by insidewink | May 4, 2021 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff, Staff Picks
Mother’s Day Gift Ideas There are all types of Moms. Some gave birth to their kids. Some choose their kids. Some kids choose their moms. Some have furry, feathered, scaly and watery “kids”. Sometimes we mother others. Sometimes we mother ourselves. A...
by insidewink | Apr 21, 2021 | Featured, Respect Farm, Scuffed Stuff
We Are Here We are at the eclipse… the moment… the transition. When the verdict came out in the Derek Chauvin case, a collective sigh of relief that comes from counting on our justice system to work was heard around the country. Horns blared in communities, cheers...
by Alison Martin | Dec 3, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff, Social Issues
Ok… let’s be honest… the title of this story may not be the truth… Actually, sometimes I don’t listen. I get stuck in my head with the same old, limited thoughts rattling around… but.. I ordered flowers from my friend Robin at Mulberry Row. She...
by Alison Martin | Nov 11, 2020 | Everyday Hero, Featured, Scuffed Stuff
Alex Trebek: Loving husband, father, friend and host of Jeopardy!. We hold his family, his best everlasting legacy, in our hearts. Photo courtesy of Jeopardy! Over the weekend, the world lost a one-of-a-kind personality who we invited into our homes for over 35 years....
by Alison Martin | Oct 3, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
I gave birth to my daughter. I know I did. I have proof, I have pictures! I remember how seriously I took becoming a mom. I tried to be so good, with the most advanced black and white hanging thingies in the bedroom (because I read that babies can’t see colors),...
by Brad Koepenick | Sep 1, 2020 | Artists, Featured, Interviews, Scuffed Stuff
Outside HelMel Studio & Gallery in Los Angeles: John Becerra of SparkRise, Val Kilmer, and Brad Koepenick Who doesn’t know of Val Kilmer? Let’s take that one step further, who doesn’t love Val Kilmer? First, there are his incredibly varied and...
by Alison Martin | Aug 5, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
The Words The other day, someone I barely know but whom I have been working with sporadically the last few weeks told me that I was incredibly difficult. They said I was off-putting and pushy. They said we would never be friends if we were ever to meet. They said I...
by Alison Martin | Jul 3, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
The Struggle This month, I am tasked with writing about “character” and I find that I am struggling. I usually write about one event that will sum up a theme or one moment with a stranger or my family that I feel is universally reflective. But, for me, this moment...
by Alison Martin | Jun 3, 2020 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff
Dear Couch, I’m glad you’re sitting down… or lying down…I have something to tell you… I just wanted to say how great you are. So gentle and yet firm. You really get me. And the way you hold me… your arms are snug but not confining… your selfless, too. You allow...
by Alison Martin | May 5, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
I have to write this article on beauty, so I have some confessions: I have worn make-up only twice in the last 7 weeks. I have not plucked my eyebrows in over a month. I don’t dye my hair. I don’t feel beautiful, not even in the slightest, and when I look in the...
by Alison Martin | Apr 4, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
A Lifetime of “Breaking News” I have a heart condition and my husband and I both work freelance as actors… so, just like many people, during these times I feel fear and worry and dread about both health and finances. I was also raised by two parents who...
by Alison Martin | Mar 5, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
It’s been a challenging time… or maybe it’s best to say that I am having a challenging time (less victim, more power that way). Lots of change and surprises for myself and my family… so I’m feeling a lot. Last Friday, my husband and I had an incredibly busy, stressful...
by Alison Martin | Feb 4, 2020 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff
The best time to talk to someone is in the car. It’s sort of quiet and the passing scenery takes on a meditative quality and, well, basically you’re trapped. No one is going anywhere so you might as well talk. I knew I had to write this article on our theme of love...
by Alison Martin | Jan 5, 2020 | Scuffed Stuff
I’m an actor. This job of being an actor has paid my bills for quite some time… that’s how I express my creativity. I’ve been on Broadway, I’ve been in movies, I’ve been in TV shows, and I’ve been in commercials – lots...
by Alison Martin | Dec 7, 2019 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff
Gifts. That’s the theme for this month. That’s easy. I love gifts. I love the whole idea of gifts – the giving, the receiving, the shopping, the making. I like surprising people and thinking about their expression when they open something. And I like it when I’m...
by Alison Martin | Nov 5, 2019 | Scuffed Stuff
In our small Studio City living room, we have two Thanksgiving tables set up – sort of side-by-side like a separated “T”. It is crowded. It is fun. It is loud. You have to suck in your stomach to squeeze around a corner to get to the kitchen for more sweet...
by Alison Martin | Oct 7, 2019 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff
“Story… was crucial to our evolution – more so than opposable thumbs.” – Lisa Cron from “Wired For Story”. There is so much noise, so much news that it can all feel overwhelming. We hear it all the time – “I can’t watch it anymore” or “I’ve turned...
by Alison Martin | Sep 5, 2019 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff
This was on my street. Just like this. Leaning against a tree. I have lived a “Full” life. I laughed that someone joked about the “Full” size of the mattress (I guess “I have lived a ‘Twin’ life”, although interesting, doesn’t quite work as well). It strikes me, so I...
by Alison Martin | Aug 5, 2019 | Featured, Scuffed Stuff
My 18 year old son, Brady, had oral surgery and he left the doctor’s office with a big white bandage around his head (to be honest, he looked a little like the ghost of Marley in A Christmas Carol). I had been anticipating this procedure for awhile now. I kept hoping...
by Alison Martin | Jul 5, 2019 | Scuffed Stuff
It looked like she was walking on water. I actually had to do a double take to make sure I was seeing her. The LA river (as it is called) NEVER has people walk in it… yet there she was… trudging along… alone. It was weird. My husband and I walk over a small bridge...
