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Assisted Living

Read about my experiences in hospital and nursing home/rehab before you make a choice. Is Assisted Living next?

From hospital visits to a Skilled Nursing Facility, home again, and next stop: Assisted Living. And believe me, the hospital stays were better than the rehab. I spent time recently in Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center Hospital, for different maladies. I was happier there than in the rehab. In the hospital, the nurses were attentive and plentiful. Of these, J.R. was the best – he…

Assisted Living

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Authoritarianism in America: The Threat of a Convicted Felon as President

Read why saving Democracy means saving America and future generations to come from tyranny.

Convicted Felon Donald J. Trump What is authoritarianism? It’s basically having a dictator instead of a president under a Constitutional government, as America has been since it fought for its independence from King George III. And our democratic form of government has made the United States the greatest nation on earth. Why would we now turn to a dictator to lead us? Cult Leader The…

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Rise of Authoritarianism: Threat to Democracy in America

What is it? It’s basically having a dictator instead of a president under a Constitutional government, as America has been since it fought for its independence from King George III. And our democratic form of government has made the United States the greatest nation on earth. Why would we now turn to a dictator to lead us? The Republican Party in the U.S. historically has flirted with…

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Three for the Ages

Today I want to tell you about three very special people who enlighten our lives in different ways. They are Scott Sayre, Greg Gerritsen, and Valerie Wilson, all members of the 500K Marketing Group that meets each Wednesday evening on Zoom. Scott leads the group. A Renaissance man, he is an author, a chef, a healer, and a teacher. In his spare time, he has written and polished his screenplays…

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'Oppenheimer' vs. 'Flower Moon'

Which film will win Best Picture and who will be named Best Director?

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The cancer didn’t get me. Sobriety did.

If you remain a cancer survivor, you may identify with my current win in the war over that killer disease. And if you are an alcoholic, you might identify with my recovery over 54 years.

It’s not over yet, but the metastasized tumor on the left side of my face is gone. Under the skilled hands of my surgeon, Dr. Andrew Larson, in the Kaiser Sunset Medical Center hospital, the killer got successfully removed more than a week ago, and now I remain in recovery at home. I have one eye wide open temporarily (I hope), but that should improve, I am told by my…

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All About That Cat

Oh for the love of a cat! She's Gracie, a Russian Blue beauty -- and my writing inspiration, my muse.

Gracie My beloved Russian Blue. Those yellow eyes. Her sleek gray fur that almost looks blue. Her lighter colored paws and underbelly — what a cat! We think she may be 10 years old or younger. The vet was not sure. She could be younger, he said. I first enjoyed Gracie a year ago this past August, when I cat-sat her for my apartment manager, who was on vacation. During her first day with me,…

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Christopher Nolan’s powerful biopic “Oppenheimer,” now playing in Imax (where we saw it), delivers a powerful punch at nuclear politics and the McCarthy era. There seemed to be a Communist in every…

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About J. Robert Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s powerful biopic “Oppenheimer,” now playing in Imax (where we saw it), delivers a powerful punch at nuclear politics and the McCarthy era. There seemed to be a Communist in every closet. And “Oppy” was accused of being one of them. He was put through hell, this after being touted “father of the atomic bomb,” and helping to end World War II with the Japanese. Most poignant…

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Restored to Sanity Again

Not only have I been restored to sanity — by my Higher Power and the 12 Steps for 53 years – but America the Great, too, has seen the light. Yes, there was a national sanitizing on the last great Election Day, during which voters of all parties, all persuasions, were awakened as they dug deeper into their hearts and that of this country. They woke up. That’s somewhat different from what the…

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Summer Afternoon in Italy

"...the view from my atelier inspires me as I learn how to successfully rewrite screenplays. I look out my windows, see Positano, and turn to my computer to study, learn and rewrite."

Positano, the hillside town by the beach. The midafternoon sun shines on the Hollywood Hills across from my apartment windows. The homes of the rich, nestled among the trees and greenery, cluster together likes Italian villages  as in Sienna and Positano, Italy. Positano serves as one of the chief settings in my screenplay and novel, VESUVIO. Thus, the view from my atelier inspires me as I…

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Art Informs Writing

How art informs the creative process.

On a recent afternoon, I enjoyed Mindful Monday: Cultivating Empathy and Connectedness, presented online by the Education Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The exhibition explored, with mindful meditation briefly at the start, Light, Space, Surface: Selections from LACMA’s Collection, the art of Light and Space and related works with highly polished surfaces often…

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Returning to the Blogosphere

Brushing up on my screenwriting skills in a class during the WGA strike.

Screenwriting Class It has been a while since my last blog – medical issues, doctor’s appointments, etc. – so I hope to return here on a regular basis. And I am taking time during the current WGA strike to polish my screenwriting skills, at the suggestion of my beloved producer that has optioned a screenplay. Thus I have signed up for a 10-week class on rewriting screenplays, to elevate them…

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On Getting a Film Deal

From a stage musical to a Hollywood biopic, the path to getting a deal for an optioned screenplay can seem circuitous.

The years go by. And today, my screenplay emerges as well-developed and polished, ready to show. But how does an optioned screenwriter get a deal for their project in Hollywood? My beloved producer, an accomplished woman with good studio, TV and development credentials, will not allow me to reveal who or what the story concerns, but I can reveal that my project is a musical biopic about an…

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Politics: A Sea Change?

Democracy remains at stake as Trump goes on trial.

The U.S. Capitol Now that Citizen Donald Trump has been indicted and arraigned, and presumed  innocent until proven guilty, will his Republican Party sit up and finally take notice? And presumably, ex-president Trump will be found guilty on a few of the 34 counts for which he has been charged. And, if not, in upcoming indictments and arraignments in any of the remaining, perhaps more important,…

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Poetry for a Rainy Morning

Rain is a Los Angeles thing. It rained during my childhood in Annapolis, But my memories of Omaha are mostly of snow. Living in Los Angeles for 33 years recalls a lot of rain. The Rainy Season. Sometimes we have it; in other years, we don’t. This is one of those years when we do – a lot. Today, the low pressure delivers another Atmospheric River. For a drought-parched California, rain…

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Poetry for a Rainy Morning

Occasional poetry begins on a wet day in Tinseltown.

Rain is a Los Angeles thing. It rained during my childhood in Annapolis, but my memories of Omaha are mostly of snow. Living in Los Angeles for 33 years recalls a lot of rain. The Rainy Season. Sometimes we have it; in other years, we don’t. This is one of those years when we do – a lot. Today, the low pressure delivers another Atmospheric River. For a drought-parched California, rain…

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