Apocalypse Now

 When I tell people that I'm a fan of Science Fiction, often, most think only of Star War, sometimes Star Trek or Comic Book adventures, not realizing the rich literature that addresses the facts that the events of today are shading our future. Last night read the must interesting short story by the Hugo winning author, Maureen McHugh, title "After the Apocalypse". What impressed me with story, was how settled she wrote of the events that brought on her dark apocalyptic future. She wrote of rounding black out and raising gas prices that broke our economy's back.  We are lead to believe that the apocalypse with come riding down on us with the crushing hooves of plague, war, and destruction but I feel that the final days will come to us more settle way. Like Christ stated, "Like a thief in the night." I am witnessing our Middle-Class being destroyed by the greed of the so title One Precent of the rich, sending jobs over- seas, college cost going up so high only the rich can afford  a college education, gas prices keep raising making the cost of everyday items raise up as we won't be able to afford to buy them, banks giving so very low interest rates that  they rob the people of the money they use to get rich on and weather that changes are so extreme  that it causes our farmers to destroy their crops before they have a time to flourish, not to mention my country men fighting in wars in the Middle-East that will never end or be won! If these are not signs of an apocalypse what is?

No time for art...

"The way we miss our lives is life!" Randell Jarrell

The Prednisone the doctor prescribed me for my lung infection has given me back my energy but still they haven't invented the drug that can bring you back extra time!  I've been doing a lot of watercolor sketches of painting I would like to do, but where, oh where , can I find the time to do paintings, when the everyday chores of life get in my way?
I need to go through my piles of paper work for my Income Taxes and there is that dark shadow of a medical bill that hangs over my head like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. If you live in a country that has Government Health-Care, count your blessings!
I have private Health Insurance but still I'm stuck with paying a $3,000.00 deductible! I worked it out with the hospital, so  I can pay this bill  back in monthly payments without Interest but still $3,000.00 is a lot to pay back. When I saw my hospital bill, I almost needed to go back to the hospital for a heart attack! I could have gone to my dream trip to Paris on that three grand!
Life can get in the way of following your dreams. I know a lot of talented friends, actors, actresses, artists, who have put their dreams on hold, or even have completely given up on their dream, so they can handle life.  You know that stuff, like providing a roof over your head and buying food.  I live in Los Angles, so talented people are a dime a dozen; actually, even less than that, a penny a dozen!
When following that dream of art, it's more about luck than talent! It's about who you know, or who your parents are, or just being in the right place at the right time!
I'm not waiting to be discovered, I just want to find the time to paint!

And the winner is.....

 Just have to let this off my chest but I found Mr. Seth McFarlane, at best a sophomoric host of the 85th Academy Awards ceremony; and at worst; he was down right misogynistic! I mean really: singing a song on Prime-Time, to the tune of "Be our guest", a song about seeing A-List Actress's bare breast? What was Disney thinking? They own the network ABC, as well as rights to the song.  And the opening bit, with William Shatner went on far too long! The the whole show went on far too long! It was mind-numbing! I found myself chanting; "Ya Da Ya Da and the winner is"!

Live from L.A.

Home Improvement

"You are perfect the way you are. And... there is still room for improvement." zen master Shannon Suzuki

In this western thinking, United States, when we think of self-improvement, the main issue we think of is weight loss and nothing else!  Weight is a multi-million dollar business, in the States.  Jennifer Hudson, a beautiful, curvy young woman, has made more money, being a spoke model for Jenny Craig, than using her God given gift of a beautiful singing talent! Dr.Oz shows, spends more time with weight loss then any other health issue. While watching commercial network TV, you cannot go through those mind-numbing commercial breaks without having, at lease one major commercial from a weight loss product or weight loss program. Damn America: are we so shallow?  We are more than just our body mass! We are creatures blessed with a heart, mind and soul! Why not work on improving those! Why not work on being better people, not just thinner people!

Riding the wave

Songs have been written about the "Circle of Life" but actually, life doesn't move iu a circle but moves in a spiral, continuously moving in an increased or decreased acceleration. Sometimes you are riding on top of that big wave of life, then there are times you are pulled into a vortex of a waves undertow.  If you don't panic, you can ride that wave safety back to the beach, without much damage.  One reassuring fact of the spiral, is that no matter how low you go it will never be lower then that last spin into darkness you experienced for a spiral always runs upward. Currently, my health seems to be going into a lower spiral, a cough, slight shortness of breath but far from the dire health condition that caused my lungs to almost completely collapsed.  I'm much stronger, I'm back to doing yoga and gaining strength in my body. So this slight set back in health isn't causing me great concern for I feel I can ride this wave back to a safe shore.  So my friends, surfs up!

Best laid schemes o'mice an men

Yesterday, while cleaning out one of my book sacks, I ran into a very old journal I kept while I was a was a naive college student. Reading it was painful! I was still in college, holding my first "real" job, for the company Amtrak.  It was an ideal job for a college student for my hours were 3:30 p.m - 11:30 p.m. , Sunday-Mondays off; these hours allowed me to take morning and afternoon classes. The job however was mind numbing, the dead end for anyone of ambition or with a head full of active brain cells! I was an Information and Reservation Agent, handling non-stop incoming calls from the American public. And believe me, once you have worked with the public, you understand why there are so many bad government leaders.  For  an example, I would answer a call and state  my usual; "Amtrak Reservations and Informant" and I would get an inquiry;"Do you go to Chicago?" "Yes", I would answer,"Where would you be departing from?" And without missing a beat: I would get the answer;"My home." And these people are allowed to vote? It was a frustrating job and many of my co-workers were either pot-smokers or boozers or both. Every shift I worked on there was a group that would go to the parking-lot on break to smoke pot, they used a lot of eye drops. I did get an education in recreational drugs and the power of office gossip. But the greatest lesson I learned was the fact that, no matter what, never get romantically involve with a co-worker. He was a tall nice looking young man, who was a pot-head, as while as a coke head. He is now in upper management with the company.  The company paid for his wife (who also worked at Amtrak) to go to rehab, for drug abuse is no reason for Amtrak to terminate an employee;  only in America! I have no axe to grind with the company or the young man, who broke my heart.  The thing that was painful to read was the fact that I was so broken hearted in the first place. While reading my weepy journal entries, I wanted to shout at the  writer;"Girl; get a life!" I was lucky, that the young man, was wiser than I was, to see we had little in common(one being I wasn't a pot-head or coke head or any other drug of choice in that era) and told me, to take a hike I also felt blessed that I wasn't working for Amtrak. Not that there is anything wrong with the company, they provide a great service, it's just that working for such a major company, I felt like, I was on the road to no where. Not that I had a brilliant career but I love the fact that my resume has so many past job skills and a variety of work experience.  I feel in each job held, I grew as a person, I certainly learned different computer programs and skills,  Oddly enough, it was a blessing being: "Let go" from Amtrak. I was advised, to get a lawyer and get my job back but why would I want to? There was no great career opportunities open for me and my real goal was to get my B.F.A.  and due to the fact that my shifts kept changing, it would have taken me years to finish my college education.  There was a strange feeling of comfort reading that journal, for even though I was going through so much heartache and pain, things worked out better than that young college girl could  imagine. And going through such frustration helped me become a woman.as well as an artist. Thank you my ex-love and Amtrak for  leading me to s different track!

Requiem for a Cosmo Girl

 Monday, the 13th of August, the woman who created the Cosmo Girl, Helen Gurley Brown passed away. I wasn't broken hearted over her passing, She lived a long, productive and successful life, well into her 90s, preaching to women the hedonistic pleasures of the flesh. I found her magazine a bit silly and repetitive; I mean really, now many times can one read about sexual techniques to drive your man wild in bed?  Still, I must give the woman correct for reinventing a magazine and becoming a publishing powerhouse in an era when men dominated  the publishing world!  

Her song wasn't a new one, women have been exploring sexual pleasure for pleasure sake since the Roman Empress Messalina shock the Roman Empire.  But she gave a voice to women who were exploring their sexual freedom during an era that gave them the Pill, allowing women to have sex without the fear of pregnancy,  enjoy sex outside marriage and not only experience sex for the pursuit of pleasure but also to use sex, as Cleopatra did, to gain control and power.

I grew up in an era where my friends, as well as myself , were exploring our own sexuality. But one thing freedom of exploration doesn't protect you from and that is getting hurt. Being wounded in body and soul.  In a Time article. the writer stated that Cosmopolitan magazine helped young women in,"a quest for romantic happiness". Really?  What is "romantic" about an article telling women, how to give "mind blowing" fellatio?

I'm sorry to say, that these days, when men think they can have sex with a woman after  he simply"Likes" her on Facebook, romance has very little to do with it!  

Even during my own days on the Love Front, romantic love rarely entered my life.

Can't blame Ms. Brown for this era of love dysfunction, she just gave it a voice.