Winning the War and the Academy Awards on Tola Talks – Ep #255

Is Friday the 13th really a harbinger of doom? Let’s dive into this and remember the lessons of the past by talking about winning the War. Plus, who’s going to win at the Academy Awards this weekend.

Watch now and discover: → Today marks six years since the world changed with the pandemic → Friday the 13th symbolizes the unpredictability of life → Rich recalls one of the most challenging days of his teaching career → The uncertainty during wartime can affect individuals and economies → Academy Awards finally acknowledge casting directors in shaping the film industry.

Kindness, Domestic Violence & Forgiveness on Tola Talks – Ep #197

In yesterday’s Tola Talks, we discuss the themes of kindness, domestic violence, and self-forgiveness. The conversation begins with a reflection on kindness and its profound impact on our lives and DNA. As October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we delve into the complexities of domestic violence, its effects on individuals and families, and the importance of recognizing and addressing it. The discussion transitions into the theme of self-forgiveness, emphasizing the need to let go of blame and embrace accountability as a path to healing.

If you or anyone you know is a victim of Domestic Violence, please watch this show and share it with your friends! Peace – R

Tola Talks Pilgrams, NYC & Thanksgiving Day Idiots

On a special Thanksgiving Day show and Throwback Thursday, Tola Talks about the first-ever festival in 1621 between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians that established the national holiday, plus the 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. Rich also talks about two time Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, NFL legend Gordie Howe, and RIP tributes to Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee and Margaret Thatcher, plus the number one animated film of all time, Frozen, and the GYST Award to 6 disrespectful idiots in NYC. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

All the best from Tola Talks

 

Tola Talks Infested Bodies, Bette Midler & Ariana Grande

Tola Talks about respect & class (Bette Midler vs. Ariana Grande), Natasha Bedingfield & Tina Turner, Ferguson & senseless deaths from protester violence, the 10 best shopping deals on Black Friday, plus football (soccer) great Leo Messi and the Get Your S#!T Award. On WTF Wednesday, Rich talks some WTF news including a man whose body got infested with worms after eating raw sushi in China. Weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks

Tola Talks Relationships w/ Expert Jennifer Gaynor-Yaker

 

Tola Talks all things Dating with guest co-host and Relationship Expert, Jennifer Gaynor-Yaker. On Top 10 Tuesdays, Rich also talks about the FBI posing as The Seattle Times to catch a suspect, windowless planes making air travel more cost-effective, National Chocolate Day, YouTube launching a paid subscription service, plus the Get Your S#!T Together Award to a single Mom who left her infant children alone in her 100 degree car to attend a job interview.

Watch weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks.

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Tola Talks’ Rich Tola with Life Coach & Relationship Expert, Jennifer Gaynor-Yaker

Tola Talks with Actor/Comedian Matthew Sterling Nye

 

Tola Talks with actor/comedian and guest co-host, Matthew Sterling Nye. On Whatever Wednesdays, Rich talks Ebola & another infected health care worker, declining gas prices & Hollywood babes & their “$5,000 and a Jeep”, Toyota vehicle recalls & GM’s $30 million car recall in 2014, Hong Kong police & excessive force, plus a 10 year-old murderer and a 17 year-old GYST Award recipient who left a $2 tip with feces on it…now that’s pretty crappy!

Weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks.

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Tola Talks’ Rich Tola with Actor/Comedian, Matthew Sterling Nye

Memoir – Simply – In Stores Now!

Thanks again to all those who bought my book, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood. Post your comments below or on Facebook – love to hear them! And if you find yourself in San Francisco, you can buy a copy at Books Inc. in Opera Plaza, located at 601 Van Ness, and Browser Books in Pacific Heights, located at 2195 Fillmore St. With In-Store events coming in May!

You can also download the e-book on Kindle.com for $9.99

Here’s what readers are calling it thus far: enjoyable, inspiring, a great coast-to-coast read on a direct flight, fantastic, a real page-turner, and, wow, a well-written book with so many women. Well, what can I say, but there’s a really good chapter in there explaining the “cute-boy syndrome” and my retirement from “playing” aptly called, The Player Gets Played. And tons more stories that’ll humor you for a good 4 hours, or longer, if you get caught up on my multi-generational timeline of pictures – all 48 of them – from the early 1960’s to 2011.

So maybe you don’t want your 13-year old reading this, but if YOU do, you’ll learn something new about all sorts of places and things. Not to mention the plethora of businesses you’ll experience, including Wall Street and making movies. For sure you’ll be inspired to get up and try something new, or at least acknowledge that you could do something new, if you just believed in yourself and tried. Like a daily fitness program. Of course that’s in there too, in one of my favorite chapters, Self-Correct.

A portion of all sales is donated to my charity. Thanks for reading! Enjoy – R

Memoir Helps Women and Children of Domestic Violence


Hi Everyone,

I’m happy to announce my memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, is available for purchase at www.Amazon.com. There’s 386 pages worth – featuring 69 short chapters of wild and inspiring true stories.

10% of all sales donated to The Boulevard Zen Foundation, where we teach yoga to women and children living in domestic violence shelters.

Enjoy – R

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