Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Many, if not most of you, have probably never heard of this television show.  It debuted in 2006, the same year that the very popular 30 Rock began it's run.  Both shows were about a late night comedy sketch show, however, the perspectives were entirely different.  After 22 episodes, Studio 60 was summarily cancelled.  So, why am I writing about it now?  That's simple - I LOVE IT.  Although I have attempted to watch 30 Rock on a couple of occasions, I find it unbearable.  I find the characters annoying, offensive, self-centered and, frankly, not terribly intelligent. 

When Studio 60 was announced, there was no question that I would watch it.  It was scripted by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme.  Both of them are geniuses in their fields. 

I have three screenwriters whom I positively adore, in no particular order:  Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon and Lawrence Kasdan.  All three have scripted my favorite television series and/or several of my favorite movies.  All three of these men are funny, witty and take me on an emotional roller coaster ride.  Their characters, both heroes and villains, are fully human and a joy to watch.

Studio 60 was Sorkin's third television series.  His first, Sports Night, was delightful.  It was critically acclaimed, but suffered from low ratings.  ABC gave it a chance and it lasted 3 seasons.  Before Sports Night was cancelled, Aaron had already started his masterpiece, The West Wing.  The two main stars of Studio 60, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford, met and worked together on The West Wing.  Their natural camaraderie was evident on screen.

Studio 60 is semi-autobiographical, with Matt Perry playing a Sorkin like character and Bradley Whitford playing a Tommy Schlamme like character.  Sarah Paulson's role is based upon Kristin Chenoweth.

A couple of years ago, I watched the series again online.  It was as fresh as it had been when it debuted.  I recently borrowed the DVD set from a friend and watched the first 8 episodes in the past 24 hours.  It is simply a travesty that this show wasn't renewed - the only show by Aaron Sorkin that didn't get green lighted for a second season.   If you have Netflix, subscribe to Hulu or can possibly get the DVDs from your local library - DO IT!  As with all of Aaron's work, the scripts are filled with fast paced, smart, funny dialog and great story lines.  The actors are at their best.  In addition to Matt Perry, Brad Whitford and Sarah Paulson, the cast includes Amanda Peete, Steven Weber, D. L. Hughley, Nate Corddry (he is wonderful and adorable), Timothy Busfield and Simon Helberg (of Big Bang Theory and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog fame).  Helberg does a killer imitation of Nicholas Cage and Sarah Paulson's Holly Hunter is a laugh riot. 

Instead of listing the works of Sorkin, Whedon and Kasdan, check them out on IMDB.  I hope you will watch the series.  It's really, really worth it.

AARON SORKIN

JOSS WHEDON

LAWRENCE KASDAN

How I Spent My 4 Day Weekend

Well, I had high hopes for this 4 day weekend.  Starting next Saturday, my staff and I will be working 6 days a week.  Trust me, I'm getting way too old for this.  When I get home at night now I rarely have the energy to feed all of the cats (and the 1 remaining dog) and scoop any litter boxes.  Dinner for me?  All too often it's cereal, unless I had cooked on the weekend and have leftovers.  I rarely stop to pick up something to eat on the way home. It's just too darn expensive to eat out.  Frozen dinners mostly end up tasting like the cardboard container in which they are packaged.  Many nights I just skip dinner, after having also skipped lunch.  Yeah, I know.  No lectures, please.

So, I did get my nearly 2 weeks worth of dirty dishes washed.  I tore up my dishwasher at the end of 2010 and haven't been able to afford to replace it.  Can we say VET BILLS????  I just finished washing and bleaching out 5 litter boxes that have been sitting outside for over a year.

I did manage to run my payday errands yesterday.  Yes, on Black Friday.  I got two prescriptions filled at Target, well after the BF mad house.  Next I went to PetSmart for their BF specials.  Friskies canned food, 39 cents a can.  I bought 8 cases and I saved at least $1.50 per case.  Those should last me a month.  I bought 8 of the 35 pound scooping Tidy Cat litter.  On sale for $8.99 with a $5.00 coupon on each purchase.  So, buckets 2-8 were only $4,25, including tax, each.   WHOO - HOO.  Those might last about 2 months.  I had almost gone through my Buy 1, Get 1 free 14 pound each containers of Tidy Cat.  Great timing.  I had bought a total of 24 of those.  At $7.79 for two, that was a super deal at the time.

Then off to the grocery store where I picked up fixings for homemade potato soup and vegetarian chili.  With both I should have something to eat for dinner for about 2 weeks.  Of course, I'm going to get tired of each before that time is up.  Oh, well.

Intersperse all of this with Laundry.  At my house I'm always doing laundry, mostly because of the cats  Between barfing on the bed and having to wash the bedspread, there are towels, more towels and even more towels.  Years ago I started putting towels under the litter boxes.  Someone, invariably, hangs over the edge.  It's quicker and easier to soak the towels in the washer in vinegar water (bought 4 gallons at the grocery store yesterday) and then wash the towels than to constantly mop the floor or try to peel wet newspaper off the floor.

I had planned to clean and organize my kitchen on Thursday.  That didn't happen, needless to say.  Hopefully I can get started on that tonight and finish up tomorrow.  I did a little bit, here and there since Thursday, but not that anyone but me would notice.  I still need to vacuum the living room carpet.  I am about to get started on scooping at least 4 litter boxes, possibly 6 before the night is over.  My personal batteries tend to run down around 8PM and little gets done on most nights.

I did get the bills paid and out of the way.  Tomorrow, I may be taking my 92 year old neighbor to the grocery store.  And, of course the cooking marathon.  Then, goody, more dishes to wash.  Of course, I have about 20 cat bowls and a dog dish to wash daily.  Oh, I have to finally clean out the fridge, something I've been meaning to do for the past 7 or 8 weekends.  And Monday morning before I leave for work, I'll have to drag a full week's worth of garbage to the street - bags & bags of dirty cat litter in 7 quite heavy garbage cans.  There was no garbage or recycling pick up on Thanksgiving Day.

My world - it's a disaster.  Is it Christmas yet?  Santa, all I want is the energy to clean this place up, the organizing gene and the return of the 2 day weekend.  And, if you have a spare dishwasher and a person to install it, that would be wonderful. 

Thanksgiving - A Celebration of What?

Over the years my feelings about Thanksgiving have changed dramatically.  As a child, I looked forward to the new coloring pages of pumpkins, turkeys and Pilgrims.  There were crafts and plays.  That first stage was - FUN.

As an adolescent I looked forward to time off from school and The Dinner.  My mother was a wonderful cook and she made the best dressing ever.  When my father died in early 1965, holidays in general became something different.  Not only was his absence discomforting, but it became a time to reexamine what holidays actually meant.  At the same time, holidays were becoming more and more about consumerism, buying new and better decorations and Family.  Without dad, family wasn't the same for me.  The word was like a slap in the face.  It made me feel like I didn't "belong."  As the years progressed I began to feel more and more like someone on the outside. 

Aging does give one perspective.  My idea of family changed and designated days to celebrate some created occasion has become an artificial construct for me.  These special days had subtle messages for many people.  It wasn't just those who didn't have a conventional or traditional family who were marginalized, but those of differing religions, other than American origins, those who couldn't afford the crass consumerism flooding the airwaves.  The myths of a harmonious 1st Thanksgiving, the forcing of some sort of ideal family and/or lifestyle, the underlying guilting of those who didn't fit that ideal.  Square pegs unwelcome in the Norman Rockwell America.

The final straw and/or the final epiphany happened when I chose to become vegetarian.  My eyes had been opened to the overwhelming abuse and cruelty inflicted upon non-human animals and it was unconscionable.  Their pain became my pain, my sadness.  The sight of a golden brown dead turkey as the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table was/is repellent.  Happy Turkey Day became the new expression for this holiday.  Happy Turkey?  Excuse me, but I know those turkeys would be much happier if they were still alive.  The massacre of millions of turkeys each year for Tradition is an obscenity  The truth of how massive numbers of turkeys are bred and raised to meet the ever increasing Need, created by marketing executives, is horrid to see and even worse for those turkeys to endure.  No longer are turkeys the multicolored birds of my youth.  Now turkeys are white.  They are bred to have oversized breasts, so large that it is often difficult for them to keep from toppling over.  Why is this done?  Because the white flesh of the turkeys' breasts are the favored part of this bird.  They are "engineered" to fit the tastes of their predators.

Add to the abuse and cruelty toward these marvelous creatures the abuse and cruelty the European invaders and then the "Americans" visited upon the First Peoples, the REAL Americans.  The violence of this holiday, either hidden or ignored by most is the reality of this holiday/holy day to me.  For the rest of America apparently ignorance is bliss.  Unfortunately once faced with the truth, I can't wipe it from my memory or ignore it.  I will enjoy the day, and will spend it with my family - 4-legged and furry. 

Wishing each of you and all of us -

PEACE ON EARTH & GOODWILL TOWARD 

ALL LIVING THINGS

To see a video inside Butterball, the largest purveyor of dead turkeys, visit this link:

  http://www.butterballabuse.com/

And, if you're interested, here are a couple of links about the first Thanksgiving and the National Day of Mourning, observed on Thanksgiving Day since 1970.

http://www.uaine.org/ and

http://www.uaine.org/wmsuta.htm

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I think this video speaks for itself.  If you haven't already voted, watch this first.

Please Vote for Manatees!

Please Vote for Manatees!

Save the Manatee Club is a non-profit located in Central Florida.  The organization was founded 31 years ago for the purpose of saving manatees from extinction.  Please click on the link above to vote for Save the Manatee Club and help us win a grant in the Chase Giving Campaign.  The grants range from $10,000 to $250,000.  The more votes we get, the higher the grant awarded.  We need your vote.  It only takes a few minutes of your time and will make a big difference for manatees. 

Manatees are marine mammals found in Florida's waterways, in Central and South American waterways and off the coast of West Africa.  They even have a "relative", the dugong, in Australia's waters.  Manatees are vegetarians, eating seagrasses and other aquatic plants.  They have no natural predators.  Most of their injuries and deaths are human related, like strikes from speeding boats and other watercraft, entanglement in crab traps and discarded monofilament fishing lines.  Save the Manatee Club needs YOUR help to protect these wonderful animals. 

Please share this with your friends, family on Facebook, other social networks and with others you know.

Voting ends on September 19th - so time is short.

THANKS!

Mitt Romney's World Vision

On the evening of September 11, 2012 protests occurred at the American embassies in both Egypt and Libya.  By the end of the evening four Americans had been killed at the embassy in Libya, one of whom was J. Christopher Stevens, America’s ambassador to Libya.  This tragedy, along with fears that further protests and/or attacks would breakout at other American embassies around the world.  Both Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, and our president, Barack Obama, spoke to Americans to ease their concerns and did their jobs to protect other foreign service members at many of our embassies.  Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president, stepped up to the microphone to offer his point of view on these tragic events.  The main story soon became about Mr. Romney and not about the four Americans who had lost their lives and our other foreign service members who could, potentially, be in danger as well.

Romney leaving press event September 12, 2012

Below is the link to the full transcript of Mr. Romney’s presentation to the media yesterday, which occurred approximately 30 minutes before our president, the Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama addressed our nation.  I have posted the full transcript of Mr. Romney’s speech below, with my comments and interpretations of what he had to say.  My comments are italicized.  I believe that Mr. Romney’s action in this instance was presumptuous, at the very least, and, at its worst, an undermining of  the very core of our nation and disrespectful of those Americans who lost their lives.  His was a divisive speech, which is something that Mr. Romney continuously accuses President Obama of doing.  

Transcript of Romney's press event 




ROMNEY: Good morning. Americans woke up this morning with - with tragic news and felt heavy hearts as they considered that individuals who have served in our diplomatic corps were brutally murdered across the world.

This attack on American individuals and embassies is outrageous, it's disgusting, it - it breaks the hearts of all of us who think of these people who have served during their lives the cause of freedom and justice and honor.

We - we mourn their loss and join together in prayer that the spirit of the Almighty might comfort the families of those who have been so brutally slain.

Four diplomats lost their life, including the U.S. ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, in the attack on our embassy at Benghazi, Libya. And of course with these words I extend my condolences to the grieving loved ones who have left behind, as a result of these who have lost their lives in the service of our nation.

And I know that the people across America are grateful for their service. And we mourn their sacrifice.

Me:  This was a prepared speech, put together by Mr. Romney’s team of speech writers.  The grammar is horrendous.  That would be understandable he had been speaking extemporaneously, but it wasn’t.  For a speech of this importance this illustrates a lack of an attention to detail and lack of concern for the gravity of this tragedy. Mr. Romney was speaking to people around the world, not just the press corps assembled in Jacksonville, Florida.

ROMNEY: America will not tolerate attacks against our citizens and against our embassies. We'll defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion.

Me:  I cannot see this opening as anything but a threat followed by a completely ridiculous statement.  Tolerate is defined as to allow to be or to be done without prohibition, hindrance, or contradiction.  The implication here is that our president was simply ignoring these attacks and failing to respond in any way.  By saying “We’ll defend” it appears that Mr. Romney is threatening military action, something he has no power to do.  It also speaks to his ease in inciting further attacks around the world.  It brings to mind our former president, George W. Bush’s “bring it on” statement when sending our military off to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  A nation’s leader should not consider sending that nation’s men and women into harm’s way capriciously.  Personally, I am not looking for a leader with an itchy trigger finger.  

For the rest of the sentence “defend also our constitutional rights of speech and assembly and religion”, that simply makes no sense to me.  Yes, our Constitution guarantees those rights to Americans IN AMERICA!  The attacks Mr. Romney was talking about occurred on foreign soil and the only right under attack was a right to live.  Apparently neither Mr. Romney nor his speech writing staff is aware that once Americans leave America, our Constitution is no longer in effect in a foreign country.  

ROMNEY: We have confidence in our cause in America. We respect our Constitution. We stand for the principles our Constitution protects. We encourage other nations to understand and respect the principles of our Constitution, because we recognize that these principles are the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world.

Me:  And, here we go again.  What does this even have to do with the tragic events that occurred in Libya?  Is he saying that ALL other countries should enact the American Constitution as the law of their land?  Unless all countries of the world adopt our Constitution and its principles, how can those principles be “the ultimate source of freedom for individuals around the world”?  Is Mr. Romney’s ultimate goal to take over the world and rule over The United Nations of the American World?  All hail the conquering hero?  Or maybe someone with outsized delusions of worldwide power?  

ROMNEY: I also believe the administration was wrong to stand by a statement sympathizing with those who had breached our embassy in Egypt, instead of condemning their actions. It's never too early for the United States government to condemn attacks on Americans and to defend our values.

Me:  At the time the American embassy in Egypt released the statement to which Mr. Romney is referring there had been no attacks.  The embassy press person was trying to prevent attacks.  Keep in mind that the lives of the people in the embassy were the lives which were on the line.  They were attempting to deescalate the situation.  

ROMNEY: The White House distanced itself last night from the statement, saying it wasn't cleared by Washington. That reflects the mixed signals they're sending to the world.

Me:  The White House did not issue or approve the statement.  Personally, when faced with an angry mob of protesters, I would take action too – doing my best to calm down the situation.  If Mr. Romney had been in that embassy, I wonder just what his reaction would have been?  He isn’t notoriously fast on his feet.  I doubt his message would have been coherent.  It’s evident that even given time and the assistance of professional speech writers, coherence isn’t his strong suit, based upon this speech I’m commenting on.

ROMNEY: The attacks in Libya and Egypt underscore that the world remains a dangerous place and that American leadership is still sorely needed. In the face of this violence, American cannot shrink from the responsibility to lead. American leadership is necessary to ensure that events in the region don't spin out of control. We cannot hesitate to use our influence in the region to support those who share our values and our interests.

Me:  Yes, the world is a dangerous place, not only in Egypt and Libya, but right here at home.  Women and children are raped and/or murdered daily.  Men with guns walk into movie theaters and churches and kill people.  Leadership does not prevent a person or people from going out of control.  Mr. Romney’s assessment is simply naïve.  Secondly, it’s apparent that Mr. Romney sees that it is America’s responsibility to LEAD THE WORLD.  Call me crazy, but I think that the leaders of each nation in the world see it as their own responsibility to lead their country.  Individual national sovereignty – is that a foreign concept to you, Mr. Romney.

ROMNEY: Over the last several years, we've stood witness to an Arab spring that presents an opportunity for a more peaceful and prosperous, but also poses the potential for peril if the forces of extremism and violence are allowed to control the course of events. We must strive to ensure that the Arab spring does not become an Arab winter. With that, I'm happy to take any questions you may have.

Me:  And so it ends.  All hail the Patriarch.  Yes, WE have stood witness to an Arab Spring.  The salient words here – STOOD WITNESS.  We watched while tens of thousands of people put their lives on the line, millions fled their countries for safety or faced off against well-armed military forces to fight for a country in which they could have a voice, a choice of how they would be governed.  Government, after all, is people and exists for its people.  Does any stable government in the world want countries ruled by extremists?  I don’t think so.  Does ANY country have the RIGHT to control how the people of another country CHOOSE their leaders or that nation’s destiny?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Colonialism has never worked.  It has caused more problems, far reaching problems with which we are now dealing (the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and African nations just to name a few).  America does not have the right to set up nor overthrow leaders of sovereign nations.  Should Mr. Romney become America’s next president I fear, not only for Americans, but for the people of the world.  America, if anything, should LEAD BY EXAMPLE, NOT BY FORCE!  T.H. White and King Arthur were correct – MIGHT DOES NOT MAKE RIGHT.

The Real Meaning of Labor Day

No, it's not about picnics or barbecue.  It is about people who actually LABOR to make a living - people who work and make products or sell products.  It's not about people who invest their Wall Street "winnings" to reap more winnings and then pay a pittance on their capital gains.  Those of us who actually work for a paycheck are the only ones who pay our full taxes, don't have offshore accounts or holdings in non-existent companies or blind trusts.

I am going to refer you to two links that are worth reading.  They are tributes to the PEOPLE of America who know what it is to WORK for a living.  The people who have worked to improve working conditions, wages and benefits for every worker, whether or not those workers are unionized.

Workers' Rights are Human Rights

Skydancing - Labor Day: Celebrate the 99%

Trust me, both links are worth your time.