The P.A. BBQ Incident

“You are a total fucking cunt.”


I don’t use that word often. Cunt, that is. I have mastered the use of fuck and it’s forms.. It isn’t that I find cunt to be offensive, it’s that I figure it’s one of the ‘nasty’ words in our language that still has some power – mostly because there are a significant number of people who DO find it offensive. Using it only on occasion reserves it’s power.

Friday was blisteringly hot. Our office gets sun for about 85% of the day, and is really hard to get a draft through. By evening on hot days it gets pretty unbearable. Friday evening I had a pair of friends who were hosting a barbecue.

It’s approaching the level of mantra right now that I have no social-life. That isn’t entirely true. I do get to points where I simply can’t work any longer – all work and no play. Most days see at least 18 hours of work. There are also occasional things that would be more damaging to not do than to do – in those cases I usually just make a token appearance. But I rarely commit to anything these days. This BBQ was one of those things. But as the afternoon wore on, the office got stupidly hot and sapped my will to keep working, so I ran to the store and bought some salmon and veggies and wrapped it all up in foil and headed for the barbecue for a few hours until the office cooled and I was socially refreshed.

For the most part it was a good time. Except for the incident. But before the incident and after it, all was well.

So, I’m hanging out, having the first segment of ‘good time’ when across the yard I meet eyes with a woman I once worked on a show with. The show itself had been an artistic success, but a bit of a soul-crushing sap upon me at the time. It seriously damaged a friendship that has yet to truly repair; and it was about as much fun as a crocodile blow-job to have to share the stage with the guy who my ex-fiancee was fucking. (At least our characters were supposed to hate each other, so that part was easy.)

Back to this woman - - she was one of the people involved with the show who I really enjoyed working with… although we didn’t really work that much together. I thought she was cool. Feel free to add sarcastic emphasis to ‘thought.’ “Thought…”

The last time I saw her was a few months back at a screening which included my first short film “Godot.” (I am going to go on record as saying that “Godot” is not for everyone. Although the it has been picked up for use in the curriculum of the Atheism program at Cornell University in New York, so it has some appeal – even if primarily philosophical. (As a parenthetical to my parenthetical I should add that I haven’t got a clue how this particular film is relevant to a degree in Atheism.))

Across the yard she says “So, what are you working on these days, Kennedy?”

There is of course only one answer to this question these days. In fact just about any small talk question leads to the same topic – it’s that ubiquitous for me these days.

“What are you doing these days?” = “Working on a movie.”
“How are you doing?” = “Good, but I do practically nothing but work on my movie.”
“What’s new?” = “My movie.”
“How’s that movie going?” = “Great. I’m working on a movie… oh, you know that.”
“How’s your love life?” = “I love my movie. No one else. It’s very intimate and she understands me better than any person ever has.”
“Have you seen [Insert blockbuster]?” = “No. I only have eyes for my movie.”
“What do you say to dinner?” = “Can you drop it off at the office? I’m up to my armpits in this movie.”
“Want to do something tonight?” = “Sure. I think it will be fun if you come over to the office and help do a location schedule for my movie.”
“Feel like some NSA hip-smacking?” = “So long as I can do script revisions on my movie while you do the work.”

You get the idea.

So, we chat about what’s going on with the movie for a bit.

What it’s about, where we’re shooting, who is directing. How ambitious the project is for an indie, but that we’ve been lucky with the talent support and the outrageous media coverage – blah dee blah.

Although it’s not immediately perceptible, things start to go bad from the moment she announces “I’m working at Anagram.”

“Hey, that’s cool.”
“I’m an office P.A.”
“Great!”

I meant it. I really did.

A brief disclaimer: Office P.A.s of the world, if you continue reading you are going to read a number of apparently belittling comments about your job. Do not take this personally – unless you are the woman of whom I am speaking. (If by any chance you are the woman I am speaking of, you know who you are – or at least you damned well should by the end of this. Heck if you haven’t figured it out by now, you’re a total mental midget… which, to your credit, I am fairly confident you are not. Cunt, yes. Mental midget, no.) Office P.A.s in general are important people. Our company has no Office P.A.s – we’re too small to have Office P.A.s in pre-production. But damn do I wish we did. We’d be SO much more productive if we had even one Office P.A. I love Office P.A.s. I don’t love THIS Office P.A.

We talk about how Anagram’s latest film, Fido just got named as the opening film for the TIFF. I think that this is awesome. Fido was filmed in Kelowna. We are shooting in Kelowna. The TIFF will wrap up just as we start shooting. It doesn’t actually amount to much, but it’s kind of cool. She talks about how she’s spent the entire week trying to book additional hotel rooms in Toronto for the festival, but that the whole city is booked. This is a pretty good example of the expectations of Office P.A.s it’s a crappy fucking job… though I expect it beats Assistant Crack-whore. Having done neither job I can’t really speak directly to either.

Conversation drifts back around to the film –
She asks how we’re funded. I tell her that it’s entirely private investment, and that we’ve been really fortunate to have so much donated to us in gift in kind. I talk about the post-audio donation – though I neglect to mention that it’s not like “Joe is doing it in his basement” and that technicians at one of the biggest sound production houses in the city have donated their time… Geminii Winning sound technicians. I willfully avoid boasting about that. (Not now. Then) I comment on how choosing to make a film about a small town and it’s local legends and actually shooting said film in said town has proven to be an accidental masterstroke; how the City (not town, actually) of Kelowna has been SO supportive. I mention that our picture boat has been donated…

“Why do first-timers always think they can do tough stuff like shoot on a boat?”
“……………Excuse me?”
“Why would you do something like that? It’s just stupid.”
“Okay… Umm… You know, we’re not exactly ‘first-timers.’ We’ve got an experienced and well recommended Producer who believes in the project, our DP is a total pro. We’ve all been on sets before, large and small. We are well aware that shooting on a boat is an issue in it’s own right. Yeah, Spielberg took 155 days to shoot Jaws. We don’t have a mechanical shark – or Ogopogo for that matter. Our boat is also our camera platform for all but establishing shots, so we’re not as worried about drift of the boat(s) when we set up the shots. And, frankly, we’re not making a blockbuster, we’ll live with a bit of dis-continuity in the placement of the sun if we have to. As for the inevitable audio issues of shooting on a boat that is motoring… our post-team knows that we’re going to be ADRing those scenes. We KNOW that it’s an issue. We’ve already done a LOT of work towards thinking ahead of those issues. We wouldn’t be making a film of this ilk if we didn’t feel confident of out ability to make it.”
“You haven’t made it yet.”

At this point the conversation had to end. Simple as that. I could not have this conversation any longer. And to be honest I hadn’t even really realized yet that I was pissed off. But I’ll come back to this after the next two parts of the incident.

Now, to be honest I had no idea that she had any experience in film. I definitely know that she has no experience in diplomacy. But I continued to give her the benefit of the doubt. I like to believe the best of people. It can be a fault in it’s own right though.

The day before the incident our 1st A.D., Manjit, had to step down due to financial necessity. Unfortunate, but that’s the way it goes and to be honest we expected that we’d lose someone to that reason before we were done. The search for a replacement had already begun. Next time I was at the condiment table, who happens along…? You guessed it, Miss Nay-Sayer. I figured I’d loft one at her – networking never hurts, even when you have your doubts about someone, you never know who is going to someday rise to heights you never imagined they could. (In our auditions this week I had that lesson grandly demonstrated to me – but that’ll be another entry.)

“So, I don’t suppose you know any First A.D.s…?”
“For free?”
Let’s just say that that conversation was over.

Minutes later I was talking to someone else – because basking in the glow of her obvious contempt was about as much fun as a magma enema. I don’t even recall what prompted me to say so, but something caused me to declare one of my artistic mantras “I only ever try to amuse myself. The rest of you are merely a bonus.”

Guess who was walking past as I said that?

“Yeah, I can tell.” She said, “I saw your movie.”
“You are a total fucking cunt. You know that don’t you?”

She left shortly thereafter and I went back to enjoying myself at the BBQ.

So, let’s do a bit of 'analysis…'

Hey! Cunt!
You are a fucking Office P.A. That’s ‘glorified secretary’ – although ‘glory’ in that sense is rather misleading as it’s one of the lamest fucking jobs in the entire film-industry. Fuck I’d hate to be an Office P.A. Now, let’s see, are YOU making a feature film? No? Then shut the fuck up. Oh, wait a second. I’m doing exactly what you did in the first place. I made the assumption that you aren’t making a feature film… and no, calling for hotel rooms for FIDO doesn’t equate to making a feature film. Hell it only barely qualifies as being involved in a feature film. You made the assumption that I’m a total fucking idiot and that having a really small budget also means that we have none of the issues taken care of. I’ve got news for you. Superman Returns could have been made for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING if everything had been donated. If you were to add up the real-world costs of our in-kind donations, we’d have a pretty significant budget. It seems that when you are a big-hearted, positive, giving person people are really willing to do and give stuff for you for free.
So why would you say something like “You haven’t made it yet” in such a withering manner? How about “Gee. That’s a big challenge.” Or “Have you thought about…[fill in some technical bogeyman that we haven’t considered yet.]” and actually be constructive? I mean really, Cunt, let’s face it there are only two ways this can go. A) We succeed and make this film and next time I see you I get to say “Hey Cunt, enjoy my fucking film?” B) We fail and apart from the small circle of people who are involved or know us personally – NO ONE EVER KNOWS THAT YOU WERE RIGHT. Jeez that’s a big victory for you, congratulations. Fuck you very much.

As to the second bit – “For Free?”
Guess what? We’re all doing this for free. Why? Because we all believe in this project. Because there is more to gain from work than money.
Oh and… we got a new 1st A.D.
For FREE.
Cunt.

And in the third matter…
It actually hardly even bears getting into, but seeing as I’m on a roll…
Let’s take a look at what I said. “I only ever try to amuse myself. The rest of you are merely a bonus.” In other words – WHO GIVES A FUCK WHAT YOU THINK?

Christ. Ya’know just because you were born with a cunt, doesn’t oblige you to act like one. As a matter of fact, in my experience most people born with cunts can’t be bothered to act like one. So what is your problem?
Is it that no-one wants to give you a decent film-industry job?
That you don't have the (non-biological) cajones (and not because of the biological cunt) to go and do it youself, so you're left being an assistant crack-whore... I mean Office P.A.?
Is it that all your own dreams and ambitions have been pounded into dust by your own negative attitude?

I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that when it comes time to hire an Office P.A. I won’t be hiring you. I think I’ll hire someone with a positive outlook and the ability to field criticism in a constructive manner.

At Provost Pictures we don’t hire cunts. Even for free.

About Pucking Time...

Hockey starts today! Hockey starts today! Hockey starts today!

I've kind of let myself ignore it, but this mornign when I woke up there was just one thought on my mind - the NHL is back!

Game One tonight has every team in the league playing on one night. Here in Vancouver, Gretzky will coach his first game in what could be the hockey hat-trick of all time - the greatest player of all time; the administrator who brought the olympic gold back to Canada; and if things go well, an All-Star coach. Could be - pretty exciting if it does work that way.

As for the Canucks... well they are very nearly the same team that was iced two years ago - not many teams can claim that. Anson Carter is buoying up the Sedins and seem to be giving us a really strong second line - at least in the pre-season that is what appeared. Recall that in Spring 2004 the Canucks when to game seven O.T. with the team that came within a goal of winning the Stanely Cup in Game seven - and the Canucks didn't have Bertuzzi, Naslund had no wrist-shot thanks to a bone-spur, and we were dressing our third-string goal-tender. So many 'what-ifs.' But as any die-hard Canuck will point out, it's finally YEAR 12. I can't believe it's here already. If 'Year 12' means nothing to you, you aren't a Canucks fan. If you want to know, I'm not telling, but I will give you a hint to do some detective work: 70, 82, 94. It really seems like it COULD happen this time.

Bertuzzi - oh how we missed him. I'm curious how life in Colorado is for Brad May. But here in Vancouver, Bertuzzi did little wrong - or at least the wrongs he did were seen as somewhat justified & the lead up to it was hypocritical when compared to the outcome. He did the wrong thing for the right reason and it got blown out of proportion - or at the very least any previous similar incidents were not blown INTO proportion simply because they didn't lead to an injury of equivalent gravity. But he's back and has something to prove. If he proves it, we could be a totally fearsome team. Naslund, Bertuzzi, plus a second line that will do the scoring when the oposing defense is expending itself trying to shut down the deadliest line in the NHL... ahhhh 'tis good.

Goaltending. Apart from Bertuzzi, the other big Q is in goal. We've got three goaltenders who could step it up. If one of them does - and I DO hope it's cloutier, but I'm not fussy - the Canucks are nearly unstoppable, if not they'll have to fight for superiority.

But...

No one really knows. This year was the big reset button. The Canucks got lucky and kept their core - unlike, say Anaheim. This season will be a career maker for someone(s) - a coach (maybe Gretzky - I'd prefer Crawford) who has the vision to capitalize on the new rules; a General manager who most quickly sees how to exploit the new business rules; a player who breaks out with the new restrictions on obstruction, or one who conversely re-invents himself as he is otherwise obsolete.
Previously it was relatively easy to expect things to be similar from season to season, with team quality shifting, but not significantly shaking up (in any given year a team or two might climb or drop a long ways up the league ladder, but generally a good team this year will be a decent team or better, next year and a bad team can only build so much in the off-season.) But with a big shake up of personel, new rules for business and play and a year off for many players (or a reduced season for the others) there are simply too many x-factors to truly say "Team-X is a real contender." Best guesses are the most we can hope for.

I'm crossing my fingers for a Vancouver/Ottawa Cup final. That's a no-lose situation, especially if Ottawa crushes Philadelphia in round one and the Canucks face Detroit in the Conference final. If the Canucks hoisted the hardware when all was said and done, THAT would be hockey nirvana.

The House Band in Hell

As a personal excercise in self-entertainment I spent my lunch hour imagining what the house band in hell would be like for me.

A few elements were pretty easy to imagine.

Start with Bob Marley. As his back-up singers he has those Scottish clods The Proclaimers.
His rhythm section is made up entirely by Linda McCartney.
And they only know two songs - both by Peter Frampton. They keep playing "Baby I Love Your Way" and threaten constantly to start playing "Show Me the Way."

Sound a little thin musically? Exactly.

The opening act would have been an All-Star jam with Pearl Jam, Springsteen, The Clash, REM, and The Police... and I missed it.

An End to this Mess

Mark Messier has retired.

He is my favourite player of all time. There are others who are close - ones who could surpass him even given more time. There was no way, so long as he kept playing that anyone would surpass him in my mind.

It was time. But it still saddens me. An era is over. I think that in the same way that the music of your college years tends to define your musical taste for life, the sports team of your adolescence (in this case the 80s Oilers) tends to define your concept of the best that ever played the game. That team is pretty much gone now. Sure, rookies are now the grizzled veterans, but the core of that team has hung up it's skates forever.

That makes me feel old.

I'll feel older when Trevor Linden retires. He's only a month older than me, and he's one of the few players that have any chance of passing Messier in my mind as my favourite. I suppose he's my favourite player now playing... although Stevie Y is way up there, I just haven't got a lot of faith in Yzerman's knees which makes it really hard to cannonize him.

Speaking of bad-knees... I once had a discussion with Mark Messier. It was when he was playing in Vancouver (Don't get me started. Those were bad times, but it wasn't Messier's fault.)

Mess was injured - his knee. He'd been our for a few weeks.

I was walking to work and I passed a restaurant downtown with a big window. Who was sitting having lunch, but Mark Messier. I stopped and looked. I mean, he is my favourite player right. I had to. But my look turned into a stare before I realized it. After a moment Mess turned and looked back. I realised that I was being rude and shook myself and went on, but then thought "Damn! This is Mark Messier!"

So I turned back and waved. He waved back. I pointed to my knee and made motions that I can only describe as 'questioning.' He made a 'so-so' gesture with his hand. I smiled and nodded and gave a quick salute 'bye.' He reciperocated and on I went with my day.

My other Messier story is from a game. A friend had tickets that he couldn't use. 3rd row, corner. The first and second rows were being used by the Pee-Wee teams that would eventually play during the second intermission, so they disappeared at the first break. The friend I brought and I moved up to the glass.
Early in the second period the game took a bad turn. It was a game against Phoenix, and it was back in the day when Vancouver still thought of Phoenix as their old Winnipeg Jets rival. Long story short, it was the roughest game I've ever seen, and it turned out to be the most penalized game of the season, the Canucks second most penalized ever.
In the 3rd, things were getting really brutal and both teams were absolutely furious. The puck got iced into the corner in front of us. Bob Corkum had the jump on Messier for the puck and beat him to it, keeping play alive, but Messier was right on top of him and nailed him. Hard. HARD. We practically jumped back to our original seats. We thought for sure Corkum was about to land in our laps. But at much as anything, what I recall is the infamous 'look.' It's not just a legend folks. It's real. Messier's eyes, when he is 'on' are terrifying. The intensity is... well there aren't words.

Thanks Mark.

I just pray that in the new NHL there will be some heroes who at least come close.

When What Makes Most Sense Makes No Sense

Eden and I have been having a bad time recently.

She's already been married to a workaholic artist.

On paper she's the best girlfriend ever. But we just can't seem to meet in the middle. I can't change who I am and she can't handle the negative side of who I am. She's attracted to guys who are a lot like me. It's not like she'll be able to move on to someone else and avoid the problems that she's had with both Verne and I.

It's a bad place for her to be.

As for myself, I think she's awesome, but I get really weary of her analysing our relationship with her psychology degree, I also think she needs to just let me be who I am. Encourage me, but don't limit me. Work with me, not against me. When I say against, I don't mean that she tries to cause problems, but she doesn't always appreciate my methods for what they are. She also doesn't think we have similar long term goals. I think she's dead wrong there, I'm just not worried about them - they will come when they come and all I can deal with is what is in front of me.

She also compares where I am to Verne. Success and the path to it is a continuum, not an on/off switch. And I can only deal with things one step at a time.

We've been actively struggling for a while. Last night we decided to 'take a break.' Taking a break strikes me as an almost certainly deadly approach to releationship repair, but I really don't know what is left. We need to find out if we're miserable without one another. If we are, then we can make the necessary adjustments - we'll be clear on the need and the stake. But I haven't got high hopes.

'Trial separation' is synonymous with 'practice break-up.'

But it appears as though it's all we have left unless we want to start hating each other - and we like each other too much to risk that. We're just not that masochistic or foolish.

Rehearsal SWAT-ed Down

Yeah. What a fucking day.

I've told the story about two dozen times, including to the TV news by now. So I'm not going to get into it in detail.

But the other day, our rehearsal for Cosmic Banditos was busted by the Vancouver SWAT team. Fucking hell.

It falls into the category of 'funny, but not.' It was a bowel-loosening experience, and people laugh when I tell the tale, but I'm actually at the point where I found it more funny at the time.

I've got no issues with the cops (well, I did when I was younger, but I've out grown them) and they did their jobs well, but it's damned sobering to have a live machine gun trained on you.

What idiots we were.

Big Easy needs a Big Squeegie

I'm betting that The Tragically Hip are already sick of fielding meaningless questions about their fifteen year old break through hit.

Speaking of The Hip: Checkout this site with a nifty weekly podcast: Hipbase

Here's a pretty crazy blog from the newly re-located Gulf of Mexico.

There's also a local band who possibly have to reconsider thier moniker: Hurricane Kitty. I just tried to do a search for their web-site - one of the girls in the band is a good friend (she lives upstairs AND is stage manager of my Fringe show) and she mentioned the web-site last night. Can I find it? Nope.

Okay, but what I really wanted to mention... not an original thought, but worth bringing up, cause it's impact ought to be widespread:
How many DC-10s and other transport planes do the U.S Armed Forces have outside of the continental States right now in Iraq and Afganistan et al? Just think of how the awesome logisitical might of that could have evacuated a LOT of people who are now floating face down in the streets of New Orleans. Or of how many troops, deployed in Louisiana instead of the Middle East at this very moment could be having a clear and positive effect in both keeping the peace... snipers... I can't fucking fathom it... it obviously must seem like the end of the world down there - not to mention the additional effect more man-power would give rescue efforts.

Fucking America. Home first, the world, later.

A quick catch up

I've been so busy.

First there was the build up to the ReelFast competiton. I managed to get a business man to sponsor my team to the tune of $1200.
We did something that no one else had ever done - made a film entirely with still photos - about 2000 of them. It was utterly exhausting. I got 2 hours sleep during the production weekend, most of my team got at least slightly sunstroke and several could hardly move as their backs seized... we made a film where the main characters were TV sets. Moving TV sets for 12 hours in the blistering sun is totally fucking masochistic.
The results were short of our intentions. We intend to go back and improve the film in the next few weeks, but for now it's mediocre, especially when viewed beside the OTHER team that decided to do stop-motion (not the first time that a 'first' in ReelFast has been synchronic with another - last year THREE teams shot underwater footage). The other team used action figures and repeated a LOT of frames (all of ours were unique) - in the context of the competition it was far more successful, but I don't think they have a film anyone is going to care about now that it's all over. We could, once the editing is re-done. We shot a good little film, we just didn't have the time left to put it together nicely.

Immediately following the ReelFast production weekend was the Launch of my new company PROVOST PICTURES. I won't get into a lot of detail - it's all on that site, and reiteration would be a waste of time - if you really wat the details see the accompanying blog. Actually that took up a lot of prep time before ReelFast too. We had the launch, then dealt with the press for a week and finished up by sitting on tenter-pegs over the auction results. The auction was disappointing financially, but a total success publicity-wise. We didn't make money in the end, but we gained a good start for a profile for free - I don't think Mr. Trump would fire us. We worked our asses off and I'm not sure we could have done too much more without simply throwing money away.

The auction ended last Friday. Last Wednesday I started rehearsing for the Fringe Festival. I'm doing an authorized version of the book Cosmic Banditos. Long story short - which I will likely expand upon later - we left rehearsals too late. We're struggling and it's a major pain in the ass. I'm a bit pissed off as I was trying to avoid this since Christmas, but here we are.

Anyhow, I've got to go learn a massive amount of lines...

It's Official: Nicole got Me in the Divorce

Nicole Kidman is making films like The Interpreter and (to a lesser degree, but smart in it's own right) Bewitched.

Tom Cruise is having insane arguments with Matt Lauer on the today show.

Examples of Cruise's exceptional debating skill...

Not allowing his opponent to finish his point:
"No, no, Matt. Matt-- Matt, Matt, Matt-- Matt, I'm-- Matt, I'm asking you a question. "

Unsubstantiated remarks:
"You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do."

And a complete lack of communicative abilty:
"It's that thing where you just - in life when it just happens. ... And it's - I can't even describe it."

All I have to say is: Katie! Come back to me!

Bob's a Knob

Bob Geldof's auto-biography was "Is that it?" Right now, I think many Canadians are wishing that it was.

I respect what he did in the past for famine relief. I respect that he's doing it again - by now everyone has forgotten just how 'drop in the bucket' Live Aid really was - so it's time for another drop, just to raise awareness.

The point he was making about Prime Minster Martin was absolutely correct. Canada is offering a fairly paltry relief package. But... what is he accomplishing by calling out the PM? Good job Bob, alienate Canadians and have us less interested as a group to support relief efforts.

The call to boycott Live 8 is out. Will we listen? Part of me hopes we do, but at what cost?

Well done Bob.

You knob.

The Second Act

Jumping off from a marathon session of watching The Daily Show. So a certain amount of this thought is borrowed. (Even my title is a semi-copped from John Stewart.) But more than that, the Daily Show was a jumping off place for further thought...

Bush is looking to renew the National Security Act. In his own words, it is 'working' so why let it 'expire?' Well, how about this... it's not really working. In fact, it's main result has been to incarcerate a lot of innocent people. YES, there are guilty parties being ferreted out, but at what cost to civil liberties?

It was intended to be a temporary measure. But, it's not looking like it. If it is renewed, then next time around it's easier to renew it out of hand, and again until it gets renewed without notice by the public, possibly even being put into permanence without so much as a single head turned.

I'm going to be quick to point out that in fact I personally believe that the access to personal information that is an inherent part of the act is at it's core a good thing. What is a problem is that the access is not universal. I won't waste time explaining this concept here, it's not that relevant except to add some clarity to what would seem like a hypocritical position on my part. I'm not opposed to the access authorities have to personal information. I am opposed to it not being two-way glass. For more info on this concept, read The Transparent Society by David Brin.

This is a slippery slope. Allowing the act to remain unchanged is allowing potentially abusive power to further blossom in the United States. By increments, the American people are allowing themselves to slip closer and closer into a state of neo-fascism.

John Stewart has also on a recent program taken a stand to call out anyone who insists on making comparisons to Hitler or Nazism in any circumstance where they are faced with someone or a political situation that they disagree with.

On a certain level, I agree with him. It's exceptionally specious when the claim is made in the wrong direction along the political spectrum. But I think that calling for an all-out moratorium on invoking Hitler's name is bullshit. Certainly a greater degree of reason needs to be applied to that kneejerk, but if it is in any way appropriate, it's fair game - particularly if the specific accuracy of the situation is noted. Call someone Hitler and note how it's apropos, I'm right behind you.

For example: Hitler at one time appeared to be a reasonable, if somewhat extreme man. His regime rose to power by the gradual application of restraint upon the German nation. Not unlike the current rise of the Republican party in the U.S. Now, the current state of the Republican party is a LONG LONG WAY from the images we have of the Nazi party... but remember that at one time, so was the Nazi party.

Jackson Beat It

Not much to say that I haven't already said - and I'm ill and leaving work early, so I don't have time for much anyhow.

I am a little surprised that he got off on all charges. I thought that he might at least have got the slap of the administering alcohol charge. But he didn't.

Insufficent evidence - regardless of the truth.

Nice to see the justice system working properly.

Shooting Sitting Ducks in a Barrel

Leave it my favourite whipping... country.

I can only assume that the recently started '100 Greatest Americans' show is taking it's cue from the success of the Canadian show that ran over nine months ago.

But have you seen the list? It's clearly based on some sort of bizarro-world logic about what constitutes great... oh, no sorry. I am wrong. Upon further inspection the list is actually clearly dictated by the masses who actually have the inanity to sit and watch a show like this. It's not bizarro-world, it's Red-state... Oh, right. That IS bizarro-world.

A quick look at the list:

Abraham Lincoln - A Great American, no matter how you slice it. But looking at the rest of this list it strikes me that the Red States just grudgingly accepted the inclusion of the champion of the 13th Ammendment, who kicked their ass in the Civil War, just so as to not make it look too obvious who is calling the shots.
Albert Einstein - Ah yes, a great man. A truly great A........ he was German.
Alexander Graham Bell - Sure, Top 100, sure in a walk.
Alexander Hamilton - As a historical statesman he certainly did his part.
Amelia Earhart - Strikes me as an odd choice, but... sure. There need to be a few wild cards right? Why not someone whose main claim to fame is disappearing without a trace... actually, when put THAT way...
Andrew Carnegie - I'd never pick him, but at least the reasons for picking him reflect a value judgment that I can give some creedence to.
Arnold Schwarzenegger - .....Okay. We just completely lost the plot all in one fell-swoop. ONE: Austrian. TWO: OKay... I admit, we must be talking about a different Arnold Schwarzenegger. One I've never heard of. 'Cause you can't possibly be talking about the body-builder-turned actor-turned governor of California, 'cause thats just... laughable.
Audie Murphy - Here's a tough one. I really think of Audie Murphy as a singer and actor, and we all remember his classics don't we? Like, uh... But really, that was all icing. Audie Murphy really makes the list for being the most decorated soldier of WWII... so is THAT what makes a great American? Why should I be surprised.
Babe Ruth - A stretch. But so was Wayne Gretzky on the Canadian List. No... let me take that back. Wayne Gretzky was not a stretch on the Canadian top 100 list. What he was was a stretch on the Top 10. We are after all talking about the greatest player ever to play the quintessential Canadian game. So, by that measure, Babe Ruth has every right to have his fat drunken ass on the American list.
Barack Obama - A self proclaimed "skinny kid with a funny name." And the only African-American in the Senate, right now. RIGHT NOW. (Admittedly there have only ever been five - I've read my Wikipedia!) But what about the FIRST! The simple fact that I had to look him up is not good for his status as a great American. Will we remember who he was in a hundered years? Not unless he manages to do something unarguably great... and I can't see that he's done it yet, so why is he on this list?
Barbara Bush - I can't say I've ever really understood how being a First Lady qualifies one as a person of value. Certainly they must be supportive and patient to a degree I personaly couldn't attain, but I could also say that about any babysitter who came back to my house more than once. Of all First Ladys to make the list, this one probably baffles me the most.
Benjamin Franklin - Not a word of argument from me. A true modernist.
Bill Clinton - In my opinion, the best President of my lifetime... which may still be damning with faint praise when my lifetime is done.
Bill Cosby (William Henry Cosby, Jr.) - Uh... a few questions... Why the extra specification? Is it just in case we aren't sure which Bill Cosby? Because we might think that Bill Cosby might be a weird choice, being a comedian and all? Okay, then why not specify WHICH Arnold Schwarzenegger? Okay. One more question - Why?
Bill Gates - Gates qualifies in the same manner as Andrew Carnegie. I guess in a way he's simply a new Carnegie.
Billy Graham - Oh, those red states... chuckle chuckle... you crazy guys.
Bob Hope - Because he... ummm... because he... made so many of those funny 'road' movies?
Brett Favre - Favre was a great QB. Sure, but he was hardly football's Wayne Gretzky.
Carl Sagan - Well, obviously a few Blue State votes got through, 'cause - I mean Sagan is really just one of those Science Shamen that they pray to on the coasts. You know, the ones who beieve those crazy things like Global Warming and Evolution.
Cesar Chavez - I don't know a lot about Cesar Chavez. I essentially see him as sort of a Latino Malcolm X - a comparison which may upset adherents on either side. But Malcolm X makes the list, so so should Chavez.
Charles Lindbergh - Well, at least unlike Earhart, he landed.
Christopher Reeve - Well, duh, he fought for truth justice and the American Way!
Chuck Yeager - Y'know, I've flown faster than the speed of sound. Somehow I didn't make it to the Canadian list.
Clint Eastwood - Seriously? Did you see how he treated Tuco in The Good the Bad and the Ugly? But to be fair, he made a damned fine Mayor for... what was that place called? I mean, he put it on the map! You know, that town he was Mayor of... East-wood-ville... or something.
Colin Powell - Well, when it comes to the right wing. Powell is a class act. I could go on about how much I dig the way he speaks about the WMD fiasco... but of course he still DID it! If there is another Republican in the White House in 2009, please let it be Powell or McCain!
Condoleezza Rice - Satan must be on this list when I get down to the 'S's.
Donald Trump - Another Carnegie.
Dwight D. Eisenhower - I don't know what there is to specifically like about Ike. The world didn't go up in a nuclear cloud under his watch... but under whose did it? The Cold War got well under way while he was at the helm... that's a strike. Being a President who was in office duirng the lifetimes of the voters seems to be all but a slam-dunk as far as making this list.
Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt) - For god's sake don't confuse her with Eleanor 'Left-eye' Roosevelt! Of the First Ladys on this list, this one makes sense - possibly the most.
Ellen DeGeneres - She made the list 'cause she's black, right?
Elvis Presley - I don't see ANY reason for ANY mere entertainer to be on the list. Don't get me wrong. I'm in the performing arts myself. But unless you manage to at least become Mayor of Eastwoodville you do not deserve to be on the list. For that matter sports figures too. Gretzky, you're out!
Frank Sinatra - Now, don't make me repeat myself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt - He'd make a list of top ten American Presidents in just about anyone's estimation, so I can't possibly argue.
Frederick Douglass - A name which ought to be better known. His work on the abolition of slavery was fundamental. More people should know his name and instantly associate it with emancipation. He should make it onto a much shorter list than this.
George H. W. Bush - Wouldn't deserve to make the list of top ten American Presidents.
George W. Bush - Wouldn't deserve to make the top one hundred.
George Lucas - There are three film directors on this list. Of all possible choices - George Lucas!?! Has anyone who voted for him actually watched the movies he directs? If you can name three that rise above the level of 'tepid', you're stretching the truth. I can name directors who have only ever made three films who have a better track record. Now, yes, one of those films happens to be the most influential film of a generation (or more) and it and it's sequels - including several tepid ones directed by Lucas - have more economic clout than the average African Nation... but even that film, when you get right down to it gets worse with every viewing. For Christ-sake Roger Corman made more films that are worth repeat viewing than George Lucas! ...I'm ranting.
George Patton - Well, okay. Though I must quote Yoda - "Wars not make one great."
George Washington - I'd point out that he wasn't a born American, but in this case it'd be a bit specious. And let's face it the only thing that REALLY made him a special President was the fact that he was first.
George Washington Carver - I don't really know much about George Washington Carver. I know he made huge advances in the uses of peanuts and soy and stuff - an inventor of high caliber and great honour. In my mind there aren't enough thinkers on this list. SO Carver gets the nod from me, despite my relative ignorance.
Harriet Ross Tubman - Why isn't there a movie about his woman? Let's make that movies. There could be a semi-fictionalized adventure version about the underground railroad - ya hear me Bruckheimer!? And there could also be a more respectful and arty bio-pic by someone who could really honour the woman, say Spike Lee. Here is an example where direct action deserves the recognition of being named to this list.
Harry Truman - I have to admit that I don't actually know a heck of a lot about HST. Sure he lead the US out of WWII, but by the time he got in, that would have happened even if Hop-a-long Cassidy was the CIC.
Helen Keller - How exactly does being famous for a birth defect qualify you as great? Perhaps because in the case of being deaf and blind it means that you are much more likely to crash a plane where it will never be found.
Henry Ford - There aren't manythings more American than the Automobile and being a self-made multi-millionaire. He kind of falls somewhere between Bell and Carnegie. Too bad he wasn't a great out-fielder too, he'd have it all wrapped up.
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Another First Lady. Sigh. Again I'll have to give her some props. She's one of the best First Ladies on this list and probably the best First Lady on my life time, and she may yet make that top ten Presidents list.
Howard Hughes - A flying Carnegie!
Hugh Hefner - ... no really. I can't. It's beneath me.
Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson) - Rumour has it that he was an asshole. But, it would be an asshole who'd deny him a position on this list. He was more than just a great athlete than the sport that he excelled at.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - I don't really know what Jackie 'O' accomplished as First Lady beyond wiping off the trunk of the car.
Jesse Owens - For breaking racial barriers, you bet. But a quandry exists right? I mean part of his message was we we're supposed to be judging him as an athlete and as an equal not as a member of a minority race, so by putting him on this list we're saying he was a really great runner? Or are was saying he did great things for by breaking racial barriers? Isn't that by definition judging him as a member of a minority race? It's a paradox. But like Jackie Robinson he transcended his sport, that is why he's here - ironic or not.
Jimmy Carter - Oddly, he seems to have done more as an ex-President than as a President. Hard to say a Nobel prize winner doesn't have a place on the list though. But you can't give every Nobel winner a place on this list either, can you?
Jimmy Stewart - You're kidding right? Thank you Clarence, I can't imagine what life would have been without him.
John Edwards - ... Uh. Now I really COULD use some clarification. You don't really mean John Edwards, running mate of failed Democtatic Presidential candidate John Kerry do you? Why isn't Lloyd Bentsen on this list?
John Glenn - I've got a hard time with this. What did he do that the monkey didn't do first? He was nothing but a willing lab-rat on a the world's (then) biggest firecracker.
John F. Kennedy - Another top ten President.
John Wayne - No way, pilgrim.
Johnny Carson (John William Carson) - Yes, Johnny Carson is the equal of Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and James Madison......... wait a second..... where the fuck is James Madison!!!?? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he write your fucking Constitution?
Jonas Edward Salk - The man who eliminated Polio. Very cool. He probably won't make as short a list as he deserves.
Joseph Smith Jr. - There is no way it gets more red-state than this.
Katharine Hepburn - What? Well, at least she did more for women's rights than the Mayor of Eastwoodville.
Lance Armstrong - Well of course! I mean, he's the frikken Wayne Gretzky of that great American sport - bicycling!
Laura Bush - My respect for Laura Bush is only slightly higher than that which I have for her husband. Look how I treated him! I would have evren more respect for her if she'd had the strength of character to not marry him in the first place.
Lucille Ball - A funny, funny lady. Very funny. Very talented. Very revered. But looking at my other comments it ought to come as no surprise that I don't think she has any business being on this list.
Lyndon B. Johnson - I don't really know a lot about LBJ. All I know is that he didn't initially get in by being elected to the post. And note that with the exception of Gerald Ford, every President since 1933 made the list? Even Nixon for Christ's sake! If I were Gerry Ford, I'd be pissed! Wasn't Johnson the one who carried his dogs by the ears? What a great man.
Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) - Uh, wasn't Madonna from Galleli? America was still about 1500 years away from discovery by the Spanish at that point... Oh, wrong Madonna, good thing they specified Madonna Ciccone. I mean, I could understand how the Blessed Virgin could make the list, but this Madonna is merely like a virgin.
Malcolm X (Malcolm Little) - I totally think Malcom X is worthy of a place on this list, but not before and above James Madison.
Marilyn Monroe - For that matter why in all that is, hell anything, is Marilyn Monroe before and above James Madison? I mean, why isn't Paris Hilton on this list then? At least she is a HILTON!
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) - If an all-American writer deserves to be put beside the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin, Mark Twain certainly fits the bill. But it does beg questions about other notable authors who are missing for example Edgar Allen Poe, Ernest Hemmingway and John Steinbeck. Oh, but they were an opium addict, a manic depressive and Communist respectively.
Martha Stewart - Certainly no Communist, she. But a great practitioner of the great American art of tax-evasion. Hey! Why isn't Al Capone on this list then?
Martin Luther King Jr. - A vicious rumour (purportedly started by that nasty John Stewart on the Daily Show) is circulating that Martin Luther King is NOT on the list. Well, here he is, and well deserved.
Maya Angelou - Perhaps a bit on the PC side, but of all marginal nominees, she's certainly on the legit end of the scale. I can't imagine that there aren't more worthy possibilities. Will she still be on the list in a hundred years?
Mel Gibson - Only slightly more American than Swartzenegger. Really more Australian than anything, but yes, he WAS born Stateside so I can't really split hairs that way. But not in a million years is Mel Gibson one of the Top 100 Americans of all time.
Michael Jackson - Yeah right. He may not be guilty - the jury is still literally out as I write this - but he isn't on trial for being un-assailably squeaky clean. I mean, if you really want your country represented by this screw-ball... well fuck, look who you elected President once out of the last two terms. Go ahead do what ever you like. It's your country. And let me point out - he named his kid Prince Blanket. PRINCE BLANKET... hey, it's your country.
Michael Jordan - The Wayne Gretzky of basketball. If you're sayin' sports figures are legit on that basis alone, then Michael Jordan is definitely worthy. However, I am saying that being great at a sport is NOT all it takes. You have to at least transcend the sport itself - like say, Jackie Robinson.
Michael Moore - I am one of those left-leaning sorts who is getting sick of Michael Moore. I thoroughly believe that he does more damage than good and that he is a terrible journalist and a hypocrite. He has more in common with Ann Coulter tactically than he does with Ralph Nader ideologically. Ann Coulter didn't make the list (and you can probably imagine what a field day I'd have with that) so why should he?
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) - Ali DID transcend his sport, but I'm not so sure that he did it in a way that makes him truly great. He transcended it more as a pop-icon than as the activist that he is often credited with. He was no Jackie Robinson.
Neil Alden Armstrong - Another lab rat on the list. Possibly the most worthy lab rat. But that's perhaps a but like calling Kim Jong Il the most benevolent of insane world dictators.
Nikola Tesla - As brilliant as Edison, but he was Croatian.
Oprah Winfrey - Will she still be on this list in a hundred years time? REALLY? Perhaps that question should be asked of everyone. Who is timeless? Who really is? Actually, to be fair, there is an outside chance Oprah will be. I admit I'm sick to death of her - have been for years. But she's certainly got some admirable qualities that raise her above the average pop-culture icon. I don't really think she should make the list, but I'm willing to admit that this is one case in which time could prove me wrong.
Pat Tillman - You've got to be fucking kidding me. A nominal football star who happened to die in battle in a questionable war? He is a great example of what is wrong with America. No, I am sorry. He is not. His nomination is a good example. Not only will he not make the list in a hundred years, but in five years no one will know his name. This is totally retarded.
Dr. Phil McGraw - This one falls right into the middle of the You have GOT to be fucking kidding me category.
Ray Charles - Love Ray Charles. Love him. But do you really think that if he hadn't 1) Come out with a great swan song album; 2) Had an Oscar winning Bio-pic and 3) Died all within the last 18 months that he'd still be on this list?
Richard Nixon - The original Book of Lists had Nixon on the most hated people in history list along side Hitler and Satan. Was that a non-sequitur? Or am I making a point?
Robert Kennedy - I'd like to be able to justify this one. I really would. But I can't. Let's call RFK the high-water mark for people who shouldn't make the list.
Ronald Reagan - It's kind of funny how perspective changes. I still don't think of Reagan as a great man, but he no longer represents the pinnacle of Right-wing Military-Economic Imperialism that he once did... I wonder why he doesn't seem so extreme anymore?
Rosa Parks - Right on. She won't make the top ten, but there had to be some justifiable choices on the list. All for the simple act of saying 'no.' How simple greatness seems.
Rudolph W. Giuliani - Not sure if this will stand the test of time. But I know that when the towers went down and the President was no where in sight, Giuliani's composure in a state of emergency was unbelieveable. A total class-act. Whether you loved him or hated him during the controversial periods of his tenure as Mayor of New York, it was virtually impossible to not respect him in the days following 9/11. Will that really immortalize him once those of us who were alive then are gone? Who can tell. But I'll give him the bye for now.
Rush Limbaugh - Seeing as I don't have the opportunity to be outraged at Ann Coulter being on the list, this is a close second. What the fuck!? How does someone so bent on divisive pot-stirring deserve to get on the list? America needs to come together, for itself and for the planet. But good ol' Rush would rather say outrageous things that only have sporadic tethers to empirical fact that keep him controversial (and therefore making money) than to deal with the truth of the matter and actually make progressive moves. He doesn't really love America. He loves the money that Americans give him for saying things that make them feel righteous in the face of constantly growing evidence to the contrary.
Sam Walton - Wal-Mart man. No way. I've given the nod to virtually all the 'builders' and/or industrialists, but I just can't. Wal-mart is the epitome of the evils of capitalism. What makes America great (God, did I just type that clause?) is the beautiful side of capitalism... and they haven't left much of that in the wake of multi-nationalism.
Steve Jobs - Another Carnegie.
Steven Spielberg - If there is a director who deserves to be on this list, Spielberg may well be it. He makes great films, he makes American films, he makes artisitcally complex films, he makes pleasing films, he makes block-busting films, he makes righteous films, he makes self-critical films and above all else he uncompromisingly makes his own films. Obviously I don't think much about artists justifiably being on this list, but Spielberg is as close as it gets.
Susan B. Anthony - Not a word of argument from me.
Theodore Roosevelt - If Teddy Roosevelt doesn't make the top ten, America needs to give it's head a shake. Well, America needs to give it's head a shake anyhow, but you get my drift.
Thomas Edison - Much of Edison's greatness was a matter of 1) the time in which he lived - some huge batrriers in science had just fallen; 2) he took a lot of credit for work that was done under his employ; but he still guided some of the most seminal dicoveries ever. Most people don't know that he invented the fax-machine... sure it was so slow and low-res that it was next to useless, but he invented it. Oh yeah, there was that light-bulb thing too...
Thomas Jefferson - No brainer. Hey America, where's that revolution that you're supposed to have every generation? I think you've betrayed Jefferson.
Tiger Woods - Golf? The Wayne Gretzky of golf... sigh.
Tom Cruise - This is getting ridiculous. Next you're going to be naming Tom Hanks to the list!
Tom Hanks - ....................................................... . . . . . . . . ?
Walt Disney - In a way he's a Carnegie, in a way he's an entertainer. It's a huge stretch to have him on this list.
Wright Brothers (Orville & Wilbur Wright) - Uh... that's 101. No doubt flight is a pretty cool discovery. I guess, yeah sure. BTW: Did you know... not only was Orville the first human to fly, he was also the first human to die in a plane crash.

I guess if I were to boil down my criteria to it's essence, it would be that the most deserving inclusions on the list would be those that were most influential in changing the way people live (either through action, thought or widespread inspiration) and moving our species forwards to a brighter future... I.E. Today.



So, based on that who is in and who is out? All kinds of contradictions to what I said above follows.... (ignoring those who I would consider 'disqualified' as not being true Americans.)

IN (Italicized indicates marginal choices; Bold indicates definite choices.)
Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Hamilton
Audie Murphy
Babe Ruth
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Clinton
Bill Gates
Carl Sagan
Cesar Chavez
Colin Powell
Elvis Presley
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Frederick Douglass
George Washington
Harriet Ross Tubman
Henry Ford
Jackie Robinson
Jimmy Carter
John F. Kennedy
Jonas Edward Salk
Malcolm X
Mark Twain
Martin Luther King Jr.
Michael Jordan
Neil Alden Armstrong
Nikola Tesla
Robert Kennedy
Rosa Parks
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Susan B. Anthony
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Wright Brothers

OUT (Italicized indicates marginal choices; Bold indicates 'what were they thinking?')
Amelia Earhart
Andrew Carnegie
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Barack Obama
Barbara Bush
Bill Cosby
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Brett Favre
Charles Lindbergh
Christopher Reeve
Chuck Yeager
Clint Eastwood
Condoleezza Rice
Donald Trump
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eleanor Roosevelt
Ellen DeGeneres
Frank Sinatra
George H. W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Lucas
George Patton
George Washington Carver
Harry Truman
Helen Keller
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Howard Hughes
Hugh Hefner
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jimmy Stewart
John Edwards
John Glenn
John Wayne
Johnny Carson
Joseph Smith Jr.
Katharine Hepburn
Lance Armstrong
Laura Bush
Lucille Ball
Lyndon B. Johnson
Madonna
Marilyn Monroe
Martha Stewart
Maya Angelou
Mel Gibson
Michael Jackson
Michael Moore
Muhammad Ali
Oprah Winfrey
Pat Tillman
Dr. Phil McGraw
Ray Charles
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Rush Limbaugh
Sam Walton
Steve Jobs
Steven Spielberg
Tiger Woods
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Walt Disney

Now: One more part to this rather long entry...

Who has been selected as the top 25?

Muhammad Ali
Neil Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Walt Disney
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Henry Ford
Ben Franklin
Bill Gates
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Thomas Jefferson
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Rosa Parks
Elvis Presley
Ronald Reagan
Eleanor Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
George Washington
Oprah Winfrey
Wright Brothers

For those keeping score that's:

12 of my 19 "Definite INs"
3 of my 'Normal' IN picks.
5 of my "What were they thinking?" Which I guess elevates it to "What the fuck were they thinking?"
The rest were either marginal or out.

"Let's Go." "We can't." "Why not?" "Because, we're waiting for Godot."

Done.

I can officially call myself a film-maker. A director. An Editor. I was already a writer.

Yesterday afternoon around 2pm, I rendered and watched my first film "Godot (Rien a Faire)" with the hopes that when it was done that I would be able to say "Yes. That is good enough." They are never perfect.

George Lucas has been quoted as saying - films are never finished, they are abandoned. That is one point where he understands the medium very well.

Truth be told, by that point, any problems which presented themselves would have to be pretty major for me to have said 'no.' My producer was literally on his way to pick up the files so that we can move on to the next stage - the festival circuit. It's his job now. I had watched the film SO many times by that point that anything that big would have been patently obvious and could really only be explained by some button having accidentally been pressed before the render, causing a major effect to be disabled or some such thing. (I've seen it happen in other projects.)

All was well... Okay, all was acceptable. Naturally I noticed a few things on that pass that I'd like to change (and perhaps will before final delivery for presentation) notably one sound effect seems to need to have a hum filtered out that was not previously noted - how I don't know, but it went un-noticed until that screening. It'll take 20 minutes of actual work, plus the waiting of the render time, so it's not a big deal. But when it comes down to it, I am willing to (and have) send the version that currently exists to festivals as is. The film is finished.

I think part of the desire to abandon the film is that in order to fine tune it, you are assaulted with your un-fixable errors constantly in the post-production phase. In the process you become a better film-maker. Those mistakes are all ones you will be avoiding in the future, like the plague. In essence you are a better film-maker than the one who shot the film you are in the process of finishing. It rankles that the mistakes that have been left for you to deal with by the film-maker who shot the film are yours.

If I never have to see my film again, it will be too soon.

Time to move on to the next one.

Brilliant Black on Creation

Just found this quote from an interview with Frank Black on Blogcritic.org

I think it is an excellent comment on the nature of the creative process and a spectacular smack-down of an anus-level comment.


GN: You used the bridge section from the original version of "Subbacultcha" to make a whole new song on Trompe Le Monde. That kinda strikes me as cheating, were you running out of ideas towards the end?
FB: Why is that cheating? I can do whatever I want with my own songs for corn's sake. The "original" version as you say is the one that got published on Trompe Le Monde. What you hear on the purple tape (released this past July) is a previously unpublished version of the song. If you feel cheated beause you purchased two songs of mine that happen to feature an overlapped chorus (not a bridge) then feel free to patronize another artist. As far as running out if ideas is concerned, that's for you, my darling critic, to decide on your own.

You tell 'em Charles - I mean Frank. Of course, in the same interview he indicated that the only chance of a Pixies reunion would be if it happened on the Moon. I suppose Winnipeg is similar.

FREE JACKO

Yeah that's right.

I'm flipping.

Michael Jackson should not be found guilty of molestation.

Not because he didn't - I am not totally convinced he is innocent. But that is just it, I'm not convinced he did either. In a system where reasonable doubt is the benchmark by which justice is measured against, he cannot be found guilty of molestation charges.

Of course I say this without knowledge of any number of details that did not come to light due to the partial publication ban. But from the news reports this is the feeling I have.

Enough doubt has been placed upon the Arvizo family's intentions to undermine my confidence in Jackson's alleged actions against young Gavin.

The entire trial has become a war of integrity. Jackson would not be in this position if he had fostered a better image in the first place, and if after the first time he was accused of wrong doings he had done the wise thing and KEPT HIS FUCKING DISTANCE from young boys. He is certainly guilty of severe foolhardiness on that count. Guilty or innocent, his naivete with regards to how the world views him is an issue he has GOT to address. He has got to get some 'no' men in his camp.
On the other side of the table, Gavin's Mother is practically without a doubt a charlatan of some degree. If her son has actually been abused, then it is her fault if justice is not served. It's a classic case of wolf calling.

But barring some significant un-revealed detail that tips the balance, the jury cannot convict Michael. Certainly not on the molestation account. Perhaps on the conspiracy charges - the specific details of that have been ignored to some degree or another (let's face it, in a 'bleeds it leads' news environment, molestation wins over flying someone to Brazil) - he could be found guilty. It's hard to judge that one. If anything, the misdemeanor of giving alcohol to a minor sounds like a liklihood. Not only does it allow the jury to do something, but of all of the charges it sounds like the one which he is at the least guilty of by negligence, if not complicity or even direct action.

What surpises me the most is that the jury did not return practically immediately. I would have expected that the process would have involved a straw vote off the top wherein a 'not guilty' would have been levelled on virtually all charges. Perhaps they are deliberating on whether he deserves a slap on the wrist for the Jesus Juice.

The unfortunate thing is that if found innocent that Michael will be free to do as he pleases. What he needs is a good shake. He may not be deserving of jail time, but he needs disciplining. He needs someone to sit him down and explain to him that no matter how many records he has sold, no matter how many Beatles songs he buys, no matter how elitely famous his is, he is just another dude on the big blue marble, no less fallible than the rest of us. And no matter how hard he proclaims that 'people just don't understand' the sad fact is that it is he who just doesn't understand.

Renegging on the Devil

The Jackson trial is on the cusp of it's final phase. As I write this, the Prosecution is, according to the projected time-line, delivering thier closing arguments.
Naturally I have my thoughts, but I'm going to save them for tomorrow as today I want to weigh in on a criminal trial here at home.

Karla Holmolka.

In short for those who don't know the essence of the case.
Twelve years ago Karla Holmolka and her husband Paul Bernardo were tried for raping and murdering a pair of girls in their basement. Karla turned evidence on Paul - under the guise of the abused wife - for a reduced sentence (12 years). No sooner had the deal been inked when a video tape of the murders was uncovered. What did the video tape show? Holmolka gleefully participating in the murders with Bernardo - no sign of coersion.
Now, she is on the cusp of being released. But the courts are trying to put in place measures by which she will be monitored - possibly for life - as if she were on probation or even house arrest.

I don't know about this one. I can be quoted as recently having said in reference to her well publicized upcoming release, something to the effect of "she should be locked up for life." Which I think is absolutely true. I think that the deal that was made was a terrible mistake - but that is all in hindsight, isn't it? I believe that our country has got to stand behind our words, and the ground rules we lay out - even if they should prove faulty. Don't get me wrong. If a law (or legal decision such as it is in this case) is a problem, we should change it. But we can't change it retroactively. Any rulings based on a law that changes have GOT to be grandfathered, for better or for worse. Living any other way would be tyrannical.

Having said that. A large part of me really wants Holmolka monitored. It really makes me sick that she is to a greater or lesser degree getting away with murder. I wouldn't want her living in my neighbourhood un-watched - and I don't feel like I'm in any danger of her personally if she was. But she's got to live somewhere. (Lucky for me, it appears it's going to be Montreal.)

The fact of the matter is that despite it feeling like it's a tough call, in fact it is a no-brainer. She should walk the streets as freely as I do. Monitored only by the dozens and dozens of security cameras and identity tracking processes that exist in our ever more transparent society (thank you Dr. Brin). She made a legitimate deal, as unfortunatley un-necessary and mis-guided as it was, and it must be honoured as it stands on paper - not re-interpreted for the greater-good. Re-interpreting it would in fact be the top of a slippery-slope that ultimately would not serve the 'greater good.'

Perhaps next time - the inevitable Robert Pickton trial for example, not that anyone else is yet implicated, though conspiracy theories abound - the courts should word any such agreement with a clause that clearly states the understanding which the agreement is entered into under and that if evidence should arise that makes the need for the witness in question un-necessary - or that clearly implicates the witness to a greater degree than initially understood, the deal is off. The witness is not expected to testify - and any evidence thus already gained is deemed inadmissable - and any promises flowing in the opposite direction are, at best, discretional.

But perhaps Karla Holmolka should be in favour of being monitored. I expect that with the grusomeness of the crimes, the notoriety of the case, and the publicity of her release (as well as an upcoming feature film) that she may well be in some real danger. Lord knows how long realistically, but I doubt that she will be able to live her life of freedom in peace, and there may well be a day when someone decides to take the law into their own hands... that is if the transition into real-life doesn't kill her itself.

Suck it up

If the tables were turned, the response would be "Too bad. That's just the way it works."

Danica.

And the complaints also ignore the fact that she has less mass for leverage, which has some effect on performance as well.

Has there ever been a complaint about a small man?

Get over it.

If it is a consistent issue and she wins all the time, then perhaps take a look at the sort of equalization they use with jockeys.

But until said advantage is clear, get over it and address the real issue - having to share the field with a woman. Oh, boo-hoo.

When is the movie going to get made?

.... Well, that was a nearly contextless rant.

Microsoft Woe

Well, heck.

I had my primary hard-drive fail me last week - really bad timing as I've got a delivery date for a video project on the first of June. Luckily none of my data was lost, but all my programs were! The process of recovery (several steps there, including self-driven attempts and finally getting someone else to look at it); buckling in and getting a new hard-drive; formatting and replacing the software has all taken close to a week - and I'm still not done.

It makes me crazy.

And 90% of my woes surround Windows. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can hear the Apple advocates now saying that one word that they tend to pull out that they think means "You know better, but you're just too stubborn to do anythign about it." You know the word I mean. And it's usually delivered in a slightly condescening sing-song voice: "Ma-a-a-ac."

I'm not going to get indepth into the great Coke vs. Pepsi debate here. But I will admit that Mac's tendency to have less immediate crashing problems is appealing. But it totally ignores such things as the annoying non-modularity of it (which of course is a major reason it has less crash problems); the general counter-intuitiveness of the interface (an admittedly arguable point, but I have never found Apple products to be as easy as they we're proclaimed to be - and I was once a devoted user, my girl-friend still owns one and when I use it I want to tear it out of the wall, so I'm not speaking out of ignorance); and when a Mac does fail, it's inscruitable error messages are utterly infuriating... just to name a few beefs I have with Mac.

But I really want to air my beefs about Microsoft.

I discovered that the version of Windows that came on my hard-drive was apparently cracked. Am I surprised? No. Before XP, the work-arounds were pretty simple. But by now the updates to Service Packs 1 and 2 are really irritating (actually, in my lack of awareness of the specifics, I am not sure that it's even possible to do SP2 yet - I figure it must be, but it's taken me two days just to think I have SP1 worked out, and SP2 is still just this monster T-Rex tearing apart others of my fellow cave men on the horizon.)

Now, it is obvious that MS would like my money. And the money of anyone else who pirates their precious, next-to-mandatory operating system. I get that. But the extremes they are going to are getting pretty outrageous.
I believe that making sure that there are some extra hurdles for those who do want to take advantage of them is necessary - to stop the 'honest thief.' But to make the hurdles so close to totally exclusionary seems to me to be counter-productive. All it serves to do it make people less pleased with the products as a whole - and therefore less likely to bite the bullet and actually buy down the road. Also, preventing the community at large from being a more up-to-date, stronger, community is counter-productive. Strengthening the whole, strengthens the individual, and vice versa.

They make a ridiculous amount of money just on corporate (and other professional) installations. And it's relatively easy to keep the businesses in line - much easier to track them legally. Why not just make sure that they are all in line and be thankful for all the personal users who actually dish-out for the OS?

I am hoping that soon I will be in the category of 'business who is easier to keep in line' and then I'll be happy to pay for an honest install of Windows. I'd even do it now, just to save the grief and hassle I'm currently experiencing, but; 1) I just spent money I can barely afford on a new HD - which of course started this problem - a bit of unfortunate circular logic and; 2) This experience is souring me more to MS and actually making me want to say 'fuck-you' to them even more - also a bit of circular logic, snowballing in this case.

God, I wish I actually liked how Macs work.

Political Triage over Political Harikari

Well, Damn.

STV was voted down.

I suspect that a public that was more aware of the issue would have voted in favour. Oh well.

But it was close - more than close, really.

Way more than 60% of the ridings voted in favour by a simple majority - requirement #1 met.
Over 57% of the total voting public voted in favour. Less than 3% shy of the 60% required.

Clearly a sizable majority of the province wants change. In fact it seems pretty clear that STV is acceptable to most or all - 60% majorities are intended to protect minorities, which in this particular referendum is an illogical concern as the STV system is designed to benefit minority opinion.

The government could push STV through without much flak as it stands. The voice of the province is pretty clear. But it's dubious that they would as it doesn't serve their power position much if at all. But ignoring it would be political suicide so they have to do SOMETHING.

Curious to see what and how.

The simplest answer would be to push it through - the process has been started, the mechanics of the system are worked out and the people are in favour by a demonstrable margin.

But probably deciding upon some sort of watered down electoral reform that the parties come up with that doesn't undermine their position as badly will be the answer - - and what kind of reform is that?

Another referendum, or another Citizens Assembly is probably too much effort and cost, and too scary to let go the control of their fate yet again.