I don't do it very often, but the last few nights I've been binging on a television series called Red Oaks. My friend turned me on to it, and I'm finding it very entertaining. What peaked my interest is that the story starts out with the lead character playing the part of a tennis coach at the Red Oaks Country Club. Of course that led me to think about my tennis and country club days and of my son who currently works as a tennis coach. Plus the tennis shown in Red Oaks is pretty good to watch. But that's not all that goes on. Here's what Google has to say about it: "It's the summer of 1985, and NYU student David lands a summer job at the Red Oaks Country Club in New Jersey. As the assistant tennis pro, he rubs elbows with the clientele, as well as his fellow employees. And they all have advice to offer him on how he should be planning for the rest of his life. His father urges him to buckle down and improve his grades ("a C is a Jewish F!" he tells his son, just before collapsing … [Read more...]
Come on over to the Sunscreen Film Festival West
Our son and daughter-in-law's film, "Gentlemen's Fury," will be shown at the Sunscreen Film Festival tomorrow, Saturday, October 7 at 5 pm in Hermosa Beach, CA. Please come on over and become a part of all the excitement. The film is hilarious. Go to http://ssffwest.com/ for more info and tickets. Gentlemen's Fury is about a professional tennis player, Aaron Faust, who goes on a desperate mission to prove that tennis is not a soft sport by punching an opponent and joining a cult. He had a promising career as a professional tennis player. But he also had a few issues. Suspended by the ATP for brawling with an opponent, his life has taken a turn for the worse. During a particularly dark period, he encounters Dwayne, an intense and charismatic zealot, who recruits Aaron for Gentlemen's Fury, an underground tennis league that just might not be strictly about tennis. Gentlemen's Fury stars: Ben Sharples, Jake Head, Audrey Ellis Fox, Kyle Leibovitch, Taishi … [Read more...]
Eric Trant returns to Choices. Hello Eric!
Please welcome Eric Trant back to Choices - his second stop on his WOW! Women on Writing virtual book tour. His new book, Risen, is in the historical supernatural fiction genre. How much more creative can a guy get! Before I go into details about the book, Eric will share his thoughts about a career in the arts - something I can seriously relate to. My husband worked his entire career in science and engineering (I like to call him a rocket scientist), and I worked as a technical writer in the aerospace business. However, both our sons chose careers in the arts. Our older son was an accomplished jazz musician and composer before his untimely death in 1999, and our younger son is an actor and movie maker. However, each found realistic ways to earn a living while pursuing their dreams - one as a computer expert, and the other is a tennis instructor. Eric Trant has some very wise words about the situation we and so many other parents find ourselves in. "Is a Career in the Arts … [Read more...]
Introducing Gentlemen’s Fury – a hilarious new film
WATCH IT TODAY! GENTLEMEN'S FURY TENNIS MOVIE PREMIERES MAY 23RD Gentlemen's Fury, a comedy feature film about an ATP player whose Johnny Maclike temper lands him in a league that might not be strictly about tennis, premieres today, May 23, 2017 on Vimeo On Demand. Starring Ben Sharples (Flight 7500), Jake Head (Ted) and Audrey Ellis Fox (Law & Order: SVU), Gentlemen's Fury is a cross between Fight Club and Dodgeball that makes a raucous commentary on the plight of the male tennis player, as well as tennis itself. (And in case you didn't already guess, Ben is my son.) For more information and to watch the trailer, please click here. To contact Ben Sharples, please email: ben@golddoorfilms.com *** Here's a wonderful interview with Ben and his wife, Marissa, who also played a key role in the making of the film. Tennis Gets Its Ace by Neil Feineman It was, as dinner parties go, your pleasant, basic good time -- until a guest, fully aware of Ben … [Read more...]
A fruitful poetry workshop
February has been a busy month - complete with a new regime of tennis lessons and practice matches, a poetry workshop, and a focused effort to walk more miles a day to get ready for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's AFSP Out of the Darkness 16-18 mile walk in May. The poetry workshop ended last week, and right now I like being off the hook to come up with another new poem. However, I very much liked the small group there were six of us including the instructor and the friendly but pointed critiques we gave each other on our work. To start the weekly three-hour workshop off, the instructor would give us a warm-up prompt that required us to write something poetry or prose in real-time and then share it with the group. One week she asked us to write down an unusual gift we've given or received. I wrote down: TisBest gift certificates I give to my nieces and nephews that enable them to make a donation to a charity of their choice. She also asked us to … [Read more...]
Bragging time!
My son Ben Sharples is a long-time actor, writer, producer, and tennis player (he started playing tournament tennis at age seven). Ben has created a screenplay about an aging tennis star, which he plans to start filming next month. And he needs your help. He has set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise production funds. Please consider becoming a part of this movie by joining his campaign. There are some great opportunities depending on what level of contribution you choose to make. Here's the link to his campaign. Please click on the video and listen to Ben tell you about this film called Gentleman's Fury a tennis movie written by and starring a real tennis star. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bensharples/gentlemens-fury-movie Really how can you blame a proud mom from wanting to help out her son? Especially since the campaign has less than three days to go. Thanks so much. … [Read more...]
The November Poem A Day Challenge is in full force
While I don't intend to post every poem I write during this challenge, I'll start here with Day 1. Here's the prompt: Write a matches poem. The matches could be sticks that make fire. Or it could be matches from a game. Or the verb of to match. Or as in the phrase He's not a good match for you. Or whatever other match you can make. And here's my attempt: At the Match She watches on the sidelines hunched over, her arms, legs fingers crossed for luck. Her head looks left, then right as the ball goes over the net back and forth back and forth. She takes a deep breath when her son loses a point, then her head looks left and right again. His opponent beats his racket on the court when he misses, sneering at his father standing with his nose at the fence. But, calmness prevails. Her son's last shot, his famous backhand down the line, wins, and she knows they'll have a great drive home. Ben, age 14 He had a few tennis trophies … [Read more...]
