Christmas 2017

To ONE and ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only A Day Away

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!!!!

54 Reasons I'm THANKFUL

I am immeasurably thankful to have been blessed to ring in my 54th year of life!

54 isn't granted to everybody.

My mother proves that fact.  She died at 53 years, two months and 24 days.

My sister, Deb, died at 40.

Yeah, where I come from, 54 is a hella big deal!!!!

I'm proud to list 54 reasons why I'm thankful!

In no particular order.

1.) My siblings.
2.) My nieces.
3.) My friends.
4.) My personality.
5.) My outlook on life.
6.) My college experiences.
7.) My parents.
8.) My childhood.
9.) My eyesight.
10.) My mind.
11.) My body.
12.) My health.
13.) My landlords.
14.) My roommate "tenant."
15.) My voice.
16.) My eloquence.
17.) My hearing.
18.) My sense of taste.
19.) My sense of touch.
20.) My ability to drive.
21.) My compassion.
22.) My kindness.
23.) My devotion to volunteerism.
24.) My sense of smell.
25.) My writing talent.
26.) My acting talent.
27.) My voice-over talent.
28.) My selling talent.
29.) My ability to forgive readily.
30.) My sense of spontaneity.
31.) My belief that I've never met a stranger.
32.) My open-mindedness.
33.) My former Scoutmaster, Mr. James Campbell.
34.) My former Assistant Scoutmaster, the late Mr. Charles Bruce.
35.) My former teachers (especially Mrs. Lynne Hurlbut, my junior high English Teacher).
36.) My ability to not hold grudges.
37.) My sense of self.
38.) My association with Saban Community Center.
39.) My love of dogs.
40.) My sensitivity.
41.) My bed.
42.) My cell phone.
43.) My eyeglasses.
44.) My contact lenses.
45.) My sex appeal.
46.) My introduction to masturbation.
47.) My close friendship with a Catholic priest.
48.) My appreciation of food and of those who cook/prepare it.
49.) My fraternity brothers.
50.) My association with recent grads and undergrads at Wabash College.
51.) My various jobs throughout the years.
52.) My mindset to make people more important to me than money.
53.) My unwavering belief that respect isn't something you earn; it's something you should be given immediately because you exist.
54.) Simply being HERE.  Right here!  Professional unfulfillment, Debt and all!

Simply EVERYTHING!

Gowans Sectional Collection

I tell ya, besides food, my most passionate love is an oversized sectional sofa!

Yep!  You heard it right!

A sectional sofa!

I just love 'em!

Interestingly enough, I don't even own one.  My sofa is an uncomfortable sleeper sofa.

Before I brought it home, I could have sworn it felt comfortable.  I sat on it.  I really did.

But since then, the sucka is the WORST!!!!!!!  Sitting on it feels like I'm just sitting on wood.  The cushions suck!  I have to replace them.  Or at the very least, refill them with something a lot more cushy!

The sectional sofa featured above is from the Gowans Sectional Collection.  It retails for $3199.99.

Um...my sleeper sofa cost nowhere near that, so maybe that's a tell-tale sign!

I see the Gowans sectional sofa for sale online at Birch Lane and Wayfair.  I don't know why Wayfair sells it for more money, but I'm sure they have their greedy reason!

Oversized sectional sofas are simply EVERYTHING to me!

Simply EVERYTHING!!!!!    

If It's Important To You...

Hey, the wise man knows, if it's important to you, you'll find/make time for it.

Simple as that!

Reincarnation

Folks can say whatever they want, but I think "Uncle Arthur" has risen from the dead!!!

 #ToddChrisleyIsPaulLynde

#InEveryConceivableWay

God, Bless The Rich Because The Poor Can Beg

Cyber Monday!

Giving Tue$day!

Gifting Wednesday!

Every dang day my Facebook timeline is barraged with money requests.

Folks!!!!

Please put your damn hands DOWN!

Geez!

The Grim Reaper

CBS has officially fired Charlie Rose over sexual misconduct allegations in the workplace.

PBS has parted ways with him, too.

At 75, he has seen all he has worked for go up in flames! By his OWN doing!

Cosby.

Ailes.

O'Reilly.

Weinstein.

All men who have entered Act III of their lives only to discover that the wicked seeds they've sown over the years are now being harvested.

God bless us all.

Thanksgiving 2017

To ONE and ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big Wang

Wilson Wang

One of the greatest aspects of performing background and principal work in commercials is meeting the other actors and crew.  Honestly, the only thing I love more than that is eating the great food we usually have.

Well, today wasn't a great food day, though, because my call time was late.  Drats!

But I sure met some great people!

One, in particular, was Mr. Wilson Wang.

Wilson is a native Californian.  At a mere 30 years blessed, he sure seems to have a pretty level head on his shoulders.

He doesn't smoke.

He doesn't drink.

Can I befriend somebody that dang squeaky clean?  Haaa!

He told me he started out as a crew member on sets.  Then, he smartened up and made the jump to being in front of the camera.

Heck, that's precisely where he should be.

He might be young, but I believe he has probably seen a lot more films than I have!  I'll have to work on that!

Anyway, we discussed a few of Hollywood's recent sexual misconduct headlines.

I told him about being so disappointed in Charlie Rose.

He seemed pretty surprised about Disney's John Lasseter.

All in all, meeting Wilson was a blessing.  I hope to get to know him better as our commercial gigs multiply!

Hell, I hope he and I will be upgraded on this spot!

From MY mouth to GOD's ears!  :)

And That's That

And that, HOLLYWOOD, is that!

Mudbound

Last night I went to a screening of Dee Rees's latest film, Mudbound.

Man, oh man, is that young lady a true artist.

There were moments in the film that had me sitting at the edge of my seat.

And covering my dang eyes!

Racial hatred always gets me down.

Heck, all hatred does.

The film takes place in Mississippi in the '40s, so you know race relations are gonna be an issue.

A black family and white family who live on the same farmland have to coexist.

And Mudbound shows us precisely how they did it.

Or didn't.

Performances were terrific.

And I really liked the slow and steady pace of the film.

Listening to Dee Rees speak after the screening is always a treat.  The woman speaks so dang eloquently I could happily listen to her recite Aesop's fables.

All in all, the film was worth every cloudy eye in the theater.

Takes The Cake

There are birthday cakes. 

And there are BIRTHDAY CAKES!!!

Extraordinary pastry chef, Kelly DeMerrick Williams, sure knows how to design and bake one helluva cake!

He was the winner of Food Network's "Cake Wars" competition show last year.

And rightfully so!

Peep the videos below to see some of his other jaw-dropping creations!

Declaration

In just a bit, I'm heading out the door to a commercial audition for a major company.

I have ALREADY DECLARED to The Universe the outcome of said audition!!!

So let it be DECLARED!

So let it be DONE! :)

All Right, Mr. DeMille...

HD cameras are unapologetic.

They capture precisely what they see.

My question is...

When people look at him, what do they see?

Stampede

Yes, I know there are horrific atrocities happening in the world every, single day, but I consciously choose to MAINLY think about people who strap on a pair of goggles and get trampled by a stampede of CUDDLY PUPS!

#MakesMeFeelBetterAboutBeingAlive

Cheapskate

This bar is taking NO PRISONERS when it comes to cheap customers!

Would YOUR name appear on that board? :)

Seeing-Eye Person

Her name is Mari.

7 years old.

An eye infection in one eye, and glaucoma in the other, took her sight.

But thankfully, she has one helluva SEEING-EYE PERSON to love.

**Read all about Mari and other beautiful canines HERE!

Harvey Crimestein

60 or more accusers.

Lurid detail after lurid detail.

Sexual harassment.

Sexual assault.

Massages.

Showers.

Masturbation.

Film and television producer Harvey Weinstein has become his own Academy Award-loving film subject.

And he's DESPICABLE!

Utterly and horrifically despicable!

He is the classic case of a man who uses his professional success to define him.

To make him feel worthy.

To make him feel alive!

He knows he lives in a world in which his physical appearance won't grant him access to the kinds of women who excite him.

He knows he lives in a world in which his intellect alone won't do it, either.

So, he relied on his professional success to make him desirable.

What he didn't bank on is that that success would indeed make beautiful young women want to know him,

But it didn't beguile them to want to sleep with him.

He needed something else to entice drag coerce them into his bed.

And into his shower.

His professional success simply wasn't enough to land the young beauties.

So, he determined that his professional success's partner in crime (pun intended) would be BRIBERY.

And if that didn't work, INTIMIDATION.

He'll offer a film role if you sleep with him.

Or he'll have you blacklisted from working with anyone else if you don't.

One gorgeous young woman after the other went up to his hotel room(s) to "discuss business."

Of course, he never told them the business was monkey business.

But their agents knew.

Some warned the young women.

Some didn't.

Those agents will have to live with their decisions.

The desire for fame and fortune is immeasurable in Hollywood.

Some people will do just about anything to "get on."

Even allow themselves to be disrespected beyond measure.

Yes, I truly believe every, gorgeous young woman who met with Harvey privately was hoping to get something out of the meeting.

What they didn't realize was that he, too, was hoping to get something.

Both parties were simply hoping to get something different.

I hope Harvey Weinstein truly accepts that his actions were wrong.

That his view of women is wrong.

I hope he confesses and sincerely apologizes to his children--particularly his daughters--that daddy's behavior was abhorrent.

I hope he serves some jail time if he did indeed rape any of the women.

But most importantly, I hope he never works in show business again.

Hollywood doesn't need him, nor his kind.

And it never has.

Black & White

"But, if you're thinkin' about my baby,

It don't matter if you're black or white."

When I'm 80

If I'm blessed to see 80, I hope and pray I'm also blessed to have a terrific memory and be able to walk and use the bathroom by myself.

#MyDefinitionOfAGoodLife

Happy 1st Birthday

Last weekend, I was honored to be invited to the first birthday bash for Mr. Lincoln Aurelius Williams.

The tot is the son of Melinda Rochelle and Ryan Williams.

The bash took place at the family's new house.  It was a blast!

Ryan's mom and one of his brothers flew in from Ohio.

Melinda's mom and dad were there.  Her dad is a hoot!  The dude has more personality than a hundred folks combined!

All in all, I wish The Williams clan the very best.

And that little boy looks just like his daddy!

Sisters In The Name Of Love

I love seeing my sisters happy in each other's presence.

Okay, so the pic is actually one of my sisters (the one sporting MY haircut) and two of my nieces, but heck, they're all my sisters in my eyes!!!!! :) :) :) 

Lady O-mg!

I truly, wholly, deeply adore the woman she presents herself to be.

That.

Is.

All.

Introducing...Mr. Kupah James

Last month, I enjoyed a delicious, all-you-can-eat champagne brunch with Mr. Fitness Man, KUPAH JAMES.

We went to one of my favorite haunts: The Warehouse Restaurant.

I met Kupah on the CBS Studio Center lot in Studio City.

I was on the lot doing my Big Brother thing, and he was there as a contestant on a new game show, SNAP DECISION.

The dude's energy is infectious, so of course, we hit it off.  I mean, we bald cats have an allegiance to each other!

Anyway, we enjoyed brunch and talked about his professional goals.  I wish him the very best and hope I can help him out in some way!

I always love being a blessing to folks.

ALWAYS!

Fashion Rocks!

I get a kick outta t-shirts.

Some, more than others.

This one ROCKS!  :)

His Town

Now that I'm taking more of my daily walks in Elysian Park, I gotta admit, it's really interesting when I stumble upon all the people who actually live INSIDE the park.

The photo above depicts a little "town" that a guy has created inside the park.  I mean, he actually lives there alone and constructed it from whatever he found in the park.

It amazes me that Park Rangers allow him to live there, but who's he hurting?  Nobody.  So, he lives there in peace.

It's really quite a sight to behold his little fortress.  It's located at the bottom of a mountainside.  Hidden from passersby who travel on the road above it.  The only reason I discovered it was because I walked up a dirt path to see where it led, and voila, this dude's compound is where it led.

There are tarps and tents hidden throughout the park.  Obscured by vegetation.  But I've spotted many of 'em.  One of the encampments even has a dog "sitting guard."

I don't know how these people wound up living in the park, but I wish 'em well.

Well Worth The Waithe

Two Sundays ago, during The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, history was made by one of the most INCREDIBLE women I have ever HUGGED!

She is the FIRST black woman to win an Emmy for Comedy Writing.

Who is she, you ask?

LENA WAITHE!!!!

She is a prolific WRITER!

An L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. ADVOCATE!

An ACTOR!

A loving PARTNER to Alana Mayo!

Honestly, the woman is simply TERRIFIC!

You can catch her acting on Netflix's MASTER OF NONE.

And you can catch her executive producing her own creation, THE CHI, on Showtime!

Lungs

While working out at Elysian Park recently, I met an incredible young man.

His name is Patrick.

He told me is living with a lung transplant.

The 26-year-old young fella was sitting at home, eating a bowl of cereal, when a lung collapsed.

And just like that, he was in need of a transplant.

Eventually, he received one.

And now, he wants to travel the world, speaking on his experience.

All I know is that he, his dad, and his girlfriend, Nicole, sure appear to be incredibly loving people.  Yes, I met all three of them at the park.

I wish Patrick the very best.

He's a gentleman and a scholar.

With a transplanted lung of gold!  :)

Elysian Park

Since I only work out in nature, I like to explore new parks and beaches.

A few days ago I ventured out to Elysian Park.

The park just happens to be the home of Dodger Stadium.

And it's also the home of The Los Angeles Police Academy.

Of course, I recall the old entrance to the Academy because of a '70s TV show I loved so dearly.

The peaks of Elysian Park have one helluva view of downtown L.A!

I haven't found pull-up bars in the park yet, but if they're there, I'll find 'em!

I sure will! :)

Two Words

Two words describe these babies:

ABSOLUTELY!

ADORABLE!

It's A Fire

This is the second time I've seen a wildfire behind Costco. What the Smokey the Bear is going on in Burbank???

I sure wish California could go at least ONE summer without any wildfires.

At least ONE!

Scott Betta Sing!!

Two Saturdays ago, I had the pleasure of attending a sensational concert!

Who was the singer, you ask???

SCOTT A. PEOPLE!!!

I've been listening to Scott sing since February 2000.  In fact, I had only lived here in Los Angeles for a month before I went to a Hollywood bar on karaoke night and heard a man sing his face off!

That man would be Scott!

On that night, he was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and a floppy hat.

I was wearing overalls, no shirt, and had my toenails painted 'Fire Engine' red!  That's a whole other story!  Haaa!

Anyway, after hearing him sing karaoke that night, I instantly knew I had to follow this dude's career.  And, since then, I have.

I've watched and/or listened to Scott sing on Ryan Seacrest's radio show, the late Ed McMahon's Next Big Star tv show, a couple of Vegas showcases, weddings, etc.  Truth be told, I simply love the way he sings.

On this concert night, he was in excellent voice!  His breath control was superb and his high and low notes were smashed to smithereens!

At one point, during the song he sings as a staple, Donnie McClurkin's Stand, he walked among the audience and randomly chose folks to sing a verse or two.  The guy sitting at my table, film producer, Re'Shaun Frear, whispered to me, "He better not stop here."  Lol!  No worries.  Scott knows that CAM Jr loves LISTENING to singers.  Not actually singing himself!  :)

Scott is 43 and earning his living as a singer/actor.  Bravo to him!  I wish him the most success any one person can handle!

'Cause he's one helluva talent!!!!

Scott, you betta SING!!!

For years and years to come!!!! 

Manhattan Beach Getaway

Last Monday I decided to take a drive over to Manhattan Beach to work out instead of going to my usual parks.  A change of scenery is always a good thing in my book.

Anyway, I first stopped at Polliwog Park because I read online that the park had outdoor gym equipment.  Well, when I arrived, I parked right next to that equipment.  However, it wasn't the equipment I wanted most.  See, I like pull-up bars.  This park had everything EXCEPT pull-up bars!  I did some push-ups against a picnic table, then took my butt to the pier.

Oh, one other thing: four years ago, I read online that a decomposing corpse of a 21-year-old man was found in that park.  It was wrapped in plastic and discovered by park workers.  Luckily for me, no such "discovery" took place during my visit.

When I arrived on the Pier, everybody down on the beach looked like they were having the time of their lives!  I tell ya, peaceful living has that effect on folks!

I then walked The Strand, looking at the beautiful homes that line the beach.  While walking, I met a guy who is a few years older than I.  Damn, I wish I could recall his name.  Anyway, he actually began walking with me, and talking a mile a minute.  He told me he had just come from a cancer treatment.  Turns out he is dealing with throat cancer, I believe.  He told me he got it from performing cunnilingus.  Yep!  Eating too much p*ssy.  Or, the WRONG p*ssy!  The moment he told me that, I told him, "Oh, that's what Michael Douglas has."  He knew the story.  The dude and I talked about everything under the sun. 

 

We eventually walked upon a workout area that made my dang day!  'Cause unlike Polliwog Park, this area had my pull-up bars.  Heck, it had several, different bars of varying heights.

 Swinging on those bars within an inch of his life was a 22-year-old named, Cole.  The young fella was really doing all sorts of tricks on the bars.  So, of course, I had to introduce myself and jump right up on 'em my dang self.  He showed me an exercise or two and I proceeded to execute 'em just as he showed me.  The one exercise he did that I just couldn't was muscle-ups.  I have often wanted to do them, but I reckon not so pressingly that I actually practice them.  Maybe one day I will.  Maybe not.  All I know is that the young chap sure has been raised well.

The next time I hit up Manhattan Beach, I hope I run into Cole again.  He's now one of my new Park bros!