Howard Stern - Porgy and Bess - Single mother's love...
Good Monday morning. I’ve got Howard Stern, Audra MacDonald and a modern mother on deck for you to talk amongst yourselves. Oh don't forget a little eye candy for the ladies....
Are you pushing yourself to the limit? Man vs. Wild’s Bear(do you think his mother was scared by a bear when she was pregnant?) Grylls does. He’s not Crocodile Dundee, but he’s easy on the eye...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/travel/tales-of-adventure-from-bear-grylls.html?smid=pl-share
Pragmatic. Fearful. Read about Michelle Fiodaliso’s journey and realization of death being a single mom...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/fashion/modern-love-paralysis-of-the-heart.html?smid=pl-share
I may have to squeeze in a performance of Porgy and Bess when I go to New York in June. My favorite Private Practice actress has been nominated again for a Tony. Check out Audra MacDoanld and her FABULOUS arms....
Howie on T.V. ? What’s next? You either love him or you hate him. Me? Any guy with height is all right in my book. Read about Howard Stein shifting into another gear and how he’s going to behave on America’s Got Talent.
Feel free to tweet me @TakingOffMyCoat
Talk amongst yourselves....
Sabrina
My Favorite Ritual – The Sunday New York Times
A friend of mine asked a while back, what was my favorite ritual? I never gave any thought to ‘rituals’ because my definition leans toward something sacred. Like the ritual of going to church every Sunday, or confession every Friday.
After some thought, it occurred to me that there was something that is ‘sacred’ to me. Something I do for me and me alone – over and over and over again.
On Sunday I disconnect. I step off the grid. I do not answer my phone. I do not turn on the computer. The IPod is used for listening to music only. I gather the Sunday edition of the New York Times, enough coffee to keep an elephant awake, and nosh on lox, bagels, capers with a smear of cream cheese.
I do this for two reasons. First, I thoroughly enjoy reading – dare I say it – a real newspaper. I like the feel of the paper, the smell of the ink and the stains in my hands. I love lugging that big old thing around; people looking at me like I’m a dinosaur. I smile and wink, and field questions from folks half my age asking if I actually read the entire paper. I do. I pride myself in having useless Jeopardy information on deck and the ability to count back change without aid of an electronic device.
Second, I want to be alone. The other six days a week I’m working. My introvert personally is put on hold, and I become C.E.O., public relations coordinator, event planner, bookkeeper, writer and circus juggler. I don’t have a choice. I am vested in several businesses and I haven’t won the lottery yet.
It occurred to me that if I incorporated my off day activities with my work, I might have more free time.
Some how after sounding it all just now, it doesn’t appear as if I going to save any time. Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men, and type ’A’ personality women, often go astray.
In the mean time, enjoy some of my favorite links in the Sunday New York Times if only a temporary basis. Feel free to
Talk Amongst Yourselves – my new blog section.A matter of perception – Alice Randall explores obesity among Black women http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/opinion/sunday/why-black-women-are-fat.html?smid=pl-share
Work Baby – Work Out. I thought I was bad working out 2 hours a day, but these ladies make me look like a wuss in Courtney Rubin’s article about fitness or obsessive behavior.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/fashion/new-yorkers-who-fit-in-2-or-3-workouts-a-day.html?smid=pl-share
What about a horse of a different color? The run for the roses on derby day turns an ugly shade of blue.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/sports/colts-owner-seeks-to-create-a-horse-of-a-different-color.html?smid=pl-share
Recently I went hiking with friends at nearby Lake Tahoe. Since there were several of us coming from as far as two hours away, a central meeting point was established to fuel up and catch up. To my surprise, this group of ‘fitness’ advocates picked McDonalds for their fueling station of choice.
Really?
I applaud activism, but the only way to get McDonalds to pay attention is to stop buying. Read about how hard McDonalds works at changing it perception – rather than changing the food.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/magazine/how-mcdonalds-came-back-bigger-than-ever.html?smid=pl-share
SZ
Words From the Wise...
In baseball, it may seem like nothing is happening
but you must always pay attention...
Jon Miller
San Francisco Giants
Sportscaster
Just like life...
Words From The Wise...
"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail." 
-Charles F. Kettering
Reading Is Over Rated in Manhattan and Everywhere Else
Claire Needell Hollander is an English teacher in Manhattan. Her opinion letter in the New York Times, Sunday edition April 22nd, was touching. I can’t fathom what teaching would be like in Manhattan. I honestly don’t understand the public school system, having attended Catholic school my entire lifeTake a look at her entry.
I was lucky in that respect. I got a good education – a great foundation that has served the rest of my life. Reading was my solace my entire school life. I read because it was safe. I could crawl into the worlds those books unfolded and live nicely among the characters. I imagined (yes I actually used that part of my brain) what it would be like floating down the Mississippi, like Tom Sawyer, and riding a horse at full gallop in National Velvet.
When I read this article it filled me with both sadness and inspiration. It is hard for me to understand NOT reading a book’ classic or not. It’s too bad that the school system has shifted into getting children through to achieve metrics instead of actually giving students the tools to achieve – to think – to rationalize on their own. I remember the days when an English test consisted of a composition notebook an essay questions. It’s too bad our children are the victims of a numbers game.
And Ms. Hollanders review inspires me. It inspires me because as a writer and a film maker it is my responsibility to pay it forward. It is my responsibility to strive to translate a good story – a good screenplay – into the media no matter what genre- be it television or film or DVD or instant gratification through a You Tube transmission.
Ms. Hollander has shown me today that my instincts are right. My gut feeling about my personal objective as a film maker is correct. A good story, a moving story, a story that utilizes the imagination, is still a viable force in our society.
Sabrina....
Words To Live By...
Everything that irritates us about others
can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
Carl Jung
Carl Jung, Meditation and Equilibrium
I finally finished reading Carl Jung's autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. It took me a awhile to finish it - not because it was a complex read - just because each page was so riveting, I would re-read and analyze it to death.
Some habits are hard to break.
Until recently I never understood the fascination with Jung. I thought of him as much as I did Freud - just another doctor with another theory.
Me, biased and closed minded?
Yes, those habits are hard to break.
I can't for the life of me remember how I came upon this book. I remember it taking up space on my kitchen counter for months. Then that little voice said READ it. Within the prologue, I had found a kindred spirit.
Jung sums it up very well, "My life is a story of the self-realization of the unconscious."
He goes on to say that,"We are a psychic process which we do not control..."
Jung admits that most outward events in his life faded away as time marched on and his bouts with the unconscious are etched in his memory. The wealth he happened upon in that state of mind was abundant.
I find myself in the same place as Jung. The more experiences I have in my life, the more hard pressed I become to remember past. All though I am enriched by these past events, they seem to fade away. Another chapter in my life written. A new chapter begins.
Or maybe my brain cells are just dying off at an alarming rate.
Recently, my yoga instructor introduced a new program intergrading mind and body wellness. As a student of yoga for many years, what started as a means of exercise has transcended into an exercise of my unconscious. My ability to b-r-e-a-t-h-e into a pose has helped me gain a state of confidence. All those years of being unathletic, fat and unattractive have faded away. Doubts are exhaled. Confidence fills me.
Now comes something different.
Meditation. Not alone in my room or outside after a hike. Guided meditation in a group environment. Being my frugal - okay cheap- self, I had nothing to lose since the first week was free.
Yoga is practiced in order to prepare the body to maintain stillness. Mind in still ness - body in stillness. Hard to fathom, isn't it? Achievable, yes. The monks do it. Some nuns do it. Even every day folk like you and me do it. There is evidence that group energy - prayer- chanting - singing - can change the outcome, feeling or energy in a given situation. Much like native tribes in American, Africa or Australia, the coming together of tribe in prayer or dance or meditation elevates the individuals to another level of existence. Some express out of body experiences. Others convey a feeling of an altered state.
Is it possible to reach nirvana?
Yes.
The world has become a surreal situation comedy. Instead of the holidays causing undue stress or wrecking havoc on my last nerve, my daily activities took on a 'cartoon' quality. It's as if I were watching life with the sound turned off. I became far removed from the 'Christmas' experience. This peace and detachment from the chaos was a welcome relief.
All the outward junk fell away to an unconscious state of peace.
Stillness of the mind. Stillness of the body. It's just a matter of practice. Try something new - I dare you...
Sabrina
Words To Live By...
Lose yourself
Escape from the black cloud that surrounds you
Then you will see your own light
As radiant as the full moon
Rumi
Work Baby - Workout
Feeling a little bloated after the holidays? Is your brain telling you to get up and exercise, but your body says "Forget it".
Here's some New Year's inspiration for you.
Ernestine Shepherd in Muscle and Performance Magazine.
Check out her website.
Not convinced yet? Take a look at Autumn Gold.
There is no excuse good enough or big enough to stop any of us in achieving our goals.
Make it so...
Sabrina
Laugh and The Whole World Laughs With You
During this time of the year it maybe a challenge to find a little humor in all of the holiday madness. I want to give all of my readers a small gift. I want you to laugh. Not only at the list below, but laugh at yourself. Don't let the fat - the fat in your mind - cloud your judgment and hamper you from enjoying the holidays. Don't take yourself or anything else so seriously that you don't see humor.
No matter how I may feel, these little tidbits make me chuckle.
Merry Christmas - Happy Kwanza - Happy Chanukah. It doesn't matter how you celebrate it. Just celebrate.
Sabrina's Top Five List of Things to Make You Laugh:
#5 C'mon Man. ESPN's Monday Night pre-game show features outtakes of fumbles, slips and just outright comical mishaps in football games. If you think about it, the concept of trying to maneuver a mutant ball is a comedy show in the making. Kick, punt, throw, catch. C'mon man...
#4 The Geico Gecko doing the Two-Step in a Texas honky tonk. It's the accent. It's his height. It's the fact he's green and walking across America to help people save on car insurance. The little guy never fails to make me chuckle AND he can dance.
#3 The E-Trade Baby in time out. That little monster. Bright enough to manipulate the keys on his Smartphone and still get in trouble. My kind of kid...
#2 A Charlie Brown Christmas. I dare you not to chuckle as Snoopy decorates his dog house and Charlie Brown kills his Christmas tree with a single decoration.
And now my favorite side splitting chuckle:
# 1 The Other Guys. Fast forward about 12 minutes into the story and watch Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson aim for the bushes. It never gets old.
Cheers !
Sabrina
