Life Lessons I Learned from My Grandfather

Katherine Goulart and Tony Goulart

My father’s father, Tony Goulart, taught me what to look for in this life. He radiated a very clear spark that anyone could see in him. He is pictured here with his wife, my grandmother, Katherine. In contrast, I saw many other people throughout my life who seemed to have “lost their spark,” so to speak, as the years passed. I wanted different dreams for myself that would enable me to feel truly alive. I … Read more

You Can Use Cannabis as Medicine

Cannabis for Grownups I’m known in Las Vegas for Dr. Woody’s Cannabis Coaching (see my cannabis coaching page on Facebook). Over a few years I have become respected as someone who coaches others as to the best uses of cannabis. My focus has always been how you can use cannabis as medicine. I happen to not be interested at all in the recreational use of cannabis to get high and alter your mood. You don’t … Read more

Sci-fi Movie Defied Hollywood Norms

Based on the Carl Sagan novel, Contact is a favorite science fiction film of mine released 25 years ago. This film turned out to be unlike any other from Hollywood before or since. Read more here: https://www.vulture.com/2022/06/an-oral-history-of-contact-the-movie.html

Rest in Peace, Craig Hines

Craig Hines, the most significant of my college era friends, has left this mortal world. What can I say in response? What is fitting or relatable? Let me try to help you remember him through some anecdotes I can share from so long ago. A 20th-century photograph shows Craig Hines inside the Museum of Broadcasting, Chicago. He was the first person I knew who managed to escape from that slow little town of San Luis … Read more

Podcast: Revealing Your Taboo Self

Annette Houlihan Verdolino is a versatile actress who’s been nicknamed the “secret sauce” of the Vegas theater scene. You’ve seen her performances in Las Vegas burlesque stage shows, in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and in Oberacker and Taylor’s nightmare musical, The Sandman. In Season 2 Episode 2 of the “Taboo Truths and Tales” podcast series Annette talks openly about revealing your taboo self to yourself and to the world. Revealing Your Taboo Self