I wish they had something to be thankful for...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Writer's Strike
As I'm sure most of the world knows, the Hollywood writers are on strike. And it is for good reason. They get no money for virtually any web content. So every time someone downloads an episode instead of buying a DVD, everyone involved except the studio itself is out of luck. And many of these people don't make all that much money. Especially when you consider they are often not permanently employed and may go through months without work when the payment from DVD sales gets them by.
The last writer's strike was in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks. Yikes!
The Office only has two finished shows left. So two weeks from now could possibly be the last Office of the season. This show is apparently one of the first ones that shut down production and will be going off the air. Why? Steve Carrell won't cross the picket lines. He is, after all, a writer himself. As are the characters Toby, Ryan, and Mindy. And Cousin Mose. So even though there are some more completed scripts, they can't be filmed.
What does this mean for you, the viewer?
Apparently more reality TV. The kind that only needs editors, not writers. Now I confess to watching Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor on a fairly regular basis (will someone please kill my TV?), but they are nothing compared to The Office. And as much as I was complaining about how it isn't that good this season, this week's was really good. And I watched it on the internet. Along with the Target ads that I'd already seen at work several times. So probably someone should get some of that ad money besides the studio. Like maybe the writers and actors.
The show's writers recommend you write a letter to Jeff Zuckerman in support of the writers and the show. I probably won't do it, just because really, I would probably be better off without TV. And I am lazy.
But I just thought I could throw some blog support the writers' way. We gotta stick together. Not that I consider myself a writer or anything.
The last writer's strike was in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks. Yikes!
The Office only has two finished shows left. So two weeks from now could possibly be the last Office of the season. This show is apparently one of the first ones that shut down production and will be going off the air. Why? Steve Carrell won't cross the picket lines. He is, after all, a writer himself. As are the characters Toby, Ryan, and Mindy. And Cousin Mose. So even though there are some more completed scripts, they can't be filmed.
What does this mean for you, the viewer?
Apparently more reality TV. The kind that only needs editors, not writers. Now I confess to watching Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor on a fairly regular basis (will someone please kill my TV?), but they are nothing compared to The Office. And as much as I was complaining about how it isn't that good this season, this week's was really good. And I watched it on the internet. Along with the Target ads that I'd already seen at work several times. So probably someone should get some of that ad money besides the studio. Like maybe the writers and actors.
The show's writers recommend you write a letter to Jeff Zuckerman in support of the writers and the show. I probably won't do it, just because really, I would probably be better off without TV. And I am lazy.
But I just thought I could throw some blog support the writers' way. We gotta stick together. Not that I consider myself a writer or anything.
This Weekend is Me Weekend
Matt is gone, in the Valles, hopefully getting a lot of field work done. Hopefully enjoying fall, or maybe winter at that elevation, and hopefully not getting shot by hunters. Surely enjoying his dinner at Los Ojos.
I am here.
I like to get up in the mornings, after Matt leaves, so I can have some me time. Taking the bus makes this kind of hard because I only get up early enough to eat, shower, and walk down the street. So this weekend I am catching up.
I am reading - I'm in the middle of two books. One I am reviewing - Managing Water: Avoiding Crisis in California by Dorothy Green. One I am enjoying - Plenty by Smith and Mackinnon. I will be sure to post about Plenty when I am done with it - I am sure I will recommend it to everyone, even if you don't have pipedreams like I do to someday follow a 100-mile diet.
Actually I'm also in the middle of Monkey Wrench Gang, an Umberto Eco book, and Milagro Bean Field War. Maybe more. I tend to get distracted when books don't immediately grab my attention. Sometimes I go through periods where I hardly read anything, and then I stumble upon a book I love and I remember that I love reading. I'm just very specific about what I want to read.
Reading has motivated me again to be more faithful in pursuing my writing. My first front page article came out this week - granted it was on The Independent, but I guess it still counts. The editor even managed to spell my name right this time. (Oh and I finally got paid by LAT.)
I also pitched a story to HCN, submitted to Writers on the Range, and sent an old essay into a literary magazine - something a professor suggested I do years ago.
And I have another job possibility - actually in my field this time. And since I'm taking some me time, I've decided that I don't have to feel bad if I leave my current job. I have to do what's best for me. Maybe the other possibility won't come through. Maybe I will decide I like my job. Maybe I will learn to be happy in the present rather than always searching for better things for the future. Maybe I will enjoy this moment.
I am here.
I like to get up in the mornings, after Matt leaves, so I can have some me time. Taking the bus makes this kind of hard because I only get up early enough to eat, shower, and walk down the street. So this weekend I am catching up.
I am reading - I'm in the middle of two books. One I am reviewing - Managing Water: Avoiding Crisis in California by Dorothy Green. One I am enjoying - Plenty by Smith and Mackinnon. I will be sure to post about Plenty when I am done with it - I am sure I will recommend it to everyone, even if you don't have pipedreams like I do to someday follow a 100-mile diet.
Actually I'm also in the middle of Monkey Wrench Gang, an Umberto Eco book, and Milagro Bean Field War. Maybe more. I tend to get distracted when books don't immediately grab my attention. Sometimes I go through periods where I hardly read anything, and then I stumble upon a book I love and I remember that I love reading. I'm just very specific about what I want to read.
Reading has motivated me again to be more faithful in pursuing my writing. My first front page article came out this week - granted it was on The Independent, but I guess it still counts. The editor even managed to spell my name right this time. (Oh and I finally got paid by LAT.)
I also pitched a story to HCN, submitted to Writers on the Range, and sent an old essay into a literary magazine - something a professor suggested I do years ago.
And I have another job possibility - actually in my field this time. And since I'm taking some me time, I've decided that I don't have to feel bad if I leave my current job. I have to do what's best for me. Maybe the other possibility won't come through. Maybe I will decide I like my job. Maybe I will learn to be happy in the present rather than always searching for better things for the future. Maybe I will enjoy this moment.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
East Mountain Organic Farms
Last weekend, Matt and I visited a small organic farm outside of Albuquerque under the guise of an article. Now Matt wants to be a farmer. I feel like I should write more about this, but I already wrote an article.
It was beautiful and idyllic. The farmers were total hippies - one old, one young. The young one's wife just birthed a baby at home in the bath tub. The older one has held just about every job that ever existed including lobster fisherman and poet. He says he can use all his skills at the farm. They were both extremely nice, welcoming people, and they sent us home with a huge bag of spinach and a parcel of garlic - their primary crop. This is why you should buy local and organic if possible. We ate spinach straight from the plant. No pesticide, no herbicide. Highly efficient drip irrigation. People who stand to gain from the sales - not just agribusiness. A beautiful setting. Crop diversity. Extremely happy dogs and cats.
Maybe someday we can grow something in our yard. I don't know about a whole farm, but it sure did seem appealing. Except for the work schedule.
It was beautiful and idyllic. The farmers were total hippies - one old, one young. The young one's wife just birthed a baby at home in the bath tub. The older one has held just about every job that ever existed including lobster fisherman and poet. He says he can use all his skills at the farm. They were both extremely nice, welcoming people, and they sent us home with a huge bag of spinach and a parcel of garlic - their primary crop. This is why you should buy local and organic if possible. We ate spinach straight from the plant. No pesticide, no herbicide. Highly efficient drip irrigation. People who stand to gain from the sales - not just agribusiness. A beautiful setting. Crop diversity. Extremely happy dogs and cats.
Maybe someday we can grow something in our yard. I don't know about a whole farm, but it sure did seem appealing. Except for the work schedule.
Getting Things in the Mail
Isn't it always exciting? Except when it's bills or junk mail. Or rejection letters. Those keep rolling in everyday. But packages are the best, even when you order them yourself.
Awhile ago I agreed to be on the Better World Books advisory panel. In exchange for an hour long interview with a marketer, I got a $50 gift certificate for the website. Better World Books is trying to reposition themselves as "Amazon with a soul." They contribute profits to literacy projects and also have eco-friendly shipping. The prices are in line with Amazon, although there is no marketplace (but you can get used books). It is also not quite as user-friendly, but they are working on it. I highly recommend it. They are good people.
Anyway, I got 6 books (1 new and 5 used) with my $50, and they came in the mail yesterday. In honor of my love of Lasso the Wind, I bought three other Tim Egan books - I hope they are just as good. I also bought a Terry Tempest Williams book I haven't read, a book by David James Duncan, and Plenty (the 100 mile diet book). I am excited! I also have a back log of magazines to catch up on. I better do some bus riding this week.
Awhile ago I agreed to be on the Better World Books advisory panel. In exchange for an hour long interview with a marketer, I got a $50 gift certificate for the website. Better World Books is trying to reposition themselves as "Amazon with a soul." They contribute profits to literacy projects and also have eco-friendly shipping. The prices are in line with Amazon, although there is no marketplace (but you can get used books). It is also not quite as user-friendly, but they are working on it. I highly recommend it. They are good people.
Anyway, I got 6 books (1 new and 5 used) with my $50, and they came in the mail yesterday. In honor of my love of Lasso the Wind, I bought three other Tim Egan books - I hope they are just as good. I also bought a Terry Tempest Williams book I haven't read, a book by David James Duncan, and Plenty (the 100 mile diet book). I am excited! I also have a back log of magazines to catch up on. I better do some bus riding this week.
Just Watched: Finding Neverland
When we borrowed this movie from Matt's brother's partner, he said, "I'm never going to see this again, am I?" And we said, "Oh of course you will." That was well over a year ago and now he lives in Florida. We watched this way back when we borrowed it, and yesterday we pulled it out of the bag it was sitting in waiting for return transportation and watched it again. This is one good movie.
Matt likes to claim that I have no imagination and that I hate imagination, but imagination is the subject of this movie. Of course Johnny Depp doesn't hurt. And Kate Winslet is fantastic. It is basically the story of how J.M. Barrie came up with Peter Pan. It is sad and beautiful and hopeful in so many ways. And it was just as good the second time as it was the first.
Matt likes to claim that I have no imagination and that I hate imagination, but imagination is the subject of this movie. Of course Johnny Depp doesn't hurt. And Kate Winslet is fantastic. It is basically the story of how J.M. Barrie came up with Peter Pan. It is sad and beautiful and hopeful in so many ways. And it was just as good the second time as it was the first.
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