I"m Weak

I"m now fulliy admitting that after LOST, I"d rather watch LIPSTICK JUNGLE than ELI STONE. Please talk amongst yourselves.

Evidently I've been

shopping a great deal for "girls" off of Amazon, so they sent me this:



Yet here is a list of everything I've bought off of Amazon this year and last, which isn't much.

* 1 of: Y: The Last Man, Volume 6: Girl on Girl
* 1 of: Y: The Last Man Vol. 7: Paper Dolls
* 1 of: Invincible Volume 7: Three's Company (Invincible)
* 1 of: Invincible Volume 8: My Favorite Martian (Invincible)
* 1 of: Ex Machina Vol. 6: Power Down
* 1 of: iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard

So which one of these constitutes shopping for "girls"? Is is because my bluetooth keyboard is "Ultra-Slim"? How very Odd.

Bluetooth keyboard Test

So, I'm sitting in the bar down the street from my apartment test posing using my new iGo bluetooth keyboard and my centro. Of course I won't really be able to check the post until tomorrow, but for now that is fine. I bought it for a number of reasons, not the least of which which is the ability to post to the blog and write on the go where there is no wireless but there is a phone signal.. Of course the type in the e-mail app is a bit small for me. I've increased the size in the word app so I can read it better. Well, let's see how this works and maybe I'll do a little more mobile blogging for the two of you who read this wretched thing.

[UPDATE: Well, about two pages into writing the keyboard unceremoniously disconnected causing the phone to go into an inescapable boot-up loop. So, had to hard reset the phone and then Synch up back home. Lost what I'd done. Luckily it wasn't important and the test showed that until I figure this thing out its reliability factor is small.]

almost...

Well, I had to turn down a job today as a post production PA on a feature. I was offered it by the editor and assistant editor I worked with on the Mr. and Mrs. Smith pilot. Why did I have to turn it down you ask? Simply put, there was no way I would be able to pay my bills if I took the job, which sucks. I am so currently over my current job I almost took it anyway, but I took a quick mental trip into the future and realized that if I did, my debt load would grow by about $5000.00 over the nine months of the job. That just didn’t seem worth it. Plus, my car needs work and I don’t yet know how much work it needs. Oh well, maybe something else will come along that I can actually make a living at. So much for bringing Kevin Costner his tea.

Albert Rosenfield

Don't know what brought it up, but I remembered this quote from Twin Peaks. It is one of my all time favorite quotes.

"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a nay-sayer and hatchet man in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another, because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. I love you, Sheriff Truman." -Albert Rosenfield

Freak Angels

Strike has ended

Well, as some have said the deal isn't perfect, or even all that good, but it's better than many thought it would end up being. So, the strike did serve its purpose. Most everyone is the US knows it's over now, but I thought I'd add this last post anyway for the three of you who read this and may not know yet.

[From United Hollywood]

Letter from The Presidents to Membership

This was sent today to WGA members from Presidents Verrone and Winship:

To Our Fellow Members:

On Tuesday, members of the Writers Guilds East and West voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the restraining order that was invoked on November 5th. The strike is over.

Writing can resume immediately. If you were employed when the strike began, you should plan to report to work on Wednesday. If you're not employed at an office or other work site, call or e-mail your employer that you are resuming work. If you have been told not to report to work or resume your services, we recommend that you still notify your employer in writing of your availability to do so.

random randomness

Entertainment Weekly has a five page preview of "Waldo's Hawaiian Holiday", the official sequel to Repo Man and written by Alex Cox.

A video interview with Paul Rand.

A del.icio.us account by standardman that contains most of the links for the battle royale between Anonymous and Scientology. Well, it isn't quite that big yet, but it's doing OK.

[NOTE: Anon vs. CoS now fixed.]

Let's Step Back

Over at United Hollywood Joss Whedon has again provided a nice energy boosting letter of support to keep the eyes on the prize and not on the carrot that someone said was behind that bush over there.

"Dear Writers,

I have good news. I have lots of good news. In fact, I have way too much good news.

The strike is almost over. A resolution is days away. Weeks. Friday. Valentine's day. Two weeks exactly from whenever my manager/agent/lawyer told me. Yes, after talking to writers and actors all over town, I'm happy to report that the strike is going to end every single day until March. Huzzah! All of this entirely reliable information means that at last the dream of the writing community has been realized: the Oscars will be saved.

Let's step back."

There's a Guild wide meeting on Saturday in both LA and NY for the writers to be let in on what's been happening behind the media blacked out doors. Fingers crossed, but but hands not tied.

From the president's letter announcing the meeting.

"We urge you to attend. We have gotten to this point in our negotiation as the direct result of the power of this strike, which each of you has generated. Neither the Negotiating Committee, nor the East Council or the West Board, will take action on any contract until after the membership meetings are held and your voices have been heard. We are all in this together."

Strike Still on

Don't believe everything you here. Here's a copy of the letter sent to WGA members with regards to the recent rumors of a deal.

To Our Fellow Members,

While fully mindful of the continuing media blackout, we write you to address the rumors and reports that undoubtedly you have been hearing.

The facts: we are still in talks and do not yet have a contract. When and if a tentative agreement is reached, the first thing we will do is alert our membership with an e-mail message. Until then, please disregard rumors about either the existence of an agreement or its terms.

Until we have reached an agreement with the AMPTP, it is essential that we continue to show our resolve, solidarity, and strength.

Picketing will resume on Monday. Our leverage at the bargaining table is directly affected by your commitment to our cause. Please continue to show your support on the line. We are all in this together.

Best,

Patric M. Verrone
President, WGAW

Michael Winship
President, WGAE

From the Phoine

an hour lost

Written while watching the season premiere of LOST.

Well, going into the LOST pilot I did not know that the first part would be a rehash of the first three seasons. Maybe I didn’t see enough commercials, but I think I did. Where did they mention this? I’m 11 minutes in and as I was with the first 6 eps of season 3, I’m fast losing interest. If they’d told me they were going to do this then maybe I would have just tuned in at 9:00, but no, they said 2 hour premiere. It better wrap up by 30 min so I can at least have a 1.5 hr prem, or I’m going to be pissed. We’ll see. Right now, I’m just pissed that even the rehash is pedantic for a 10 yr. Old. It’s like a picture book, with adult picture but chapter book level VO.

18 minutes and still feeling screwed. I know there is writer’s strike on, I support it, but there is no reason for this to be going on. We aren’t stupid. We’ve waited a long time for this premiere and right now I’m being alienated. Plus they’re trying to get me to play a viral ad game with VANTAGE POINT, which looks pointless to being with, seeing as how they’ve given away most of the plot in the trailer and ROSHIMAN with 4 POVs was enough for any story.

33 minutes in. So, the wine is kicking in and I’m a bit less angry, but I know it’s not the wine since I had 4 beers before the wine. Now, you might say it was the beer making me angry to begin with, but you’d be wrong. I was born angry. I’m starting to think that maybe the very “catch-up” is tainted. Maybe we’re being misled by such a simple pedantic recap. Probably not, but it was a thought I had. So far it seems accurate, but simple enough to leave new viewers out of the nuance so that the pilot seems as confusingly enjoyable as JJ Abrams would like it to be. I’ve seen his TED “mystery box” talk. I know what he likes, and what drives him. Even the zeitgeist he builds is starting to wear thin.

Was just reminded about Desmond’s release of the “magnetic pressure”. Someone needs to explain that to me. Magnetic pressure?

OK, the re-cap is now beyond the point of being a short one. I’ve been screwed out of an hour. Nice, 47 minutes in and they finally do a commercial for the premiere ep. Fuckers.

59 minutes in. OK, I’m eating my salad now, and it’s a good salad, but I need to know what’s going on. Nice, the first episode actually has a “What happened on the last episode” lead-in after an hour of rehash. Come on, stop now.

It’s started now, and I’m enamored again. There is a quiet beauty and honesty to it.

9:26 commercial. “Step-up became a phenomenon”? Really? What did it do at the box office? Now I feel old. My pulse on this sort of thing is non-existent. Of course if it were I’d open my wrists.

OK, I’m back in for what’s left of the season, 8 ep I think, but just let the show speak for itself and don’t play me outside of its world. I don’t mind being played within the world of LOST, just don’t play me because you don’t have a full season due to the AMTPT’s inability to negotiate. I’m your audience. Don’t alienate me again, or I RUN, well, probably I’ll walk.

Bonus pints for Hugo centric ep though.

OK, the ad for MOSTER is one of the most enjoyable in a long time. I knew there were large thighed Norwegian guys keeping the planet in its proper rotation.

It’s over now and I’m glad I saw it, but wished I had my hour from 8-9 back.

p.s. If Eli Stone were as good as you said it is, you would have premiered it when you said you would.

p.s.s. If you want to see good Horror, watch the Japanese originals. Don’t be afraid of subtitles. They’ll save you from many bad films, THE EYE included.