ON DIRECTING COMEDY ~ Nominated for Women's Film Festival

I am honored to be nominated by several film festivals as the director of "It's My Decision" ~ an original film written by Ralph Odierna.

"IT'S MY DECISION" ~ the "Mafia" comedy I directed (written by Ralph Odierna, produced by RedHead Said Productions) has been nominated for the Milwaukee Women's Festival this weekend August 21, 2016

SUPER BOWL 2017 TICKETS too be auctioned at Ghostly Gala 2 #CureFSHD Muscular Dystrophy

I am on the celeb honorary board along with Olympian Scott Hamilton, Sean Astin, Mickey Dolenz, Rita Moreno, Pat McCormick, Kim Alexis and more to raise awareness about FSHD Muscular Dystrophy.  FSHSociety.org

SuperBowl2017 tickets to be auctioned at Ghostly Gala 2 #CureFSHD. Remote & proxy bidding! https://lnkd.in/bitHA5f I'm on celebrity board of FSHSociety.org Muscular Dystrophy along with Olympian Scott Hamilton, Sean Astin, Mickey Dolenz, Pat McCormick, Rita Moreno.. to raise awareness of FSH at the Ghostly Gala Oct. 30 at the Cicada club. If you want to watch the live stream during the ball here is log-in: http://fshlive.org/

Hollywood joins the fight to #CureFSHD at the Ghostly Gala to vanish FSH Muscular Dystrophy! Wear a mask, a wig from Bach to Bowie! Costume contest. Tickets are only $175 and it goes to a GREAT CAUSE. Plus you can win dozens of prizes and Super Bowl Tickets! fshsociety.org
   

Hollywood joins #CureFSHD at the Ghostly Gala to vanish FSH Muscular Dystrophy!

SuperBowl2017 tickets to be auctioned at Ghostly Gala 2 #CureFSHD. Remote & proxy bidding! https://lnkd.in/bitHA5f I'm on celebrity board of FSHSociety.org Muscular Dystrophy along with Olympian Scott Hamilton, Sean Astin, Mickey Dolenz, Pat McCormick, Rita Moreno.. to raise awareness of FSH at the Ghostly Gala Oct. 30 at the Cicada club. If you want to watch the live stream during the ball here is log-in: http://fshlive.org/

Hollywood joins the fight to #CureFSHD at the Ghostly Gala to vanish FSH Muscular Dystrophy! Wear a mask, a wig from Bach to Bowie! Costume contest. Tickets are only $175 and it goes to a GREAT CAUSE. Plus you can win dozens of prizes and Super Bowl Tickets! fshsociety.org

GHOSTLY GALA FOR FSHD MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY OCT. 30 AT THE CICADA CLUB

I am on the honorary board along with Scott Hamilton, Sean Astin, Mickey Dolenz, Rita Moreno, Pat McCormick, Kim Alexis and more ~ COME TO THE GHOSTLY GALA FOR FSH! OCT. 30 AT THE CICADA CLUB ~ FSHD is the most prevalent of the nine primary types of muscular dystrophy affecting adults and children. It is a genetic disorder. New York Times article describes the landmark discovery of the genetic mechanism of FSHD: Reanimated ‘Junk’ DNA Is Found to Cause Disease."

fshsociety.org

• FSHD is the most prevalent of the nine primary types of muscular dystrophy affecting adults and children. It is a genetic disorder.
• New York Times article describes the landmark discovery of the genetic mechanism of FSHD: Reanimated ‘Junk’ DNA Is Found to Cause Disease."
• FSHD gets its name because of the type of progressive loss of all skeletal muscle, where weakness is usually noticeable across facial (facio), back (scapula) and upper arm (humeral) muscles.
• Previously, studies estimated the prevalence at around 1 in 20,000 people, but a 2014 Dutch study reported a much higher prevalence of 1 in 8,333.
• Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is broadly characterized as a neuromuscular disease (NMD), as are all types of muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophies are marked by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in the biochemical, physical, and structural components of muscle, and the death of muscle cells and tissue. FSHD gets its name because the progressive loss of skeletal muscle is usually noticeable across facial (facio), back (scapula), and upper arm (humeral) muscles. The hip girdle and legs can also be affected in many patients. Muscle weakness often sets in asymmetrically, affecting only one arm or one leg, for example, and as a result may be mistakenly attributed to strain or a sports injury. Symptoms may manifest early, sometimes years before a formal diagnosis. 
• https://www.fshsociety.org/honorary-board/

  Sean Astin is best known for his leading role in the feature film series Lord of the Rings, but you may have also seen him in Goonies, Rudy, Encino Man, Toy Soldiers, White Water Summer, and many more films. His voice can be heard in cartoons such as Special Agent Oso and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Recently, his television series roles include 24, Jeremiah, Monk, Law & Order, NCIS, and more.

Lydia Cornell is best known as the star of the hit ABC series Too Close for Comfort as Emmy legend Ted Knight’s daughter ‘Sara.’ An international star of over 250 TV shows and films in 27 countries, Lydia received the Southern California Motion Picture Council’s Golden Halo Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. She also directed the SAG film “It’s My Decision” nominated for best film in several film festivals. One of TV’s most popular sex symbols, she is now a writer, director, mother, comedienne, talk show host, women and children’s advocate, teen mentor and inspirational public speaker.

Micky Dolenz was one of the stars and a lead singer for the iconic television show, The Monkees. He has appeared on numerous other shows including Peyton Place, Circus Boy, The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, and The Tick. 

Brain Goodell won two gold medals at age 17 for swimming in the 1976 Olympics and set world records in each. He won three gold medals for swimming in the 1979 Pan American Games. He graduated from UCLA in 1982 having won nine NCAA titles and 10 U.S. National Championships. In 1986 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1991.

Scott Hamilton is one of the most popular skating stars in the world today. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist, TV skating commentator, actor, performer, producer, Emmy Award nominee, best-selling author, role model, humanitarian, philanthropist, and a cancer and brain tumor survivor.

Richard Karn is famous for his role as Al on the long-running series Home Improvement. He has also appeared on the series CTRL, That 70’s Show, and Boy Meets World. He was the host of Bingo America as well as Family Feud, one of the most famous game shows in television history.

COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHIP ~ CALARTS INAUGURAL CAP EVENT

Please join us for several AMAZING charity events next weekend, end of October, before Halloween!

CAP

Ghostly Gala

MEETING FACEBOOK FRIENDS IN NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY AND STATEN ISLAND

I just returned from 3 weeks in New York City with side trips to Staten Island to meet some of my favorite people on Facebook. This was an incredible trip. I feel I am bonded for life with these wonderful people.

HOW TO SURVIVE ANYTHING ~ IF YOU HAVE LOST HOPE, DON'T GIVE UP ~ READ THIS

I told my friend, who's a psychoanalyst, "I think I'll stop analyzing my problems and see what happens." She nearly bit my head off: "Are you crazy? You have to analyze your problems or they might go away!"

Thoughts have substance, and we manifest those things that occupy our thoughts. "What you think about grows, so watch what you allow into your mind.  We have the power to reverse our circumstances by reversing our thoughts. Surrender to the moment. Accept whatever is happening, no matter how "bad" it looks or feels. Acceptance is the key to serenity. If someone has wronged you, stolen from you, locked you out of your home — do the basic footwork to right the wrongs —  such as reporting any crime to the police, the Better Business Bureau, Legal Aid, the Legal Defense fund, Renters' Rights, or whatever help you can find in your community. Find temporary housing, go to a Food Bank, take care of the basics for your family. If you have children, teach them that they are safe no matter what, and that every new challenge is a new adventure. Teach them that they can survive whatever life

There are public libraries where you can sit all day with your children and research the Internet for help.  There are community centers that will helP you find resources. There are missions and churches with temporary housing. There are parks with free meals for senior citizens. There are restaurants you can go to and just sit in a booth with a glass of water while you re-group and make calls. There is a Social Services Department. There are countless 12-step meetings in every city, where you can share your woes. There are kind people everywhere, willing to lend a hand when asked.

But after taking care of the basics, let go and let the Universe take the reins.  Trust that you will be taken care of as the lilies of the field.  Just try it. Try not worrying for one day and see what happens.  "But you have to worry about your problems or they might go away!"

It does no good to dwell in the misery of your own thoughts for long, or to keep asking "Why? Why did this happen to me?" Sometimes we fall down in order to learn to get back up. And to learn self reliance. It's an inside job.  Sometimes there is no human power that can save us; we have to find a higher power ...We have to go within and lean on inner resources. It's an inside job :)

It helps to realize that everyone is fallible and no person or system is perfect. Here in the U.S. we somehow have the idea that the trains will run on time, the water will flow from the pipes, and people will treat us fairly. We have a sense of entitlement.  People who are supposed to do the right thing often fail us.  Banks fail, the stock market fails. People break the law and the speed limit.

So instead of stewing or wasting time plotting revenge, or stressing yourself into a heart attack, realize your time here on Earth is a precious gift. Move forward out of the "blame zone."  Instantly reverse your thought.  Choose to feel differenty and react differently. Choose your next step based on joy, no matter what is happening in the outside world.  The world can be collapsing in chaos, but you can choose to be CALM.  Choose to feel good. Choose to LAUGH. Then see what happens.

For me, having a pity party is the fastest way to hell. Instead I like to look up, see that the sky isn't falling, and realize it could be worse. Then find a way to laugh at yourself.  This too shall pass.

Take a deep breath and accept that this is what is happening for whatever reason, at this moment.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and wiser.  We don't have control or power over other people's screw-ups or pathology, lack of morals or unkindness. We only have control over our reactions.  We can choose to think good thoughts even about our enemies, and not resist anything going on at any moment.  Disease and stress (which creates biochemical pathways to disease) are created when we are in resistance to the moment: when we are wanting something that is not happening or trying to prevent something from happening, or not being in agreement with reality.  Acceptance is the key to serenity.

Cathy Gelbart finally accepted that the shopping cart was going to always be in her way in the elevator until the day she decided, this is a holy moment, "this is my daily duty -- to lovingly remove the shopping cart for others and to stop being annoyed at the faceless, nameless asshole who leaves the shopping cart in the elevator every single time they go shopping."

Cathy began looking forward to the shopping cart. It was her new mission, an act of selfless love to move it out of the way, and not to react or be impatient.  She began to laugh at herself for the way she had behaved all year — the way she had cursed and kicked the shopping cart; the hours of wasted energy spent imagining a confrontation with the selfish jerk who put it there.

So she changed her attitude and began to look forward to the shopping cart each day. And the minute she did this, the shopping cart never appeared again.

If we resist or fight or spend time retaliating, brooding, worrying, screaming, fighting anyone or anything (including the System, the Powers that be, the Republicans, the banks, the government, the insurance companies, the economy, the law) we stay entangled in a toxic relationship with the very people we most want to disengage from. We stay stuck, or as Emmet Fox says, "tethered to our enemies, by a ball and chain, like a prisoner. The more we rehearse our grievances over and over in our minds, blaming and shaming and regretting and cursing them -- the more power we give them with our thoughts. We are only hurting ourselves; it's our stress levels that affect our health. Long-term anger is not a healthy emotional state to linger in. Forgive and move on.

I love this:  Maximize your experience on Earth.  Thoughts have substance, and we manifest those things that occupy our thoughts. We are all creators of our own individual universe.Success, physical and emotional well-being, happy relationships, and spiritual wisdom are affected by our environment. Proper guidance of universal energy is essential to maximizing our experience on Earth.