Commitment Phobia Wednesday, Dec 5 2007

I’m not going to talk about “skydiving” (or moving to New Orleans) because I have no clue what the eff is going on or how this whole thing is going to shake out. 

Instead I’m going to get all political and shit.  Less than a year from now we will elect a new President and I’m still not sure which candidate I’m rooting for.

I am a Democrat.  Period.  I vote Democratic, always.  I’m not going to go on at length about why I’m a Democrat or why it’s better than being a Republican.  If you’re a Republican, good for you.  The only time I have ever in my life voted for a Republican was when I voted in the Virginia Republican Primary, just so I could vote against Bush twice in one year.

So anyway, I think the Democratic race will come down to three people — Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.  

A lot of people HATE Hillary.  I mean, really really hate her.  I have heard her described as “evil,” which is a word I generally reserve for, you know, the Sadam Hussein’s and Adolph Hitler’s of the world.  I would looove to have a woman president.  I think it’s about damn time.  And I think Hillary is as good a female candidate as anyone else.  But frankly, my fear is that if Hillary becomes the nominee, people will pour out of the woodwork to vote AGAINST her.  Just on principle.  I think she will lose and lose very, very badly. 

Barack.  Barack Obama.  That’s just a fun name to say.  I also think it’s about time to have a minority president.  Or even a serious minority candidate who’s not Jesse Jackson (don’t get me started on Jesse Jackson).  I really don’t have a firm opinion on Barack.  He seems like a nice enough guy, and smart and capable.  Solid.  Interesting.  But I don’t know, I guess I haven’t caught the Obama fever yet. 

So that brings us to the white guy — John Edwards.  First, I think John Edwards is cute.  Dreamy, even.  I greatly admire his wife.  I was backing him last time because John Kerry was not the candidate I really wanted to vote for.  Edwards seems the most charismatic of the three.  Charisma is big with me.  He doesn’t have a lot of experience, though. 

Of course, none of these folks is or has been a governor.  Being governor seems to be the best prerequisite for getting elected president (Carter, Reagan, Clinton) if you weren’t the Vice President.  There is one Democratic governor in the running (Richardson) but I honestly don’t know a lot about him. 

I guess I need to do some homework.  Our primary isn’t until after New Hampshire and Iowa and Super Tuesday and by then, I have a feeling the landscape will be a lot less crowded with candidates. 

I love election years!

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Something Totally Different — The Writers Strike Friday, Nov 9 2007

I’ll admit I hadn’t paid much attention to all the news of the impending writers strike, other than to realize that (crap!) the writers strike = no new TV shows. “Selfish writers,” I thought.

Yeahhhh, now I feel guilty.

The past few days I’ve been reading internet superstah pamie.com and zap2it’s coverage and this morning I found United Hollywood, a blog by some of the strike captains. So now I am all educated on the subject on the subject.

The TV shows I have loved over the years generally fall into two categories. One category is guilty pleasures.

And the other category are shows that are well-acted and, more importantly, well-written. I have tremendous respect for anyone that can write well, and especially can write dialogue well. Shows that are written well are like classical music to me, full of sharps and flats and crescendos and decrescendos.

Like West Wing. Like Sports Night. Like Brothers and Sisters and Grey’s Anatomy. I own each of those shows on DVD. I have watched some of those shows via the internet.

For every one of those DVDs I’ve bought, their writers receive 4 cents. 4 cents. And when I watch them on the internet? The writers receive NOTHING. Even if the networks include ads in their online broadcasts. Because the networks claim that showing the entire episode online or through iTunes or whatever other new media comes up is “promotional.”

And that? Is bullshit. If I’m viewing Brothers and Sisters on the internet the exact same way I would be viewing it on my TV on a Sunday evening, complete with ads, then the writers responsible for crafting those episodes (as well as the cast and crew and everyone else*) should be compensated in exactly the same way. Period.

The current Writers Guild of America contract (I guess that’s the right term?) was crafted when home video was just coming into the mainstream. There’s a whole new world of media out there. The WGA is doing the right thing by striking. They’re not asking for anything outrageous. A lot of television writers are unemployed. They may work for a season or two, and then live on residuals for several years or submit spec scripts. That can’t be an easy life.

I haven’t been able to watch The Office this season, because it runs opposite Grey’s Anatomy. I could very well go to NBC’s website and watch it online, but knowing what I know now, I won’t do that. Because The Office, like many many other fine TV shows, wouldn’t be ANYTHING without its writers. And I want to do my part, however small, to support them.

* I have a feeling this issue will continue to raise its ugly head over the next few years with the Screen Actors Guild and various other unions, if no one is being compensated for online viewings of TV episodes. I know that right now, actors and everyone else is being very supportive of the writers and we’re seeing coverage of entire show casts and crews walking picket lines with their writers.

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How Rude! Wednesday, Oct 10 2007

So as I was saying yesterday, I went to a wedding reception on Saturday night that started at 7:30.  Of the 8 or so people I knew there, only myself and the bride were actually there at 7:30.  People were wandering into that room for over an hour.

I am fanatical about being on time.  I get that from my dad.  In any situation where I have to be there at a certain time, I will very carefully calculate how much time it will take to get there, and what kind of time cushion I need and I’m generally STILL 5 minutes early.  I have being super-early, but I think 5 minutes early is just good planning.

Because being late?  Is rude.  I’m sorry, but that’s the bottom line.  Rude.

I’m not talking about being 5 minutes late because you got caught in traffic, or you had to run back into the house and get something.  I’m not talking about those occasions where you sleep through your alarm and are late to work.  Life happens to everyone.

I’m talking about being habitually, continually late.  I’m talking about those people who think “being late” is a bad habit like biting your nails or driving too fast.  People who think it’s cute. 

I have friends that expect me to count on the fact that they’re going to be late when we make plans.  I know people that NEVER leave themselves enough time to be out the door before they need to be somewhere, or who have unrealistic expectations about how long it takes to get somewhere, or how many things they can do in a set amount of time. 

And I think it’s just plain rude.  It’s rude to arrive at a party or a reception late without apologizing or giving any reason.  It’s rude to keep people waiting all the time, instead of making an effort to be somewhere when you say you will.  I feel it shows a lack of respect, quite simply put. 

Nothing makes my blood boil more than the instances where I’m sitting in an empty room at5 or 10 minutes past the hour, waiting for the other attendees to show up to a meeting that was supposed to start on the hour.  This frequently happens with my sorority girls and they’re all, “Oh, it’s sorority time, hee hee, we’re always late.” 

Guess what?   We’re all in the same time zone!  Your watch and cell phones and car clocks may have a slightly different time on them, but you can tell when it’s roughly 5 p.m. and roughly 5:15 p.m. and they are not the same thing!

(I also do not get those people who purposefully set their clocks and watches forward or backward or whatever so they’re on time because that would confuse the bejeezus out of me.  I have a very strict relationship with time and I do not like to futz around with it, all willy-nilly.) 

I’m not saying I’m Emily Post or Miss Manners.  I’m sure I commit etiquette faux pas all the time.  I probably say or do things that other people find rude or disrespectful.  To-ma-to, to-mah-to.  And when people are late, I rarely say anything.  I just sit there silently, yelling at them in my head. 

So basically, to me, being late = being rude.  And what I find even more rude is when people expect me to EXPECT them to be late.  Sure, okay, but you may just wind up expecting me to stop showing up at all!

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