to be brutal with more details of personal life and his children will have to live with these reports. Those are the true tragic victims the children of this man who lived a very strange and bizarre life!

Happy Father's Day

 
Happy Father's Day to all you big daddies out there! I hope all you who are lucky enough to have their father's living will gave them a big hug. It's not easy being a parent, they do the best they can and all parents come with emotional excess baggage.I lost my father five years ago and miss him dearly. He wasn't a perfect father,(I certainly wasn't a perfect daughter) a major control freak, but he was a loving father and he meant well and was always there when I needed him and because of his wisdom and kindness is the reason I'm free to follow my bliss. I once had a professor state that the biggest handicap we have, is the fact that we cannot pick our parents. I had a girlfriend who remarked to me once that she resisted her parents because they were not rich but I think there are some rich kids out there that also resist their parents, just because. The one true beauty I found in Neil Gaiman's wonderful children's book "Coraline" is he addresses the issue we all have as a child; wondering what it would be like to have different parents. I feel we all held at least once the fantasy of having different parents. Parents that were more playful,fun, forgiving, excepting, no borders no rules. Just different parents. The beauty of "Coraline" is the realization that she discovers she has the parents she should have and wants to have. It's a wonderful story and a most delightful film, see it! Thought about it today, father's day. For I loved my father and realized that my artistic gifts, my paintings come from him. I do believe that talent also comes from our gene pool. I miss him and pray his soul is at peace and he is happy in heaven. Happy Father's Day!

Sweet Charity

 

Everytime I shop at Vons I get asked by the cashier,"Would you like to make a donation for (blank) cancer research?". What amazes me, how many years have we been donating money for (whatever) cancer or disease and we still are no closer to a cure! What cheeses me off about most major charity organizations, is that most the money they collect go to administration cost and not to the actual research or charity. And some of these charities should as the Red Cross or the United Way pay a high salary to the heads of their charities!That's just not right!

Modern Art section Norton Simon Museum

 

A day at the Museum

 

I have this fantasy of having an art museum all to myself, well today it almost happen! Went to the Norton Simon in Pasadena and there was just a hand full of people there this afternoon, thanks to than over blowed, very expensive Laker parade in downtown L.A. today.

I love a parade

met to write Mayor not major in bottom post but so upset I wrote faster than I could think I guess

I love a parade

 

The State and our local Cities are crying broke and we are being taxed more, with gettting less public services but the Major of Los Angeles says that our local tax payers can afford to spend over two million dollars for a victory parade for the L.A. Lakers! Hello, what's wrong with this picture? We can't even afford to offer Summer School to our children but we can hold a two million dollar parade for a group of millionaire basketball players? Shame on you Major!

Stop the presses!

 

I wonder if men had to put their Johnston on a cold metal press then have their malehood mashed between two flat irons if they would not demand a better invention to detect cancer? I had to go back for a mamogram for a third time because last week the tech messed up! So why should I suffer? Maybe I do have something, for I've lost ten pounds in just two weeks! Well, there's a plus. I just bless President Obama for telling the members of the medical profession that the high cost of health care has to be lowered! Don't know what to fear more, cancer or the high cost of the cure.

What dose the sadist say to the masochist

 
There is an old joke that goes, what does a sadist say to the masochist when the masochist ask to be spank? Anwer"NO!"

Just under gone second mamogram, I just can't help but wonder what sadist thought up this machine that smashes your breast with an ice cold flat iron! Damn, can you say "OUCH"? I was in far too much pain to do so. Not worried about these bumps the doctor feels when he squeezes my breast tissue into complete numbest. Been through this drill before and landed up just calicum lumps. But I must go through the drill just in case it's the big C.

So I went got home , numb my mind with twitter-a.k.a. Self-Promotion, don't really get it but author Neil Gaiman doesn't write often in his blog these days so for a fan jokie like I to keep up with the amazing adventures of the amazing author Gaiman one most twitter-I feel so dirty. Just joking, twitter is rather silly though. But thanks to twitter saw a copy of a truly wonderful looking new book of Mr. Gaiman & his girlfriend, that talented sexy, song siren Amanda Palmer "Who Killed Amanda Palmer". Hope I spelled their names correctly, still a little dope up, ah the wonders of viccodin & vodka. Okay, I'm being a bad girl but feeling so low for I have to keep this cancer scare to myself for I don't want to worry my mother for she's in fragile health. But truly, the book looks so cool going on to Amazon and order one.


"But wait;order now and you get an extra..." wouldn't it be wonderful if you could get book offers the way they give you in infomercials?

Well, feeling rather in good spirits actually; ran into an old friend (he has fame but I don't name names of people I actually know) he wants to cast me in a play he wrote. Don't know if I want to return back to the wicked. wicked stage.But I was so flattered! It's wonderful to be wanted!

Pascal's Wager

 

Well, I guess I pressed a lot of buttons on my last blog, but I didn't coined the phrase "That there is no atheist in foxholes". It comes from the first World War. Still, ye non believers, I prefer living in a world where I feel connected to something greater than myself. I teach yoga and one thing about yoga is that we are more than just a physical body. We are connected to something greater that just our ego. Maybe, I'm wrong, but I rather like Pascal's Wager.

There are no atheist in foxholes

 

There is a saying that states there are no atheist in foxholes, meaning that when facing death one clings to their faith in God. Last week my heart broke for all those poor people who lost their lives in the Air France crash! Can you imagine what went through their heads during those last few minutes of their lives? Even if the final blow lasted only minutes, minutes can seem like hours when your are in pain. Try holding your hand over an open flame and see how long you can take it. I just pray that it was fast and painless. Wouldn't want to survive the crash , only to land up shark food floating the Atlantic! Still, my prayers and love goes to them and their families.