Sharon's Note

I’m baaaaack…..

sharon — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:11:11 +0000

Howdy friends,

Its been a while since I blogged. Its been a rough couple of weeks. In fact someone told me that 2012 was going to be the year the world would come to an end. Really? What a great start…anticipating the end… And I always wonder what the end of the world would look like and it always looks like a Hollywood Blockbuster movie. It looks like Deep Impact, or Independence Day or even Twister but with lots of those tornados all over the world…cows flying around, houses being torn apart… Very sad, very dire, very meek… I love that word:”meek”. Its like a slick word for really disappointing… “meek”.

Well, one thing really cheered me up. Watching Smash. Besides the obviously good voices of those we know (Katharine McPhee; Bernadette Peters) we encountered a bright new tv star…a brilliant voice…I mean ridiculously sickeningly good-Megan Hilty. Where have you been Megan? She’s been hiding on Broadway poor thing. She’s just amazing. That voice;that belt;that vibrato…*sigh* She makes me want to break into song…in the middle of the day…in the middle of a grocery shop…in the middle of the night…Thing is, I’d like to sound as good as that…

She’s spectacular as Marilyn Monroe in Smash.

Love Debra Messing. Her comedy is far more subdued here, but there’s still a little Grace in there…

All my Love,

Shaz

The ups and downs…

sharon — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:56:28 +0000

I don’t know how its done anywhere else, but here in South Africa, I watch how pools of performers give so much heart and commitment to what they do. We give up a piece of our lives for the entertainment of another. Its funny, although some think performers have the power when they are on stage, they are but vulnerable beings sacrificing a piece of themselves to make someone out there laugh or cry. Its relentless; it’s a drug. A performer can’t stop at one night, one show, one season…Once the giving starts, its like a snowball effect. We give and we give and we give. We sing our hearts out, act out every intention we can, dance until our bodies break… And yet, we love it. We can’t be without the hardship and the challenges. Its true, some do this because their ego dominates their lives (and believe me, those who deny it are lying!); and some do it because it allows them to escape the reality of their mundane lives; some chase it for fame and fortune and some do it because it’s the only thing they can do well… but MOST of the time, we do it because we secretly want to be loved, be re-affirmed and be heard. We secretly want to give someone else the gift of dreams; the gift of different choices and different lives. We secretly want people to look at us and think we are great; we are valuable; we are special. In a world where sticking out is so hard to do, we want to stick out. And its the scariest thing in the world. And we do it…everyday….maybe not so secretly either…

Love

Shaz

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

sharon — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:37:46 +0000

Ok, they give the term desperate housewife a brand new meaning. They are filthy rich, utterly childish, mentally deep fried, but I love them! I can’t wait to watch an episode. Its a drug. Pop a reality show pill of RHBH and you are good to go. Truthfully, their reality isn’t really real. I mean a very small percentile of people in the world is surrounded by such lavish wealth. Few people worry about spending 1 million dollars on their daughter’s wedding. I have also never been to a “White party” or taken my friends to Vegas for a weekend and put them up in the most expensive hotel in the most expensive room. And I have never really gone to parties that end up in physical and violent behavior. Heck, I’d be terrified to point a finger at any of those women. And you’d think that with all that, they would be happy. But happiness is not part of the being rich package. They are surrounded by nice things, but emptied of nice feelings. Lets not kid I’d be ok with getting up in the morning and telling my husband I’d like to fly to Italy for lunch. But its clear that what draws us to these women is not what they have, but what they do with what they have. I have got to say the collection of girls is kind of perfect for television. A slightly snotty Brit who tells it like it is; A humble yet potent mother of 4; a wack-job crazy woman plagued with psychological and physical idiosyncrasies (hang on…there’s a couple of those) and a divorcee (used to be Playboy model) who through her divorce suddenly saw “the light”…the limo light…

I love them. I see that even though they use a golden toilet and travel on private jets, shower in petals from another planet, they’re not really guaranteed growth and happiness…

They still get divorced; use psychiatric medication; get sick; get tired and most of all get lonely…

But hey, I could get lonely on a golden toilet, no?

Love,

Shaz

What ever happened to the good old days?

sharon — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:07:52 +0000

Was watching “The story of Musicals”-a documentary about the rise of the British musical. Just seeing how hard people worked to produce a show…the music, the actors, the production…Its all so miraculous how all those things become aligned to make a piece of entertainment. Particularly amazing was the way in which leading roles were treated. When Elaine Paige received the role of Eva Peron as the original leading lady in Evita, the media treated her like a movie star. They were at her house, interviewing her, taking photographs. It was mentioned that she spent years in chorus lines, working so hard to make money and find work in her chosen field. She worked hard. They auditioned many women and she received the role together with several accolades. What happened to those days where stage actors were glorified more so than movie stars? What happened to the power of real human energy entertaining masses of people? It’s sad to say but we’ve kind of become a “drive through” generation. Stars are manufactured in droves; they rise quickly, and fall just as fast. They get handed fame and fortune so easily, so speedily that it taints their fortunes. I’m not saying all of them….just a few I guess. I mean reality stars are the new ‘actors’; and singing chipmunks are the new ‘music’.

Maybe we should all be chipmunks…Or come up with a video of a talking dog…Fame is but a YouTube video away my friends…

Love,

Shaz

Gravity…

sharon — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:58:41 +0000

Love this tune by Sara Bareilles,

Love her intense and honest style.

One take. Didn’t have time to do more takes

Singing Mercy at the Rising Star Club

sharon — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:53:40 +0000

Visited the Rising Star Club at Universal Studios Orlando. Got to sing Mercy on stage. Had the best time.

My American Idol Experience – Holding Out For A Hero

sharon — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:39:23 +0000

My winning performance at the American Idol Experience in Disney Hollywood Studios. One of my best holidays and most fun experiences. Sadly I can not use my dream ticket to enter the full show because I am not an American citizen

This is your song

sharon — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:29:15 +0000

One of my favorite tunes by Elton John.

Happy New Year!

sharon — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:27:48 +0000

2012 is here!

21 Tips:

1. Enjoy it.

2. You made a couple of bad choices. Admit them, apologize and move forward to better ones.

3. Dont make excuses. Be honest with yourself, even if it hurts.

4. Live your truth, dont be ashamed of it.

5. Strength generally arises from the flames of weakness

6. Stop the noise in your head!

7. Today will never happen again. There is no do-over. So really live today as much as you can.

8. Be proud and humble at the same time.

9. Make sure that you care about the right things.

10. If you want something, make it known. And if somebody else has it, there’s always room for you to have it too.

11. Always be happy for others who succeed because when you finally do, you want people to be happy for you too.

12. Remember that some dont have electricity, or running water; some have cancer and some are homeless. Dont feel bad for having more, be aware how lucky you are.

13. Whether you like it or not, you are the only person stopping you.

14. Keep singing in the shower. The acoustics are great in there. We all sound like Celine Dion or Adam Lambert in there.

15. Keep practicing your Oscar acceptance speech because you just never know…

16. Stop asking questions, start answering them.

17. Only smile when its real.

18. Cut down on the stuff that only gives immediate satisfaction. Its the long-term kind you want…

19. Always say goodnight to the person you love

20. Phone your mother

21. Brush your teeth AND floss

Love Tim Gunn

sharon — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:56:19 +0000

Ok, he’s just adorable Uncle Tim.

In Project Runway, he just seems like he can say anything in a nice way. Even his negative critiques sound like a compliment. I can’t say anything bad about him. I’m tempted to say that his wrists sometimes look a bit funny, but they’re cute. We love them. We love Tim. He looks a little mean in my pic, but he don’t fool me. He’s a wittle teddy bear inside. Yes he is. And obviously my favorite utterance is “Thank you mood” with that “school-like” inflection in it. I wish he was my Uncle.

I would love to meet the Gunn. Heidi, Heidi, Heidi. You sick body you. My goodness. The chick is dorky, geeky and reminds me a little of a German maiden who runs through the hills, hair plaited singing about a bottle of beer. But man, she has got a ridiculously good body. I mean the Heavens took time on that one. I understand why she is a supermodel. She has the body of a super hero. And she’s had something like 3 kids. I take my hat off to you Heidi Hoo…

Love,

Shaz