Goodbye Crazy Apple Lady

Sue Gardner who played Sarah Jennings (better known as Crazy Apple Lady) in my award winning short film "We've Got Johnny" has passed away. Del and I found Sue actually speaking in the apple orchard we were going to shoot the movie in. She was going on and on about apple growing to a group of people who were there picking apples and Del and I looked at each other and knew we'd found our girl.

Sue was truly a one-of-a-kind and she will be remembered fondly through out all of PlasticVille. I'm starting to feel like the movie's I'm involved with are cursed. Sue died of ovarian cancer Sunday Sept 17. You can read her obituary here.

Goodbye Daniel Smith

Anna Nicole Smith's 20 year old son Daniel died suddenly Sunday in the Bahamas while visiting his mom in the hospital. I can't imagine what she's going through; on Sept 7 she gives birth to a baby girl then on Sept 10 her son dies sitting in her room. Looks like the investigation into this will drag out for awhile.

I met Daniel and his mom on the set of "Illegal Aliens" almost exactly a year ago. He was a pretty quiet kid and kept close to Anna's entourage but we did speak enough to make it obvious he was a decent and smart guy. He was on the set anytime his mom was, looking out for her, making sure things were funny and light. He even hung out with Larry The Lizard at the wrap party.

I always expected "Illegal Aliens" to get lots of attention. Exec Producer John James and Director David Giancola have been all over the news and were even on "Larry King Live" last night along with Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, but not for this reason. "Illegal Aliens" will now be dedicated to Daniel Smith and here's hoping that Anna and all Daniel's family and friends can laugh again soon.

Boston by Foot

Today Lori led a weight-loss talk and walk through Boston that I tagged along for and it was surprisingly fun. It was very cool to actually stop and pay attention to all the things I ignore while trying to drive in Boston. Normally, the only thing I'm focused on is open parking spaces. We did a two-hour walking tour of the Back Bay and South End, learning about the history of each neighborhood and some of the many cool pieces of architecture. This is first time since I was a kid that I did any sort of tourist thing in Boston. There were so many little architectural details and stories I didn't know, it felt like we were visiting some other country. Boston By Foot put the tour together and I highly recommend doing one. They have a special Halloween tour we might do this year too.

Lori Featured in Local Paper

Mrs. AF Grant herself is featured in today's Littleton Independent. Check it out
http://www.townonline.com/littleton/

Turning the tables on living overweight
By Betsy Levinson/ Staff Writer
Thursday, August 31, 2006

Lori Grant was a typical Boston-area single girl. She worked in an IT department of a high tech company in Burlington, and loved meeting up with friends after work and on weekends for a few beers and some buffalo wings before going on to a steak house.
"I was in my mid-20s, and I just overate like everyone else," said Grant. "Pizza, Chinese, Mexican, huge portions, I ate it all because it tasted good."
But Grant spends more time in her Littleton living room now, writing a book and working on a new business brochure for her many clients.
Grant lost over 100 lbs. a few years ago and has turned success into a business that offers one-on-one coaching for those wanting to lose weight. It doesn’t matter to Grant what the cause of the weight problem is, she can advise anyone on how to live in a healthier way because she has made the long, tough journey herself.
She lost nearly 70 lbs. at one point, and met her husband, although she immediately ballooned up again, gaining more than what she had lost.
"I was just the opposite of most brides," said Grant. "I gained weight before the wedding."
In a year and a half after the wedding, she put on 100 lbs. She loved cooking for her new husband, and the two enjoyed getting together with friends, never giving a thought to her weight.
"It was our hobby," she said. "We ate. I was actually feeling horrible, but I was very good at ignoring it."
Grant said she yo-yoed up and down for a few years until the day she applied for a visa so she and her husband could take an adventure vacation in Africa.
"I looked at my picture and it was an epiphany," she said. "I cried for three hours."
The next day she joined a gym, and signed up at Weight Watchers, and over the next year and a half, lost over 100 lbs. and regained her health.
When she reached her goal, the couple took a trip to Katmandu to climb and hike in the mountains.
She is now trim, and super-conscious of whatever she eats, scrupulously reading the nutritional information either online or on food labels. She eats a "ton of vegetables," and keeps an eye on portion sizes.
"I had to relearn how to cook healthfully," she said.
She became a Weight Watchers group leader, but still longed to counsel people on a more private basis. So with a friend from Weight Watchers, Grant opened The Coach Approach, and even though they are dissolving the company next month to pursue individual coaching, the two still agree on the basics of weight loss: watch what you eat, and exercise.
Grant said she doesn’t care what program a client follows as long as the underlying issues for overeating are addressed.
"The key is to do what works for you," she said.
She is thinking of calling the new coaching business "Always Your Weigh." In addition to one-on-one coaching, Grant will offer free workshops at various work sites geared toward "getting people to make changes."
"I go to where they are," she said, describing her weekly visits to a client’s work or home for a weigh-in and a discussion of the problem areas.
"It’s completely confidential," she said. "Clients get what they need." She will, for an extra fee, go to the supermarket, even make a home visit to restock the fridge and shelves with healthy foods. She is developing a tele-coaching service to provide phone sessions.
"I have changed my whole life," said Grant. "I love adventure travel now. I walk every day. I am planning to run the Boston Marathon next year. Everything is different now."
For more information, call 978-549-4279 or visit www.mycoachapproach.com.

Homer Wins!

We learned today that Homer is a winner in the Boston Globe Pet Photo Contest! Woohoo! Now that I'm an award winning photographer I can quit my job and travel the country with Homer; taking photos, selling books and prints, meeting fans... it's gonna be sweet!

Oh, what? This just means Homer's photo is going to be in the Sunday Globe tomorrow as part of a glossy book cover insert? Well, that's cool... but... damn; guess I still have to go to work Monday. At least Homer doesn't.

Homer's had quite a weekend already. Lori was letting him outside into the backyard yesterday afternoon and he bolted right out the door after something. All of sudden Lori spots two deer in the yard too. A fawn and a doe with Homer chasing them, suddenly the doe stops and turns on Homer, chasing him away in his own yard. The only portion I caught was when the doe gave up on Homer and turned to run off into the woods with her fawn. I look out in the yard and see the deer running to the left, while Homer is stilling fleeing for his life to the right. All the while he didn't even let out a bark. Such a brave boy.