Blogaholics Anonymous - by Patty Mooney

My name is Patty Mooney and I am a blogaholic. I have Cyber-estate that dots this virtual landscape from desert to mountains to sea. I love to let my fingers do the running as I expound on mountain biking, poetry, travel adventures, romance, and politics. When I "hung ten" upon my first "net-surfboard" - via a Macintosh SE back in the late 1980's - I had a healthy fear of the unknown. No surfer wants to get scraped up on rocks or have a big chunk taken out of their ass by a Great White shark. So I was careful of scammers and spammers. I learned everything I could about Search Engine Optimization, Google Analytics and keyword optimization.

And then I started to blog. And it was fun! But then one blog was just not enough. So I'd get home from a video production gig and work on A Diary Left Open as well as A Life In Business. And then there came a day when I was lured into the Wordpress zone, and started a blog that featured some of my Pocket Productions (music and poetry videos that I shoot with my small Canon camera - not what I would consider professional, but fun). And then my blogaholism really escalated. It was simply too easy to click on "Add Another Blog" and within minutes I had another one.

There's Pocket Productions, and Air Poetry, the Lamp Hat Collection, Soldiers Heart and Diary of a San Diego Video Production Crew. Yes, I do type pretty fast. But by day, I work as a video editor and sound technician. And on my time off, I enjoy mountain biking, sleeping in and long walks on the beach... Not to mention breakfast, lunch, dinner, and time with the hubby. And did I mention mountain biking? And long beach walks?

So I hope you will forgive me, dear reader, for appearing to be more elusive at A Diary Left Open. Yes, I'm still here, trying to come to terms with my blogaholism and time-management skills. Barkeep, pour me a tequila shot. Make it a double.

Please feel welcome to join me at my Facebook Lamp Hats page and Facebook Air Poetry page.

"Jerry & Me" - The Time We Interviewed Jerry Lewis - by Patty Mooney

Happy New Year, everybody!

As you know, you are as pertinent as your latest blog post. But if you have been blogging for years, many of your articles have gone unread and unnoticed by many. And who bothers to ever read your stuff beyond the current week? I mean, if you had readers who were going that far back into your blogroll, you might even think they were stalking you.

So, I would like to introduce my latest idea that struck me today as I was cruising around on my mountain bike at Mission Trails - "Retro Wednesdays!" You know that great quote, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?" Why couldn't it apply to a blog?

Here's a blog from January of 2009 about the world's greatest living comedian, Jerry Lewis. Enjoy! And let me know what you think about "Retro Wednesdays."

Patty Mooney poses with Jerry Lewis on his boat in 2006 (Photo by Mark Schulze)


Many times we are asked who was the most interesting person we have interviewed for our broadcast clients. We have met quite a few celebrities. Vince Vaughn and Jewel both stand out as talented yet humble people who were gracious to the crew, whereas a sailor and a basketball player, both named Dennis, gave the sound operator cause to worry about retrieving the lavalier mic in one piece.

The man who comes to mind as the most interesting is a comedian by the name of Jerry Lewis. We were hired to shoot Jerry giving a video homage to his good friend, Norm Crosby, who was to receive an award. Our crew arrived at the marina where Jerry moors the boat he lives on when he is not in Las Vegas. We set up our equipment quickly, put a lav on Jerry and were about ready to begin the interview when Mark, the shooter, said, "Mr. Lewis, if you would move to your left about half a foot then you would not be back-lit."

Jerry responded, "This ain't the Academy Awards, kid. Let's just get this show on the road."

Jerry turned out to be what we in the business refer to as "a one-take wonder" and as we wrapped the equipment, I asked him what he had thought when Don Rickles had referred to him as a "Jew whale" at the 2003 MDA telethon. He laughed and said, "I love that guy!" Jerry explained that at the time he had been on steroid medication that had ballooned him out an extra 63 pounds. Although Jerry still had medical issues, he felt much better and had lost a little weight. He was also delighted to have just written his book, "Dean and Me: A Love Story," which has garnered high ratings on Amazon.com.

We would like to say thanks to Jerry Lewis, for delighting us all with your comedy for six decades!