Work continues on my upcoming studio dates & guests for my August tapings.  I used to specify 'my cable TV' but now that has become redundant.   It is like Nora Ephron's comment, "It's all copy!" 

Work also continues on my website.  A few of my favorite quotes will be on it, including these: 
Anais Nin: Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.   
Leads, don't you think, right into... this quote from my all-time #1 hero, MLK, Jr: Courage breeds creativity.

Einstein had a couple of his own (haha) which appeal to me: Imagination is more important than knowledge.   The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing. 

& lastly, the one which must propel us all to achieve anything in our lives:  Never never never give up.  Winston Churchill. 

I always close my current TV show with the tagline, "What do you think?"   This came about from a conversation I had with my son when he was in his mid-teens.

I am sure it is well-documented evidence (somewhere) that a girl will tell you waaay more than you ever really wanted to know yet a boy may tell you close to nothing, all from the same question.  So, in asking my son the question of how I was doing as a parent (to avoid the "fine, mom" response), I asked him if he could name 2 or 3 things he liked about my style or about which he felt I was at least doing okay.   His answer was the greatest & immediate.  "Oh mom," he said, "that's easy!  First of all you always ask us 'What do you think' and then, you listen."   I love that!   (Thanks, dad!)

In its own way, the question relates to the two words that best describe the most effective tool used by physicians in diagnosing a patient: To Listen.   Here is the quote-of-quotes (by whom?) which states:  If all else fails, listen to the patient.  

It always cracks me up but it is also an eye-opener.  There was an interesting yet frustrating article by Jerome Groopman in The New Yorker which covered this very aspect of the doctor-patient interview.   Look it up, read it.   Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, also touched on how correctly using this very tool can make a difference in doctors being sued - or not!  

Hmmm...   To Listen.  It sounds so simple.

Greetings! 

Working on plans for my next trip to MI for taping & a bit of fun.   I have several interviews lined up & am working to confirm a few more.  I will post the list of guests just before I split from NYC to head to the midwest.  Manhattan to Michigan. 

I am also working on my In a Heartbeat website.  Stay tuned for that...

In my Riverside (literally) Drive apartment, I have this enormous dry-erase board which essentially works as my TV show 'think tank'.  I have listings of upcoming shows, ideas or plans for shows in various cities, my list of dream interviews (working on those), bios or articles per guests & then a collection of my favorite The New Yorker cartoons, most of which are 25+ years old.  My favorite concerns two snails & a tape dispenser.  That's all I'm sayin'.

This board also contains bicycles in all forms - pictures, magnets, even a few paper clips transformed into magnets.   Then there is the mass of coffee magnets, many of these gifts.  I love coffee.  But only good coffee. 

Among the chaos (& the bliss) I have three pictures which blow my mind. 

One is of Einstein, part of my original 'Einstein Shrine' which I created on a kitchen cupboard door when the kids were growing up.   I wanted my kids to have a visual memory of him in many pictures, some looking serious & some very relaxed.  I wanted Einstein to be someone whom they had 'contact' with on a daily basis.

I have this picture of a metal utility cart, painted royal blue, loaded with electrical cables of many colors, all coiled as if ready to spring into action.   I mentally labeled this photo 'Potential'.  The photo was taken in early Spring of 2000 on my brother's property where we were shooting a film, but that's another story.

The third picture is on the TV set of Positively Positive.  Jeanie & I had just finished our interviews with The Miracles, The Contours & Undisputed Truth.  We gathered for a group shot & the artists sang us out with "Amen."   We had taped this show during the prep for the Detroit 300 Celebration.  What a show!  I love this picture for many reasons, a few being that we all were younger (hahaha), the studio had been filled with glorious acapella music & Jeanie was so healthy & vibrant, gorgeous with her well-loved smile.   Her husband, Robert, was right along with us, loving the music & the day.  It is a joyful picture.

Then there are a few more pics, most absurd, plus a couple of TP lists to discuss with two specific friends.  That is totally another story for another day.   For now I need to hightail it into gear to get ready to attend my WWKiP Day event in Washington Square.   Andrea (the storm) decided not to crash the scene so we are 'all systems go' . . . & I am gone!  Whoooosh!

 

Achtung!!  Lost this posting - found it!

 

 

                                                                                      (Photo taken right off the TV, seriously!)

In a Heartbeat

is the name of my cable TV show heading towards its 5th season.  Launched in the fall of 2008, this show is my passion!

'Life changes, sometimes literally, in a heartbeat.'   My goal, through the medium of television, has always been to offer information from experts to assist us in making educated choices for better health, better living.   I love interviewing physicians, researchers, inventors, scientists, educators, film producers - all kinds of fascinating people - who do just this: direct us towards better living. 


When I was heading to Manhattan, a few years ago,I decided to splinter my show among four of us so I could be 'out of town' (from Grosse Pointe, MI) & still continue production.  My sidekicks became: Dr. David Balle, Joan Patrick Morris & 'Car Guy' (you'll see). 

I was most fortunate to have Dr. David Balle agree to co-host/produce the show with me; he had graciously 'subbed' for me several times before - I knew HB would be in exceptional hands, in my absence!   Check out his website: www.drballe.com.

Joan Patrick Morris is my health care management specialist on the show.   She is a natural as a host - exuberant, knowledgable - bringing to the screen excellent interviews as well as frequent updates per healthcare coverage changes. 

I then added John Clor, 'Car Guy', whom I have interviewed more than anyone since my very 1st show in the 90s.  He cracks me up, totally.   We have cooked together (well, actually, we assembled psycho-burgers, John Clor, Sack o' Ten, in my 'kitchen' - using that term loosely - on my demented-style cooking show, Lizard's Lounge), ridden together in very cool cars (who remembers the original Shelby?) & laughed on the set of every show (three) I have produced/hosted since then, including Positively Positive, the show I shared with my very dear,late friend, Jeanie McNeil Taylor.  

But back to John, for a newsflash: Being perfect for TV, either as guest or host, John launched his own show last year on WMTV (same network) called, Cars in Context.  Three cheers for 'Car Guy'!    www.carsincontext.com.   Check it out. 


 As the show title implies, life does change In a Heartbeat.   Joan, David & I evolve to strive to bring you the best programming to answer your question of, "What happened?" with valuable information from our experts.   We thank the many guests who have shared their time and expertise with our viewers.  

I will update with info of upcoming shows, all kinds of stuff.  As we say in the business, "Stay tuned..."