This is rough. There is more bad blood between Oakland and Las Vegas than a mob of Swifties and a MAGA rally. Just this week, Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said in a People interview: “We don't take no shit from people like John fucking Fisher who sold out the Oakland A's to Las […]
One of my Cinema Therapy students, Terri Van Bibber, said those beautiful words to me after doing her fantastic presentation at the Parkinson's Association of Northern California (PANC) conference on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Terri presented as Joy – literally. She took our Turning Parkinson’s disease Inside Out class and, from that work, came up with […]
When I picked up my dad on the morning of the A’s final game in the Oakland Coliseum, I asked how he was feeling. In what has become his typical way, he shrugged, looked away and didn’t really say anything. My dad is an A’s fan. He’s just one of those A’s fans that has […]
We are all Unwritten. Natasha Beddingfield’s 2004 hit “Unwritten” is one of my favorite songs. The beat is magnetic and immediately gets me moving. There’s a yearning in her early vocals before we even start with the lyrics – and oh, those lyrics: I am unwritten Can't read my mind, I'm undefined I'm just beginning […]
Ryan Reynolds’ star power is soaring. He’s had a long string of solid hits, but nothing like what the role of Deadpool has done for him – and us. For all of the snark of Deadpool, Ryan, the man, also has tremendous depth and pathos that some don’t know as well. Ryan’s father, James, had […]
And I’m on a hunt for stories. Your stories. However this is not the story you know, it’s the one you don’t yet. This is the one you’re willing to go on an adventure to find. It’s a hero’s journey and I can say with great confidence I can help get you there. That doesn’t […]
Acknowledgement. Acceptance. Action. Those are three steps that are crucial in making a change. Some language from recovery and addiction treatment leaks its way from anonymous into the public sphere – and this is one of the very good examples of how practical some of it can be. It’s simple, but not at all easy. […]
Do you love movies? I do, too. It has grown from a fascination to a passion to nearly an obsession for me. As a teen I loved going to the theater. As a student at UCLA I learned how to write screenplays. As a doctor I’ve now learned how to take entire films apart and […]
In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne is technically an innocent man. He did not kill his wife nor her lover who she was cheating with. But as he learns, being technically innocent does not protect you from the indignities, monsters and dumb luck of life – particularly in prison. When Andy first met Red, he […]
Many people think of improvisation as just comedy. That’s understandable based on its popularity and the effect it has on audiences when it’s done well. It looks and feels like a very special kind of magic. But did you know that improvisation has its roots in social work? Viola Spolin applied the form in the […]
