OPINION: Is Hollywood Afraid of Fit Women?

All photos belong to their respective owners.

Hey ladies, if you ever want to have a successful career in Hollywood, here’s a small tip I can give you…don’t ever pick up a weight, but if you do, make sure it’s those colorful weights that weigh 3-5 pounds each.

You think I’m joking, don’t you? You honestly think I’m making a joke here. Sad thing is…I wish I was.

It has been made abundantly clear that Hollywood and the mainstream media seem to have some form of intimidation issue with fit woman and don’t want to showcase them in any positive manner when it comes to the entertainment world. However, the sports world is a different story, especially more now than ever before.

On August 1^st, 2015, Ronda Rousey defeated previously unbeaten Bethe Correia to remain undefeated in UFC, retaining the World Bantamweight Championship in the main event of UFC 190. Yes…the MAIN EVENT. As in THE fight that people pay to see the most. Since then, things in the division began to get very interesting when Holly Holm shocked the world at UFC 193 and defeated Rousey for the title (main-event, as well) and then at UFC 197, Mishea Tate defeated Holm to finally capture the title (part of a massive double main-event). For several UFC events, fit, tough women have been in the spotlight and have shown that fit women can draw a crowd if done right.

While it hasn’t always been that way, the sports world is beginning to see that women just aren’t the same “cute, cookie-cutter stereotype” they used to be. They are starting to realize that strong is the new sexy. The NFL has recently hired their first coach in Dr. Jen Welter, a football player herself who has no problem showing the men how it’s done on the gridiron. The NBA hired their first coach in Becky Hammon, who ended up making even more history by becoming the first women to win a championship in the NBA (yes, it was the Summer League, but a championship is a championship, nethertheless). CrossFit has become super-popular in a short amount of time, and many would argue that the reason for that is Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet, who won last year’s CrossFit Games but has been viewed as arguably THE Face of CrossFit (not just the female side) for quite some time. Even WWE’s got in on the “Strong is the New Sexy” movement with their #DivaRevolution with NXT favorites Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch making waves on the main roster (and will be heading to Wrestlemania to compete for the Divas Championship in a much-anticipated Triple Threat match), with ladies such as Bayley, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Askua, Emma, and Dana Brooke (who DOUBLES as a fitness competitor in addition to being a wrestler, BTW) leading the NXT women’s division to new frontiers. Pretty sad that Hollywood is too stuck on their ways that they can’t see something awesome that’s right in front of them.

WWE Divas Champion Charlotte leading the #DivasRevoltion in WWE, with fit, gorgeous women changing WWE's Divas division a day at a time, with names such as Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Asuka, Emma, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and Nikki Bella, among others. WWE will be launching a Tapout fitness line in April, shortly after Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas, Texas.

I mean, seriously, what is it going to take for Hollywood to see that fit girls CAN move a company and/or sport to new heights? Are they THAT scared of women with a little bit of muscle? There’s all this talk about “diversity”, but it seems to only be involved with color, sexual orientation/preference, and SOME body types. Apparently, it’s fine in Hollywood to be practically anyone (and I mean ANYONE) in Hollywood except a fit woman it seems. I mean there are tons of women in the bikini division (the least muscular of the female divisions) that would be great in Hollywood, and Hollywood is too afraid to give them a proper look. I swear I wish I was exaggerating, but here’s something big I want you to ponder on for a bit:

Unless you have been living under a rock the last few years, you have probably heard of a certain movie that is out, quite possibly THE biggest superhero movie of all time when it's all said and done…Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As of this post being published, I’ve yet to have seen this movie, so I’ll hold off judgment on the movie as a whole until I’ve seen it. But one of the roles in the movie was for Wonder Woman, arguably the most famous female superhero of all time, and part of the Trinity (along with Batman and Superman). The disappointment I personally had when Warner Brothers/DC Comics choose Gal Gadot for the role was beyond words, but not because of WHO Gal was (I have no personal issue with Gal whatsoever, so please don't label me as a hater), but WHAT she represented: typical Hollywood outer beauty that would attract the masses. I will give credit where credit is due, she did take this role serious and according to an article on Yahoo.com, she did put on 17 pounds to give her a bit more of an intimidating look, but that depends on your definition of “intimidating”. (Oh yeah...this exact quote from the article gave me bad vibes;  “I don’t want to be big and bulky… I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder.”) You would think that Hollywood would have tried to get someone that would have fit the bill better, but ultimately they didn’t. I doubt the movie will suffer because of that reason (I hope it doesn’t), but imagine how better it would have been if they would have given a fitness-based woman an opportunity like that. Can you imagine what that could have done for women to see someone like that ON THE BIG SCREEN and go “Wow…she looks amazing! I would love to know her secret”. It’s revealed in some articles in magazines and BOOM. Gym memberships increase, fitness awareness in increased. Hollywood looks good in the progress sending a hell of a statement to a lot of people. It's a win-win for everyone. But clearly, they don’t want to go with that and choose sexiness over substance.

Think I’m still crazy?! Allow me to go even further.

Amazons?! Ehh...well it's Hollywood's version, at least. 

Next year, Wonder Woman gets her OWN movie, and earlier this week, the first photo from the movie was released. Yes, that's the photo about this paragraph. In addition to Wonder Woman (Gal) on the photo, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), General Antiope (Robin Wright), and Antiope’s lieutenant Menalippe (Lisa Loven Kongsli). Great photo, but someone (not me) summed it up better than I ever could: It looks like an ad for a Victoria’s Secret Amazon Skinny Line. I mean, COME ON!! Can you REALLY say that the Amazons pose a legit threat when they look like they do in the photo? If you can say it to my face without hesitation, more power to you.

In comparison to men and muscles as it related to Hollywood, Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck went through hell to put on muscle for their respective roles as Superman and Batman. Ezra Miller was trending due to his apparent muscle gain for his role as The Flash in the DC Cinematic Universe. Will Smith packed on the mass to play famed boxer Muhammad Ali. Zac Efron is looking like a men’s physique competitor (borderline classic physique, to me) for the upcoming Baywatch movie. Apparently Mike O’Hearn is up for the main role in a potential He-Man reboot. Do I need to go on?

Yep...Zac is DEFINITELY out of High School (Musical) now. He's playing in Baywatch next year, but he actually looks...intimidating and believable as a badass (I can't believe I called a HSM alum a badass. Yikes!) 

I know what you're probably thinking…but Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey have had Hollywood roles, so your rant is kinda unjustified, don't ya think? Yeah..no. Both ladies were able to get Hollywood roles based on their MMA careers, not based off their fitness backgrounds. Oh, and before you go and think I'm a DC hater bring up Wonder Woman in a "not-so-positive" light, (far from it), I doubt Marvel Studios will get it right either. They can POTENTIALLY make a bold move when it comes to casting Captain Marvel (the only top female superhero for Marvel that I can think of coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe right now) and even that's pushing it. And if She-Hulk is ever part of the MCU or on a Marvel Netflix show, I shutter to think of who they will pick to cast her.

I hope one day that Hollywood will see the light and realize that fit women can truly play a great part in their world just like everyone else, but I fear that this something they will never understand or want to understand. But then again, it shouldn't be much of a surprise when a business like Planet Fitness exist and flat out discourages ANYONE with even a hint of muscle on them (male or female). I would love for myself to be wrong and eat crow and humble pie for the rest of my life if Hollywood were to ever embrace fit women into their world. Some will argue to their grave that this would never work. How can it never work when it's never even been given the opportunity TO work, or fail for that matter? What is Hollywood and the mainstream media so afraid of when it comes to giving fit women an opportunity to show that they are more than just ladies who happen to workout in the gym? Since we're so into hashtags these days, here's my hashtag to Hollywood about fit women...#WhatAreYouAfraidOf?

Someone as beautiful as Amanda Kulco (Latona) is considered "manly" by Hollywood/mainstream standards because she works out with weights...and that''s sad. :( 

Now that I've spilled my guts out involving a subject that has been eating away at me for quite some time, I want to hear from you all: fans and critics alike. Can fitness-oriented women be a part of Hollywood and the mainstream world outside sports in a positive manner? Why or why not? Leave a comment below or send us your thoughts at fitgemsnation@gmail.com, or on Twitter or Facebook.

My Tribute to Jason Adams

I know I have quite a bit to write about, but I wanted to take this time to write about someone who has said to me over and over that I'm an inspiration to HIM. The man I'm talking about it Jason Adams.

The first time I heard of him is when I saw his post on Siouxcountry about his blog called Promoting Real Women (http://promotingwomen.blogspot.com), his blog dedicated to MMA and the fitness industry. I highlighted his blog on FitGems (http://fitgems.blogspot.com/2010/01/fitting-review-promoting-women.html) as it was starting to take off. I check out the blog every day, as it's one of the coolest and most unique blogs in the world right now, not just for the fitness and women's MMA (which I have a newfound respect for, thanks to Jason), but in ALL of sports. I follow a lot of sports and sport blogs, and I can't think of one blog that gives people a chance to shine like his. An interview blog?! That's beyond innovation, in my honest opinion.

Over 2010, his star began to rise and rise to unbelievable heights. He opened a fan page for his blog, which is now approaching 7,000 members (I see it reaching 10,000 by summertime). He decided to make me an administrator to the fan page, as well as a writer for the blog. For him to ask me to be an admin and guest writer meant a lot to me, as this is reserved for the females that have made the biggest impact of his life. I returned the favor by making him an admin to the FitGems fan page, a guest blogger, and also gave him his own special section on the main FitGems website as well as making him a top moderator for the site. I never looked back, as making him a part of FitGems was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.

I've said this to him, and I'm going to say it here: I see Jason as an older brother of some sorts. That's how much respect I have for him. When you diss him, you diss me. I don't give a damn if you call me a jerk or a creep or perv(I'm used to it now, even know I know it's not true), but please don't stoop so low as to call Jason out of his name. He doesn't deserve the crap he's getting from certain people, who won't be mentioned here on this blog post.

So when you get the chance, let Jason know how much you care for what he's doing for this sport. Let him know that you appreciate what he's doing. I sure as hell do. From the bottom of my heart, I know I can speak for the many female muscle athletes and female MMA fighters when I say...Thank You. :)

Enough...is...ENOUGH! (Rant about Stealing at Recent Shows)

First off, a quick congrats to Nicole Nagrani and Brigita Brezovac on winning their divisions at the 2010 Tampa Pro this weekend! Them, along with Tina Chandler, Cathy LeFrancois, Jaime Baird, Vanessa Campbell are now qualified for the Olympia in less than 2 months!! :)

However, as awesome as that news is, I want to talk briefly about some news that has gotten around via Twitter and other places...stealing from purses, specifically from those of bikini competitors. This was said to have taken place at the Jr. Nationals and Team Universe, and now I read via Twitter that Dina Al Sabah (who looked great in her return to the stage, btw) had money stolen from her purse WHILE SHE WAS ON STAGE!!

Ai yi yi...

I have no clue if this is just happening to the bikini competitors, I don't know if this some kind of stupid joke or rib people are pulling, or there are those that really...REALLY don't like the bikini division to the point where they want to make a statement, telling them that "You don't belong here". I don't know what the motivation has been, but I can say this...it's a dumb-ass thing you're doing, whoever you are. I really don't see the point of stealing money from them (or anyone else for that matter).

Let's just say this IS a personal attack on the bikini division. What is it that you're trying to accomplish? Are you trying to rid the federation of the division by messing with the ladies' purses?!?! Get real, creeps. Whether you like it or not, the division is here to stay. It's giving ladies a chance to showcase their fit physiques without going the fitness/figure route. It's also bring in more ladies to the fitness lifestyle, and that's a good thing. Let's be honest, we as a whole are too damn fat, and it the bikini division can help change that, than I'm all for it.

My little challenge to your stealers is this...rather than using your talents to rip out hardworking bikini competitor, how about you use that talent to get off your asses and make something good of yourselves. Trust me, you might like the result a whole lot more.

I usually don't go on rants like this, but these petty verbal attacks on the division on message boards and the stealing of money and even suits?! This has got to STOP. Enough...is...enough. Bikini is a part of the NPC and IFBB now. Don't deny it. Accept it. Leave the hating be...

KFC and Burger King...What the DEUCE?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I've been looking at a bit of TV (when I get the time) and checking out the boards and blogs, and well...I'm about to be put on the KFC and Burger King blacklist for this. I'm not the healthiest person on the block, but seriously, neither organization is helping the obesity rate decrease with their latest promotions. Ai yi yi!

First, I'm going to rant on Burger King for a bit. If you can recall, they have new burgers on the menu called the Steakhouse XT burger. They are bragging that their burger is bigger than McDonalds Angus burgers. Let me repeat this again, THEY ARE BRAGGING THAT THEIR BURGER IS BIGGER THAN MCDONALDS'S ANGUS BURGERS!!! I had a McD's Angus burger once...ONCE...and can tell you firsthand they are no joke. To say that your burger is bigger than that of the Angus burger is basically telling me the following things: "Our burger has a better chance of clotting your arteries than McDonalds" or "Our burger will guarantee you to gain more fat than McDonalds". This might be good for a refeeding after a contest, but seriously, I think if you look at the whole thing, there's more harm than good. Even they're making it well known that their new burger, the Buck Double, is bigger than the McDouble. Are you begging for heart problems here, people?! REALLY?!?!

Now for KFC. I got a bone to pick with them on a couple of things. One, the Double Down sandwich. Two FRIED chicken fillets, bacon (which has GREASE), and two slices of cheese...you are BEGGING for a heart attack, people. Again, this might be alright for a refilling after a show. Might. But that doesn't make me as ill as what their doing as their latest promotion. They are teaming up with the Susan B. Komen For The Cure Foundation where 50 cents for each bucket sold will go to breast cancer research. Will Brink brought up some very valid points over at Siouxcountry, so I won't repeat them there (Go to the link and give your input on it). While their hearts seem to be in the right place, the idea of giving back to fight breast cancer by buying a bucket of greased chicken that can possibly lead to cancer if too much is consumed is stupid. Not kinda or sorta stupid, just flat-out stupid.

Yeah, yeah, I know people will eat whatever they want, but that's the darn problem. If you actually stopped to think about it, it's things like this that are making the obesity problem worse rather than better. Maybe it's just me ranting, but isn't it about time that people, not just those in the industry, wake up and take charge in their lives. If you think I'm little steamed over this, just wait til I talk about how these fast-food places are trying to be healthier with their "healthy" options. I will have the entire fast food society on my back when I'm finished! LOL. :)

What's your take on the latest KFC and Burger King promotions? Am I speaking some sense, or have I lost my mind? Sound off in the comments below.

Uncovering the Myths #1: Bikini Girls Don't Work Hard (by Lizzy Ostro)

Since being introduced to NPC, bikini has gotten a mixed reaction from all types of competitors and spectators.

First of all, many figure girls(not all of them) really look down at the bikini division. They think it is the "easy" way to compete and that it isn't a real sport. Alternatively, there are many girls that saw the bikini division open up and just think "oh I want to do that!!" These girls entered without really being into fitness. They had pretty good genetics and wanted to get on stage in a bikini and flaunt their asses around.(Hey, I'm just being honest.) The bikini "look" is a fit, toned body, that isn't as dried out as a figure girl. YES, you should have some muscle and YES you should be lean, but you just don't want to have as much muscle as the figure girls or be quite as lean. I truly think the division should be called fitness model, because bikini gives the impression that I am going to step on stage in a white t-shirt and have a hose spraying me while I pretend I just realized I forgot to rub all my lotion in and, what better time than now?

THESE are the girls that give the sport a bad rap. These are the girls that don't train much, and don't really follow the healthy lifestyle. They walk on stage and stick their boobs and ass out as far as possible, hoping to swoon the judges. No wonder there are so many haters on bikini! What really makes me angry is when these girls actually PLACE. But that topic is for another day....

I'm here to give you an inside view of a REAL bikini girl. The kind of bikini competitor that this division was made for. The girl that works her ASS off and lives the true fitness lifestyle. The girl that gives up drinking and makes sure to get her 8 hours of sleep per night. A girl that says no to happy hour because she has her 4 oz of chicken and broccoli waiting for her. Let me take you through the life of a real bikini competitor. There are MANY of them out there, but it's the one's who play a stripper on stage that ruin the name for everyone.

-The alarm clock goes off at 5:30AM. I don't have to be at work until noon, but it's time to start the day off right. I cook my egg whites and chow down on my oats. After all, I'm starving when I wake up. I throw on my work out clothes, check e-mail and head to the gym. It's time to train!!

-I get to the gym and hop on the treadmill to warm up a little bit. It's back day, so while I'm warming up, I imagine my workout and what exercises I'm going to do. I think about the rep count. Supersets today? Maybe drop sets? What about both? Sounds good to me.

After a 5-10 minute warm up, I glove up and get my head in the zone. I head to the Lat Pulldowns. I do a few warm up sets and then get to work. 10 reps. I can barely get the last two, but I groan and push through them. Drop the weight by a third and do 6-8 more reps. I'm already out of breath. A quick sip of water and I'm ready for cable rows. 4 sets of the super set and I'm ready for the next.

-After I finish, usually about an hour, it's time for cardio. I walk right past the elliptical and onto the stair mill. Set it up at level 9-10 and I'm ready to camp out for about 45 minutes. Ipod is doing it's job, and I'm pushing myself mentally. Mantras and quotes are buzzing through my head and I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat after my workout. More egg whites? Chicken? Lean ground turkey? What veggies do I want? Nuts or avocado?

-The rest of the day I just have to focus on nutrition. The workout is done and now I just have to make sure I eat at the right times and that I'm eating the right foods/amounts. For some, the workout is the hardest part. For others, like myself, the diet is the hardest part. I'm dieting down for a show, so I'm not eating for energy. I'm eating to get leaner. This equates to HUNGER. I do my best to combat the hunger. Extra veggies, lots of water, gum. If that doesn't work, I go through competitor pictures and imagine what I will look like come show time.

Before I know it, I'm leaving work and ready to go home to eat my last meal of the day, do more work and finally get to bed. It's Friday night and my friends are all going out tonight. Sometimes I might say yes, but I have an early workout tomorrow and I need my sleep. I turn them down, drink my protein shake and get ready for bed. It's 9pm, and this day is done. I am one day closer to my goals. "You can do this," I tell myself and slip into dreamland.

If I hear one more person tell me that a bikini girl doesn't work hard, I might just have to challenge them to a push up contest. I'm not someone that likes to argue with people, I'd rather just prove them wrong. I'm here to prove to all of you that think that REAL bikini girls don't work hard, that you are so very wrong. There are hundreds of bikini competitors just like me that work their butts off, and it's time that we are made known. After all, WE are who this division is about.

Let's keep it classy ladies, we've got a division to represent.

Uhh...Jillian?! Babies DON'T ruin bodies...Just ask OUR ladies! :)

I was going through the news on Yahoo like I usually do, and I came upon an article about some controversial comments made by Jillian Michaels. For those that don't know who I'm talking about (if you have a TV, how could you not?!), she's known as TV's Toughest Trainer for NBC's The Biggest Loser. The thing that made it controversial was the fact that she didn't want children because of what it would do to her body. I won't quote what she said; I'll let you look at the link for yourself.

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/jillian-michaels-criticized-for-antipregnancy-comments--1178

Uhh...I will never know how having a baby will affect your figure (I'm male, for those that don't know), but I can say from some of my fitness friends that childhood is NOT the end of your body. You CAN get your figure back. Heck, some seem to thrive better AFTER having a child. There's a lot of examples out there, here's a few that come to mind.

IFBB Figure Pro Christine Pomponio-Pate became pregnant with her first child in 2007, and gave birth to Riley sometime after Christmas that year. Nearly two months later, she lost all of her baby weight (and btw, she didn't have much to lose thanks to her eating habits and workout routine...during labor.) She has went on to do big things, and will go on to even bigger things, if you've all been paying attention to the recent FitGems posts on Christine.

Last year's FitGems FitMom winner, Niki DelGrosso, is a mother of TRIPLETS and is competing her heart out even to this day of one day achieving her pro card.

And don't even get me started on Tanya Merryman and Jennifer Gates. Both women have children and have worked hard to hold top honors in their organizations. Tanya became the first mother to win the Fitness America overall title, and Jennifer became the first mother to win an Olympia championship (from ANY division). Yeah, to me, I think this is one of those times that I think Jillian MIGHT have put her foot in her mouth. For those wondering, this is NOT a diss at her whatsoever, just my own personal take on the matter.

So, what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with what Jillian had to say? Sound off in the comments below.

Save Women's Fitness Now!!!

For those that has paid attention to the fitness division as of late, fitness has been on the decline over the last few years. Absolutely NO disrespect to any of the other female physique divisions, but fitness is arguably the most entertaining division of all the female divisions out there. Creativity, high-energy, personality, dedication...all of that is in the fitness division. For fans, they are in awe of what they can do. For photographers and those that take video, capturing their routines on film is like watching poetry in motion. In the NPC and IFBB, there's just nothing like women's fitness. So I'm scratching my head into seeing why fitness is at an all-time low.

Is it the work that is needed? The time that's needed? Now enough contests? Not enough competitors stepping up? Too many not going into the pros after their winning their pro card? I wish I knew the answer, but I don't. What I DO know is this: something needs to be done, or fitness will be nothing but a distant memory.

Siouxcountry has stepped up to the plate with the Lets's Save NPC and IFBB Fitness thread, and since fitness is what made me a fan and supporter of the female physique sport in the first place, I'd thought I'd step up to the place and contrubute to the cause by creating a blog called Save Women's Fitness Now! It's a blog that will focus solely on the IFBB and NPC fitness division, including posts on ideas to increase awareness about the division, coverage from fitness shows, posts from past, present, and future competitors, links to fitness competitor sites, and more!

Please join me in helping to reignite the flame of the IFBB/NPC fitness division and keep it from being a footnote in IFBB history.

Please view and bookmark the following links:


Save Women's Fitness blog

Save Women's Fitness Twitter

For more information, please email me at save_fitness@yahoo.com

To ALL Fitness Competitors...TIME TO SPEAK UP!!!

The first pro show of the year (Phoenix Pro) is merely a few days away, as as of right now, there are only FOUR fitness competitors for the pro fitness part of the show. What the deuce, people?! I don't get it. If this keeps up, fitness might just be a thing of the past, and there are some who won't take NO for an answer.

J.M. Manion has thrown down the challenge. He made it on Siouxcountry, Issac posted it on Hardbody News and now I'm posting this message:

I also want to throw this out to any & all IFBB Pro Fitness competitors – anybody that wants to contribute an article(s) to the NPC News about NPC and/or IFBB Fitness, please let me know. The door is open. And remember to keep it positive. This is to help promote the sport & bring it back to its former glory.
__________________
J.M. Manion
Chief Photographer/Journalist NPC News

As a supporter of this industry, I highly encourage for all IFBB Fitness Pros to take what J.M. had to say and do something about it. It's clear that many within the industry doesn't want fitness to die. I sure as hell don't. The fitness division is what made me a fan of the entire female physique sport in the first place. As a matter of fact, don't be surprised if the FitGems Nation gets involved somehow in how to help keep fitness from becoming nothing more than a footnote in IFBB and NPC history.

For those interested, here's what I wrote on the state of fitness around 2008:
http://fitgems.blogspot.com/2008/05/state-of-ifbbnpc-womens-fitness.html

Let me stress this very carefully. I'm no fitness competitor, I have no clue what the fitness competitors go through to prepare for a show, so I'm speaking as a person who LOVES the fitness division and doesn't want to see it fall. To all IFBB and NPC Fitness competitors, take a stand and don't let yourselves be the end of the fitness division as we know it!

SAVE FITNESS WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A DIVISION!!!

Words of Wisdom (June 26, 2009)

Hey everyone.

I woke up this morning hoping yesterday was nothing more than a nightmare. That things were going to be alright. Unfortunately, that is not meant to be.

Yesterday, the world lost two iconic stars. First, it was Farrah Fawcett who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 62. Most people remember her as one of the original Charlie's Angels. What man didn't want to be with her and what woman didn't want to be her? Most fitness/figure competitors would probably put her at the original bombshell. She helped paved the way for beautiful women to make it in the entertainment.

Then, in the late afternoon, news got around that Michael Jackson collasped in his home of Los Angeles. He was rushed to the hospital, in hopes of reviving him. Many fans waited outside the UCLA hospital in hopes he would come out fine. One hour later, it was announced that the King of Pop was dead. I was outside helping my family when my sister came out and told us the news. I felt like a part of me died after hearing that...correct, I know a part of me died after hearing the awful news. In my eyes, there will never, ever be another King of Pop. The throne is his and his alone.

In addition to Ed McMahon (who died Monday) and David Carradine, June has not been a good month in terms of Hollywood. I have a couple of qoutes I would like to share with all of you. This first one is gonna piss some people off.

"Keep your words short and sweet. You might have to eat them later"

This is directly at those who are trashing Michael after his death. Good Lord, the man's dead, lay off! He didn't have the perfect life, and I have no clue if he was doing child molestation or not. If he did, he will answer to God and God only. He owes you nothing whatsoever. I mean, I've read some of the comments on message boards and Facebook where they say that boys and mothers can breathe a sight of relief. Well, I wonder who can breathe a sight of relief when YOUR time has come to take that final breath? Hmmm...didn't like that huh? Imagine what the family is going through. Put yourself in their shoes. When you lose someone, it hurts. You don't have to like him, you can even hate him, but as a human being, as a child of God, as someone with some decency (BTW, this obviously doesn't include that punk Perez Hilton (read his Jackson take and you'll see why)), show a little class and a little respect to those that are hurt right now. If you can't say something nice, just don't say anything at all. It's that simple.

Yep, that was a little harsh, but I needed to get that off my chest. And the other words of wisdom I have for you today is something that I think everyone needs to do:

"Live life like there's no tomorrow"

We all have one life to live, and there's no telling when it will end. No one knows except for God, as He will decide when He wants us to come home. Live life to the fullest, and don't sweat the small stuff. Tell everyone you know "Hello" and "I Love You". Never take anything for granted in life. One day, you could have it all. The next, it could all disappear. I know, I've been there.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this. I didn't post this to create enemies. I made this post to make you think. Take care, and enjoy your weekend. :)