Pop Culture Fitness Icon's Home in Heart of Fans & Crosshairs of Developers

My intro to learning about the drama behind the status of the late fitness guru Richard Simmons' home begain with my posting the following question after watching a recent Harry Styles video: 

Is Harry Styles channeling Richard Simmons in his new dance video? -Source: Variety https://t.co/VyqiSq9UAX

— 𝐎. 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🇺🇦 🇺🇸 🌈 (@odouglasj) May 7, 2026

That is when I began to search the latest news on Simmons and his legacy. I found this article about his tragic death and his home visited by investigative reporter Diane Sawyer.

High above the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles sits the longtime home of the late fitness icon Richard Simmons, a lavish 1937 NeoClassical Revival mansion that has become both a real estate story and a cultural elegy. Following Simmons’ death in July 2024, the property entered a complicated chapter involving estate disputes, public fascination, and growing nostalgia surrounding one of America’s most unusual and beloved celebrities.

The mansion itself, known for its ornate interiors, theatrical décor, keyhole-shaped swimming pool, and attic exercise studio, was listed for sale after spending decades as Simmons’ intensely private sanctuary. After several price reductions and periods off the market, reports in May 2026 indicated that the home had finally entered a pending sale. Real estate marketing increasingly emphasized the land’s redevelopment potential rather than the preservation of the existing structure, suggesting that future demolition or major renovation remains highly possible.

At the same time, some longtime Simmons fans have expressed hopes that the property might be preserved as a historic or cultural landmark. Their argument is less about architectural importance and more about emotional and cultural memory. To many admirers, Simmons represented an unusually compassionate public figure whose message of encouragement, vulnerability, and body acceptance touched millions long before such themes became common in popular culture. Over time, the mansion itself acquired an almost mythic quality: the colorful hilltop retreat where a famously exuberant personality gradually withdrew from public life.

Los Angeles does have precedent for preserving celebrity homes tied to public memory. Recent efforts surrounding the homes associated with Marilyn Monroe and the television series The Brady Bunch demonstrate that cultural nostalgia can sometimes outweigh purely architectural concerns. However, Simmons’ residence faces steeper obstacles. Unlike famous filming locations or widely accessible tourist sites, the home functioned primarily as a private residence. There has not yet been a large-scale preservation campaign backed by major historical organizations, and the property’s considerable redevelopment value creates strong financial incentives against landmark designation.

As a result, the most likely outcome is that the house will pass into private ownership and eventually undergo significant alteration or replacement. Simmons himself will probably be remembered more through documentaries, tributes, archives, and the enduring affection of fans than through preservation of the mansion itself. Yet the very existence of the preservation discussion reveals something telling about his legacy: for many people, the house is not merely real estate, but a symbolic stage set connected to a singular figure in American cultural life.

Richard Simmons' house manager shares new details on his public retreat, death https://t.co/KH4MCIhXRe

— 𝐎. 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🇺🇦 🇺🇸 🌈 (@odouglasj) May 13, 2026

If you are interested in signing a petition to preserve Richard Simmons' home, please do so HERE.

Quantum Physicist on the AI Bottleneck

 David Deutsch thinks about advanced AI in a very different way than most people. He says real intelligence is not just about giving correct answers or copying patterns. It is about creating new explanations and thinking through problems. So a true AI would not just repeat what it has learned. It would come up with its own ideas, test them, and improve them. Because of this, Deutsch believes you would not simply “build” an AI like a machine. It would be more like helping a new kind of mind begin to think for itself.

Deutsch believes a true AI would be more like a person than a tool. That means we should treat it with respect, not just use it for tasks. 

Because of that, Deutsch says we would need to teach and talk with AI, not just control it. Instead of typing commands and getting fixed results, we would have conversations. We would ask questions, challenge its thinking, and listen to its ideas too. If we tried to control everything it thinks, it would not be truly intelligent. Just like students need freedom to learn and grow, a real AI would also need space to explore ideas and make mistakes.

This leads to an important point. Deutsch believes a true AI would be more like a person than a tool. That means we should treat it with respect, not just use it for tasks. Turning it off or forcing it to think a certain way could be a serious ethical issue. In his view, humans and AI would learn from each other, almost like teachers and students at the same time. Instead of creating something to control, we would be starting a relationship with a new kind of thinking being.

Text and image developed using ChatGPT, Gemini and Deviant Art DreamUp generation/augmentation.

AI Movie Clips - Shoot Me Now.

 

Still from the punk rocker's scene below.

Here are AI generated movie clip results based on prompts I designed. Their errors make me cringe but also make me laugh. I can't help but replay them a few times when I watch review them.

Below each clip I have included the prompt I used with the Fotor AI video generator.

Prompt: photo-realistic and cinematographic scene starting from this exact image: two young men with tattoos in their 20s wearing punk style clothes and casually sitting on chairs in a makeshift club lounge among other customers in the background. The man on the left (spiky purple hair in a yellow, torn, sleeveless t-shirt) speaks with a British accent: "We still need a bloody drummer for our gig coming up on Saturday". The man on the right (dark hair in mohawk style wearing a leather jacket) responds with a sarcastic yet amusing American accent: "I think I know a guy we can call. Worst case scenario I think I can handle a tambourine." Next to the men on a nearby table is a two or three empty beer cans. Camera: static medium shot maintaining the original composition. Lit empty stage in the background, cool color palette, subtle movements of fellow customers also in the background. (Kling 3.0, 720dpi)

Prompt: photo-realistic and cinematographic scene starting from this exact image: two young men with stylish short hair in their 20s pop-art t-shirts and casually sitting on chairs in a makeshift school cafeteria lunch room among other students in the background. The one on the left (blond hair, wearing glasses) speaks with a Chicago accent: "Are you still on for the big bash at Scotty's house this Saturday? His parents will be out of town". The one on the right (dark hair, earring on one ear and wearing a hoodie over his t-shirt) responds with a sarcastic yet amusing American accent: "Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss it for anything. Except, I'll need to bring my grandmother who I promised I'd hang out with her that night." Next to the men on a nearby table is a two or three empty beer cans. Camera: static medium shot maintaining the original composition. Lit empty stage in the background, cool color palette, subtle movements of fellow customers also in the background. (Kling 3.0 Omni,  720dpi)

Notice I used the same prompt for each like a template only changing detail descriptions. So far I'm a bit lazy in creating prompts but it's fun to get a feel for the way the AI works with what I tell it.

Also notice in the prompt I did not ask for a laugh track. And note the mispronunciation of “ tambourine” in the first video and the name ”Scotty” in the second.

The third video I add is actually my first Fotor made attempt as I modified a prompt from a cartoon-style video by a Fotor Community member changing the characters to be talking pencils and the dialog to be about their respective owners. I can't remember what the original prompt/video featured.

Prompt: A whimsical Pixar-style animated scene starting from this exact image: two anthropomorphic pencils with expressive faces painted on their pink erasers, poised upright with writing lead point down on a spiral bound sketch pad in a sunlit studio room. The left pencil (worn eraser and yellow shaft with chipped paint and teeth marks) has a sad, worried face with large eyes. The pencil's painted face speaks with a wobbly, raspy voice: "My owner likes to chew things." The face remains on the pencil throughout. The right Pencil (bright yellow and smooth) has a smug, confident smile with sparkling eyes and contains a vibrant, unused eraser. The pencil's painted face responds cheerfully with a boastful tone: "My owner is pretty chill and keeps me in a cool pencil case." The face stays on the eraser surface, never moving to pencil shaft. Camera: static medium shot maintaining the original composition. The faces are permanently part of the pot designs and animate expressively (blinking, mouth movements) but never detach or transform. Soft golden afternoon sunlight, warm color palette, subtle movements on the healthy pencil, comedic timing with a sidelong glance from the healthy pencil to the chewed one. Disney Pixar animation quality with the pencils as the main characters, not the sketchbook. (VEO 3.1 Fast 720dpi)

More samples to come.

Stacky --The Human Stack of Pancakes!

Stacky's Sticky Origin

Story by Mark Peters, Art by O. Douglas Jennings

 

Bonus Comic: Stacky Meets Batman!

Click image to Enlarge

Bonus Comic: Stacky To The Rescue!

Click image to Enlarge

Stacky Creator Bios Mark Peters (@wordlust, @cnnyourmom) is an author, namer, humorist, juggler, comic book writer & journalist, language columnist, beer geek, dog person, and Jack Kirby evangelist. He writes about Kirby for Comicosity and euphemisms for Visual Thesaurus. He’s also an expert on BS.  O. Douglas Jennings (@odouglasj, @dragoncampbook) is a graphic artist and art instructor, amateur art historian, drawer of at-risk teen dragons, creator of Tigrikorn (cartooning class mascot) and non-pet-owning grandfather of fur baby Phoenix the Cat.

Copyright and TM 2019 by Mark Peters and O. Douglas Jennings

First Lady Introduces Figure 3

 

BREAKING: This awkward moment just happened at the White House. pic.twitter.com/inKgfyeWAy

— HighImpactFlix (@HighImpactFlix) March 25, 2026

Interlude--Meanwhile... somewhere in suburbia:

We are not ready for this.

China's humanoid robots are getting crazy good 🤯

AI is leaving the screen and entering your home.pic.twitter.com/CkiiarpY6B

— Min Choi (@minchoi) March 28, 2026

With the help of ChatGPT and Adobe Photoshop, I imagined the near future based on Figure 3's performance:

 

My Siblings' Current River Raft Trips

Photo re-imagining of the Raft Trip with help of Fotor AI & Photoshop.

Two Floating Sheets of Plywood

During the summer of 1971, we took two ambitious 26-mile trips down the Current River in Missouri. For the second trip, we upgraded our fleet to two custom-built rafts.

Our crew consisted of eight people, split four to a raft. The group included Chris M., Pat M., Frank S., my sister Alicia J., and me (Bryan J.), along with a few other friends.

From the Ground to the Riverbed

For the second trip, we used the same design for our rafts as Frank S. and friends had used for the final exam of their design project. We needed two rafts, so we hauled the materials  (2x4s, plywood, and inner tubes) to the Current River and assembled the rafts on the bank of the river. One raft was 8x10, the other was 8x8.

The journey spanned 26 miles from Powder Mill to Van Buren.

This was actually the second time that summer that Chris, Rhonda, Frank, and I had tackled this stretch. The first was in May with Frank Steinmarch’s Southern Illinois University (SIU) design class. On that first trip, we only had one raft, which we had built in our side yard in Energy. We transported it to Missouri on the roof of my mom's car—an executive decision that left a permanent dent in her roof. For the trip with Alicia, we learned our lesson and transported the raw materials to Missouri, assembling the rafts right at the river landing.

The Three-Day Trek

The trip lasted three days. Much like the May excursion, we lived off the river, sleeping in cow pastures along the banks or right on the rafts themselves.

We brought plenty of supplies since it was a 3-day trip. We had long poles to steer the rafts with, but one was lost along the way. Since we were on a river, the raft was always in motion, flowing along with the river, but we frequently had to steer around snags, fallen trees, etc. Also, under the river were many branches and so forth that ended up puncturing some of the inner tubes along the way

The journey wasn't without its excitement. At one point, we hit a squall. The rain came down suddenly and we were swept into an eddy. I had to use every bit of muscle I had to row and push against the riverbed using a long, handmade paddle to reach the shore. Once we made landfall, everyone scrambled for shelter beside a large log to escape the downpour.

The Raincoat and the Cowboy Hat

I was the only person wise enough—or lucky enough—to have brought a raincoat. However, Pat Marlow was wearing a straw cowboy hat. As he crouched down to hide from the rain, I reached over, plopped his hat onto my head for extra protection, and kept right on pushing with the paddle.

By the third day, the smaller raft had too many punctured inner tubes and we no longer could be on that raft. We tied it to the larger raft and only used it to keep our supplies on. At one point, we waited too long to steer around a large snag and we crashed right into the snag, breaking the rope and sending the smaller raft away from the larger left. We were able to get it back, but it was a bit of a shock when it happened.

Alicia recalls that we were floating down the river, she spent a lot of time just sitting on the edge of the raft with her feet in the water, feeling like Huckleberry Finn floating down the Mississippi.

About halfway through the third day we ran out of food and drink. When we reached the spot where we had left the car, we saw some fishermen on the bank who had a case of beer. We traded them both rafts for their case of beer, and finally our thirst was quenched.

Despite the squalls and the physical toll of rowing a plywood square, it was an incredible time. It was the kind of pure, unbothered fun you can only truly have when you're 19 years old. The experience even inspired my mom to take the whole family back to the river at Big Spring the following summer for a much calmer, one-day canoe trip.

Link to Map of the Current River in Missouri

True Story by Bryan Jennings and his sister Alicia Jennings Tippins

“Star Chosen” Sci-Fi Novel Review

 

Star Chosen: A Science Fiction Space Opera for the Whole Family by Joe Chiappetta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ambitious, heartfelt, and worth the journey.
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook of Star Chosen by Joe Chiapetta, and I appreciated it enough to purchase the print edition to experience the fun illustrations as well. The novel combines imaginative future technology with thoughtful spiritual reflection, grounded in characters who feel authentic and relatable.

The spiritual themes resonated with me personally. While the story occasionally leans into a more overtly didactic tone, the message feels sincere rather than heavy-handed. At moments, it brought to mind Robert Heinlein in its glimpses of evolving society, and a key plot turn evoked echoes of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis.

An ambitious and heartfelt work. Not flawless, but deeply worthwhile and sincerely imagined.

View all my reviews

Quick Video View of Printed Version:

Into the West

This song voiced by Annie Lennox and accompanied with footage from The Lord of the Rings film is a powerful and poignant expression of love for loved ones who have passed on. It fills my heart.