Author: richtola

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Set your sights…and weigh in!

Set your sights on new goals and opportunities, and weigh in. That’s right, it’s New Year’s Day so get on the scale and check your body weight. Because your weight matters, and having a known starting point for the new year is important. And the next thing you should do is workout. That’s right: weigh in and workout. Because preserving your body starts with a daily fitness program. So set your sights for 2012, and know that exercising every single day helps push back the hands of time – and unnecessary pounds of time.

Today I weighed in at 151, then did 30 minutes of abs and yoga stretches, then 30 minutes of weight lifting (mostly machines). Afterward I drove the amazing 5 mile stretch from Hawaii Kai to the Makapuu Lighthouse, hugging the shoreline around the southeast corner of the Island as the waves crash into the rocks below. The certainly challenging but very do-able uphill run starting from the Kalanianaole Highway up to the Lighthouse, well, it ranks second only to my favorite – Runyon Canyon in Hollywood. Not that the 1.5 mile loop around the Reservoir in NY’s Central Park, or the beautiful West River Drive and the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps aren’t great runs too! But the breathtaking ocean views along the narrow blacktop road leading to the Lighthouse are incredible. Not to mention the energy you feel as you pass the lookout for the Humpback whale sanctuary. Totally awesome. And worth running or walking – at least once in a lifetime!

I never imagined I would be traveling this lovely Hawaiian path when I first set my sights on publishing my memoirs less than six months ago. So believe in yourself and believe that you can. Then get on the scale and get started with your daily fitness program. Wherever you are! And if you don’t know where to start, how about strengthening your core with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #81 – Plank Crunches. Happy New Year – R

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The Academy Award for Best Actress goes to…

Well my vote is in: hands down this year’s Oscar for Best Actress goes to…Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn. If I had to describe Michelle’s performance and her exquisite reincarnation of the beautiful and legendary Marilyn Monroe in two words, I’d say phenomenally awesome. Because she’s just that! And for someone who loves the “art of acting” and who sees almost every film out there – in the past two weeks alone I’ve watched MoneyBall (again), The Descendants, Mission Impossible, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (twice), Sherlock Holmes, Young Adult, We Bought A Zoo, War Horse, and My Week With Marilyn – she certainly gets my vote.

And if you’re wondering what else I’m doing in Hawaii besides admiring the best films and acting performances of the year, I’m almost finished with my book, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood. Which, by the way, has some pretty cool Cover Art that you’ll find quite fitting. So wherever you find yourself this holiday season, make sure to find time for the lovely and amazing Michelle Williams in a true-to-life story of Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn. You won’t regret it!

And what else you won’t regret is getting your daily workout in. Especially if your holiday diet calls for Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake or perhaps a little Tiramisu. But no worries, just take a quick break and slim down your waistline with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #82 – Easy Abs. Enjoy – R

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‘We Bought a Zoo’ Delivers

If you want to feel the love this holiday season, go see We Bought a Zoo starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. The performances are wonderful – including the incredibly adorable Rosie, played by Maggie Elizabeth Jones – and there’s plenty of animal magnetism, feel good energy and tear swelling compassion at every turn. So no matter if you’re 6,000 miles away from your loved ones (like I am here in Hawaii while my family’s in New Jersey) or 6 miles away, share some good times together and bask in the film’s sunshine of love – because it truly delivers!

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to get your workout in with some Zoo Yoga from my Yoga Survival Guide. Because what’s a holiday season without fun, friends and fat burning yoga to melt away those extra pounds of joy! Merry Christmas everyone 🙂 Enjoy – R

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Memoirs – Coming Soon!

After two months of trying to attract the right publisher – or any publisher for that matter – I’ve decided to take the plunge! That is, take the plunge into self-publishing my memoirs with Amazon’s independent publishing company, CreateSpace. And I must say, thus far I’m quite pleased with the process and my CreateSpace team. By the looks of it, the book will be available in late January, and to say the least, I’m really looking forward to it. And for anyone not familiar with my 45 years of rather colorful stories, here’s a preview of Chapters 11-20 in, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood.

At age nine I watched the 1969 classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. From that point on, I became fascinated with Hollywood’s “world of make-believe”. So Chapter 11, Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, is aptly named after Robert Redford’s gang of bank robbers, and sets the stage for my dreams of becoming “the Sundance Kid”. Chapter 12, The Belt, touches upon the cycle of domestic violence and the abusive grandfather I never knew and met only once, while Chapters 13 – 15, All-Stars, Going to PENN, and Just Say No, explain my early teenage years and how baseball and my parents’ “Sicilian parenting” impacted my life and set the stage for the next 30 years. In Chapter 16, Sweet 16, I unofficially become of legal drinking age and recall my not-so-virginal romance with a gal stricken with Anorexia Nervosa – a horrible disorder that rears its nasty head time and time again (as well as in my film, Boulevard Zen). Chapter 17, Jersey Shore, is quite amusing with tales of adolescent debauchery that I’m sure you’ve seen on the popular reality show of the same name, albeit, without the scripts and cameras! In Chapter 18, The Game, you’ll experience the best High School baseball game of all-time – all 20 innings worth, while Chapter 19, Dear Olde PENN, introduces you to one of the best colleges in the world, The University of Pennsylvania, as well as the gritty bars of Philadelphia in the early 80’s. As for Chapter 20, Two Minute Drill, no, it’s not about the final two minutes of a football game. Rather, imagine what it’s like drinking 8 beers in 2 minutes, and then imagine what it’s like seeing 400+ wild and crazy gals hooting it up at the hottest Ladies Club in town – with your best friend as the lead attraction!

Good stuff that makes for some fun reading! So, like I said earlier, I’m really looking forward to self-publishing my colorful memoirs in the coming months. I hope you are too. Have a wonderful day – and don’t forget to get your workout in! – R

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The Perfect Climb – KoKo Head

KoKo Head Crater
You remember the 2000 dramatic diaster film, The Perfect Storm, about the crew of the Andrea Gail starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. Well, this may have nothing to do with the most challenging of seas, but for sure the 1,208 foot climb up KoKo Head Crater on the southeastern shore of Oahu is ‘The Perfect Climb’.
KoKo Head Looking Up
And for someone who once ran up and down Runyon Canyon in Hollywood (counter clockwise) in less than 15 minutes, the trek up KoKo Head trumps all. This was my first time and I must say, it’s quite a bear! On the way up I was following this twenty-something gal who said she does it four times a week. The wonder why she made it to the top without stopping.
KoKo Head Looking Down
Something I can honestly say I did not – I rested once about 100 yards from the peak. Of course I was pushing hard from the beginning, and with giant railroad ties as steps about three feet apart and three feet vertical, it’s quite the challenge just to keep moving forward. So if you come to Oahu and want to experience The Perfect Climb, check out KoKo Head and don’t forget to wear climbing shoes and bring your water bottle.
KoKo Head at the Peak
And if the climb up isn’t enough of a challenge, coming down is even harder. The good news is once you reach the crater’s peak, the view is incredible! Much like the view from the top of Diamond Head, there’s 360 degrees of beauty. So get inspired with a bird’s eye view from the top, and don’t forget to get your workout in! Enjoy – R

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Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

You know this old adage about beauty being subjective to each one of us, right? Well, that may be true for the rest of the world, but in Hawaii, beauty is everywhere to everyone! Today is my 10th day on the island of Oahu, and just like they say, it’s quite a paradise. Of course it takes time getting settled in a new place that I never visited and didn’t know a single soul who even lived here. But I’ve since met some really nice people and found a very pleasant place to live in the quaint neighborhood of Kaimuki – and a baseball’s throw away from Hawaii’s most recognized landmark, Diamond Head.

To add to my good fortune, I’m overlooking the Pacific Ocean as I write this blog. Two days ago I climbed Diamond Head State Monument and snapped this picture from the top of the 300,000 year-old saucer shaped crater overlooking Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu – and just after a rainfall, thus the beautiful rainbow. I came here to be inspired by this spiritual land as I prepare to publish my memoirs and to pursue life as an actor-filmmaker and yoga professional. So if you’re in need of a little inspiration today as you weather whatever climate you’re in, take notice of the Hawaiian beauty and don’t forget to get your daily workout in with some Lounge Chair Abs!

Enjoy – R

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Simply Between Millions: Chapters 6 – 10

It’s November 1st and New Year’s Day is fast approaching. You may ask yourself, where did 2011 go? It’s interesting how time seems to pass more quickly as the years pile on. Just the other day I was this six year-old boy learning Sicilian cultures and meeting all sorts of storybook characters you’ll find in my colorful memoirs, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood. Like Goobata Sal and the myriad of essentials that “fell off his truck”. There’s also my love of learning and fitness with Baseball, Push-Ups & Math Games, and my understanding of the Sicilian concept and tradition of “Representing the Family”. In Chapter 9, I explain Acceptable Behaviors and why we make the choices we make, then recount some exciting times at the YMCA.

So take a moment to remember your childhood today, and don’t forget your daily workout. Because before you know it, you’ll be making that resolution to lose that 10 pounds you’ll gain in the next two months. And if you’re new to a daily fitness program, then start with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #85 – Chair Twists. Enjoy – R

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Simply Between Millions: Chapters 1 – 5

As readers of this blog have come to expect, I’m direct and to the point. Just like my instructional yoga fitness videos and DVDs. Likewise, in the first five chapters of my memoirs, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, I plainly spell-out: 1) my Calling to pursue a career in Hollywood, 2) the Cycle of domestic violence and its impact on my family, 3) my Five-Year Plan to “make it” in the business before I run out of money, 4) the ever-so-illusive LA-LA Land that’s like a ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, and 5) my formative years in the traditional, all-Sicilian neighborhood of North Trenton, and the culture learned inside my father’s old-time Barbershop. And that’s just the first 15 pages. Short, sweet and entertaining!

So enjoy your weekend and don’t forget to get your daily workouts in! And if you don’t have time for the gym or for that 5 mile walk, then at least strengthen your arms today with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout #86 – Terrific Triceps II. Enjoy – R

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Simply Between Millions – Preface

Over the past three years, the only business school friend I keep up with, George Graffy, has been telling me that he lives vicariously through me and that I should write my colorful memoirs because my multi-careered and multi-storied journey is worth documenting. He also said I was an “actor with a brain”, and that people like to read books. Thus, I should write one. Yeah right, just go ahead a write a book. Easy enough in concept, but who has 500 hours to write 75,000 words and proof it a couple of times? Well, if you’re an actor in Hollywood like I am, then you do. So I did.

Not to mention the support and encouragement of my dear friend and albeit, transexual roommate, Angelae Le’Chastaignier. Because without her daily reinforcement to keep my memoirs “honest and kind”, I may have defaulted to a less tactful version of the not so pleasant truth. Nonetheless, my memoirs are completely honest with X-rated subjects, but written so my 12 year-old nieces can read it. Just like my film, Boulevard Zen, and yoga and fitness DVDs – my book is inspiring and entertaining and suitable for all ages.

Between now and Christmas Day, I’ll post a short description about the Preface and the Appendix and the 69 Chapters in between. And for those of you who have requested it now, please be patient – if I haven’t found the right publisher along the way, I may self-publish with the help of Lulu or CreateSpace. Just like Benjamin Franklin, Deepak Chopra, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain and many others did.

In the meantime, don’t let the holidays fatten you up without doing something fitness related every day. At the very least, start with 5 minutes a day, everyday, and before you know it you’ll be loving life with a daily fitness program. And for anyone not sure where to start, how about with my 5 Minute Fat Burning Workout # 87 – Dancing Warrior. Enjoy – R

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Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood

COMING SOON! I just finished writing my memoirs, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, filled with 45 years of colorful and poignant stories about Sicilian funerals, Goombata Sal, the Jersey Shore, Wall Street, NYC strippers, lots of married women, Ivy League romances, Goth gals, bachelor parties, Interventions, my dot-com crash and burn, The Trump Organization, the real estate crash, sobriety, Hollywood “babes”, booty calls, auditions, transsexuals, sex-filled yoga retreats, making a film in two days and for $50,000, and my charity, The Boulevard Zen Foundation.

Today, I start the search for the right book publisher – hopefully I’ll have a release date soon, and a book tour to follow. Just like my other works, 10% of all sales go to the foundation.

As for the Fat Burn America Tour, we continue to seek corporate sponsorship, however challenging in a US recession. In the meantime, make sure you keep up with your daily fitness program, and enjoy the arrival of Autumn with our Hollywood Sneak Peek – R