Something Great Is Coming

Since my last post, life has been pretty nice. Not because of anything extraordinary or new, but simply because I just have a feeling that some very exciting things are coming my way. Have you ever had that feeling? If you haven't you should just try to imagine that some of your wildest dreams are coming true. Feel that excitement. That's the feeling that I get sometime and have been getting all of my life. Whenever I feel that way, great things happen. So the next time your feeling optimistic, don't suppress it or write it off. Go with it!

Since my last post I've returned to NBC's, "Today Show" on the recurring segment "Guys Tell All". I also appeared on the weekend edition of "Today" in a segment called, "He Said, She Said". We talked about guilty pleasures. I had to admit that my guilty pleasure is KFC Original Recipe chicken. I didn't want to come across as some type of stereotype, but if loving KFC Original Recipe is wrong, I don't wanna be right! Whoever came up with that recipe of 11 herbs and spices was a culinary genius(whether it's Colonel Sanders or his black maid who he stole the recipe from and went on to die penniless). There's something about that secret combination and a true KFC impressario can always tell when any of those herbs and/or spices are missing. Sometimes you'll go to some bootleg KFC that never seems to have the combination right. But I digress.

You can also see me on HBO.com on the webseries, "Got No Game with Paul Mecurio". I'm one of the Black Guys(that's my character name, Black Guy#2) in the comedic short, "Race In Sports".

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Count Your Blessings

I'm back and it only took a couple of days. It seems like whenever I post to my blog another good thing happens for me to blog about. That should be incentive for me to increase my blogging frequency. The latest good thing is that I just received notice that my film, "Souled Out Comedy" has been chosen to screen at the Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival. "Souled Out Comedy" is the documentary about the show that I produced and performed on with some of my favorite comedian/friends. It stars Marc Theobald, Dean Edwards, Leighann Lord, Wali Collins, Mike Yard and Rick Younger(yeah that's me, I love to take every opportunity I can to speak of myself in the 3rd person).

It seems lately that things are going pretty well for me. Although that may seem like something that a person should be able to clearly see and acknowledge, I find myself having to remind myself about how blessed I am. I'm sure I'm not the only person who sometimes has a hard time enjoying the ride. My ambition often has me so busy looking forward to the next accomplishment that I totally miss what is right before my very eyes. I guess I'm just saying this to remind myself that I'm living the dream and I have to wake up and keep my eyes open to see how great the dream is. It's like when an artist is working on his masterpiece, he periodically has to step back and take a look at the big picture and take it all in. That's an important thing to do because if you can't be happy along the journey to your ultimate goals, you'll find yourself unhappy once you reach your goals. I definitely don't want to be the guy who's making $20 million plus a film and driving people crazy because I'm still not satisfied(that's right I'm gonna make $20 million plus a film, remember you heard it here first). Right now as I write this I'm singing a song to myself that we used to sing in church when I was a kid, "Count Your Blessings". After you finish counting your blessings you always seem to see that you're way more blessed than you realized.

Taking Things Into My Own Hands

It's been a few weeks since I blogged. A lot has been going on, mostly moving into a new apartment. Moving as an adult with a small child is hard work. In this day of cyber-friends and social networking, it really drives home the difference between cyber-friends and real friends. A real friend is someone who helps carry a dresser or a sofa, or anything that's so bulky that it might impale you. Not to say that I only have 4 real friends, but the other real friends who didn't help carry heavy stuff probably have been there for other "heavy" situations that maybe kept me out of jail or helped greatly reduce a fine. My point is that after a while, you find out that real friends are few and far between and they're there for you when you really need them.

Since my last blog entry some other exciting things have happened too. My film "Whistle & Snap" screened at the Roxbury Film Festival and was well received. I was so nervous as I watched and listened to the audience watch our film. It's really different when you have written, produced and star in your own project. When I do someone elses material as an actor, I can always seperate myself from people's reaction and reception of the material. I can always say, "hey, I just do what they put on the paper, I did the best I could with what they gave me". Also, unlike when I do stand-up, I can improvise and adjust according to the audience I'm in front of, but with a completed film all I could do is see how what we produced came across to the audience at hand. The ice was broken when I heard the first laugh from the audience. It was actually quite exhilirating. I was both encouraged and inspired to continue creating and producing. It made me feel empowered and let me know I'm doing the right thing by taking my fate in my own hands and becoming a producer and writer. I'm looking forward to Younger Child Productions' next project(s). I have a feeling that directing is in my future!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy