In the Words of Peter Loffredo

HERE IT IS - THE NEW CITY ROCK TRAILER!

2012-02-02T18:04:00.001-08:00

CITY ROCK!

2011-10-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

CREATED FOR TELEVISION
BY
PETER LOFFREDO

"IN THE 1980'S, THE REAL FIELD OF DREAMS WAS ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK."

SYNOPSIS

In a decade when progress and hope collided with excess and despair, and only the most unlikely heroes could truly make a difference, an unforgettable group of unique individuals came together to play a game... and change the world.

FRANK CELLO, a man with a big heart and even bigger dreams, had two goals in life: to win a softball championship, and to clean up Times Square, a seedy Mecca for illicit sex, drugs and dangerous characters from all over the world. Frank would do whatever it took – cross every boundary, challenge every rule, and keep every promise he made.

JENNY SILVERMAN had no boundaries left to cross or rules left to break... and she never made promises. Jennie, an unforgettable franchise-making character, and a brilliant, sexy firecracker, only wanted to save her “people” from the street and stay one desperate step ahead of her own nihilistic cravings and dark past.

Fate brought Frank and Jenny together - to reluctantly fall in love, and to lead a remarkable band of misfit warriors into gut-wrenching, poignant and hilarious battle against all the powers that could possibly be in one historic place and time!

Episodes

Times Square is still a seedy mecca for pimps, hookers, drug dealers and runaway teens from all over the country. CITY ROCK goes inside the gritty world of the social service profession, where just doing your job is never enough! Like cops without guns, these social workers, teachers and psychologists try to rescue the the lost and disenfranchised souls whose dramas of life and death play out on window ledges and the nighttime streets of New York in the 1980's.
It’s also the time when high rollers are playing the real estate and stock market games - games that the working class can’t get in on. Instead, they turn to the down and dirty underworld of amateur sports, where the stakes are also high - in a much more personal way - and the playing is definitely for keeps! Throughout the country and particularly in the city, there is a serious softball craze happening. Highly competitive leagues are springing up wherever there’s any kind of open space, drawing otherwise responsible men away from their jobs and families. An upstart team, CITY ROCK, is given a chance to become part of a tough, all-white league - unofficially run by an ex-con named, PETE. No new team has made it into the league in over five years. CITY ROCK is managed by Frank, who named the team after a runaway kid who died on his watch. The rest of his team are a group of highly unlikely men (from various ethnic backgrounds or otherwise "Unknown" descent) - and one amazing woman – our Jennie!
Each episode of CITY ROCK juxtaposes the efforts of our band of brilliant misfits to survive in the softball league and to survive the mayhem in their own personal lives, while simultaneously working to effect the daring rescues of some extraordinary and memorable characters from the wild streets of 1980’s New York. Throughout the series, the social, political and entertainment headlines of the Eighties are woven into the fabric of the stories and lived out through the characters’ lives with high-impact drama and action and sexy, fast-paced humor. The series has an ongoing seasonal arc for it’s four main characters while each episode has its own self-contained complete story. The secondary characters are featured in single-episode arcs as well. After a teaser, each episode starts out with archival news footage and newspaper headlines of significant events from the 80’s that would be conceptually tied into the episode, a different montage each week.

Settings

The two "ER's" of CITY ROCK are Lincoln High School (where the most intense education takes place out of the classroom) and the Grammercy Park Softball League playing field (intense, high-velocity games, played on cement!). In addition to the these two main locations, Frank’s lower eastside cold-water flat (bathtub in the kitchen, toilet in the hall) and O’Donnell’s funeral parlor (where GPSL league meetings are held) serve as secondary locations.

CITY ROCK’s memorable characters offer a fresh and penetratingly look at a time in history that every age can relate to. Inspired by controversial true stories from the streets of New York, this is "NYPD BLUE" and "ER" meets "SIX FEET UNDER" and "SEX AND THE CITY" - with "BULL DURHAM" and "FIELD OF DREAMS" thrown in!

The MUSIC of City Rock, cover tunes from the 1960's, 70's and 80's, are an important element of the show's appeal. You can hear several of the covers on this page (below) performed by "sycicWALRUS," and specifically produced for City Rock.

City Rock is an action-packed and character-driven one-hour series replete with controversial social commentary, unique psychological underpinnings, high-wire living, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll!
City Rock will appeal to a broad demographic, across a wide age range. In addition to its appeal to young people, this series is a fresh and penetratingly look at a time of passage for latter-day Baby Boomers, born in the optimistic Fifties, raised in the radical Sixties, chagrinned by the shallow Seventies, and coming of age in the Reagan Eighties.
City Rock... ROCKS!!

fpliving@aol.com;
WGA # 917112

"HEAT WAVE"(From the soon-to-be-released 4th Trailer from the CITY ROCK Series: "The Heat Wave") Heat Wave Performed and Produced by sycicWALRUS

"SUMMER IN THE CITY"(From the soon-to-be-released 4th video trailer from the CITY ROCK Series: "The Heat Wave")
Performed and Produced by sycicWALRUS

PEACEFUL (From the CITY ROCK video trailer: "The Project!")
Performed and Produced by sycicWALRUS

"WORKING CLASS HERO" (Full version from the CITY ROCK video trailer: "The Project!")

Performed and Produced by sycicWALRUS

Spread the word. sycicWALRUS' first 3 singles from the CITY ROCK album are out and available on iTunes, on CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/SycicWalrus) and here: www.sycicWALRUS.com

CITY ROCK IS LIVE!

CITY ROCK, which received magnificent reviews and developed a devoted following when the first six episodes of the show were put up in a series of staged performances in New York last year, has already attracted the committed interest of celebrities in film and television, like Paul Michael Glaser (of Starsky and Hutch fame), Elias Koteas (Benjamin Button, Thin Red Line, Fallen, Crash and 70 feature films), Natasha Lyonne (American Pie, Scary Movie) and celebrities in sports, such as Keith Hernandez and Larry Andersen. Companies like the SPORTS STUDIO, the leading company providing sports clothing, equipment and sports celebrity casting for film and television, are also onboard the City Rock Express!

Fans enthusiastically raved about City Rock, inspiring full houses at every show, while producers, executives, directors, casting directors and actors who attended the City Rock live performances have said things like this:

"This is the best thing for film and television I've seen in years!"

"The characters! The stories! Everyone and everything is so fleshed out, so real. It's funny, poignant, scary and beautiful all at once!"

"Look what you've created! A world of characters seems to have been born! There was some real energy and excitement in the room yesterday. I was struck by what a grand creation it was. By having these monthly performances you are willing this series into existence. It feels like it's inevitable that this show will happen, so people should get on board. Plus, the writing is really great! Great job, Peter! I'm excited to see what the next chapter will look like!"

Producers have never seen a TV series like this before, because there has never been a show on television like this before! City Rock takes us inside life on the gritty streets of New York City as it was in the early 1980's, a time of major transition, both in the city and in the country at large, a time that still is having ramifications for us all today. These characters, this amazing group of misfit warriors and working class heros will be remembered long after the Sopranos have faded into television history.

So, put on your Swatches, Jellie shoes or Gucci loafers, your Ra-Ra skirts, leg warmers or Members Only jackets, and, of course, your Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses, and come enter the world of City Rock... before it gets to HBO!

For more information, contact Peter Loffredo at: fpliving@aol.com.

And check out the synopses to CITY ROCK below and to Peter's other award-winning projects for film and television on this blog.

See the latest rockin' City Rock YouTube video HERE.

Slide Show of the original City Rock team

Shots from the first shoot of City Rock's first commercial:

Shots from the second shoot of City Rock's first commercial:

"WORKING CLASS HERO"(from the CITY ROCK video trailer: "The Project!")

John Lennon Tribute by sycicWALRUS from People Of Taste on Vimeo.

peterloffredo@cityrock.tv

VIDEOS

2011-03-05T06:36:00.001-08:00

CITY ROCK YOUTUBE VIDEO

FULL PERMISSION LIVING YOUTUBE VIDEO

COUNTERPART VIDEO

TV SERIES

2011-03-05T06:20:00.001-08:00

CITY ROCK

SOLUTIONS

THE AGREEMENT

COUNTERPART

BELLE HARBOR

THE FULL PERMISSION LIVING SHOW

SCREENPLAYS

2011-03-05T06:08:00.000-08:00

THE FILE

GRAF

OUR HOUSE

THE AGREEMENT

COUNTERPART

THE KNIGHT OF CUPS

CRAVING DEATH: A Romantic Comedy

HEARTLESS

LINKS

2011-03-05T05:07:00.000-08:00

FULL PERMISSION LIVING (Blog)

CITY ROCK YOUTUBE VIDEO!

2011-03-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

THE FULL PERMISSION LIVING SHOW!

2011-02-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

Check out the FULL PERMISSION LIVING blog HERE!

Play the promotional video to the FULL PERMISSION LIVING WEB TV SHOW below.

FULL PERMISSION LIVING, hosted by Peter Loffredo, LCSW, is an approach to self-actualization, but moreso, it is a way of living life as it is naturally meant to be lived.
Full Permission Living is the based on the understanding that human beings are, by first nature, sane, loving, cooperative, creative, humorous, intelligent, productive and naturally self-regulating. Full Permission Living rests on the foundation of truth that all people are entitled to live pleasure-filled, spontaneous, lives without guilt, shame or oppressive inner rules and prohibitions. Indeed, we are meant to live with full inner permission to follow our natural inner guidance and our inborn pleasure instinct to seek out gratification in all of our actions and endeavors, and that such a way of living always benefits those around us and those that we love.

On this show, we will explore ways in which we can reconnect to our true selves and live lives of physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and material fulfillment, while remaining in a state of harmony with others and with the world around us. We will discover the truth that life is meant to get better and better as time progresses, that growing up, maturing and aging is not at all a deteriorating process, but rather one in which the individual becomes more and more potent and powerful in all areas until the very end of a lifetime. We will discover that everyone has everything already built in that is necessary to achieve the fulfillment of their deepest desires. And it's no secret!

The Full Permission Living Show will feature the out-of-the-box (and sometimes out-of-this-world) views of Peter Loffredo - on eveything! Peter, whose very popular blog, FULL PERMISSION LIVING, has attracted a great deal of attention and a hundred thousand readers since it inception, will also share his thoughts with some very unique guests, panel members and audience participants. In person on set and via e-mails, Peter will field questions and comments by viewers and readers of his blog.

SOLUTIONS

2011-01-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

SOLUTIONS

Created by
Peter Loffredo

Logline: A white female psychoanalyst, with a sex addiction, and a black police detective, with a drug addiction, join forces to become a private investigative team.

Synopsis: CERISE QUELLAFORTE, a brilliant and successful psychoanalyst, with a taste for very expensive clothes and accessories, finds herself in mortal danger as a result of her compulsion to have sex with her younger male patients. Just as she is forced to leave her profession in disgrace, at the peak of her career, Cerise meets famous police detective, PEARSON ELLIS, also being forced into retirement because of his unorthodox methods and a nasty drug habit. A true Renaissance man, who in fact masterfully plays a Renaissance-era lute, Pearson has solved some of the city’s most difficult crime cases.
In the pilot episode, Pearson becomes unofficially involved in a deadly mystery that threatens Cerise’s life. Simultaneously, Pearson’s arch-enemy, KYLE MAXTON, sent away for six years by Pearson, gets out of jail and sets out on a path of vengeance and murder. Cerise and Pearson reluctantly join forces to become an unlikely investigative team, using their prodigious analytical skills to unravel the clues that will lead to the killer before it’s too late.
As the series develops, Cerise and Pearson will take on only the most unusual, unsolvable cases, typically after said cases have been officially closed by the police, or for clients who don’t want the police involved in their affairs.
SOLUTIONS is a very sexy, gritty crime series with more than a few unexpected - and at times, perverted - twists!

[NOTE: The inspiration for SOLUTIONS is spun off from the concept of the 1970’s book/movie, “The Seven-Percent-Solution,” (1976 – Alan Arkin, Venessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall, Laurence Olivier, and Joel Grey), in which Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud join forces to solve a crime/mystery (the kidnapping of one of Freud’s patients). They each used their particular investigative skills (Holmes in following crime clues, Freud in understanding the inner workings of the mind) to crack the case. In the process, Freud also helps Holmes cure his cocaine addiction and obsession with the evil “Moriarty.”]

fpliving@aol.com
917-880-5001
WGA #: 1467384

GRAF

2011-01-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

LATEST NEWS: "GRAF" is the UNANIMOUS WINNER of the BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE SCREENPLAY AWARD at the GOTHAM FILM FESTIVAL in NYC 2009!

GRAF

Screenplay
By
Peter Loffredo & M. Roman Rosales

Logline: A state-of-the-art zeppelin in 1929 overcomes impossible odds and threats at every turn while accomplishing the first circumnavigation of the globe by air.

Synopsis: At one of the most dramatic moments of the Twentieth Century, just before the collapse of the world’s economy and the start of the greatest of all wars, a group of unique individuals from a dozen nations, led by one visionary man, dared to do something that would change history. In the summer of 1929, sixty men and one very special woman boarded the GRAF Zeppelin on the eastern shores of the United States to begin a fascinating and harrowing journey, filled with wonderment, romance, murder and international intrigue, an excursion that would show them, and the enthralled population of the earth, things no one had ever seen before.

Based on a true story, GRAF follows HUGO ECKENER, the world’s foremost expert on zeppelin design, as he fulfills his dream of revolutionizing commercial travel by making rigid airships, as large as luxury ocean liners, the wave of the future. In the process, Hugo must overcome treacherous weather conditions, technological challenges and attempts at in-flight sabotage by political enemies and a vengeful victim of the previous World War. In addition, Hugo, a married man, must face a romantic challenge from LADY GRACE HAY, a renowned reporter from the Hearst newspaper empire. An independent, free spirit from the Roaring Twenties, Lady Hay believes in Hugo’s dream, but she is torn between her love for him and the forces from her own government coercing her to betray him.

GRAF is a never-before-told story for the ages. At once a thriller, drama and unique historical epic, this is a movie about heroism, betrayal and a rare instance when the nations of the world united in support of one cause.

WGA #: 1218212

THE FILE

2011-01-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
by
Peter Loffredo

LOGLINE: A Fifth Avenue psychotherapist loses the confidential file on one of her wealthiest male patients, a man with a lot to hide. The file is then found by a sexy, female con artist.

SYNOPSIS: The mystery and intrigue ripple out in all directions as “RISA,” the grifter, sets about seducing and extorting “DREW,” the patient, while “KIMBERLEY,” the therapist, tries to cover up her mistake and get to Risa before Risa gets to Drew.
THE FILE is a sexy whodunit that is also a who-is-it? Each time another shoe drops, we find out that another person in this very sexy psychological thriller has more than one identity and more than one motive for their actions. In the end, no good-guy is left unscathed, and no villain is without their redeeming quality.
“LEONARDO,” a street artist/sage who draws people the way he sees them on the inside, puts it this way in THE FILE:

LEONARDO
“Nobody really is who they seem to be, baby. No. Nobody. We’re all playin’ the game of
dee-cept-shuuun, dig?”

Peter Loffredo
fpliving@aol.com
917-880-5001
WGA Reg. #959391

COUNTERPART

2011-01-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
by
PETER LOFFREDO

Logline: A man and a woman, living in parallel realities in the same neighborhood of New York City, must find a way to contact each other in order to save their own lives. In the process, they discover that, in fact, they are each other.

Synopsis: VINCENT EVERS has always enjoyed the finer sensory pleasures of life - music, art, gourmet cuisine and the love of his beautiful wife, TONI. Then one day, for no explainable reason, he starts losing all of his senses. As his world begins to grow silent and dim, he desperately searches for an explanation that medical science cannot give him.
DAVA is a mysterious woman endowed with extraordinary abilities and superhuman senses. While some consider her to be gifted, she feels cursed, unable to tune out a world that is rapidly closing in on her. Controlled by the police, hounded by the press, and stalked by an elusive serial killer, Dava’s survival is in the hands of a man she has never known.
Vincent and Dava search for answers where nothing is what it seems to be, as everyone in their seemingly counterpoint existences heads toward a final life-threatening crisis that can only be resolved by crossing the boundaries of reality in a way that just one unique man...and one very special child...can understand.

917-880-5001
fpliving@aol.com

THE AGREEMENT

2011-01-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
by
Peter Loffredo

“Whatever is still there when you stop believing in it… is reality.”

Logline: The fates of five lives are mysteriously and inextricably interwoven as they follow a trail of murder and occult suspense that leads to a terrifying climax in which all involved must fulfill an agreement made between their souls before they were born.

Synopsis: SAMANTHA MAPLETON has had a secret friend all of her life, a friend that she hears but never sees. When “Sam” was five years old, that friend helped her survive the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of her sinister father, ANTHONY. Because Sam told the truth, her father went to jail. Now, sixteen years later, Anthony is out, more full of hate than ever, and hungry for revenge.
STEVEN COZZI, professor of religion and psychology, hasn’t been able to remember his dreams since a fatal car accident killed his best friend twenty-one years ago...at the exact moment that Sam was born.
KATHRYN KIDDER is a tough and fiery policewoman with a dark past. For reasons connected to that past, she is compelled to protect Sam at all costs.
GARY HAMMERLEIN, happy-go-lucky but nihilistic sociology professor - and would-be boyfriend of Kidder - has studied Anthony in prison and is sure the killer is stalking him for reasons he can’t understand.
If our heroes are to survive, Sam must try to find out who her unseen friend is; Steven must try to remember his dreams; and Kidder and Gary must try to stop Anthony.
And everyone must fulfill the agreement that none of them knows they made.

[Note: Screenplay can serve as a feature film or a movie pilot for TV series.]

Peter Loffredo
917-880-5001
fpliving@aol.com
WGA #: 928172

OUR HOUSE

2011-01-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
by
Peter Loffredo

Logline: A woman who has lost her short-term memory discovers that she is being hunted by nefarious government forces for a secret left to her by her father. [Based on actual events]

Synopsis: While undergoing a radical medical procedure for a life-threatening illness, KELLEY MORGAN is given a drug that temporarily eliminates her short-term memory. The effect doesn’t wear off in a couple of days like it’s supposed to, however, and as Kelley’s day-to-day life begins to unravel, she simultaneously discovers that she is being stalked by shadowy forces. When she discovers that her father left her something just before he mysteriously disappeared seven years ago, something that could bring major trouble to some very influential people, the stakes have already risen to deadly heights. As the reasons unfold for Kelley’s connection to this secret, she must call on survival skills she learned in childhood to save her family and her own life.
Based on actual events, “OUR HOUSE” is a drama-thriller that takes us on a rollercoaster ride from the jungles of Viet Nam in 1969 to the sleepy suburbs of New York in present time, connecting the dots between famous and infamous historical events, separated by four decades, that still effect us today. “OUR HOUSE” is also an interpersonal story about how an unexpected crisis can free us up to rediscover ourselves, our loved ones and what’s really important in life.

WGA #:1132842
fpliving@aol.com
karentalbott@gmail.com

THE KNIGHT OF CUPS

2011-01-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
By
PETER LOFFREDO

Logline: A down-and-out mother and her long lost son, who was kidnapped as a baby, are reunited as adults. Together, with some mysterious help, they make the startling discovery of who the kidnapper was.

Synopsis: “The karmic wheel keeps returning us to the same place until we resolve what we came here to resolve.” With those words of premonition, an enigmatic TAROT READER warns the hero of “THE KNIGHT OF CUPS” of what is to come. BENNETT MILLER has been a lucky man all of his life, always seeming to be in the right place at the right time. BONNIE EGAN has not been so lucky, always seeming to encounter misfortune and bad breaks at every turn.
Throughout their lives, although neither of them knows why, Bennett and Bonnie’s paths have kept crossing. In fact, Bonnie’s bad luck has always turned out to be responsible, somehow, for Bennett’s good luck.
As the pieces to the puzzle of their connection unfold, Bennett and Bonnie come to a startling realization - Bennett is the son that Bonnie lost to a kidnapper decades ago. When fate finally brings mother and son back together, face to face in a life and death race against time, each of them must make an impossible choice and pay the ultimate price in order to bring their destinies back into balance.
And then... they must face the most shocking discovery of all - who the kidnapper was.

Peter Loffredo
917-880-5001;
fpliving@aol.com
WGA Reg. #: 131317

HEARTLESS

2011-01-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
by
Peter Loffredo

LOGLINE: A cop, a scientist and a psychology professor join forces to try and stop an epidemic caused by a virus that attacks the emotional heart.

SYNOPSIS: In a quiet town in upstate New York, there is an unexplained surge in cruel, antisocial behavior. Murder, greed, infidelity and general psychopathic mayhem is spreading among people who were previously loving and decent, and no one seems to know why. That all changes when DR. ELAINE STRINGER reveals that a genetically altered virus, originally created to eliminate physical pain, has gotten out and mutated into a form that eliminates a person’s ability to feel emotional pain, and therefore, destroys their capacity for empathy. While Dr. Stringer takes steps to warn the public, she becomes the deadly target of those responsible for the disaster. In a race to stay alive long enough to search for an antidote, Dr. Stringer is helped by her friend, psychology professor, EUGENE MENDOZA, and a philosophical cop named, LAWRENCE WALTERS.
HEARTLESS is a thriller with psychological underpinnings that takes its lead characters on a suspenseful rollercoaster ride to save humanity, and their own lives, while exploring the true nature of the human heart.

Peter Loffredo
fpliving@aol.com
917-880-5001
WGA Registration #: 1238065

CRAVING DEATH: A Romantic Comedy

2011-01-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

Screenplay
by
Peter Loffredo

Logline: A hapless psychotherapist stalks his rich, handsome patient, who seems to have it all, but yet dreams of suicide. In the process, and with much hilarity and serendipity, the therapist finds his own true love.

Synopsis: BILL HILL is an unorthodox psychotherapist whose own personal life isn’t exactly a shining example of mental health. He’s broke, unhappily divorced, eats breakfast cereal for dinner and lives alone with his equally peculiar cat, “Frida” (who bears an odd resemblance to the famous artist of the same name).
Bill has been working on a book for years about people who seem to have it all – good looks, success and great love lives – yet are obsessed with thoughts of suicide. As luck would have it, the perfect patient arrives for Bill’s study: DAN SHAY, a man who has the ideal dream life, but dreams of killing himself. Bill decides that in order to truly understand Dan’s disorder, he has to intimately learn about, and ultimately infiltrate Dan’s life. To that end, Bill takes up golfing, fishing, surfing and motorcycle-riding and shows up uninvited at Dan’s fabulous beach house.
Needless to say, Bill’s plan leads to many humiliating and hilarious mishaps, but it also leads Bill to meeting SANDRA, Dan’s single sister - a smart, aloof, but weirdly charming geek who thinks love is a biochemical imbalance and that sex is merely a convenient excuse for people who don’t want to read at night.
Will Bill come to understand Dan’s craving for death?
Will Bill win over Sandra and show her the true meaning of love and sex?
Will Bill write the book that saves all the winners of the world who want to kill themselves?
Hmmm...

WGA Registration #: 1104470
Peter Loffredo
917-880-5001; fpliving@aol.com

THE AGREEMENT (For Television)

2010-12-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

Created for Television
by
Peter Loffredo

“Whatever is still there when you stop believing in it…
…is reality.”

LOGLINE: Human beings discover their hidden destinies with others as they are compelled to fulfill agreements made between their souls before they were born.

SYNOPSIS: THE AGREEMENT is a one-hour series for television that follows in the metaphysical footsteps of “The Twilight Zone,” “The X-Files,” “Highway to Heaven,” and the recent hits, “Six Degrees,” “Joan of Arcadia” and “Dead Like Me.” In each episode, there is an agreement between the main guest characters. The twist is that they do not know what the agreement is because it has been made between their souls before birth. The protagonists struggle through a life-changing conflict that alters, yet fulfills a destiny that they didn’t even know they had until the final reveal.
Only the recurring character, DR. BENJAMIN, a doctor in the small town hospital, knows about the agreements because he is an intuitive facilitator who is able to bridge the spirit world with the physical one. The two main characters in the series are the very earthbound KATHRYN KIDDER, a fiery, hard-drinking policewoman with a dark past, and GARY HAMMERLEIN (“Little Hammer”), the happy-go-lucky but nihilistic sociology professor - and would-be boyfriend of Kidder. Kidder helps the main characters solve their crime-related situations or personal traumas as she also tries to rid herself of her own inner demons, while Gary mainly tries to stay alive as he keeps getting drawn into the agreements.
Each episode is a complete story, with a one hour arc, replete with high drama, crimes and conflicts that are resolved through both supernatural and human intervention, often with an ironic twist (in which, for example, the actions of a bad guy inadvertently facilitate a good outcome for someone). Each week’s story will feature new guest stars as the main characters.
The background setting is a small, sleepy community, a haven that only appears idyllic on the surface.

Peter Loffredo
917-880-5001
fpliving@aol.com
WGA #: 928172

COUNTERPART (For Television)

2010-12-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

Created for Television
By
PETER LOFFREDO

LOGLINE: A man and a woman, living in parallel realities in the same neighborhood of New York City, discover that, in fact, they are each other.

SYNOPSIS: VINCENT EVERS has always enjoyed the finer sensory pleasures of life - music, art, gourmet cuisine and the love of his beautiful wife, TONI. Then one day, for no explainable reason, he starts losing all of his senses. As his world begins to grow silent and dim, he desperately searches for an explanation that medical science cannot give him.
DAVA is a mysterious woman endowed with extraordinary abilities and superhuman senses since birth. While some consider her to be gifted, she feels cursed, unable to tune out a world that is rapidly closing in on her. Controlled by the police, hounded by the press, and stalked by an elusive but powerful enemy, Dava’s survival is in the hands of a man she has never known.
In each episode of the series, Vincent is reluctantly pulled out of his idyllic existence because he must help Dava, his counterpart, or his own life will be in peril. Dava, in her reality, is reluctantly drawn into crises because of her unusual powers, and those who wish to exploit them.
Dava’s only “friend,” as such, is the recurring character, DETECTIVE PAT MARLIN, the one person who has known about Dava’s abilities – and her dark past - since her youth. Marlin protects and watches over Dava, but he also knows that her special abilities might not be just an accident of birth. In fact, as the series progresses, we will discover that a powerful bio-tech company was involved in a genetic engineering experiment that led to Dava’s extraordinary powers. Said “Company,” however, in their desire to manipulate Dava and use Marlin, didn’t count on the intervention of a mysterious man from a parallel dimension - Vincent. Over the arc of the series, Dava becomes increasingly aware of Vincent’s existence and that he is helping her. She is ambivalent, however, about receiving that help and would rather that Vincent just disappear from the canvas of her mind.
Vincent reaches across the dimensions of space and time to connect with Dava, aided by the guidance of two recurring characters, “BILLY FRENCH,” a psychic channeler, and “GRACE,” a uniquely gifted young woman. This creates chaos (and some occasional comic relief) for Vincent in his personal life, including some major stirrings of jealousy in his wife, TONI, who wonders who this mystery woman is that Vincent is so obsessed with. Vincent himself, over the arc of the series, does indeed develop an attraction to Dava, and even becomes obsessed with trying to meet her in person. But can he actually be attracted to, let alone meet, a counterpart version of... himself?!
Can Dava and Vincent ever find peace in a world in which they see and hear and know more than anyone else would ever want to? Vincent and Dava search for answers - and for each other - in this series where nothing is what it seems to be, and everyone in their counterpoint existences is drawn into life-threatening crises that can only be resolved by crossing the very boundaries of reality itself.

917-880-5001
fpliving@aol.com
WGA Reg. #922604

BELLE HARBOR (For Television)

2010-12-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

Pilot Episode: “Yesterday’s Playground”

Teleplay by
PETER LOFFREDO & MACK GERTZ

Created for Television by
MACK GERTZ & PETER LOFFREDO

LOGLINE: Irish cops and firemen, living in a unique seaside enclave, try to bring order and safety to New York City, while desperately trying to contain the chaos and put out the fires in their own tumultuous personal lives.

SYNOPSIS: On the outskirts of our greatest city lies a community of heroes set apart from the rest of the world. From its glory days as “New York’s Playground” at the turn of the last century, to the double disasters of September 11 and the crash of Flight 587 in 2001, the residents of Belle Harbor have claimed a special connection, and a blood rivalry between New York’s Finest and New York’s Bravest.
In each episode, Belle Harbor takes its audience on a rollercoaster ride back and forth between this secluded bedroom suburb, with all of its interpersonal intrigues, and the action on the streets of the world’s most intense metropolis. (Oh, yeah, and the world’s first roller coaster was built out here at Rockaway Playland.) Each episode has its own complete story and arc, while the ongoing arcs of the main characters build throughout the series as they each search for control of their own private worlds, while the world at large continues to crash through those boundaries on a regular basis.
There are more than a few skeletons in the closets of Belle Harbor’s residents, where everyone dreams of keeping a secret, but nobody can, especially since “JASMINE HOOD,” the town’s sexy bartender who runs the Harbor Light Pub, is determined to seduce all those secrets out of them. Another regular in the series, “MARCUS DOYLE,” is a gruff and proud fireman who lost three sons on 9/11. Marcus thinks cops are losers, which is a problem since his only remaining son, “THOMAS DOYLE,” another regular, happens to be a cop. Thomas is a good man, always trying to do the right thing by his beautiful wife, “HARLEY,” and their three little kids, but in this town, it isn’t easy.
Belle Harbor’s two other main characters are “FAYE and BILLY McFADDEN,” a couple with more than a few marital issues. For one thing, Faye is a Jewish real estate broker who has designs on profiting from the exploitation of some prime real estate in Belle Harbor. For another, Faye’s well-heeled parents don’t approve of her marriage to Billy. Meanwhile, Billy has so many skeletons that his closet is about to burst as the series begins. Billy’s and Faye’s 16-year old daughter, “MARY,” is the ongoing source of many plot lines as she struggles in between the worlds of her parents and the world at large.

WGA #: 1181270
310-497-7212; bam411@juno.com
917-880-5001; fpliving@aol.com

COUNTERPART VIDEO

2010-12-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

2010-12-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

"City Rock" (Reading) Episode 6 from Nick Koontz on Vimeo.

2010-12-28T21:43:00.000-08:00

"City Rock" Teaser (From Reading/Shetler Studios/NYC) from Nick Koontz on Vimeo.

Reagan's Bombing Russia Joke!

2010-12-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

TO THESPIANS ALL FROM PL!

2010-07-29T06:51:00.001-07:00

To each and every single one of you, from the depths of my heart and soul, I thank you for your beautiful work last night at Shetler Studios. You gave everyone there much more than an hour of entertainment, you gave them all an experience.

Here's some of what one of the producers in attendance had to say:

"Peter, Terrific show tonight. The characters continue to impress, as well as your writing prowess. I really do want to see more, and that is what should happen for a series to succeed. Once again, I'm impressed with all the talented actors you've assembled, and the hard work they put into this. Nice job!"

And another producer:

"It was a wholly new experience having watched the rehearsals, compared to last month only seeing the reading, itself. What a great endeavor and, yes, the actors are really special people as well as talented performers."

And finally, one film maker guest in the audience put it to me this way afterwards:

"There was so much love, so much love!"

Yes. And that love was you, folks. Always know that your craft is a gift from your highest, true self, a giving thing that brings light and life into people's lives. Thank you for bringing it into mine!

OK, now I'm going back to bed... for the month of August!

CITY ROCK IS LIVE - AGAIN!!

2010-07-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

"This is the best thing for film and television I've seen in years."

"Look what you've created! A world of characters seems to have been born! There was some real energy and excitement in the room yesterday. I was struck by what a grand creation it was."

"By having these monthly readings you are willing this series into existence. It feels like it's inevitable that this show will happen, so people should get on board. Plus, the writing is really great! Great job, Peter! I'm excited to see what the next chapter will look like!"

After five amazing performances thus far - one of the pilot episode in December, directed by Paul Michael Glaser at the Cherry Lane Theatre, three episodes directed by Karen Giordano, creative consultant to Lee Daniels on the Academy-Award winning film, "PRECIOUS," and last month, the critically acclaimed Episode 5: "Father's Day," directed by Peter Loffredo - we are pleased to announce the performance of the next installment, Episode 6: "The Picnic," featuring an all-star cast of New York actors, taking the stage at Shetler Studios (244 W. 54th St.) in Manhattan at 7 PM on Wednesday evening, July 28.

Producers have never seen a TV series pitched like this before, because there has never been a show on television like this before! This is a show that takes us inside life on the gritty streets of New York City as it was in the early 1980's, a time of major transition, both in the city and in the country at large, a time that still is having ramifications for us all today. These characters, this amazing group of misfit warriors and working class heros will be remembered long after the Sopranos have faded into television history.

So, put on your Swatches, Jellie shoes or Gucci loafers, your Ra-Ra skirts, leg warmers or Members Only jackets, and, of course, your Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses, and come enter the world of City Rock... before it gets to HBO!

For more information, contact Peter Loffredo at: fpliving@aol.com. And check out the synopses to CITY ROCK and Peter's other award-winning projects for film and television on this blog, and see the updated City Rock YouTube video HERE.
All my best,
Peter Loffredo
917-880-5001
fpliving@aol.com

SCENE FROM EPISODE 6: "THE PICNIC" OF CITY ROCK!

2010-07-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Yep. We're doing one more round before we take a break in August. Number Six. Episode 5: "Father's Day" was a great experience for all involved, and the vortex being created around City Rock garnered even more positive energy and enthusiastic interest. I am struck by the direct relationship between doing what you love to do and receiving support from all corners of the Universe.

Here's a peek inside the script:

INT. FRANK’S FLAT - EVENING

Frank and Jennie relaxing in the bathtub in the kitchen, taking turns with a joint and a pint of Jack Daniels. Frank shakes his head.

FRANK
I feel guilty doing this with you while you’re on a methadone program.

JENNIE
Hey, Frankie babe! Gimme a break! I’m not shootin’ dope. Michael the Monster is out of my life... for today anyway. And I’m in therapy three goddamn times a week with Cramer the Magician! Dig? I gotta give myself some kind of reward now and then. I’m just bummed that I didn’t pick up a half O-Z of coke while I was at the clinic this morning.

Frank looks at her as if she were an alien, then changes the subject.

FRANK
Can you believe those two? I don’t know which one is crazier?

JENNIE
Dig!
(beat)
Which two? Larry and G.C.? Or Joy and Rick? Man, that dude loves to party even more than me...

FRANK
No. No. I’m trying very hard not to think about the team right now. I mean, the Glicks.

JENNIE
Oh, yeah! I say... he’s the crazier one, but she’s the killer.

FRANK
Yeah, it’d be better if she was the one who couldn’t go out in public.

JENNIE
(eyes flashing pain)
I know that stare of hers. A little too familiar...

Before he can respond, the phone rings. He gets out of the tub, dripping water and suds across the kitchen and picks up the phone sitting on the window sill.

FRANK
Hello...
(his eyes widen)
HI! HI! Sarah! Wow! How are you?... Uh-huh... uh-huh... great, great... yeah, good, okay, busy... social worker at a high school, yeah, and part-time at a runaway shelter... yeah, yeah, you know me... you? RN? Congratulations!
(conflict on his face as he listens)
... uhh... sure, okay, yeah... when? Oh. Yeah, sure. Okay. Dinner? Okay. Call me when you get in and I’ll give you directions. Okay. See you tomorrow.

He hangs up and dries off. Jen curious as she tokes on the joint and passes it to him. He sits on the edge of the tub.

JENNIE
You look like you need a hit of this. Who was that?

FRANK
My ex-wife.

JENNIE
Oh, snap! You’re ex-wife?! How could you already have an EX-wife?

STAY TUNED FOR NEWS ABOUT EPISODE 5 OF CITY ROCK!

2010-05-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

CITY ROCK IS LIVE! WATCH THE FIRST SEASON BEFORE IT GETS ON HBO!!

2010-05-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

The next episode of the CITY ROCK series, Episode Four: "HEAT WAVE," will be put up in a staged reading at The Players Theater (115 MacDougal Street) in Manhattan TONIGHT! Wednesday, May 12 at 8 PM.

This is the fourth in the series of monthly readings of the entire first season of CITY ROCK.
fpliving@aol.com

CITY ROCK YouTube Video

Letter to Producers:

The accolades are rolling in for the most recent staged reading of Peter Loffredo's series for television: "CITY ROCK!"

After three amazing performances in staged readings thus far - one of the pilot episode in December, directed by Paul Michael Glaser at the Cherry Lane Theatre, and the other two episodes performed at Shetler Studios in March and April - we are expanding into a larger venue at The Players Theater for the next reading, which will feature an all-star cast of New York actors, and will be directed by the multi-talented Karen Giordano, who most recently worked as a creative consultant and acting coach with Lee Daniels on the Academy-Award winning film, "PRECIOUS."

One producer in attendance at the April 12th performance of Episode 3: "Ridin' That Train," at Shetler Studios in New York said this:

"Look what you've created! A world of characters seems to have been born! There was some real energy and excitement in the room yesterday. I was struck by what a grand creation it was. By having these monthly readings you are willing this series into existence. It feels like it's inevitable that this show will happen, so people should get on board. Plus, the writing is really great! Great job, Peter! I'm excited to see what the next chapter will look like!"

Producers have never seen a TV series pitched like this before, because there has never been a show on television like this before! This is a show that takes us inside life on the gritty streets of New York City as it was in the early 1980's, a time of major transition, both in the city and in the country at large, a time that still is having ramifications for us all today. These characters, this amazing group of misfit warriors and working class heros will be remembered long after the Sopranos have faded into television history.

The next one-hour episode of the CITY ROCK series, "Heat Wave" will be put up in a staged reading at The Players Theater (115 MacDougal Street) in Manhattan - tonight! - Wednesday, May 12 at 8 PM.

So, put on your Swatches, Jellie shoes or Gucci loafers, your Ra-Ra skirts, leg warmers or Members Only jackets, and, of course, your Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses, and come enter the world of City Rock... before it gets to HBO!

For more information, contact Peter Loffredo at: fpliving@aol.com. And check out the synopses to CITY ROCK and Peter's other award-winning projects for film and television on this blog, and see the City Rock YouTube video HERE.

All my best,
Peter Loffredo
917-880-5001
fpliving@aol.com

SCENE FROM EPISODE 4 OF CITY ROCK: "HEAT WAVE!"

2010-05-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to check out the CITY ROCK YouTube Video HERE and the scoop on the next staged reading of CITY ROCK in just 4 days!

This episode of City Rock is very hot - in more ways then one! There's a major heat way sweeping through New York City on this June 1981 evening. Our hero, Frank Cello, is first haunted by the ghost of a street teen who died on his watch, then tempted by his hot neighbor, Mindy, who would love to have a "normal" relationship with Frank, and then finally, Frank is taken by our wild and crazy heroine, Jennie... right where he lives!

EXT. STOOP OF FRANK’S BUILDING - LATE EVENING

Frank is sitting with his elbows on his knees, face in his hands, pondering. He is wearing shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt with sweat stains showing through.

CITY ROCK (O.S.)
That dude was cool, huh?

Frank doesn’t look at or answer the street-tough teen spirit who haunts him, the boy Frank named his team after.

CITY ROCK
Got some balls, too.

FRANK
What do you want?

CITY ROCK
What do..?

FRANK
Don’t!

CITY ROCK
Hey. You’re the one feelin’ like shit, not me.

FRANK
You’re dead.

CITY ROCK
Oh, really? Well, if I’m dead, then you’d have to be crazy, right? And you don’t seem crazy to me, Frank.

FRANK
Yeah, well crazy might be a relief.

CITY ROCK
Kinda like bein’ dead.
(beat)
Anyway, that Cramer guy, see, he knows that it’s all up to us, whether we live or die, or whatever. So, since he ain’t tryin’ to save nobody, he can take chances. You could be like him... if you dumped the guilt trips on yourself.

Frank looks at him to give a retort... but he’s gone.

MINDY (O.S.)
Mind if I squat? Too hot to go in yet. No air conditioning.

Mindy approaches, patting her neck with a bandana. She sits next to him.

FRANK
Hey, Mindy. You’re out late. How you doin’?

MINDY
Oh, not bad. Late class. Film school can be amazingly fun sometimes? And incredibly annoying? Tonight was annoying. What’re you doing looking all glum out here?

FRANK
Talking to... myself.

MINDY
Is that like a ‘don’t ask’ answer, or you wanna talk?

FRANK
Nah.

MINDY
So, it’s about the wolfgirl?

FRANK
Jennie? I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Talk about falling for the wrong woman. She passed the wrong woman category a month ago. She’s from one of the seven levels of hell!

MINDY
I didn’t know there were levels to hell.

FRANK
Oh yeah. One level is fire, another is ice; then there’s the land of insects, the mountain of needles...

MINDY
Oh my God! The land of insects! Who thought that up?

FRANK
Japanese.

MINDY
Well, I’m gonna make sure I don’t die in Japan!
(beat)
So, what’s Jennie’s problem. Another guy? Can’t commit?

FRANK
(mock laugh)
Those are just the appetizers.

MINDY
Oh...

FRANK
Maybe my problem is that I’ve made being a social worker a lifestyle instead of just a profession.

MINDY
Yeah, I got that you were a save-the-world type. I have an older sister like that. First boyfriend was a drunk; second one was a gambler; third one was both. She married him.

FRANK
(leaning back to look at her)
What about you?

MINDY
What?

FRANK
Boyfriend? Boyfriends?

MINDY
Mmm... Bad break-up five months ago. Actually, twenty-one weeks, two days, eight hours...
(looking at her watch)
...and twelve minutes ago.

FRANK
(sympathetic)
Oh.

MINDY
Nah, it’s really okay. I left him, and I’m over it. I’m just tracking the time so I’ll know when the rebound stage is over and I can trust who I fall for next.

FRANK
Really? How long is the official rebound stage?

MINDY
One month rebound time for every six months you were together.

FRANK
No kidding! Is that published somewhere?

MINDY
Not yet. It’s my original research.

He laughs. They look at each other fondly, a moment of attraction starting to build until...

JENNIE (O.S.)
(singing)
Like a heat wave... burnin’ in my heart... can’t keep from crying... tearing me apart...

Frank and Mindy turn to see her approach. She is exceptionally perky. Mindy exhales, pats Frank on the knee and gets up.

MINDY
Stay off the mountain of needles.

She goes inside as Jennie arrives.

JENNIE
Dig it! What a jammin’ night!
(leaping onto his lap)
FRANKIE!

She starts trying to ravenously tongue-kiss him.

JENNIE (cont’d)
I MISSED YOU, FRANKIE! Come on, let’s go inside and fuck our brains out. You can do me in the ass tonight if you want. Mmmmm....

She grinds her ass on his lap. Frank gently pushes her off him.

FRANK
Hey. Hey. Cool out. We need to talk.

JENNIE
Man, it’s too hot to cool out, and I’m too hot to talk! I’m so fucking horny, I’ll gonna suck you off right here if you don’t take me inside.

FRANK
Jen...

She starts unzipping his jeans.

FRANK
(trying half-heartedly to stop her)
Jen! Come on! What if someone comes by? You can’t do that out here.

JENNIE
Watch me.

FRANK
HEYYYYYY... AGGGHHHH!!

MUSIC: “HEAT WAVE” (Linda Ronstadt)

She goes to work on him. He looks around, half in a panic and half in ecstasy. Eyes rolling up into his head, he moans loudly as the CAMERA moves to a view of them from above, taking in the stoop and the street.

CITY ROCK VIDEO ON YOUTUBE!!

2010-04-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

"LOOK WHAT YOU CREATED..."

2010-04-12T20:00:00.001-07:00

That's the beginning of an e-mail sent to me from a producer who was at the City Rock reading of Episode 3: "RIDIN' THAT TRAIN," on 4/11.

Here's the rest of the e-mail, with a picture she took of the fantastic ensemble cast working their magic:

"...a world of characters seems to have been born! There was some real energy and excitement in the room yesterday. I was struck by what a grand creation it was. By having these monthly readings you are willing this series into existence. Also, by creating an event which happens like clockwork it gives it the feeling of continuity, like a tv show. It feels like it's inevitable that the show will happen, so people should get on board. Plus, the writing is really good. Great job, Peter! I'm excited to see what this next chapter will look like for you."

FINAL SCENE FROM THE CITY ROCK PILOT EPISODE: "WHILE YOU'RE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS"

2010-01-30T09:30:00.001-08:00

This moment from the script of my City Rock TV series pilot, "While You're Busy Making Other Plans," in which the main character, "FRANK CELLO," is confronted by the spirit of a street kid who was killed on Frank's watch, is one of my favorites. The idea of making Frank's conscience manifest as the spirit of that boy was inspired by Paul Michael Glaser, who directed the recent reading of the episode at the Cherry Lane Theatre. An interesting tidbit - the reading took place on December 8, the anniversary of John Lennon's death. Lennon's murder figures prominently in the story, but I was not aware that our reading was scheduled, serendipitously, for that particular night.

Here's the final scene:

EXT. NYC STREET - LATE EVENING

Frank is walking, lost. He arrives to the Gramercy Park Softball League playing field and goes over to sit on a bench. He looks out onto the dark asphalt schoolyard, lit up only by the street lights.

YOUNG GUY (O.S.)
Hey, man, your team was tough.

FRANK
What? What are you doing here?

YOUNG GUY
What are you doing here?

FRANK
Look, what do you want?

YOUNG GUY
What do you want?

FRANK
Tonight is not a good night for questions.

YOUNG GUY
Can’t have answers without askin’ questions.

Silence for a long moment.

YOUNG GUY (cont’d)
Remember that night John was killed?

Frank remembers and looks pained.

YOUNG GUY (cont’d)
Four months ago tonight. That was not a good night.

FRANK
Don’t remind me.

YOUNG GUY
Why’d you name your team after me?

FRANK
I don’t know. It just came to me.

YOUNG GUY/CITY ROCK
I like that you did that.

FRANK
You never told me your real name.

CITY ROCK
Nobody has a real name on the street.
(beat)
Maybe it was his time, you know? John. I wasn’t into the Beatles. Kinda cool, though, that we checked out on the same night.

FRANK
Cool? Not exactly.

CITY ROCK
You couldn’t save me, Frank.

Frank starts to object.

CITY ROCK (cont’d)
No. I mean you couldn’t save me. You can’t save anybody, Frank. That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to tell you, but you don’t want to hear it.

Frank looks at the boy, then hangs his head for a long moment.

FRANK
Then, what am I doing? What’s the point? What’s my point?

CITY ROCK
What would Kirk say? You just know what you gotta do and you do it.

FRANK
You know Kirk?

CITY ROCK
(smiling)
Yeah, we just met. Hey, maybe you just keep going, Frank. These are crazy times comin’ up. This decade, I got a feelin’ a lot of people are gonna split. But what you’re tryin’ to do, it still matters.

Frank looks out at the ballfield under the moonlight, then looks back at the boy... but he isn’t there.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - SAME MOMENT

We see a crowd of people mourning, holding a candlelight vigil in Central Park in what will soon become Strawberry Fields.

DISSOLVE BACK TO:

EXT. GPSL PLAYING FIELD - SAME MOMENT

Frank walks over to home plate, stands there, looking out onto the field, then heads for home.

FADE TO BLACK.

LATEST NEWS!! CITY ROCK READING A SOLD OUT SUCCESS!!

2009-12-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

Yes!!

The very special reading of the pilot episode of Peter Loffredo's TV series, "CITY ROCK," performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre on December 8 was a stunning success! Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, who also played the recurring character, "Pete," and starring Natasha Lyonne as "Jennie" and Pete Postiglione as "Frank Cello," with Jason Kravitz, Willie Teacher, Jimmy Lee Gary and a remarkable ensemble cast of great New York actors, City Rock's pilot episode, "WHILE YOU'RE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS," brought back the life on the streets of New York in the early 1980's with laughs, gasps and tears.

Many thanks to all!

GRAF

2009-06-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Screenplay
By
Peter Loffredo & M. Roman Rosales

Logline: A state-of-the-art zeppelin in 1929 overcomes impossible odds and threats at every turn while accomplishing the first circumnavigation of the globe by air.

Synopsis: At one of the most dramatic moments of the Twentieth Century, just before the collapse of the world’s economy and the start of the greatest of all wars, a group of unique individuals from a dozen nations, led by one visionary man, dared to do something that would change history. In the summer of 1929, sixty men and one very special woman boarded the GRAF Zeppelin on the eastern shores of the United States to begin a fascinating and harrowing journey, filled with wonderment, romance and international intrigue, that would show them, and the enthralled population of the earth, things no one had ever seen before.
Based on a true story, GRAF follows HUGO ECKENER, the world’s foremost expert on zeppelin design, as he fulfills his dream of revolutionizing commercial travel by making rigid airships, as large as luxury ocean liners, the wave of the future. In the process, Hugo must overcome treacherous weather conditions, technological challenges and attempts at in-flight sabotage by political enemies and a vengeful victim of the previous World War. In addition, Hugo, a married man, must face a romantic challenge from LADY GRACE HAY, a renowned reporter from the Hearst newspaper empire. An independent, free spirit from the Roaring Twenties, Lady Hay believes in Hugo’s dream, but she is torn between her love for him and the forces from her own government coercing her to betray him.
GRAF is a never-before-told story for the ages. At once a thriller, drama and unique historical epic, this is a movie about heroism, betrayal and a rare instance when the nations of the world united in support of one cause.

WGA #: 1218212
Contact: roman.rosales@cbsparamount.com; fpliving@aol.com
818-398-6935; 917-880-5001

CITY ROCK! START YOUR ENGINES!! WE'RE GOING ROGUE!!!

2009-01-14T08:12:00.000-08:00

That's right! Our very unique series for television, CITY ROCK, the hard-hitting, hard-rocking dramedy that was first put up in a series of live staged performances in 2010 to rave reviews, is going to the next level: WEB TV!

And of course, like everything City Rock, we're doing it from the grassroots up.

We are launching the CITY ROCK NETWORK, a WEB TV network that will be unique in this nascent media form of television on the internet that's ready to explode into livingrooms across the world.

The CITY ROCK NETWORK (CRN) will be one of the first networks to fully enter the next and very biggest niche by airing only high quality, original, full-length programs – “cable quality” - real television on the web!

Stay tuned...

PLAY BALL!!

"Why No Women in Recent Public Scandals"

2008-03-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Published, NY TImes: March 8, 1987

To the Editor:

''Women have not played a significant role in a major scandal in recent years,'' Lois and Heather Evans say of insider trading collusion (Op-Ed, Feb. 21). However, they take the position that it is primarily the lack of access to locker room interaction on Wall Street, as well as a requirement by men that women in business be nonaggressive and modest, that explains the apparent lack of corruption among businesswomen.

An article by Bella Abzug and Mim Keller (Op-Ed, Dec. 20) notes the lack of women involved in the Iran-contra arms scandal and other current examples of corrupt political behavior by the ''white male power elite.'' In this case, the authors describe but do not offer possible explanations.

Would women be as corrupt, aggressive and exclusive as men if given the opportunity? I think not. I think the issue is one of social conditioning, heredity and phylogenetics. That is, men are unwilling or unable to give up a role, a way of behaving, that was once necessary. In a primitive world, men were required to be aggressive hunters and fighters to feed and protect their families. This is no longer true.

We are evolving into a cerebral species, with computers and machines to labor for us and protect us. The primitive, physical man is obsolete (so the great need for sports), but modern man has not adapted. So, he creates conflict with other men to maintain the need to fight and defend, and preserve his ancient role.

Women, on the other hand, have come of age in the 20th century. Their preference for negotiation over fighting, their abhorrence of violence, their inclination to compassion and their lack of inclination to locker-room corruption are not signs of weakness, but the qualities needed for leadership in the 21st century. Perhaps the best reason for women to move into positions of power, if we are to survive and progress, is that women don't have to prove they're men. PETER V. LOFFREDO New York, Feb. 21, 1987

"Armies of the Right, in Populist Disguise"

2008-03-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

Published NY Times: August 12, 2006

To the Editor:

Re ''The Culture Crusade of Kansas'' (column, Aug. 8):

I agree with Thomas Frank that the ''pseudo-populist offensive'' of the radical Republican right is not going to cease as long as it is not confronted directly. But part of the problem is that by referring to the philosophical divide in our society as a ''culture war,'' people like Mr. Frank inadvertently give equal weight to ideas that are not deserving of such elevation.

The attacks on evolution, stem cell research, women's reproductive rights, education and homosexuality are not rooted in rational thinking, objective observation or even intuitive understanding. The positions of these righteous radicals are based in superstition, primitive beliefs and fears of the Other, no different from the attitudes that once led ''God fearing'' people to burn women to death for supposedly being witches.

Moderate Republicans and Democrats must stop empowering the far right by treating its arguments as an ''uprising of the little guy'' or part of ''American political traditions.''

Completely contrary to the progressive character of our nation's history, these attitudes are part of a repressive, retrogressive movement that is ultimately doomed to obscurity.

Peter Loffredo
Brooklyn, Aug. 8, 2006

"Honey, We Forgot to Raise the Kids!"

2008-03-15T00:58:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: November 30, 2005

To the Editor:

As a psychotherapist who has worked with adults, children and families for almost 30 years, I loudly applaud Judith Warner for illuminating the near-disaster that is modern parenting (''Kids Gone Wild,'' Week in Review, Nov. 27).

I have been warning parents for almost a decade now that they are creating a generation of cranky narcissists who, on the one hand, will grow up to be unable to live without constant reassurance and indulgent attention; and on the other hand, will consider their own achievement levels above all else, including basic human values like empathy, cooperation and altruistic love.

The opposite of this negligent and lackadaisical trend, by the way, is not harsh discipline or suppression of emotions, but as Ms. Warner says, appropriate limit-setting and letting kids be kids.

In other words, good parenting.

Peter Loffredo
Brooklyn, Nov. 27, 2005

"But My Genes Made Me Do It!"

2008-03-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: June 19, 2006

To the Editor:

Re ''That Wild Streak? Maybe It Runs in the Family'' (''The DNA Age'' series, front page, June 15):

It is always disheartening to me as a psychotherapist for almost three decades to read yet another ''pronouncement'' in the ''nature versus nurture'' debate.

My dismay is not because I take one side or the other, but because I, like anyone who has worked in depth with the mental and emotional lives of real people, realize that this dualistic point of view is inherently flawed.

We all have a variety of genes handed down to us that don't always ''activate.'' Circumstances, positive or negative, at various times in our lives have been shown through numerous studies to trigger the actions of otherwise dormant genes, be they for cancer or adventure.

What drives the behavior and tendencies of all human beings is nature and nurture.

Peter Loffredo
Brooklyn, June 15, 2006

Could School Shooting Have Been Prevented?

2008-03-15T00:56:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: March 27, 1998

To the Editor:

In ''Death in a Middle School'' (editorial, March 26), you say ''closer monitoring of troubled students and referrals to psychiatric counseling might have prevented this tragedy.'' But you go on to say that ''ultimately, the unremarkable qualities of the Jonesboro suspects are what make finding answers so difficult.''

As a psychotherapist who has worked with children, I agree with the first statement, not the last. A clinician specializing in children would not have difficulty finding the kinds of mental and emotional disturbances present in a child preparing to murder. The masks of children are very transparent, though understandably not to busy or untrained parents and teachers who are emotionally invested in not seeing problems in the children they care for. If the boys arrested had had a routine evaluation by a competent school psychologist, it's possible this tragedy would not have occurred.

PETER V. LOFFREDO
New York, March 26, 1998

"Class of '72 May Have Just the Know-How for the 21st Century"

2008-03-15T00:55:00.001-07:00

Published, NY Times: August 13, 1989

To the Editor:

As a member of the class of 1972, I must respond to some of Clifford Adelman's interpretations and ''insights'' into the effect on America of the choices made by me and those of my graduating class who went to college (''On the Paper Trail of the Class of '72,'' Op-Ed, July 22).

I am one of the many he mentions who opted for a degree in the human services (a master's in social work), and took few courses ''necessary to maintaining a technological economy.'' According to Mr. Adelman, my generation and I will not be able to ''participate in the knowledge work force of the 21st century.'' About Mr. Adelman I know that his extrapolation of history is narrow and single-mindedly focused on technology and international competition, and he is not from the graduating class of 1972.

My peers and I were in grammar school in the hard days of the civil rights movement (fourth grade when John F. Kennedy was killed), in junior high and high school during the Vietnam War, the assassinations of 1968 and the Kent State shootings of 1970. We began undergraduate school during the Watergate scandal.

Is it surprising then that we took more courses ''in ethics than in real estate''? That we were more concerned with the study of human relationships than with building a better oil rig? Mr. Adelman predicts that because we chose to focus on personal health and development, instead of higher mathematics, we will ''be around longer to witness our own diminishing standards of living.'' There is, however, more than one way to measure the quality of life, and to many of us growing up in the 60's and 70's, the personal, interpersonal and environmental stresses of a competitive, industrialized, high-tech world represented a lower standard of living than we wanted for our future.

Mr. Adelman seems to discount that the valued skills in the 21st century work force will be speaking a foreign language or providing health care and general, not technical education. We will be ''fortysomething'' as the new century begins. Does Mr. Adelman think us incapable of setting our own agenda as we assume the reins of power? With the atmosphere, the land and the waters of the earth becoming more and more ravaged and toxic, why would we follow a path of obsessive and excessive production of the very things that have brought us to the brink of environmental cataclysm? Wouldn't we want and need to focus on how best to cooperate with one another politically and economically, rather than how best to compete with one another?

In the next century, the torch will be passed to the generation born after World War II, and those years will belong to us, just as the 20th century belonged to those born after the Civil War. We have always known television and always flown on jets, and perhaps it is ironic that the technology we shun has brought us closer, physically, to our fellow beings, and indeed we know one another better. It is my hope that we will use that knowledge to become closer in greater ways, and that will be the legacy of the class of '72. PETER V. LOFFREDO New York, July 22, 1989

The Shooting Spree Next Door

2008-03-15T00:55:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: September 19, 1999

To the Editor:

As a psychotherapist who works with people afflicted with psychopathic disorders, I was disheartened by your implication that it is a kind of wishful thinking on the part of society to believe that shootings like the one in Fort Worth, Tex., can have a discernible psychological pathology, and therefore, a possible cure (editorial, Sept. 17). Rather, you say, ''there is only one overriding pathology, and it is guns.''

In fact, the psychopathy that can lead to such shootings is generally understood by mental health professionals to be a psychiatric disorder marked by a lack of empathy for other living beings and a numbness in general to feelings, combined with paranoid and grandiose delusional thinking that, unlike typical psychosis, can be hidden from the untrained eye behind a seemingly appropriate, acceptable facade.

Requiring mental and emotional evaluations as often as we require physical exams for school-age children would be a lot more practical and appropriate than focusing on eliminating guns through the legal system.

PETER LOFFREDO
New York, Sept. 17, 1999

Spanking Is Wrong

2008-03-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: January 23, 2007

To the Editor:

Re ''A Proposal to Ban Spanking Sparks Debate'' (news article, Jan. 21):

As a psychotherapist who has worked with families, and as a parent who has raised three well-behaved, loving and respectful children, I can say unequivocally that corporal punishment of a child is never necessary.

It is the last resort of parents who have failed to establish their true authority as adults, which is rooted not in their physical superiority but rather in their emotional maturity, wisdom and self-confidence.

Children need parents to be right in their guidance and want the limits and boundaries that protective parents set for them. They are totally dependent on adults for everything, especially in those early years that the California legislation addresses.

Parents who use violence as a means of controlling their kids, just like parents who overindulge their children, are equally guilty of abdicating their responsibility to be grown-ups in their roles as mentors.

Peter Loffredo
Brooklyn, Jan. 21, 2007

"Space is our destiny"

2008-03-15T00:53:00.000-07:00

Published in the NY Times: February 9, 1986

To the Editor:

The shattering tragedy of the Challenger on Jan. 28 will no doubt stir up such sentiments as ''if man were meant to fly, he'd have wings.'' Some will say that we should send only unmanned probes into space.

I disagree. Human beings do have wings. Our wings are our minds, and our minds have always compelled us to reach out and look beyond the boundaries of the observable. We honor the spirit of Christopher Columbus for daring to explore ''the edge'' of a flat Earth, as we reveled in the spirit of Christa McAuliffe, who dared to teach from beyond the classroom.

The logic of statistical probability tells us that we are only one of perhaps millions of civilizations in this universe, that we most surely have brothers and sisters out there. We are compelled to meet them and know them because we are all part of the same whole. Perhaps we can be helped in our development someday by a more advanced civilization. Perhaps we can make a contribution. But we cannot stay at home, retreating into ourselves. People must be prepared to travel in space. It is our destiny.

I envied Mrs. McAuliffe. She was living out my greatest fantasy: to view the Earth as a whole planet from space. I am a psychiatric social worker, waiting for the day when a President or NASA asks for someone from the human-services field to volunteer for a similar mission. I am ready to go! PETER V. LOFFREDO New York, Jan. 29, 1986

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Bloomberg for President?

2008-03-15T00:52:00.000-07:00

Here's Peter's reaction to Bob Herbert's editorial in the New York Times on Mayor Bloomberg's possible run for the White House:
Bob Herbert, in bemoaning the possible impact of a Bloomberg candidacy for president, says this: "The mayor would draw votes from people who want change, who are interested in something different, a new direction." Isn't that exactly the voting option people in the United States are supposed to have? And doesn't that speak volumes about what has become of the Democratic Party? Democrats cannot simply claim the mantle of change; they have to earn it.
Hillary Clinton claims, just like Al Gore did in 2000, to be an agent of change, while playing tightly to a presumed vast "middle." Well, if that strategy was worthy, George W. Bush and Company should not have ridden twice to the victories that Democrats want to blame on progressive candidates like Ralph Nader. The claim that Mr. Bloomberg would effectively put a Republican in the White House, the same claim made about Mr. Nader in 2000, is as spurious now as it was seven years ago. People want a choice and Democrats have not yet provided them with a clearly distinguishable one.
Sincerely,
 Peter Loffredo

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Why I quit the food coop.

2008-03-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

Here's our pal Pete on the Park Slope Food Coop and why he quit and took the fair way.
Well, count me among those who just recently left the co-op. After 3 years, I finally had enough of the Soviet-style Communism masquerading as socialism (which OTBKB commenter Michael reminded us is rooted in the philosophy: to each according to their needs, from each according to their means).
The PSFC's "love us or get out" attitude is hardly exemplary of anything resembling cooperative. I have been a supporter of sustainable agriculture for two decades. One of my best friends was executive director of the largest activist organization in the country for sustainable agriculture and even she told me that the PSFC hard-core were notoriously known as the Co-op Nazi's - even in those liberal circles!
And oh yeah, on Fairway, first of all, you totally DON'T need a car - the F train to Smith and 9th and the 77 bus is a quick and easy route, and with no long lines AND FREE home delivery for orders over a hundred dollars, we have saved hours over the co-op life every week, AND don't let anyone lie to you, the prices are totally comparable to the co-op's, in some cases significantly cheaper, and they have ever-expanding organic sections, including beautiful organic meats and chicken. By adding the two local greenmarkets in Prospect Park on Wednesday and Saturday to our bi-monthly trips to Fairway, our food-shopping life has once again become pleasurable.
The bottom line is this: like most fascist regimes, the PSFC's dogma has ended up superceeding its original mission, which in this case was to help local, small, organic farmers stay in business and help consumers obtain healthy food. I believe in sustainable agriculture as a way of life. I'm also very busy as a psychotherapist, writer and parent of two kids. Most other serious food co-ops in the country today allow members the option to work at the co-op and pay lower prices, or not work and pay higher prices. Who does that hurt? Really?

The Truth About Everything

2008-03-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

Our pal Pete hasn't written a book. But if he did write a book it would be called The Truth About Everything. And here's why he's going to write it. So here's the book he's thinking about writing.

I hold these truths (among others) to be self-evident: that sexual repression and emotional numbness are the roots of all evil; that neediness and greediness are flip-sides of the same psychological coin; that parents are the least qualified adults to raise children; that all opinions and beliefs are based on a lack of true knowledge; that self-sacrifice and commitment are the ruination of all relationships; that what you eat is less important to your health than how you eat it; that the body never lies; that there is no inherently self-destructive force in human beings; that being in-love is always mutual.

Introduction  I am going to say some things in this book that some people may find provocative, radical or outlandish at best, offensive, immoral or ludicrous at worst. I will say these things with no claim of moral authority. I will merely claim that the statements I make will be true on the face of it, in and of themselves. Although I have a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s degree in social work, post-graduate clinical training in several different psychotherapies, and I am a board certified, licensed practitioner in my field, this is not going to be a professional book. I am not going to back up anything that I say in this book with scientific research or statistical studies of my own, nor am I going to reference or footnote those of others. You and I do not have time for that, and besides, after having read such studies voluminously myself, all I have encountered are a few “facts,” but rarely any truth.
In this book, I am simply going to tell the truth as I have learned it - as I have learned it not just from the nearly three decades I’ve worked as a psychotherapist exploring the inner lives of other people, people of all ages and backgrounds, not just from the over two decades of personal self-work, self-work of a deeply psychological, emotional and spiritual nature, not just from the five-plus decades of being alive here on Planet Earth. I will be telling the truth as I have learned it from gaining access… to the truth - access available to anyone willing to know it.
That might sound like a surprising statement, but one truth I have learned is that most people don’t want to know the truth. At least not the truth about everything. Indeed, most people hold onto specific lies, or untruths, very tightly. In fact, as incredible as it sounds, many otherwise rational adults would rather die, or kill, than give up certain falsehoods. And many have. And those are just the people running things. The rest of us are living lives hunkered down in unfulfilling jobs or relationships, struggling with poor health, mentally and physically, sunk up to the eyeballs in debt with little or nothing to show for it, taking Zoloft to calm down and Viagra to get it up. And all of this to avoid the truth.
Why would we engaged in such insidious avoidance? Because we’ve arrived to a place where the truth often seems too painful to bear directly, and where the apparent price of facing the truth is often experienced as way too high. Millions of us end up preferring the inhibited actuality of life lived in half-truths and lies until, like the librarian in Stephen King’s, “The Shawshank Redemption,” we become so adapted to life in prison over a long period of time, that freedom starts to look like the life-threatening choice. When the librarian was finally released on parole, he felt so lost he ultimately killed himself. While most of us may not act this out as directly as he did, we do it with methods that are more subtle and slow-acting, but nonetheless just as brutal – stress, disease and the substances we use to torturously destroy our organs one cell a at time.
What is it that we so desperately don’t want to see that we would ruin our lives over it? Well, the answer to that lies both in the present and the past.
In the present, we, of course, don’t want to see that we’re ruining our lives! So, we deny that we are the instruments of our own unhappiness and demise. We believe that our suffering, whether on an individual level or on a global scale, is simply the “way it is” for most people, that nature is randomly cruel or kind, that we are at born at odds to some degree with nature, and that human beings are inherently flawed and have destructive impulses that must be suppressed. In desperation, we believe that following rules, made by man or attributed to a parental deity (but nonetheless made by man) holds some promise for security in an otherwise capricious universe. We must steadfastly adhere to such a belief in salvation by obedience because facing the fallacy of it, and seeing honestly the wreckage it’s causing, would be devastating. We shudder to our core to acknowledge, we resist until our dying breath to see that in truth, many of our most strongly held beliefs are an exactly wrong formula for living well, a totally reversed version of the way things really work in the universe. So, the truth, we fear, will not set us free, but rather cast us into confusion and despair.
In the past, in childhood, facing the truth was another story altogether. It was next to impossible. The truth of our childhoods for so many of us was indeed threatening to our “life” – our emotional and mental life especially. Among other things, we are born helplessly needing and expecting “perfect” love from our imperfect parents, love that is focused on our desperate needs alone, not tainted with the unmet needs of the adults caring for us. We can’t talk, so we totally rely on our parents to somehow know what we need when we are in pain, when we’re hungry, in need of comfort, warmth, cleaning, etc. And often, parents get it wrong. And so, the little child, faced with the reality of experiencing its own unbridled needs in an external environment that cannot possibly meet those needs adequately all of the time, begins to partially disconnect from reality, from the truth, and fabricate an alternative reality, based on constructed beliefs and formula’s, rather than the unbearable truth.
So, what can be done about this disheartening state of affairs, our resistance to pursuing the truth about everything? And why should we do it?
Well, answering the second question first is easier. The truth is all there is. Since the Sixties, we’ve come to glibly refer to truth as if it were a personal possession – “your truth, my truth” – that we could simply alter or trade in according to our current whims or moods or drug of choice. No, those are beliefs, not truths that can be altered. Beliefs can be thrown out and replaced with newer models suited to what’s fashionable in the moment. But the truth is the truth, immutable, irrevocable, there to accept or not, but there nonetheless. So, why we should pursue it is simple and obvious – to do anything else puts us in a state of disharmony with ourselves and with our environment, and that’s what leads to unhappiness, sickness, conflict, and ultimately, insanity.
What we can do to access, or more accurately – re-access – the truth is what this book will be about. That’s a bit of a longer story.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Disaster for our kids!

2008-03-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest from our pal Pete:
ATTENTION ALL PARENTS! This is a disaster that is already in the making for your kids! Beware of teachers and medical professionals who want to diagnose your child as having a “social anxiety disorder” — a so-called affliction of children and adolescents that, such dubious clinicians argue, is spreading.
Right. Read this piece in today's NY Times on the subject and BE SCARED! As I've said before, psychiatric medications for children are first and foremost about money, and secondly about convenience. I have worked with school-aged children for years and seen far too many young people's emotional lives nullified for the sake of conformity and arbitrary measures of performance. PLEASE read on.
Here's some shocking truths from the Times piece by Lane: "Levels of the stress hormone cortisol are consistently LOWER in shy children than in their more extroverted peers. This discovery upends the common wisdom among psychiatrists that shyness causes youngsters extreme stress."
Woah! What does this mean? It means that children who aren't overtly aggressive, who observe first rather than act, and who have active INNER lives are actually kids with LOWER amounts of stress. Yet, this is unacceptable to those who believe that children should be pushed to outperform their peers, gratify the ego needs of their competitive parents and prepare to meet the economic needs of the corporate world.
Okay, check out how the medical profession, the pharmaceutical companies and the educational professionals have colluded to create a new epidemic: "In 1987, the revised third edition of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (the Bible of psychiatric diagnoses) expanded the list of symptoms for social anxiety disorder by adding anticipated concern about saying the wrong thing (a trait known to just about everyone on the planet.). The diagnostic bar was set so low that even a preschooler could trip over it. Self-help books and magazine articles further widened the definition of social anxiety disorder to include symptoms like test anxiety, aversion to writing on the blackboard and shunning of team sports. These ridiculously loose criteria led to more diagnoses, until social anxiety disorder in children began to look as if it were spreading like the common cold among second graders."
Now, here it comes, parents, and if this doesn't alarm you, you should really reconsider your worthiness to be a parent: "Then, having alerted the masses to their worrisome avoidance of public restrooms, the psychiatrists needed a remedy. Right on cue, GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Paxil, declared in the late 1990s that its antidepressant could also treat social anxiety and, presumably, self-consciousness in restaurants. Nudged along by a public-awareness campaign (“Imagine Being Allergic to People”) that cost the drug maker more than $92 million in advertising in one year alone ($3 million more than Pfizer spent that year promoting Viagra), social anxiety quickly became the THIRD MOST DIAGNOSED MENTAL ILLNESS in the nation, behind only depression and alcoholism. This diagnosis was frequently made irresponsibly, and it also had human costs. After being prescribed Paxil or Zoloft for their shyness and public-speaking anxiety, a disturbingly large number of children, studies found, began to contemplate suicide and to suffer a host of other chronic side effects. This class of antidepressants, known as S.S.R.I.’s, had never been tested on children. Belatedly, the Food and Drug Administration agreed to require a “black box” warning on the drug label, cautioning doctors and parents that the drugs may be linked to suicide risk in young people. You might think the specter of children on suicide watch from taking remedies for shyness would end any impulse to overprescribe them. Yet the tendency to use potent drugs to treat run-of-the-mill behaviors persists, and several psychiatrists have already started to challenge the F.D.A. warning."
The real epidemic here, and the unconscionably tragic effects of it, is greed. Pure, unadulterated, psychopathic greed. It's time for today's parents to give up on their childhood fantasies about kind-hearted doctors like Marcus Welby, M.D., who only want to make children well and feel better, or super-dedicated teachers like Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier's character in "To Sir With Love") whose lives revolve around guiding their charges to higher wisdom, no matter how difficult the student's behavior may be. No, folks. Wake up! Today's doctor's specialize less and less in family practices, where person to person contact and genuine human concern might be expected of them, and instead specialize more and more in cosmetic surgery because that's where the big money is. And teachers? It's become all about control and about meeting the criteria of standardized testing, not about finding and bringing out the hidden jewels in an otherwise "shy" student. "Who has time for that?" I have heard teachers say. "How sad is that?" I say. How very sad is that.

AU CONTRAIRE: PETER LOFFREDO ON HOMEWORK

2008-03-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

Our pal Peter is quoted in an article by Maura Kelly about excessive amounts of homework in a recent issue of Time out Kids.
Kids have always complained (and complained) about homework overload. But these days, parents are joining the fray. Take Peter Loffredo, a 52-year-old psychotherapist from Park Slope, whose nine-year-old son, Bennett, often ends up in tears as he struggles to finish his spelling, math or reading assignments—all of which take him an hour, on average, to complete. “Imagine if you had to spend 60 minutes on taxes every night,” says Loffredo. “Bennett rides the bus for an hour and then has to find time for dinner and a bath before going to bed—there’s no time for him to do much else besides hit the books. A playdate shoots the whole schedule.” Loffredo fears that Bennett’s missing out not only on social time but also on creative pursuits, like playing guitar. “The imaginative side of the learning process is being stinted,” he says.
Fed up, he recently put Bennett on the waiting list for the Brooklyn Free School—a Park Slope institution that doesn’t give its students compulsory homework assignments. Founded in 2004 by Alan Berger, a certified New York high school teacher and former assistant principal who became disenchanted with the way curricula were being designed, the school allows children to seek out knowledge on topics they’re curious about; each student has a personalized, self-directed learning experience...

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Abstinence only is insane!

2008-03-15T00:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something from our pal Pete, local holistic psychotherapist and blogger.
This is a great little comedic video making fun of an actual Public Service Announcement from the insane Abstinence Only crowd:
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessie-gaskell/talk-to-your-kids-about-s_b_70328.html]
Why is "abstinence only" insane as public policy? Well, hopefully, you don't really have to ask that, but in case you do, here's why:
Nature never fucks up (only people do, because of ego and hubris). Nature causes kids to have powerful sexual feelings after puberty, which means DURING THEIR TEEN YEARS. To tell kids in the throws of those surging urges to just ignore those feelings and (OH GOSH!) never, ever act on them is about as realistic as the Wizard of Oz telling Dorothy and her gang to "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." Not to mention the conflict your engendering by telling your child that something inside of them that calls them so joyfully and urgently is bad for them to enjoy. Ugh!
Furthermore, is there still anyone out there who actually believes that the foundation for a good marriage is pre-marital virginity? As a therapist who has worked with many, many married couples over many years, I can tell you that one of the main reasons for divorce is sexual incompatibility among people who got married too soon - so they could have sex! Maybe, in its infinite wisdom, nature provides us with a window of opportunity to explore ourselves sexually during our teen years and early twenties, so if and when we do decide to get married and have children, we'll actually choose somebody we will be compatibile with in a major area of relationship.
Parents, please have the wisdom to either talk to your children about sex openly, and in a positive way, or at the very least, let somebody else with wisdom talk to them. Or talk to me at: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Thanksgiving for adults

2008-03-15T00:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a T-giving post from our pal, Pete of Full Permission Living.
Well, you know I couldn't resist this one, being the curmudgeon that I am about kids ruling the roost in our overindulgent times. This did my heart good - from the Wall Street Journal Op-ed page yesterday:
Thanksgiving: Great American Holiday, or The Greatest American Holiday?" by Joseph Epstein
...Thanksgiving does have the absence of the heavy hand of dreary gift giving that has put the groans in Christmas, the moans in Hanukkah.
And no one has written treacly Thanksgiving songs, comparable to White Christmas and Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire, which, I suspect, have helped make Christmas one of the prime seasons for suicide. Let us not speak Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, of whose travail we shall all have heard more than our fill as we ride up elevators and pass along the aisles of department stores.
For some time in America we have, of course, been living under Kindergarchy, or rule by children. If children do not precisely rule us, then certainly all efforts, in families where the smallish creatures still roam, are directed to relieving their boredom if not (hope against hope) actually pleasing them.
Let us be thankful that Thanksgiving has not yet fallen to the Kindergarchy, as has just about every other holiday on the calendar, with the possible exceptions of Yom Kippur and Ramadan. Thanksgiving is not about children. It remains resolutely an adult holiday about grown-up food and drink and football.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Is infidelity good for a marriage?

2008-03-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

Here's our pal Pete's take on an article on the Timesonline website ("An Odd Turn of Affairs"), which asks, Is Infidelity Good for a Marriage?" The article suggests that some marriages benefit from the shake-up caused by an affair:
So, here's my weigh-in on the subject. Get rid of dogmatic words like "commitment" and "fidelity," first of all, so you can honestly look at your situation.
Like most things I write about regarding relationships, intention is everything. People in a marriage can be "committed" and "faithful" for reasons that clearly crush the passion in a relationship - i.e. - fear of being alone, fear of losing financial stability, insecurity about one's physical appearance and attractiveness, etc. These are love-Eros-sex killers.
However, on the other side, again, let's can the dogma. Very often, adults claiming to have "open marriages," arrangements in which extramarital sex is allowed under certain conditions (like "don't ask/don't tell" policies), more often than not have intimacy issues and similar insecurities, and as a result, their relationships are neither open nor a marriage. (If you and your partner are so open about sex, why wouldn't you want to talk about it?)
So, what is to be gleaned from the statistical "turn of affairs" in Mr. Marshall's article?
Simply this - If you love someone, set them free. Let go of your vice grip on your partner. Stop clinging, get a life, actualize yourself, be interesting and attractive to yourself. What I call "spontaneous monogamy" - monogamy that develops when two people are so in love that they want to experience their sexuality like a laser, through that one person only - is the greatest, deepest, most intense experience one can have as a human adult.
But forced monogamy, which most married couples contract for, is not rooted in love or lust, and basically consists of one partner saying to another: "Even if you no longer are in love with me one day, you still have to stay with me." Mmmm... how attractive is that?
Having an affair as a solution? Hardly.
While it can wake a couple up to the stagnation in their marriage, and therefore can have productive results, why wait until it gets to such a messy point? Shake your marriage up now. Go for couples counseling, that really challenges your emotional laziness.
Stop taking all of your medications to go to sleep and get it up.
Stop leaning on your kids for meaning in life.
Stop obsessing about money.
And see the new movie coming, The Bucket List, a new film with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and ask yourself how you would want to live if you knew you only had a little time left. You never know - you might rediscover the Eros in your marriage.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-LOVE vs. FEAR in the PUBLIC SQUARE

2008-03-15T00:39:00.001-07:00

Here's our pal Pete from Full Permission Living and the new blog, Full Permission Writing.

I watched a funny movie last night that I haven't seen in a long time - "Defending Your Life," starring Albert Brooks and Merryl Streep. It's about two people who recently died and had to make their cases to the heavenly powers that be as to whether they would be allowed to stay in Heaven, or needed to be returned once again to live another lifetime on Earth. The determining factor on which the two would be judged was how well they learned to manage and overcome fear.

I found this quite fascinating. Fear. Not anger or greed or selfishness, but fear as the mortal sin that could prevent one from moving on to eternal bliss. I got it. Yes, fear. Why? Because fear, not hate, is the true opposite of love. In all disciplines of true understanding, be they spiritual or psychological, fear is understood to be the antithesis of love. Hate is an ugly, distorted expression, to be sure, but fear is what prevents love its expression and therefore leads to hate.

Love and hate are both based upon self-identification. In other words, you do not bother to love or hate someone you cannot identify with at all. In fact, you often love or hate another individual because the person evokes in you glimpses of yourself. And in the other person, you sense your own potential. In his or her eyes you see what you can be. But... you must first love yourself before you can love another. You cannot hate yourself and love anyone else, and as I discussed in my recent blog entry, "Full Permission Loving," love is the thing we all fear the most. (See that entry for the reason why we fear love so intensely.)

Lately, I am struck by how much hatred has begun to infuse our public discourse around the presidential campaign, and in particular, how much hatred is being directed at the least hateful candidate, Barack Obama. Spewing so much less vitriol than either Hillary Clinton or John McCain, Obama is spreading a message of unity and hope, and yet to watch the two other candidates and the far right pundits and talking heads, you'd think he was the devil incarnate. Why do they fear him, and therefore hate him, so much? Is there something so insidious about Mr. Obama that I am somehow missing, even after thirty years of studying the nature of human beings as a psychotherapist and sociologist?

Is Barack Obama really the Antichrist? Or could it be that perhaps those individuals who hate him have become so fearful of facing how separated they've become from their own best potential, so unable to inspire anything but negativity, anger and despair in others, and so removed from their genuine capacity to love, except abstractly of course, like loving the flag or the cross or the "troops," that they must seek to denigrate and destroy anyone who puts forth a message that is positive and loving? We've been here before haven't we? Martin Luther King, the Kennedy's, Ghandi, and of course, Jesus himself, all messengers of hope and unity, all brutally murdered for delivering that message. King himself once said this: "Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true."

HI can't predict what will happen in the public square as this election year progresses. As a species, the human race seems to barely be in its adolescence developmentally, and we know how that goes so often. Maybe these more optimistic words by MLK can offer us some solace: "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-The benefits of napping

2008-03-15T00:39:00.000-07:00

Here's something new from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living.
There's a nice piece on the benfits of napping and giving oneself as a parent time for rest and recovery from the tasks of the daily job on Heather Cabot's website: http://www.thewellmom.com.  I have incorporated napping into my daily routine since the late 1980's - 20 to 40 minutes usually does it - and I have found that it can be a great help in re-energizing the body and clearing the mind, important to me, not only as a parent, but in my work as a therapist and writer. Solving an intractable mental problem, like writer's block, for example, can frequently give way if you "sleep on it." Another good alternative to refresh the body and mind is a walk - preferably in nature (Prospect Park is still pristine enough and quite suitable). Getting out of the house and moving one's body is also a great reliever of stress, anxiety and depression in the short run. So, folks, have your R & R every day, along with your apple, and keep the doldrums away.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Helicopter parenting

2008-03-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

Here's an urgent message from our Pal Pete from Full Permission Living.
URGENT! Check out today's "Domestic Dusturbances" column by Judith Warner, called: "Helicopter Parenting Turns Deadly" (http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/helicopter-parenting-turns-deadly/).
Here's a quote from this very tough article: “People now feel like having a good relationship with your child means you’re involved in every aspect of your child’s life,” says Rosalind Wiseman, author of “Queen Bees & Wannabes” and “Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads,” who travels the country speaking with and counseling parents, teachers and teens.
“Nothing is off-limits” now between parents and their kids, she says. “There’s no privacy and there’s no critical thinking," she writes.
This is very painful reading, and yes, these are extreme cases of the harmful effects of parental over-involvement, but please don't excuse yourself, good parents, from using these cases to examine where on the continuum of this kind of vicarious dysfunction you fall. These over-the-top examples are only the most grotesque manifestations of a wide-spread parenting pandemic.
A whole generation of children are suffering because of it, and the worst is yet to come when these kids grow up and try to have real adult relationships in the coming decades. While there's still time, I urge you to do the work necessary to get your own lives and let your kids grow up.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Sane Republicans?

2008-03-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

Here's something from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living.
Good news for the anti-therapy crowd from Gallup.com: "Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their own mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans report having excellent mental health, compared to 43% of independents and 38% of Democrats. This relationship between party identification and reports of excellent mental health persists even within categories of income, age, gender, church attendance, and education."
Wow! What does this mean?
Libby Spencer at the Newshoggers takes umbrage:
"I’m betting the numbers reflect mostly the 30-percenters who still think Bush is a great president. Of course those Republicans think their mental health is fine. They’ve somehow managed to learn to live with a level of cognitive dissonance that would make most people’s head explode. The rest of us aren’t feeling so good ourselves because we see what the Bush administration is doing and don’t find it acceptable on any level. That’s the trouble with living in reality. It tends to dampen the old peace of mind when you see everything that was once great about this country being incrementally destroyed."
Well, I agree somewhat with Libby that living in denial can give one a temporary feeling of sanity, and that facing the realities of how those whom we trust to run our government, corporations, schools and health care industry are actually incompetent or corrupt or both is very depressing. Where I disagree with Libby is around the notion that our not feeling all right is about "everything that was once great about this country being incrementally destroyed."
Everything that is insane about America today has always been there. A country initially founded on the genocide of its native people by religious zealots who thought it was acceptable to burn women they declared witches, while developing our new economy on the backs of slaves was never sane. Liberals and "Movement Democrats" take a bit too much satisfaction in past accomplishments.
The bottom line is that the end of slavery only accelerated other forms of insidious racism, while the "successful" sufferage and feminist movements have still not produced a woman president. Why not? Because real change cannot be effected by politics, not even "good" politics.
The most idealized movements of the past that were supposed to change things in fact gave us the likes of Richard Nixon (twice!), right in the heart of the Sixties. His Watergate led to only one brief term for the likes of Jimmy Carter, but was followed by 20 out of 28 years of nutty Republicans in the White House, including 2 terms for Ronald Reagan, the king of "I'm Okay; You're Okay" conservativism, and 2 terms of the indefinably infantile George W. Bush.
Real change only comes from one person at a time evolving their consciousness - by peeling back the layers of denial, challenging their own ego-driven selfishness and narcissism, and developing the genuine empathy that comes from fully feeling all of one's emotions. Easy? No. Does it require a lot of self-work that most people would rather not do? Yes. But doing whatever it takes to become sane in an insane world is still better than the alternative - being a Republican who feels good about himself!
[For further information, see my 3-part series: "FALSE CLARITY TO GENUINE CONFUSION TO GENUINE CLARITY" on my blog: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/

PL makes the "Park Slope 100" List for 2007!

2008-03-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

"PETER LOFFREDO because you’re a holistic psychotherapist (and blogger) with strong opinions who is on a mission to convince parents that they deserve to have a life full of love, sex, and fun apart from their children."

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Agreeing with Brooks on Obama

2008-03-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a little something from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living, who finds himself agreeing with the New York Times's Op-Ed writer David Brooks more and more.
Wow! I'm having trouble with these occasional pieces by David Brooks that I really agree with. Today's latest, called "The Obama-Clinton Issue," is not just a great assessment of Obama's appeal, but of the essential ingredients that make for a good leader. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/opinion/18brooks.html?ref=opinion]
Here are some excerpts from Brooks’ editorial:
- "With the presidency, character and self-knowledge matter more than even experience. "
- "Obama is an inner-directed man in a profession filled with insecure outer-directed ones. He was forged by the process of discovering his own identity from the scattered facts of his childhood."
- "He has a core, and was able to maintain his equipoise, for example, even as his campaign stagnated through the summer and fall."
- "Moreover, he has a worldview that precedes political positions." - "In the course of this struggle to discover who he is, Obama clearly learned from the strain of pessimistic optimism that stretches back from Martin Luther King Jr. to Abraham Lincoln. This is a worldview that detests anger as a motivating force, that distrusts easy dichotomies between the parties of good and evil, believing instead that the crucial dichotomy runs between the good and bad within each individual."
- "Obama also has powers of observation that may mitigate his own inexperience and the isolating pressures of the White House."
- "Obama reveals glimpses of the ability to step outside his own ego and look at reality in uninhibited and honest ways."
I repeat - Wow! Imagine having a leader in the White House who is actually self-aware and able to follow something more than ego? I'd almost given up.
BONUS NOTE FROM PETER: At this time of year, when so many are stressed, exhausted, financially stretched, and desperately hoping for that bonus check, and in the coming weeks heading towards the New Year, inclined to re-evaluate their lifestyles, I thought that this article I wrote on working (and not working) would be timely. It was originally entitled "Full Permission Working." You can find it on my blog at: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Having an affair good for a marriage?

2008-03-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

Is having an affair good or bad for a marriage? Our pal Pete shares his thoughts on his blog, Full Permission Living. The piece by Jenny Block is also quite interesting.
A few weeks ago, I offered my comments (read them at: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/) on whether or not having an affair was potentially "good" for a marriage.
I was responding to an article that was in the NY Times on the subject called, "An Odd Turn of Affairs." (http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article2882883.ece)
On the Huffington Post blog this week there was another article on the same subject, taken from Tango Magazine, entitled: "Portrait of an Open Marriage," by Jenny Block. (http://www.tangomag.com/2006130/portrait-of-an-open-marriage-2.html/1).
The piece has this caption under the title: "Jenny Block reveals an unconventional marriage arrangement that worked."
So, I took a look, because I believe that openness is the key to a good marriage, along with the two partners being fully in love with each other, of course.
On my blog (http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com) are some samples of what I found in Jenny's piece, interspersed with my interjections and conclusions. Check it out and offer your own comments.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Tots at the bar?

2008-03-15T00:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from our Pete weighing in on the issue of tots at the bar. The rest is at his blog Full Permission Living.
I frequently rail on about the epidemic of parental over-involvement that runs rampant among so many enclaves of educated Baby Boomers these days. My over-involvement in this issue stems from my awareness as a therapist of the damage being done to so many children by these otherwise well-intentioned parents. I have said more than once to said parents that they are creating a generation of “cranky narcissists,” and I have, of course, gotten a lot of angry responses back. (I have also dared to suggest that parents should focus a little more on their sex-romance lives, and boy did that really go down like a lead balloon!) Yet, this is no small matter from which I intend to back away, and here’s why: narcissism, which can be initiated in almost any stage of early childhood, and can be part of any character structure, is an insidious, crippling disorder.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Perfectionism & the Superbowl

2008-03-15T00:28:00.001-07:00

Here's the word from our pal Pete about a article in NY Times today about the notion of perfection entitled: "Perfection Is Afterthought, Perfect Examples Say." (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/sports/football/03perfect.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1)
The New England Patriots have won all 18 games they've played this year as they enter today's Superbowl, a "perfect" season thus far. But is it?
"There is no perfect season," said John Wooden, who coached the U.C.L.A. basketball teams that once won 88 consecutive games. "You can have a season where you win all your games. But that is far from perfect. The other teams you played scored points and your team made mistakes. Maybe a lucky bounce actually won you a game or two. No, winning does't make you perfect."
Other famous athletes who have attained perfect scores and achieved record-breaking feats of greatness in their sport are also quoted in the article. Most agree that thinking about perfection or breaking records actually interferes with performance.
Winning doesn't make you perfect? I love that! Why? Because perfection, in the way most people think about it, is an illusion, and perfectionism is a crippling defense mechanism that actually prevents someone from achieving even reasonable goals or experiencing even minimal levels of fulfillment.
In reality, perfection is a place we're always heading towards, but never attaining, or conversely, it is the ongoing state of things already, depending on the way you want to frame it. In other words, because we're always evolving, because we're living beings, and therefore never static, anything that we accomplish today in the course of our evolution only sets the bar higher for another achievement tomorrow. Yet, also by virtue of the fact that we are alive, and as such are exact representations in physical form of our soul's intentions, we are already perfect in that we are exactly what we are designing to be in each moment. (Or as John Lennon put it: "Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.")
Perfectionism, then, is a covert way of resisting the very thing one is trying to accomplish, and/or it is an expression of the resistance to feeling gratified by what one actualy does accomplish. (Does anyone know a happy perfectionist?) Put another way, an obsessive insistance on perfection is a way of not giving, a withholding of one's gifts. It is a passive-aggressive act. The perfectionist will say things like: I can't serve our friends this meal, or present this work of art to the world, because my creation isn't good enough yet. Or I can't go to your party because I don't have a suitable outfit to wear, or I can't take my clothes off in front of you and make love with you because I'm out of shape physically. In other words, perfectionism is a disguised way of saying: "No!" No, I'm not going to give of myself to you. No, I'm not going to share my gifts with you. Etc. And that "no" is all too often disguised under the very annoying and false self-effacement of: I'm not good enough, or what I have to offer isn't good enough. Ugh! Get over it. Good enough is good enough! Give something to someone already. If it's from your heart, if it's a genuine expression of your desire to give, it will be of value to the recipient. Can you improve the recipe for that dish? Rewrite that screenplay one more time? Lose a little weight? Sure. And you will. And those changes will always occur over time according to yoru intentions in the moment.
You're a living, vibrant, fluid, always in flux human being. Don't let that stop you from offering yourself to others. There is no one else like you. No one else has your perspective on life, your confluence of experiences and ideas and imagination. No one else has your body, and I can tell you, your body is already beautiful and perfect the way it is... if you say it is.
And remember, whether it's the Giants or the Patriots today... it's just a game! 
PL

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Drugging ourselves

2008-03-15T00:25:00.000-07:00

Here's something new from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living:
Please read this! Judith Warner writes: "Americans are being vastly overmedicated for often relatively minor mental health concerns. This over-reliance on quick-fix medication is numbing our nation and dulling our awareness of real and pressing social issues and of non-psychopharmacological therapies and treatments. The notion that American children and adults are being over-diagnosed and overmedicated for exaggerated or even fictitious mental disorders has now become one of the defining tropes of our era."

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Losing your spark!

2008-03-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a thought provoking post from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living on the recent murders on the campus of Illinois State University.
Here we go again! Ugh!
A few years ago, I was invited to be a guest on a national radio program because I had written about the school shootings in Jonesboro and Columbine in 1998 and 1999. I was thought to have an "unusual" perception of these tragic events because I stated that the murderous perpetrators were not normal kids suddenly gone bad, as the media was portraying them, but rather, I said, these were very disturbed individuals that could have been identified easily by a trained mental health professional who was really looking. (You can find a letter I wrote to the NY Times at the time at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803EED8173BF934A15750C0A96E958260)
Here - Look at some of the ridiculous being things written about the current related tragedy, the killings and suicide at Northern Illinois University this past week: "Steve Kazmierczak, the man who walked silently into a classroom here on Thursday and opened fire, was not seen as struggling in college. He was not an outcast. And until recently, at least, he was not brooding." "Mr. Kazmierczak, 27, was described Friday as a successful student — 'revered,' the authorities said, by his professors — who had served as a teaching assistant and received a dean’s award as an undergraduate here at Northern Illinois University, where he returned Thursday, killing himself and five students and wounding 16 others."
"He was personable, easy to talk to, an excellent student, said his professors." (See the article today in the NY Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/us/16gunman.html?hp)
WHAT?!
How can anybody say those things with a straight face? When's the last time anyone of you reading this blog was in a really bad mood and randomly went out and killed a bunch of people? And more importantly, why are we so invested in the idea that an otherwise healthy, successful, friendly young person can suddenly go off and decide to mow down a couple of dozen human beings? Here's why: we don't want to take responsibility for our society's mental health, especially our children's, and ultimately for our own. We would rather believe that mental illness is genetic, hormonal, chemical, a product of aging or otherwise mysteriously caused. Anything other than the result of our own neglect and abuse of ourselves, our kids and each other. All we really want to hear in these situations was that we had nothing to do with it. "It's life." "It's nature gone bad." "It's God's will." "It's Murphy's Law." "Something." "Anything." "Please, don't make me look at myself. Just give me a drug. There's got to be a drug for this!" Oh, yeah, this is from the same Times article today: "Family members told the authorities that Mr. Kazmierczak had stopped taking his medication. Law enforcement authorities would not say what the medication was for, but said Mr. Kazmierczak had grown erratic, according to his family, in the days after he quit taking the drugs."
Oops! Now why would a "personable, easy to talk to, revered" young person be on prescription drugs for a mental probem, first of all? And why would stopping those drugs make him SHOOT TWENTY-ONE PEOPLE?!!?
Anyway, on a related subject, and as a follow-up to my comments yesterday about the drugging of our kids, I'd like to relate two stories. One took place at a GAP store, where I got to talking to a young man working there. When he found out that I was a psychotherapist, he told me that he'd seen shrinks as a kid and that he took ritalin while in elementary school. He wanted to know what I thought about that. When I told him that I was very outspoken back in my social worker days against ritalin for kids, he started to cry. He told me that he felt like he didn't have a childhood, that he "felt like a zombie" all throughout the years of taking the drug. He thanked me for being against the heinous, irresponsible and greedy acting out of our doctors and Big Pharma.
The second story involves my own step-son, who saw a "learning specialist" when he was 8 years old. At some point, when said specialist gave us his evaluation of our boy, he brought up medication as a possible aid to help the child focus better. When we indicated that we didn't approve of medicating children, he told us an anecdote - that was supposed to encourage us - about another 8 year old he knew , a girl. He said that the girl, similar to our boy, had a tendency to daydream and drift off, etc., when in school or when approaching homework. But she began taking a drug for her attention problem, and voila! You ready? These are the learning specialist's exact words, and he delivered them proudly: "She lost a little of her spark, but she got a lot done!"  We fired him. 
PL

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCASSIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Depression good for you?

2008-03-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

Here's something new from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living:
Earlier this week British researchers made headlines with their report that antidepressants are for the most part ineffective. But in a fascinating development, now researchers point to growing evidence that depression might actually be good for you. (Is Depression Good for You?)
Interesting. I have very often told people that their "problems" were not their problem, but rather that their judgments of their problems were their problem. And when I taught my class on psychopatholgy, I felt that the best moments were when we examined our "disorders" and "dysfunctions" as adaptations and devices that perhaps regulated the pace of our unfolding into our higher life path. The caterpillar's coccoon is an apt analogy. Created to protect the caterpillar while it is maturing into a butterfly, the coccoon is quite functional, but to the butterfly needing to spread its wings and fly, it is dysfunctional, something necessary to get out of in order to survive. So, too, with our human emotional and psychological defenses. They are created to help us survive the vulnerabilities ofchildhood, but then we need to shed them in order to soar as adults.
Here's some excerpts from the article on depression:
"A leading psychiatrist, Dr Paul Keedwell, an expert on mood disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, says that depression is not a human defect at all, but a defence mechanism that in its mild and moderate forms can force a healthy reassessment of personal circumstances.
"There are benefits and that's why it has persisted. It's a tough message to hear while you are in depression but I think that there's a life afterwards,' Keedwell says. 'I have received e-mails from ex-sufferers saying in retrospect it probably did help them because they changed direction, a new career for example, and as a result they're more content day-to-day than before the depression."
"One woman left an abusive relationship and moved on, he says, and might not have done so if depression had not provided the necessary introspection. Similarly, unrealistic expectations are revised when depression sparks a more humble reassessment of strengths and weaknesses. Psychological unease can generate creative work and the rebirth after depression brings a new love affair with life.
"Aristotle believed depression to be of great value because of the insights it could bring. There is also an increased empathy in people who have or have had depression, he says, because they become more attuned to other people's suffering."

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO-Harping on narcissism

2008-03-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

This from our pal Peter, who's feeling the heat for harping about the narcissistic tendencies of local children.
Some bloggers have become annoyed with me because I appear to be harping on concerns about narcissism being inculcated in our young due to overly-indulgent/overly enmeshed parenting.
My reason for persisting in trying to illuminate this problem, however, is not simple pettiness (or narcissism) on my part. I am adamant about this issue because the effects of narcissism go far beyond irritating behavior in restaurants or coffee shops or bookstores. As Paul Krugman points out in his column in today's NY Times, narcissists wreak havoc on our society and world because of their self-centered lack of empathy for the needs and feelings of others.
One difficulty in facing up to this epidemic is that the origins of a narcissistic disorder can seem benign in childhood because narcissists are generally not created from harsh, abusive parents, broken homes or any number of early traumas. Narcissists are created from parents who give their offspring a false sense of entitlement, parents who try to prevent their kids from having to experience the natural frustration that comes from living in a social environment where the needs of others may conflict with their immediate desires and impulses.
Here's Mr. Krugman on some of the damaging effects on a macro scale: "It has long been clear that President Bush doesn’t feel other people’s pain. His self-centeredness shines through whenever he makes off-the-cuff, unscripted remarks, from his jocular obliviousness in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to the joke he made last year in San Antonio when visiting the Brooke Army Medical Center, which treats the severely wounded: 'As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself — not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won. The cedar gave me a little scratch'...
Arguably, the current state of the Republican Party is such that only extreme narcissists have a chance of getting nominated...We shouldn’t be surprised, then, to learn that these men are monstrously self-centered...All of which leaves us with a political question. Most voters are thoroughly fed up with the current narcissist in chief. Are they really ready to elect another?"

"Where Is This Prosperity We're in the Midst Of?"

2008-03-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: September 20, 1988

To the Editor:

For the long Labor Day weekend, we had guests at the vacation house we rented for two weeks at the shore - friends and relatives. Into the nights, we talked about movies, our kids, the sweetness of the corn, our jobs, Dan Quayle, our memories and our dreams. I don't know if the group that we formed would represent a statistical cross-section of the middle class, but I'm sure that we weren't so far out of the mainstream in our occupations, attitudes and aspirations as to constitute an aberration or a radical sampling.

So I'm left wondering about some things, in the quiet now that our visitors have gone, about the state of people in America, for example, about the prosperity that is being heralded by some. Prosperity for whom? Certainly not the members of our shore group.

A ''demographic study'' of our group shows seven adults (34 to 43 years old) and five children (2 months to 12 years) of three ethnic groups: Jewish, Afro-American and Italian-American. All of the adults were working parents - one bookkeeper, one painting contractor, one musician and four in human services. Six of the seven had some college; five had master's degrees. One member of the group owned a home. One owned a new car.

Two said they had savings, though of less than $5,000. Four of the college graduates had outstanding student loans in some kind of default status. None could even imagine how they would finance their own children's college. All agreed that life was hard financially, and not what they had expected it would be by the time they reached this stage in their lives.

I recalled that when my father was my age, and also a painting contractor, he bought a house for one family in Westchester, a seven-room Colonial on three-quarters of an acre. He paid $19,000 for it in 1963. (I wish we had kept it; it recently was resold for close to $200,000.) Twenty-five years later, at the same age and with the additional full-time income of a spouse, I can't afford to buy the house I grew up in. Most of the time, I have blamed myself for our plight, but the weekend gathering was reassuring, in a sad way, because it turned out that my contemporaries found themselves struggling, and feeling guilty, in similar ways.

Again, though, I must wonder where are the prosperous times we're supposed to be in the midst of? Or are we in the midst of a cruel joke? It seems that the disparities are great today between rich and poor, and that somewhere buried under the avalanche of positive economic indicators is an overburdened, under-rewarded middle class.

All in our group acknowledged being confused that since the Reagan ''tax cut,'' and especially since ''tax reform,'' our tax bills had gone up at a higher rate than our incomes, and none of us live in six-figure households. What gives, we asked one another? Well, we all agreed, trying to end our get-together on an upbeat note, as least we got to spend some time at the shore.

True, I thought, but for me that was almost a necessity. My memories of going to the shore with my parents and our friends and relatives are so golden that I couldn't possibly deprive my own family of the same opportunity, even though it took all of my savings to pay for the two weeks.

Perhaps, in these ''prosperous times'' one needs to turn to memories and family for comfort and consolation in order to know what prosperity really is! PETER V. LOFFREDO New York, Sept. 7, 1988

"Why Capitalism Can't Save the Soviet Economy"

2008-03-14T17:43:00.000-07:00

Published, NY Times: August 10, 1988

To the Editor:

''Soviet Foray Into Capitalism Begins to Show a Seamy Side'' (front page, July 25) is descriptive of the ''novel forms of corruption,'' as you put it, now being found in the new ''private sector'' of the Soviet economy. The new ''marketplace'' seems to have inspired a ''general rise in the level of greed,'' as many Russians have long feared would be the case if capitalism came to their country. Your article quotes a ''Western embassy commercial officer'' who says, ''They're in their Wild West phase.''

What most ''Western officials'' or journalists, for that matter invariably never question, however, is the underlying nature of capitalism itself. It always seems to be taken as given that capitalism means free enterprise and that it is basically a fair and open system for the distribution of goods and services and wealth. Most Americans know, at least at an intuitive level, that this is not so. The definition of capitalism, according to my dictionary, is: ''a form of economic, industrial, and social organization of society involving ownership, control, and direction of production by privately owned business organizations.'' The equitable distribution of the produced goods is not inherent in this system's model.

We in the United States have accepted a ''Let the buyer beware'' mentality. It is understood that a producer-seller is motivated by greed, and that from his point of view the price will always be whatever he can get for it. All well and good for educated consumers, but why should we have to put in such effort to resist being hustled by our neighbors?

It is ironic and tragic to see what is happening in the Soviet Union and China as they begin to embrace capitalism as a way to ''save'' their desperately stagnating economies: corruption, cut-throat competitiveness, the rise of organized crime and influence peddling. Yet we've heard for so long in this country, more so in recent years than ever, how we need to become more ''competitive'' and how the unfettered greed of corporations will ''trickle down'' wealth to the masses.

The people of the Soviet Union and China will find that there is little difference in the long run between having the party own the means of production, and therefore the wealth, and having a handful of corporations owning them. In each case, the average person will be doing a disproportionately high amount of hard work for a disproportionately low standard of living. And as the ''value'' of competitiveness becomes more and more revered, the people will find their land, their forests, their waters and their atmosphere being devoured wantonly in the name of progress!

A footnote: It is probably the ultimate irony for the United States to be bemoaning the ''unfair'' trade practices of Japan, our own protege in capitalism. Japan has become perhaps the ultimate capitalist state in the world, with people practically willing to give their lives for the good of their corporations. I don't see why American capitalists are so upset with Japan. They must believe that sooner or later Japan's wealth will trickle down to the United States! PETER V. LOFFREDO New York, July 25, 1988

Au Contraire: The Occasional Note from Peter Loffredo-"Defending Your Life"

2008-03-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

I watched a funny movie last night that I haven't seen in a long time - "Defending Your Life," starring Albert Brooks and Merryl Streep. It's about two people who recently died and had to make their cases to the heavenly powers that be as to whether they would be allowed to stay in Heaven, or needed to be returned once again to live another lifetime on Earth. The determining factor on which the two would be judged was how well they learned to manage and overcome fear.

I found this quite fascinating. Fear. Not anger or greed or selfishness, but fear as the mortal sin that could prevent one from moving on to eternal bliss. I got it. Yes, fear. Why? Because fear, not hate, is the true opposite of love. In all disciplines of true understanding, be they spiritual or psychological, fear is understood to be the antithesis of love. Hate is an ugly, distorted expression, to be sure, but fear is what prevents love its expression and therefore leads to hate.

Love and hate are both based upon self-identification. In other words, you do not bother to love or hate someone you cannot identify with at all. In fact, you often love or hate another individual because the person evokes in you glimpses of yourself. And in the other person, you sense your own potential. In his or her eyes you see what you can be. But... you must first love yourself before you can love another. You cannot hate yourself and love anyone else, and as I discussed in my recent blog entry, "Full Permission Loving," love is the thing we all fear the most. (See that entry for the reason why we fear love so intensely.)

Lately, I am struck by how much hatred has begun to infuse our public discourse around the presidential campaign, and in particular, how much hatred is being directed at the least hateful candidate, Barack Obama. Spewing so much less vitriol than either Hillary Clinton or John McCain, Obama is spreading a message of unity and hope, and yet to watch the two other candidates and the far right pundits and talking heads, you'd think he was the devil incarnate. Why do they fear him, and therefore hate him, so much? Is there something so insidious about Mr. Obama that I am somehow missing, even after thirty years of studying the nature of human beings as a psychotherapist and sociologist?

Is Barack Obama really the Antichrist? Or could it be that perhaps those individuals who hate him have become so fearful of facing how separated they've become from their own best potential, so unable to inspire anything but negativity, anger and despair in others, and so removed from their genuine capacity to love, except abstractly of course, like loving the flag or the cross or the "troops," that they must seek to denigrate and destroy anyone who puts forth a message that is positive and loving? We've been here before haven't we? Martin Luther King, the Kennedy's, Ghandi, and of course, Jesus himself, all messengers of hope and unity, all brutally murdered for delivering that message. King himself once said this: "Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true."

I can't predict what will happen in the public square as this election year progresses. As a species, the human race seems to barely be in its adolescence developmentally, and we know how that goes so often. Maybe these more optimistic words by MLK can offer us some solace: "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.