Michael, Farrah and how they will be remembered by me

Today, both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died.









Jackson dropped dead of an apparent heart attack in L.A. His health has been the stuff of rumors for a while, but his handlers swore it was all just "exhaustion" and that he would be more than fine for the concerts he was supposed to perform in England next month.

Now, when you turn on the news, click on a news site, read a forum or even a blog ( :D ), Michael's death is the one dominating the airwaves. I suspect his picture will be on the top fold of every paper in the land tomorrow--hopefully one from his younger days. You know, before vitiligo set in and he stopped being black...

I suspect it is because we cannot resist the tragic last act to an already tragic story. Jackson was a very talented performer, songwriter and choreographer. He could move in ways you would not expect and he looked GOOD doing it. But his talent was overshadowed in the end by his alleged (never quite proven) prurient fondness for little boys. THAT became the focus of Jackson's public life. Every joke was about Michael Jackson and molestation.

No one was able to prove it, even though he once paid out a good chunk of change to shut one family up (the dad was a failed screenwriter and was trying to convince Jackson to bankroll one of his scripts or something). Later, after he allowed a cancer patient and his entire family to move into his Neverland mansion, paid all their bills and treated them pretty good, that family swore Jackson was molesting the cancer patient, getting him drunk and groping him. Again, there were questions--the mom was a serial lawsuit filer and wanted more money, plus a house and other stuff. The kid took back a lot of what was said. Jackson was found not guilty.

But the damage was done. In the first case, the authorities made Jackson drop trou so they could take pictures of his penis for evidence. Those pictures were taken before Drudge and Ain'tItCool, so they didn't get wide distribution. But you can bet they are out there somewhere. In the second case, the police raided Neverland, filmed all over the place, took pictures of everything (whether pertinent or not) and those DID get a wider show. Jackson abandoned the home he worked hard to create.

He didn't work anymore, so he paid some nutcase to have babies for him. She married him, but the truth is she probably just wanted the money she got for signing away her rights to said kids. Jackson tried his hand at some comebacks and the shows in London were supposed to be his Britney moment. Alas, not now...

I don't know if he did all the bad things attributed to him. I don't think it matters now. He was the man who wrote and performed "Thriller" and told us about "Billy Jean" and got Eddie Van Halen to play some badass guitar on "Beat It". He made wearing one glittered glove and jackets that looked like Members Only look good. AND he brought back military/band jackets as a fashion statement (but The Beatles did it better).

He owned a lot of The Beatles' music. He owned a lot of Elvis's, too. I see a MAJOR fight brewing as Paul, Yoko, Lisa Marie and every Motown star starts their own bidding wars. Meanwhile, who gets those kids conceived by methods I do NOT want to have a mental picture thereof.

____________________



Meanwhile, there is Farrah to think about. A beautiful, almost-star known as much for this iconic poster which appeared over many a young man's bed (including the beds of both my brothers) as for her acting chops. Face it--her first gigs, like on "The Partridge Family" where she was always credited as "Pretty Girl 1", pretty much marked her as "dumb blond" for a long time.

Charlie's Angels made her a kind of role model for a lot of girls because she was part of a trio of smart women who really could kick ass and take names.

Then she decided to become a "serious actress" and proved she could handle the tough roles. If you ever saw "The Burning Bed", "Extremities" or "Small Sacrifices", you knew she was the real thing. But she never got the movie roles she deserved. In "Logan's Run", she was a ditzy blond--probably there as eye candy and to contrast Jenny Agutter. We won't even talk about "Saturn 3" lest all our gag reflexes kick in.

Did people know that Farrah was an artist? She was a pretty good one, too--even if she DID paint with her naked body for Playboy a while back.

Farrah's death was expected, as she had been fighting cancer for several years and it was a foregone conclusion she was not going to be around much longer. She made a wonderful documentary about her struggle that will be watched for years. I hope her end was peaceful and that she died with a minimum of fuss. I figured when they sent her home from the hospital earlier this week, she was going home to die. One of my co-workers swore she was going to ease the transition along. So what if she did? I wouldn't want to linger like that, either.

Jackson was hauled out of his house on a gurney, people (including, I believe, one of the paramedics) snapping pictures like crazy. How would you feel if the last picture of you was taken as you WERE dying? How would your kids feel?

I hear Geraldo is already talking overdose as the COD for Jackson. At least wait for the autopsy, dude!

I hate weekends!

Weekends are spent chasing down The Diva and trying to catch up on the housekeeping and never relaxing at all.

I am never at rest and am worn out.

That is all.

Reno is in August. I hope I last that long.

Hard to come back, but here I am

I wanted to give Sam the proper respect he deserved before coming back with my ramblings. I still pull up his "Miley" column to show friends because it is great advice for ANY star coming into a city to film for any length of time. It should be mandatory reading for all of them.

Having said that...

School is out for the summer and I am SCARED!!! There is NOTHING in this freakin' city for kids D's age to do. It is too hot for the parks already, the pool near our house is nasty and the rec center around the corner is geared for little kids and old people. Most kids will hang out at the casinos because that is where the arcades, bowling alleys and movie theaters are. Not a single theater complex on this side of the valley is NOT connected or in the middle of a casino. Sad.

I am thinking summer school for math because she didn't do very well this year and the credit system for the school district is weird--middle school SEMESTER credits have to be earned for high school. I just had to pass the year, not two quarters in one semester. But that is how it works here. Dumb!

I dread the long periods of her on her own and am not sure what to do about it yet.

When you just want to cry a river and then a lake and then an ocean

A dear, dear friend of mine--Sam Johnson--has passed away.

I think you have seen the link to his blog under "Cool Visits". I hope you click over there and read some of his material. It's very good. With a professor's encouragement, he was consolidating some of the best pieces for publication. Find his post about Thanksgiving dinners or the one about weak-ass fake chili. You'll laugh out loud and click for more.

Speaking of clicking, did you see the link to something called "Donate for Sam's Sake"? It's been there for a reason. You see, Sam needed a kidney transplant and in our country, you have to have a giant bank account for after-care as one of the preconditions. Yep, you need to have $100K or more before serious consideration unless you have the Rolls Royce of insurance that will cover 100% of all your costs with no caps and low co-pays. I'll save the insurance rant for later this week...

Anyway, that means Larry Hagman was able to afford getting a new liver (to perhaps destroy with more drinking) and that Natalie Cole will get HER kidney before the end of the year. Did you SEE how many people called/emailed Larry King with offers to give one up to her?!? Meanwhile, click on that link, too, so someone will get closer to THEIR future and say "Sam's friend sent you".

Some very good people did their best to help Sam with raising money, but times are hard and people don't give to causes that aren't "sexy" in terms of garnering headlines. But his friends still did what they could. If nothing else, we clicked the Paypal button to made sure he had pizza and comic book money.

He was working out to build up his body for that ever-pending call to haul butt to the hospital, he went back to college and had a career planned, he was working on the book... He never gave up although I know he had "those" days. I just hope someone got him those "preview" copies of certain films he was wanting to see.

I hope his transition was peaceful, slipping from slumber to slipping earthly bonds. I am confident, no matter what, he went knowing that he had friends who loved him and will miss him madly.

This is Sam during one of the fund-raisers; it was the picture he used for his profile.





This picture is one from his blog, taken at DragonCon, I think. Do ya think he had a good time?




This is an oldie from the local access TV show (UGS) we did in Savannah, a great ensemble cast and a lot of comedy that was like working-class MadTV or early SNL. In other words--no budget, a lot of hilarious ideas and a cable access station that was willing to overlook a lot of things. Soon after this, the first head-shaving occurred.





I'd post the Tom Jones video he did for the UGS New Year's show in 1995, but he would come back and jerk me around... And then laugh his ass off as he chased some kids off MY lawn!

About "sexting" and silly laws

As many of you already know, there has been a rush of late to charge random teenagers all over the country with child pornography because they are "sexting"--that is, sending naughty pictures of themselves to their friends and significant others. Now why is that so wrong, you may ask?

The laws against child porn are clear in that they all state that adult EXPLOITATION of a child for sexual purposes is to be prohibited and handled in the harshest manner. Offenders have to do time and, (no) thanks to Meghan's Law, register as sex offenders no matter what for the rest of their lives. None of the sexting incidents fall under that exploitation umbrella. In fact, in these cases, there is no legal adult involved at all.

These cases are about girls and guys showing off their ADULT bodies. And yes--they are ADULT bodies. If a girl is menstruating and a guy is able to maintain an erection with ejaculation, then they are physically adults with all the urgings that come with the territory.

One case involves a girl who posted pictures on her private MySpace page for her boyfriend and someone saw the pictures. Another case involves girls posting pictures of themselves at a slumber party in those stupid flannel pants everyone wears these days and bras (or bra-like tops). They weren't posted for adults to have one off to or for some perv to download. They were for specific people and someone else shared.

These girls (where are the boys' cases?) are facing serious jail time for TRAFFICKING in child porn. They would also have to register as sex offenders, which means that most jobs open to women even these days would be off-limits to them: nursing, teaching, store worker, flipping burgers at the local Mickey D's (kids come in there, plus work there).

OK. They were frakking stupid for sharing their stuff in places where others could stumble upon them. They were doubling stupid for thinking their "friends" would not download and share the pics. But criminals? No way on God's green earth!!! All they need is a good whoopin' and some down time working at the local kid shelter or something similar.

You may ask why I think what they did is not so bad. It's not. It's stupid because things come back to haunt people in the most importunate moments--like when one becomes famous. I personally know of a set of pictures still out there that would embarrass a prominent actress, but that's another story... But we ALL did something similar when we were that age.

When I was in HS, there was no digital media. You used film and hoped that the Walgreen's didn't actually look at your pictures. Lucky me--my dad was/is a photographer and I had my own darkroom to develop my stuff, so that was not an issue. OR... You used that magical invention called Polaroid!!! Many a party I went to back in the day featured at least four or five instant cameras and lots of pictures I would not want posted anywhere now. But we didn't think of that then. We wanted FUN MEMORIES. We wanted pictures to slip into the lockers, backpacks or math books of our "one true love" (for that week). Some of those pictures may well have been shown around in the gym locker room or on the bus going to the football games, but that didn't matter, either. We were sharing ourselves. FTR: no, there are NO pictures of me in the 100% altogether floating around from high school, although I have to say I did look great back then.

The other problem with these types of laws is that there are thousands of people out there, mostly young men, who are registered sex offenders for having CONSENSUAL relations with their girlfriends who might have been just a tad below "legal". So what? Those girls are not exactly innocent flowers, are they? In just about every case, these couples have been having it on for some time and the complaint came not from them but from parents (usually the girl’s) who refused to believe their little darling would be doing something like that.

Think about it—there is a young man still sitting in jail in Atlanta for getting a BJ from a girl at a party; someone with a cell phone recorded it and sent it to everyone at school. Apparently everyone knew about this girl’s—um—talent except her mother and that is who screamed “Rape!” Not the girl, not the other girls who were also doing “stuff”, not the young man… Only the mother who refused to believe her daughter was capable of knowing what sex was, let alone indulging in it themselves.

I sat on a grand jury once where every single person knew the people involved in a similar case. The girl had been “seeing” boy for a long time, but then mamma wanted a piece of the action. The boyfriend refused to share and mamma filed charges. No matter how hard many of us argued, there were some idiots who were more concerned with the letter and not the intent of the law. This kid was indicted and ended up doing time for not wanting to do someone’s mother along with his girlfriend. He also had to register as a tier 1 offender for “statutory rape”, as the charges were brought just AFTER the age of consent laws in Georgia were changed.

So we are back at the original point: some laws are really, REALLY stupid when they make major criminals out of young people who have discovered the life beyond Barbie and Ken going on “dream dates”.

Would I be angry if I discovered my daughter taking the more extreme pictures? You betcha!!! Her punishment would be to lose all the electronics for a while and a good butt-kicking. Would I want her going to jail for doing so? Criminal charges and a permanent blot that would keep her from holding down a job for the rest of her life? Hell, NO!!

How to deal with the rotten kid your kid hangs out with?

OK, I have been MIA for a while because of work projects that required crazy hours and lots of OT. I am in between those and the next set, so here I am--and I am ranting!

For D's 13th birthday, I upgraded her secondhand cell phone to a nicer one-the Alias. She was so thrilled to get it because it was a lot smaller than the eNvy (aka "The Brick") and it fit in her pocket easier. It also had neater features. I say "had" because the same little bee itch (AC) that stole her jeans earlier this year apparently stole the phone when they were all at the skate park.

Of course, the little monster swears she doesn't have it, although it was being answered/hung up when we called to see if it was in the house. When D called AC to ask about it, the girl got very defensive and then hung up. Later, she claimed she never saw the phone to begin with. Then she went into "you people are crazy" rant and told us to leave her alone. But she keeps messaging D on her MySpace page and calling the house and hanging up.

Yesterday, at Extreme Thing, AC saw D and ran off. Other kids mentioned that she was bragging about the phone to them.

The phone service is suspended on that number, but the girl has a brand new phone with a new microSD card and all D's contacts and pictures. God only knows what the heck she will do with them. The last time she got her hands on that kind of information (from another kid), she called and texted the contacts with all sorts of nasty trashy messages. The pictures ended up on MySpace.

The contacts can be gotten back because we get the backup service from our provider and I had just synced the numbers earlier that day. But that is not the point... This girl is allowed to run wild because her parents just don't give a sh!t.

I am sorry her parents are alcohols and drug addicts and her brother deals drugs. However, it is NOT my responsibility to provide her with clothing, food or anything else. The girl thinks that, if she worms her way into our house, she is entitled to pick up any of D's clothes she likes, take food out of the fridge and steal whatever else she likes. Of course, D is afraid to say anything because of the girl's family.

Unfortunately, there are way too many kids like that around here. Parents drink or do drugs, work weird hours and leave the kids alone most of the time, forget to buy food for the house, etc. Yeah, I feel sorry for them, but I also am a parent and I work.

The difference is that I pay the bills first, then buy food for the house. Only then do we entertain extras like a trip to the mall or buying a bunch of silly stuff. D doesn't like to see drinking so much as a beer around her because of those other parents, so I don't keep alcohol in the house at all. I think my biggest vice is sneaking in a box of Cella chocolate-covered cherries once in a while.

The biggest problem is that I cannot keep D from having contact with those kids. They go to her school, they hang out at the same places... I tell her that she needs to stay aloof because there is going to come a day when something horrific is going to happen with those kids and I do not want her to get dragged into it. I know that when they do finally bust AC's family, anyone in the house will go to jail with them. I just do NOT want my kid to be within a country mile of their place when it happens.

Right now, AC is harboring a runaway at her house and her parents are letting the girl stay there. D found out and saw the girl's sister and told her. I know some of you will say that's snitching, but AC's house is no place for her, let alone someone else's kid. I tried to get the police to investigate that family before, but they say they have too many other things to deal with. Too busy now, but when some tragedy strikes, they will be all contrite and swear they did their best.

It is impossible short of moving (and that may be a possibility) to keep the bad kids away from your own kids, but I am darned sure going to do everything in my power to keep that contact to a minimum outside of school (where they WILL have to interact since some are in the same classes).

If I thought I could get away with it (and I know I can't), I would spank the little brat myself and then personally drive her over to Child Haven since Juvie is always full up.

Now D tells me Little Miss AC is trying to be friends again. Who knows what she has up her sleeve now?

Update on the birthday

The little brat who stole D's jeans has been texting her all day with threats. She also goofed up by telling D that she does have the jeans, but she got them from someone else. Except that the store she said they came from doesn't sell that brand and the girl she claimed to have gotten them from wears like a size 13 and the jeans are size 0.

I hate to get all "Vendetta" on this kid, but you know... How do you keep lying and then send threats via a method that can be traced? I'm just angry that the criminal got her hands on D's phone and deleted a lot of her contacts (and I think copied others), along with sending rude messages to other people using her phone. Guess the little darlin' hasn't heard of the instant statement from the cell company.

A trip to the school in the morning, a trip to the cops to update the event report... Yeah, my Tuesday "mental health day" is going to be SUCH a treat.

One more thought on turning 13

With The Diva turning 13, I got some emails which annoyed me. Microsoft, Disney and a few other sites where she has a kid account informed me that, at 13, my child is NOT a child to them and now has access to the grown-up stuff on their websites.




OK....

Now, please explain to me how taking a minor off moderation is protection for them. At 13, do ALL children suddenly become mentally mature and get a common sense chip activated? Doubtful, knowing my newly-become teen.

And people wonder how the pervs find teens on the Web to exploit.

13 the hard way

Today is/was The Diva's birthday and I am so glad the day is over. It was a train wreck!

First, she spent the night with a girl whose family are really insane and trouble broke out. The girl steals and she keeps stealing D's clothes. Well, the little twitch stole a pair of jeans that my dad bought for D and I wanted them back. I also wanted the sketchbook that the girl was holding on to. The headbands the girl is welcome to keep because D said they looked nasty after this girl wore them D didn't want lice.

Well, this kid's mother decided to accuse D of being a psychopath because she has nice clothes and wants to wear them. She also swears her kid only has five pairs of jeans (this while throwing a pile of at least 10 pairs at me to go through). The husband apparently spends a lot of "quality time" in our local lock-up and just got home from the latest visit, so he was not very cordial, either.

I could replace the jeans, but the sketchbook is another story. What really made me angry was the attitude of the parents about their child stealing--"All this fuss over a pair of pants. Go buy her another pair if it is that important." "It's just a sketchbook. They cost four bucks at WalMart." Well, it is the principle here--first, I should not have to replace something your brat is standing there wearing in front of us and second, D has been working on some clothing designs over the past several months and that work is not easily duplicated. The father was like "Well, I draw too and I don't get upset when my stuff gets messed up!"

Both these people are missing the major point--their kid is a thief!

Well, I asked them to just let D see if she could find the book and they started cussing and screaming and threatening me. I just backed away and called the cops at that point. It took over an HOUR for the police to show up, giving those miscreants time to hide/destroy stuff and call someone to come get the pot out of the house (apparently the older brother makes his living via the informal pharmaceuticals trade). I watched the person go in, get the hand-over and then carry it away. Meanwhile, the parents coached their little "darling" on what to tell the cops. You could hear them yelling at her about what to say all the way down the street. Basically, the phony claim was that we went over unannounced and tried to break down the door. PLEASE!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I am not going to break down a door--especially when I know there are completely INSANE mofos on the other side.

Anyway, the mother had time to take her meds (speaking of "psychopath") and get the girl to say that Danielle was crazy and was always showing up over there. I can attest that is not true--text messaging records are a wonderful thing... The cops weren't buying their story and told me how to sue them, giving me an event number and nothing else. As if suing would ever get the artwork back.

It just about ruined The Diva's day because she had plans. However, we did salvage most of them. She and her "bestee" went to a movie and then hung out for a while, going to the park and then playing on the computer. D was so tired after we dropped her friend off back home that she crawled into bed after dinner and missed her cake. I might just wake her up in the morning with it.

Poor thing--I wanted her to have a nice birthday and it ended up being memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Well, maybe this experience will finally convince her that there are some real bitches out there even in middle school and that when I say I want to screen these girls and their families, I'm not doing so just to be nosy. I won't be able to protect her from everything, but I will do my best to protect her as much as I can.

Today is a very good day to be alive

This says it better than I ever could.

But the sheer hope I saw in people's eyes today was pretty wonderful.

An actor you never knew, but did...

Bob May, the person who sat inside and operated "Robot" in "Lost in Space" has died.

He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a “home away from home.”

Lockhart said May wore the suit for hours at a time and learned the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to their cues. Because it wasn’t easy to get in and out of the suit, he kept it on during breaks.

“He was a smoker,” Lockhart remembered. “From time to time (when he was on a break), we’d see smoke coming out of the robot. That always amused us.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090119/ap_on_en_tv/obit_may

Hair update

The votes are in!!!

Agents and ballet teacher have threatened bodily harm if she touches her hair again. Most of her friends are like "Eh..." because her hair is not as poofy as Emo hair is supposed to be (whatever that means). It never will be because Ms. Girl's hair is spiderweb fine and flyaway. Her doctor is not thrilled because it is a manifestation of other things. So, basically, everyone has told her that I was right to be angry and she still doesn't get it.

Judge for yourself. I blurred her face to protect the guilty:



I guess it isn't horrible from this angle, but there are whole sections where she hacked off her hair only two inches from the scalp. I seriously overtipped the stylist because she was able to make those areas look like they were part of a hair style and not a "Sheer Genius" challenge loser.

A Bright and Shiny New Year!

OK! I stole that from a Rudolph special, but you know...

Anyway, the holidays were a blur. I spent most of the final two weeks of the year working and managed to get hurt on the job again. But, again, no one had time to do the accident report and so I haven't been to the doctor yet. Those people owe me TWO good knees and I want them sooner rather than later.

Ms. Thang decided (with the help of her screwy friends) to chop her hair "a la Emo". It made for a three hour rant and cutting off her Internet access for going on the third day now. I had to haul her butt to Great Cuts to get what was left of her hair in a salvageable state. It was really fun telling two agents and a manager that her hair had changed--AGAIN. One was OK with it, but the other two were not so amused. Can't wait for the ballet teacher to see it!

My dad came down this past weekend on the way to see my almost-93 y/o grandpa. We were supposed to go, but D has too much school stuff going on for her to miss almost a week of classes. So we just caught up on stuff, swapped the latest family pictures and gossip, talked smack about my youngest brother and went out a few times.

I love my dad, but he is at an age where he is having to be reminded of stuff (73). He has also decided to fixate on his time in the Marines and is now sporting all sorts of Marine clothing. He also is embracing the Cherokee in our woodpile, so he has grown his hair long and wears it in a ponytail. That was cute to see. But no matter what, he is my dad and I have to humor his foibles because he worked hard all his life, went to war and got injured, and still worked till his eye got messed up (Dr. Imhof Lazik clinic--don't go there!!!)

He plans to take a trip to Russia for his next birthday with his scary girlfriend. He earned it and I hope he has fun.

Me? I turn the big 5-0 this year and I *may* get as far as the beach at Santa Monica for a day or so. I'll prolly just spend it hanging out around the city and taking in a movie. I anticipate more planning and all that for Ms. D's 13th birthday bash. I believe the theme is "Rubber Duckies"--all the guests are supposed to wear yellow (the "must-have" color this year) and the goody bags will have yellow stuff like bath oil, puff scrubbers and duckies. Remember when a party was just "show up and have some cake"?

Well, POOP!!!

Judge rules in "Watchmen" dispute:


http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/12/judge-in-watchm.html

In the meantime, there are anxieties, questions, and theories: Will Warner Bros. appeal? If it does, Watchmen’s release could be held up by months. If Warner Bros. doesn’t appeal, what will Fox get in return? A cash payout per Gordon’s original contract? A cash payout plus penalties? A share of Watchmen’s total revenues? Might Warner Bros. settle the lawsuit by selling or ceding the film to Fox? If Fox got control of Watchmen, would they release Snyder’s film in its current 2 hour 30 minute form, or would they order him to (gulp) trim it or (double gulp) make changes?

To be continued…

I was waiting patiently for the movie to come out and now I am PISSED!!!! Guys, make nice and come to a settlement before all the fanboys and girls come after y'all!

Happy Christmas, y'all!

Hope that my friends and family members who keep track of me here are having a wonderful holiday.

It is 1:30 in the afternoon and a certain little Diva who stayed up half the night trying to make sure she got at the presents early is still asleep. The presents are still unopened, staged for her to get her butt up.

Correction--she just woke up and now it is time to watch the carnage.

Sad Tidings

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has gone to join Gene in the Undiscovered Country.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28300175/

She worked her butt off to keep Gene's vision alive and did his legacy proud.

In addition to playing Number One and Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, she played Deanna Troi’s mother on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

.

I chose the Number One picture over the Nurse Chapel because the former character showed what the series might have become. I never cared for the Nurse Chapel character because she seemed to be so obviously there only to serve as a sob sister for Spock and his issues. The whole "unrequited love" thing bugged me even as a kid.

And Majel also voiced the computer of the various starships used throughout all of the TV shows and movies from the sci-fi franchise — she just completed her voiceover work as the voice of the Enterprise in director J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek,” due in theaters on May 8, 2009.

I had the opportunity to meet her a few times at Cons and the like, including at an event back home which Shatner also attended--this was way back in the day when he didn't charge for autographs (yes, I have a real Shatner autograph that I didn't have to fork out $50 or more for). I think they were just getting ready to launch "The Next Generation", so that tells you just how long ago it was. Ms. Barrett was cordial, shook hands with everyone, posed for pictures as long as she could and told stories of her days on ST-TOS.

Nice lady who was tough as nails when it came to defending the worlds her husband created.

Malls are the Devil's playground!

For those who don't know, The Diva does some modeling (mostly for the experience). Yesterday, she had a show at Dillard's so we had to make a trip to the mall--something only slightly higher than getting my eyes dilated on the list of "fun things to do".

Now, if you have had ANY experience with malls combined with any girl near "teenagedom", you know that it is a toxic combination to the poor parent who has to be there with her. After the fashion show, we had to go into every freakin' store that caters to the fashionable teen (and the wallet of said teen's parental unit). Hot Topic, Wet Seal, Tilly's, PacSun, Hot Catz... We are not talking The Gap by any means. At least we weren't at the mall with the Betsey Johnson store--The Diva loves her clothes, but I am not about to spend $400 on a dress with less than two yards of material!!!

I admit--I did buy a few things for The Diva. However, she was told "Merry Christmas" with each purchase because I mentally added those to the presents I was going to get anyway. It was probably easier because it means she got what she wanted and I don't have to hear that I don't have a clue--coupled with the eye roll that is perfected around the age of 12. Besides, I was able to get the stuff on sale before it was completely picked over.

OK--to sum up the fall

Yes, I really have been that busy.

Since I am the only one doing the job I do where I am, I am knee-deep in all the hoopla. I had three new facilities to get networked and the IT equipment in and am getting another one ready to open.

The Diva decided to change dance schools because she never had the same teachers two sessions in a row and the training was inconsistent. She's also had a few auditions and done some fashion shows. School is much the same. They don't know what to do with her because she is so smart, but the wiring in her brain doesn't work the way they want it to and so they are willing to let her slip through the cracks. Sadly, with the outrageous budget cuts, the little money there is will be even less for the rest of the year. No tutoring help, no special equipment, no monitors... I would homeschool, but I work and I know The Diva would not do the assignments on her own.

I also have spent most of the last month with pneumonia, followed by bronchitis. Codeine has become my best friend at night because I have at times sounded like I was trying to cough up Cleveland.

Other than that:

•Work sucks, but it is a job and I really am happy that I have a crappy job at all. I also can say that I can see the light of early retirement finally so I can pursue a different career.

•My family makes me happy I live on the other side of the Continental Divide.

•December is a good month for potlucks at work. We have at least five coming up in the next two weeks. I never have time to cook, so I donate my lunch money for the privilege of eating all the lumpia I want. Oh, I cannot forget to mention Nina's homemade corn chips, salsa and bean dip!

•Christmas is coming and I am actually close to being done with my shopping/designing/creating. I just have a few things to finish up and I can wrap everything and be done with it.

•My dad is supposed to come out so we can go see my 92+ y/o grandfather in San Jose. It will be nice if he does come--without the annoying GF. See what I said about living on the other side of the Continental Divide...

•SJ better publish that book or I will never go bowling with him again!

http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=17884

•Like I said before: they fired Victoria Stocki-Kim (VSK)from NBT, even though it really was too late to save the Academy which is faltering badly now with half the students decamping to other schools. She applied to Fern Adair, which is part of the reason I think The Diva was having issues--the threat was that the beotch was going to be teaching pointe there. Fern had already said no, but it still affected her thinking.

I heard ol' Vicky, along with some of the NBT cast-offs, was going to try to establish her own school in Summerlin. Considering what happened in Michigan with that company she and her hubby tried to start (the corporation they set up went bankrupt), I am amazed she could even get a dime to start anything up.

Well, we shall see and hear about it along the dancers' grapevine...

Summing up the summer

1) Ms. Thang still hates homework.

2) She is taking dance at Fern Adair and seems to be happier. It is a lot looser and the kids are not total stuck-up beotchs.

3) VSK got fired from NBT at the beginning of the year. No youth company, the mandatory classes are no longer mandatory.

4) The casting for "The Nutcracker" resulted in only one of the "anointed" getting the part of Clara. Two parts went to girls in Level FIVE and one went to the only girl I would have given it to. The part was promised by VSK to several of the girls' mothers in exchange for "behaving" and not complaining about the way she treated everyone.

5) VSK tried applying to FA and was turned down. HEH!!!

6) Work is the same. Everything that KK is involved in turns to poo. Several managers are leaving just to get away from him. But we can't get shut of him because no one else wants him.

7) Yesterday, there was a 3.8 magnitude earthquake just on the other side of the mountain. Didn't feel a thing because the jets are flying low and shaking the ground anyway.

A hard month for heros

I cried when I heard Tim Russert died. I was at work, but it didn't matter. My Sunday mornings didn't start till I had my dose of "Meet the Press". A heart attack felled him as he prepared for another Sunday's show. I still think he had a DVT from the two trans-Atlantic flights he took just before. Does it matter? No Tim on Sunday anymore and Tom Brokaw, while pretty impressive, is just not going to be the same.




But the worst was yet to come...




I woke up this morning and the first thing I heard was that George Carlin had died, also of a heart attack. I busted out crying like a baby. That man was a better measure of the time I grew up in than just about any other icon. His wicked take on the stupidity of the world we live in was spot on. Let's face it, he was right when he said

"I sort of gave up on this whole human adventure a long time ago," he said a couple of years ago. "Divorced myself from it emotionally. I think the human race has squandered its gift, and I think this country has squandered its promise. I think people in America sold out very cheaply, for sneakers and cheeseburgers. And I don't think it's fixable."

My dear, RW wingnut father hated Carlin and tried to keep him away from us kids. Well, I had my OWN money and I bought the LPs despite him. I also watched the HBO specials whenever my dad was out of the house. I knew all seven words and could rattle them off to the admiration of my friends who always managed to stutter on the last two.

Those words are now immortalized in a Supreme Court decision--sort of ironic, don't you think? You'll have to copy/paste the links because the Blogger gods won't let the code work tonight:

http://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/FCC_v_Pacifica/fcc_v_pacifica.decision

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/filthywords.html

I was lucky that I got to see George Carlin in person, back home. I had a front row seat and managed to smuggle a few pictures. I need to dig them out and upload them because it is important to me that I shared a few moments of his life.

My grandmother said George would go to Hell for making fun of God and that I would go to Hell for laughing at him doing so. My take? If a man so intelligent and insightful is going to Hell, then please save me a seat in the audience.

To end this with one of many favorite quotes:

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

You know the most ironic thing of all? On the above album cover, there is a parental advisory. On my original LPs of "Occupation: Foole" and "Class Clown" and his other 1970s albums, there are no such warnings. He fought for our right to use all our words, but we are still being warned that words are bad.

Maybe this quote is better:

"There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad intentions...and WORDS.