Let's Dream Big For The New Year

This is Shine On,

The health and happiness show and Ella's Leash production.

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Shine On,

Bringing you healers and dreamers and people who want to make life richer.

It's your time to shine on.

Hi it's Casey.

Thank you so much for tuning in to Shine On.

Happy New Year.

Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to have a wild fantasy in your head.

And I want you to write it down.

And this fantasy is about someone,

You know,

Coming into your life,

Knocking on your door and giving you the thing you really want.

Say someone comes and knocks on your door and gives you,

I don't know,

A million dollars.

Or they call you up and they say,

You're going to have your own one woman show or one man show on Broadway.

Or they say you're going to have your own TV show or you're going to play with the New York Yankees or maybe work in their front office.

Like what is the thing that would really just light you up and say yes,

Yes,

Yes.

This is my dream.

This is what I've wanted all my life.

That's the exercise I'd like you to do and play with,

Daydream about,

But definitely write down with your hand and a pen on a piece of paper what this crazy wish come true would be.

And before we have your starting point of what is possibly missing in your world and if it's missing and you really,

Really want it,

Well then we can turn our attention towards getting it.

Or maybe in this crazy fantasy you get something you didn't even know you wanted,

But take the mental trip.

Take the mental trip because it may just land you in a place where you say,

Hey,

2022,

This is where I'm going to set my sails.

Things can pop up out of the blue,

But more routinely we have an idea and we build a foundation under it.

Our first guest,

Alana Haim,

Was on a musical path that began when she was a child.

Born in Los Angeles,

Her mom and dad put her and her two sisters in a family band.

Now she and her sisters have their own band called Haim.

You may have heard of this because like they're great friends with Taylor Swift now.

I think the story goes that someone asked the Haims about Taylor's dating life or something and they were like,

We don't want to talk about her dating life.

We'd rather she'd call us and have dinner.

And she did.

And they met for the first time for like seven hours.

And then Taylor took the band Haim out on tour.

Now they're heading out on their own tour.

That was one time fate intervened in Alana's life to bring her something perhaps that she had wished for,

A very,

Very visible music career.

And now it's happened again as Alana stars in the film Licorice Pizza.

She already has a Golden Globe Award nomination and a Critics Choice Award nomination.

So the director,

Producer,

Screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson actually created this role for Alana in Licorice Pizza.

And they knew each other.

It's not that they were strangers.

They knew each other because this man,

Paul Thomas Anderson,

Worked on a lot of the Haim videos.

And it even goes back farther than that.

Alana's mom was Paul Thomas Anderson's art teacher in middle school.

It's just one of those things,

You know,

You could have never told Alana's mother when she was teaching middle school art,

One of the kids in your class is going to grow up and give your daughter a starring movie role.

Right?

No one would have believed that.

So I got to spend a few minutes with Alana Haim on the phone.

And she is absolutely delighted and delightful.

Hi,

How are you?

I am so excited to talk to you.

I want to know everything.

I'm going to start here first.

Oh my god.

I know,

Right?

I'm so excited to talk to you.

I'm so excited.

Tell me first about what's going on with the band.

What do we need to know?

Anything?

Oh my god,

Well,

We're going on tour next year,

Which is really exciting.

We're,

You know,

Touring around the country and going to Europe and the UK.

And we're finally going to be able to play our album Women in Music Part 3 live,

Which is the best news.

I'm so excited.

Good.

And I think it starts in a couple of months,

Which I'm so excited that you can get your tickets now.

So if you want to come see us play,

Go get your tickets.

Perfect.

Wonderful.

Tell me about acting.

Is this,

Where did this come from?

You know,

It is a crazy left turn that I never thought I would ever take.

And I always loved movies and I've always been in love,

Like in awe of the art of making movies.

But I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to be in a movie.

And when,

You know,

Paul Thomas Anderson calls you and says,

You know,

I have this movie,

Would you ever want to be a part of it?

Would you ever want to try acting?

You say yes.

You just say yes.

And it was the most amazing opportunity.

It was an adventure that I'm so happy that I went on and it was incredible.

And I was just,

I'm so happy that I did it.

It was so much fun.

So this writer,

Director,

Producer guy,

He knew you from your videos,

Right?

He did.

We did a lot of music videos together and worked a lot together,

But I never in a million years thought he would ever want me to be in a movie.

But he saw something in you because really this part was written with you in mind,

Wasn't it?

Isn't that crazy?

I feel like I keep saying that that's crazy.

I never,

You know,

Even saying it out loud makes me feel crazy.

I mean,

I'm just so honored and I've always been a fan of Paul and everything that Paul does,

Whether it's music videos or movies.

And it's just a huge honor.

Wow.

Wow.

And let's go to crazy land here because Alana,

Your first film Who Saw It Coming is with Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper.

Are you kidding me?

I know,

I know.

I know it's wild.

It's so wild.

And they were the most incredible people on the planet.

Like they made me feel so insanely comfortable being doing something new.

And I just was so lucky that I got to observe how they act and how they prepare for something.

I learned so much from them and they were so amazing and so nice.

And I really couldn't have done it without them.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's son.

This is going to surprise a lot of people too,

Right?

Yeah,

Cooper Hoffman plays Gary Valentine in Licorice Pizza.

He's my partner in crime.

Cool.

Licorice Pizza,

Can you tell us what the title refers to without giving too much away?

Oh,

You know,

It kind of takes on its own meaning when you see it,

But it kind of feels like two things that aren't supposed to go together but are on the same plate.

That's how I kind of look at it.

It's like two people that are kind of,

They meet and they don't know that they're going to get their lives changed,

But they do.

And it's kind of like that.

I don't know.

It's very confusing.

I like when people see it and take on their own meaning.

I love the title.

How did your sisters take the news when you said,

Hey,

Ladies,

Just hold up a minute.

I'm going to make a movie.

It was so exciting.

I mean,

I think we're all really shocked.

I mean,

Both my siblings are also in the movie and my parents are in the movie,

Which is so hilarious.

My parents play my parents,

My siblings play my siblings,

And we all thought that we were going to get cut from the movie.

I think that's what we all thought was going to happen because it's an unbelievable thing.

But this happened.

So it was,

We were all just so shocked and so excited.

That's so great.

I didn't realize your parents and siblings were in it as well.

But didn't you all start together in a family band?

Isn't that your roots?

We did.

We started,

I was in a cover band with my parents called Rockin' Hymn and we played covers.

And it started when I was about four or five.

And we would play like charity events and street fairs.

And our first gig was at a deli,

But we would play like a lot of Billy Joel,

A lot of Santana,

Some Tina Turner,

A lot of Beatles.

I mean,

A lot of Eagles.

I'm one of the biggest Eagles fans you'll ever meet.

But yeah,

I started at a very young age playing music.

So you were born in 91.

Is this correct?

I was born in 91.

And the movie is set in the 70s,

Licorice Pizza.

But I'm guessing you didn't have a lot of trouble with that because you seem very well acquainted with 70s music at least.

I am.

I mean,

My parents basically raised me on 70s music.

They loved,

They were the only thing that they listened to.

And I've always been such a fan of that era.

And I feel like it's no secret when you listen to a lot of high end music,

We're so heavily influenced by 70s music.

So it really did kind of,

I feel like I was kind of preparing for the role my whole life.

I really did kind of fit fit into the era.

Alana,

Here's the thing.

I can't wait to see what you're going to do next.

I'm so happy for you.

Oh my god,

Thank you so much.

I'm so happy for you and your sisters and your family.

Now I gotta go see the movie and enjoy the tour and enjoy the holiday season.

Happy New Year and continued success.

Thanks for everything.

Thank you so much.

I love her Alana Haim of the band Haim and of the movie licorice pizza that we all have to go out and watch.

So I'm going to ask you again,

If your life could take a turn.

What is the crazy big dream you'd like to see come true?

Play with that a dream for yourself play with that idea.

And who knows what the new year will bring?

Hi,

It's Casey.

Thanks for tuning in to shine on the health and happiness show.

Oh,

Caseysplace.

Com is now a thing.

The website has a new name caseysplace.

Com.

We can all meet there together.

Just before Christmas,

I met with Ingrid Newkirk,

The president of the people for the ethical treatment of animals or PETA.

She wrote an adorable book about cats.

Well in our office,

We have cats that we rescued way back during the BP oil spill when all these people left Louisiana because they'd lost their jobs.

And unfortunately,

Some of them left their animals behind.

So we took in about 60.

We still have three Marshall,

Brandy and Bubbles and their families.

So nobody wanted three.

So we've kept them and over the years we have learned to cater to them to make sure that they have recovered from the trauma they suffered and all those tips and so many more over the years and how to be careful not to fall into traps with your cats like leaving them in the dryer door open or leaving electrical wires out or getting the wrong house plants.

I put that all in the book.

We thank you so much,

Ingrid Newkirk.

Two hundred fifty vital things your cat wants you to know.

You've got some great advice in here.

So let's play around.

What kind of things can we do?

Simple things to make our home a cat's paradise.

Well,

I would say you may live there,

But you go in and out all the time and your cat should be a shut in because there's traffic out there.

There are dogs,

There are raccoons.

There are people with evil intentions who don't think there aren't.

And I don't want people to find out the hard way,

As I did,

That it isn't safe to let your cat out.

They can pick up parasites from little animals that they chew on and all sorts of bad things can happen.

So with your cat indoors,

It is your responsibility because you are your cat's whole world to spend time with them.

That's the number one thing they crave is your attention.

So if you look on the Internet,

You see cats backing people's iPhones away,

Sitting on their computer keyboards.

Don't just push them off.

Don't be short with them.

You are their whole life.

They adore you.

And so they're saying,

Hello,

I'm part of the family.

I don't get to go in and out.

I don't have things to do.

Will you pay attention to me?

And when you come back from being out,

Because after all,

You do perhaps have to work or grocery shop,

Which they don't appreciate,

Always bring them a little gift,

Even if it's a leaf or a feather you found on the ground.

They know it's a presence of them and that you care.

Wow.

I've never heard that or thought that.

Oh,

Yes.

In our office,

It's so funny.

We discovered that one of our little cats loves feathers.

I mean,

They all have a room with a view,

Which is very important.

They have high places where they can look out because they're professional birdwatchers and they want to make faces at passing dogs.

But we bring them back feathers and they have a box of feathers and they love to roll in it and they smell it and they rub their face in it.

And they know that it's a present every time you put one,

A new feather in there.

They actually lead people over like,

Look what I've got.

That's so terrific.

That really is terrific.

Sometimes for cats that get out and I've heard owners say the cats bring them mice.

Do cats do that?

Are they giving us a gift?

They are indeed.

And they give you the best part.

They may reserve the head for you.

It's a great compliment.

But again,

Please don't let them out.

I know people think with the best of intentions,

Oh,

A cat wants to go out.

They do.

They definitely do.

But the world has changed and they used to be able to cope.

They can't cope with all the things that we have out there that are dangerous to them.

So yeah,

If you let your cat out,

Your cat brings back a mouse.

They're probably,

They can get diseases from that mouse.

In fact,

In Ohio,

A couple of weeks ago,

A cat who was let out,

Usually a house cat,

Came back with bubonic plague.

We haven't heard of that for a long time.

So just make your house the most amusing place on earth.

They're satisfied with just a cardboard box,

Something you dangle.

The best use of the fishing rod is to think of something on it for your cat.

And little balls and toys and scratching posts and never,

Never scold them.

Can you tell us a little bit about HBO's documentary,

I Am an Animal?

Well,

I can.

HBO still has it on demand.

It was done some years ago.

It's about Peter and about me.

And it follows us around as we go out to rescue animals,

Give speeches and what have you.

It was actually went all the way to France with me where we were protesting a fur store,

Jean Paul Gaultier's fur store.

And he has stopped using fur now.

So a lot has changed since it came out,

But it's great fun as a documentary.

How do you maintain your strength in this fight you have to literally change the world?

Well,

You know,

We started Peter 42 years ago and back then everybody wanted a fur coat.

You were nobody if you hadn't aspired to get one today.

Fur really is dead.

That was one of our slogans and no young person wants a fur.

And all the retailers,

The big fashion houses have stopped carrying it.

We also protested the circus and people said,

Oh no,

No,

You can't do that.

It's wonderful.

And we said,

No,

It isn't.

Wildlife needs to stay in the wild.

And so I can look back and I know that the biggest circus in the country,

Ringling Brothers,

Is out of business.

In fact,

It's thinking of coming back,

But with no animals and nobody wants a fur.

And now people talk about vegan food as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

Whereas back in those days,

Nobody knew what it meant.

They thought it was somebody from Las Vegas.

So I see all these victories and I know it takes work and we just have to keep plowing along until people come to respect all animals and put aside all this domination of them and exploitation of them.

And I see it happening.

We're talking to Ingrid Newkirk of PETA and we're talking about a beautiful,

Cute little book she's made,

Maybe a stocking stuffer,

250 Vital Things Your Cat Wants You to Know.

Do you see a time in the future when more of the world will be vegetarian or vegan?

Oh,

Yes,

Absolutely.

And you know,

One reason it's happening is not so much that people see,

Although this does happen,

That see the exposes of the horrors of factory farming and slaughterhouses,

But people are waking up to the fact that the reason the rainforests are burning,

The Amazon is burning,

Is to raise the trees so as to plant crops,

To feed cattle,

To feed us.

The most inefficient food system that you could ever have.

And young people today,

They think,

You know,

Mommy,

Daddy,

Why do we eat animals?

So youth is driving this and you see people who are,

May have thought they never ever would have had anything but cow's milk and now buying soy milk and oat milk and almond milk and coconut milk.

And so you do see the trend is to get away from environmentally degradation,

I can't even say degradation this morning,

And cruel and unhealthy things like meat and dairy and eggs.

An egg is a cholesterol bomb.

So people are waking up to the health consequences,

The environmental consequences,

And of course the consequences to animals who don't want to die any more than we do.

Were you born with this empathy?

Funny thing,

When I was born,

There was already a dog in the house.

His name was Shawnee.

And I was an only child and we just spent all our time together.

We slept in the same bed and we went for the same walk and we both got car sick at the same time.

My mother would have to pull over the car for us both to get out and be sick.

But I adored him and I think he adored me and we were very bonded.

And if anybody had tried to hurt him,

To take him to a laboratory and cut him up or take his fur off to make a coat collar or something,

I mean,

I would just top them with everything I had.

I did grow up thinking animals are just like us because they are.

They're emotional.

They feel pain and fear and grief and love.

They're very smart and they have to be smart because they're living in a human dominated world.

Everything that happens to them is because humans want it to.

How do we know that the products we use are not tested on animals?

Today it's very easy to see if something's tested or not because of this.

If it's a cosmetic or shampoo,

Something like that,

You can look for the Leaping Bunny logo on the back.

This lovely little bunny leaping up in the air says,

Not tested on animals and no animal ingredients because there are also ugly things that used to and sometimes still are be put into even face creams.

So you look for the Leaping Bunny logo and if you go to our website at peta.

Org,

You can easily look up companies that do and don't test and companies that are vegan,

Meaning no hydrolyzed animal protein,

No placenta,

None of these oddball things,

Lanolin that are taken from animals.

Was that your idea,

The Leaping Bunny logo?

Well,

Peter's logo is a bunny because rabbits,

If you think about it,

Have been hunted.

They've been used in magicians acts for entertainment.

They've been used for fur and they've been eaten.

So rabbits pretty much are the ubiquitous ambassador animal for all the things that shouldn't happen to animals.

So Leaping Bunny means somebody cares and I'm out of here.

Are you able to be friends with people who are,

You know,

Carnivorous?

Oh absolutely,

Because I used to be carnivorous too.

I mean,

I was a slow learner and I always say,

My goodness,

If I could change as much as I've changed,

Anybody can because it started actually with a birthday party where we were served lobsters and the live lobsters came to the table.

I had to pick one and I did and they waved around pen eye at me.

I didn't think anything of it.

I didn't realize that's the only way they have to communicate.

They don't speak English.

I chose one to be broiled.

Didn't understand then that when you broil a lobster,

You actually cut open his back in a restaurant and then they go live under the grill with salt,

Pepper and butter in their backs.

And when that lobster came back to the table,

Something clicked and I thought,

I have just taken a life for a fleeting taste.

And that was the beginning of opening my eyes to one by one,

Unfortunately,

All the things I was doing from wearing fur to going fishing and bit by bit I thought,

There's something wrong with this picture.

This is not the sort of person I am.

I think I'm a kind person from a kind family.

I think I care about animals.

What an awesome I'm doing.

And so I stopped.

So yes,

I understand.

Who are your heroes in this realm?

No,

I have a lot because my biggest heroes are anybody who does anything,

Who makes sure that they find out where things come from.

If you see a part of an animal in any product or in any enterprise and you stop and you think,

Hang on,

Were they volunteers?

Would they have wanted to be part of this?

And you think no,

And you reject it.

And I think you've done a principal thing.

Anyone who helps animals in any way,

Taking in a stray,

You know,

Whatever you do,

Educating others,

Providing an alternative to dissection in the school,

Spending time with animals.

Those are my heroes.

But of course,

I have big heroes in history too,

Like Sojourner Truth,

Who was a very petite black woman back in a time when women had no voice,

Black people had no voice,

But she knew she was right in demanding respect.

And she would walk in and stand on a soapbox and say,

Look,

You may be more powerful than I am,

But don't you think I deserve to be heard?

And don't you think I deserve to be respected?

And that's what we have to do for animals is say they may not be powerful,

But they need to be respected.

And I respect anyone who looks out for them.

Peter President Ingrid Newkirk,

Her book,

250 Vital Things Your Cat Wants You to Know.

I gave this book to my husband for Christmas.

It really is fantastic.

And my husband loves it.

He has such a great relationship with our Lady Beatrice of Orange.

So if you like cats,

You'll like the book.

I like talking to Ingrid.

And I woke up in the middle of the night after that interview and said to myself,

I forgot to ask her a very important question.

Like does she feed her cats?

Right?

She'll have to come back.

Meanwhile,

Visit peta.

Org for more information.

Happy New Year.

And our thought for the day comes from Oprah Winfrey,

Who said,

Create the highest,

Grandest vision possible for your life because you will become what you believe.

Shine on.

You've been listening to Shine On,

The health and happiness show for your entertainment only.

Join us on Sunday mornings on 100.

7 WHUD and 920,

1260 and 1420 a.

M.

All in New York's Hudson Valley.

Subscribe to Shine On on iTunes and Soundplout and catch a show anytime at kacey.

Co.

That's kacey.

Co.

Shine on.