Annie Frost of Chaseis the archetypal tough-as-nails no-nonsense woman in law enforcement who catches bad guys on a police procedural produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Catherine Willows of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is the archetypal tough-as-nails no-nonsense woman in law enforcement who catches bad guys on a police procedural produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
The actresses, Kelli Giddish and Marg Helgenberger, who bring these characters to life on the small-screen, are very similar as well. They’re both lithe blondes with beautiful bone structure. (Are there any other kinds in Hollywood?) And, before either one of them got discovered by Bruckheimer, Helgenberger and Giddish both paid the bills with stints in soap opera purgatory with Giddish appearing on All My Children and Helgenberger putting in time on Ryan’s Hope.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
My Take on The Event and Chase
Last night, after checking out some of the performances on Dancing With The Stars, I clicked over to NBC and watched the series premiere of The Event. I think NBC will finally ascend out of its ratings doldrums this year and reclaim Monday nights. This is a good thing as the one well-received show NBC has on that night, Chuck, was never anything to write home about.
The Event, which takes the time slot vacated by Heroes when it spectacularly crashed and burned last year, is a promising new series. The Event is widely considered to be NBC's answer to the recently cancelled series, Lost. I never watched that show but I do know that the show's non-chronological story-telling and elliptical dialogue will make viewers ask the type of questions that guarantee that they continue to turn in to the series.
What I could make out of the plot is as follows: A man, Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), on a romantic cruise with his soon-to-be-fiance gets caught up in an international conspiracy when she is abducted from the cruise liner. (I love the way the writers tap into the existential horror of not having a record of your very existence logged somewhere in some computer system.) The also conspiracy involves Sean's fiancee's father in some way; we find this out when Sean tries to hijack a plane that his fiancee's father is piloting--with a gun.
Key players in the conspiracy work in the top levels of government; however, the conspiracy doesn't include the President of The United States (Blair Underwood), who left up to his own devices, discovers evidence of it and demands explanations. Another conspirator (Laura Innes) is sprung from a prison in an ice-covered no-man's-land.
This intriguing premise--as well as the out-of-left-field ending of the pilot episode--guarantee that I will get religious about this show.
That's not to say I didn't find flaws in the series. Despite the now-de rigeur black president (who's also Latino), a mysterious Euro-Asian, and a few Hispanics, the cast of The Event is mostly white and get almost all the screen time in the pilot--not exactly a ringing endorsement of the new "post-racial" America.
And some of the plot holes had me rolling my eyes. Exactly how does Sean get on a plane with a gun? And is there a reason why the staffers at the President's personal residence continue to try to keep the food and centerpieces on the table when a jumbo jet is flying right at them?
Anyway, I'll tune in next week.
I probably won't tune in regularly to Chase, though. Although the feminist in me enjoys the fact that the plot centers on a strong female character, Chase is bogged down by too many police procedural cliches--high energy chases, simplistic psychological profiles, clunky expository dialogue, and a male-female team of cops. And why is that cops always magically know how to reassure frightened children on these show?
I was even more disappointed when the villain they were chasing got caught in the last two minutes. Given how prominently this character was placed in the promos, I thought that I would be watching a multi-episode (or perhaps multi-season) story arc in which the team pursues a cunning criminal who always manages to stay two steps ahead--much like "Jack" of Profiler fame. Alas, episodes of Chase will always end with our heroine getting her man.
The Event, which takes the time slot vacated by Heroes when it spectacularly crashed and burned last year, is a promising new series. The Event is widely considered to be NBC's answer to the recently cancelled series, Lost. I never watched that show but I do know that the show's non-chronological story-telling and elliptical dialogue will make viewers ask the type of questions that guarantee that they continue to turn in to the series.
What I could make out of the plot is as follows: A man, Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), on a romantic cruise with his soon-to-be-fiance gets caught up in an international conspiracy when she is abducted from the cruise liner. (I love the way the writers tap into the existential horror of not having a record of your very existence logged somewhere in some computer system.) The also conspiracy involves Sean's fiancee's father in some way; we find this out when Sean tries to hijack a plane that his fiancee's father is piloting--with a gun.
Key players in the conspiracy work in the top levels of government; however, the conspiracy doesn't include the President of The United States (Blair Underwood), who left up to his own devices, discovers evidence of it and demands explanations. Another conspirator (Laura Innes) is sprung from a prison in an ice-covered no-man's-land.
This intriguing premise--as well as the out-of-left-field ending of the pilot episode--guarantee that I will get religious about this show.
That's not to say I didn't find flaws in the series. Despite the now-de rigeur black president (who's also Latino), a mysterious Euro-Asian, and a few Hispanics, the cast of The Event is mostly white and get almost all the screen time in the pilot--not exactly a ringing endorsement of the new "post-racial" America.
And some of the plot holes had me rolling my eyes. Exactly how does Sean get on a plane with a gun? And is there a reason why the staffers at the President's personal residence continue to try to keep the food and centerpieces on the table when a jumbo jet is flying right at them?
Anyway, I'll tune in next week.
I probably won't tune in regularly to Chase, though. Although the feminist in me enjoys the fact that the plot centers on a strong female character, Chase is bogged down by too many police procedural cliches--high energy chases, simplistic psychological profiles, clunky expository dialogue, and a male-female team of cops. And why is that cops always magically know how to reassure frightened children on these show?
I was even more disappointed when the villain they were chasing got caught in the last two minutes. Given how prominently this character was placed in the promos, I thought that I would be watching a multi-episode (or perhaps multi-season) story arc in which the team pursues a cunning criminal who always manages to stay two steps ahead--much like "Jack" of Profiler fame. Alas, episodes of Chase will always end with our heroine getting her man.
Friday, September 17, 2010
The Acid Attack Was a Hoax!
I won't say that I knew that twenty-eight-year-old Bethany Storro was lying all along about a black woman throwing acid in her face. I won't even say that I even questioned her story; in fact, I found it plausible given the acid attack on British woman Katie Piper. I theorized that a spurned lover had perhaps paid an accomplice to disfigure her. (Intentionally disfiguring someone's face is a common aspect of domestic violence, incidentally.)
So imagine my surprise when I watched the Today Show this morning and discovered that Ms. Storro had made the whole thing up. I am flabbergasted by the fact that Ms. Storro was so committed to her lie that she permanently disfigured her own face.
Then I got mad. Not because yet another white person had invented a phantom black attacker to cover up wrongdoing on their part. Charles Stuart, Susan Smith, and Ashley Todd all played the scary black guy card and were initially believed. The myth of the black bogeyman randomly striking out at white people is as American as apple pie.
I wasn't even angry at Storro for wasting the resources of the police department of Vancouver, Washington. That's their problem and if the taxpayers of this town are smart, they'll insist upon Ms. Storro making restitutions to them.
I'm upset over the way the blogosphere seized upon the black-women-are-jealous-of-white-women angle. The statement below is the work of Gucci Little Pig at http://glpiggy.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/acid-attacks-jealousy-and-race/:
Storro ...has yet to come to the realization that her attack wasn’t purely random and it certainly wasn’t a dare. This black woman – and that is important – wouldn’t have attacked a man if he was the first person she saw, and she probably wouldn’t have attacked an older woman – black or white. The attacker sought out a good-looking woman and one that she perceived to be the biggest existential threat, and only a white woman could meet all of those prerequisites. The black attacker wouldn’t have attacked Rihanna or Tyra Banks because they could at least be considered part of “the struggle”...
Unfortunately, GLP's anti-black woman rant wasn't the work of one idiot blogger with a small readership. Much of the internet commentary featured some variation of the same amateur (read: faulty) psychological profiling that GLP employed: White women are better-looking than black women and women (of all races) always envy better-looking women. Women act out aggressively when they feel envious. Therefore, black women are likely to strike out aggressively against white females.
Because the argument is based on three faulty premises, Gucci Little Pig's entire blog post collapses under the weight of non-sequiturs. In order for GLP's argument to be logically sound: (1) all white women would have to be better-looking than all black women, (2) all women would have to envy women who they perceive to be more beautiful than them and (3) all women who have to able to or at least inclined to attack women who they believe to be more aesthetically gifted than them.
The thing is, all white women aren't all better looking than all black women. Could Rosie O'Donnell win a beauty contest with Naomi Campbell? Not likely. And that's assuming that there is one universal and completely objective ranking system that would be able to place all women on a continuum between "absolutely gorgeous" and "not so cute". As beauty standards are extremely subjective--that is, Eurocentric, ageist, and body fascist among other things--there will always be debate about who's hot and who's not. The fact that there even could be debate that would render a ranking system moot.
Second, every woman in the world knows at least one woman who is better looking than she is and no, we women don't always envy "the pretty ones." And guess what, feelings of envy don't always preclude friendship and admiration, or at least respectful cooperation between the "pretty one" and the "ugly one". If there was any truth to the second premise, no "pretty girl" would ever have friends or even be tolerated.
Third, most women are mature enough to understand that it is not okay to maim someone out of simple jealousy and that's the thought process involved when women actually do feel jealous. And, even if a woman could justify attacking another woman, doesn't mean she actually can carry out an attack.
Not only is GLP's argument a thinly veiled justification for white supremacist attitudes, it is also inherently misogynistic. Would we believe a story about a schlubby homeless guy throwing acid on a man who looks like Brad Pitt or George Clooney out of looks envy? Most likely not. It's understood that men don't do things like that--at least not to other men.
Anyway, now that Storro has been revealed to be a liar, I hope that all the other writers in the blogosphere will at least rethink their opinions on the issue.
So imagine my surprise when I watched the Today Show this morning and discovered that Ms. Storro had made the whole thing up. I am flabbergasted by the fact that Ms. Storro was so committed to her lie that she permanently disfigured her own face.
Then I got mad. Not because yet another white person had invented a phantom black attacker to cover up wrongdoing on their part. Charles Stuart, Susan Smith, and Ashley Todd all played the scary black guy card and were initially believed. The myth of the black bogeyman randomly striking out at white people is as American as apple pie.
I wasn't even angry at Storro for wasting the resources of the police department of Vancouver, Washington. That's their problem and if the taxpayers of this town are smart, they'll insist upon Ms. Storro making restitutions to them.
I'm upset over the way the blogosphere seized upon the black-women-are-jealous-of-white-women angle. The statement below is the work of Gucci Little Pig at http://glpiggy.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/acid-attacks-jealousy-and-race/:
Storro ...has yet to come to the realization that her attack wasn’t purely random and it certainly wasn’t a dare. This black woman – and that is important – wouldn’t have attacked a man if he was the first person she saw, and she probably wouldn’t have attacked an older woman – black or white. The attacker sought out a good-looking woman and one that she perceived to be the biggest existential threat, and only a white woman could meet all of those prerequisites. The black attacker wouldn’t have attacked Rihanna or Tyra Banks because they could at least be considered part of “the struggle”...
Unfortunately, GLP's anti-black woman rant wasn't the work of one idiot blogger with a small readership. Much of the internet commentary featured some variation of the same amateur (read: faulty) psychological profiling that GLP employed: White women are better-looking than black women and women (of all races) always envy better-looking women. Women act out aggressively when they feel envious. Therefore, black women are likely to strike out aggressively against white females.
Because the argument is based on three faulty premises, Gucci Little Pig's entire blog post collapses under the weight of non-sequiturs. In order for GLP's argument to be logically sound: (1) all white women would have to be better-looking than all black women, (2) all women would have to envy women who they perceive to be more beautiful than them and (3) all women who have to able to or at least inclined to attack women who they believe to be more aesthetically gifted than them.
The thing is, all white women aren't all better looking than all black women. Could Rosie O'Donnell win a beauty contest with Naomi Campbell? Not likely. And that's assuming that there is one universal and completely objective ranking system that would be able to place all women on a continuum between "absolutely gorgeous" and "not so cute". As beauty standards are extremely subjective--that is, Eurocentric, ageist, and body fascist among other things--there will always be debate about who's hot and who's not. The fact that there even could be debate that would render a ranking system moot.
Second, every woman in the world knows at least one woman who is better looking than she is and no, we women don't always envy "the pretty ones." And guess what, feelings of envy don't always preclude friendship and admiration, or at least respectful cooperation between the "pretty one" and the "ugly one". If there was any truth to the second premise, no "pretty girl" would ever have friends or even be tolerated.
Third, most women are mature enough to understand that it is not okay to maim someone out of simple jealousy and that's the thought process involved when women actually do feel jealous. And, even if a woman could justify attacking another woman, doesn't mean she actually can carry out an attack.
Not only is GLP's argument a thinly veiled justification for white supremacist attitudes, it is also inherently misogynistic. Would we believe a story about a schlubby homeless guy throwing acid on a man who looks like Brad Pitt or George Clooney out of looks envy? Most likely not. It's understood that men don't do things like that--at least not to other men.
Anyway, now that Storro has been revealed to be a liar, I hope that all the other writers in the blogosphere will at least rethink their opinions on the issue.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Sarah Palin's Attempt to Whore The 9/11 Tragedy
Before I start ranting, let me say this: I didn't live in New York City at the time of the 9/11 attacks. I was one of many thousands (if not millions) of people who chose to seek my fortune in the city after Osama Bin Laden and his gaggle of fundamentalist loonies declared holy war on America. But, in my defense, I currently live in Manhattan and up until about a week ago I worked for the City of New York. And guess what else? I can get blown to bits just as badly as a native New Yorker.
However, the fact that I live in (and pay exorbitant taxes in) the City That Never Sleeps doesn't entitle me to pimp the 9/11 tragedy for my own personal gain. That being said, why are non-New Yorkers like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck going to do with their upcoming "event" in Anchorage, Alaska?
Because the respective Beck and Palin camps are being so secretive about the nature of the "event", speculation has run wild about what will be discussed (or perhaps, announced) there. While Beck's denial that the date of his "Restoring Honor" rally wasn't timed to coincide with the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream Speech", there's no way he can claim not to have been aware of the significance of September 11th.
I completely disagree with the speculation that these two aren't dumb enough to announce a run for the presidency nor do I believe that it would damage them politically; many of the people likely to support a Palin-Beck ticket think Barack Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim and are so eager to see him tossed out of the White House that they will overlook the most tasteless Tea Bagger publicity stunts.
It is times like this that I wish Hillary Clinton rose from the relative obscurity of the State Department to talk about her 9/11 experience. Seeing that Sarah Palin served as nothing more than right-wing counter-programming during Clinton's historic run for the White House, she'd be the perfect person to shame Mrs. Palin out of her nefarious plans.
Afterall, on September 11, 2001, then-Senator Clinton was on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., a city under direct attack. (The plane that was re-taken by the passengers and crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside was headed toward Capitol Hill or The White House and yet another plane hit the Pentagon.) Not only was she terrified for her own life, Clinton was simultaneously worried sick about Chelsea, the one and only child she ever got to have; Chelsea was mere blocks away from the second tower when it fell. On top of that, Senator Clinton was one of the few elected officials who was directly responsible for meeting the political needs of the eight million New Yorkers who lived in harm's way. Why else did she and the senior senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, go to the White House to ask for twenty billion dollars in aid to New York the very next day?
In the years following the attacks, Hillary Clinton championed the cause of sick 9/11 responders and defended 9/11 widows from vicious personal attacks from Ann Coulter. And, unlike Palin or Beck, Hillary Clinton lived and worked in two cities that have been under threat of terrorist attack for nearly a decade.
While Clinton was doing all that, Palin was tucked safely away in Wasilla, Alaska, population 5,469. She was serving as mayor of the town, most likely making decisions that didn't directly affect her own constituents, let alone the grief stricken millions on the opposite coasts. If Levi Johnston is to be believed, she wasn't all that concerned about the safety of her children, pretty much ignoring them much of the time. And she's only travelled to the largest city in America only a few times in her life--not exactly good qualifications for someone who took it upon herself to denounce the plans to build a mosque at Ground Zero.
Alas, the likelihood that Clinton will make any commentary on this issue at all is virtually nil. Doing important things like brokering a Middle East peace deal tend to tie people up indefinitely. But still I can dream.
However, the fact that I live in (and pay exorbitant taxes in) the City That Never Sleeps doesn't entitle me to pimp the 9/11 tragedy for my own personal gain. That being said, why are non-New Yorkers like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck going to do with their upcoming "event" in Anchorage, Alaska?
Because the respective Beck and Palin camps are being so secretive about the nature of the "event", speculation has run wild about what will be discussed (or perhaps, announced) there. While Beck's denial that the date of his "Restoring Honor" rally wasn't timed to coincide with the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream Speech", there's no way he can claim not to have been aware of the significance of September 11th.
I completely disagree with the speculation that these two aren't dumb enough to announce a run for the presidency nor do I believe that it would damage them politically; many of the people likely to support a Palin-Beck ticket think Barack Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim and are so eager to see him tossed out of the White House that they will overlook the most tasteless Tea Bagger publicity stunts.
It is times like this that I wish Hillary Clinton rose from the relative obscurity of the State Department to talk about her 9/11 experience. Seeing that Sarah Palin served as nothing more than right-wing counter-programming during Clinton's historic run for the White House, she'd be the perfect person to shame Mrs. Palin out of her nefarious plans.
Afterall, on September 11, 2001, then-Senator Clinton was on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., a city under direct attack. (The plane that was re-taken by the passengers and crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside was headed toward Capitol Hill or The White House and yet another plane hit the Pentagon.) Not only was she terrified for her own life, Clinton was simultaneously worried sick about Chelsea, the one and only child she ever got to have; Chelsea was mere blocks away from the second tower when it fell. On top of that, Senator Clinton was one of the few elected officials who was directly responsible for meeting the political needs of the eight million New Yorkers who lived in harm's way. Why else did she and the senior senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, go to the White House to ask for twenty billion dollars in aid to New York the very next day?
In the years following the attacks, Hillary Clinton championed the cause of sick 9/11 responders and defended 9/11 widows from vicious personal attacks from Ann Coulter. And, unlike Palin or Beck, Hillary Clinton lived and worked in two cities that have been under threat of terrorist attack for nearly a decade.
While Clinton was doing all that, Palin was tucked safely away in Wasilla, Alaska, population 5,469. She was serving as mayor of the town, most likely making decisions that didn't directly affect her own constituents, let alone the grief stricken millions on the opposite coasts. If Levi Johnston is to be believed, she wasn't all that concerned about the safety of her children, pretty much ignoring them much of the time. And she's only travelled to the largest city in America only a few times in her life--not exactly good qualifications for someone who took it upon herself to denounce the plans to build a mosque at Ground Zero.
Alas, the likelihood that Clinton will make any commentary on this issue at all is virtually nil. Doing important things like brokering a Middle East peace deal tend to tie people up indefinitely. But still I can dream.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Screenplay Progress Report
I have 81 properly formatted pages and no writer's block. I should be finished by early tomorrow. Whoo-hoo!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Screenplay Progress Report
I have 66 properly formatted pages now. Unfortunately, I am not done as I read the contest rules improperly. They won't take anything less than 87 pages. I have two days to produce twenty more pages. Wish me luck!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Commercials for "Feminine Hygiene Products"
Is anyone else annoyed by that new Vagisil commercial that equates "feeling confident" with having a scentless hoo-ha? (I would have embedded the clip in this post but I couldn't find it anywhere.) I wish that I could write that this is one stupid commercial dreamed up by one misogynistic ad exec but unfortunately, I've spent the last thirty-three years watching a barrage of commercials that implied that women can only feel good about herself if her nether regions are "fresh".
Seriously? I know that eighty kazillion studies have proven that unrealistic images of the female body hurt women's confidence. I know that real life sexist/discriminatory treatment from parents, teachers, employers, and even strangers damage a woman's faith in herself. I know that being the victim of rape, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and other types of gender-specific violence can wreck a woman's self-esteem. But a vajayjay that probably doesn't even smell bad? C'mon!
Newsflash! If a woman doesn't have an infection and practices good personal hygiene--you know, washes herself with soap and water everyday--her genitals still aren't going to smell like fresh cut roses. They aren't supposed to. And guess what? A clean uninfected penis has an aroma to it, too.
That being said, I wonder why there isn't a market for Penisil wipes or washes.
Seriously? I know that eighty kazillion studies have proven that unrealistic images of the female body hurt women's confidence. I know that real life sexist/discriminatory treatment from parents, teachers, employers, and even strangers damage a woman's faith in herself. I know that being the victim of rape, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and other types of gender-specific violence can wreck a woman's self-esteem. But a vajayjay that probably doesn't even smell bad? C'mon!
Newsflash! If a woman doesn't have an infection and practices good personal hygiene--you know, washes herself with soap and water everyday--her genitals still aren't going to smell like fresh cut roses. They aren't supposed to. And guess what? A clean uninfected penis has an aroma to it, too.
That being said, I wonder why there isn't a market for Penisil wipes or washes.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Indiana Court Strikes Down Racial Bias in Nursing Homes
I can't believe that anyone is so blinded by prejudice that they would turn up their noses at a qualified caretaker in their time of need. But what I also can't believe is an organization devoted to providing medical care would go along wtih such a stupid request. After all, the woman who fell to the floor could have died in the time it took to hunt down a white nurse. Anyways...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Television Shows I've Never Watched
I recently overheard two neo-yuppie types on the Manhattan-bound 4 train waxing poetic over the latest Sex and The City Movies. Even if I had wanted to follow the conversation (and trust me, I didn't), I couldn't have anyway because I've never seen either movie. I skipped both the films because--dun, dun, DUN!--I've never watched a single episode of the series which inspired it .
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm one of only, like, twelve women in the universe who's never seen SJP practice her craft on the small screen. (I'm one of millions who haven't seen on the big screen, either, but I digress.) I was living with my parents when the show debuted in 1998 and they didn't have cable. By the time I got cable access, I'd heard all the feminist commentary that slammed the show's raunchy subject matter, heterosexism, consumerism/elitism, and unrealistic lack of racial diversity in the cast. It turned me off from a show that I most likely wouldn't have become religious about anyway.
After I got off the train, I began to think about all the other "it" shows I never checked out. Maybe I'm past the point in my life where I don't feel the need to keep up with conversations revolving around tv shows; maybe I've just been too busy. Or, perhaps, I just got too attached to Heroes, Law And Order, 30 Rock
, and My Name Is Earl to venture away from NBC
.
All of the shows on this list below (1) aired or debuted sometime during the last ten years and (2) never could boast of my viewership.
Is there anyone else out there who hasn't seen a single episode of an "it" show? Please tell me in the comments section.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm one of only, like, twelve women in the universe who's never seen SJP practice her craft on the small screen. (I'm one of millions who haven't seen on the big screen, either, but I digress.) I was living with my parents when the show debuted in 1998 and they didn't have cable. By the time I got cable access, I'd heard all the feminist commentary that slammed the show's raunchy subject matter, heterosexism, consumerism/elitism, and unrealistic lack of racial diversity in the cast. It turned me off from a show that I most likely wouldn't have become religious about anyway.
After I got off the train, I began to think about all the other "it" shows I never checked out. Maybe I'm past the point in my life where I don't feel the need to keep up with conversations revolving around tv shows; maybe I've just been too busy. Or, perhaps, I just got too attached to Heroes, Law And Order, 30 Rock
, and My Name Is Earl to venture away from NBC.All of the shows on this list below (1) aired or debuted sometime during the last ten years and (2) never could boast of my viewership.
- 24
- Lost
- Survivor
- Desperate Housewives
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Mad Men
- Entourage
- The Apprentice
- The Bachelor/The Bachelorette
- Grey's Anatomy
(Ok, Ok, I've watched a few episodes once it went into syndication)
- Ugly Betty
- How I Met Your Mother
- Chuck
- Anything in the CSI
franchise
- Nip/Tuck
- True Blood
- Dexter
- Weeds
- Arrested Development
- The Sopranos (My mom tricked me into watching the episode where Summer or Hunter or whatever-the-hell-her-name-is trashed her grandma's house. However, I lost all respect for Tony Soprano--a mafioso who can't discipline a teenager?-- and decided never to watch again)
Is there anyone else out there who hasn't seen a single episode of an "it" show? Please tell me in the comments section.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Totally Gratuitous Pictures of My Cats
I adopted Sweetheart (Sweetie) and Callie nearly a year ago out of the feral cat colony near my place of employment. As you can see from the photos, they have made themselves completely at home.
Obama's A Muslim? Sorry, I Didn't Get The Memo
I don't like to be cynical so I strive to give my fellow humans credit for possessing the capacity for critical thought. Then I read a story like this on the Internet and my whole day gets fucked up.
Are you frickin' kidding me? Seriously, I thought this nonsense got resolved during the presidential race. Why else would Rev. Jeremiah Wright's big fat mouth have been able create so many headaches for Team Obama? You don't have to have been to an African-American church recently (or ever) to recognize the 180-degree difference between Wright's pulpit histrionics and a muezzin's call to prayer.
But let's, for the sake of argument, say that Mr. Obama is indeed a Muslim. Is that really a bad thing? In an increasingly globalized world and in an age where East-West tensions are greater than they've been since The Crusades, a United States president who can easily straddle both the Judeo-Christian Western world and the Islamic one is an asset.
A Muslim in the White House would understand the distinction between Sunni Islam and Shi'ite Islam--a distinction that Bush reportedly wasn't aware of even weeks before the invasion of Iraq. A secular Muslim, the type of Muslim that Mr. Obama would be if he were one, would be able to surefootedly guide the country through the murky overlap between the First Amendment commitment to religious freedom and a commitment to separation of church and state. A Muslim in the White House would avoid using the inflammatory rhetoric that likely spurred on "insurgents" in Iraq. (Remember "Bring 'Em On"?) And think about how differently the recently ended War in Iraq would have played out if the war's engineers had understood the cultural nuances of Saddam Hussein's fiefdom before they attacked.
And, most importantly, a Muslim in the White House would force the Osama Bin Ladens of the world to rethink--if not abandon entirely--its propaganda against "The Great Satan". It would be much harder for OBL and his ilk to brainwash terrorist recruits if an observant Muslim had his finger on the button.
And remember, about fifty years ago, conspiracy theorists much like the Obama-is-secretly-Muslim cabal nearly shitted themselves when JFK ascended to The Oval Office. Much like the Islamophobes who are currently whispering about Obama's religious beliefs, anti-papists worried aloud about whether or not Kennedy would be more loyal to the Pope than to the American people. Not only did Kennedy prove his detractors wrong, he became one of the most highly regarded presidents in American history.
So, I say that the media should stop beating this dead and decomposing horse. Discussing this non-issue further only distracts the American people for its real problems.
Are you frickin' kidding me? Seriously, I thought this nonsense got resolved during the presidential race. Why else would Rev. Jeremiah Wright's big fat mouth have been able create so many headaches for Team Obama? You don't have to have been to an African-American church recently (or ever) to recognize the 180-degree difference between Wright's pulpit histrionics and a muezzin's call to prayer.
But let's, for the sake of argument, say that Mr. Obama is indeed a Muslim. Is that really a bad thing? In an increasingly globalized world and in an age where East-West tensions are greater than they've been since The Crusades, a United States president who can easily straddle both the Judeo-Christian Western world and the Islamic one is an asset.
A Muslim in the White House would understand the distinction between Sunni Islam and Shi'ite Islam--a distinction that Bush reportedly wasn't aware of even weeks before the invasion of Iraq. A secular Muslim, the type of Muslim that Mr. Obama would be if he were one, would be able to surefootedly guide the country through the murky overlap between the First Amendment commitment to religious freedom and a commitment to separation of church and state. A Muslim in the White House would avoid using the inflammatory rhetoric that likely spurred on "insurgents" in Iraq. (Remember "Bring 'Em On"?) And think about how differently the recently ended War in Iraq would have played out if the war's engineers had understood the cultural nuances of Saddam Hussein's fiefdom before they attacked.
And, most importantly, a Muslim in the White House would force the Osama Bin Ladens of the world to rethink--if not abandon entirely--its propaganda against "The Great Satan". It would be much harder for OBL and his ilk to brainwash terrorist recruits if an observant Muslim had his finger on the button.
And remember, about fifty years ago, conspiracy theorists much like the Obama-is-secretly-Muslim cabal nearly shitted themselves when JFK ascended to The Oval Office. Much like the Islamophobes who are currently whispering about Obama's religious beliefs, anti-papists worried aloud about whether or not Kennedy would be more loyal to the Pope than to the American people. Not only did Kennedy prove his detractors wrong, he became one of the most highly regarded presidents in American history.
So, I say that the media should stop beating this dead and decomposing horse. Discussing this non-issue further only distracts the American people for its real problems.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tampon Commercial
Am I the only person who thinks this ad is hilarious? I hope the ad exec who came up with this one got a BIG raise!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
My Thoughts on The Plans to Build A Mosque at Ground Zero
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
--Benjamin Franklin
Although this sentiment is well over two hundred years old, it is just as timely as it ever was. Under no circumstances should we ever allow ignorant demogogues to manipulate us into believing that it is sometimes okay to ignore the Constitution. That being said, anyone who truly believes in the First Amendment should support plans to build a mosque a few blocks away from Ground Zero..
I can hear the hackles being raised right now. But quite frankly, that is the only logically sound position that an American committed to social justice can take on this issue. And, unlike a lot of the mosque's detractors, I actually live in Manhattan.
--Benjamin Franklin
Although this sentiment is well over two hundred years old, it is just as timely as it ever was. Under no circumstances should we ever allow ignorant demogogues to manipulate us into believing that it is sometimes okay to ignore the Constitution. That being said, anyone who truly believes in the First Amendment should support plans to build a mosque a few blocks away from Ground Zero..
I can hear the hackles being raised right now. But quite frankly, that is the only logically sound position that an American committed to social justice can take on this issue. And, unlike a lot of the mosque's detractors, I actually live in Manhattan.
Monday, August 16, 2010
90's Nostaglia
I went to the grocery store and saw a woman ten years my junior rocking parachute pants
; although I wouldn't be caught dead wearing them now, I fondly remember how much I hated my parents for refusing to buy me a pair when they first came into vogue circa 1990. I watched the first installment of The Matrix Trilogy on television today and I found the special effects to be just as impressive as I originally thought they were back in 1999. Later on this evening, I had Friends and The Simpsons droning in the background as I worked on my screenplay. This weekend, I listened mostly to music that I rocked out to in high school. (Anyone remember the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik?) And I just realized that nineteen (yes, nineteen!) years have passed since I first set foot in Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts.
I think my 1990's nostaglia is rooted in my much-denied fear of aging. I have fine lines on my forehead and the beginnings of what cosmetic surgeons call nasolabial folds. At the age of thirty-three, I have officially reached the point where I am closer to menopause than I am to puberty. I am also beginning to realize that many of my dreams have not come true because they cannot possibly come true--at least not anymore.
I think I'm also afraid of passing away without having made my mark on the world. I am much too narcissistic to content myself with enjoying a simple life. I have an overly strong need to make a name for myself.
I wish I didn't mourn my passing youth but, alas, I do.
; although I wouldn't be caught dead wearing them now, I fondly remember how much I hated my parents for refusing to buy me a pair when they first came into vogue circa 1990. I watched the first installment of The Matrix Trilogy on television today and I found the special effects to be just as impressive as I originally thought they were back in 1999. Later on this evening, I had Friends and The Simpsons droning in the background as I worked on my screenplay. This weekend, I listened mostly to music that I rocked out to in high school. (Anyone remember the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik?) And I just realized that nineteen (yes, nineteen!) years have passed since I first set foot in Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts.I think my 1990's nostaglia is rooted in my much-denied fear of aging. I have fine lines on my forehead and the beginnings of what cosmetic surgeons call nasolabial folds. At the age of thirty-three, I have officially reached the point where I am closer to menopause than I am to puberty. I am also beginning to realize that many of my dreams have not come true because they cannot possibly come true--at least not anymore.
I think I'm also afraid of passing away without having made my mark on the world. I am much too narcissistic to content myself with enjoying a simple life. I have an overly strong need to make a name for myself.
I wish I didn't mourn my passing youth but, alas, I do.
Screenplay Progress Report #2
I have 51 properly formatted pages so far and no writer's block to speak of. Which is a good thing, considering that the deadline for this contest that I found out about last month in September 1st. I'm going to keep on trucking. I keep referring to myself as an "aspiring" screenwriter but I've recently come to the realization that I actually have to write and (attempt to) sell scripts to do so truthfully.
One bit of bad news: I just found out that the "Courier New" font offered by my version of Microsoft Word Office Home and Student 2007 is the mark of amateurs which means that I will have to download FinalDraft software to properly format my masterpiece. (I did the rest of the formatting the old fashioned way by setting tab stops and margins.)
The rest of the screenplay is going well.
One bit of bad news: I just found out that the "Courier New" font offered by my version of Microsoft Word Office Home and Student 2007 is the mark of amateurs which means that I will have to download FinalDraft software to properly format my masterpiece. (I did the rest of the formatting the old fashioned way by setting tab stops and margins.)
The rest of the screenplay is going well.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Ben Quayle Says Obama "The Worst President Ever"
Ben Quayle, Republican candidate for Congress, has recently released an ad slamming the current president as being the worst one ever.
First off, I wonder why people are so intent on performing autopsies on an administration that is still very much alive. And why are people so confident that Obama won't be able to turn it around? For that matter, why are people shocked that it's taking time for Obama to clean up the (very big) messes that his predecessor left for him? Let's be real here. Unlike any of the United States presidents, Obama inherited TWO unpopular wars, a recession, and damaged international relations. He's also dealing with the worst ecological disaster in US history, continued threats from terrorists (plus war crimes tribunals and the closing of Gitmo), entrenched resistance from the opposition party, and those crazy-ass birthers. Give the dude a break!
And, second, why of all people is someone like Ben Quayle making these statements? If anything, he is the Gen Y incarnation of another man who was also dubbed "The Worst President Ever."
Like President Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, Dan Quayle's second son is a photogenic-but-dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks son of privilege who, incidentally, has no previous political experience. I've made up a short but of informative list of comparisons.
Bush: Is the son of a former Republican vice-president, George Herbert Walker Bush.
Quayle: Is the son of a former Republican vice-president, Dan Quayle, who, coincidentally, served under GWB's father.
Bush: Ran for Congress from Texas. Despite the fact that he claimed to be a Texan, Bush was born in Connecticut and left the state to receive an elite education at age fifteen, only returning to do service in the Texas Air National Guard in 1968. He left the state again a few years later to attend Harvard Business School, only returning to the state permanently in the mid-1970s.
Quayle: Is running for Congress from another Southwestern state, Arizona. Born in Indiana, he received all of his education at prestigious East Coast schools and only moved to Arizona recently. In fact, he has never voted in an Arizona local election.
Bush: Infamously used his father's political connections to raise money for failed business ventures and to raise money for his political campaigns. However, Mr. Bush has repeatedly played down his father's influence, successfully marketing himself as a down-home cowboy-type.
Quayle: Numerous friends of his father have donated money to the younger Quayle's campaign and two-thirds of his contributions have come from out-of-state sources. Bush 41and his wife Barabra hosted a fundraiser for Mr. Quayle. Mr. Quayle however has downplayed connections to his father, casting himself as an outsider in a state with strong anti-Washington sentiments. (See http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40976_Page3.html for more details.
I guess this goes to show you just how small the good ol' boys club really is. Or maybe this a clue that you don't have to be qualified for a political office if you are the son of a rich, politically well-connected white man.
First off, I wonder why people are so intent on performing autopsies on an administration that is still very much alive. And why are people so confident that Obama won't be able to turn it around? For that matter, why are people shocked that it's taking time for Obama to clean up the (very big) messes that his predecessor left for him? Let's be real here. Unlike any of the United States presidents, Obama inherited TWO unpopular wars, a recession, and damaged international relations. He's also dealing with the worst ecological disaster in US history, continued threats from terrorists (plus war crimes tribunals and the closing of Gitmo), entrenched resistance from the opposition party, and those crazy-ass birthers. Give the dude a break!
And, second, why of all people is someone like Ben Quayle making these statements? If anything, he is the Gen Y incarnation of another man who was also dubbed "The Worst President Ever."
Like President Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, Dan Quayle's second son is a photogenic-but-dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks son of privilege who, incidentally, has no previous political experience. I've made up a short but of informative list of comparisons.
Bush: Is the son of a former Republican vice-president, George Herbert Walker Bush.
Quayle: Is the son of a former Republican vice-president, Dan Quayle, who, coincidentally, served under GWB's father.
Bush: Ran for Congress from Texas. Despite the fact that he claimed to be a Texan, Bush was born in Connecticut and left the state to receive an elite education at age fifteen, only returning to do service in the Texas Air National Guard in 1968. He left the state again a few years later to attend Harvard Business School, only returning to the state permanently in the mid-1970s.
Quayle: Is running for Congress from another Southwestern state, Arizona. Born in Indiana, he received all of his education at prestigious East Coast schools and only moved to Arizona recently. In fact, he has never voted in an Arizona local election.
Bush: Infamously used his father's political connections to raise money for failed business ventures and to raise money for his political campaigns. However, Mr. Bush has repeatedly played down his father's influence, successfully marketing himself as a down-home cowboy-type.
Quayle: Numerous friends of his father have donated money to the younger Quayle's campaign and two-thirds of his contributions have come from out-of-state sources. Bush 41and his wife Barabra hosted a fundraiser for Mr. Quayle. Mr. Quayle however has downplayed connections to his father, casting himself as an outsider in a state with strong anti-Washington sentiments. (See http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40976_Page3.html for more details.
I guess this goes to show you just how small the good ol' boys club really is. Or maybe this a clue that you don't have to be qualified for a political office if you are the son of a rich, politically well-connected white man.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Progress on Screenplay
I have 32 properly formatted pages on the screenplay that I am trying to write. I need to complete a bare minimum of sixty pages in order to be eligible for the contest I want to enter. I have 26 days to do it.
Pretzel M&M's
Just had a bag of the much-hyped new pretzel M&M's. I guess that these candies were meant to replace poorly selling crispy M&M's but they taste pretty much the same. Not that I'm complaining. I liked crispy M&M's. I also like the almond ones, too.
Friday, August 6, 2010
My Take On Rudy Guiliani's Daughter's Arrest
As someone who lives in NYC, I've been barraged all day by news stories about the arrest of Caroline Guiliani, former Mayor Guiliani's twenty-year-old estranged daughter. She apparently lifted about $100 worth of cosmetics (a "slim roller ball funnel" and hairnet was part of the swag) from the high-end boutique, Sephora.
I could start venting my spleen about how a poor woman of color like myself never would have been able to shop in a store like that without being followed or, at least, "helped" by a suspiciously friendly store clerk. I could also bitch about how Sephora most likely would have had a poor woman of color like myself prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law instead of declining to press charges as they did with Ms. Guiliani. I could also wonder aloud about how a mayor who won points with his tough-on-crime stance (remember the "broken windows theory"?) could have produced a child who thought it was okay to pilfer things.
But no. Instead, I am going to publicly express my sympathies for Ms. Guiliani. It is my opinion that her decision to shoplift was the proverbial cry for help. And no, I don't think she's a spoiled brat. Caroline has a lot to be upset about.
First, her father's an asshole. He announced his plans to divorce Caroline's mother during a press conference. The problem was that Caroline's mother, actress Donna Hanover, had NOT been notified of this decision beforehand. Hanover then had to get a court order banning Giuliani's new lady, Judith Nathan, from going anywhere near Gracie Mansion or meeting the children before the dust from the divorce proceedings settled. To make matters worse, Giuliani has spent much of the last decade pretty much ignoring Caroline and her older brother, Andrew. He's skipped out on graduations and has admitted to going for long periods of time without speaking to them. Anyone who treats his own children so poorly is basically asking them to self-destruct at a later date.
That's not to say that I approve of what Caroline has done; if this was an attempt to embarrass her dad, she only hurt herself. I also cannot condone Sephora's decision not to press charges. If Caroline Guiliani does not suffer a negative consequence for her criminal behavior, she will only get into more serious trouble later.
But I think that all the people in Caroline's life have already said that. So I'll just wish Ms. Giuliani luck and say a little prayer for her.
I could start venting my spleen about how a poor woman of color like myself never would have been able to shop in a store like that without being followed or, at least, "helped" by a suspiciously friendly store clerk. I could also bitch about how Sephora most likely would have had a poor woman of color like myself prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law instead of declining to press charges as they did with Ms. Guiliani. I could also wonder aloud about how a mayor who won points with his tough-on-crime stance (remember the "broken windows theory"?) could have produced a child who thought it was okay to pilfer things.
But no. Instead, I am going to publicly express my sympathies for Ms. Guiliani. It is my opinion that her decision to shoplift was the proverbial cry for help. And no, I don't think she's a spoiled brat. Caroline has a lot to be upset about.
First, her father's an asshole. He announced his plans to divorce Caroline's mother during a press conference. The problem was that Caroline's mother, actress Donna Hanover, had NOT been notified of this decision beforehand. Hanover then had to get a court order banning Giuliani's new lady, Judith Nathan, from going anywhere near Gracie Mansion or meeting the children before the dust from the divorce proceedings settled. To make matters worse, Giuliani has spent much of the last decade pretty much ignoring Caroline and her older brother, Andrew. He's skipped out on graduations and has admitted to going for long periods of time without speaking to them. Anyone who treats his own children so poorly is basically asking them to self-destruct at a later date.
That's not to say that I approve of what Caroline has done; if this was an attempt to embarrass her dad, she only hurt herself. I also cannot condone Sephora's decision not to press charges. If Caroline Guiliani does not suffer a negative consequence for her criminal behavior, she will only get into more serious trouble later.
But I think that all the people in Caroline's life have already said that. So I'll just wish Ms. Giuliani luck and say a little prayer for her.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Some More Commentary on the Newest Mel Gibson Scandal
I'll get straight to the point. Despite the fact that I believe Oksana Grigorieva to be a gold-digger who voluntarily busted up another woman's marriage, I feel that her allegations of abuse against Mel Gibson to be true. Why else wouldn't Gibson categorically deny them or, at the very least, question the authenticity of the recordings? And why cry "I'm being extorted" and not "I didn't do it"?
The person that I'm having a hard time believing is Mel's ex-wife, Robyn. She recently swore out a statement claiming that he never abused her during the course of their marriage. I have a hard time believing that. Not because violent men tend to abuse ALL their partners. Not because he publicly questioned gender equality which is something that wife-beaters are notorious for doing. Not because he had the stones to suggest that his wife wasn't getting into Heaven because "[t]here is no salvation for those outside the [Catholic] Church ." Not because Robyn has a multi-million dollar divorce settlement still hanging in the balance.
I think Mel was abusive toward his first wife simply because he seemed to spend so much time onscreen pretending not to be married or, more accurately, pretending that the Missus had travelled to The Great Beyond. Is it my imagination or is it that Mel's most iconic roles have him playing a man with a dead wife? Mad Max--widower. Martin Riggs--widower. William Wallace--widower. Rev. Graham Hess from Signs--a widower. He played a recently widowed single father of seven (the same number of children he had with Robyn, coincidentally) in The Patriot. And in 1999's Payback, his character's wife intentionally OD's on heroin after he darkens her doorstep, leaving him to find her body.
I admit, this could have been the very married Gibson's way of avoiding compromising love scenes. (Actors do have to get naked for those.) But I can't help but to wonder if Gibson sought out these roles as some sort of passive-aggressive wish fulfillment. After all, how else do you get out of a marriage when you're a supposedly committed member of a religious sect that doesn't allow divorce?
I wonder how the soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Gibson took it. I hope she slept with a hammer.
The person that I'm having a hard time believing is Mel's ex-wife, Robyn. She recently swore out a statement claiming that he never abused her during the course of their marriage. I have a hard time believing that. Not because violent men tend to abuse ALL their partners. Not because he publicly questioned gender equality which is something that wife-beaters are notorious for doing. Not because he had the stones to suggest that his wife wasn't getting into Heaven because "[t]here is no salvation for those outside the [Catholic] Church ." Not because Robyn has a multi-million dollar divorce settlement still hanging in the balance.
I think Mel was abusive toward his first wife simply because he seemed to spend so much time onscreen pretending not to be married or, more accurately, pretending that the Missus had travelled to The Great Beyond. Is it my imagination or is it that Mel's most iconic roles have him playing a man with a dead wife? Mad Max--widower. Martin Riggs--widower. William Wallace--widower. Rev. Graham Hess from Signs--a widower. He played a recently widowed single father of seven (the same number of children he had with Robyn, coincidentally) in The Patriot. And in 1999's Payback, his character's wife intentionally OD's on heroin after he darkens her doorstep, leaving him to find her body.
I admit, this could have been the very married Gibson's way of avoiding compromising love scenes. (Actors do have to get naked for those.) But I can't help but to wonder if Gibson sought out these roles as some sort of passive-aggressive wish fulfillment. After all, how else do you get out of a marriage when you're a supposedly committed member of a religious sect that doesn't allow divorce?
I wonder how the soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Gibson took it. I hope she slept with a hammer.
Judge Strikes Down Prop 8! Whoo-hoo!
Am I the only person who is thrilled to death about Prop 8 being overturned? I hope not! For far too long the anti-gay marriage movement has been shaped by mean-spirited dummies who don't even know why they oppose it so vehemently. (Let's be real. No one has ever made a cogent argument against gay marriage.)
And you know what really chafes my ass? People who claim that they support these archaic bans in order to protect heterosexual marriage. Protect it from what? I refuse to believe that gays and lesbians are plotting to make it impossible for me to walk down the aisle with Taye Diggs when he finally gets around to noticing me.
Anyways...
And you know what really chafes my ass? People who claim that they support these archaic bans in order to protect heterosexual marriage. Protect it from what? I refuse to believe that gays and lesbians are plotting to make it impossible for me to walk down the aisle with Taye Diggs when he finally gets around to noticing me.
Anyways...
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