Entertainment Archives - Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer

Melissa Blake Says ‘My Cats Are Heroes’

dorriolds — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 16:00:00 +0000

Melissa Blake is a badass. She’s also a dedicated activist, prolific writer, has written a book and she lives her life as an open book. Blake is a shining example of standing up to internet trolls. At the same time, she knows how to put bullies in their place by speaking out loud and proud.

In other words, she is an original. By using her voice to help others, Blake has become a top influencer. You will find her writings in essays, articles, blog posts, and social media messages that are all over the web. In addition to top internet outlets, and her byline includes appearing in major print magazines.

As a result of her hard work – and determination to help others – Melissa Blake is a fiery activist educating the world. In addition, Blake is now the author of a memoir: Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability. The book’s release date is March 5, 2024. However, it is available for pre-order now.

Here is one of her brilliant tweets that went viral.

During the last round of trollgate, people said that I should be banned from posting photos of myself because I’m too ugly. So I’d just like to commemorate the occasion with these 3 selfies… ????

— Melissa Blake @melissablake

Years ago, Blake wrote to me after seeing my New York Times essay about teen rape. Her kind words gave me comfort and she shared parts of her life with me. Although our experiences weren’t the same, we bonded over surviving trauma and a shared mission to help others.

I have experienced Blake’s kindness firsthand. We met when Blake reached out to me after reading my essay Defriending My Rapist which was published in The New York Times.

Centennial Cats

Blake said yes to an interview for my recent assignment for Centennial Animals, a sub-division of Centennial Media. Inside Your Cat’s Mind is a popular magazine series. I did a deep dive into why cats are not officially-approved service animals. Despite the myth that cats aren’t trainable, of course, they are. Just ask a cat trainer!

Cat Trainer Melissa Millet

Dr. Melissa Millet, one of Hollywood’s go-to animal trainers, rescued five cats. She then trained them to star on the silver screen. As a result, her five cats are cast members in the remake of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary.” These kitties knew nothing about acting until Millet trained them.

Her secret? Patience and kindness. The five furry critters went from non-actors to reaching the top of the crop as cat stars in a major motion picture. As a true-blue animal lover, Millet fights for the rights of animals. Her requirements include supervisors hired to be on set in order to ensure humane treatment. Trainer Millet will never have it any other way.

My cats are trained to do fun tasks like riding a scooter, balancing in a sit pretty on my head, hitting a mark on cue. For these tasks, my cats are actually more reliable and more intelligent than my dogs!
Animal trainer Melissa Millet

Dr. Mikel Delgado, Cat Trainer and Cat Lover

Back to Blake

Cat lovers like Blake don’t need a certificate to prove heroism in their felines. However, not every residence permits dogs on their premises. And, there are licensed service animals, for example, miniature-horses, that are turned away. Yet, landlords are often agreeable to four-legged feline family members. So, yeah, trained cats have not yet earned their rightful title: “Official Service Animals. Hopefully, that will change in the near future.

“Harry gave us so much love when we needed it most,” Blake tells me. “We gave Harry a home thinking that we were saving him. But instead, Harry saved us.”
Melissa Blake

Wild About Harry

Blake’s first cat Harry came into her life at a crucial time. It was after her father’s suicide. Sisters Melissa and Joy, and their mother, grappling with grief. “Harry gave us so much love when we needed it most,” said Blake. “We gave Harry a home, thinking that we were saving him. But instead, Harry saved us.”

Blake was born with a rare genetic bone and muscular disorder called Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. After Harry lived a long, full life, the family met two more life-saving cats named Whitney and Stella. “They are precious creatures,” says Blake. “They always remind me to slow down. When I am anxious or depressed, just petting them for even a minute calms me. They have a soothing, loving presence. It is so peaceful.”

And, Blake says, “One of the things I’ve found most interesting, is that none of our cats have been afraid of my wheelchair. Whitney loves sitting in my seat and it reminds me how accepting cats are. Cats never fail to make me smile. They lift my mood.”

Ok folks, I’ll leave you with this #WednesdayBrag

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More Book Anthologies: Essays And Short Stories By Dorri Olds

dorriolds — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 16:01:00 +0000

Olds News Includes Victimology Textbook

I am featured in this City University of New York (CUNY) textbook for a course on victimology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The title of the textbook is ESSENTIALS OF VICTIMOLOGY. This is the 9th book my writing is featured in and it’s my first textbook.

My 2012 New York Times essay Defriending My Rapist remains on this victimology course required reading list. Therefore, every semester, I speak to the students at CUNY’s Victimology classes. This year will be the 10th year that my essay remains on the reading list.

Olds Book Anthologies

More book anthologies means more excitement. However, I still feel a rush that my writing has made it this far. And, I shall keep going. This week, I sent in a submission to another anthology. Of course, it depends on if my essay gets a yes or a no. Certainly, I’m crossing my fingers and toes and my ever-loyal pooch, Busta Rhymes, is crossing his four paws. Wish me luck.

Featured Author/Artisan: Dorri Olds, Writer, Journalist, Fine Artist

Creative People … and what makes them tick. There are many books about famous creative people throughout history. You can search the internet for information on Michelangelo, Picasso and also modern-day creatives like Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling or Stephen Spielberg. However, in this book anthology, Michelle Monet interviewed Dorri Olds, along with other creatives to find out what makes them tick.

Easy as A, B, C

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive: 101 Inspirational Stories about Changing Your Life through Positive Thinking. Attitude is everything. This is an inspirational and uplifting book with tales about the power of positive thinking. In bad times, and good, readers will be encouraged to keep a positive attitude.

Compassion and a Cannoli

Chicken Soup for the Tea Lover’s Soul: Stories Steeped in Comfort. Is enjoying a cup of tea your favorite part of the day? Is the brewing of a ‘cuppa’ a ritual that centers and calms you? Reconnect with the silent intimacy and introspection experienced while sipping tea.

Skinny Dotty and Her Chocolates

Chicken Soup for the Chocolate Lover’s Soul: Indulging in Our Sweetest Moments. If you can’t live without a daily bite of chocolate, have visions of chocolate truffles dancing in your head, you will savor the decadence of this collection of stories.

Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul by Dorri Olds

Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul: Your Personal, Portable Support Group with Stories of Healing, Hope, Love and Resilience.

Find inspiration for change and personal growth in each story as people in this dynamic community share their experiences of transformation, of lives reclaimed, of relationships renewed and futures full of promise.

With Help From a Friend

Chicken Soup for the College Soul: Inspiring and Humorous Stories About College

A collection of stories meant to guide, inspire, support and encourage readers throughout their college experiences.

The Charleston Dancer

At Grandmother’s Table: Women Write about Food, Life and the Enduring Bond between Grandmothers and Granddaughters (2001)

What would you give for an afternoon in your grandmother’s kitchen? Leaning over the countertop, you watched as she added the flour, just a little at a time, to the bowl. It seemed like magic.

Oy, Come All Ye Faithful

The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Exp-erts’ Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic (2008). This is an entertaining, touching, and uplifting collection of true stories and awe-inspiring photographs of holiday magic, love, family — and a tad bit of stress. So, here’s to more book anthologies to come. If you’d like to know how I managed to get here, just drop me a line. I want to hear all about your writing career goals, too.

More About Books

My copy-editing, book design, book cover art, photo management, and production for print and ebook versions include:

Healers and Heroes: WWII Combat Medics and Mud and Blood from the Normandy Beaches to The Battle of the Bulge
by Thea Marshall

Good Morning, Tai Chi: The Principles of Tai Chi From the Heart of Brooklyn
by Phil Felice Catapano and Mark L. Fuerst

Frankie and Bobby: Growing Up Zappa
By Charles Robert “Bobby” Zappa

I had the pleasure of working with rock icon Frank Zappa’s younger brother Bobby Zappa on this coming of age memoir, Frankie and Bobby: Growing Up Zappa. The book is full of rich stories that will stay with me always. It would be fun to go back and tell my teenage self that in 2015 I would have this wonderful opportunity to write about one of my favorite musicians.

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Remembering Robin Williams – Director Dito Montiel opens up about Robin’s last film – Boulevard

dorriolds — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 09:38:33 +0000

In the movie “Boulevard,” Robin Williams plays Nolan Mack, a 60-year-old bank worker who spontaneously takes a dramatic U-turn — literally and figuratively — when he drives down an unfamiliar street and becomes intrigued by a young male hustler, Leo (Roberto Aguire), who asks if Nolan can give him a lift.
After forming a peculiar connection with Leo, Nolan faces the fact that he is gay and has spent his life hiding that. He’s hidden it from his wife Joy (Kathy Baker) and even from himself. Nolan’s climactic decision to confront who he really is proves the old adage: It’s never too late to change.
From director Dito Montiel and written by Douglas Soesbe, “Boulevard” also stars Bob Odenkirk (TV’s “Better Call Saul,” “Breaking Bad”) as Winston, Nolan’s supportive best friend. Montiel was drawn to “Boulevard” because of its poignant and universal themes. “When I read Douglas Soesbe’s script, I thought about how many people are in Nolan’s situation in some way or another,” Montiel told Dorri Olds. “It really is every man’s story. Nolan does not have a terrible life; his wife is not mean to him, he has a decent job and the prospect of a promotion, he lives in a nice house. But emotionally he feels empty, as if he is sleepwalking through a lonely and subdued world, devoid of all passion.”
This is the last film from the beloved Williams, who tragically hanged himself in August 2014, two weeks shy of 63. Williams struggled for years with depression and substance abuse, but what led to his suicide was the neurodegenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) combined with Parkinson’s disease.
In November, ABC News reported:
“All people with LBD have dementia, and sometimes appear confused and disoriented and exhibit unusual behavior, said Angela Taylor, the director of programming for the Lewy Body Dementia Association. According to the coroner’s report, Williams had been acting strangely before his death. He is said to have kept several watches in a sock and was very concerned about keeping the watches safe.”
The much-missed Williams began his career as a standup comedian in the mid-1970s, then made it big as the hilarious alien Mork on the hit show, “Mork & Mindy.” Williams worked for four decades making films; my favorites include “One Hour Photo,” “The Fisher King,” “Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Good Will Hunting.” In 1998, Williams won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for “Good Will Hunting,” and during his long and magnificent career, he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and four Grammy Awards.
Williams gives a gripping performance in “Boulevard,” and director Dito Montiel spoke openly about working with the late actor on his last film during this interview with Dorri Olds.
Dorri Olds: What was Robin Williams’ take on his character?
Dito Montiel: We were on the same page, which was really nice. There was one scene in particular where Robin as Nolan and Kathy as Joy are in bed together, and they both say “I love you.” It wasn’t in the script, but I said, “You love her. Why don’t you tell her you love her?” Robin said, “Yeah, I would,” and then Kathy said, “I love you, too.” I thought that scene was so touching because they’re saying so many things. They’re saying, “I love you” and “It’s over” and “Goodbye.”
Robin, Kathy and I felt strongly that this was a loving marriage, just not the right loving marriage for Nolan. Kathy had an interesting thing to say, and then Robin said it all the time. It was that their characters had an unwritten agreement, and Nolan was breaking it. That’s why Joy was so mad. They have the big blowout when they finally have this conversation. It was like a “don’t ask, don’t tell” marriage for too long.
Could you tell that Robin was feeling depressed?
That’s impossible to know. We talked all the time, but it was about his character mainly, and he was as obsessed as I was about it. We would just literally talk at crazy lengths about Nolan and walk around all night while shooting. It was impossible to tell that sort of thing. You never know with anybody, unfortunately. It’s one of those weird things. He’d joke around when I’d try to give him direction about how sad Nolan was, and he’d say, “I’ve done the research.” There’s a side to Robin that is outrageous, that goes on David Letterman. Then there’s the guy who goes home at night trying to sit by himself and think about things.
“Boulevard” available online for streaming. LGBT drama. Rated R. 88 min. RIP Robin Williams.

You were an original. One of the best talents the world has ever seen.

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Felicity Jones Interview

dorriolds — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 01:37:12 +0000

Felicity Jones photo © Dorri Olds
A while back, I sat down with Felicity Jones for an exclusive interview. At the time, Jones starred as Sophie, an exchange student from England in the Focus Features indie drama, “Breathe In.” Sophie went to stay at the home of Keith Reynolds (Guy Pearce), a high-school music teacher while sexy Pearce is having a mid-life crisis.
Keith’s marriage to Megan (Amy Ryan) was feeling empty. They’ve drifted so far apart that the only cement keeping them together is a shared love for their teenage daughter Lauren (Mackenzie Davis). Megan keeps herself busy and distracted. Sophie’s music teacher Keith begins to broods because Sophie never practices piano. He and his family grow puzzled and concerned by her aversion to playing music but Keith has also become woozy over Sophie’s beauty.
One day Sophie surprises Keith in class by sitting at the piano. It’s a beautiful scene where Sophie slowly lifts her hands. She then launches into playing Chopin. Keith is transfixed by her skill. The electrical charge that ensues is almost too painful to watch as their ill-fated connection sizzles.

Breathe In

The actress has continued to hone her craft since then. Jones nailed it as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex,” released on Christmas. This film illustrates how and why the U.S. Supreme Court Justice has earned her nickname: Notorius RGB (check out the 2018 documentary “RBG” starring RBG).

On The Basis of Sex

1
Before I screened “Breathe In,” I loved Jones in “Hysteria.” Since then, I was wowed by her role in “The Theory of Everything.”

Hysteria

The Theory of Everything

“Breathe In” is a beautiful film, directed by Drake Doremus. I walked in for the exclusive interview and Jones looked even more stunning in person. But more importantly than her looks, she was warm, kind, open, and smiled a lot.

Dorri Olds: How was it working with Guy Pearce?
Felicity Jones: Fantastic.! I’ve always admired his work I think he always chooses really interesting directors. He’s always about the acting. He’d never done a film where he was improvising before and I could see him relishing the challenge. He’s an actor who always pushing himself. He really loved the process of making it.
Was there a lot of improvisation?
Yeah, a lot. Some things were scripted but most of it was how we made “Like Crazy.” We had an outline and then there’d be thoughts about a character and what happens in the scene and then we’d bring dialogue in on the day.
How did you become involved with film?
This was really unusual, it never usually happens, Drake asked me to do it because we had worked together on “Like Crazy” and he had this idea. In many ways this film is like a twin to “Like Crazy.” He said, “Do you want to come back and see what we can do this time?” So, that was quite nice that I didn’t have to audition. Auditions are really, really frightening. After a while you get used to them but they can be really quite intimidating.
What type of research and preparation did you do for this role?
I felt like Sophie was a very troubled young woman. There was a play called “Master Builder” by Henrik Ibsen and there is a character in that called Hilda and she was a real inspiration. I felt like she was a good foundation for understanding Sophie. There was a French film, “Le Casse” that had a similar kind of thriller mood. With any part you look at other films. There is a fairytale quality to Sophie. She was coming into a family that was heightened by her and her presence. I think that the main thing to me is the back-story for both Anna and Sophie. What was she like? What was her house like? What did her parents do? Having a really sure understanding of the character’s background is so important.
After playing beside Hugh Dancy in the light comedy, “Hysteria,” is it strange to see him playing such a dark character in “Hannibal”?
I think that’s what we always want as actors, to be able to move between different characters and take on different personalities. For me, that’s part of the joy of doing it and I imagine he loves that too.
Do you have a favorite role?
I did a play called, “The Chalk Garden,” which is an amazing play by Enid Bagnon. I played a 16-year-old who was obsessed with fire, a pyromaniac. She was a very troubled young girl and I absolutely loved the play. I was with two fantastic British actresses.
Did you ever forget your line?
Sometimes you do and you panic and look to the audience and hope for the best. That’s why it’s so brilliant to do it. You literally freeze onstage and think, ‘Why the hell am I doing this to myself?’ But it’s really exciting as well.
What’s it like watching yourself on film?
Less fun than being onstage. It’s an odd experience. I think we humans tend to be quite critical of ourselves and it can be a hard process. You watch yourself and think, ‘I could’ve done that differently.’
Did you always know you were beautiful growing up?
[Laughs] Oh, that’s a nice compliment! I guess I don’t think in those terms. I try not to think too much about what how you’re perceived on the outside. That’s not good.
Have you ever had any bad experiences with fans?
Do you know what? I’ve been really lucky. I have really nice fans. They come up and they’re always really, really respectful and I’ve never had any aggression. They’ve always been really polite and nice.
Do you Facebook and Twitter?
No, I don’t.
Do you have staff that does that for you?
No, I don’t. It’s not something I engage in. I like to see other people doing it but no, it’s not really my thing.
Do you have a favorite movie you’ve done — “Like Crazy,” “Hysteria,” “The Invisible Woman”?
I like doing them all. My focus is always the character. That’s always my way into something and I try not to patronize the character depending on when they lived. I feel like as human beings we all have the same emotions, feelings we’ve had for hundreds of years. The forces upon us are slightly different. I love period dramas as well as more contemporary films. I grew up watching “Howard’s End” and “Room with a View,” so I do like doing period work but the hook is always the character and the director.
Was Ralph Fiennes a controlling director in “The Invisible Woman”? Did you have to stick to the script?
It was a very different process from “Like Crazy” and “Breath In.” He was always just wanting to explore and he pushed me. It was always just about trying to get to something truthful about that about my character.
What’s next for you?
I have a film coming out late this year called “Theory of Everything,” which James Marsh directed. It’s about Stephen Hawking and Jane Hawking and their relationship, first meeting and falling in love and then Stephen being diagnosed with motor neuron disease, and it spans their meeting when they were in their early 20s to when they split up in their 40s. Also “True Story” with Jonah Hill and James Franco and I was in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”
“Breathe In” opens in New York City on March 28, 2014. It is available now On Demand. Rated R. 98 minutes.
Trailer:

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Enclave Reading Series ‘FRAYED IN NEW YORK’ at Actor Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming

dorriolds — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 23:37:26 +0000

Jason Napoli Brooks. ©DorriOlds

Enclave Reading series on Saturday night was standing room only. Held at Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming in Manhattan’s East Village, the joint was full of hot bodies and talent. As I looked around, it gave me a feeling “down there.” Okay, so I just shamelessly lifted that phrase from Joan Jett, which fits the Enclave’s theme—FRAYED IN NEW YORK—with a focus on the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s a time I remember oh so well.

The Enclave Opener

“I was so fucking depressed last night,” emcee Brooks said, referring to another hell week with the GOP’s spoiled toddler. Not The Orange Swamp Thing, the other entitled white baby in a suit, Brett Kavanaugh, the sobbing, blubbering, self-pitying Supreme Court nominee.

Brooks got huge laughs with a funny bit about the Unabomber, and talked about the night before the Enclave reading.

“Friday night…I decided to drown my tears and indulge myself in a twink…the magic of an iPhone app is this guy shows up, 22, cute as fuck, and, you know, huge. He had a reckless quality which I find attractive in a twink.”

Unfortunately, the young hottie ruined the action in the middle of it by calling out, Daddy!

“Being called Daddy during sex,” said Brooks, “is the gay equivalent of finding a fly in your soup at a fancy restaurant. You go from, this is gonna be good, right? — to what the fuck?”

I laughed so hard I nearly choked on my seltzer.

Frayed in New York

Jeremiah Moss, the man behind the award-winning blog and book, VANISHING NEW YORK read about what’s gone. It was apt for me. As I’d ambled past Tompkins Square Park on the way to the club, the recurring stab of sadness got me in the gut. My native Manhattan looks nothing like it did and often feels like an empty town filled with ghosts

In the 80s, whenever I was hit with an emergency need for drugs at 3am, it was that park that beckoned, luring me toward Alphabet City. It was a suicide mission back then. Being an ex-junkie, though, it’s not surprising that my wasted ideas always made perfect sense. The coils of my head kick off a Pavlov’s dog-inspired rush of endorphins that leaves me drooling at memories from years of debauchery.

Moss at the Mic

Jeremiah Moss reads from his book VANISHING NEW YORK for Enclave. Photo © Dorri Olds

Moss at the mic lamented his arrival to what he refers to as the end of New York City: 1993. He was 22 then. Moss read, “I was Harold and New York, my Maude.” He openly admits his bias and lack of objectivity in his signature prose. Self-deprecating words inspired laughs from the audience but the biggest howl came when he quoted reviewers: “The New York Times called me a curmudgeon with a penchant for apocalyptic bombast” and “The Daily News dubbed me a fetishist for filth.”

Lara B. Sharp sparkled onstage, all the way down to her native New Yorker feet. Photo © Dorri Olds

Lara IS Sharp

DO THE HUSTLE is Lara B. Sharp’s memoir-in progress. It’s about being raised in New York City’s foster care system and her exploits as a crustie and grifter. She chose a chapter that is set in 1984 and appropriately titled Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. “A crustie,” Sharp explained, “is a homeless runaway, living on the streets of downtown Manhattan.”

Sharp as a Whipped Crustie

The author opens by telling the audience a little background info.

“I was 14 years old and I ran away from foster care. I’m just kind of living in Washington Square Park because that was a done thing then…My mom was an alcoholic and a drug addict…but [she was] awesome because she taught me everything I needed to know. She taught me how to lie, cheat, and steal.”

In addition to writing, Sharp has performed in a number of theater productions, including Penny Arcade’s original production of the Sex and Censorship Show, BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! Sharp’s author reading was a performance piece because she’s charismatic and naturally theatrical.

She nailed the accents for the scene’s two characters. One voice is Sharp at age 14. The other is “Gay Cher.” He is her new kinda-sorta mentor who tells the young Sharp that he can easily make her look 18 if she steals beauty products from Duane Reade. The motivation behind wanting to look older, was practical. She wanted to find a job.

Sharp reads in Gay Cher’s midwestern accent: “I’m the most beautiful, half-Mexican faggot boy ever to escape Kansas. I looked like a fat old milk cow, but not no more. And, honey, I can fix you up. I mean, you’re a mess. But, I have talents. No offense but your white eyelashes are disgusting.”

Huge laughs from the crowd.

Then, narrating in her younger self’s voice: “He scratches his left arm making the needle sores bleed. He rubs the blood into his stone wash cut-offs…. He yanks my scrunchie and runs his dirty fingernails through my long blonde hair, pulling at the matted sections.”

I quit drinking, drugging and smoking, but I can’t get enough of Sharp’s writing. Saturday night’s performance proved that I’m addicted to her prose.

Barb Morrison

I chatted with Barb Morrison. Yes, THE Barb Morrison—recording artist, hit songwriter, platinum and gold records producer. Morrison has played with Blondie, The Runaways, Johnny Thunders and plenty more biggies. Morrison’s pronoun is they. They told me they grew up in the East Village and Chelsea after arriving here at 17. They came to the city after a childhood in Albany.

“Did you runaway?” I asked (spontaneously) because I had. At 15, I moved into the Hotel Earle on Waverly (now, Washington Square Hotel). It was only one block from the park I’d fallen in love with. I found it romantic that Joan Baez sang about Bob Dylan smiling out of the window of that crummy hotel over Washington Square.

“Yeah, I ran away many times,” Morrison said. They laughed. “I disappeared into the city. You’ll hear all about it when I read.”

Reading from a memoir-in-progress, Morrison talked about being a squatter and a musician on her way up and joining a band called The Loveless. “I tried out a few bands but none of them fit the way this gang of misfit rebels fit me…. I wanted to get in bar brawls with my guys and wake up the next morning not knowing which bruise was for what reason.”

The band had their first show at the underground Lismar Lounge. “You had to enter through one of those gates in the sidewalk that went down into a basement. Most of the bands on the Lower East Side couldn’t play worth shit and we actually had some good songs, so we instantly gained a following the night of our first gig. I remember pushing our amps up First Avenue after that show. Someone rode past in a cab and yelled “LUHHHHHVVVV LESSSSSSSSSS!” at us. We were too broke to take a cab but we felt like the most famous rockstars on the planet that night.”

Barb Morrison and Lara B. Sharp. © Dorri Olds

Christopher Stoddard

Author Christopher Stoddard read from his new book (AT NIGHT ONLY). His words were about the universal feeling of yearning for an ex to come back and convincing yourself that just by wanting it, you can make it so. Max, his dog, is also an important character in the chapter.

“I’m wondering what he’s doing right now….He didn’t text from Montreal to let me know he landed safely—like he did when we were still in a relationship.” Then he describes pulling out his iPhone to contact his ex. The foreshadowing makes it clear that is always a bad, bad, bad idea. Stoddard’s voice is easy to listen to and, yes, his was one of the hot bodies I had referred to in my second sentence of this recap.

Pedro J. Rosado, Jr., actor, dancer and stage manager. He stage-managed Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at Performance Space New York. He can be seen in Joan Moossy’s MISS MOOSSY’S NEIGHBORHOOD MYSTERIES on YouTube singing “It’s Important to be Friendly.”

Alissa Brianna

Despite a packed room, Alissa Brianna, the solo bartender for the evening, breezed through the night and looked calm and poised amidst the madness. She banged out those drinks—which I was told were fantastique!

Also in Attendance:

Elizabeth Wurtzel, celebrated author of PROZAC NATION and BITCH: IN PRAISE OF DIFFICULT WOMEN
(the lyrics are awesome!)
He may be a middle-aged white heterosexual man/But he’s friendly/He’s not an ageist, sexist, racist, homophobic pig/He’s friendly.
Be like him/ Be friendly.

© Lara B. Sharp. All rights reserved. Here’s an exclusive photo of Sharp, with her mother, at a sidewalk cafe (across from Club Cumming) in 1988—the year Sharp turned 18. She told me, “I was no longer a criminal. I was a legal adult! Free at last.” At the time, Sharp worked at the Cat Club for manager Don Hill (before he opened Don Hill’s).

Lauren Pine, downtown debutante and horse lover, as in horse trainer and horseback rider, not to be confused with old slang for heroin. Glad we cleared that up. Pine, Morrison and Sharp are alumnae of the Don Hill’s Thursday night Squeezebox Parties and have known each other for 30 years.

Melody Jane, danced in Penny Arcade‘s 2018 BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at Performance Space New York

Elizabeth Collins, writer and comedian (RAISED BY GAYS AND TURNED OUT OK!)

Clayre Saxon Morrison, British fashion stylist and photographer

Steve Zehentner, stage designer and sound designer who has collaborated with theater artist, writer and performer Penny Arcade for 30 years. One of their collaborations was the Lower East Side Biography Project. If you’ve never experienced it, I recommend clicking on that link.

Gavin Van Vlack, guitar, bass and vocals and member of the bands Canonized and Burn

Liza Béar, artist, photographer, writer, filmmaker

Albie Mitchell, well-known downtown photographer who documented the East Village for over 40 years, and worked for the Village Voice and for the original production of Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! at PS122 and the Village Gate.

Jenny Gorman, practicing fine art and photography in New York City and the Hamptons for over 25 years.

Cid Scantlebury. Photo © Jini Sachse

Cid Scantlebury artist and musician. Cid was an original Bitch from the Don Hill’s ‘ladies metal’ night of that name, a Loser’s Lounge singer, and she sings at F*Bomb NYC shows several times a year.

Sean Harris, artist, whose works in paper collage and mixed media can be viewed on Instagram @seansheengram.

AUTHOR BIOS

JEREMIAH MOSS, creator of the award-winning blog Vanishing New York, is the pen name of Griffin Hansbury. His writing on the city has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and online for The New Yorker and The Paris Review. As Hansbury, he is the author of THE NOSTALGIST a novel, and works as a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City

LARA B. SHARP‘s writing has appeared in various print and online publications, including Longreads and Teen Vogue. A native New Yorker, she has also written for and performed in a number of national and international theatre productions and live storytelling events in New York City, London, and Philadelphia. She was an original member of Penny Arcade’s BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! in the early 90s and toured with Penny Arcade. Sharp earned her BA from Smith College, where she was an Ada Comstock fellow, and is working on a memoir about her childhood in the New York foster care system.

BARB MORRISON is a musician and producer who uses music as a platform of advocacy for the transgender community. A regular performer at The Ritz and CBGB’s, they were the saxophonist, guitarist and singer for the bands Gutterboy and Itchy Trigger Finger, which were signed to Mecury Records and toured with Lollapalooza in 1999. Barb has co-written and produced songs for artists such as Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, LP, and Franz Ferdinand. They also wrote the scores for films, including The Safety of Objects (2000), which starred Glenn Close. Their writing has appeared in various publications, such as the New York Times and The Good Men Project. Currently, they are at work on their memoir.

CHRISTOPHER STODDARD’s new novel At Night Only from Itna Press released this June, which has been praised by The Paris Review, Kirkus, Slate, Lambda Literary, and authors Edmund White and Gary Indiana. Featured in OUT Magazine’s “Tastemakers” issue in 2015 for his contributions to literature and publishing, he’s written two other novels: Limiters (Itna Press, 2014), and White, Christian (Spuyten Duyvil, 2010). He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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To learn more about The Enclave Reading Series, visit theenclavereadingseries.tumblr.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

For more info on events at Club Cumming, visit clubcummingnyc.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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When You Wake Up and Your YouTube Channel Has 888K Views!

dorriolds — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 10:57:19 +0000

UPDATE!!

YouTube Channel has 1.9 MILLION VIEWS!! Woooot.

When you wake up and your YouTube channel is up to 888,000 views and over a million minutes watched. Yeah, that.

www.youtube.com/DorriOlds

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Sweet Reads presents Leigh Stein, Court Stroud, Dorri Olds and Andy Marino

dorriolds — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 11:13:24 +0000

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

Dorri Olds, Court Stroud, Andy Marino, Leigh Stein

On February 23 at 6:30 pm “Sweet Reads” at Joyce Bakeshop (646 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn) will feature the amazing Leigh Stein, author of three books and co-founder of Out of the Binders, a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to advancing the careers of women and gender non-conforming writers, and Court Stroud, writer extraordinaire; musician Andy Marino and myself, Dorri Olds.

DIRECTIONS

C train to Chambers, Transfer to 2 train (Flatbush Ave/Brooklyn College), Take 2 to Grand Army Plaza and walk .2 miles (hop, skip and a jump). Head northeast on Plaza St. East. Turn left onto Vanderbilt Ave. and VOILA! You’re there. Other options: Path Train, or L to Q train. Takes 35-ish minutes.

SPEAKERS

Leigh Stein

Leigh Stein is the author of The Fallback Plan, which made the “highbrow brilliant” quadrant of New York magazine’s “Approval Matrix,” and her poetry collection Dispatch from the Future was selected for Publishers Weekly‘s Best Summer Books of 2012 list, and the Rumpus Poetry Book Club. Land of Enchantment, her memoir about young love, obsession, abuse, and loss, was recently released by Plume, and was selected by Junior Library Guild as an adult book with teen appeal. She has also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Allure, Poets & Writers, BuzzFeed, The Cut, Salon, and Slate. For her advocacy work, Stein has been called a “leading feminist” by the Washington Post, and honored as a “woman of influence” by New York Business Journal.

Court Stroud

Court Stroud works in the digital space after spending many years in the television industry. Stroud holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. His writing has appeared in the New York Post, Huffington Post, Out, The Advocate, Instinct, Gay City News, and many other publications. Stroud resides in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood with comic Eddie Sarfaty and their two cats, Dash and Julia.

Dorri Olds

Dorri Olds is an award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in book anthologies, and publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Woman’s Day, Time Out New York, The Fix, The Forward, Yahoo, and Tablet. Olds is a long-term member of the American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA) and frequent speaker at writing and social media events including ASJA Annual Conference, National Publicity Summit, CUNY (City University of New York), Book Expo America, and a BinderCon attendee.

Andy Marino

Andy Marino is a Brooklyn native and professional musician. He’s played sax and sung background vocals in R&B, Blues, Rock & Big Bands in such venues as SOB’s, Damrosch Park @ Lincoln Center, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Bandshell (Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival), The Bitter End, The Limelight, Tramps, Manny’s Car Wash, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, two Elvis Impersonators’ bands &, yes, a few wedding bands. Touched by life events from the tragic, premature deaths of his two younger brothers, George & Nick; his two beloved children, Dom & Gina, having to move to the west coast after the divorce from his first wife; to finding the love of his life, Dianne, at age 49; Andy finds songwriting to be healing, joyful & surprising. Sometimes, he wakes up in the middle of the night hearing the music for an entire song and runs to record it on his iPhone.

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20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas Talks About Anxiety, Alcohol and Her Moving Memoir

dorriolds — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 10:39:00 +0000

Celebrity newscaster Elizabeth Vargas told me, “I was nearly fired from my job. My husband left me while I was in rehab, I hurt my kids tremendously, and I nearly lost my life.”

Written for The Fix

“A huge part of my alcoholism was anxiety,”20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas told me. “I had panic attacks since kindergarten.” During our interview and in her new book, Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction, the veteran newscaster was candid about almost losing everything.

Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction by 20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas

She went to her first rehab in 2012, but denial said she only needed two weeks of treatment. It’s no surprise that didn’t work and the disease progressed. In 2014, she went to a second rehab but left prematurely. She went home and drank again. Resigned and humiliated, she returned to that second rehab. Now sober for two years, Vargas is committed to sobriety but understands we only have a daily reprieve from alcohol.

“My story is different than others I’ve heard ‘in the rooms,’” she told me. “I drank moderately for 20 years. It wasn’t until my 40s that I fell off a cliff.”

Vargas described a day in 2012 when she showed up at ABC too drunk to work. “I stepped out of the car and stumbled. That’s when I knew I was in no condition to conduct an interview. My friend took one look at me and knew.” Her first rehab was that year at Cirque Lodge in Utah. “I look back on a lot of the writing that I did,” she said. “I’m struck by the lectures and therapists there. It was a very good experience.” But after leaving the Utah rehab after only two weeks, she was not able to stay sober and her alcoholism progressed. Vargas blames a combination of factors. “Stress at work, and then being diagnosed with post-partum anxiety. My drinking was suddenly on steroids and I had huge consequences.”

“I’d had lots of brownouts,” she said, “but never a blackout.” That is until one day when she began drinking in the early afternoon after work. “The next thing I remember is waking up at four a.m. in the emergency room with zero memory of what happened. I had a blood alcohol level of .4, which is lethal. I’m told a woman saw me at Riverside Park in my work clothes and wobbling in high heels.”

Two predatory men were eyeing Vargas so the concerned passerby intervened and got the drunk newscaster home safely. But Vargas passed out in the lobby and was taken away in an ambulance. The incident scared her enough to stop drinking and she went to her second rehab.

“It was a rude awakening. I woke up in Tennessee. My husband and therapist picked that rehab. I don’t understand how anybody would’ve picked it. Even my therapist there said, ‘This is not the right place for you. I don’t know how on earth you ended up here.’ But once there, I couldn’t get out.”

In the memoir that second rehab in 2014 is referred to as The Center. But Vargas told me, “I wrote that it was in rural Tennessee so most people can figure out it’s really The Ranch. For some people I’m sure it’s a life-saving gift but it wasn’t the best place for me. Most of the patients were in their teens and twenties. We had different life experiences and different issues.”

The newscaster confided that she already suffered with guilt. “Making my shame front and center wasn’t the best way to go. I wasn’t thinking about getting better and saving my life. I was thinking, ‘How do I get home?’ I wasn’t seeing my children and was desperate to know what was going on. I feared that my husband was hiring divorce lawyers and starting to date other people.” Frantic, she left prematurely against advice and learned her suspicions were correct.

I asked if she thought drinking caused the divorce. “My husband would say it did,” she said. “It’s easy to judge him but I didn’t walk in his shoes. I don’t know what it was like to be married to an alcoholic. I’m sure it was really difficult.”

Vargas said she would die for her sons. “I love them more than anything in the world. I would do anything for my children. But I couldn’t stop drinking for them.”

I pointed out that many interviewers still don’t seem to understand alcoholism. Vargas agreed. “They don’t. Trust me. Many people have no concept that this is a disease. To tell an alcoholic to stop drinking is like telling someone born with depression to be happy….”

* * *

Vargas said, “I asked my son last night, ‘Why do you think I’m writing this book?’ He said, ‘Because you’re brave and want to help people.’ I hope people will be kind.”

She confided, “As a child, I was shy and quiet because of my tremendous anxiety.” As an “army brat,” she moved almost every year. “I was bullied mercilessly from third grade through junior high. You’d have to learn how to fit in,” she said. “A lot of times, I didn’t.”

I asked if she thinks: Yeah, well, look at me now! Vargas said, “No, you never shed those horrible feelings. My earliest memories are infused with fear.”

Helen Mirren Talks About Kissing Stephen Colbert and Playing a Powerful ‘Eye in the Sky’

dorriolds — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 12:03:34 +0000

Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul. Photo ©Dorri Olds
On Wed., March 9, at the Waldorf Astoria, Dorri Olds sat down with Academy Award-winner Dame Helen Mirren. She stars in “Eye in the Sky,” a suspenseful thriller about techno warfare waged through computer screens, and drones disguised as beetles and birds.
Helen Mirren plays Colonel Catherine Powell, stationed in the UK. She is the military officer in command of a top-secret operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. When the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill,” Las Vegas-based pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul aka Jesse Pinkman in “Breaking Bad”) is tasked with aiming and firing a Hellfire missile at the target, which includes suicide bombers.
The stakes suddenly rise sky-high when nine-year-old Alia (Aisha Takow) sets up a table to sell bread directly outside the Kenyan compound. Colonel Powell must decide between saving one little girl or the lives of 80 to 100 innocent bystanders.
The choice is obvious to her: sacrifice the “collateral damage” of killing the child. But, she must get the okay from her commanding officer, Lt. General Frank Benson, played by the now-deceased and dearly missed Alan Rickman, best known as Professor Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise.
Benson must appeal to his higher ups and the chain of command keeps going up and up, because no one wants to be the one to pull the trigger that will sacrifice the girl. For some, like pilot Watts, it is an unthinkable moral catastrophe, but for others, including Mirren’s character, the stakes are higher than just one little girl.
The film is directed by Gavin Hood and based on the screenplay by Guy Hibbert. Hood also appears in the film as a Lieutenant. Academy Award-nominee Barkhad Abdi (“Captain Phillips”) stands out as the brave operative in Kenya who sends the beetle drone into the compound and heroically tries to protect the little girl. But the movie belongs to the breathtaking performances by Mirren and Paul.

Helen Mirren kisses Stephen Colbert

Dorri Olds: First, I have to ask—what prompted you to plant a kiss on Stephen Colbert during his CBS show?
Helen Mirren: The thing is I’ve been deeply in love with Stephen Colbert, for real, and I think it’s always been my dream to kiss Stephen Colbert. As I was walking out [onto the show’s set that] night, I looked and I thought, you know, ‘What if I don’t take my opportunity now? I’ll never have it again.’ So I just went for it. I kissed him.
This morning as my husband was going off to work, I thought, ‘I’ve got to tell him,’ so I said, “Darling, I kissed Stephen Colbert last night.” [Laughs]
DO: Thank you for that! Now let’s move on to the film. After choosing to detonate the bomb, do you think your character slept that night?
HM: I would say, yes. I think my character would absolutely sleep well because: Job done. Terrible was the price we had to pay, but yes, she’d sleep well.
DO: Would your character gain closure if she could speak to the other military minds involved in the decision?
HM: They might, I don’t know protocol or how they’d find themselves in the same bar at the same time at any point. I think my character would say, “Next time, Lieutenant, you do what I say, when I say to do it.” Then, maybe five vodkas later, they might get into talking about the complications of the issues. I suspect people like my character have to put that behind them and carry on with what they have to deal with next. There’s possibly many more of those situations to come.
DO: This is Alan Rickman’s last film. Did you spend time together?
HM: I hardly got to see Aaron, actually. Gavin shot all of my stuff first. Then I went away, then Aaron came. We at least crossed paths for one night. Then Aaron went away, then I think the politicians came if it was in that order. Then you shot the stuff on the ground last of all. We had a director who knew exactly what he was going to do and had it very well planned so he could talk us through. I think Alan [Rickman] would be incredibly proud of this movie. I think he is very proud of this movie, let’s put it that way. I think that if he had looked at his canon of work and it’s been great work his whole life, I think if he had the choice to say I want that to be my last movie, I’m convinced he would point to this movie. What I love about it is that the Alan that you see up on the screen is Alan. He was brilliant as Snape, brilliant. And brilliant in all his character roles, he often played, but that is Alan, the elegance, the wit, the formidable nature of him, the humanity of him. We have Alan up on the screen and I think that’s such a great thing for his last movie.
DO: Do you enjoy being type cast as a strong woman? We instantly think of you as able to take charge.
HM: I love that that’s type cast, I’m going to go for that one. I’m very happy with that, thank you very much.

What drew you towards this film in terms of your feelings about what’s happening in the real world?
HM: It was an amazing script; the film is so true to filmmaking. If it’s on the page, it’s on the screen. With this movie, it was absolutely on the page. It was a beautifully written, constructed, and interesting issue dealt with in a very interesting and humane way. Like Aaron, I didn’t really know much about drone warfare, but we’re all on a learning curve with this one. With the research that Gavin had done, we all learned a lot.
DO: What did you learn?
HM: What the technology is. I had no idea of the technology. I had no idea that these kinds of operations are conducted in the way that they are with all of these checks and balances. You know what? That’s a good advertisement for democracy. It’s not bad that people go into these operations with consciousness and an awareness of legality and political issues. I thought that was fascinating—the way so many voices are involved in an operation and that every second counts. That’s why our film ratchets up the tension.
DO: Do you think there is a huge refugee problem in the UK?
HM: It’s a problem in many people’s minds. Whether it actually is a problem is another matter. For billions of years people have been traversing the globe and finding … that is the absolute natural human thing to do. We’re just obeying our perfectly natural, human instincts and animal instinct if you like. It seems to me that that is the history of human life. Find safety. Move to whatever it is. I’m part Viking, I’m half Russian. All of us, are mixes and that’s the brilliance of DNA isn’t it? That you can find, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got a little bit of Chinese in me, billions of years.’ I think it’s exciting. I think it’s wonderful. I know it comes out of tragedy and horror and that’s something else.
DO: Why did Gavin Hood bring in a female character for Colonel Powell?
HM: I think Gavin’s point was to become broader [by including] a woman. It’s not that he was saying, “Would a woman make those decisions?” That’s not the discussion. It’s more that we are all in this together so, us women can’t sit back and say [that’s just] typical men. I think it’s a very good device to broaden the discussion and bring us all into it.

Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul in’ Eye in the Sky’

DO: How did you prepare for playing a female colonel?
HM: I didn’t meet up with an actual female colonel, but we had a [male] military advisor on the set. He was with us all the time and he was absolutely invaluable. The thing that surprised me the most was how obsessed they are with what they’re wearing. Your belt buckle has to be here, not here. Your cap has to folded exactly like this. They’re absolutely obsessed with the things they wear.
DO: Did your initial reaction to the moral dilemma change throughout the filming process?
HM: Not change, but became deeper. It did become a deeper understanding of it, definitely. I think when I first read it it was a bit, ‘Oh, that’s tough.’ When I first read it, I kind of saw the colonel as the villain of the piece and she may be, but not from her point of view. As I got deeper into it, and started really understanding the issues and the more global understanding of it, my attitude changed. I think now, I would say that she did the right thing. It’s a terrible thing to say. The appalling decisions that have to be made, but I’m talking about the world.
In many ways this film reminded me of a courtroom drama, only the audience acts as the jury. You are all the jury sitting in the audience, then when you come out of the cinema, hopefully, you go and have dinner or you go to a bar and discuss it. You talk about strategy, “Is it correct? Is it incorrect? Should we? Shouldn’t we?” The film throws it out to the audience. What I love about the film is that it makes no decisions for you. It puts decisions in your lap.
DO: Did anything surprise you when you saw the final cut of the film?
HM: The thing that surprised me was the wit, the funniness. I thought it was brilliant of Gavin, that is also what makes the film ultimately palatable, watchable, because it’s tough [and] difficult subject. It’s very tense and that also makes it watchable, but the wit in it and the funniness is fantastic. In terms of motivation, I never really think of motivation, honestly. I’m not a motivated sort of person. It’s, like, if it’s on the page, I do it.

“Eye in the Sky” is a thrilling political drama. Rated R. 102 min.

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Facts About English Bulldogs. Check Out My Educational and Fun Infographic!

dorriolds — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 12:46:38 +0000

American Kennel Club ranks English Bulldogs as number four in the USA’s favorite breeds. It is easy to see why. One look at that pushed-in face and jowls flying amidst wrinkles galore and you’re in love. With their tough-guy swagger and underslung jaw, Bullies have that gangsta look going on. But they’re so bow-legged the little fellers look like they stayed too long at the rodeo.

As intimidating as they seem, these gentle-giant-headed pooches are calm, quiet love bugs with patience for children at legendary levels. And don’t even get us started on the puppies… Sqeeeeeeeeeee!

They are so charming and lovable but many new owners don’t realize that this breed is prone to many medical problems and they are often abandoned. Here is a fact sheet about these marvelous dogs.

Education is the key factor in protecting these funny little beasties.

VIEW THE ENGLISH BULLDOG INFOGRAPHIC

Bulldogs can be high maintenance. They have a tendency toward more health problems than other breeds. They wheeze, snort and snore and can be prone to pinched nostrils that make it difficult to breathe. Treatments vary depending on severity but your dog may need surgery to widen narrow nostrils or shorten long palates.

To learn more visit Beth Stern’s favorite nonprofit for this wonderful breed: Long Island Bulldog Rescue.

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