Oh guys! I am so sad right now. It’s ElvisWeek in Memphis and I am not there! There’s fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches to eat and I am not eating them! Lisa and I had so much fun last year that I wish I was there again. Maybe next year.

And if you think that’s a silly reason to be sad… how about learning mini-Cobra is only for those let go on or after July 10th? I was canned on July 8th. Two days make one heck of a difference. Hello Catastrophic Health Insurance! (And no, I do not qualify for regular Cobra because the company I worked for was teeny tiny).

I forgot Neil Diamond was performing at the Bensalem Amphitheater. Okay, a Neil Diamond impersonator. I am so sad I missed it! Maybe I’ll just turn out all the lights, drink some watery Piña colada, and queue some Neil Diamond concert footage up on YouTube. Or I could just watch Mogambo. Tough choices.

Ladies and Gentleman…. Mr Neil Diamond!

Sweet Caroline…

Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon…

I’m a Believer… he wrote it!

Okay, no more. I am all full of Neil Diamond goodness now.

Red Dust is on TCM.  I made myself a pina colada… wrong.  I thought it was as simple as dumping a can of coconut milk in a blender with some canned pineapple and Gosling rum.  Nope.  It tastes watery… somehow. Mary Astor had such a delicate beauty.  She really hardened up by the time she starred in the Maltese Falcon.  No matter how lovely Mary Astor was– I still have a hard time believing Clark Gable would choose her over Jean Harlow.  Mogambo is on after this… it’s the 50’s remake of Red Dust… starring Clark Gable.  Yeah, he reprised his role. Things haven’t changed much… just like Sean Connery starring in movies in his 70’s, Gable kept going and going too.  One of my favorite actresses was in Mogambo– Ava Gardner.  She had an otherworldly beauty.  My favorite movie of hers will always be The Angel Wore Red in which she co-starred with Dirk Bogarde.  Oddly enough, my favorite Dirk Bogarde movie isn’t The Angel Wore Red… it’s The Servant, no wait, it’s The Night Porter, no wait, it’s Death in Venice, no wait… I guess I have a lot of favorite Dirk Bogarde movies.  In the Angel Wore Red, Ava plays a Cabaret girl in love with a priest.  A wanted priest. Just to clue you in, Cabaret Girl was code word for prostitute.  Oddly enough, I figured that one out when I was 15.   What is it with Hollywood and priests?  They always cast homosexuals to play sexy priests.  Dirk Bogarde, Richard Chamberlain… The ellipses show that I just made an extremely broad generalization since I can’t come up with any more homosexual actors who played sexy priests.  Can you?

I saved a bit of money when I was working to get a few things fixed here in the Donnavilla.  The shower in my bedroom was collapsing, the windows in the dining room and loft have rotten sills, a couple lengths of siding in the courtyard had melted from setting the grill too close while cooking, and my garage door was disentegrating.

The shower is being worked on.  It’s taking a lot longer than I expected but Ray is working on it.  The garage door was replaced today! Sure I could have saved money and had them just replace the bottom panel but I did it the right way and had the whole door replaced.  Yes it cost more but I will not have to worry about it again for years and years and years.  Besides, it looks fantastic!  The courtyard siding was replaced last weekend.  The new siding is definitely a different color but I am hoping the sun will eventually correct the color difference.  The windows will be replaced sometime next week.  And then I am finished… for the meantime.

The carpet in the parlor and dining room needs to be ripped out and set on fire but I should have done that back months ago.  I can’t justify getting new flooring when I am not working.  And so that must wait.  I also discovered more rot around a different window but I am just going to live with it for another year.

I have learned my lesson which is– when the money is flowing and work needs to get done– get it done!  Don’t wait! You never know what is going to happen.

Went down the shore yesterday.  I was amazed at how many people were there considering it was a weekday.  The weather was great.  I wore my wide-brimmed hat, white sunglasses and a two piece.  A professional video camera was set up on the boardwalk and as we passed by, a woman asked if we cared to be interviewed.  Why not?  So she gets us in frame and says, “Who would you prefer to spend the day with at the shore?  Jon Corzine or Chris Christie?”

“Neither, I’d prefer to spend the day with Ron Paul because he respects the constitution!”   And then I gave the Black Panther salute because I thought it was funny.

She then asked us something about New Jersey corruption and did we think it was the fault of democrats or a nonpartisan issue?  The question didn’t make much sense to me.  I figured that was planned.  Corruption a partisan issue?  How about corruption being a too much power and greed issue?  So maybe we got on Fios Channel One, maybe not.  Even if we did, I doubt anyone even watches it.

Friday night, spur of the moment, Pookie and I drove to Bethlehem to see the Red Elvises perform at Musikfest. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I had just read that Oleg left the group and it was now only Igor performing. Igor sang most of the songs but Oleg’s role as maniacal balalaika player was crucial- would the Red Elvises work without Oleg? I can tell you now after seeing the new Igor and Red Elvises, the answer is YES! Igor brought on a young girl named Milka Ramos, who reminds me of a young Suzi Quatro, and let me just say— SHE KICKS BUTT! Milka was AMAZING! When she sang for the first time on the song, Love Rocket, I was totally blown away! I couldn’t believe this incredible voice was coming from her! I hope she finds success!

Here’s a video I made of Love Rocket: (I added lyrics to the chorus so you can sing along)

I downloaded some videos off my camera this morning– specifically the ones I took at The Australian Bee Gee’s concert…

Note to self: When video recording a concert, DO NOT SING ALONG WITH THE MUSICIANS!

I have 5 videos of The Australian Bee Gees AND me.. sounding very much like Elmo the Muppet. It’s embarrassing. 

Went to Latin Impact last night and everyone was chirping about the shooting in Pittsburgh’s LA Fitness. Our instructor seemed to think it had to do with a lack of gun control. I wanted to sit her down and tell her that bad things will always happen and having the government apply regulations won’t stop those bad things from occurring. Although the one thing that will happen is that our freedom and liberty will continue to recede and when bad things do happen, no one will be able to defend themselves.

I never quite know what to do in that type of situation. Do you try to let the the other person see the other side of the issue or do you just let it go? I let it go. I find the people who believe in gun control are the type of people who HATE HATE HATE those who think differently. And I didn’t want to rock the boat and have her realize that we disagree. She might throw me out of Latin Impact! “NO MORE PUNTA FOR YOU!” We did all agree that if the lights go out, hit the deck! She also pointed out the exit door that I never before noticed in the front left of the room.

This is the same class I take at LA Fitness!!!

Gunman at Pa. health club was bitter over women

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. – Friends mourned for three women fatally shot during their exercise class at a Pittsburgh-area gym by a man whose online diary revealed he felt ignored by women and had an “exit plan” to avenge his rage.

George Sodini went to a sprawling L.A. Fitness Club on Tuesday night, turned out the lights on the “Latin impact” dance-aerobics class for women, and opened fire with three guns, spraying dozens of bullets before committing suicide.

“He just had a lot of hatred in him and (was) hell-bent on committing this act, and no one was going to stop him,” Allegheny County Police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said Wednesday.

His 4,610-word Web diary appeared to be a nine-month chronology of his plans to end his misery with a shocking act of carnage at his gym. He couldn’t understand why women ignored him, despite his best efforts to look nice. He wrote that he hadn’t had a girlfriend since 1984, hadn’t slept with a woman in 19 years.

I am going to take a stab here… I think women didn’t like him because he was creepy and seemed like a psychopathic killer. JUST A GUESS!!!

I can’t tell you how excited I am! Tonight at Bensalem’s Amphitheater, the BeeGees right from Australia, are going to be performing… FOR FREE! I can’t believe it! FREE! The weird thing is Maurice is performing– I thought he died! I guess even death can’t prevent him from missing a night in exciting Bensalem!

Okay, no more joking. The cast of Beatlemania will be performing on August 26th. There’s even a video of them on the Amphitheater’s Web page. Why is it that when I watch the video I just feel so embarrassed for them? They seem so stupid and silly to me. Beatles-impersonators are a joke! And this is coming from a girl who actually flew to Memphis to see the 2008 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Concert. What makes Elvis Tribute artists fine but Beatles impersonators silly? I guess it’s because I’m not much of a Beatles fan.