Amir S. Salehi’s formative years could be described as eclectic and transient. As the result of war and other circumstances, Amir grew up in several different countries where his exposure to a wide gamut of socio-economic groups would deeply imprint him both as an actor and an individual. As bombs fell around him and his mother, Amir sought refuge in the magic of cinema. He fell in love with film’s ability to inspire and educate even as it transported you away to another world. Amir endeavored to become a part of that movie magic and today he is active both in front and behind the camera as an actor and producer.

Like his childhood, Amir’s education was varied and well-rounded. He graduated from George Mason University with a B.S. in Biology along with a heavy emphasis on theatre electives. He later moved to Ohio where he obtained his Juris Doctorate in Law. Amir now divides his time between his successful entertainment law firm in Brentwood and the pursuit of his acting career.

Amir has studied with Janet Alhanti, Eric Morris and Kevin Will. He has also appeared on The E-Ring, Mind of Mencia, and starred in the acclaimed play Friends & Enemies.

The time spent abroad as a child left Amir with an indelible love for travel, wanting to see all the beautiful people, cultures and landscapes the world has to offer. He is grateful for the experiences of his youth and believes very strongly in the importance of a healthy childhood. To that end, Amir has been an active volunteer with the Free Arts for Abused Children Organization since 2002.

http://www.amirassante.com/

POINT OF RELEASE

Synopsis

4/6/2010

Copyright Chris Martens – martenterprises@comcast.net

He’s got a fastball that blinds batters; a curveball that humiliates them. He’s the best high school pitching prospect in Queens and the scouts are swarming. What they don’t know is that every time Christy Farrell takes the mound he’s worried about a lot more than just the strike zone sixty feet away. He’s thinking about another strike zone at home where his younger sisters live with their mentally unbalanced mother.

Based on a true story, POINT OF RELEASE takes place in 1974 and it follows the final season of the St. Francis Terriers and their troubled star, Christy Farrell. It is a story about a young man who only wants to play baseball yet is forced to make a decision that will determine the fate of himself, his mother and his two younger sisters and in so doing define for himself the meaning of family.  It is a tragic story because not all of them will survive. It is a hopeful story because some of them will. It is a powerful story because all of it is true.  In the end POINT OF RELEASE is the story of gifted teenage athlete and the bitter price he must pay to enter adulthood.

Haunted by the tragic death several years earlier of a younger son, the Farrell family teeters on self-destruction. Their father could not cope and he simply walked away. Their mother, Betty, battles daily with painful memories and lacerating guilt increasingly finding comfort in her own imaginary worlds. Their grandmother, Nana, lives in strict Catholic denial, believing that mental illness is not a disease at all but only a broken covenant with God. And son, Christy Farrell, finds release in his own artificial world, one defined by straight lines, simple rules and immutable logic: baseball. It is a world where he can dominate, where he can overpower, where he can find simple meaning. It is a world where he can be a hero and little boys don’t die.

But reality has a way of intruding on even the most carefully constructed escapes. And as their mother’s fragile sanity continues to crumble, Christy painfully comes to accept the fact that his two little sisters are increasingly at risk. As the Championship season marches on the strike outs mount, the victories count and success envelopes Christy Farrell so closely that he can breathe it. But just as the Brass Ring comes around fate puts up a road block and nothing going forward will ever be the same.

At times moving, funny, coarse and sweet, POINT OF RELEASE is the story of Christy Farrell’s painful awakening as he is forced to decide between following his dreams and saving his family.

Copyright Chris Martens – All Rights Reserved. martenterprises@comcast.net

A woman returned to her Cumbrian home to find a near perfect imprint of an owl on her window.

The bird had apparently crashed into the window of Sally Arnold’s Kendal home, leaving the bizarre image – complete with eyes, beak and feathers.

Experts said the silhouette was left by the bird’s “powder down” – a substance protecting growing feathers.

Mrs Arnold said she could find no sign of the owl, so assumed it had flown off without serious injury.

She said: “Our first concern was for the welfare of what we suspected was an owl and we opened up the window to check if it was still around.

“Fortunately, there was no sign of the bird and we can only assume that it had flown away probably suffering from a headache.”
‘Very uncomfortable’

Experts from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) confirmed the bird was most likely a tawny owl because of its size and shape and the fact that they appear in gardens more regularly than others.

Val Osborne, head of the RSPB’s wildlife inquiries team, said: “We don’t very often see an imprint of a bird that’s flown into a window that’s this clear and where it’s pretty obvious exactly what kind of bird it is.

“This would have been very uncomfortable for the bird but thankfully it looks like it survived as Mr and Mrs Arnold couldn’t find it anywhere close by. Sadly, many birds aren’t so lucky.”

Birds often collide with windows or start to attack them, especially at this time of year with so many young birds around, the RSPB said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-14111152

Ashley Whittaker in Little Blue Pill

Los Angeles, CA:  Lu Parker attends a private reception at the British Consul-General’s residence with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Prince William and Kate Middleton .  (July 8, 2011)

Lu Parker & Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa attend the Dream Gala for Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Saturday, May 7, 2011.

May 20, 2011, Los Angeles: Lu Parker & Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pose with their friend Mary Hart at Hart’s retirement party from Entertainment Tonight.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer: Santa Barbara Sept 17-18, 2011

http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/jentaylor

My Aunt Maureen lost her battle with breast cancer. My best friend Kelly, her sister Kim, and their mom Myra are all survivors. My friend Allison lost her sister. My stepmom Irene is a survivor and her friend Danelle is in treatment right now. Since I signed up for this walk I found out 3 other friends have been fighting this in silence. I don’t know about you, but I can keep adding to this list of people who have had or were affected by breast cancer.

I don’t want my 2 year old daughter to ever have one of these lists. I want her to be sitting with some friends one day and say “Wow. Remember when people got breast cancer? I’m glad that doesn’t exist anymore.”

This is why I am walking. I believe that we can end it in my lifetime. I believe we can all make a difference. And I believe that this is where I ask for your help…

Thanks for visiting my Avon Walk page. I’ve committed to participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. It’s a big commitment, one that will require me to spend the next several months training and fundraising. But breast cancer is a big disease, one that still affects far too many people, and I’m determined to do everything I can to help put an end to it. The money I raise will be managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade to help provide access to care for those that most need it, fund educational programs, and accelerate research into new treatments and potential cures. I’ll be just one of thousands of people that will walk up to a marathon and a half over a weekend, raising awareness of the cause and educating even more people.

I can’t do it without your help. Though I’m required to raise at least $1,800 in donation, I plan to raise much more!

I hope that I can count on your support.

You can make a donation to my fundraising campaign right here on the website by clicking on the pink “Donate Now” button. If you prefer to write a check, just contact me and I’ll send you the information and form.

As I prepare for this exciting event, I plan to update this page frequently so that all my supporters can follow my progress, so please visit often. While you’re here, you might want to spend some time on the site to find out more information on why this event is so important, and the organizations and people that will be helped by the money we all raise.

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Taylor

http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/jentaylor

The Dark Side of Innocence is an insider’s look at the rapidly exploding phenomenon of childhood bipolar disorder.  Back when I was growing up, the illness had no name, and no one ever dared talk about it.  I simply called it “the Black Beast,” and let it have its way with me.

After fifty years of silence, here’s how I finally came to write a book about those troubled early years.

When my surprise bestseller Manic came out in 2008, describing my adult life with bipolar disorder, I received hundreds of emails from readers.  The most heart-rending ones, the ones that I kept coming back to over and over again, were from parents of bipolar children.  They were desperate:  Why were their children acting like this?  Did I know of a cure?  Had I experienced any of the symptoms their kids were going through?

Intrigued, I began to research the subject, and was surprised to discover that over one million children have been diagnosed as bipolar.  In fact, there’s been a shocking four thousand percent increase in the diagnosis since the mid-1990s.  Clearly, there was a need for more information, more research, more clarity.

I hadn’t written much about my own childhood, nor did I discuss it in great detail in the interviews and speeches I gave after Manic’s publication.  The truth is, I didn’t like to think about it.  My childhood wasn’t just a strange one; it was a sick one, and it was painful to revisit that period.  But writing has always been intensely cathartic for me, and I thought that perhaps now, at last, it was time to excavate those buried memories – not just for the sake of all those parents who had reached out to me, but for my own recovery.

To my astonishment, once I started writing the memories came flooding back.  I recalled in terrifying detail what it felt like to attempt suicide at the age of seven; to battle manic demons at ten; to resort to hypersexuality and alcoholism and cutting to keep my depressions at bay, when I was barely old enough to drive.

I relied on what had worked in Manic:  I explored my illness from the inside out, from a personal rather than clinical point of view.  Finally, I was able to confront the ghosts that had haunted me for so many years.  I emerged from the experience stronger, more complete, and with infinitely greater compassion for all those whose lives are touched by this baffling and fascinating illness.

www.terricheney.com

March 19, 2011  Los Angeles: The Humane Society United States recognized Parker’s outstanding reporting and creative portrayals of animal protection issues in three stellar segments:  Puppy Mills Exclusive Investigation; Dog Fighting Investigation; and Hatchery Hell- Investigative Report.  Parker beat out CNN, ABC 7, and KHOU.