Haiti

I haven't posted here in ages but felt I really needed to comment on this. This quake is such a tragedy. And yet, the people of this country, alone in the dark with terrifying aftershocks, sang and praised God for their survival. Haiti, California prays for you. We are well acquainted with earthquakes. I was living in Hollywood when the Northridge quake hit and have spasms ( from a pre-existing condition ) as the result of a fall during that time. I know there are people, too many, who have lost their lives and will have debilitating conditions much worse than the spasms I still live with. My heart and my prayers go out to the people of Haiti. God bless you all for your fortitude and your courage in the midst of this disaster.

Cynthia

Boomer Luxor

Well, I meandered on down to the Senior Center for Boomer Night. There were a number of people there. So what did I do? I went over to play a video game called Luxor. I tried it on Monday and got under 10,000. Well tonight I did not move from the time i got there at 5 pm till it closed at 8pm. And my score was over a million and a third! Whoa! Yep, these things can be addicting. 

I was interviewed and had my photo taken by some young reporter from the Indio Desert Sun ( part of the Palm Springs Desert sun ). He interviewed other people so I don't know if my interview and photo will show up but will check with the Desert Sun's website to see. If it does I will post about it here, along with the url. I did mention to him that I would like to start a boomer band and mentioned I had written over 9500 songs. 

Maybe next boomer night I might actually go and socialize a bit hahaha!

Indio Senior Center

I went to the opening of the Indio Senior Center on Saturday. Among other speakers ( as if anyone cared, we all wanted to get to the free food hahahaha ) was Mary Bono-Mack. So I went up and introduced myself as the starving artist- songwriter that I am and mentioned that it would be nice if there was a sliding scale for the copyrights people need. The rate for filing a copyright has gone up in less than twenty years from 10 bucks to 45 and for all I know it might be even more than that now. I have written over 9500 songs, a fantasy book ( hollyWEIRD ) and a bunch of poetry, etc. I am prolific. And it is just too freakin' expensive to copyright everything I want to copyright. So I mentioned this and said there should be something to help the poor starving artist ( which there are definitely more of than the rich and famous artist ). She looked annoyed. She mentioned ASCAP and BMI and I said maybe I could contact them. And then she said, when I said, maybe talking to them to LOBBY for sliding scales for the poor artist, that no but maybe they could help me financially. Ah huh. But there SHOULD be a sliding scale and one can sign it under penalty of perjury with fines if say someone is rich or earning more than allowed. A little postscript of this: I met Sonny Bono when he was the mayor of Palm Springs. It was after I had started to write songs. I asked him about songwriting, thinking he might know some place here in the Coachella Valley to do something about songs and the like. His reply "Go to Hollywood." I DID and while I didn't achieve anything resembling fame and fortune I feel I found something better - some lifetime friends and memories of friends I had met and known there who have since passed away. So I think his advice was great considering the true wealth I found there.  

The senior center rocked. It is just gorgeous and has a nice library, game room, other stuff. I am hoping to start hanging out there, start a club/class or two and see if I can put together a band of boomers. Oh YEAH. I went back there yesterday and played some game in the game room, looked through a couple of books, had some crabby old lady yell at me when I spent about 5 minutes on a treadmill going VERY SLOW. And whomever she is, I was nice to her but will see what sort of a crabapple she is if she is there on a regular basis. I can be kissy kiss if need be because I definitely intend to use this little center to promote me and yes, to spread my love of art, writing, painting, singing, etc. It would be nice to find some new fans to enjoy what I create. So we will see.

I am now on Facebook and it is fun, able to post photos there ( haven't figured out how to do it here; it might be easy but I don't know because I am the tech dummy of the universe... ). 

I am thinking of starting a writing blog... we will see.

SAC

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