Acoustic Guitar Stylings

A good friend of mine with whom I co-hosted and co-produced a tv talk show several years ago gave me one of the most treasured gifts I own. Casey surprised me a few years ago by taking a cassette tape we had converted from reel-to-reel and made a cd for us of my dad's guitar mastery.

Boy, oh boy, we take technology for granted today, but back in the 60's, all we had was reel-to-reel for quality home recordings. My dad had driven down from Santa Barbara one evening, arriving at our apartment in Anaheim around midnight. My hubby had built a stereo system, of which he was very proud and asked Dad if he would sit down and play. So, off the top of his head, after driving for three hours, he sat down and from memory recorded song after song for over an hour on an inexpensive acoustic guitar, which he gave to Dave.

Well, we relished that recording, but little did we know it would be the only such one of my dad's talent that we would have. Well, I take that back, we did recover some records dad had of a few gigs, but nothing where he was solo, and the quality left a lot to be desired. My dad died six years later in Ohio one day before his 54th birthday.

It's just been recently now that we have all the equipment to make our own cd's that we decided we better get busy and make sure our close relatives, many of whom used to go to Dad's gigs both here and in Ohio to see him, had a copy of this.

When it was on reel-to-reel, we seldom played it because the tape was subject to breaking. Then we had it on cassette and played it for some friends one evening. To my surprise, several years later, our friends, Jim and Ruth, said they hadn't enjoyed a night of music as much as that since. With the holidays approaching, I think it would make a touching gift.

I'm so glad Eddie Teener played Misty for me.

Laughter is good for the soul

This is all I have to show for attending the taping of According to Jim. You cannot take any electrical devices into the show. You are advised to leave your cell in your car, or it may be confiscated. They have their rules.

Actually, I also have a very nice program with this great casts' credits on it as well.

I can't remember a time when I have laughed so hard for so long. My friend, Peggy, organized a group of people who attended this taping as a fundraiser (Cota for Zac) for her friend's son, who is awaiting an organ transplant. When I mentioned to my hair stylist, Rosy, that I was attending the sitcom, she told me it was her husband's favorite show.

On this particular night, we got a treat by seeing an episode that hadn't been shown before. It featured a little girl, playing a spoiled brat pop star. Turns out, Jim's daughter played the little girl. She sang two songs during the episode, and when Jim brought her out (so sorry I can't remember the cutie's name!) to introduce her to the audience, he mentioned that she had never sung before doing that role. Well, she did a very credible job. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of this talented young lady in the future. Just look for the "Belushi" name.

While we were waiting for the show to begin, the warm up comedian came out to greet the audience. Well, it was non-stop laughter after that. Jim Belushi and Larry Joe Campbell, who plays Andy, play off of each other so well. This particular episode, "The Ego Boost," provided much laughter. It was written by Warren Bell and Christopher J. Nowak and directed by Jim Belushi.

Jim came out to warmly greet the audience before the show started. Scenes with Courtney Thorne-Smith,who plays Jim's wife, were taped prior to this evening since Courtney was still tending to her new baby. Jim anwered a few questions from the audience before the taping got underway. If you've never been to a taping of a show, there are many stops and starts. They reshoot each scene at least twice. The role of the warm-up comedian extends beyond the initial greeting.

I had never heard of Ron Pearson before. How anyone can get up and continually make an audience laugh so hard and cover an endless myriad of subjects amazes me. Ron was well traveled as evidenced by the number of audience members from various countries, Sweden, Finland, Australia, Holland, and France, with whom he could somewhat converse and relate experiences. But the most amazing thing this world-renowned juggler did (yes, he has that on his resume as well) is balance a ladder on his chin while juggling. Awesome.

The According to Jim set is really nice. At one point, Ron mentioned that this sitcom costs between $750,000 to $2m per episode! It's our civic duty to watch, don't you think?

Now, would I rather be guest-starring on the show instead of watching from the audience. You bet. Especially since in this episode the guest star had a very funny punch line near the end of the show. But those gigs are a little harder to come by. After watching this taping, I will be tuning in each week. By the way, According to Jim is shown all over the world. Our foreign visitors confirmed that. It's on ABC. Check your local listing. And if you want to attend a taping, this one would be a good one to experience.

Struggling with Weight Issues

A few weeks ago I attended the premiere of the movie, disFIGURED, at the Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood. My friend, Staci Lawrence, was one of the female leads. In the olden days, I would have said "leading ladies."

Staci plays struggling anorexic, Darcy, who sees herself as hugely overweight. She was shocked when she's rejected by the members of the Fat Awareness Group, who refuse to believe they can have anything in common with the scrawny girl. But Lydia, gloriously played by Deidra Edwards, the self-help group's founder, realizes they're both wrestling the same demon--weight.

This film takes a thought-provoking look at America's body image issues. Everyone can identify even if weight isn't one's biggest problem. Ryan C. Benson also stars in this film, wonderfully directed by the writer, Glenn Gers (Fracture, Mad Money). All of the actors did a fabulous job of telling this story, which I would recommend to anyone you know who could benefit by the positive messages it conveys. Rex Reed calls it "warm, funny, and touching."

It was particularly interesting during the question and answer session with the writer/director and cast after the film to hear about the challenges Glenn had in getting the movie made. Deidra's patience in waiting one year before she could audition until they exhausted all "names" in order to attract financial backing should be a lesson to us actors. Isn't that the way of the business! Staci had it a little easier, as a friend who had read the script recommended her to the director. Of course, she had to deliver on the audition! And that she did.
I was so proud of her...particularly in the emotional scenes near the end. By the way, Staci isn't anorexic, and I could swear that Deidra looked a whole lot thinner at the premiere. I do believe they also had to be quite patient as post production took almost two years.

The film has won awards in various film festivals around the country, i. e., Grand Jury prize in Oklahoma City, Santa Barbara International, Cinequest San Jose, AFI Dallas International and Florida Film Festivals. Glenn was so anxious for the majority of the population to see this as soon as possible that he made the decision to go straight to dvd, rather than show it in the theaters. I believe the latter option is still open to them, but if you want to see disFIGURED, you can rent or buy it now.