Friday, August 25, 2006

A lecture on responsibility-Hollywood style

I normally don't read 'People' and my interest in the gossip of today's Hollywood is minimal at best.
I was googling Oprah's opening a school in South Africa for girls when I came across this article in 'People':

Lindsay Lohan Blasted for 'Heavy Partying'

and this one:

Costar Knocks Lindsay Lohan's Lateness

At the end of the day, work is work and if your inexcusable behaviour gets in the way of that, you will find yourself out of work. Even iconic Marilyn Monroe was fired by her studio for excessive lateness, not being prepared and excessive calling out.


James Robinson of Morgan Creek productions was not out of line in his letter which is Work Rules Etiquette 101, neither was actor William H. Macy, who recognizes that talent and money is never an excuse for behaving badly.

We all make mistakes-a few more at 20 than at other ages. I know that Lindsay Lohan will pull it together.

Currently Listening to...

I am currently listening to the NPR show Here and Now, where Alfie Cohn, author of "The Homework Myth" is speaking about the uselessness of homework. I am blogging this on the fly so I encourage hearing the webcast in its entirety at the NPR website. He made the following points:

  • Homework does not teach the skills that students need to succeed.
  • The ideas that students are learning lifelong skills (such as discipline) from doing homework is false.
A lot of his rhetoric seems like it is for testing and not for homework.

I think I will have to list to the broadcast again to obtain a better perspective.

Women are blogging...

I hope more people will take time to read this post at Black Feminism.org about the recent assertion that men shouldn't marry career women.

Tiffany at Black Feminism.org blogged a bit about Rebecca Blood, whose site I visited. Besides writing a good blog, she is also the author of 'the weblog handbook'.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Pluto

I can't believe that Pluto is not a planet anymore. Then again, this has been a time of the falling of long held beliefs. We know who Deep Throat is. Apparently, now we know who killed JonBenet. Girls and women of color do suffer from anorexia and a movie about gay cowboys can be big box office.

Friday, August 18, 2006

I am....

A) too pleased with myself that I figured out how to change the color of the font in the Quizillas so that they are readable

B) thankful for August 24 and September 16 for that is when the events I am helping to plan take place and end

Thursday, August 17, 2006

More on Robin

Well, I visited Robin's Blog today to see what she has been up to. If I had not been enjoying the trend of the previous entries, I definitely did not enjoy the most recent entry where Dr. Patrick said that he "might be able to love" Robin.

Now, I do realize that these are fictional characters living in a fictional world that I don't think I ever would want to live in. Nevertheless, I hate the fact that she is happy that someone "might be able to love her." (My quotation marks by the way).

I have seen in real life where girls and fully grown women put up with a lot of kibbutzing around just to be worthy of "might be loved." The usual suspects contribute to it-low self esteem, fear that you won't have anyone.

My favorite is the "if I wait long enough for him to:
- grow up or
-become more mature or
-realize that he really does love me or
-see me for who I am and love the person inside or
-get over his own fears
-understand that we are soulmates,
then he will tell me that he loves me in a fantastically romantic setting and then we will get married in a big, fantastically romantic way and be happy forever and ever.

It doesn't even happen that way all the time in the movies. Soaps however are famous for perpetuating the "suffering good girl" who puts up with a bad boy that just doesn't realize how great she is and how living a good life is a good thing and she endures months and years of broken promises, childish games, and abuse (not always physical) because in the end she will be rewarded for her efforts because eventually he will be there for her.

What movie, book, or tv show evers has this storyline outside of soaps? What's more, when have any of those ever reversed gender on it where the male character doing the waiting and 'fixing' ever puts up with this for as long as the female character does? Even Dr. George O'Malley from Grey's Anatomy walked away from two untenable situations with Meredith Grey and the nurse who gave him syphllis a heck of a lot sooner than Meredith Grey did from her Dr. McDreamy.

I was even more disappointed by the comments section of this particular post on Robin's Blog. Most were supporting her waiting until Dr. Patrick was "ready" for adult relationship they should have and they counseled patience and helping him to get there. They were essentially saying that it was all okay.

I did find some rays of hope in the comments section though. This one essentially summed up my feelings about the Robin-Dr. Patrick "romance" and her behaviour in it:

Wow Robin, you sound pathetic. He never said he loved you, so don't get your hopes up for the future. I worry about your self-esteem lately. It took 8 months for Patrick to get to know you and spend time with you. In those 8 months, he has belittled you, called you names, etc. And the best he can do now is that he could love you? I think you deserve a whole lot better. A woman like you deserves respect. Waiting for Patrick to realize what an amazing woman you are will practically take forever, so why not play the field and find someone that will actually love you?

Robin was a character with self esteem and demanding of respect for herself. If this how Robin's life is going to go, I think if I were actress Kimberley McCullough, I would ask for my character to be killed off.

I do also realize that the purpose of the charater's blog is likely for the marketers or the writers of GH. They read responses and bend the story to appeal to the "consumers" rather than be true to anything like character and plot integrity. Master manipulation at its best.


By the way...
Jason may have made some stupid and in some ways understandable choices in his relationship with Robin but he never berated her or played games with her. She always knew where she stood with him and "Stone Face" found it quite easy to tell her that he loved her. I'm just saying, "Memo to the writing staff..."

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

More Blogthings...again

Intersting assessment...I don't know it fits me exactly...



You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer

You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.
A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways.
In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.
You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

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What is your sexual orientation?




You are pansexual.
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Which Tarot Card Are You?




You are the the Hierophant card. The Hierophant, called The Pope in some decks, is the preserver of cultural traditions. After entering The Emperor's society, The Hierophant teaches us its wisdom. The Hierophant learns and teaches our cultural traditions. The discoveries our ancestors have made influence the present. Without forces such as The Hierophant who are able to interpret and communicate traditional lore, each generation would have to begin to learn anew. As a force that is concentrated on our past and our culture, The Hierophant can sometimes be stubborn and set in his ways. This is a negative trait he shares with his zodiac sign, Taurus. But like Taurus he is productive. His traditional lore can provide a source of inspiration for the creatively inclined, and his knowledge provides an excellent foundation for those who come into their own in the business world. Image from: Morgan E. Cauthers-Knox. http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/m/o/morganc/morganc.html
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What Kind Of Goddess Are You?




You are Athena, goddess of wisdom, knowledge and war. You have a spirit to fight, but you have the wisdom to choose your battles well.
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Which Charmed One Are You?










How much do yo know about the Golden Girls?




You are Golden!!! You have the wit of Sophia, the intelligence of Dorothy, the bedroom skills of Blanche, and you know as much about St. Olaf as Rose. Congrats on your Golden Girls smarts and go eat some cheesecake with all the trimmings! Just remember to bring some butter for the door!
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More shiny things from MySpace







Today

Today's post is a collection of quotes that best expresses my thoughts on today, August 16th.


"I am leaving this legacy to all of you to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfilment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of freedom and peace."
-Rosa Parks, 1988

"There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not here any more." -The Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge (1970)
"Any religion or philosophy which is based on the fear of being tortured for eternity because the Almighty God's displeasure or some other godling's displeasure is psychologically diseased. This is theological extortion: a celestial protection racket. "
--Danaan Press

"Many of the things I accomplished in life are because I was dead set on proving somebody wrong."
-Lee Grant, actress

"Having leveled my palace, don't erect a hovel and complacently admire your own charity in giving me that for a home."
- Emily Bronte, author and poet

"If you're frightened of making a mistake, you won't make a thing."
-John Taylor, Director of Design, GM's APEx

"When we started skating, we had no role models in Poland to follow,
we just had a wish."
-- Zagorska and Siudek, 1999 World Bronze medalist-figure skating pair
from Poland

"I had forgotten that men could not see unicorns. Just because they
cannot see them does not mean they do not exist."
- The Unicorn (The Last Unicorn)

"A man is as happy as he makes up his mind to be."
- Abraham Lincoln

"I'm not going there to die. I just need to know if I was ever really alive."
- Spike (Cowboy Bebop)

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Sites I stumble on

Actor Edward Norton has several fansites but this is the first time that I have seen one that ends in 'org.'

http://www.edward-norton.org/

Friday, August 11, 2006

I want...

I want many things.

I want world peace. I want a public transit system that works.

Sadly I want Robin Scorpio and Jason Morgan to get back together again.

The more I read Robin's blog, the more I want to swoop in an rewrite the storyline.

I know that in this time of crisis, the love life of two fictional characters don't amount to a hill of beans but we all have our wishes and this is one of mine.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

The World has gone insane

  • As I mentioned to my boss this morning, I don't know what is worse-the fact that there were terrorists in Great Britain that were plotting to blow up planes bound for the US or that they were again going to use Logan Airport in Boston again for this sort of this. As I pointed out, admittedly, most transatlantic flights stop over or end in Boston. However, I also know from personal experience that there are things that you can get through certain carriers (a certain Blue one comes to mind) that other airports will nail you on.
  • I heard yesterday that a kidnapper on trial got his case thrown out because his lawyer showed up three sheets to the wind (drunk). They actually showed the baliff giving him a breathlyzer test. Lawyer found incompetent, kidnapper's case thrown out until new lawyer is found.
  • Floyd Landis should consider taking up knitting. I still want to believe him-not because his family is Mennonite and he looks wholesome and such. I do believe that the organizers of the Tour De France do have it in for the Americans and that they are getting him because they could not get Lance Armstrong.
  • Yesterday I was reading a book to a child that showed how chidren in different countries play. I saw a picture of children dancing in Lebanon. What I did not say out loud is that said children are probably dead now thanks to the bombing.

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

McChronicles: Snack Wrap: Awesome!

You heard it here. Now you can read it here:

McChronicles: Snack Wrap: Awesome!

Another Blogthings...

Your Birthdate: January 19

You are resilient, and no doubt your resilience has already been tested.
You've had some difficult experiences in your life, but you are wise from them.
Having had to grow up quickly, you tend to discount the advice of others.
You tend to be a loner, having learned that the only person you can depend on is yourself.

Your strength: Well developed stability and confidence

Your weakness: Suspicion of others

Your power color: Eggplant

Your power symbol: Spade

Your power month: October

An appeal found on MySpace

I admire the people who simply ask for what they want or need.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Please help The Artists Of The Gossamer Court Help Others

Please Forward this on to any groups or blogs that might help us with this important need.


As it stands now there are over a dozen groups of seekers affiliated with the Gossamer Court, preparing to travel to the desert in Nevada, for Burning Man. This is my family and they are the ones who inspire all the work I do, that many people seem to enjoy so much.

This marks the beginning of a spiritual mission for me, as I will be traveling on to the Northwest after Burning Man, answering a request from two very dear souls, Justin and Amy, who are about to have a baby in October.

Through mishap they lost so much in the material sense. They have each other, a wonderful giving and healing spirit, as well as a desire to help their tribe. My friend Rob, the victim of a hate crime a few months ago in Reno is helping by simply putting me up for a few days to rest before Burning Man, because my health is not the best, providing a meeting point for us to continue of to Burning Man.

As for my trip to Washington state, there seems to have been a negative energy blanketing Seattle that I am going to attempt to bring some light into. Ever since Justin and Amy wrote me about the problems in that area, I have known in my heart that this is a test of my ability as a shaman. Thye had no one else to trun to and I am humbled that they asked me. How could I say no. Please pray for us.

For travel such as the Seattle goodwill trip, I only request food and lodging during my visit. My ticket is paid by me. I do evrything I can before asking anything of anyone else.

When it comes to the artists who give so much of themselves to the purpose of The Gossamer Court, healing through art many of them are not in a position to live as I do, with few desires, need for material things. My responsibilities are of a very different nature. Many of our affiliates have jobs and struggle just to keep a roof over their heads.

This is where my concern rests.

I do occasionally ask for money, items that might be useful, especially for 7 days in the desert and this one of those times.

Our reserve fund for The Gossamer Court would be totally empty were it not for my mother making a small donation. We have had to discontinue some of our outreach work because of the economy and my lessening ability to pay out of pocket for such mundane things, as gas money for musicians traveling to put on an event for disenfranchised youth.

When embarking on a journey, travelers sometimes encounter hardship and lets face it, very few in our number would ever be mistaken for young Republicans, so in addition to possible vehicle trouble and medical issues, we tend to encounter local authorities checking inspection stickers and ID. etc. The artists of The Gossamer Court and all others who use their work to heal are worthy of consideration.

This promises to be a very productive journey and our affiliates, in being able to join together, in the desert, will find new ways of furthering our sacred purpose of healing through art.

Some people in thee past have sent us art supplies, blankets, clothes, camping gear, beads (that jewelry made paid for things) and some cash, the latter being important, because we do not really want that phone call on the road, from someone who cant pay $75.00 or so, for a car part that could keep them from making it.

There are a few in our number who are only a few dollars short of being able to make the trip. One of our fire safety people might not be able to make it because of money.

Many of us have given all that we can, and continue to do so, with an open heart, as joy we bring to others.

I have always been reluctant to have fundraisers and to keep from doing constant requests for donations, as the idea of selling spiritual gifts like soap is repugnant to me and these types that keep pressuring others who can not afford to, to give, promising a condo in the heavens and a ringside seat at the Second Coming make me ill.

THIS IS ABOUT TAKING A LITTLE AND TURNING INTO A LOT OF GOOD ART, ENERGY AND MAGICK TO HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.

What I can promise is that anything sent to us will go to the artists and emergent needs that may arise.

Please help us to help others.

I implore you to help us in any way that you can. A few dollars or whatever you can part with, in an envelope would be most welcome. So are your prayers and good wishes.

Many Blessings To You All.

Namaste,
Yust The Faery King
http://www.myspace.com/yust_the_faery_king
http://www.myspace.com/thegossamerproject
thefaeryki.comng@yahoo

The paypal account is listed under thefaeryking@yahoo.com and the mailing address is:
Yust Lundberg
The Faery King
199 Massachusetts Avenue ..214
Boston, MA 02115
617 448 6340

James Van Allen is dead

To file under the heading of "I can't stand it."

Well, he had along life.

The Wikipedia entry
.

Stuff I like ot play with

If you hang out in MySpace long enough, you find out about all sorts of graphics, dollies and tags.

From Sparkle Tags:

Hosted by SparkleTags.com
Hosted by Sparkle Tags


Hosted by SparkleTags.com
Hosted by Sparkle Tags

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

August edition of...Sites I visit


  • The Church of the Customer (a title that a former coworker found to be a bit much) profiles Moleskine, a product that I have bought it the past year, and how wee bit of word of mouth and a devoted fan base turned it around.

Ah, Robin

I make no real secret that I like to watch the soaps. One that I kinda grew up with is General Hospital, which has swung back to being a bit more about a hospital than it has in years past. There was actually a time that I said that ER was more like what General Hospital was supposed to be with its 'mountain of misfortune' to be suffered be the Corday-Greens and the endless rounds of the triangles of Carter-Abby-Luka. I actually referred to General Hospital as 'the Sopranos present: General Hospital' because of their unrelenting focus on the mob storylines.

One character that I grew up with a bit was Robin Scorpio. Her essential biography is that she is the daughter of two secret agents-the British Anna Devane and the Aussie Robert Scorpio. She is currently one of the doctors at General Hospital and she had HIV. Robin is a sweet kid whose weathered her parents' James Bondesque lifestyle and their deaths (though now both are back alive). She tries to help her friends and has been known to show kindness to her enemies, which of course are very few.

She contracted HIV through her first real boyfriend Stone. The storyline gave actress Kimberley McCullough another Daytime Emmy win. After Stone's death and through some interesting plotting, Robin becomes involved with Jason Morgan, who used to be "the good son" Jason Quartermaine but for a severe head injury caused by his disaster of an older hald brother AJ. Robin and Jason resurrect each other in the relationship and some of the best moments of that subpar period of GH come from their storyline (the others come from Robin's future nemesis, Carly Roberts).

Robin loses Jason first to the gangster life he leads with Sonny and then next to the morass of a situation surrounding baby Michael where only in the soap world can a person become a villain because they did the right thing and told the baby daddy that he is the baby daddy instead of lying about it and covering it up. Robin went to Paris after being rejected by Jason.

We heard of her in passing over the years on GH, usually around World AIDS Day. Tons of fan fiction apparently sprung up as well.

The actress who portrayed her appeared in some good roles on some good tv shows. I thought she was the best thing about the "Party of Five" episode, where she interviewed Julia for the school newspaper. Her character was a bit off but wiser than the angst-filled Julia ever could be.


She did show up on GH briefly from time to time, most notably when venerable old Lila Quartermaine died. She and Jason seemed okay with each other. This particular appearance foreshadowed Robin's return to GH, which pleased me of course but which meant that some loose ends would need to be resolved for a Jason-Robin reunion.

Since Robin's departure, Jason:
-had been almost completely involved with Carly, who ended up marrying Sonny Corinthos-his saviour, boss and best friend
-had been involved with Elizabeth Webber, who was available at the time
-had been married to Courtney, Sonny's half-sister by their dad Mike and the catalyst of one of the worst conflicts Sonny and Jason would have up to that time
-had been married to Brenda, Robin's best friend (for appearance's sake)
-had been involved with and engaged to Sam

I accepted the fact that Robin's return meant that Sam would still be in the picture-for the moment. I operated under the delusion that Sam would meet some unfortunate accident being that she is dangerprone and after a suitable morning period, Jason would resume life with Robin. When the GH storyline about the massive trainwreck emerged, and the hype mentioned some fatalities, I prepared to mourn Sam. I did not hate her as a character. She has some really stupid moments but she grew on you and for actress Kelly Monaco, it was definitely a better character than that Livia-whatever character she played on the now defunct "Port Charles."

Unfortunately, Sam didn't bite the big one and the storyline progressed towards a marriage between Jason and Sam, with Robin cheerfully playing the best friend and trying to get Jason the medical attenion he needed at the time.

I lost all hope until an fatal virus storyline hit and again fatalities were promised and again I thought, "Well, it was nice knowing you, Sam. Of course suitable mourning period-reunion of Robin and Jason."

Again, I was wrong. Sam's brother died, setting off a quest for her and Jason to find Sam's birth family. Robin was being pushed towards the Drake family-especially Dr. Patrick Drake the son. And to make everything entirely silly Robin's father comes back from the dead.

Well since then Robin has been engaging in typical soap opera relationship dynamics with one Dr. Patrick Drake, who I honestly can't stand. I totally hate it when soaps create handsome characters like this, throw a perfectly normal character at it and while the normal character tries to 'redeem' the other character, both engage in some pretty childish behaviour. Since her return, Robin has engaged in some really dumb behaviour. She essentially has stooped to Carly's behaviour on some occasions. At times reading the character's blog has been depressing-not just because the more I read, the more I realize that GH will do everything they can not to put Jason and Robin back together. It has been depressing because I read about a character that at times has put up with bad behaviour, ambiguity and tit for tatting.

So now as of this writing:
Sam and Jason have split (for now with the option of reunion)-good.
Jason has slept with Elizabeth Webber Spencer-less good.
Patrick might have contracted HIV and this is the clever tactic that GH has used to put he and Robin together. (Yeah, a pos couple-how cool is that...yeah I'm being sarcastic-but you know that a writer had that deep thought.)


All in all though, I still am fond of Robin. I hope that her lot improves. I hope that her character's life will involve more than HIV storylines and stupid high school love triangles.
I also hope that it will involve Jason again.


Saturday, August 5, 2006

Drive-By post

Nothing to say much today. I am simultaneously trying to make a list, answer the telephone and blog. I can't believe that I am listening to "Ol' Dan Tucker." I am told this is from the Bruce Springsteen concert which was a tribute to Pete Seeger.

Now they are playing "If I Had a Hammer..."

Gotta love 89.7 FM in Boston.

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Have you ever...

Have you ever gone so far down a path only to discover that it was the wrong path and now you either have no idea how to get on the right path or that it's killing you that you wasted time and have to redirect?

I am experiencing this at this moment.

I know that I am not the only person, who experiences such a malaise of feeling. I was immediately reminded of John Adams and his period as an American representative in Europe during the Revolutionary War. He came out of it, this malaise. He secured a major loan from the Dutch and despite the French ministers and the members of the Continental Congress who defamed him and curtailed his ministerial duties in regards to France, he signed the Treaty of Paris and won the points that were important.

I recognize that I have made a few wrong choices and that no amount of adaptation on my part will change the fact that my current job and life are not a good fit for me. So I must put my hand to the plow and plow my row until I find the place where I belong.

It is frustrating because I would like to spend my energy on other things. However, I made the choice that I made and I must own up to my impulsiveness.

And so concludes our "vague life lesson" for today.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

More Blogthings...




Your Band Name is:



The Flying Housewives


August's Random Observations

(Another new feature I introduce!)

-Castro
I noticed that lots of Cuban exiles in the Miami community celebrated Castro's temporary transference of power as if they were liberated. Does that mean should Castro die or abdicate, they will all be going home?

-An Inconvenient Truth
With heat like this, global warming continues to become more inconvenient as time goes on.

-Kronkite
As Greg Kiln said, "they don't write like that any more."

Review: The Tale of the Dark Crystal

The Tale of the Dark Crystal by Donna Bass My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews