Kim K, the Donald and other media drains

I was reading an article that told me that as a feminist I should celebrate Kimmy K's obsessive need to post pictures of herself in semi-naked or completely naked poses, that criticizing her is part of the "rape culture" and we should celebrate that she owns her body.  Well isn't she selling her body?  Theoretically Kim is some kind of businesswoman.  What business?  I know she and her sisters used to run a clothing store in Agoura Hills, but I doubt THAT is a going concern.  Kim is in the business of selling the Be like Kim brand.  Sure if I had nothing to do all day but work with a personal trainer and get my hair and makeup done, I too could be a media sensation and post MY selfies all day on Twitter and Instagram.  But I'm not and most women are not,  The thing that bugs me, I suppose, is how she is held up to worship when she doesn't DO anything.  She's not involved in any charity that I can see and she doesn't speak out for anyone but herself. She's famous for being famous.  I't not something I want my daughter to aspire to.

The Donald.  Can he get any worse?  I suppose he can.  It's frightening to watch people come out and support his racist and irrational statements as if they were something worthy of belief.  Build a wall?  His supporters chant that.  Whatever happened to "Give me your tired and your poor"?  The media follows him around to see just what outrageous thing he will say.  He incited violence.  He told them he would pay for their legal fees, then conveniently backpedaled.  THIS is the man you think can lead this country?   He's a bully and a braggart, full of bluster and not much substance.  He's a con artist who is selling snake oil that is being sucked down by the masses.  I am having a hard time believing that people actually support him, but he seems to be winning in the polls.  The presidential race has become a popularity contest.  Are we so STUPID as to elect Biff from Back to the Future to the presidency?  I am beginning to believe that the Founding Fathers must have envisioned such a circus when they created the Electoral College.  They didn't trust the masses to be smart enough and now with the dumbing down of this country , they may have the right of it.  Scary times.

There has been so much non-news in the media these days, I wonder what we are not seeing.  Global warming, the world economy, the crisis in Syria and the Middle East.? No we are so busy obsessing about Kim Kardashian's boobs, we aren't paying attention to the real world and our place in it.

McGroarty Arts Center

I have been volunteering on the Board at the McGroarty Arts Center since not long after I moved up to Tujunga- somewhere around 2005.  The Center is a wonderful place, the mission is affordable art education for all. It's also a non profit and in this day and age getting money to run such a place has been a daunting task.  People in this community, to quote my father, have fish-hooks in their pockets.  Getting them to donate ANYTHING is nigh to impossible.  We had a campaign where we asked every stakeholder for ten dollars.   TEN DOLLARS.  That's like a latte and a muffin and a tip at Starbucks.  Did we get it?   No.  The Center is always on the verge of closing  and somehow we carried on.  I hope it will continue but I cannot be the driving force anymore.  We hired a company to help us and THEY told me to close the doors.  I said we had to try and so we did.  We limped along a year past when they said we would close.  We kept trying.  But it really took its toll on my health. I went from being on no asthma meds to a twice a day maintenance  inhaler and almost a constant need for the rescue inhaler.  Stress. My primary care physician and two specialists encouraged me to lessen the stress in my life.  There are several things that are overwhelming right now. So, last night, after much soul searching, I resigned from the board of McGroarty Arts Center.  I thought I would be sad, but I am not, which makes me realize that this is what I needed to do.  In discussing my decision with a friend, he said something to the effect that I will not get credit for what I have done.  I told him that  I will know what I have done.  I do not volunteer to get a pat on the back or awards or acclaim.  I would prefer to work in anonymity, to tell you the truth, and to get the work done.  The Protestant work ethic- that hard work is it's own reward- is strong within me.  I know the reason I kept at it,; a deep belief that this community NEEDS an arts center for our children and for seniors to have a place to go to "find their art". That is the reason I fought so hard.  I am confident that the new and returning Board members will fight just as hard to save it, although it is in deep trouble.  The people are smart and committed and will do what must be done.  I hope this Community can be made to realize what a treasure McGroarty Arts Center is and will rise together to save it.

Ian

"To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven"   To many of us 60's children, this is a song from the Byrds.  It is really from the Bible;  Ecclesiastes, one of the books of poetry in the Bible.   I don't want to get off on a tangent of theology here.  This is not the time.

Last night, Chris got a call from his former girlfriend, Linda.  He and Linda have not spoken in a while and with good reason.  But he took her call.  She told him that her son Ian had died. For a good portion of Ian's childhood, Chris was his step-father as he lived with Linda and helped her to raise him.  Ian was involved in our wedding ceremony, although the was older, we asked him to hold the rings so that he would be part of the service.  He was a nice young man, shy when he was around me and polite.  He had a hard time health-wise.   A few years ago, he had a kidney transplant.   We do not know the details of what happened, only that a cousin found him and he was gone.  He had just had his 20th birthday.

Please send prayers and love to his mother, Linda, his stepmother Angie, his father Bill and his family.  There has been far too much death lately and I want something else.  I want life and laughter and picnics and babies.  I want art and music and hugs.   I am weary beyond telling of death and sorrow.

Election dreams

Last night I dreamed about my grandmother who was a suffragist.  She reminded me in my dream that women have had the vote for not quite 100 years and this year we need to get the women to the polls.  "It's important" she said.  "Women will be the key"  I hope so.

I look at what is being offered to the American people and I am afraid.  I think the Democrats have a nice crop of candidates and I am comfortable with either of the two front-runners and their ability to lead this country. Looking at what I call the Republican Clown car, however, I am terrified.

I cannot understand anyone who is not an old white man voting for Donald Trump.  The man is a menace.  His arrogance is shocking and his bigotry is CELEBRATED by his minions.  I wonder if he's paying them.  Somehow, I think his campaign is a BIG joke on the American public and he will pull out of the whole thing before he can be elected.  THEN he can make money selling his brand of crazy even more than if he were president.   I feel sorry for his wife.Apparently, she is a smart woman, but he drags her around like an inflatable doll and refers to her as a  "young, beautiful piece of ass".  She needs to pull a Marla Maples on him.  I believe Marla found someone more to her liking and split from the Donald.  Or take a page from Ivana's book "don't get even, get everything"  I see there was a "white pride" rally in California today sponsored by the KKK.  Who let those jerks in the state?  They are invoking Donald and his racists rants.  We need to put an end to this nonsense.  We need to vote.

The recent Republican debate made me burst into that song from the 80's "The Curly Shuffle" Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk.  THESE people, name calling and finger pointing without any sort of debate-worthy discussion, want to LEAD THIS COUNTRY?  They can't think their way out of a paper bag.  Ben Carson?   I don't think he was even in the room. When they asked him a direct question he went off on a a tangent about his hands.  They all make me wish for the shifty-eyed political manipulations of Richard Milhous Nixon, and I HATED Nixon.

I truly wish the Republicans had someone with a plan that could be discussed.  Trump is going to build a wall between the US and Mexico.  Yeah. Does anyone see a wall running the whole of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas?   Mexico isn't going to pony up.  He's "going to make them pay for it"   Laughable, or it would be if some of his followers didn't truly believe that will happen.  Marco Rubio changes his mind more than he changes his tie.  Eduardo Cruz may not even qualify for the presidency.  Wasn't he born in Canada? Where are all the "birthers" on him?  "His mother was a US Citizen"  well if THAT is the argument, then so was Barrack Obama's mother when she gave birth to him- in HAWAII, which is a state of the Union.  Even so, his branch of "my way or the Highway" Christianity, with his father who is as crazy as a bedbug as his "adviser" should be enough to warn most of us off him.  His religion works for HIM, and that's just fine. It's when he wants us all to believe it or else that I have an issue.  There's a well circulated  meme, featuring Maggie Smith, that says "Religion is like a penis.  It's nice to have one, but when you take it out and wave it in my face we have a problem."  I couldn't agree more.

 I saw that Raven Symone saying she will leave the country "if any Republican gets nominated" Now, I believe she meant ELECTED, but if she didn't ( and I don't watch The View) SOMEONE needs to gently explain the system to her.  Maybe all those years with Bill Cosby turned her brain to Jello Pudding.  I don't think she is one of the best minds of her generation.  If she is, the next generation is in real trouble,

People talk about leaving this country if  so-and-so gets elected.  I am not leaving here, but I will  be very disappointed and somewhat frightened if one of the Republican candidates is elected.

I'm sick of being sick and tired of being tired

so...  Guess where I was yesterday?  Kaiser.  Again.  I have had a cold and because I am asthmatic and I am wheezing, my husband insisted I go to the doctor.  I told him it was just a cold, but I suppose I wanted to be sure it wasn't defaulting to bronchitis as it has in the past so I went.

I saw a doctor who despite the fact that I could hear myself wheezing, pronounced my lungs "clear" and then went over my meds.  She castigated me for taking the meds prescribed by TWO other doctors for my osteoarthritis pain.  Why do they do that?  Talk to the doctors who are giving me the meds if you have a problem with what they are giving me..  Don't yell at ME for it.  Sheesh.  This is the second time one doctor yelled at ME for something another doctor did.  The last time, it was a request for additional tests.  I'm NOT A FREAKING DOCTOR, how do I know what is and isn't necessary?  Yes, I am aware of the side effects of the medication but the BIG side effect is I can walk.   I take it sparingly and not every day.

Her diagnosis?  I have a cold.  I need to - as the old commercial goes "rest in bed, drink plenty of fluids and take Tylenol for pain"  I am taking alka-seltzer plus and NyQuil- Not together but you get the idea.

On a brighter note.  I have lost seven pounds.

Books and Blogs and volunteering

So I picked up a book and read it just because of the title.  The book was "Sister Golden Hair". If you know me, you know I am a BIG fan of the band "America'.  I love their music.  It makes me happy.  Deal with it.  For a while, my husband played in a metal band and the metalheads kind of made fun of me for being a folkie. Here's the deal.  You like what kind of music you like, what speaks to you, comforts you and gives your imagination wings.  It's been a long time, maybe never actually, that I felt the need to be considered "cool" by changing my tastes to fit the in-crowd.  Cool has always been being comfortable in my own skin and for the most part I am.  There ARE days I wish I were less.. me, but there I am.  I am 57 years old.  A major shift in personality is not something I am going to work on at this stage of the game.   Anyway, back to the book.  It's about a girl who is a teenager in Roanoke Virginia in the early 1970's   I kept waiting for the song to show up in the book; Jesse is a BIG Cher fan and considers her a goddess, even praying to her at some point.   She is a Bowie fan and the town has a big Lynyrd  Skynyrd  following.  Since they did not really come onto the music scene since way after the book begins in 1972 I had a problem with it.  But the song "Sister Golden Hair" is NEVER mentioned.  It never comes on the radio when she is up in her room late at night nor when she is riding in cars with boys.  Not once.   I was a bit miffed.  I have no idea why THAT is the title of the book.  I suppose Jesse is a blonde, but although she talks obsessively about hot rollers, she never mentions the color of her hair.  It wasn't a great book, but it was a book on cd and it kept me company when I drove out to my daughter's house this week. Do I recommend it?  No. There were some glaring errors in timeline and I kept trying to reconcile what year she said it was with the "history" and fashion she kept dropping in.  Maybe my memory is faulty, but the author should have fact checked stuff before relying on her memory for important details.

I haven't been writing and now that things are back on sort of an even keel and there will be a major change in my life I will be trying once again to work on the craft of writing.  NO I am not retiring- yet and no, Kate is not pregnant.  There will be a change that will happen in the next few weeks and I will talk about it after I have gotten everyone who needs to be on board with this, or at least informed.  Time to make a change ( as the America song goes)  I looked back over this blog and have seen that I am dissolving into a whiner.  Sometimes the pissing and moaning help me to realize something, but frankly it gets old.  I need to think more about things that are going on and maybe try to be a bit more philosophical or at least reasonable about them.  Except Donald Trump.  Never going to be reasonable about him.  He scares me.  His hate and vitriol are not good for this country and I truly hope whoever is elected will be a diplomat with brains, not a loud mouth with hair and a slick marketing agency behind him.  There is a Jackson Browne song that says "They sell us the President the same way they sell us our clothes and our cars"  True.  I often quote rather obscure song lyrics to make my point.  Sometimes the singer-songwriters whose music speaks to me are like the modern day equivalent of philosophers, except Kanye West who is an idiot.  His recent begging for money from Mark Zuckerberg is laughable.  He begs for help from one side of his mouth and with the other goes on a rant about how he hates white people.  What a racist jerk.  Maybe he should ask The Donald if he can be his running mate.

I have been thinking about volunteerism and why I do it.  I worked an event recently and the topic came up several times about the idea that people only do this to get some form of public adulation.  I wondered if that was my motivation.  I don't think so, as I often volunteer for stuff and talk about it after the fact, unless I am trying to get people to help me or come to the event.  I get a lot out of it for myself. For the last 12 years, I have been coordinating the last water stop at the LA Marathon.  At first, I was disappointed not to be out there when the winner roars by,  We work the late shift and by the time I start the winner has already signed for the Honda and is in the hospitality suite getting a beer.   The people I see are the real winners; those who have been out there for seven or eight hours just putting one foot in front of the other to get to the finish line.  These people inspire me more than an elite runner who does this for a living ever could.  Their struggle to finish can be a mantra for my life.  Just keep moving and you will get there.

Superbowl music

My mom used to watch football games for the halftime show.  Every year it tries harder to top the last year.  This year.. meh

Am I the only person on the planet who is not enamored of Beyonce Knowles?   She leaves me cold.  I get a vibe off of her that is very unpleasant and it colors how I react to her.  In her case, I cannot separate the dancer from the dance and I just don't want to watch her make that "I'm better than you" face at the camera anymore.  Coldplay.   Coldplay????  I was never a big fan and became less so during my divorce all those years ago when my then-husband would play "Clocks" over and over again and cry.   Apparently it was "their song"  ugh.  I wasn't big on Coldplay to begin with.   They seemed ok at the Superbowl, but I stopped paying attention and left the room.  I remember watching bands with interest in the past, this year left me cold. I suppose I missed Bruno Mars, whom I like a lot.  He's always entertaining.  Maybe next year I will be more engaged.

I got into an online debate about the National Anthem.  First, let me say that Lady Gaga did a fine job with it.  I hate that every year, they drag out the Whitney Houston version as the standard.  I may get skewered  for this but.. Whit was LIP-SYNCING to a studio version.  She probably was singing along to her own recording but her mic was off.  Of COURSE it sounded great. She had all those studio takes to choose from and "perform" in front of the crowd.  I am not saying it wasn't a stirring version - and since it was a post-9/11 event patriotism was running higher than ever- but it was still a RECORDING.  I don't know, but it looked like Gaga was doing it live.  I have to fact check it.  The person that I was discussing this with takes exception to anyone doing the version not note-for-note the traditional one.  My argument is that as an artist, you should be able to present your version, as long as you do it with respect and passion.  Remember the Jose Feliciano kerfuffle when he did it  with his own spin?  As long as you are not scratching and spitting while you do it, I say Bravo.  It's not an easy song to sing.  How it became our national anthem is beyond me,but there it is.  I do hate when they sing "the brave" twice at the end.  It's supposed to be some kind of 9/11 tribute, isn't it?  Bugs me just the same.  It's a hard song to sing and I look forward to hearing good singers perform it and although I do have a voice that would sterilize toads at 300 paces I also love to sing along