Thursday, February 28, 2013

Does Size Really Matter?


I stumbled across this kitchen online and had to do a double-take.  I mean, the place is 5000 sq ft!  Yep, I said it:  5000 sq ft!  It's located inside a grand mansion in Beverly Hills.  A mansion that was listed for sale with a $58 million dollar price tag!  I love a roomy kitchen.  But one the size of three or four, average-sized homes---combined---is a bit much.  Well, if you can afford it, have at it.  I ain't mad at you!  :)

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Just Because...


The Man At The Counter


For the past, two summers I have volunteered at HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, working as a Q&A moderator.  That means I moderate discussions with the filmmakers after each screening.  Today, I stumbled across a film that was included in last summer's festival; however, I wasn't fortunate enough to moderate the screening.  Oh well!  I truly enjoyed this film nonetheless!  Its cinematography alone is worth the price of admission.  And the actual story is as sweet and as endearing as two-month-old puppies!


The Man at the Counter from Brian McAllister on Vimeo.

39, Rise & Shine!


Thirteen years ago, I met a 26-yr-old fella at a bar on Karaoke Night!  His voice blew me away!  Absolutely blew me away!  To this day, every time I hear Stevie Wonder's, Overjoyed, I think of him.

HAPPY 39th BIRTHDAY, MR. SCOTT ANTHONY PEOPLE!!  Your SPIRIT and PHENOMENAL, SINGING VOICE are beloved the world over!!!!

"And maybe with a chance you will find
You, too, like I'm
Overjoyed, over-loved, over you...over you."

Monday, February 25, 2013

And The Oscar Goes To...


She looked like TEN MILLION DOLLARS last night at The Oscars!  Dang, why did God give one person such a great look?  Why????  :)

Friday, February 22, 2013

Home Is Where The Heart Is


From time to time, I look at stunning homes to get ideas for the home I'll eventually purchase for myself.  Yes, I'm tickled pink to have the two-bedroom apartment I call home now.  But...moving into a home I purchased is something I'm looking forward to doing.  SOON!  :)

Henceforth, This Is My Pledge


"The journey from Indianapolis, IN to this very moment has taken me 25 years.  And, during those 25 years, I have learned that the little, four-letter word, FEAR, can possess the phenomenal power to stop a 300-lb, muscle-bound man right dead in his tracks; but only with his permission.  And I've learned that LOVE is NOT what you FEEL.  It's what you DO.  So, do what you love.  Henceforth, that's what I fully intend to do." 
                                                                                                 --- CAM Jr

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Soon And Very Soon


I have put the wheels in motion to move me from where I am to where I want to be.  Talking on television as myself is what I'm supposed to be doing to earn a living.  And it's what I'm supposed to be doing because it's what I was born to do.  Not just talking about any ol' thing, though.  I'm supposed to talk to movers, shakers and idle observers, too, about their lives.  Where they are.  How they arrived there.  Where they want to be.  How they plan to get there.  And, the whole while, our conversations will enlighten, entertain, jolt and possibly anger my interviewees and/or audiences.  I have lived the past, 49 yrs of my life in preparation for this.  So, it will be.

Indeed...it will be.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

It's Show Time!


Today I created the YouTube Channel I've been wanting to create for ages but never got around to it.  Well, since I'm bound and determined to make a huge, life shift, the time to create the page is NOW!  So, ladies & gentlemen, my new YouTube Channel, devoted solely to my personal, one-on-one interviews with citizens of the world has arrived:  CONVERSATIONS with CAM.  I've only uploaded one conversation thus far.  The same conversation on my other page.  But, hey, a brotha has to start somewhere, right???  :)  

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Black Hollywood's Barbie?


This is actually a new, Barbie-like doll, and all I've gotta say is, she pretty much looks like practically ALL the black, singing, rap and reality tv chicks in the public's eye!  'Cause the Lord knows most of those chicks live for bling, tight clothing and designer purses.  Although I can't see her feet, I betcha 10-to-1 she's wearing STILETTO heels!  Black folks had better not be upset by this doll, 'cause the doll maker(s) is/are only making what they see folks want.  Heck, Nicki Minaj even refers to herself as a black Barbie.  Li'l Kim used to do the same thing.  God bless her soul.

To each her own, though.  If being blonde makes 'em happy, great!  I just want folks to be happy!!  :)

NeNe Leakes

Lil Kim

Nicki Minaj

Beyoncé

Mary J. Blige

A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That


I'm using 2013 to do things I've never done!  Shakin' this thing called, "my life," up a bit!  Trying something new!  So, I say all this to say that I'm gonna dust off my old, It's Showtime At The Apollo monologue and perform it at an open-call audition next weekend.  Yes, I'll be nervous as heck 'cause I haven't done anything of the sort in DECADES!!!  But, you know what?  I owe it to the world myself to use the talents I was blessed with to entertain and/or enlighten!  So, that's precisely what I'm gonna do!  I'm using the upcoming week to fine-tune my monologue.  It has to be a minute long.  Dang, that's gonna be a challenge, but everything in life worth having is a challenge, so, there you go!

Dear God, I know I have what it takes to get what I want.  So, here goes!!!!! 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

To One & All


Even without an official "valentine," I still wish a glorious and super seXXXy Valentine's Day to one & all!!!!!!!  And since I love food more than just about anything else on this planet, might as well celebrate the day with a giant, chocolate chip cookie!!!  Yum!!!!  

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Somethin's Gotta Go


Today marks the first day of Lent and I have yet to decide what I'm givin' up for 40 days and 40 nights.  Actually, I have habits I need to give up for LIFE!  Procrastination is habit #1!!!!!!  And it's habit #2 and #3, too!!!!!

My friend, Tyshawn, has really been after me lately to go out and earn some money to make my life debt-free again.  Yes, he's 100% right about my need to do just that.  I've been tellin' him there's a psychological block that keeps me from going to a temp agency.  He very kindly reminded me that not bringing some loot in YESTERDAY may result in my psychological block and me living on the STREET!  Um...I get it!  I get it!  So, it appears to me that what I'm giving up for Lent are EXCUSES for NOT leaving my apartment and rejoining the work-a-day workforce!  'Cause living on the street wouldn't be a good look.  Besides, I can't stand the idea of having THAT MANY roommates!!!  :/

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Hey, Coach, Let Me In The Game


Within the next 45 minutes I'll be coaching a young actor so that he can ace an audition he has on Monday.  Interestingly enough, I coached another actor for the same role a couple of days ago.  Would that be considered a conflict of interest?  Lol!

All I know is that I enjoy helping folks get to the heart of the character they're performing and watching them make the character come to life.  The guy I coached the other day has truly come a long way since the first time I met him.  Back then, he was simply energetic, fun-loving and incredibly witty.  Now, he's still all those things but his professional success in showbiz, in addition to his training, has made him more confident.  Almost fearless.  And that just has to be evident in his auditions.  The first audition I ever sent him to back in '03 or '04 was for Mtv and he was awful!  Absolutely dreadful!  Sending him into that casting office was my fault, because I expected him to just glide into that office and dazzle them with his natural personality.  I never thought for a moment that he'd be sidelined by his natural NERVES!!!  Oh, well, that was then and this is now.  And, now, he'd KILL in that room!

I don't really know the talent level of the actor I'm coaching today.  I know he's attractive, charismatic and loves his mama.  So, after he leaves here today, I'll know much more about his connection to the craft of acting.  What I do know, though, is that I've got my fingers crossed! :)

Friday, February 8, 2013

Walking In A Winter Wonderland


I don't want to live in a town where snow falls.  I had enough of it in Indiana, New York City, Jersey City and Brooklyn.  However, I do love looking at it when it's as breathtakingly gorgeous as this photo.  Wow!  Absolutely wow!!!

Uncensored

Christopher Jordan Dorner

Here in southern California the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is nervous because one of their own is hunting them down.  Well, Christopher Jordan Dorner used to be one of their own.  But, according to him, he was wrongly dismissed in 2008.  And, for that reason, he's vowed to make all those whom he deems responsible for his dismissal pay.  No one would probably have ever thought of him as the murderer of two, young people last week if he hadn't written his manifesto on his Facebook page.  In it, he pretty much implicates himself in those murders and warns of others to come.

After reading the man's uncensored writing, I have to admit that he seemed to be the kind of guy I'd wanna know.  I mean, other than his misguided anger, many of the things he said in his Facebook post brought a smile to my face.  And many of his thoughts are similar to my own.  I just wish he didn't take the horrific measures he has taken to prove his points.

I am almost 100% positive Christopher will take his own life by the time this manhunt ends.  I don't suspect  he'd want to give LAPD the satisfaction of killing him.  Whatever happens, I hope and pray his soul finds peace.  I also want the same for the families of those whose lives he took.

Again, I don't condone his actions.  Not at all.  But I do clearly see that he's a multi-dimensional, human being who isn't pure evil.  His acts have been evil.  But his heart isn't.  I truly believe that.  God bless him.  God bless us all.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Love Child



Two weeks or so ago it was revealed to the nation that former, NFL great, Dan Marino, fathered a love child.  This is big news since he's been married to his wife for the past 28 years.  Together, they have six kids of their own.  Now, we know he has another child.  A daughter.  And a dang cute daughter at that.  The mother of the child used to work for CBS just like Dan does.  I tell you, I've been saying for years that a man of means can do just about whatever he wants.  And just about WHOMEVER he wants.  God bless the little girl.

I've gotta admit, though, I'm dying to know what his wife said to him after he told her.  That conversation must have been a humdinger!!! --- Read the story HERE.

Diana Ross, let him have it!!!! :)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Whew, Lawd!


Today my dear, dear, dear friend, MADELINE, gave me a verbal smackdown.  She told it like it is!  She told me that I need to get up off my a$$ and stop procrastinating about rejoining the steady-paycheck-receiving work force!!!  Haaaa!  Since her smackdown, I've submitted resumes to Twitter and to a couple other firms.  Twitter has already sent me back an e-mail telling me to take a long walk off a short pier.  Haaa!  So, you know what that means to me?  NEXT!!!!

It's upward and onward!  I've got my boy, T.Y., Madeline and my lovely landlord in my corner!!!!!!!  And on my BACK!  Lol!!!!  

Monday, February 4, 2013

Super Bowl XLVII Winner Is...


BEYONCÉ!!!!!!  Her explosive, high energy, half time show was off the charts!  It had fireworks, thousands of lights and girls, girls, girls!!!  I personally knew of two guys who were there to provide background support for her, but men weren't visible on that stage.  Only the women.  And lots of 'em!

One of my favorite highlights was seeing Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, her Destiny's Child cohorts, literally pop up onto the stage from...well, from somewhere well below the stage!  Kelly looked PHENOMENAL!  And I mean, ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!  Michelle looked terrific, too!  I just wish Kelly and Michelle's mics were louder.  Much louder.  Seeing the ladies back together, though, was a treat for their fans, I'm sure.  I just liked lookin' at 'em.

Almost immediately after the half time extravaganza, the power in the stadium died.  I betcha Bey and "her people" were verrrrrrrrrry happy it died AFTER her performance!  You talk about great timing!  Now, I'm reading that there might not be a half time show next year because the game will be played in New Jersey's outdoor stadium and it will undoubtedly be too dang cold to do much of ANYTHING there.  Well, time will tell.

All in all, Mrs. Carter performed one heck of a show!  She's the consummate professional.  And, yes, I've read online any number of complaints about her performance, but I assure you, not ONE person who dissed her would be able to have replaced her and been as captivating.  For some reason, I just feel 100% confident about that assertion!