Mindschmootz's Podcast

A few months ago, a mutual friend introduced me to hand and body-part model, Adele Uddo. I was immediately smitten. Now, I know what you are thinking, it’s the “parts” that captured my attention, but that’s not true. Well, it is true to a certain extent, holy hell, I have a pulse, don’t I? But Adele is much more that just the sum of those beautiful parts. Not only is she not too hard on the eyes, she is intelligent, witty, quirky, and lovable…a few of my favorite things.

Adele’s relatively new blog, Hand Jobs: Tale of a Hand Model, is a source of great personal joy and insight. It’s my opinion that Southerners are great storytellers, and Adele is no exception to my rule. Chronicling her journey from a child of great culinary (among other) privilege in New Orleans to being uprooted and transplanted on a raw-vegetable, hippie commune in California.

Adele expounds upon the remarkable tales of traveling cross country in a bus named the Mars Hotel; the pleasures and paranoia of adult prescribed, prepubescent drug use (she is NOT a Native American), the heart break of trying to fit into a “normal” school life without ingesting preservatives and meat-byproducts, and the interaction of real-life characters most likely experienced by most of us only through the scripts of a sitcom.

I invite you to sit in on our conversation about parts…Adele’s, and the ones that run a little more than skin deep.

In light of the recent ruling regarding the unconstitutionality of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the military's ban on gays serving openly in the military, I was honored to sit down and chat with retired Navy Captain, Joan Darrah and her partner of over 20 years, Lynne Kennedy. Joan had an illustrious 30 year career as a Navy intelligence officer, but with her extremely high security clearance, came the personally classified nature of her sexuality. As a result of DADT, and the things you do for love, Joan and Lynne both served their country in a mandated silence.

The events of September 11, 2001, brought a realization that personal truth and the commitment to family are far too important to keep quiet. Captain Dannah began early retirement proceedings and began to serve not only her country, but her community. As an advocate of SLDN, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Captain Darrah testified before Congress to the adverse affects on military readiness of their compromise legislation of 1993, DADT.

Joan and Lynne continue to speak out in these uncertain days after Judge Phillips decision. With a possible appeal pending from the Department of Justice, military members are advised to be cautiously optimistic...but not open and truthful, yet. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

A few days ago, I had the distinct privilege of sitting down and chatting with the incomparable Tina Sloan, daytime drama legend...and now author. Tina has chronicled her life as an actress, mother, and daughter in a wonderfully charming, humorous, and poignant memoir entitled Changing Shoes.

Changing Shoes is a primer of sorts for growing old gracefully and meeting aging head on. Tina utilizes footwear as a metaphor for the different stages of life; when you are ready for a change, it's simple, just change your shoes. From the innocence of pink Capezios to the sophistication silhouette of a pair of black Chanel pumps, Changing Shoes takes us on a sentimental journey of youth, career, motherhood, and the decline of aging...our own and our parents.

So, enjoy the conversation with two women who really love shoes...and the changing stories beneath the sole.

Las Aparicio fans will be happy to know that writer, Natassja Ybarra, is very forthcoming about the endgame of the Mariana/Julia story of the very popular telenovela. Will there be a wedding? Yes. Are the gay nuptials the last we will see of the couple? Not at all. Marriage maybe be the declared victory of this revolution, but life is just beginning for these two characters. No denying, this is evolution.

Natassja and I talk about the entirety of Las Aparicio and its highly anticipated journey to Telemundo.com, the collaboration of writers as it pertains to all the characters, and what the future holds for other programming. And of course, we talk about Mariana/Julia/Armando and "polyamor". Enjoy.

Last week I was lucky enough to engage in conversation with the lovely Eréndira Ibarra who portrays Mariana, half of the smoldering same-sex super-couple of Julia and Mariana on the telenovela, Las Aparicio.

As you will hear, Erendira is extremely gracious to this uni-lingual, English-only, American blogger. We chat about the Mexican soap opera, the truthful, yet controversial storyline of “Juliana”, and the extreme commitment of bilingual fans who take it upon themselves to subtitle the LGBT themed love story.

I blogged about the fact you should be watching, and now it’s verbalized. This is no fairy tale, this is a soap opera, and there is plenty of drama. There is no platitude of patronizing head bumping or finger caressing; there is honest passion...and a love triangle that is agonizingly frustrating. But I can’t stop watching over and over again.

Listen, and enjoy. I know I did.

Last week my funny bone and I were fortunate enough to Shoot the 'Schmootz with comedienne and community caregiver, Gloria Bigelow. We sat down for a late night snack of humor, politics, and the occasional reminiscence of nostalgic TV. Going into the interview, I was quite familiar with Gloria's comedic timing, but I soon discovered that it is her passionate work with inner city youth that is no joke.

Please join me Wednesday night at 9:00 PM EDT as Gloria and I spend a humorous and high-spirited hour of conversation. How often can you actually have fun...and learn something as well? Enjoy. I know I did.

April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and honestly, I was not aware of that fact until doing research for this interview. It is opportune in reference to my conversation with Joanna, though I believe a thirty day designation is something she would find interesting and worthy of comment. For Joanna Katz, every day is awareness day.

On June, 17, 1988, Joanna and a female friend were abducted at gunpoint, beaten, tortured, and gang raped repeatedly by five men. Bloodied and dazed, Joanna was able to escape her attackers, find help, save her friend from imminent death, and fight for the conviction of her assailants. It would be enough to end the story here, but thanks to a South Carolina justice system that, at the time, continued to emotionally brutalize victims of sexual crimes, Joanna’s story was only beginning.

Joanna’s inspiring account of survival, both physically and emotionally, is chronicled in the PBS documentary, Sentencing the Victim. As a compliment to this podcast, I encourage you to watch the documentary. I will warn you, this is a brutal film in it’s subject matter. It is dark, disturbing, and infuriating at times, but it also encapsulates hope, support, and courage in its purest form.

In our conversation, I ask Joanna about life post-documentary, where her advocacy has taken her, and what has changed, if anything, socially and/or politically, where victim’s rights are concerned. I believe this conversation is enlightening and inspirational. And this is the Schmootzcast after all, so Joanna is delightfully humorous, so entertaining as well.

In episode 3 of the Schmootzcast, I sit down for an hour-long "girlfriend" chat with Queens of the World writer/producer/director, Mel Robertson and lead actress, Nicole Pacent. We talk about the film, the sport, social networking, and extras like Nicole's first Dinah and a hint or two about Anyone But Me.

Welcome to the "Schmootz on" podcast. Episode 2 of the Schmootzcast dishes with Anyone But Me star and Streamy Award winner for Best Actress in a drama web series, Rachael Hip-Flores. Tune in to hear Rachael wax hypothetically on ABM Season 2, what it means to be a teaching artist, Altoids or tic tacs when kissing her co-star, and much more.

Welcome to the premiere of the "Schmootz On" podcasts, where we dish the dirt with absorbing individuals, and we don't bother to clean it up. I am fortunate to begin this next chapter in media with Orlagh Cassidy, star of the long running daytime serial drama, Guiding Light, stage, prime time, and voice-overs.