Hurricane Relief Message from Alyssa Milano

Hi Guys…. I hope this message finds you all well, happy and healthy. I also hope you and your loved one’s are out of harms way. Life is amazing isn’t it? How one moment it seems to be carelessly rolling by. You sit there and enjoy it for its majority and then the next moment…. Something indefinable happens in disguise as a hurricane with a pretty name. I like to hope that these moments are reminders. They are reminders that are given to us like gifts to snap us out of our delirium and into the real world of spirit. What they are intended to do is to make you see past the grandeur of the daily grind and into life’s miracles. How does devastation make you see the good? The good becomes better defined when it is isolated in the throws of chaos. The miracles become more recognizable and appreciated as beauty. I believe as human beings, we innately want to help those in need and its times like these that we are given the opportunity to express compassion. I decided to put together a list of charities that are doing great work in helping the victims of Katrina. These are organizations that I trust. And if you can’t financially help, that’s O.K. Never underestimate the power of prayer.The Red Cross -
Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of more than 900 chapters and Blood Services regions dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by more than one million volunteers and 32,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchanges more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide.
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

PetsSmart Charities -
Providing relief for animals impacted by hurricanes. To improve the quality of life for all companion animals and their humans. PETsMART Charities creates and supports programs that save lives of homeless pets and promote healthy relationships between people and pets.
http://www.petsmartcharities.org

The Salvation Army -
Last year, The Salvation Army served over 32 million people in the
USA, including three million people in times of disaster. Since 1865, The Salvation Army has been meeting needs at the point of need.
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org

New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity -
The mission of New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity is:
· To build houses in partnership with sponsors, volunteers, communities, and homeowner families, whereby families are empowered to transform their own lives; and
· To eliminate poverty housing in the New Orleans area while serving as a catalyst to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.
http://www.habitat-nola.org

Thanks guys. Please take care of each other and know how much I appreciate your continued support. I really do. You are the best fans a girl can ask for.

Until next time…..
Peace,
Light,
And Love,
Alyssa

ALYSSA INTERVIEW BY IF MAGAZINES

On April 12, 2006, the WB’s CHARMED wrapped its final episode. For the fans it has been eight exciting years exploring the lives of the three Halliwell sisters, the “Charmed Ones”, who are also powerful witches. They use their supernatural powers for good, combating evil wherever they find it. At the same time, they also try to maintain a normal life, which in some cases proves to be harder then fighting goblins and demons. “I know there are some people that are doing the countdown,” explains Alyssa Milano who plays Phoebe Halliwell. “Some people are doing the count down without the weekends – some have the weekends included. I’m not doing the count down.”

In one of her last interviews, done on the set at Paramount Studios, Milano talked with iF MAGAZINE about CHARMED, her feelings on leaving the show plus her future plans.
iF MAGAZINE: How did you feel when you heard that the show was going to be over?

ALYSSA MILANO: I knew it was coming, because all three of us only had eight years on our contracts. Which would mean they would have to do some serious renegotiating… Well, I’m far too expensive. [Laughing] Nine years would break them.

I knew it was coming as of last year. I think last year was harder, because we didn’t know. We had another year on our contract – they weren’t giving us a pick-up, they weren’t canceling us, so we were literally at the wrap party last year not knowing if we were saying good-bye forever or if we were going to come back. So it was a little harder last year. We were all prepared for this year.

iF: Is it going to be hard to say good-bye again?

MILANO: Yes, this year is definitely going to be worse. I just think about the last day and… Jim Conway, who is one of our Producers, came over to me and said, “we’re doing Phoebe’s wedding scene last… on the last day, because everyone will be there.” And I went, “Oh”, and Jim welled up, just from my response of saying, “Oh.” Yes, I think it’s going to be a lot worse. We’ll all be together in the same room.

It’s a really weird thing and I haven’t been able to articulate it no matter how many times I’ve had a conversation about it. You don’t want to reminisce too much because that’s when the sorrow sort of crawls all over your body and you want to lie in the fetal position… and obviously it’s exciting because this is life and life is about change and tomorrow is a new day and a door closes and another opens and all those clichés that are clichés for a reason. But it’s a hard thing because being on a set you spend more time with your cast and crew than you do your own family and friends. And for eight years they become part of your being on almost a cellular level. They see you at your best and your worst.

I was sitting, New Year’s Eve at my house alone and basking in my misery and I realized how, I have a few really, really close friends that I feel very safe with, but socially I’ve become so lazy because these [cast and crew] are my best friends. So to not have that on a daily basis it’s going to be really weird.

iF: Why were you alone on New Year’s Eve?

MILANO: Every body had plans but me apparently. [Laughing] There was a party, but I wasn’t invited to it. I don’t know. I didn’t make plans and then it was too late and I just sat there are wrote and listened to really sappy music.

iF: What do you write?

MILANO: It’s sort of more of a diary entrance. I do all sorts of stuff.

iF: You mean as a big star you can’t be out at some party every night?

MILANO: Well, you do if you only want to go to parties where the paparazzi are going to be. I have lots of invitations to those types of parties. I can only do those types every couple of months, usually I don’t go unless there is money being raised for something.

iF: The show is so popular internationally. Do you think there are going to do any CHARMED conventions coming up and if so would you go to one?

MILANO: I think there are some CHARMED conventions happening in
England. I don’t know, I think that’s the interesting thing about CHARMED and one of the things that makes the show so successful is that it deals with a subject matter that is timeless. We could live on, even though we’re not airing new episodes, as long as our fans keep us alive.

iF: Would you go to a convention?

MILANO: Yes, maybe. I’d never say never. Maybe if it’s in Hawaii [laughing] or
New Zealand or someplace exotic.

iF: You’ve done this character for 8 years now – is it hard to get rid of her after all of this time? You’ve been working in series for a long time?

MILANO: No, if you look at WHO’S THE BOSS I was 11 to 19 years old which is basically my whole childhood. CHARMED, I was 24 to 33, basically most of my twenties and part of my 30s. So I try not to think about that too much because it makes me exhausted thinking about it. [laughing] But I’m blessed and I think I spent the formative years of my life playing other people, so I’d like to spend a couple of years figuring out who I am.

iF: What about any film scripts?

MILANO: Oh yeah, I have about 35 film scripts in my condo and I haven’t read any of them. I can’t even attempt to think about it until I put this to rest and there is closure here. I’d like some sorbet to clean the pallet and then figure out what I want to do.

ALYSSA ARTICLES ON VIVID MAGAZINE

While most former childhood actors wind up as questions on trivial pursuit and filler fodder for gossip magazines, a few manage to shake off their kiddie image and go on to achieve long and successful careers. Alyssa Milano, now 31, is one of those who’s made it comfortably into the latter camp. She has a pile of film credits to her name, she stars in and co-produces Charmed, one of
America’s hottest TV shows, and she’s now an ambassador for UNICEF.But getting there has been something of an epic journey. Born in
Brooklyn. Alyssa moved to
Staten Island with her fashion designer mum and musician father when she was four. As an only child until the age of 10, when her brother Cory came along, she describes herself as an artistic and introverted child. She instinctively learnt to use her imagination to improvise scenes and sing and dance around the living room.

Like many young girls, Alyssa was sent to dance classes by her parents, unlike many young girls this resulted in her big break at the ripe old age of seven. It just so happened that her babysitter (a dancer) was auditioning for a part in the Broadway musical Annie. She suggested that Alyssa should try for a part too. “I didn’t know what that meant” she remembers, “but I knew that kids were on stage singing and dancing, and I knew I could do that”. Several hours, and many gruelling rounds later, four people- including Alyssa but not her babysitter- were selected out of 1,500. She then went on tour for 18 months playing July, one of the orphans. “I always say, I didn’t choose it, it chose me.”
After touring and gaining a bit of a reputation for herself on the theatre circuit, Alyssa won a part in the hit TV show Who’s The Boss?, playing Samantha Micelli, Tony Danza’s cheeky Brooklyn born daughter. Alyssa’s parents deliberated before moving the family 3,000 miles across the US to
Hollywood. “
New York represented to them a lot of struggle and was the beginning of their relationship”, Alyssa says. “I think they were simply ready to give it a shot.”

The shows first season started when Alyssa was 11, and thrived for 8 memorable years. In spite of the demanding filming schedule, Alyssa aced her studies. “My whole academic career from when I was eight was being tutored on set,” she says. “I’m heavily dyslexic, and I think that really helped; if I were forced to be in a classroom, I probably wouldn’t have excelled like I did. Being with a tutor that early on and having one-on-one education really saved my life in a lot of ways.”

When the show ended, Alyssa was 19 and well aware of the danger of being stuck with the child-star stigma. But thanks to a nude appearance in a magazine and a number of very grown up roles, she broke free of her old teen persona with relative ease. Staring in a string of sexy thrillers alongside celebrated actors like Martin Kemp, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Sean Penn and Malcolm McDowell, Alyssa made the transition to serious star look easy.

But by 1992 she was ready to make her return to TV, this time as sexy Jennifer Mancini in Aaron Spelling’s

Melrose Place

. A few years later, spelling was working his magic again and approached Alyssa about taking a lead role in Charmed, playing one third of a sisterhood of good witches. Now in its sixth season, the show has been a ratings winner from the start. The original cast featured Alyssa as phoebe, Holly Marie Combs as piper and Shannen Doherty as Prue. When Prue was killed off at the end of the second series, the girls’ long lost half sister Paige played by Rose McGowan entered the plot.

(Please note that the magazine has got it wrong about Prue being killed off at the end of the second season, I know it was the end of the third season but whoever wrote the article must have made a mistake).

The show follows the sisters who possess special secret powers. Alyssa’s character has a gift for martial arts- an extremely useful skill when it comes to fighting demons. “Martial arts started to develop later,” says Alyssa. “I never had an active power, so they couldn’t figure out how to keep me involved in the fight scenes. I wasn’t able to do telekinesis or freeze time like my sisters or anything like that so they were like. ‘Do you want to do martial arts?’ And I was like, ‘All right, sure!’” Her enthusiasm for the craft continues, although she admits, “It makes the workday a lot more exhausting.”

But that’s not the only reason a typical day leaves Alyssa tired. Together with co-star Holly Marie Combs, she was recently asked to become one of the show’s co-producers. “Basically, it’s what we’ve been doing since day one, but now we have a credit for it. Everything from casting approval to dialogue changes to guest stars’ wardrobe to a little bit of editing. It’s hard because we are so exhausted anyway from acting that sometimes I feel the producer aspect is neglected a little bit,” she admits. With the added production responsibilities, sometimes she finds herself working 16 hours straight, and six day weeks are common. “It’s hard,” she says, “I’m tired but it’s worth it.”

The arduous schedule seems to suit her, however, since Alyssa is looking toned and fantastic. “Everyone kept telling me, ‘your metabolism is going to slow down tremendously when you reach 27,’ and mine went the other way.” She’s also a fan of yoga, which fits nicely into her busy schedule. “The great thing about yoga is that its there for you whenever you need it, and you can do it in such a small area- you don’t need much space.”
So Alyssa’s life is one that’s typical of hard working LA actors: filling her bulging diary with performing, producing, yoga and the occasional high profile romance. Before her relationship with Justin Timberlake grabbed the headlines, she was married to August Cinjun Tate, front man with the band Remy Zero. And in true
Hollywood style they were divorced after only a year. “He was a musician and was on the road a lot of the time, and it was just one of those things where we looked at one another after 11 months and said ‘why did we do that?’” she explains. “But we’re still close and nice to each other.”

Being able to move on, no matter what life throws her way, seems to be Alyssa’s real special power. When filming the mini-series Diamond Hunters in
South Africa she was only required on set one day a week. While trying to occupy herself during her free time she discovered she had a dual interest in humanitarian issues and photography. She says: “I think that every person with the brain capacity to actually have an awakening has one in their lifetime, and that was mine”

It all started when Alyssa began taking pictures with her Canon EOS, a Christmas gift from her father. Soon, her hobby developed into something of an obsession. “In
South Africa, because I was so inspired by so many different things, I’d get rolls back and every single shot was great. And of course when you do something well it becomes a passion.” She also volunteered her services to help out in a children’s hospital while she was there. “I was able to do it in a way that wasn’t about celebrity- it was about them needing help, and I was able to do whatever they needed me to do,” she shrugs.

“Towards the end of my trip I got kind of angry that I had to go back. I knew every day I was home, the experience would occupy a smaller part of my being, and that was just unacceptable to me. To be in a place that had come from such political hardship, with apartheid and the social issues they’re going through now with AIDS, there were so many things that fascinated me about it.
“I started shooting a lot of pictures,” she continues, “because I knew I was going to come home and look at my parents and have no words to express to them how I was feeling, and why I was bummed to be home. I shot everything- a lot of pictures of kids, motion and landscape and safari. I just went nuts.”
Alyssa hid the shots in her closet and didn’t get them out for months. When she did her mother instantly remarked that she should do something with them. It wasn’t long before an exhibition documenting her journey was in full swing. At the end 135 of her pictures were auctioned and raised over $50,000. Alyssa gave the sum to Nikosi’s Haven, a charity for mothers with HIV and AIDS and their babies.

Then, in response to the success of the exhibition, the South African consulate nominated Alyssa to be honoured by the United Nations. At the age of 30, she received the UN’s ‘Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart’ award for her achievements. Soon after that, she began volunteering at an LA children’s hospital. “then I thought, ok, I love to travel, I love to take pictures, I love to take care of sick children- find me a way how I can do that,” she remembers.

“Obviously UNICEF was the answer. I went in for a meeting with them, and they made me one of their ambassadors, which was really incredible,” she says “my first field trip is to
Angola. My job is to make people aware of countries that aren’t in the news every day, so that change can be implemented. It’s to use my celebrity to go on the talk show circuit to educate people on
Angola- just get it out there- and to go into congress and ask for money for the Angolan people

“I like acting- its fun- but it’s not my passion,” she admits. “I feel very fortunate to have had the 23 year career that I have had, but to me it’s about implementing change in the world. That’s how I justify what I do. It’s given me the voice to show people different cultures and traditions.” And she’s not just paying lip service either. “I sold my house in Beverly Hills when I got back from
South Africa and moved to a place about half the size. More land, so that I can be with my horse and my dogs. To me, life is the most beautiful thing, and to be surrounded by things that are alive is much more important than any mansion.”

Is Alyssa so passionate about her quest that she would leave the whole acting world behind? “That would be ideal, yes. I’m that passionate,” she says emphatically. “There’s no reason to be a celebrity if you can’t make a difference in peoples lives, because its pretty easy work and you get a lot of money. Films, television, theatre- it’s just acting, and it’s not my life it’s my job.”
And when charmed finishes its eight year run? “It depends on what happens. I can definitely see it going either way. I think right now where I am in my life; I’ve experienced hardships and have grown from them. And I’m happy with who I am.” She explains “in your 20’s, you’re so consumed with trying to figure out what the hell you’re supposed to do, and how you’re supposed to feel about things. Since I turned 30 I’m happy with the woman that I grew into. With all the struggles, I wouldn’t of changed any of them. Seriously. Even all the heartbreak, I go to sleep at night and feel pretty good.

ALYSSA MILANO On Pets & Animals-5/25/00-

Interviewed by Brian Bloom Alyssa Milano and I have known each other for half our lives. We’ve done movies together, Road-tripped the
United States and basically watched each other grow up. I interviewed Alyssa at her home while she was getting last minute items together for a trip to
South Africa where she is doing a mini-series called the “Diamond Hunters”. She called me from
South Africa today to tell me that she saw wild Zebra running on a hillside and she has never been happier… The picture above is Alyssa on the set in
Africa. 

 

Brian: What is your first memory of a pet or animal (yours or even somebody else’s pet) 

Alyssa: Oh I remember this so well, we were in Brooklyn and we stopped by a neighbor’s house…there were these dogs there and I guess they had puppies, she was going to keep one but said she may have to put the rest to sleep if she couldn’t find homes for them, so if we knew anyone that wanted puppies to let her know. I asked what she meant by “putting them to sleep”, so I asked and my mom being as subtle as possible said it means they are going to kill them. So we took home one named Pluto. 

Brian: Really Pluto from…. 

Alyssa: Disney, because that was my association with dogs. 

Brian: Perfect, that was going to be my next question. What was your first pet?…so how long did he stay in the picture? 

Alyssa: We had him until we moved out to LA and then we gave him away. 

Brian: Like when you were seven or eight or so… 

Alyssa: Right, exactly. And then we did not have a dog until I moved out of the house. I bought one for my brother because we were so close, and it was very traumatic for him since I was moving out of the house., he was only eight at the time, I bought him a Shetland sheep dog that passed away in the house fire… 

Brian: Right…of course, how terrible 

Alyssa: ..that my dad ran into the house to save. 

Brian: Do you mind if I mention that? 

Alyssa: No you can. (Alyssa’s family suffered a tragic fire about ten years ago. Her dad went back into the house to save the dog, risking his own life and injuring himself jumping out of a second story window after the search for the dog became impossible because of the fire. The dog unfortunately did not survive) 

Brian: Why do people…but really you, since this is about you why do you have pets? 

Alyssa: Ha ha ha (she laughs knowingly). I know why I have pets, I have pets for lots of different reasons actually. The glaring obvious reason is that I am overly maternal and nurturing, especially for babies, so I like to get lots of baby animals to take care of…um… the other reasons…companionship, being kind of alone in your own space isn’t as terrifying when you have 4 cats, 2dogs, 6 birds, and not to mention…the horses. 

Brian: So speaking of 4 cats, 2 dogs, 6birds, and then the horses, who and what are they and what are their names? 

Alyssa: Well I’ll start with the horses, I have a national show horse –filly that’s 9 months old and her name is Echo. I have quarter horse gelding ; he is 5 years old his name is Copy. I have a 9 year old paso-fino and her name is Maggie May. I have a German Shepherd attack dog from
Germany that’s (named) pinto. I have a Teacup Yorkie her name is Hugo…and I have four cats, Simon, Lucy, Daisy and Miles. they are all rescues except for Simon, I actually bought Simon. 6 birds…wait…oh I don’t have 6 birds anymore 

Brian: Wow enough animals to forget you got rid of some! 

Alyssa: 2 love birds, 1 finch and a canary and I don’t name the birds because I feel its sort of like fish…if you name them, then they die. 

Brian: You think that about fish? 

Alyssa: Yes, you can’t name your fish 

Brian: that is going to be bad news for all the fish naming people 

Brian: So why horse for a girl from
Brooklyn? 

Alyssa: My dad had horses growing up, so I grew up doing a lot of trail riding on the weekends especially when we moved to la, it was sort of a thing my dad and I could do together and eventually my brother when he got older. It never occurred to me that I could own my own horse until I started CHARMED, Shannon and Holly have their own horses, and I was spending a lot of time with Holly going to see her horse and then it dawned on me that I could have one of these. And 4 horses later….I’ve always, always loved horses…my favorite movie when I was little was The Black Stallion. 

Brian: Mine too. My brothers too… 

Alyssa: Really oh my god…. 

Brian: ..the seaweed- when he eats the seaweed, I love that 

Alyssa: I just watched it recently, it kills me. 

Brian: How come you haven’t married that guy yet…? 

A: I know, I love that guy, where is that guy…(That guy’s name is Kelly Reno- he returned to do several other incarnations of Black Stallion Movies in the early 80’s…) 

Alyssa: All the same points in that movie that made me cry still make me cry. 

Brian: Exactly, me too 

Brian: That was another one of my questions…was that your favorite pet or animal movie…? 

Alyssa: Yes definitely 

Brian: That’s mine too. 

Alyssa: I am half horse because I am a Sagittarius 

Brian: So do you identify people like that, in some form do you find their sign and corresponding animal and define them in those terms, not to pigeon hole them but do you see people that way? 

Alyssa: no of course, but every Sagittarius I know loves horses and animals, every Capricorn I know loves animals but isn’t doting about it, thy don’t get all ga ga oh doh doh doh… 

Brian: What sign is the most ga ga (for animals) all around? 

Alyssa: Sagittarius definitely, so that’s what my trainer (says) that I can get on any horse, no matter how crazy and have a really nice ride- even if its not the way I am supposed to be riding it…you know with an English saddle. My trainer attributes that to the Sagittarius thing, I just think that they’re beautiful and really powerful and owning horses has given me probably one of the most important life lessons and it taught me how to live in the moment because when I first had Copy, my quarterhorse, I would go and visit him and I wasn’t around horses as far as the ground work goes in tacking them and washing them, so I was a little freaked out and terrified but I would bring with me what I was feeling that day whether I was upset or frustrated and the horses would pick up on that so much that it would dictate how he would feel. I started learning that I had to leave everything at home and go there with a clear head. 

Brian: It sounds like a good metaphor…just between people. 

Alyssa: To be right there with the horse, very on guard, and yet in the moment, and stuff like that and also how to read body language I know when my horse is upset and just to be very sensitive to what an animal can’t tell you, when he can’t tell you to pay attention to the little things he can show you and tell you by the body language; 

Brian: That would work between people as well… Brian: The way dog people talk about the owner looking like the dog, do the horse people say that too, do they look like their horses? 

I wish I looked like my horse, he is over 17 hands, and his butt is taller than my head 

Brian: so I’m wondering if the horse people say that…they don’t say that? Alyssa: I think with any sort of animal you are going to be attracted to a certain look…that suits…my favorite books when I was a kid was Barney Beagle, and I still can’t find a copy of that book, it burned in our house fire 

Brian: I’ll get you the book 

Alyssa: It’s my favorite book ever, it’s about exactly that- no one came to buy the beagle because nobody looked like him 

Brian: …Mogilla Gorilla 

Alyssa: ..yeah yeah it’s very sad, and then when the pet shop closed… 

Brian: the guy tried to sell Mogilla for less than a penny, less than a penny remember? He would cross out a penny on the sign but the gorilla was still there, he would still be in the window. That killed me 

Alyssa: And after the pet shop closed( in the Barney Beagle book) , a little boy with an aviation cap walked by and Barney Beagle said, “that’s my boy”, and then ntually going to show her then sell her 

Brian: Final question because that is already so much… 

Alyssa: ..right that’s already like 4 web pages. 

Brian: Yeah it’s a whole site, “ALYSSA MILANO ON PETS & ANIMALS .COM” Brian: What do you say to people, in other words, when people give money to animal charities, when they save Whales, Dolphins a lot of people say “how could you”, not you of course, but people give money to animal causes when other people are starving, people need love and people need shelter, people need care etc. etc. etc. 

Alyssa: I feel a lot of different ways about this actually, the first thing that came to my mind that animals are helpless in a lot of ways and they depend on humans in time of need to help them you know they don’t have families they can call in time of need and be like… 

Brian: ..mom 

Alyssa: ..mom help! 

Brian: They kind of do though they kinda of yelp and howl 

Alyssa: Animals, they are one of the most beautiful gifts we have and you know, if there are people that have compassion, there are very few people that put their money into animal rescue organizations, and if there is someone that has that passion, animals need all the help they can get. 

Taken from:Animal World Network Website