Dan Nitro Clark

   Since American Gladiators first hit the airwaves in 1989 there have been rumors that the Red, White and Blue clad super heroes would hit the big screen in an American Gladiators movie.  I remember back in those first few years, Samuel Goldwyn Company (the producers of the original show), hired an "A" list screenwriter to write a draft of a screenplay.

The writer would come by the set and ask us Gladiators all kinds of questions.

"What would you do if the end of the world came?"  "What would you do if you someone kidnapped a family member?"  "You ever kiss a guy?"

Okay, I'm lying about the last question. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention!  

But seriously I always thought given the popularity of the Gladiator franchise that a movie would get made. I just didn't think it'd be 20 years later!

Well, now it's more than a rumor.  I've known about the new project for some time, but didn't want to say anything until people started spending money.  In Hollywood – when they spend money it always makes it more real.  Not a "given" by any mean… but at least it's now worth mentioning.

Here's the Variety (Hollywood Trade) paper Article announcing the American Gladiator Movie. 

Seems they've got a producer and hired screenwriter Peter Iliff of "Patriot Games" and " Varsity Blues" fame to write a script.  Peter and I've talked — and at least he didn't ask me if I'd kissed a guy.  And rumor has it — there's a part in it for me. 

I think my part will probably be like the Original "Spock's" in the new "Star Trek" movie.  I'll be the old sage who comes back and gives the new kids tidbits of wisdom.  Ha!  I hope that's only a joke cause I've just got my spandex dry cleaned.

Let me know your thoughts… and what you THINK THE MOVIE SHOULD BE ABOUT or at what you think would be COOL to see in the MOVIE!

Be Brilliant!

Dan Clark

Btw — if you haven't gotten my memoir Gladiator – A True Story of Roids, Rage and Redemption – there's no time like the present.  It'll make a great X-mas gift!  And it's getting amazing reviews and people are saying it's the best sports memoir they've ever read and Chuck Palahnuik of "Fight Club" fame picked it as one his 5 Best Books of the Year!

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Our dog Sam yelps.  This is what he does when he needs my attention.  It wasn’t always this way.  When I’d come home I used to hear the skittering of his nails across the hardwood floor before I would see him. Then moments later 80 pounds of white fur and exuberance would barrel into me from around the corner.  But it’s different now.  Sam yelps to let me know where he’s at in the house, so I can come and find him.  He is old.  His legs no longer work.  Father time has come for him.  I’m just not ready to let him go.  He is my friend.  My best friend. At times he’s been my only friend.           

The noise he makes is not a whine.

It is not a whimper.  It is not a wail.  It is a cry for help.  

Help me… Help me friend.  I cannot walk.

I remember the first day his legs gave away and he fell to the floor.  He looked up at me stupefied.  He looked up for me for an explanation.  He looked up at his best friend for help. I remember not having the words to explain it to him.

Some days when I come home, I find him in the living room looking out on places where his legs used to carry him.  When I enter the room, he looks at me and I look at him.  It’s hard for me to look at him.  I know his time is measured in minutes, hours, days.  I know that the cancer eating away at him will soon be too much for him.  But I also know he won’t let go easily.  I know he will hold on longer – longer than he should – because he thinks that’s what I want.  And because he’s a proud, strong dog who wants to make sure the rest of our family is okay.  It’s a duty he’s carried across his broad-chest swollen with pride for the last 13 years.

It crushes me to know that when his times comes – I’ll be the one who has to make the decision for him – for us.  All dog owners know this is one of the hardest decisions we have to make in life.  There is nothing humane or pleasant about it.  I only hope that when the time does come I have the strength to do what is right for – my friend, my best friend, at times my only friend.

There are good days.  Days when he smiles and wags his tail as I pick him up and carry him to the backyard to do his business.  There are bad days.  Days when I can see shame tinged across his face because I do have to carry him.  Days when I can’t get to him in time and he’s lying in a puddle of his own urine.  The look on his face is one of complete embarrassment and humiliation.  I don’t know which one of us feels worse, him or I.

I believe dogs have a sense of pride and dignity.  And I promise myself I won’t let him live an undignified life.  Every day I ask, “Sam, please let me know when it’s time to go old friend.”

Sadly, tragically, heartbreakingly… Sam lets us know.

Last Friday morning when we came home Sam was in the pool. The same pool he’d swam in for thirteen years. The very same pool he’d dive into and retrieve the ball over and over again.  Only this time it wasn’t the same Sam that went into the pool.

The legs that would no longer carry him, were no longer enough to help him swim.  They were no longer enough to let him get to the stairs.  They were no longer enough to save his life.  My friend, my best friend, at times my only friend… drowned.

I’d like to believe that he knew we didn’t have the strength to do what was necessary… and that his time had come… and that we were keeping him alive for us… and that this was his proud, strong, dignified way of letting go.  

We’ll never know for sure, but there are empty places looming large inside of me. I… we miss him.

He is my friend.  My best friend.  At times my only friend. 

Good night, sweet Prince.

Good night.

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I hate using the word "diet" yet it seems to be a word that everyone relates to.  But the truth is my favorite "Top Pick Must-Read Diet Books" of the year are NOT diet books at all.  

They are LIFESTYLE – NUTRITION books.  

Why?

Because study after study show that diets don't work. Yet diet books continue to follow the typical formula: First there's the sympathy for the would-be weight loser, blaming the excess pounds on everyone but them. Then comes the revolutionary formula that will torch those pounds forever. 

How many of you have tried the "in" diet before?  And how many of you have initially lost weight only to fall off the wagon and eventually gain it all back?  Count me right in there with you.

But you know what I learned over the last 25 years? 

It's simple, consistent actions taken every day that make the difference when it comes to health and happiness. It's never about a diet and ALWAYS about making lifestyle changes.

It's finding nutritious foods that you love that you can eat every day that you also find satisfying so you're never feel hungry or depleted. It's making exercise a daily part of your life.  I'm not talking about moving mountains – I'm talking about simply getting yourself moving every day.  The key, just like when it comes to food, is finding something you love to do. It doesn't matter if it's yoga, pilates, boxing, swimming, fitness walking – find what you love and enjoy and it won't seem like exercise. It will… get this… it will be FUN.

This really is the secret not only when it comes to food and exercise but to everything in life.  Find what you LOVE to do and it will never seem like work.  Learn to make your vocation your occupation and you are truly a wealthy person.

What do I love to do?  

I love helping people change their lives so they can live a happier, healthier more fulfilled life. To that end I give you my three favorite nutrition books of the year.

I've attached a link to be helpful because I know we buy things on the spur of the moment and also when they are easily accessible.  So just click on the book and it'll take you to Amazon.com so you can start enjoying the benefits!

"Sugar Blues" by William Duffy.  I first came across this book when I was reading Jenny McCarthy's blog on Oprah.com.  Yep, that's right.  I went from beating the crap out of guys on TV to hanging out on Oprah.com.  Hey, I'll take good information from any place I can get.  This classic, bestselling book is a stunning expose about what sugar does to the body. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was THIS bad.  Be sure to pick up this oldie but goodie.  You'll never look at sugar the same. 

The End of Over Eating by David Kessler.  This by the former head of the Food and Drug Administration is a must read. It looks at our growing obesity problem and our inability to control our food intake as a culture.  It talks about how the food industry is in collusion with the advertising industry and how they spend of 30 billions dollars a year enticing us to eat!  It also provides his take on a solution so you'll never overeat again. 

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.  The best line of the book is the first line and a line I LIVE by: "Eat Real Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants."  So forget the diet and do just that.  This book shows you how and informs you about how processed and nutritionalized food have replaced real food.  It's a real eye opener and a quick, informative read. 

There you have it.  Please enjoy and let me know if they work for you and also share with me some your favorite nutrition books!

Be Brilliant!

Dan Clark

BTW — Here's my absolute favorite protein powder - Sun Warrior Brown Rice protein. It's all I'll take now. I ran out of it — went back to whey and almost vomited — I wish I would've because my stomach was upset all day.  I know brown rice, vegan, raw, with no added sugar is a little more expensive than the other proteins, but you are so worth it!!!  Check it out by clicking the link above.

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I just read a Los Angeles Times article about the HCG diet and have to say it may be the WORST DIET ever.  This comes from a guy, who has tired every diet on the planet from the Zone, Atkins, Jenny Craig, South Beach to high protein – low carb, grapefruit, vegan, raw food, all the way to the “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” diet.  I've food combined, food separated, fasted, cleansed and even tried a tuna shake diet. 

 The HCG diet calls for eating just 500 calories a day while taking daily injections of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced by pregnant women and excreted in their urine.

 You heard me correctly. "It comes from pregnant women's piss." 

 HCG has recently splashed across the headlines as the drug disgraced Los Angeles Dodger Manny Ramirez used that lead to his 50 game suspension from baseball.  Now people are using it to try and lose weight thanks to Kevin Trudeau's 2007 book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About."

Somethings are better off not knowing. This is one. 

 Using HCG as a weight loss tool only spells one thing: DISASTER.  Not only are there hundreds of possible harmful side effects, but it's been proven time and time again, that fad diets simply DO NOT work. They are a temporary solution to a permanent problem.

Take this statistic into consideration:  

Last year, we spent an estimated $45 billion on diets and diet-related products, yet we’re still the fattest nation in the world.  To add insult to injury a recent government study found that two-thirds of American dieters regained all the weight they had lost within a year, and 97 percent had gained it all back within five years.  

What does work?

 First we have to realize that there is no "silver bullet" solution when it comes to weight loss. Losing weight is not a sprint, it's a process. It's a lifestyle. It's about doing simple things on a daily basis that will change your body and life forever.

Over the upcoming weeks I'll happily share some of the simple things that I've learned over the last 25 years that have put me on a path to a happier, healthier more fulfilled life, and have allowed me to obtain and maintain the phenomenal health I enjoy today. 

Stay tuned!  

DAN CLARK

BTW — the BEST PROTEIN POWDER I've ever tried is Sun Warrior protein.  It's from brown rice and digest easily and the assimilation into the body is the highest on the market and it's the only nutritional product I recommend on my website.  Check it out. 

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