Aurgh.

If I hear one more person on National Television (yes, even my dear CNN), or anywhere else for that matter, refer to Barack Obama as "articulate", I will scream...or make that move to Canada. "Articulate", huh? Wow. With all the good and change this man stands for, folks summarize him with the word "articulate". What happened to progress? Ridiculous. Incredibly embarrassing.

Create

"Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of a man (and woman). Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man. And now the forces marshaled around the concept of the group have declared a war of extermination on that preciousness, the mind of man. By disparagement, by starvation, by repressions, forced direction, and the stunning hammerblows of conditioning, the free, roving mind is being pursued, roped, blunted, drugged. It is a sad suicidal course our species seems to have taken.

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for that is the one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system. Surely I can understand this, and I hate it and will fight against it to preserve the one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts. If the glory can be killed, we are lost."

~John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Indebted

A friend of mine called yesterday to comment on what she had heard a journalist report on the Writer's Guild strike. Apparently, this reporter was in front of Paramount Studios, standing among the picketers, but you wouldn't have known it as there wasn't a peep, not a megaphone in the vicinity, nor a chant. It was so quiet, the reporter felt urged to comment on that fact alone.

Remember Vietnam? I suppose we were pushed to stand up, pump our fists, lay on the ground, scream and yell as it was a bit more personal due to the draft. Times have certainly changed since then. I have a little theory on it that I like to call "DEBT".

Credit Cards were rare in the "old days". Anyone can get one these days. In fact, you go to apply for college and you're being sent credit offers left and right. Unlike France where your education is paid for by the government, we enter college and are, for the most part, instantly in a heck of a lot of debt...and spend the next several years out of school working any job we can get, sometimes more than one, simply to get us out of the hole we have dug for ourselves (by the way, in France - the government is more afraid of the people as they are not at all timid about protesting. We are the other way around...get the picture? Watch "Michael Moore's "Sicko". They also have Universal health care. Go figure.).

When you are indebted to someone or something, you become a slave to it, you lose your freedom. Along with slavery comes fear, and when you are afraid, you tend to keep quiet and "do as you're told" in order to remain in the state you are in. Think about it, if you speak up, you could lose your horrible, hated corporate job (that has nothing to do with the major you chose). If you lose your job, how will you afford to pay rent, pay for your car, pay off your credit card debt, pay for your student loans, pay for your mortgage? If you lose your home, your car, your "freedom", you will no longer be looked at as an educated, respectable, acceptable, functioning part of society. You will be ALONE. We call this "freedom". Sounds a lot like slavery to me.

FEAR, FEAR, FEAR. It all boils down to the last part I spoke of, fear of being alone. The media/schools/parents/advertising agencies teach us that in order to be respected and loved, you must get a good education which will ultimately lead to a good job so you can drive a nice car, have a nice house, enjoy vacations....and shut the hell up or you'll lose it all. So, why don't they just come straight out and say that debt brings happiness? Because it doesn't. Debt brings control. Debt makes it a lot easier on the government when they are funding a useless, endless war. We 'need' to keep our jobs so we tape our mouths shut. Debt makes it a lot easier on the producers when those of us not in the Writer's Guild fear losing our jobs, therefore are not supportive of the strike.

Maybe radical, physical picketing is outdated. Maybe we need to use the strategy the government has created against them. We could stop buying the gas, stop buying the toys, stop buying the gossip magazines, stop working our production jobs for a minute, stop buying into the lies. We could each work on avoiding the need to consume and begin paying our way out of slavery...paying off our credit cards, paying off our car loans, paying off our mortgages and taste real freedom for a change.

My point in this rant: no matter the cause, speak up. We can't be afraid to speak up and be heard. Whether it be a child not able to get a book for a class, being rejected health insurance coverage, or our brothers and sisters dying in a pointless war - we've got to open up our mouths and speak our truths. (I apologize if my point wasn't clear prior to posting this paragraph.) I in no way compare the Writer's Guild strike to the horrendous losses in Vietnam (thank you, anonymous) other than the fact that I feel no matter what the cause, if it is important to you, one shouldn't allow fear of loss to tape our mouths shut.

Another note to anonymous poster: Next time, post your name...don't be fearful of expressing your opinion. Maybe then we can discuss the issue. Also, I might add, I am merely expressing opinion here...I am not reporting news or writing history text books. Therefore, my opinion is not out of touch, nor have I 'missed it'. I so love the fact that you have expressed your opinion though as it caused me to go back and rethink the message I was putting forth. :) Love, love and more love.

Question

If your God is so awesome, omnipresent and powerful, why do you feel the need to protect and defend him/her?

Strike!

Many of my friends are writers and many of my friends are not. The majority of my friends and I depend on film production to pay bills. In the midst of this strike I have heard many conflicting arguments as to whether or not folks are in support, which has urged me to voice my opinion.

Times are a changin', they always have and always will, and sometimes it takes something or someone to ripple the water a bit in order to get folks to catch up to modern times. Take Rosa Parks for instance. If she hadn't stood up against the wishes of that bus driver, how much longer would it have taken for things to change in that aspect?

I believe our natural inclination is to stick with the old, stick with what we know, but that isn't always beneficial to ourselves or mankind. With new technology comes change and with change comes freshness, new ideas, new ways of living life. With the WGA strike, what we have is a group of people providing a service in which technology has surpassed them in their compensation. So it is time for a change, and if these people don't do something drastic, such as putting our jobs on the line, technology will surpass them and they will be stuck sitting in the back of the bus, so to speak.

Our educational system is much the same way. Our schools were re-designed during the Agricultural Era in preparation for the Industrial Era and even though we've moved on to the Technological Era, our children are still being taught in the regimented ways meant to train those looking toward working in factories.

We will now be a part of history, reminiscing back on the day writers weren't paid for internet shows in which they won Emmy's, shows downloaded by those of us who have no time to make it home to watch our favorite shows due to long production hours.

I'm back!!! and more randomness.

Hello all! I'm back. Back home in the 'bu, back online...Tivo is having issues (apparently something about the infrastructure being damaged...sounds fun), ring tone has returned. Back yard burned up to the house, front yard burned...but the house is perfectly fine. I am so grateful to the firefighters, neighbors and anyone else who helped in saving my little house! But this is not why I am brave..(I think my sense of humor has returned as well).

I asked someone out today. I did. I really, really did. I have never done this before. Call me old fashioned, shy or chicken sh*t, but it is true. I think with all of my unfortunate dating debacles as of late, I am to the point of knowing there's 'nothing to lose'. Still I wonder if it is a mistake to ask a guy out, possibly forfeiting my female 'mystery' and his chance at enjoying 'the chase'. Who knows anymore, right? Any thoughts, friends?

The Good and Bad news is...

Found this photo online of my neighbor's house burning (2 doors down). Very sad.

This is the last of the bad news, I promise!!!! With ashes come renewal: renewed growth, renewed gratitude, renewed focus.

I am grateful to say that Audrey the Great Dane and I are returning home tonight! I am so looking forward to cleaning up and getting settled (literally...I feel like a kid going to Disneyland...I am jumping up and down. My co-worker just asked what I ate for breakfast! I'm sure the Lucky Charms aren't helping).

Now is the perfect time to go through items I haven't used or worn in 6 months and donate them. There is something so refreshing about lightening your load. Some of you must think I'm crazy as I've pretty much 'lightened my load' as much as anyone could, but you know, after that brief moment of contemplation when I had to decide what I should grab and put in the car as I ran out the door, I realize I could afford to give myself a little more freedom.

Lots and lots of love to you all.

To be continued...