Waking to the sun feels like a precious gift, in these last days of summer.
Even though your days are shorter and change is near,
Appreciate the moment, for one moment more.
I’m enduring a bit of a dental emergency, the sudden and unexpected demise of a tooth that’s been with me since the beginning. For years, this very efficient tool of the trade let me enjoy healthful breakfasts, delicious lunches and gourmet dinners with ease. Amuse-bouche, anyone?
Right now, it’s hanging on by dental floss, cracked in places I can’t see, awaiting its fate by screaming in pain. Constantly. Who knew it has so much to complain about?
I’m waiting, too –for the antibiotics to brush away the infection, and the pain meds to dull the noise. Can we hold on for eight more days?
One thing’s for certain: the days of wine and roses are over for us. It’s liquid lunch until the end.
One of the most absolute joys of my creative life is writing and producing television and radio promotion packages for Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Never a day went by when I didn’t thank the gods for the opportunity (pun intended) – to cut promos with one of my great creative partners, J. Churchill Morgan, and the rest of the crew at Crawford Post in Atlanta, GA, to work with a most excellent show production crew in L.A., New Zealand and Canada … and to laugh -spontaneous and pure- throughout the entire experience.
Every once in a while, I look through my box of treasures from that time and reminisce: Gabrielle’s leather journal she carried at the beginning of her adventures with Xena; a box of homemade Hercules and Xena Christmas cards we wrote that we sent to the post production crew (Happy Birthday, Jesus! From Zeus, King of the Gods); song lyrics set to the Hercules theme music that were inspired by Kevin Sorbo’s fabulous mane (Hercules, will you help me please? I’m having a bad hair day!). Hours and hours … and hours … of fun times, which amaze me still. I can never call it work.
This is why I’m sharing a video interview with Kevin Sorbo, who talks about his life and his new book, True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal–and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life.
As I was experiencing one of the most productive and enjoyable times of my career, our main character –our hero- was at a precipice. And I have to say, as part of this crazy, glorious crew headed by Rob Tapert … never did Kevin’s pain encroach on us making a promo deadline, never did it show in the raw footage we screened, never once did we suffer while he was suffering. In Atlanta, at Tribune Creative Service Group, in the halls and edit suites, his work simply gave us joy.
And I’ll always be grateful to him for that.
Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin in "Rescue Me."
The summer season is winding down and with it –the summer television season. I’ve really come to look forward to and appreciate the fun, entertaining shows on USA, TNT SyFy and FX. Between Men of a Certain Age, Leverage and In Plain Sight (Sunday), The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles, Alphas and Warehouse 13 (Monday), Covert Affairs and White Collar (Tuesday), Royal Pains and Necessary Roughness, and Rescue Me (Wednesday), Burn Notice and Suits (Thursday), and Haven (Friday) – my DVR is full. (Note: I think USA’s Characters welcome campaign – initiative, really, is one of the best). Add select cooking shows on the weekends … and it appears that I watch TV all summer.
Just like during television’s “regular season.”
Those of you in the TV biz know that a 52-week television season was initiated by the FOX television network years ago, and I think viewers are benefiting- from cable’s creative programming at least. I know I am.
I do miss the rush of watching all the fall season promotion campaigns, though. I used to live for them, write and produce them, in fact. All those hours of viewing half-finished episodes, finding the good stuff, packing it all into 30 seconds.
Contrary to how it appears, I do enjoy things other than television in the summer, like books and barbecues and gardening and enjoying the best weather. Just like during a “regular season.”
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The global community of inspiring women is awesome. Always supportive and social, it’s really satisfying to serve them. Fun, too.
Recently, one of my clients –brainywoman.com– was nominated as “Most Positive Website in June” by PostiveThinking-Toolbox.com. Site creator Bonnidette Lantz interviews Patricia Anaya –the woman behind brainywoman.com- here. Snaps!
One of the things Bonnidette loves about brainywoman.com is reading our stories featuring all those brainywomen out there creating a difference in their lives and in the lives of others. “So, every time you highlight a brainywoman, there is a chance one of your readers can say, ‘Ah, yes -that is me,'” she says. “‘I can do that.'” This is exactly why bw Magazin’ is structured the way it is. “I want to thank my editor, Janet Muniz,” Patricia responds, “because she is the woman behind the stories in bw Magazin’ and I have learned a lot from her. She is a wonderful woman!”
Thank you, Patricia –and thanks for your kind regard, too, Bonnidette. We appreciate it.
If anyone would like to tell their story, or tell the story of a friend, tell us! Visit brainywoman.com here and we’ll get you published.
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Check out what my day husband –long-time collaborator and creative partner J.Churchill Morgan- says about working together:
Most partnerships pale in comparison to the day husband-day wife bond –that rare and most unique of creative synchronicities capable of moving every project to a higher level. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be part of that? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t benefit, least of all a client.
What’s cool about asking your day husband (or any trusted creative partner) for an endorsement is, you can throw a little love their way. I find that a testimonial says just as much about the person or company giving it, so when you put one out there, it reflects graciously. A reward in itself.
Thank you.
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Americans have our top 10’s, our winners, our honeydo’s, our grocery lists. I’m an organized person and pretty old school about my lists – I like to write them out and check them off (if applicable).
Can you tell a lot about a person from their lists? Hmmm. Take, for instance, my own fickle list of favorites, (partial, among other things):
Favorite guilty pleasure: ABC’s Castle
Favorite current TV image campaign: USA’s Characters Welcome
Favorite recent television commercial: iPad, VO: Peter Coyote
Favorite newscast: ABC World News
All-time favorite newscast: CBS News Sunday Morning
Favorite TVchef du jour: Roger Mooking, Everyday Exotic
Favorite new spice mix: vadouvan
Favorite drink: all things wine
Favorite mind game: meditation
Favorite exercise: yoga
Favorite fashion inspiration: Anthropologie windows, catalogs … and shoes
Favorite book at the moment: Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Favorite music discovery: Tina Malia, The Silent Awakening
Favorite sanctuary: San Diego
Favorite thought-provoker: spirituality & religion
Favorite garden flower: geraniums, especially scented geraniums
Favorite night sky: full moon in the desert
Favorite Steeler: Hines Ward
Favorite Charger: Antonio Gates
Favorite Cowboy: blue-eyed Miles Austin
Favorite Saint: Drew Brees
Favorite Falcon: Michel Turner
Favorite Giant after Michael Strahan: Osi Umenyiora
All-time favorite coach: Bill Parcells
Favorite owner I love to hate: Jerry Jones
Favorite NFL TV show: FOX NFL Sunday
Favorite football commentator of 2010: Jon Gruden
Favorite other sport to watch: Tennis, especially the US Open
Favorite moment of the day: the moment of gratitude
Now … you tell me.
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Part of being The Versatile Blogger, awarded to me by Michelle Beish, is passing the award along to 15 new-found blogging buddies and contacting them with congratulations. The whole blog experience is less than a year old for me, so here’s a list of the blogs I’ve “newly-found” so far:
Seth Godin’s Blog – Discovered while trolling my Facebook News Feed, I quickly subscribed to Seth’s daily posts because he’s inspired me in the past and still does today.
Julia Cameron’s Blog – a long-time practitioner of The Artist’s Way, I recently signed on to Julia Cameron Live, her new online course and community.
Writing It Real Blog – Sheila Bender is a writer and a teacher. I recently attended her writer’s conference in Port Townsend, WA. Great workshop that’s great fun.
Media Post & Media Bistro blogs – great media industry-type stuff.
Tiny Lights – Susan Bono‘s lovely resource for writers and other strangers.
Clouds Full of Rain – Initially, it is the name that captures my attention. Now, I’m interested in Tamika’s journey.
49 and holding – One of the ways I’ve re-connected with cherished friend and old colleague Deborah Cole Wise.
brainywoman’s bw Blog – Every Tuesday, Patricia Anaya serves up her take on The Law of Attraction and more.
SoulPancake – more community than a blog per se, but very social nonetheless. Not to mention I like to chew on life’s big questions.
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It is in early April when Michelle Beish honors me with The Versatile Blogger award, and I am truly grateful to her. For me, it is such a gift to connect with those of like mind … isn’t this one of the reasons we reach out with our words and actions in the first place? Michelle’s thoughtfulness reminds me that it’s nice to acknowledge it once in a while.
Rules governing this award include:
~Thanking and linking to the person who nominated you
~Sharing 7 random facts about yourself
~Passing the award along to 15 new-found blogging buddies
~Contacting those buddies to congratulate them
SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME
While living in Idaho, I fall in love with goats. Typically, their personalities tickle my funny bone, as I expect most goats are characters. Shortly after discovering this, I read Brad Kessler‘s Goat Song … and fall in love with Brad Kessler’s writing, too.
I was a cowboy in another life.
Those personalized ads on Google and Facebook -I find them fascinating; I’m learning about so many products and services I’m actually interested in. The rest, I ignore –like telemarketing phone calls. It proves to me that Big Brother is only as irritating as you allow him to be. Or her, depending on your point of view.
I’ve lived in six United States and have visited nine countries … so far.
The science of the soul, quantum physics, spirituality, noetic science, What the Bleep, The Bible … my mind likes to linger here.
I’ve produced the advertising/promotion campaigns and commercials for Xena: Warrior Princess, Charmed, Vanishing Sun, William Shatner’s TekWar series, New York’s Movie Station, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and more, during my 30 years in the broadcast creative services biz.
JFK was assassinated on my birth date: 22 November.
Find out about my favorite blogs in my next post. If you like reading them, why not sign up for an email subscription? You receive a little somthin’-somthin’ to ponder every Tuesday and Thursday.
“Oh, Janet, you’re good. Really good. I love what you did. And, I think I’ll play with the present tense. It sounds more inviting. A million thanks.”
–Sally Huss, artist and author
After I helped Sally with the editing of her book, I wrote an article about her life’s work for the premiere issue of bw Magazin’ on brainywoman.com. It’s always a pleasure working with Sally!
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Sageland Creative 