Who's Your Daddy?

Father Figure
Michael Shinafelt

Happy Father's Day!

While my Father passed away a while ago from Cancer, lung to be exact, this year I thought I would take a different approach to the designated day for Dad's. 

That's correct it's time to play "Who's Your Daddy!" Yay! Hooray! 

Now that it's out there, perhaps I could be yours. My name is Michael, I'll be your Daddy tonight. Hey, it wouldn't be the first (nor last) time I've ever been called that.

After all "I will be your preacher teacher, (Be your daddy)", Father Figure, ya know.

To all you Father's out there it's your day, celebrate. To all you Daddy's out there, keep doing you.

Michael has left the laptop...

Got Daddy?
https://www.instagram.com/michaelshinafelt/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/mshinafelt?lang=en    

Smells Like Publicity Spirit

Feeling Blue?
Nikki Bella

When I first heard of the break-up of John Cena & Nikki Bella it made me a little sad. These two seem so tailor made for each other, and I am a fan of a happy ending.

It has since been revealed the reason for their parting of the ways is  her wanting to become a Mom and him not wanting to become a Dad. The latest season of their show Total Bellas premiered last night. Leading up to it John has been back paddling on all the talk shows he has been on promoting it by begging Bella to take him back and stating he will have children with her.

OK, I don't know about you, but this smells like one huge PR stunt to me at this point. No one who loves someone as much as he loves her would break-up over something like this in the first place, and then take it back, WTF?! 

If John really didn't want kids that badly he would not budge, period! I'm sure there will be a baby Cena/Bella bun in the oven in the not too distant future. Hope last night's ratings were the highest ever you two - just know you are not fooling this guy.

Total Bellas on the WWW at:
www.eonline.com/TotalBellas‎

Who's Your Daddy?

Call Me Daddy
Michael Shinafelt

Happy Father's Day Everyone! 

I was not really sure what to write about today since my father passed away from cancer quite a spell ago. 

Something a little cheeky perhaps, yeah I am sort of feeling that way thus the byline and accompanying image. Mixed with something a little reverent, yep, that's where this next part comes in.

F#ck Cancer! Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. It has touched so many people's lives that I know, including mine, and is a hateful disease. It shows no mercy and leaves the host ravaged.

Sometimes it's a slow painful death in the case of my Father and other times it's quick and painful. Either way it's merciless.

Currently I can name off a few people who I know it is working it's voodoo on and I hope they beat it. This shit deserves to be put in it's f#cking place!

Me & My Dad

So, I am taking Father's Day and dedicating it to the memory of mine, Bill Shinafelt February 23, 2009 who passed away from lung cancer.

Visit the American Cancer Society for more information and to donate:
www.cancer.org/donate  

Domestic Abuse

Johnny Depp & Amber Heard

The subject of Domestic Abuse has grabbed worldwide focus again in the divorce of world famous superstar Johnny Depp and his Wife Amber Heard. 

Johnny has been vehemently defended by friends and his former partner Vanessa Paradis with whom he has two children. Many of Depp's friends calling Heard a manipulative gold digger.

Let's put the mud slinging and the whole taking sides thing away for a moment to focus on a subject that should always be treated respectfully and with sensitivity. This commentary is not about lying whores or evil pricks. It's about being aware that this is an issue that affects 1 in 4 Women and 3 million Men. 

It's about those who take advantage of someone else's emotional and physical vulnerability. Again this is not about side taking, or about Depp and Heard, it is about educating. Just because someone does not abuse all of their partners, does not mean they will not abuse others.

My good friend Romi Simmons wrote this account about her Mother in the wake of all this:

"Just weighing in .... From personal experience ... Some people don't behave the same with other partners... Usually the dynamics... Brought out by each other.....My Dad beat my Mom... But he didn't beat his other wife or his GF. They never believed the stories I told them. Nor did our community.... Plus they always said women who stay with Men who abuse them Must like it... Lol... I remember that always pissed me off... That statement... We didn't like it.. We just didn't know we had a way out...."

This is something that most people do not consider when they hear that someone is being abusive to another human being that has never done the same to them. It's an important point that needs to be addressed more in the press by those who report it. The sensationalism, insensitivity and ignorance toward this has got to stop. 

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, there is a way out. 

The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233   

"Hip & Accessible" Far In The Maples

Far in the Maples
Regina Conroy & Reshy P.

Turning the celebrated, swingin’ sound of the Jersey Shore inside out, “poetic pop” duo Far In The Maples is poised to cast a new seaside musical legacy built upon the nuances of internal emotion with unexpected soundscapes, unforgettable melodies and the sweetly understated vocals. 

They recently released their album Skywork that showcases song-oriented music that’s both honest and contemporary with a classic timelessness, from an infectious new band driven by songbird Regina Conroy and multi-instrumentalist Reshy P.

Regina Conroy is here to tell us all about it, take it away Regina!

MS: Hey Regina nice to meet you, your musical style is so sophisticated. How did coming from the Jersey Shore influence it?

RC: Living at the Jersey Shore? I grew up around music all the time with my family. my Dad was a musician and so was my older brother. So when I was younger my Dad and my brother would play shows, or we would go to concerts, there was always stuff happening on the boardwalk, all these local shows that I would get to go to. I've loved to sing since I was five years old, anything that was playing in our kitchen when my Dad would turn on the radio...of course growing up on the Jersey Shore people are like: "Ohhhhh, you know Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi?" It's like, yes of course I've seen them both at stores and places like that. Maybe their music influenced me subconsciously, but I'm not a die hard fan because they live twenty minutes away from me. (laughs)

MS: To me your music, lyrically has a Bob Dylan vibe.

RC: My Mom is obsessed with Bob Dylan we always had his CD's in the car, I love him. Writing poetry is a passion of mine, I took a poetry class as an after school type thing. My poetry instructor told my Mom at the time: "Wow, she's really good for her age." 

MS: How old were you?

RC: I was eight when I started writing poetry. As I got older I used my poetry as a means to write lyrics. When I was fifteen I got my first guitar so I started teaching myself and molding all of the scales together and started writing music. 

MS: You really started from a young age.

RC: Definitely, I really did a lot of self teaching. I listened to all different types of music, would read the lyric books that came with all of the CD's. My influence was anything I could get my hands on. Some people go to school to learn to perform music or how to play it...for me it was just having it all around me all those years and picking up on all of the different influences. 

MS: You and your band mate Reshy P. really know how to blend them well.

RC: It interesting, we both have different musical influences but we are able to find that balance of a little bit of mine, a little bit of his and make it into our own. 

MS: The fact that you guys do pop music, yet are still artistic is great, a lot of people have lost a sense of that.

RC: I know, I know, it's hard to put a name on it, boil it down when people ask us: "Who do you think you guys sound like?" I don't know.There's lots of pop on the radio, but most of it is repetitive and one line. It's very dance kind of stuff, ours is a little more poetic. It's still pop, but there is a lot to be said and thought about in it.

Regina & Reshy

MS: So do you always write the lyrics and Reshy always writes it to music?

RC: For the most part. We started writing together in November of 2013. Basically the first time that we met I brought everything I had as far as things that I was working on lyrically and musically, and some were just lyrics. So we kind of worked from some of my little pieces that I had worked on before meeting Reshy and brought them to music. Basically I bring the lyrics and we work on them together but mostly it's ninety percent my words.

MS: What inspires your poetry?

RC: To inspire myself I put myself in a different place. Go somewhere, tap into how I feel in the moment. Most of it has been putting myself outside my comfort zone for inspiration. Much of what I write about is relationships. But I think the focus of that is writing about the journey of finding yourself. It's very reflective and very personal. 

MS: You guys took the band name Far in the Maples from a Robert Frost poem. What is it you like about his work?

RC: I really haven't read a ton of poetry myself. I just kind of read stuff here and there, or people will show me something, and I'll say: "Hey I really like this!" Reshy actually showed me that poem and it stuck with us. The visualization of far in the maples...it's a beautiful poem. I'm not particularly a Robert Frost fan, but I'm not, not a fan either. (laughs) 

Go "Far in the Maples" at:
https://www.facebook.com/farinthemaples
https://instagram.com/farinthemaples/
https://twitter.com/farinthemaples

If I Were A Pig...

Father/Daughter Time
Alec & Ireland Baldwin

Once upon a time there was a "rude, thoughtless little pig" as the story goes some eight years ago when Alec Baldwin left a message ranting at his model daughter Ireland Baldwin on her phone.

It was during an intense custody battle between Alec and his ex-wife Kim Basinger and was leaked to the press.

So Ireland and her Dad took to Instagram and posted this poking fun at the incident. The back story is Ireland missed one of her scheduled calls from dear old Dad because she did not have her phone on her person at the time and out of the frustration the custody battle was causing him, it triggered the rant.

Ireland captioned the photo: "If I were a pig...I would be rude and thoughtless of course!"

This made me laugh when I saw it, hope it puts some levity in your Monday!

Visit Ireland on Instagram: https://instagram.com/irelandbbaldwin/?hl=en

R.I.P: Dick Van Patten

R.I.P: Dick Van Patten

8 is Enough was my seminal family show that I grew up with. The Brady Bunch was in reruns by the time I could actually watch TV.

Dick Van Patten was the best TV Dad ever! Sorry Mike Brady.

You will always be one of my fondest memories growing up.

I salute you sir with grace, gratitude and my first introduction to Betty Buckley.

Remember Dick on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0887694/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1

Grammy's: Tonight's The Night

Alright everyone as you all must know by now because of the media blitz tonight is Grammy night and I don't mean your Dad or your Mom's Mother. It's the music equivalent of the film biz's Oscars...coming soon BTW.

There will be many cool performances tonight including Superbowl darling Katy Perry, Madonna, Adam Levine + Gwen Stefani and many more!

There will also be a performance from super group and fan favorite Pentatonix for the award show. PTX as fans call them are also nominated in the category of Best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Cappella for their Daft Punk Medley.

Have a rockin' and rollin' time whatever your Grammy plans, and go Penatatonix!

Go Grammy at: http://www.grammy.com/

Daughter Of Chucky: Fiona Dourif

Fiona Dourif

Hey all of you Chucky Fans no doubt you've heard about the latest and one of the best films in the series "Curse of Chucky".

Of course it is not lost on you guys that the female lead bears the same last name as the voice of "Chucky" Brad Dourif.

Yes, we have the actual "Daughter of Chucky" here for an exclusive Halloween interview - Fiona Dourif!

Fiona actually carries more horror cred than being the female lead in the current "Chucky" movie as well as being his daughter, she has also appeared as "Casey" one of the Witches in Marnie's Coven on "True Blood" and was in Paul Thomas Anderson's Scientology based story "The Master".

You are all in for a treat, hit it Fiona....Happy Halloween!

MS: Hi Fiona. Wow! It's four o'clock straight up!

FD: I am punctual! (laughs)

MS: I like that! Your father used to come into a video store I worked in when I first moved to Los Angeles, when I still was a little on the "star struck" side and I used to get so excited that "Chucky" was in the house.

FD: Oh God! How funny!

MS: I'm surprised this entry into the "Chucky" series went straight to video with all of the great reviews it has gotten.

FD: We weren't really sure it was going to take that direction at first.

MS: The word is it's more scary, than funny like the earlier entries.

FD: Yeah, that was the mission a return to horror.

MS: I've seen you in other things you have done, you are really good,  did they decide to cast you as the lead because of the "Chucky Connection"?

FD: You know I have no idea. I can tell you what Don Mancini (the writer/director) told me. I went up for the role of the bitchy sister, then I got a call three days later, saying I wasn't right for it, but Don thought I might be right for the lead, prepare that. I went in and I met Don, and you know, I didn't think it went that well to be honest. Then I got called back and the studio wanted to make sure I was soft and likable enough. My manager had me go back in with big eyelashes and a flower dress - and then I got it, I was really surprised. Don told me later that they had conflicting theories about me being "Chucky's Kid" they thought it might be confusing, but he thought it might be confusing in a surprising way, it's really an open ended question. I don't think the story in the movie says I'm his kid at all.

MS: Are you a horror fan yourself?

FD: Well, I wasn't one forever and when I was cast in this my boyfriend at the time was a horror writer and told me "You need to figure out what you are doing." So, I went back and watched a lot of the old stuff and have become a fan of the genre. A great horror film is the best, most primal stuff you can watch.

MS: The original "Halloween" is the first horror film my Dad took me to and it scared the shit out of me.

FD: Yeah, totally! My feeling is good writing is good writing, Don is a good writer.

Fiona at the Season 4 "True Blood" Premiere

MS: He is. Let's talk about another horror credit you have you played "Casey" a Witch in Marnie's coven on season four of...

FD: From "True Blood", yeah (laughs) that was really fun! Wait, I'm sorry I'm actually at a restaurant with the "Chucky" doll, because I am taking him to a friend's bar for the next couple of days. What happened while I was talking was the waiter just came up and tried to hit "Chucky" in the back. (laughs) It's probably the most expensive thing I own and I'm like "No"!

MS: Jeeze doesn't he know he's not real? (laughs) You were in "The Master" which was controversial as it is based around the beliefs of Scientology.

FD: Paul Thomas Anderson is one of my favorite Directors. I think "Magnolia" is one of the great American Masterpieces. I shot a lot of things most of it got cut out, I ended basically not being in the movie, that happened to so many people that were in that movie. The final cut is pretty much like a skeleton of what the original movie was. It 's OK, I got upset, but I got over it.

MS: What's your take on Scientology?

FD: I am secular, but I have a respect for organized religion. Do whatever you want Scientologists, I don't really think it's a cult, just like I don't think being Mormon is a cult, it's people making beliefs and rituals in their lives. To each his own. I was actually audited by them to prepare for the role, and that was kind of interesting and they never stopped calling me after which was kind of annoying.

MS: Tell everyone, what are you going to be for Halloween?

FD: I still haven't figured it out. God, I don't know yet, maybe I will be a houseplant! (laughs)

Follow Fiona on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/fionadourif

Go beyond "Chucky" on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1875040/?ref_=fn_nm_nm_1