T: Is for the abundance of chocolate

I have written about my chocolate downfall before and New York City definitely indulges that delight. If your a girl you become possessed once a month. If they are smart, the men who love you, find ways to satisfy that animalistic craving. I personally grin with a Cheshire type smile when sated by a scrumptious treat. Tom and I went to the Papieridoll event and we left rather hungry. Tom asked me if I wanted to go to the Chocolate Bar. Thinking he meant the 2 for 1 Martini's at Chocolate by the Bald Man which we were no where near I was rather irritated thinking he was taunting me because it was that once a month obsession time. He lead me into the village to this hole in the wall place. What I mean is that had you not know this was there, you would pass right by. The Chocolate Bar is retro in design and heavenly by sight. My vision was assaulted with delights that made me sigh in anticipation. More than chocolate I love caramel, and there were an assortment in jars. I had a Kahlua one which was a moutwateringly oasis of taste. Then I had a chocolate peanut butter rice crispy treat that was sinfully amazing. I kept sighing as Tom feasted on a truffle of raspberry and coconut. I definitely had the better choices, not that his wasn't good. Mine was Fabulous and had me purring. So of course I shared. We ended with a raspberry peach ice tea and a iced coffee. Alison Nelson is the owner of this decadent delight located at 48 8th Avenue or mail ordered from www.chocolatebarnyc.com. Can you believe it, they have chocolate tea and that is a F.A.C.T.

C: Is for the clothing style of paierdoll

Papierdoll was started November 2004 and launched after much research in May 2005 by fashion stylist Michelle Bell and Sam Francois. It is a unique online fashion magazine done in a daily blog which combines the formatting of a formal magazine with a top notch editorial team. Supplying photography from all over the world makes it lush in texture. Covering fashion shows, parties, emerging designers this team of award winning writers gives this a unique perspective. In November 2005 they merged with ThriftyChick.com a leading online magazine and their only competition. Taking the chick into the big leagues increased marketability.

ThriftyChick.com began in early 2003 bringing secret sales and fabulous finds to the masses via blog. Forbes voted the blog at Thrifty Chick “best of 2005” creating more media buzz and a swarm of interest among the fashion e-zine community. Among the interested parties, www.Papierdoll.net. An undisclosed deal was struck and the world of high-end couture embraced secret sale shoppers for a perfect match. Women from all over the world could now shop on line at a bargin. “Thriftychick was an important and well recognized brand/concept when it came to Internet shopping. Papierdoll was recognized for it's fashion sense, it made sense for them to team up. Named best coverage of fashion and online shopping by Forbes and TheStreet.com in 2006, their traffic jumped 150% over the previous year" (stats provided by traffic facts).

I met Michelle and her team and Fashion Tribes at their 2nd anniversary party held last Friday at Lotus. These people throw a party and it was well thought out while supporting the Human Society of New York. There was a puppy that I thought Tom should adopt. I can't as my cat Kismet (or should I say I'm his human?) would have a fit. Though Kismet was rescued from a trash can just after he was born by Jasmine Guy and made it to me a month later.

Papierdoll allows us in this fast paced society that now runs on the Internet to stay connected to the fashion industry in a easy, bargain hunting way and that is why it is so trafficked and that is a F.A.C.T.

A: Is for the Richard Serra

When one thinks of Richard Serra the word mammoth comes to mind. His usage of raw industrial materials brings out a brutality stilled by moments of awing peace. Minimalist and unconventional he accents the physical urban properties of steel. Through their mass they invade space and create environments of their own. It is proven architecture filled with internal power. I was first introduced to Serra's work at the Gagosian Galleries in Chelsea and I have sought him out ever since. Being next to a Serra you get a glimpse of God at work.

Richard Serra is present for every step of an installation since the 1970s, when a worker was crushed. It happened in Minneapolis when one of Serra's artworks toppled over on him. The new MOMA building was specifically designed for Serra's work. On April 14th of this year, the museum knocked out a series of walls on the second floor and opened up the side of the building to get some of the works indoors. The work was supervised by Joe Valardi, whose rigging company usually installs boilers and massive air-conditioning units. He's the only man Serra trusts to lift his art. "This is a piece of steel, but we treat it like glass," Valardi says. There's always a glitch, though.

Why did the MOMA knock down walls? Because Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years opens
June 3 and will run until September 10th. Starting with his early experiments with rubber, neon, we are lead to his monumental pieces. Three new works will have their premiere and NYC will be the first to see them. The pieces will be on view throughout the Museum and in The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, giving one an extraordinary vision of this formidable artist. Two pieces are already in the Sculpture Garden - Intersection II (1992-3) and Torqued Ellipse IV (1998) giving you a glimpse of his genius before the show officially opens.


Torqued Ellipse is a moment of grace. As the viewer you are drawn into the gentle swirls of light playing off the steel, encompassing you in moment. I recommend that you see this at sunset. In 1981 Serra was rejected by the public. He installed Tilted Arc, a gently curved, 3.5 metre high arc of rusting mild steel in the Federal Plaza in New York City. The workers in the buildings surrounding the plaza complained that the steel wall obstructed passage through the plaza. They took it to court and four years later the sculpture was dismantled by the federal workers and taken for scrap. Serra has come full circle for now he is considered one of the most preeminent sculptors of our era and that is a F.A.C.T.

F: Is for & Fork

Publicist extraordinaire Laura Rubin and her partner Desta invited me to the Thom Bar located inside the Thompson Hotel for the release of the new book "& Fork: 100 Designers, 10 Curators, 10 Good Designs". Published by Phaidon this is the follow up to the extremely successful SPOON. AND FORK features 1,000 color illustrations of hundreds of innovative products created by the most forward-thinking young designers today and weighs in at 8lbs. Not only will this look good on your coffee table but you can use it to exercise flabby arms. Considering this is a part of my body that needs attention right away I was a fan. This book will be an indispensable reference for students, designers, architects and the general public interested in design and where it is headed. Easy to flip through each designer is in alphabetical order, and is allotted four pages that include photographs, curator explanations on the whys their works will have a significant impact and influence young designers.

Here's a list of my favorites:

Yves Behar/Fuse Projects/San Francisco this 37-year-old designer has Nike's vice president stating "he's a fantastic design force . . . [who's] about to explode onto the world scene." His futuristic vision is in his new design for the Toshiba laptop. Done in a red lacquer, it opens, revealing a sleek, ultra thin computer that's been buffed a metallic silver. Employing a collapsible hinge, the Transformer's 17-inch screen extends up and out toward the user, turning the computer into a flat-screen TV. "I had the idea of an envelope," he explains. Behar envisions a future in which technology can be present when we want it to be--and invisible when we choose to be free of it. His designs are driven by emotion and a desire to connect. Behar's growing body of work is so distinctive that he is being honored with a solo exhibition (running through October 3) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Jennifer Carpenter/Truck Product Architecture/New York I love her designs because it allows kids to construct their own tables, step stools and benches. "It gives them an ownership of the piece. Realizing that kids' stuff spills into the adult areas, her pieces have to appeal to grown-ups. "I heard that someone was using our Friend Bench as a television stand, and I loved that." TRUCK Product Architecture also designs for the home's surfaces. Table, Floor, Wall, Ceiling. They view their work as architecture. They want to bring pleasure to the home through design that is both straightforward and unexpected. www.the-truck.com

Paul Cocksedge/London is the rising star of lighting design at 29. He creates visually spectacular and technically ingenious lights that celebrate the magical and transformative qualities of illumination. He uses polystyrene vending machine cups or exquisite hand-made glass, Paul Cocksedge designs lights in surreal sculptural form. His work was shown at the Design Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum and was one of the four designers nominated for the Design Museum’s Designer of the Year prize in 2004.

Simon Heijdens/Rotterdam has designed the coolest thing ever...moving wall paper. For an ADD brain and someone who has a hard time sleeping this sound like the most interesting way to pass time and stay creatively stimulated. Tomorrow he starts an exhibition at Milk Galleries located at 450 West 15th. Heijdens studied experimental film in Berlin before enrolling at the Eindhoven Academy, where he began to work in design. The influential Dutch design group droog® selected Moving Wallpaper, one of Heijden’s graduation projects, for its collection and then invited him to contribute to a series of international exhibitions.

Patrick Jouin/Paris
My mom once did a painting that is very reminiscent of Jouin's work. It was hypnotic and I remember her painting it. Besides the piece that made me choose him he creates stereo-lithography furniture. Through a process known as 3D layering that makes his new furniture truly inspiring.

These are just 5 of a 100 new designs that are sure to fascinate anyone with an imagination and or a brain. Thank-you Laura, Desta and Phaidon for a truly wonderful book and night and that is a F.A.C.T.

S: Is for taking a stand

For years my friend Cammy and I have been trying to end child abuse and to change the laws that make it so easy to commit the crime. A typical sentence for an abuser is 1 year. For the victim a lifetime. In cases that even make it to court the victim is put through another torture while the perpetrator watches. The court system is unequipped to handle this epidemic that is effecting every aspect of society. It is time to take a stand. Tonight's column is not for everyone and definitely not for the faint of heart.

Do you remember February 1993 when a 3 year old was taken from a Shopping mall in Liverpool,England by two 10-year-old boys? Jamie Bulger walked away from his mother for only a second and Jon Venables took his hand and led him out of the mall with his friend Robert Thompson. They had been stealing from the stores all day and needed a new thrill. They took Jamie on a walk for over 2 and a half miles, along the way stopping every now and again to torture the little boy who was crying constantly for his mom. Finally they stopped at a railway track where they brutally kicked him, threw stones at him, rubbed paint in his eyes and pushed batteries up his anus. It was actually worse than this...

What these two boys did was so horrendous that Jamie's mother was forbidden to identify his body. They then left his beaten small body on the tracks so a train could run him over to hide the mess they had created. These two boys,understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident. This week Justice Butler-Sloss has awarded the two boys anonymity for the rest of their lives when they leave they will be given new identities. We cannot let this happen. They only served a little over half of their sentence. They are getting away with their
crime with just a slap, thus sending a message that this is OK.

They disgustingly and violently took Jamie's life away - in return they get a new life.

This is real and to read more about this case here's the link: http://www.crimelibrary.com/classics3/bulger/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bulger

We have the opportunity to speak back by sending a letter to Justice Butler-Sloss @
www.cust.ser.cs@gtnet.gov.uk. Make sure that you put it to the attention of Justice Butler-Sloss. We need to protect our family and friends from people like Robert and Jon. One day they may be living next to you and your small children, without your knowledge. If Robert and Jon could be so evil at 10 years old, imagine what they could do as adults! IF YOU HESITATE FOR EVEN A SECOND...THINK OF YOUR SON, OR DAUGHTER, NIECES OR NEPHEWS! IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR CHILD!

I know this case is England but it sets a precedence here. Also the statistics of them moving to the US are high. It is a F.A.C.T. that child abuse is happening. It is a F.A.C.T. that the statistics are 1 in 3 females and 1 in 4 males. Imagine the voices to be heard if we stopped accepting blame for crimes that were not of our own choosing. F.A.C.T.

T: Is for the total power of numerology

Numerology is the relationship between numbers and all things. It is an integral part of the cosmic plan. Each letter has a numeric value that provides a related cosmic vibration. The sum of the numbers in your birth date and the sum of value derived from the letters in the name provide an interrelation of vibrations. These numbers show insight into your character, purpose in life, motivations, and where talents may lie. Though often associated with alchemy and the occult it is a science. Numerology dates back thousands of years and is a Universal language offered as confirmation of the truth. Everything has a numerical relationships and it was up to man to seek and investigate the secrets of these relationships. I will be devoting a series of columns intermittently to this subject. Here is the basics.


DAY OF BIRTH: The Day of Birth Number is a powerful indicator of your point of view and general stance in the world. It is the day of the month on which you were born.

BIRTHPATH: The Birthpath Number is arrived at by adding your month, day, and year of birth. The Birthpath Number reveals who you are, what you do best, and whatever natural abilities you have.

DESTINY: It is in this number that the numerical values of your birth name come into play. The Destiny Number is the sum of your first, middle, and last name at birth. Just as the word "Destiny" suggests, this number reveals the purpose, the goal, and direction of your life.

REALIZATION: This is the sum total of your Birthpath and your Destiny numbers. The Realization Number shows you what you might accomplish, given your Birthpath and Destiny.

HEART'S DESIRE: Sometimes we convince ourselves we should or should not do certain things. Yet despite these intellectual considerations, there are certain desires, certain qualities that seem to influence our lives. Will your Heart's Desire (the sum of the vowels in your name) help or hinder you along life's path?

PERSONALITY:Your Heart's Desire (the vowels in your name) examines the inner you (what you most cherish). Your Personality Number is the outer you and is obtained by adding the consonants in your name. Of course, it is always best when the inner and outer parts of you are in harmony.

Number Assignments
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z -

The Numbers Revealed! 1 is ambitious, independent, and self-sufficient.
2 is supportive, diplomatic, and analytical.
3 is enthusiastic, optimistic, and fun-loving.
4 is practical, traditional, and serious.
5 is adventurous, mercurial, and sensual.
6 is responsible, careful, and domestic.
7 is spiritual, eccentric, and a bit of a loner.
8 is money-oriented, decisive, and stern.
9 is multi-talented, compassionate, and global.
11 is enlightened, intense, and high-strung.
(Also read the "lower" vibration of 2 above.)

22 is goal-oriented, a global planner, and inspired.
(Also read the "lower" vibration of 4 above.)

Everything that we can do that gives us insight into our inner selves can help us relate better to each other. Hopeully this will help demystify the F.A.C.T.S.

C: Is for Courtroom Coercion

Tis the season for pilots. What that means is that the shows you watch on TV, film. If they are good enough or have enough backing behind them, they move on to where you see them. By your watching them they either stay or go. These projects are done either by unions SAG (Screen Actors Guild)or AFTRA (The American Federation of TV and Radio Artists) or non-union. There was a time that I was both these unions and more but I gave up my cards (long story). Though getting my Equity card back was simple enough and anyone can buy into AFTRA. SAG has been my Achilles heel. They say we go through things for a reason and I believe I now know mine. I have always been vocal and have stood up for the underdog. Working Non-Union has definitely shown me who the underdog is and nobody is standing up for them. WHY!

I never knew the plight of being non-union as I became SAG and AFTRA early on in life. I just assumed everyone was treated fairly and reasonably. Not true. In the past year I have been blessed and cursed. In Law and Order CI (SAG) I was hired union as was paid and treated well. The same goes with 3 of the pilots I recently filmed (all AFTRA), and a couple of industrial and a debunked series. However I did a student film through UC Berkley and became involved in a mail fraud case that the police have. It took me almost a year to be paid for a Bollywood film I did. There have been projects where I have never seen the money and some high power projects can take up to 2 months to see and believe me the pay is not that great.

What makes me write this column is I was recently hired through a well known agency to work on a courtroom pilot. I was sent my contract. I agreed to it. Turned down a better paying gig because that meant I would of broken the contract. I showed up at the appointed time and was coerced into signing a confidentiality agreement. The reason I say coerced is because I would not of been paid had I not signed it. Normally this would of been fine except they broke their contract with me and all those who were hired by the same agency. Ironic considering that it was a court show and breach of contract is one of the things they decide. Because I signed this agreement I can not tell you the name of the show or anything about the cases, however, I can say TV is going the way of Borat. In other words completely fake. The cases are suppose to take place in California yet it was NY. Being from California I can tell you the look is very different and there is a difference in clothing styles. The people in the cases are coached by side teams that egg on the litigants. It was nauseating the lengths they went to. This isn't reality unless you are in the Stephan King novel the "Running Man". Jokingly I was picked by the producer to talk on camera about what I thought about the show. Even that was faked. I told the producer I hated the show. She asked me to find the positive only. The problem was, there was none. This is a show for those who have the mentality of Jerry Springer and the tabloids. To get around it without losing my sanity I kept saying it was so real and not like Borat. Anyone who knows me will know I was being sarcastic as I think Borat was the worse piece of film to be shown. Humanity should be up-held not degraded by false reality. It seems people can't tell the difference between real and falsified and some don't care. I do.

The beauty of writing your own column is you have a voice. You can stand up for what is wrong even if nobody listens, but maybe somebody will. Maybe somebody will do something about this. Maybe me. New York is a mecca for the filming community and there should be laws for everybody. Breaching of contracts should be illegal union or non and that is a F.A.C.T.