Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Baryshnikov (or My Left Foot)

This story is a good one on how NOT being present in your life will have you MISS the GOOD.
 Ive been telling it in my Pilates classes all this week. Then my friend in NYC sent me a short clip of the man himself dancing....Oh so beautiful. So let us return to yesteryear...when Im a chain smoking model/actress/dancer 2nd ad in the big Apple.
  Here I am in 1997, working in the industry (TV and FILM) but still dancing and auditioning. Still taking class as much as I could til I sprained my left ankle on set and continued to work/walk on it that very day. I was a foolish brat who never gave her body a break. You can imagine I didn't take class for a good two months with a severe re-sprain like that...but of course I finally wander back in.
My body looks ok, but my left foot looks like shit. It won't point at all. I stick it out and it looks like a club.. Hopefully a few classes will stretch those tendons out.
If you don't know the obsession with dancers and feet, they are a BIG DEAL. Basically, if you've got good feet, you're in....its ALL ABOUT THE FEET.
Im standing in my usual spot in studio 2 in the corner along 72nd street facing east when you know who walks in.
He took class at Steps often, and was very professional and courteous at all times. (Unlike some who sailed in on SATIN RUGS and expected to be treated as though they were ABOVE the rest of us).
He walks in and stands directly next to me at the barre. Holy Shit on high, Ive been waiting to take class with this guy my whole stupid life, but TODAY?! TODAY my foot looks like shit, and he is standing in front of me facing east which means reverse....is MY LEFT FOOT...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Suddenly it wasn't about standing next to the greatest dancer of all time and watching him, but my self obsession and my brain made it about how IM NOT GOING TO LOOK RIGHT TO HIM...wtf?
As if he was interested or could care about another dancers feet in front of him...He is too busy working...not me.. Im too busy freaking out. SO for almost an hour, with Misha standing less than a foot and half in front of me (or behind me)...I could have watched HIS FEET!  I could have smiled briefly, maybe made eye contact for just a moment...that would have been great, HUH? But BOO HOO on me, Im too wrapped up in MYSELF.  SO I did not look at his amazing butt,  nor watch his feet. Nor even get a slight whif of his sweat..cuz I wasn't there. For 45 minutes of what could have been the BEST class of MY ENTIRE LIFE.....I WAS NOT THERE FOLKS. I was so busy thinking about my left foot, that I missed the whole class.

After barre, I left and cried in the dressing room for about an hour...so disappointed in myself and my inability to enjoy life. Always focusing on what was shit and not what was amazing.
I was amazing. I was gorgeous back then, and I bet you ten to one that if I had smiled at him..he would have smiled back! I probably could have even made a little joke and gotten giggle out of him, but NO. I decided to turn the whole thing around and make it crap. 45 minutes of crap.

SO what is our lesson, Boys and girls?
Wake UP... its your life and if your not in it, its passing you by!!
Let me be your cautionary tale.. start living now and get into the moments..cuz thats your life...cuz that was a whole boat load of moments that I trashed FOR NO REASON....
Your life is not your appearance.  Its not your clothes or shoes, or even body.  Its YOU.
 I have lived in that so called "perfect body", but I didn't know what it felt like cuz I felt like shit most of the time. This was  just when I started stunt work, too... My life was so good. But I was shit in my life.
Change how you see the world and yourself.. slow down and try to be present and experience things as they are, not how you were taught they are supposed to be.
I somehow thought that when I took class with Baryshnikov, I would be so good as to IMPRESS HIM?  How delusional, self obsessed and grandiose could I be? Its not what it looks like but how it feels.

I feel pretty good about myself these days. But I have regrets and this one is up there.
Live now, be a child, put down the device and look around. The world is a big beautiful messy fantastic place...You only have to feel it.
















Saturday, May 30, 2015

the truth about LA

Los Angeles. The city of Angels. I dont think so.
In my life span, I have lived in LA collectively for almost half. I have never stayed here longer than now. I moved back here in 2007, so that makes 7 years here. I never lasted more than 5. Im starting to feel the pinch.
For much of the time spent here, the level of angst and anger that I see in the faces of nearly everyone was a complete mystery to me. It seemed juxtapose to the surroundings of this beautiful place as well as the so called "Californian attitude". I grew up in SF, where Californian Attitude is KING, and I used to make a joke that there was just too much oxygen and sunshine down here and it corroded your brain. Unfourtunetly, I was not far off.
The very nature of any city is to allow people to civilize and commune themselves. To work together.
Living close together means you are not alone, and if you need help or a cup of sugar, you are supported. Its supposed to make life easier. Its supposed to bring people closer.
Los Angeles was built by and for the movie business. That business is built on aesthetics, money, power and judgement. Its also built on competition, meaning every man for himself. That is what drives this town. This is a place where people wrap dog shit in a bag (sometimes!), but leave the bag on the sidewalk. This is a place where people talk on their cell phones in romantic restaurants and dont talk to each other. This is a town where the cyclist's are so entitled and self righteous, they ride in packs, and terrorize motorists.This is a town where Mom and daughter dress alike, in hot pants and 4 inch heels.
I have seen  animals and children, ignored or endangered for the sake of a text or phone call, to the point where the animal or child nearly gets run over in the street.
The level of self indulgence and lack of humanity is everywhere. Customer service is hard to come by, and I haven't even mentioned the driving yet. That could be its own blog.
One of the worst things is there is NO ASPCA in LA County. The civic regulators sort of gave up on controlling a population that has too much money, or none. The rich want to keep tigers on the property and the poor raise chickens and bunnies to eat.
I have found myself in difficult situations with finding animals along the road ("wow, I really need to fix that hole in my fence. Thanks for finding my dog") or dealing with dogs that bark and bark and bark, and there is nothing to be done. I found five rabbits in my back yard in east LA. Two white and three brown. They were obviously escaping someones dinner pot.Thank God bunnies are EASY to rehome.
But it is now tragic. I live in a condo strip which means two sets of condos face in to a main driveway    in San Fernando Valley.
I saw two feral black and white cats on my second night here. They would wander up and down the driveway but stayed closest to one particular house. Then I started to see dishes of food on that same house lawn. Some one was feeding them! I asked other people who live here, and some said yes they had seen them, but most just shrugged at me.
People here think they are being kind when they feed a stray or a wild animal.
You would cry if I told you how many times Ive seen people feeding coyotes and squirrels. To the point where Ive had a coyote go aggressive on me AND my dog (COMPLETE REVERSAL OF INSTINCT) and seen squirrels so fat they can barely climb trees. One homeless guy told me he kills the fat ones  and eats them. I hope there are no children in the park that day.
You leave wildlife ALONE. You don't feed wild life because you break the cycle of these animals either dying off or being able to get food for themselves.
If you want a cat, take on the responsibility of having one, and caring for it, and keeping it safe.
There are 5 kittens that I have now rescued. Three I found along the driveway one night (I believe the mother was moving them) and two I rescued out of the dumpster. They had jumped in, but were too small to hop back out. Some idiot had left the lid open. This town. Thanks to God I was taking out the trash. They would have been dumped into the Garbage truck the following morning.
There are still 7 more kittens and three (not two) adults females and one huge gray Tom cat.
Im trying to organize a "kitten wrangle" to save the little ones. I don't know how its going to go down, but I have to do something. I have to act, I can't sit and watch.
The 4 adults will have to be euthanized as there is very little hope for adoption. People will adopt an adult dog, but not a cat.
So as Ive been feeding them and trying to coax them all into a state of comfort in my back yard, I know its only to trap and kill some of them. Im heartsick.

 In this city of angels, I feel alone.



Wednesday, May 20, 2015

drag

The word "Drag". I know the definitive orgin comes from Shaekespear's day when actors dressed up like women (Dressesd as girl) but to a kid raised in Ca in the 1970's, drag has meant "bad" or a bummer or something hard to do...so when I met my first drag queen at 14, I thought, of course this is DRAG..it must be...and HOW FABULOUS!

I grew up ugly and then got gorgeous over one summer. I was the ugly duckling story come to life. And though it was wonderful to finally be beautiful, after so many years, it was also eye opening.

I became very aware that people treat you how you look..I had been ugly as a girl, now I was beautiful.   It left me feeling I had no one to trust since even my parent's treated me differently.
 I found myself, as well as found myself in a group of close friends from HS. We would travel, by bus if we had to, to see Rocky Horror Picture Show every weekend.
Many in this group felt as I, misfits.   But the beautiful thing is that we found each other, and created a family.

Every weekend The Strand theatre on Market Street would have midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. What a scene outside the theatre it was.  For a girl of 14, it was magical and happy where all accepted all.

I was raised in a beautiful household but I was ugly ..so therefore un-wanted, I never fit in...but here, we all didn't fit in..and so we fit together, and it was amazing.

There was this one drag queen. Kevin. She was 6'4 in heels, always the biggest blonde (platinum) wig and white dress, as if on way to wedding. God she was gloriuos, and loud and sooo happy to be herself.  I loved her.

Ironically this is the weekend after mothers day...and I post that my mother ignores me on FB..she always has and always will..

I will never forget when I realized that these girl's (some of 'em) were abandoned by they're mothers too.
And I see why I identify and love these art forms. They too feel alone.

Ru said it best.. on season 5 to Roxy " we get to choose our own family"

I wept..and this morning through this afternoon, I felt a connection in a room full of total strangers.

Most of the selfies I got taken by the queens or their assistants as my hands were shaking.  I was so excited to be there among these fabulous people.
Tomorrow I go back to have a pic with the queen, RuPaul, herself.
Just to be near her today outside a convention curtain, I could see her on the other side..laughing.

Today they were all laughing.....some were hungry and tired by 1 pm, but the feeling in the air was joy...we were all there to celebrate FABULOUSNESS and it showed...all the queens I had the nerve to stop for a snap, STOPPED dead and let me know "of course" and some even said we love you too...Chad Michaels let me talk to her for five minutes....."oh Oh honey, Breathe"

It was the most, and the best is I went by myself for myself to see the lady herself...all fingers crossed tomorrow I will.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Scary

Ive always been a fan of being scared. The hair going up on the back of my neck, a slight feeling of vertigo, increased heart rate. The sense that I'm out of control and its going to get worse before its get better.
When I was little I read a lot of horror stories and there were three separate  instances where I had to PUT the BOOK down. I mean, so scared that I had to stop reading.
These were works of fiction, that I knew were not real.  Then I grew up, and learned about real fear.


"Annabelle"  The movie came out about two month's ago. Its about a doll. Whether they stuck to the actual story in the movie, its based in truth.
I first heard about this doll from the movie "The Conjuring" about a couple (The Warrens) that investigate paranormal occurrence's around the country.  They were an actual couple.
The movie is based on one of their more terrifying cases, not to do with the doll. In their history, we see their basement of haunted objects. Annabelle is one of them.

There are those that are still skeptical about the reality of the fourth plane of existence.   A place where the spirit world can cross over into our dimension, which is considered to be the third plane.
There are those who rely merely on science and are now convinced that there are FORCES that we can not explain. There is another plane that many do not experience but who know is there.
We also know there is a strong pull between harmless spirits and harmful ones.
Whether or not you believe in ghost's, spirits and demons, they exist. There are things that go bump in the night.
Ive been studying Witch Craft and Paranormal Occurrence  since I was a little. I have had several instances of spirit interaction or meta-physical experience in my life. I have always felt more sensitive to my environment than most. There are forces out there. Annabelle is a clear indication of that.

Now, in my opinion, Hollywood frequently gets it wrong, so in the movie  the doll itself has been modified to scare us. We see her in a glass case, a classic European porcelain style doll, 24 inches tall, dressed as a child, pretty with brown curls, a huge sharp crack running down her face starting from inside her left eye. Its a frightening image to be sure. I was fascinated when I first heard about her and decided to research it myself.
I am almost sorry I did.
The actual story is this.

The doll was given as a gift to a nursing student. It had been purchased in a second hand store.
The roommate was the first to notice that the doll seemed to move her body(face down to sitting up, arms and legs crossing)when the two where not home. Then they started to find notes.  A  spiritual medium(not well informed unfortunately) was called in and surmised the property was haunted by a seven year old girl, Annabelle, who had died there.
During the seance, the plight of the spirit seemed to soften the fear of the two girls, and through the medium, Annabelle asked if she might stay.

To outsiders this all sounds nuts. But it makes sense to me. These two girls were nurses. Who better to feel compassion for a lost soul, literally. I understand why they agreed. But if you don't know, you never INVITE a spirit in. They called the doll Annabelle from that moment on.
At this point, it gets beyond weird, the doll moving from room to from now, leaving notes 'help us' or 'help Lou' who was a skeptical friend that kept telling them to ditch the doll.

Lou starts to have dreams where the doll is strangling him. One night when he and one of the roommates are planning a trip, they hear rustling from the other room. Lou goes to investigate and first senses a strong presence, and then is clawed by something, under his shirt.

This is when the three of them finally get in touch with the Warrens.  The biggest problem now is that the spirit in the doll is demonic of nature, has been invited to stay. It has to be removed from the premises, and the apartment get a exorcism.
On the drive home, the Investigators stay off the main roads to avoid an accident. But they claim that on every turn and twist the car would nearly stall out, loosing steering and brake control and only after the doll was sprinkled with holy water, did the car perform as it should.
There were many more 'instances' once the Warrens got Annabelle to their home, and they finally had a special lead glass case built for her. Apparently one young man, after being told the history of the doll, went up and banged on the glass, challenging the spirit.
He was in a motorcycle accident on his way home and died about an hour later.
I think the scariest piece is this.
Annabelle is NOT a porcelain doll at all. She is a regular Sized Raggedy Ann. I thought of posting a picture of the real doll here at the bottom, but I don't even want that image on my hard drive. Its in my head. Thats enough.
Look her up, but I warn you. That flat, familiar white face, with those black triangle eyes, and the fact that I and EVERY little girl I knew had one back then.
Raggedy Ann.   Annabelle.        yep...scared.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Organic cane sugar

Well, my Dears...the time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things.
Its time to speak some truth and clear some general confusion about food!!
I am not a nutritionist, but I am an ex fattie, ex dancer, ex food addict, and ex compulsive eater. I know about food combination, and the different diets out there and what the body processes and why and how. I've studied the human body and its need for fuel for nearly 25 years.  There are things that MOST of us don't seem to know. Time to wake up.

RULE #1 What is says is not necessarily what it is. Organic does not mean what you think organic means anymore.
In the early 20's, congress passed a law saying that you had to list all the ingredients on the package, and their quantities contained  therein appropriately.
In 1973, Congress reversed itself, and that law was repealed. They can call anything REAL so long as  it has the SAME nutritional properties and content coding as what WE originally considered to be so. Acidophilus Milk is not real milk. It is not from a cow. It is a combination of all things that were ORGANICALLY in milk, and a recreation of that product (minus the stuff that bothers the tummy). A lot of the cheese we buy has a lot of CHEESE product.   Things are added to make it last longer, and then you have to add things to mask the flavor of what you added in the first place.
Example:  Frozen strawberries CAN be sold with strawberry flavoring and sugar ADDED because you loose some flavor in the freezing process.
So to clarify and set the record straight.....the word "ORGANIC" is not the get out of jail free ticket that every one thinks it is. There is NO such thing as ORGANIC CANE SUGAR. They put that on the label to trick you.  Sugar in its simplest form is the kind your Grandmother used. Either white or brown. Sugar is sugar...organic sugar is not better for you than regular sugar.

In the early seventies, there was a sugar shortage. We used a lot of sugar in our fatty American diet, so our brilliant government decided to introduce CORN SYRUP as a replacement.
Corn is more readily available, easier to mass produce and process, and there it is. The CORN syrup revolution was born.
Sad facts that  the USDA and the AMA probably won't tell you is you PROCESS SUCROSE (sugar) in your body differently than FRUCTOSE, and to confuse you further, its now called HFCS (High Fructose corn syrup).
Because its cheaper than sucrose, its used a lot more.  We are finally seeing a small admittance to how damaging HFCS is to the body over time. Its been more than 30 years since its introduction to our diet, and if you haven't read up, we are a nation in DIET/OBESITY crisis mode. We have done it to ourselves!! The government keep saying its our lack of exercise and meal preportions that made us fat, but it has a lot to do with the CRAP WE EAT. Statistics now state one out of two children will develop Type 2 Diebetes in their life time. SHAME ON US.

Here is a simple trick to eat better.

If there are more than 5 ingredients listed on the label, walk away. The paleolithic diet is not a diet, but a way to eat like your grandma did. Hopefully your Grandma was a good cook and made everything from scratch.  You don't have to eat raw( although the raw diet, the REAL ONE, is the best diet to live on) but you want to eat simply.  You want to eat things that have been changed the least since their origin. The less the food has been screwed with before it goes into your mouth, the better. Frozen, caned, condensed,  and especially hydrogenated food should be avoided. Fast food is poison. Goodbye Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with its neon colored powder and addictive taste.  I still  use pasta sauce from a jar but I use one with 5 ingredients. You can find this stuff in the regular supermarket but you have to look!
In my opinion, if you really want to know, read the book FAT CHANCE by Dr. Robert Lustig.
He is a pediatrician and has been studying the effects of bad diet to our children, both rich families and poor, and now has conclusive results about HOW we have GENETICALLY changed our bodies DNA and NOT for the better.
Michael Pollan also has some good books.....
The more you educate yourself, the more you can take care of yourself.
Put as much effort into YOU as you do your life!

You can thank me later.