After A Long Absence...

Well it has been over two months since I posted here. I have since joined Facebook ( Cynthia Summers, I am the one with the little hat, hair upswept, 60s style glasses and earrings ). I have some photos of me ( I am so vain ) and some of my art work posted online there. I do not know yet how to do that sort of thing here. I am sure there is a trick to it but the tech dummy here has not yet figured it out. 

I have done a few things since my last post. I have been working on my fantasy, organizing it and scribbling a few stories, discovered I can use fabric paints on canvas so have made some fashion sketch abstract background paintings. 

And then there is the depression... which is no fun. I think it is too things. First there is the fact that while I love my mom we don't get along that well. She constantly criticizes me and then she turns around and praises the brother who did a lot to hurt me. So I don't talk to her much and I seldom see her. And that is disappointing. When I moved out here I thought I could help her out even though I am disabled. But she doesn't want to be helped. And letting her vent by criticizing me or those who do help her -- I don't feel that is constructive at all. So I will just tell her I am gonna hang up if she continues to do that. Maybe it is a habit with her but one she needs to break. 

The other thing is that it has been a long hot summer here. And I do not like to stay inside ALL DAY and night. I occasionally would make a quick run to the store which is a block away. But not in the heat of the day. When I moved here from Hollywood I didn't envision that there would be much of a difference because my night clubbing days were pretty much over. But what I didn't realize was that I was roaming around in the day. I didn't realize to what degree until after I moved here and ended up stir crazy from being cooped up for months on end! I would duck out to he drugstore or nearby thrift store, go out for lunch. Never gave it a thought. It is closer to In N Out than it was to El Pollo Loco or Molly's Grill but ducking out for a bite to eat when it is 70 or 80 is a heck of a lot different than walking 2 or 3 blocks when it is 110 outside! Live and learn but oh I soooo miss Hollywood! 

It is September now and the new Senior Center opens near me, walking distance. I look forward to it as then maybe I will have somewhere I can go in the heat of the summer. I am so bored by staying inside. And I look forward to when it finally cools down... to 85 or so.   

Make up by Louise

I got a pleasant surprise the other day while talking to my best sis Libby. I called her up and she told me she was coming out to the desert. Now consider the fact that it has been hotter than hell ( my wisecrack about the desert heat is that hell is where the devil goes to cool off from the summer heat of Indio  here in the CoacHELLa Valley ) and over 110 I thought WHY would my sister, who lives near the beach in Orange County, be coming for a visit in JULY? I was not expecting her to visit me until the end of September at the earliest. So she told me she was coming out and bringing my cousin Louise who was visiting from near Seattle. Oh kay... so why would Louise want to come out to where it was hotter than hell? They came out to visit the madre and to give her a makeover. We all went out to Sizzlers for lunch ( mom's treat for me which was nice ) and then we went back to their hotel to do the makeover.

 Louise has been selling Mary Kay cosmetics for about 3 months. She gave both mom and me makeovers and WOW! One would think Louise had been doing makeup for decades professionally --- she was that good. I have never seen my mom wearing eye shadow in her life. And she looked GREAT! And then there was ME. By the time Louise got done prettying me up I looked like a candidate for the trophy wife of some rich old dude. And I never knew that I could wear pale pink lipstick and look so fabulous! Just amazing! 

There are some pictures of yours truly in all of her snootiness on some websites. Best way to find them is put in Cynthiangel Just My Sites in google search or maybe put in Snooty Pix ( it has a shaneadams, one of my aliases for a url ). And one day the tech dummy here will figure out how to upload photos to my blog.. if I can get Hal to help me that is. He has not been so great  anymore about getting over and helping the tech dummy of the universe because he has to go hiking... oh well. 

But I have some photos that were taken of mom ( need to get em developed ) and bet they turn out lovely. 

Talked to mom and she went to the storage place today. She asked me if I wanted to go there tomorrow. I DON'T THINK SO! It is 115 out there and no shade and she thinks I want to rummage around in my storage unit? Julian and she plan to go tomorrow These two go running around the desert in his crummy car which has NO air conditioning. Can you say DESERT RATS???? They are nuts  ( desert nuts... ) and if I were to tag along with them I would also be nuts as well --- and probably in a hospital from sun stroke..

SAC

They Are Going To Hell...

In the Bible there is the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man. Lazarus sits out in front of the rich man's gate and tries to get some of the crumbs that are thrown out for the dogs. When the two men die Lazarus goes to heaven and the rich man goes to hell.

Which brings me to the the California budget which is held hostage by Arnie the Exterminator and his posse of Republicans who whine about taxes. The only taxes they are interested in are those that affect the average Joe and Jane. But HEAVEN FORBID the big fat oil companies or the international corporations ( which outsource our jobs and hire illegals ) or people who have lived for years in estates worth multi-millions pay their fair share. NOPE. Those who get sucker punched in this budget crisis are people like myself and people who are worse off than me. I am disabled physically and on SSI. I have lived a frugal lifestyle under $10,000 a year. I do not have a credit card. I use public transportation. I buy my clothes on the dollar rack. My books costs anywhere from 25 to 50 cents at thrift stores. And I still tighten my belt. But that is not good enough for the rich who want the disabled and elderly poor to end up on a street corner living in a cardboard box and begging with a tin cup. The first people who were eliminated by the Nazis were the disabled --- unlike others who got colored triangles or stars, there was an "invisible" triangle for us. Arnie's dad was a Nazi and a member of the SS. Showing your family influences on you, aren't you, Arnie? You "see" our pain, do you? Then why do you continue to add to our pain? 

My next door neighbors are both elderly. They live on Social Security and on SSI. And their checks have also taken a hit, their medical services are taking a hit. There are those who can not survive outside of nursing homes without in house care. And yet Arnie and the Republicans who are holding the budget hostage feel that in home services are a waste of money and are not needed. Tell that to the disabled and elderly who will end up in nursing homes --- next to the mentally ill who are being dumped there ( or in jail ). 

Now we are not supposed to judge others but on the day of judgment you can count me in with the thousands upon thousands of the disabled, elderly and mentally ill who will be standing up and saying to these Republicans and their stooge governor "I was hungry and you took the food out of my mouth, I was naked and you flayed my skin, I was homeless and you made it illegal for me to be so, I was dumped in jails for being mentally ill. DAMN THEM to hell, these arrogant rich who see the poor, the elderly, the disabled as a "nuisance." Damn them to hell. Because that is what they are making the life of the disabled, the elderly, the poor families, the college students who don't have rich parents, the state workers, the teachers, the list goes on. But HEY, don't tax the rich! Instead, give them tax breaks and take it out on the poor. Maybe they will all die and go to heaven.  So enjoy your wealth bought at the expense of the lives of the poor, the disabled and elderly, the state workers. And go to hell. Go straight to hell.

PS to all of this -- anyone remember the phony energy crisis? Before Enron took a bite out of California Arnie met with Richard Riordan ( former mayor of Los Angeles who helped turn it into yuppieville ), Michael Milken ( the junk bond king ) and Kenny Boy Lay ( who conveniently had a heart attack within the week he was supposed to testify to the collapse of Enron ). They set about bilking the state of California out of billions thanks to the deregulation that Pete Wilson brought to us Californians ( along with an increase in a sales tax and a tax on books, magazines and newspapers ). And before they did this we were a billion in the black. So they then made us billions in the red, thanks to the swindling of energy and also the swindling of the election in 2 K which brought them a sympathetic faux "president." They got rid of Gray Davis by smearing him and then they went with the "vote for a celebrity" campaign ( which STUPID Californians, NOT ME!!!! ) to get Arnie in. 

I have lived in California for most of my life and it breaks my heart to see this beautiful state being destroyed by the rich spoilers. 

And did I mention, damn them to hell!!!!

SAC  

Enough already

Ok so Michael Jackson is dead. Unfortunately he is still very much alive on what seems to be 90% or maybe that is 99% and counting tv stations. Blech. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!  While I admit I was never a huge fan of his, that isn't the reason for being disgusted at all the fawning and flattering over a man who was, until his death, largely viewed as a weird freakazoid at best and a pariah at worse. But now he appears to be Saint Michael and he gets a moment of silence in Congress ( is that surreal or what???? ). He has a big send off at the Staples Center and the taxpayer money which does not go for education or the poor of the city of the tinseled angels goes for crowd control or whatever. Not to mention the closing of an L.A. freeway for the funeral procession. He died two weeks ago today. So let the stupid news media who are feeding this frenzy give it a rest. 

Now none of this concerns ME but what does concern me is what is on the tv. Tributes adnauseum... repeated over and over like a broken record... which plays his music over and over again. And all the news stations --- is there ANYTHING else on the news besides news of Michael Jackson? Save it for the tabloids and bring me my tornados in Kansas and Iowa, my hurricanes off of Florida, earthquakes in divers places... HECK, I'd even prefer to watch footage of Sarah Palin FISHING than watch another minute of "breaking news about Michael Jackson..." 

Until then it looks like I am gonna be sticking to TCM and HGTV. Of course I am a junkie for old movies and I am addicted to House Hunters. But it would be nice to catch some news that does not involve Michael Jackson, dead or alive. 

Let my television rest in peace and as far as MJ, I'll let God judge his soul. 

SAC

America Got It Wrong

Ok, first let me say that Gilles should have won on Dancing With The Stars. Shawn won, not because of her dancing abilities, but because of her gymnast abilities. Now before I go further I might state I enjoy reality tv and watch it because it is fun to watch. But one gets annoyed when they see the finals of certain shows and realizes that the best talent is not winning. In the case of Dancing With The Stars, this incredible french actor, Gilles, was a graceful and yes, very sexy dancer, from day one. And therein lay the problem. It was a GYMNAST, rather than a DANCER who won the dancing show. But then these shows are based on popularity when it comes to votes, rather than on who is the best in a given genre. I am a former dancer and it has always annoyed me how often the public will vote for the acrobats and gymnasts over a DANCER. Back handsprings and various things are all well and good BUT it has nothing to do with DANCE. All too often so called "dancers" will get up and do leaps and turns and handsprings and there will be little or no footwork involved. Dancing involves footwork. DUH. About the only thing more annoying than acrobats calling themselves dancers is when some hootchie cootchie tramp will refer to herself as a "dancer" while costumed in her birthday suit and gyrating a bump and grind. But that is a different topic. 

Now on to last night and when America got it wrong again. American Idol choose a new idol according to the votes of a supposed 100 million. What that means is that a little of 12 year old girls text messaged a gazillion times for the guy they thought was "cute" which was Kris Allen. No offense to this guy who just won but he is not that good of a singer. Yes, he is cute and seems like a nice person but he was often off key. And as a singer, when I see a preformance that is mediocre at best ( when he sings on key ) then I find it annoying that he wins because of his cuteness. Well I suppose it could have been worse. There was a horrible contestant this year, Megan, who made Kris sound like Pavarotti. She is in the top ten ( my fave, Alexis was not ) and it was painful to listen to her sing. My favorite singer was this incredible future super star by the name of Adam Lambert. Ok, my fave came in second. I can't really complain about that. And in the long run he will probably be better off ( minus the million that the winner picks up ) as he will have more freedom in his choices of what he does  with his music. And poor Kris will get stuck recording this horrible song that was co-written by the new judge, Kara Dioguardi, who has written for the likes of such marginal ( if that ) "talents" as Paris Hilton. 

My sister Libby and I both love Adam's singing and we will be watching his career in the future. On the finale last night the last performance was Adam and Kris preforming with the members of Queen. While Kris faded into the woodwork, Adam showed why he should have won. And he also showed why he would be able to step into Freddie Mercury's shoes and do him proud by preforming with Queen. Will that happen in the future or will he go solo or get in a band? Who knows?  Time will tell that story. 

One thing about America Idol is that often the losers ( with the exception of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood ) do better than the winners. I have a feeling that is what will happen with Adam. Maybe I am wrong about Kris and he will have a huge career but I am doubtful. But I believe Adam will be an international star. America might have got it wrong last night but I think in the future that the world will get it right. 

Susan Boyle, Libby and me

Ok, so by now everyone on the planet, give or take a few, has clicked on a time or twenty ( I am guilty ) to see the wonderful clip of a shy, 47 year old Scottish woman sing "I Dreamed A Dream"  ( I would also recommend checking out her "Cry Me A River" rendition as well ) on youtube. Susan Boyle auditioned on "Britain's Got Talent." When she walked out before a cynical audience dressed in what appeared to be finery from the 1950s the audience gave her a hard time and the judges rolled their eyes. They figured she would be like so many other delusionals of all ages, shapes and sizes, who have appeared on these show. But one never knows. So she sang a lovely song and the world has embraced her talent. 

Ok, and now for those of us who have not yet stepped into the spotlight. Like my incredibly talented sister, Libby. Libby sings the same sort of songs that Susan Boyle does: standards and showtunes. And Libby can, vocally, knock it out of the ballpark. The main difference between these ladies is that Libby is Scottish-American and Susan is Scottish. Oh, and Libby is a redhead ( Scotland, btw, has the highest percentage of natural redheads in the world and that is not including Scottish-Americans like Libby and my two redheaded brothers ). And then there is the OTHER difference: Libby is 56 rather than 47. 

I know that Libby is not alone. There are so many incredibly talented singers out there who do not fall into the generic young and beautiful category ( and too often falling into the can't sing their way out of a paper bag category as well ). Shows like Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent are godsends because even if it doesn't mean that all of us who are not beauty queens or kings and who are older than 28 ( the oldest one can be for American Idol and for the record industry the cut off age is even younger ) can still continue in our dreams.

Now if there was only a show where I would not fall through the cracks. I am a singer songwriter who is 60 and have written around 10,000 songs ( some of em are really good too! ). But there is no show for older people like myself that showcases singer songwriters. They all go for the cover tunes, which I do not sing. But if I can get my sister Libby to "go for it" by entering AGT. I would have no problem standing on the sidelines and cheering her on to victory. Yes, she is that good!

Today I broke out with my keyboards ( that I play horribly ) and hooked up my little 50 dollah machine with the microphone and recorded a couple of songs onto my photo booth video feature. I was rather pleased with the result. Now for the tech dummy to figure out how to upload them to youtube and then I too can become a video star... 

SAC 

Hopefully soon... the woman with a voice

I love craigslist. It is wonderful for yard sales and also it is a place where one can contact and find music people. The other day I talked to a producer who lives in Palm Desert. Ok, so he does not record HARD ROCK ( I am 60 and I wanna be a rock star. Isn't that what people want to do when they turn 60? Ok, maybe not... ). But he has been playing keyboards for over 35 years and he has a studio and his rates are reasonable for church muses ( church muse: poor artistic relation of a church mouse ) like myself. Of course my biggest problem will be getting to where he has his studio... who in my family can I bribe?????? Right now David the producer is working on getting some things done in his studio ( upgrading it ) and he will call me next week. And I am excited about this as I might FINALLY be able to get some songs recorded professionally. My dear brother Hal suggested that I learn garageband and get a mike. Thanks, bro! The only problem is that I am REALLY BAD on keyboards and I can honestly say I have no burning desire or any desire WHATSOEVER to play ANY instrument other than VOICE. I do not know who it was that wrote the unwritten law that if one sings they should also play an instrument and of course that especially applies to songwriters. When one finds him can they tell me WHO it is so I can slowly torture them slowly so they scream for death for coming up with that unspoken law? To turn my straw into gold I am not gonna spin some tune on any instrument besides a microphone.  And any goldmeisters out there will need to do all the mechanical, electrical and tech stuff. Woman with a voice, that is me.

Oh one last word here, READ LIBBY'S BLOG! She is a great writer and she will have you snickering away with her mad cap adventures of losing weight to look sexy and hot while trying not to eat things that are BAD FOR YOU and taste like heaven divine ( note to Libby: this does NOT include that fiendish potion known as "Diet Coke." ).