Robert Creamer has an excellent article on Huff Po today and I’d like to highlight a few of his comments. They are (as usual) presented in a logical, reasonable manner, largely free from name-calling and incendiary rhetoric. Ideally, I would like those of my friends and family who consider themselves Republican to respond to this blog post. First and foremost, I would like them to tell me why, in the face of the evidence and examples mentioned below, they continue to support the current Republican agenda. Please note that I say “current” agenda. My purpose in asking this question is not to demonize all Republicans, past and present. There is nothing to be gained from painting all individuals in any group with the same brush (and goodness knows we could discuss at length the attempt by members of the extreme right-wing of the Republican party to do just that to American Muslims re: the controversy surrounding the community center and mosque being built two blocks from Ground Zero – a building, by the way, that you cannot see from Ground Zero and a mosque that will join other mosques already located 4 and 12 blocks from the WTC site. But I digress).
I sincerely believe there are people in this country - reasonable, sane people - who consider themselves Republican and believe in the GOP’s stated political philosophy. My profound disappointment and anger stems from the fact that the current leadership of the GOP, those in Congress and those who do not hold office yet have enormous influence in this country (we all know who the players are), continue to display a cynicism and disregard for facts that are breathtaking in the extreme. It is my belief that the current GOP members of the House and Senate are not actually interested in working with the Democrats to boost the economy, despite lip-service to the contrary. I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Creamer that the goal is to prevent the Democrats from achieving anything in order to stoke the cynicism and fear running rampant in America these days. Reasonable people are free to disagree on policy matters but it is my belief that Republicans are concerned more with political gain than the well-being of the country. Mr. Creamer puts this better than I hence my reason for quoting him.
So… here we go. (Bold text = emphasis added).
Re: my statement that the GOP is simply operating out of cynicism and a desire to thwart the Democrats, here is the first quote from Creamer’s article:
Of course some will say that no, the Republicans just have a different view of what will create jobs than Democrats… They implemented their program of tax cuts for the rich and allowing the reckless Wall Street banks to do whatever they pleased for eight long years. The result was a $2,000 decrease in real income for most Americans, a massive increase in incomes for the top two percent of the population, zero net private sector job creation, and the collapse of our economy… They believe that their political fortunes will rise if the fortunes of the rest of us decline.
The most striking case in point is the small business jobs bill that will hit the Senate immediately after the recess. The bill provides financial incentives to small business to create new jobs. You'd think that any bill that infuses money into a key Republican constituency like small business would be met with open arms by the Republican minority. No such luck. They plan to filibuster the bill even though many of its provisions were lifted directly from measures authored by Republicans.
Creamer goes on to describe what occurs during a recession. I include it here because it describes basic economic theory in a clear, concise manner:
In a recession, the problem is not a sudden decline of the ability of the economy to produce goods and services. The problem is that the web of economic relationships is disrupted and creates an artificial decline of demand for products and services -- a demand deficit. Without adequate demand to buy their products, businesses lay off workers who have even less money to buy products, and the economy spirals into recession.
Recessions result in incredible waste. All of the products and services that idle workers, plants and equipment could have created are simply not produced -- meaning that the society as a whole is poorer with fewer goods and services to go around.
The solution to this problem is to create the economic demand to put people back to work and jump start the economy. But the only source of that demand is the government.
He then explains what occurred during the debate surrounding the stimulus that the Obama Administration championed:
The White House economic team -- and many progressive economists -- believed that a large stimulus was necessary to push the economy out of the economic ditch and get it going again. But the Republicans said no. Many opposed any stimulus at all. In the end, the price for the three Republicans who ultimately voted yes was a scaled-back stimulus that turned out to be enormously effective -- just not big enough to do the job.
And now…
Even today, Republicans are campaigning against the stimulus, claiming it didn't work, even though the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office analysis finds that it created or saved 2.8 million jobs by the end of July and will probably have created or saved 3.5 million by the end of September. Without it, instead of the eight million jobs lost as a result of the Republican recession, we would have lost 11.5 million jobs.
Lately, the GOP has been screaming about deficits (a subject I mentioned in a previous blog post titled “Taxing my patience,” dated August 10th). Here’s Robert:
But what about the deficit you say? First a good portion of the newly-generated, short-term deficit would have been offset by increased tax revenues generated from new wages and the new spending they created as they flowed through the economy. And over the long run, most economists agree that this kind of expenditure would have actually improved the deficit picture by jumpstarting overall economic growth.
In fact, most of the budget surplus generated by the Clinton economic program came from just that -- the big-time economic growth of the late 1990's.
Creamer then mentions GM – whom the government rescued from bankruptcy, causing overheated alarm that Washington was now going to permanently run a private enterprise and take over the entire automobile industry. This, despite Obama’s clearly articulated guarantee that he neither intended nor advocated for the government to permanently control GM. Take it away Robert:
They opposed the government rescue of GM that has proven to be one of our biggest economic bright spots. Instead of going into bankruptcy, or liquidating and costing thousands of additional jobs, GM actually turned a $2.2 billion profit in the first half of this year and is preparing a stock offering that will allow the government to sell off its stake at a potential profit. GM is now hiring new workers once again.
Also worth mentioning (as I did on August 10), is the money granted to states in order to prevent the layoffs of teacher, firefighters and police officers:
And there was the Republican filibuster of federal money for teachers, police, firefighters and other public servants. They caused hundreds of thousands of state employees to be laid off or furloughed. It finally passed the Senate with two Republican votes, but only after it was cut in half. It will prevent 300,000 layoffs. Every time a teacher is fired, it not only damages the economy in the short run, it also permanently damages our economic prospects -- and ability to compete in the world -- over the long run, by shortchanging the education of our next generation.
Okay. Now let’s talk taxes:
All the while they have been opposing these jobs initiatives, Republicans have proposed -- with a straight face -- that we spend almost three quarters of a trillion dollars over the next 10 years on tax breaks for the top two percent of the population.
And they have opposed Democratic attempts to end tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas -- one of the most profound causes of the decline of American manufacturing.
This is how Robert Creamer sums it all up (and forgive me, my Republican friends and family members but I can’t help agreeing with him):
The fact is [the GOP] want[s] to keep the economy in that ditch so they can divert attention from the fact that they were behind the wheel when it careened off the road.
They hope that if they prevent it from getting back onto the pavement, the voters will forget about who put it in the ditch in the first place and blame the guys who are trying to get it out. They're counting on the frustration caused by the delay in getting the economy out of that ditch to be enough that the voters will turn once again to the culprits who put it there, throw them the keys and say "why don't you try it again." That, of course, will require a gigantic case of national amnesia. It would also be a political and economic disaster…In particular, the Republicans hope that the frustration and the fatigue of struggling with the economic situation is just enough to make a large number of Democratic voters give up in disgust and simply stay home on Election Day.
There you have it. There’s my take (with a huge assist from Robert Creamer), on the current GOP leadership and their strategy for the midterm elections.
Again, I am keenly interested in hearing your reactions, particularly from those on the right-hand side of the aisle. My hope is that a reasonable, calm discussion can ensue but my own temper on matters political is all too often difficult for me to control, so I realize this may be a tall order.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
I reserve the right to edit this later
I've mentioned this blog before - Weekend Wordsmith - and today brings another installment. Each week, a word is posted and readers are encouraged to write something inspired by that particular word. Here is my latest entry, this one for the word "embellish."
***
Embellish for me (if you would) the story of my birth
Draw me frozen elevators -
A plane at thirty thousand feet -
Hurricanes, tornadoes, fierce lightning storms.
Paint my skin blue for countless anxious minutes.
Orchestrate the chorus of nurses
The humming of machines
The woodwind of my shallow breath
Sing of my heroic little lungs!
Place us in a foreign land
Soothed by women whose words are strange
So all that's left is an ancient language
Of trust and blood and flesh.
Diamond the telling of it
Drown it in sapphires
Place it on the emerald field of adventure.
Anything.
Anything but the ordinary entrance I made
The miraculous ordinary
One of millions - washed, swaddled, held
But not talked of in the doctors' lounge:
"Remember that one? That tiny girl,
So clearly marked for something special?"
***
***
Embellish for me (if you would) the story of my birth
Draw me frozen elevators -
A plane at thirty thousand feet -
Hurricanes, tornadoes, fierce lightning storms.
Paint my skin blue for countless anxious minutes.
Orchestrate the chorus of nurses
The humming of machines
The woodwind of my shallow breath
Sing of my heroic little lungs!
Place us in a foreign land
Soothed by women whose words are strange
So all that's left is an ancient language
Of trust and blood and flesh.
Diamond the telling of it
Drown it in sapphires
Place it on the emerald field of adventure.
Anything.
Anything but the ordinary entrance I made
The miraculous ordinary
One of millions - washed, swaddled, held
But not talked of in the doctors' lounge:
"Remember that one? That tiny girl,
So clearly marked for something special?"
***
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Observation (August 16, 2010)
Is there such a thing as low maintenance?
I am of the opinion that no one, male or female, is low maintenance. Human beings are complicated. The scale should really begin at medium. Medium, high and very high. Honestly, isn't "low maintenance" wishful thinking spread by men and women who don't want to make much of an effort?
I am of the opinion that no one, male or female, is low maintenance. Human beings are complicated. The scale should really begin at medium. Medium, high and very high. Honestly, isn't "low maintenance" wishful thinking spread by men and women who don't want to make much of an effort?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Taxing my patience
States are bankrupt. Communities are shutting off streetlights in an effort to save money. Schoolchildren in Hawaii now attend school only four days a week. Teachers are being laid off all over this country, as are policemen and firefighters. But Republicans in Congress are opposed to passing a measure that would provide financial relief to cash-strapped states. Roads are being UN-paved because states cannot afford to maintain them - our infrastructure is literally crumbling. But the R's want to extend Bush's tax cuts, tax cuts that go primarily to the wealthy. Tax cuts that will ADD to the deficit, the same deficit that the R's are yelling and screaming about lowering. Because roads, teachers, bridges, the electrical grid, etc. - those are things we needn't spend money on. What we really need to do is make sure that the already obscenely wealthy get to keep more of their money. Money that they will NOT put back into the economy no matter the rhetoric coming from the right. It has been proven over and over during the past 30 some years that supply side economics does not work. The trickle down theory does not work. Full stop.
Fareed Zakaria said it best in his recent Newsweek column (August 9, 2010 issue):
"The idea that the average American is overtaxed is a nice piece of populist pandering. In fact, federal taxes as a percentage of the economy are at their lowest level since the presidency of Harry Truman... The simple fact is this: all the Bush tax cuts were unaffordable. They were an irresponsible act of hubris enacted during an economic boom. Conservatives thought they would force us to shrink the government. But with Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, did reduced taxes cause reduced spending? No, they led to ever-increasing borrowing and a ballooning deficit..."
Furthermore, he goes on to say:
"We have one of the smallest governments among all the rich countries in the world..."
And this from Paul Krugman's recent Op-Ed:
"We're told that we have no choice, that basic government functions - essential services that have provided for generations - are no longer affordable. And it's true that state and local governments, hit hard by the recession, are cash-strapped. But they wouldn't be quite as cash-strapped if their politicians were willing to consider at least some tax increases..."
Ah, but to advocate for "... at least some tax increases..." would require courage, something all of our politicians - even the best ones - seem to lack these days.
Fareed Zakaria said it best in his recent Newsweek column (August 9, 2010 issue):
"The idea that the average American is overtaxed is a nice piece of populist pandering. In fact, federal taxes as a percentage of the economy are at their lowest level since the presidency of Harry Truman... The simple fact is this: all the Bush tax cuts were unaffordable. They were an irresponsible act of hubris enacted during an economic boom. Conservatives thought they would force us to shrink the government. But with Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, did reduced taxes cause reduced spending? No, they led to ever-increasing borrowing and a ballooning deficit..."
Furthermore, he goes on to say:
"We have one of the smallest governments among all the rich countries in the world..."
And this from Paul Krugman's recent Op-Ed:
"We're told that we have no choice, that basic government functions - essential services that have provided for generations - are no longer affordable. And it's true that state and local governments, hit hard by the recession, are cash-strapped. But they wouldn't be quite as cash-strapped if their politicians were willing to consider at least some tax increases..."
Ah, but to advocate for "... at least some tax increases..." would require courage, something all of our politicians - even the best ones - seem to lack these days.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Southern (Dis)Comfort, or, My Adventures in Bartending School
When I got to LA, I assumed I would continue pursuing my acting career (more on that later). As opposed to NYC, temping in LA is not really an option for the aspiring actor. In NYC, if I had an audition in the middle of the work day, I could usually ask my agents to schedule me around the lunch hour. Since the city is so compact (especially compared with LA), I could simply take a longer lunch hour, usually an hour and a half instead of one hour, and go to my audition. There was no need for me to take an entire day off from a day job in order to accommodate auditions.
Not so in LA. This city is vast and casting offices are spread out -- there is no central location or neighborhood(s) where most auditions take place. And with traffic being what it is (see previous post), driving even a relatively short distance can take quite a long time. The hour and a half that I would need for travel and audition time in NYC could easily be three hours, or more, in LA.
The very first week I was here, I signed up for bartending classes. I figured it was perfect - I could work nights and weekends, leaving my weekday afternoons free for auditions (forgetting that every job I'd ever had in food service left me miserable. People are cranky when hungry/thirsty). Never having bartended before, I was bit nervous, but the woman running the school (let's call her Jill), assured me that she had taught hundreds of students with no previous experience. Job placement assistance was available for graduates; Jill told me I'd have no trouble finding work in a high-end restaurant or bar, which was my goal. I left my registration meeting with a spring in my step and drink textbook in hand. Jill found me classy and outgoing and was convinced I'd make great money. Flirt a little with a rich businessman while fixing his martini? Why not?
The entire course consisted of seven classes that could be taken in any order. Class number one for me was all about cream drinks. Want to know how to make a Grasshopper or a Toasted Almond? I can tell you. Standing behind the bar making my fake drinks (no actual liquor was used on school premises, only water with food coloring added), I felt powerful. I was actually having fun! Leaving class that first night, two other students complimented me, saying that I must have tended bar in the past, yes? No! Hot damn! I said, only one class under my belt and already I look like a pro. This was going to be a cakewalk.
I took the remaining 6 classes, learning how to build a perfect martini, the proper way to pour champagne (the label always faces the customer!) and bartending slang (want your drink with 'big red balls?' Then you would like your server to top your drink with 1/2 oz of Grenadine. How about 'fit for a king?' Your drink goes in a hurricane glass, don't ya know?) With each additional class, I grew more and more anxious. I made flash cards for each drink I was required to learn -- over 300 in all. But as I studied the ingredients failed to cement themselves in my brain. Did a Kamikaze get 1/2 oz of Vodka or 3/4 oz? What were the ingredients of a Colorado Bull Dog again? Which fruit was the proper garnish for an Iguana Margartia - lime or lemon?
I watched several students take the practical test. And I watched every one of those students fail said test. 12 random drinks in 7 minutes. One of the instructors would ask for three drinks. Once those were made you'd be told the next three, and so on until all 12 cocktails were made. A drink was only considered correct if all garnishes were applied. And god help you if you couldn't remember the slang. Asked to make a Gold Driver? Easy enough (basically a Screwdriver only with Tequila rather than Vodka). But if asked for a Gold Driver Prance A Pony, you'd better remember that Prance A Pony means in addition to the main drink, putting 1 oz of the main alcohol in said drink in a 1 oz snifter, rolling that snifter on its side then placing it beside the original drink. Does the requested drink get a straw? A lemon twist or a lemon wedge? Better remember it during the test.
Most students had to take the practical test at least 3 times before passing. No matter the amount of confidence in one's drink-making abilities, every single student was nervous during that exam. The especially frustrating quirk being that the instructors would ask students for the most random drinks possible, knowing that once behind the bar in an actual establishment, those drinks were rarely requested.
Nerves growing by the day, I kept at it. I took a wine certification class, studied my flashcards and practiced making Scorpions, Long Beach Iced Teas and Alabama Slammers. I memorized the order of the liquors in the "well," and those on the "back bar." I remembered that NFL did not mean National Football League but No F**king Lime and Doggy Style did not refer to a certain sex position but meant you were to salt the rim of the glass.
And then it hit me.
I'd be working with drunk people. Naturally, this should have occurred to me sooner. Suddenly, I saw myself dealing with belligerent customers, denied another drink because they'd already had too much. I imagined shutting down sleazy men trying to flirt with me. Unlike a temp job, any down time would be spent cutting limes, not reading my favorite websites. And, horror of horrors, I realized I'd have to make change. Math! This job required math! What was I thinking??
My experiment in tending bar was over.
********************************
~Grasshopper: 1/2 oz White Cream de Cacao, 1/2 oz Green Creme de Menthe, 2 oz Cream, Shake & Strain
~Toasted Almond: 1/2 oz Amaretto, 1/2 oz Kahlua, 2 oz Cream, Shake & Strain
~A Kamikaze gets 1/2 oz of Vodka
~Colorado Bull Dog (also called a Smith & Wesson): 1 oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Kahlua, 1 oz Cream, fill with Coke, over ice
~An Iguana Margarita is garnished with a lime
~Scorpion: 1 oz Brandy, 1 oz Rum, 1/2 oz Creme de Almond, 1/2 oz Triple Sec, fill 1/3 with Sweet & Sour mix, fill 1/3 with Orange Juice, fill 1/3 with Pineapple Juice, top with 1/2 oz Barcardi 151 Rum
~Long Beach Iced Tea: 1/2 oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Gin, 1/2 oz Tequila, 1/2 oz Triple Sec, 1/2 oz Light Rum, 1 and 1/2 oz Sweet & Sour mix, fill with Cranberry Juice, optional splash of 7 Up and garnish with lemon wedge
~Alabama Slammer: 1/2 oz Sloe Gin, 1/2 oz Jack Daniels or Amaretto, 1/2 oz Southern Comfort, fill with Orange Juice, stir
Not so in LA. This city is vast and casting offices are spread out -- there is no central location or neighborhood(s) where most auditions take place. And with traffic being what it is (see previous post), driving even a relatively short distance can take quite a long time. The hour and a half that I would need for travel and audition time in NYC could easily be three hours, or more, in LA.
The very first week I was here, I signed up for bartending classes. I figured it was perfect - I could work nights and weekends, leaving my weekday afternoons free for auditions (forgetting that every job I'd ever had in food service left me miserable. People are cranky when hungry/thirsty). Never having bartended before, I was bit nervous, but the woman running the school (let's call her Jill), assured me that she had taught hundreds of students with no previous experience. Job placement assistance was available for graduates; Jill told me I'd have no trouble finding work in a high-end restaurant or bar, which was my goal. I left my registration meeting with a spring in my step and drink textbook in hand. Jill found me classy and outgoing and was convinced I'd make great money. Flirt a little with a rich businessman while fixing his martini? Why not?
The entire course consisted of seven classes that could be taken in any order. Class number one for me was all about cream drinks. Want to know how to make a Grasshopper or a Toasted Almond? I can tell you. Standing behind the bar making my fake drinks (no actual liquor was used on school premises, only water with food coloring added), I felt powerful. I was actually having fun! Leaving class that first night, two other students complimented me, saying that I must have tended bar in the past, yes? No! Hot damn! I said, only one class under my belt and already I look like a pro. This was going to be a cakewalk.
I took the remaining 6 classes, learning how to build a perfect martini, the proper way to pour champagne (the label always faces the customer!) and bartending slang (want your drink with 'big red balls?' Then you would like your server to top your drink with 1/2 oz of Grenadine. How about 'fit for a king?' Your drink goes in a hurricane glass, don't ya know?) With each additional class, I grew more and more anxious. I made flash cards for each drink I was required to learn -- over 300 in all. But as I studied the ingredients failed to cement themselves in my brain. Did a Kamikaze get 1/2 oz of Vodka or 3/4 oz? What were the ingredients of a Colorado Bull Dog again? Which fruit was the proper garnish for an Iguana Margartia - lime or lemon?
I watched several students take the practical test. And I watched every one of those students fail said test. 12 random drinks in 7 minutes. One of the instructors would ask for three drinks. Once those were made you'd be told the next three, and so on until all 12 cocktails were made. A drink was only considered correct if all garnishes were applied. And god help you if you couldn't remember the slang. Asked to make a Gold Driver? Easy enough (basically a Screwdriver only with Tequila rather than Vodka). But if asked for a Gold Driver Prance A Pony, you'd better remember that Prance A Pony means in addition to the main drink, putting 1 oz of the main alcohol in said drink in a 1 oz snifter, rolling that snifter on its side then placing it beside the original drink. Does the requested drink get a straw? A lemon twist or a lemon wedge? Better remember it during the test.
Most students had to take the practical test at least 3 times before passing. No matter the amount of confidence in one's drink-making abilities, every single student was nervous during that exam. The especially frustrating quirk being that the instructors would ask students for the most random drinks possible, knowing that once behind the bar in an actual establishment, those drinks were rarely requested.
Nerves growing by the day, I kept at it. I took a wine certification class, studied my flashcards and practiced making Scorpions, Long Beach Iced Teas and Alabama Slammers. I memorized the order of the liquors in the "well," and those on the "back bar." I remembered that NFL did not mean National Football League but No F**king Lime and Doggy Style did not refer to a certain sex position but meant you were to salt the rim of the glass.
And then it hit me.
I'd be working with drunk people. Naturally, this should have occurred to me sooner. Suddenly, I saw myself dealing with belligerent customers, denied another drink because they'd already had too much. I imagined shutting down sleazy men trying to flirt with me. Unlike a temp job, any down time would be spent cutting limes, not reading my favorite websites. And, horror of horrors, I realized I'd have to make change. Math! This job required math! What was I thinking??
My experiment in tending bar was over.
********************************
~Grasshopper: 1/2 oz White Cream de Cacao, 1/2 oz Green Creme de Menthe, 2 oz Cream, Shake & Strain
~Toasted Almond: 1/2 oz Amaretto, 1/2 oz Kahlua, 2 oz Cream, Shake & Strain
~A Kamikaze gets 1/2 oz of Vodka
~Colorado Bull Dog (also called a Smith & Wesson): 1 oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Kahlua, 1 oz Cream, fill with Coke, over ice
~An Iguana Margarita is garnished with a lime
~Scorpion: 1 oz Brandy, 1 oz Rum, 1/2 oz Creme de Almond, 1/2 oz Triple Sec, fill 1/3 with Sweet & Sour mix, fill 1/3 with Orange Juice, fill 1/3 with Pineapple Juice, top with 1/2 oz Barcardi 151 Rum
~Long Beach Iced Tea: 1/2 oz Vodka, 1/2 oz Gin, 1/2 oz Tequila, 1/2 oz Triple Sec, 1/2 oz Light Rum, 1 and 1/2 oz Sweet & Sour mix, fill with Cranberry Juice, optional splash of 7 Up and garnish with lemon wedge
~Alabama Slammer: 1/2 oz Sloe Gin, 1/2 oz Jack Daniels or Amaretto, 1/2 oz Southern Comfort, fill with Orange Juice, stir
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Observation (August 5, 2010)
Man Jewelry. Why?
I ask in earnest. Are you Johnny Depp? No? Then stop wearing jewelry. Johnny Depp is the only man who can get away with it.
Earrings (especially in each ear!) do not make you look cool. They make you look like a douchebag, a rapper, or Harrison Ford. Oh, Harrison. Please stop with the earring. Calista - talk to him!
Necklaces (especially gold ones). Unless you are a surfer, wearing your faux-leather cord avec beads, skip the necklace. You look like a pimp or a Russian male figure skater.
PINKIE RINGS! Do I even need to discuss this? Apparently, I do, as I see quite a few of them out there. If you are not aware of how tacky and ridiculous a pinkie ring makes you look, then there is no hope for you. You look like a mobster.
The exception to the rule? Wedding rings. Men - WEAR YOUR WEDDING BANDS! Otherwise it is false advertising.
I ask in earnest. Are you Johnny Depp? No? Then stop wearing jewelry. Johnny Depp is the only man who can get away with it.
Earrings (especially in each ear!) do not make you look cool. They make you look like a douchebag, a rapper, or Harrison Ford. Oh, Harrison. Please stop with the earring. Calista - talk to him!
Necklaces (especially gold ones). Unless you are a surfer, wearing your faux-leather cord avec beads, skip the necklace. You look like a pimp or a Russian male figure skater.
PINKIE RINGS! Do I even need to discuss this? Apparently, I do, as I see quite a few of them out there. If you are not aware of how tacky and ridiculous a pinkie ring makes you look, then there is no hope for you. You look like a mobster.
The exception to the rule? Wedding rings. Men - WEAR YOUR WEDDING BANDS! Otherwise it is false advertising.
It's a new dawn / It's a new day / It's a new life / And I'm feeeeeelin'... good?
A new day, indeed.
A new YEAR actually. My last post was over a year ago. My reasons for such a long hiatus from this blog are complicated. Renewal was in order. Suffice it to say, I'M BACK! To those of you who have supported me in this endeavor from the beginning, thank you. I hope you'll continue to stop by.
What's been going on since last I wrote? Well...
TITLE CARD
February 7, 2010
FADE IN:
JULIE, a tall, 30-ish brunette, strides through LAX. Freshly arrived in Los Angeles from New York City, she appears both excited and wary. We watch for a few seconds as she struggles to pull her heavy suitcases off the conveyor belt.
FADE OUT
That's right, puffins! I moved to Los Angeles. This former subway rider is now the proud owner of a Kia Rio; this former roommate of the fabulous Christine Marie Brown is now living by herself in a studio apartment; this actress and occasional-writer is now... what?
Now what?
That's the question I've been asking myself since moving here 6 months ago. Having been curious about LA for several years, I finally made the move. New York City, the place I once loved with my whole heart and couldn't imagine leaving, started feeling like a wet wool blanket. An expensive, smelly, wet wool blanket. Feeling hemmed in, irritated, unable to afford an apartment in any of my favorite neighborhoods (even WITH a roomie), frustrated with schlepping groceries blocks and blocks in the rain and snow, angry at fellow subway passengers who seemed to grow increasingly boorish, I left. I left dear friends and favorite bookstores, Central Park and stunning architecture for sunshine and cars, other dear friends and hiking, and mostly, adventure.
Boy, am I getting an adventure. Like all such stories, mine is filled with highs and lows. Triumphs, obstacles, mysteries and questions. It's all included.
And, oh, those questions...
Who am I in this new, odd place? Did I move out here to continue my acting career? If not, what on earth, WHO on earth am I? Is this home? How many donut shops can one city have? (Seriously, you can't swing a dead cat in this town without hitting another one).
All of these questions will be explored. But, fear not! Lest you think future posts will be nothing but soul searching and sentimentality, I can promise there will also be humour, British spelling, opinions on matters great and small, wonder, a dash of cynicism (but only a dash, as there are enough cynics in the world and they're generally not much fun to be around for extended periods of time), pop culture, politics and exclamations of terror and delight. I'd like to think that's what I provided before I hit PAUSE.
So, WordSmith At Play is PLAYING again. Onward!
A new YEAR actually. My last post was over a year ago. My reasons for such a long hiatus from this blog are complicated. Renewal was in order. Suffice it to say, I'M BACK! To those of you who have supported me in this endeavor from the beginning, thank you. I hope you'll continue to stop by.
What's been going on since last I wrote? Well...
TITLE CARD
February 7, 2010
FADE IN:
JULIE, a tall, 30-ish brunette, strides through LAX. Freshly arrived in Los Angeles from New York City, she appears both excited and wary. We watch for a few seconds as she struggles to pull her heavy suitcases off the conveyor belt.
FADE OUT
That's right, puffins! I moved to Los Angeles. This former subway rider is now the proud owner of a Kia Rio; this former roommate of the fabulous Christine Marie Brown is now living by herself in a studio apartment; this actress and occasional-writer is now... what?
Now what?
That's the question I've been asking myself since moving here 6 months ago. Having been curious about LA for several years, I finally made the move. New York City, the place I once loved with my whole heart and couldn't imagine leaving, started feeling like a wet wool blanket. An expensive, smelly, wet wool blanket. Feeling hemmed in, irritated, unable to afford an apartment in any of my favorite neighborhoods (even WITH a roomie), frustrated with schlepping groceries blocks and blocks in the rain and snow, angry at fellow subway passengers who seemed to grow increasingly boorish, I left. I left dear friends and favorite bookstores, Central Park and stunning architecture for sunshine and cars, other dear friends and hiking, and mostly, adventure.
Boy, am I getting an adventure. Like all such stories, mine is filled with highs and lows. Triumphs, obstacles, mysteries and questions. It's all included.
And, oh, those questions...
Who am I in this new, odd place? Did I move out here to continue my acting career? If not, what on earth, WHO on earth am I? Is this home? How many donut shops can one city have? (Seriously, you can't swing a dead cat in this town without hitting another one).
All of these questions will be explored. But, fear not! Lest you think future posts will be nothing but soul searching and sentimentality, I can promise there will also be humour, British spelling, opinions on matters great and small, wonder, a dash of cynicism (but only a dash, as there are enough cynics in the world and they're generally not much fun to be around for extended periods of time), pop culture, politics and exclamations of terror and delight. I'd like to think that's what I provided before I hit PAUSE.
So, WordSmith At Play is PLAYING again. Onward!
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