Sparks Ignites

Neil Patrick Harris learned during the 87th Academy Awards show that he couldn’t host everything. The charming and usually witty host could not tackle Oscar the Giant . I am a great fan of Neil and was excited to learn he was hosting this year’s broadcast of the Academy Awards.   He had so brilliantly hosted the Tony and Emmy Award shows, that this would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the brains behind Neil failed. Taking on hosting the Academy Awards is no small feat; just ask Seth Macfarlane and James Franco. It is great media exposure and the accolades come if you can find your niche and gain acceptance among the elitist of Tinseltown.   It worked with Ellen and her Twitter exploding “selfie”, but it didn’t happen with Neil’s “magic box.” The show’s opening was entertaining and Neil did what he can do best - sing and dance. His first joke of the evening about honoring “Hollywood’s best and whitest” landed well with the star packed audience, but he soon l...

I just looked at my calendar and realized that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I don’t really pay attention to the day when that little “f***ker” in the diaper shoots arrows into the hearts of those who can only show love on February 14 th .   We shouldn’t have to be reminded to express our love for someone. What is the big deal with Valentine’s Day? Shouldn’t real love be a constant thing? Shouldn’t we be saying “I Love You” to all those in our lives as often as we can? If you feel the need to over express in February what you should have been saying the rest of the year, you need to examine your definition of love. We should spread love around to all those people we hold in our hearts, and it should happen everyday. I don’t feel the need to wait for the “Holiday of Love.” Love doesn’t need to come in the form of perfume-scented cards, undies for two, the Snuggie of Love, or a giant Mylar heart. It should be in gestures we do everyday. It is much more meaningful to...

In a world - where a groundhog sees his shadow, wind chill temperatures hit the single digits and the landscape is gray, there is an escape to beauty, color and lush landscapes. Immerse yourself in the 2015 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show - “Celebrate the Movies.”   It’s “Lights, Camera, Bloom” as you step onto a red carpet, enter a movie palace and experience an award-winning event that will leave you awestruck.  The show’s entrance gardens feature such stars as Rose – the All-American beauty, Calla Lily – the tropical temptress and Hosta – a lush perennial favorite. Brilliant colors and displays from multi-talented landscapers and floral artists will leave you breathless in wonder. Jaw dropping landscapes featuring Disney inspired themes will bring you the magic of the movies and memories to cherish. Watch as “Maleficent” delivers all her villainous splendor and “Cars” sets the speedometer to high-octane enjoyment.  You won’t have to Let It Go as the wo...

I have found that I often get caught up in the past – wishing I could have changed something. There are always all the “what ifs.”   If I had done something different, said something different, or chosen a different path.   There is that constant query – would things be different today? Of course, I have to go in the opposite direction as well and worry about the future -what is going to happen?   I worry will my interview be successful, will my doctor’s physical show I’m in good health, will I get published, will I get the phone call I am expecting, will I enjoy the movie I want to see? The list is endless. Whether it is the past or the future, it all causes stress, anxiety and pulls me away from a focus on the here and now.   I’ve heard numerous quotes, and songs about there’s only now. “ Live Like We’re Dying” It’s easy to get distracted when my inner voice wants to inform me of every angle and nuance.   It reminds me of the past and attempt...

It’s the end of the year when many of us do some self-reflection and see what the year has brought us.   Are we better or wiser for our experiences in 2014? Even if we aren’t particularly the introspective type and just want to move on, the media won’t let us. We turn on the TV and see news programs featuring the year in review. Magazines on the newsstand display highlights for 2014. Of course, we’re always reminded of the celebrities that died during the last twelve months. I just watched a news program that reviewed all the notable deaths in 2014. By the time the segment was over, I was huddled under a blanket under my bed -nothing like an overload of death to happily end the year. It saddens me every year to be reminded of my mortality and just how many notable figures of my childhood have taken their last curtain call. It all seems so melancholy as New Year’s Eve approaches and the festive holiday season comes to an end. I ...

I was watching A Charlie Brown Christmas on TV the other night, and I started to think about the commercialism that disgusted Charlie Brown. I remember watching this cartoon every year since it premiered in 1965. The themes it portrays are still alive today. In fact, they are in hyper-overdrive. We’ve moved so far away from the original celebrations of Christmas, that it has become a whole new holiday. It is the Christmas of the 21 st century complete with LED lights and Apple Pay. It is the season of consumerism, consumption, greed and stress.   Celebrating peace, love and joy has been replaced by fighting in the mall over a parking space, punching out a fellow shopper during the Black Friday melee, and maxing out our credit cards buying gifts we feel obligated to purchase. We feel so compelled to have a Holly Jolly Christmas, that we lose the joy and beauty of the season.   Our style of the celebration of Christmas gets its origins in Germ...