Determined To Succeed

Happy mega-late-Wednesday night/super-duper early-Thursday morning, my friends.

Since I have to be in New York City Thursday morning for an appointment (I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to talk about the website and weight loss on the nationally-syndicated BetterTV), I decided to do tomorrow’s blog tonight. Er, or today’s blog yesterday. However you want to look at it. It feels kind of weird because I’m so used to getting up every morning, rolling back over when I see it’s earlier than I think, getting up again because it’s then later than I want, stretching and writing my daily weight loss blog post.

Yeah, I’m breaking up my routine. It happens from time to time to all of us. We get sick with a stomach bug that lays us up for days, or we travel out of town to visit a son’s graduation or we blow out our knees and have to take it easy to heal our joints and give them tender loving care. No matter what the circumstance, crap always happens and it’s during that time that a ripple effect occurs – when everything in our day gets thrown off, even eating, because of one tiny pebble thrown into the lake of our daily lives.

These past few days I have really taken advantage of detoxing from Coke to combine that with eating better and exercising to bring my weight down to a mere 12.5 pounds above my goal. But what makes me nervous is that having to get up early to beat New York traffic (o.k., NO ONE beats New York traffic but you know what I mean) to get to the TV studio on time means I have to throw off the rhythm of my day, including what and how I eat.

Sure I’m going to start out my day with my simple cup of coffee and fruit, like I always do, but having that be earlier than usual by a few hours, getting on the road, the increase of tension with less-than-agreeable other drivers, general nervousness and location all mean that the meals that follow may or may not get to be the healthiest I could have. Does New York have healthier food choices? Oh, yeah it does. But will I be close to any of them? I simply don’t know.

My brain tells me I’m being silly, that I know what I should and shouldn’t have and, therefore, won’t have it. I’ll wait until either a healthier choice pops up or wait until I return to good ol’ Cherry Hill, New Jersey for a morsel of din. But I know the rest of me better than that. I know the little devil that sometimes rules over my stomach which says “ah, go on. How often are you going to be in New York? Go to that Halal cart you like so much and get yourself a nice heaping plate of chicken and lamb, rice, pita and wash it all down with an ice-cold Co – “, er, you know, the soda that shall not be named.

So tomorrow, like it is so many times during a day or in a week, becomes a chance to flex some will (Bill) power and NOT put tempting foods in my mouth. No one forces me to eat bad foods no matter where I am. And that number on the scale IS coming down and I want it to keep coming down to re-reach my 225 pounds. So to help occupy my brain I’ll play a game I like to play especially during Oscar time – changing the names of television shows or movies into food-related pun names (kind of like the adult film industry does but much, much cleaner). Some I’ve already thought of are:

• Planet of the Grapes
• Pie Hard
• Family Pie
• Lord of the Onion Rings (One Onion Ring to Rule Them All)
• The Breakfast Club Sandwich
• The Codfather
• The French Toast Connection
• The Hunt for Bread October
• Hot Sub Time Machine
• Iron Manwich 2
• Chex and the City

I will be OK I’m sure of it, no matter whether I play a cheesy, geeky name game or not. And on Friday morning I will tell you guys all about the show, but most of all I’ll tell you how I didn’t give in to the smells and tastes of one of the greatest food cities on Earth.

I am sitting at my computer so happy I could shout. My best friend, Mike, and his wife had a bouncing baby boy last night and I’m beside myself with joy for them! So a huge shout out to them today.

And while it may not be a Chicago-like blizzard we’re getting socked with snow here in southern New Jersey pretty hard. It’s pretty cool, though, actually. At least I think so. I was getting reports yesterday on Twitter and Facebook of “runs” at the stores for the usual stuff – milk, bread, survival supplies. Bah. Like this stuff won’t melt…

…oh well. People, it ain’t “THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW” so chill.

Heh, chill. I kill me sometimes.

It’s funny, though. When I got the news about Mike I was so happy I just wanted to eat something. Is that weird? Maybe it was my adrenaline going full-tilt as I got the news from our friend, Sue, but my first instinct was to grab a bite. Hmmmm…..I totally admit to having a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter and jelly, too after hearing the news about Mike’s baby.

Also last night I was watching a movie I had never seen before, “Unforgiven.” It’s a pretty great flick. I know, I know. I’m a little behind the times but I was never big into westerns as a film genre. As I watched this great flick (as I try to see all Best Picture Oscar winners when I can) I found myself munchy again. This time I ate on the last of the Clementine oranges I had in my fridge.

Man, I am so glad I didn’t have really bad snacks in the house. Watching the snow fall outside all hunkered down on the couch watching movies, as well as hearing great news about friends, made for some pretty strong snack cravings.

But I am at 232.3 today which is awesome. I am continuing to trend downward in my weight and it seems that “Bill Power” is working (ok, I know it was cheesy but I use the name when I can). Like I’ve always said seeing that lower number on my scale is better than gorging myself on Milky Ways, ice-cream (although I get a taste for that, too, when it snows for some reason), chocolate cake and more. And I am more than happy I cleaned out my supply of cold and tasty oranges as I watched my western “shoot-’em-up” thinking of being a new “uncle” and of wintry songs…

…let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

However, I find it interesting to think about what seems to trigger “snack attacks.” Just something I am thinking about on this Saturday. So whether you’re getting ready for a weekend out and about or, if you live in the east like I do, staying inside because of the snow storm, be mindful of snacking. Even grabbing a soda is a snack (although that would be great too right about now. See, I am not immune to it, either).

But I am just trying to be good, watch what I eat, exercise and get back down to the sweetest snack of all…

…my goal weight realized.

It’s Not Complicated to Like “It’s Complicated” – Three Buckets of Popcorn out of Four

Have you ever wandered through an art gallery and wondered why beautiful works of art can sometimes have such generic and silly names. Like “fruit in bowl,” or something like that. Well, the same is true in Hollywood when it comes time to name their “works of art,” the movies.

I want the job at studios to come up with these generic, middle-of-the-road but resonant titles for films. Take for example the ones that pop immediately into my brain:

“Something’s Gotta Give”

“As Good As It Gets”

“Anywhere But Here”

“Nobody’s Fool”

“Where The Heart Is”

All of these are examples of titles ripped from the headlines of life, clichés and catch phrases we use around the water-cooler. Hence why they are called upon to be movie titles. Easy recognition of the basic plot (or feel) of the film.

Now we have “It’s Complicated,” a film that is way better than its title-us genericus.

During her son’s college graduation, Jane (Meryl Streep) hooks up with her ex-husband, Jake (the hilarious Alec Baldwin), who’s married to a younger, yet higher-maintenance woman (Lake Bell). During the process of being her ex’s mistress Jane also finds herself attracted to her architect, Adam (Steve Martin).

Movies like this are so easy. You know what you’re getting as soon as you see the previews. Hell, even the poster alludes to the hilarity that ensues during Streep’s relationship with Baldwin (who is sure to be Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor in this role). But any film that knows what it is and doesn’t try to be more is OK in my book, no matter what genre it rests. This movie is no exception. Light-hearted romantic comedy – check. Likeable, attractive stars – check. Obligatory set-ups for hilarious situations – check. Mid-point conflict – check. Resolution – check.

See, no surprises. The charm of this film lies in its cast. Streep is so easy to like and she is radiant in the role of Jane. Baldwin is awesome and Jake and Steve Martin in this film reminds me why I like him as a performer. He has a great ability to be way over the top or as low key/forgettable as he needs to be – a sign of a good actor. And he is very charming as a divorced man getting his dating legs back with Jane. But the one who almost steals the movie is “The Office’s” John Krasinski as Streep’s son-in-law. His delivery of lines and looks given the actions around him is priceless.

Is this film high art? No. It’s cheesy Hollywood-y “rom-com” but it’s actually worth the price of admission, especially for a light break on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

And like I said sometimes bland titles lead to some pretty enjoyable works of art.

Rated R for some drug content and sexuality

Runtime: 120 min

Meryl Streep     …         Jane

Steve Martin     …         Adam

Alec Baldwin    …         Jake

John Krasinski   …         Harley

Lake Bell          …         Agness

Mary Kay Place            …         Joanne

Rita Wilson       …         Trisha

Like the Poem “Invictus” is Inspiring

Three-and-a-Half Buckets of Popcorn out of Four

What inspires us all towards success? What would inspire you? And, more to the point, what would inspire you to win despite all the odds stacked against you?

The answers are different for all of us and are different depending on the aspect of life to which they’re applied. But winning no matter how hard the challenge is a universal theme in which we can all share and admire.

This is the theme of Clint Eastwood’s latest film, “Invictus.” The film tells the true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

I have seen many uplifting sports films in my day (“Rocky,” “The Rookie,” “Miracle,” the list goes on) and this does fit into that genre. But what makes this film so great is the performance given by Morgan Freeman, an actor of such stature and excellence he really makes you believe he IS Mandela. His movements, speech and mannerisms – everything. He deserves a Best Actor nod from the Academy for this performance.  It is, in a word, great.

Clint Eastwood is a brilliant director. That much is certain. But I love that he loves Freeman. The two just fit. They seem to understand each other and, therefore, give that back to the audience with films and characters that are amazing to watch and hard to forget.

I do not know if you are familiar with the story of Mandela and the South Africa rugby team but in reality President Mandela gave South African national rugby team captain Francois Pienaar an extract from Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speech from 1910 before the start of the Rugby World Cup. The name of the movie “Invictus” comes from the poem Mandela carried with him inside his jail cell under apartheid to help him get through, and Freeman gives it to Matt Damon (as team captain Pienaar) for inspiration.

Below is the poem in its entirety. See if these words written by English poet William Ernest Henley don’t inspire your heart to win the same way it led a man and his nation to the freedom his soul knew was coming…inevitable and strong.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Morgan Freeman…Nelson Mandela

Matt Damon… Francois Pienaar

Tony Kgoroge…Jason Tshabalala

Patrick Mofokeng…Linga Moonsamy

Matt Stern…Hendrick Booyens

Julian Lewis Jones…Etienne Feyder

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime: 134 min