Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Writer's Guild

The Writer's Guild Strike is in its fourth week and we, the viewing audience, are beginning to feel it. The last strike, in 1988, lasted 22 weeks. Are we prepared to watch reruns for the four or five months? Maybe.

But maybe we won't need to worry. There is news that an agreement may be in the works. Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Blog says there is a glimmer of hope, and the strike could be settled before Christmas. Now, that's good news!

However, we know how strikes go, and Nikki reminds us this is happening in Hollywood. Nikki Finke is generally considered the best entertainment writer in Hollywood. In an earlier post, she indicated that strike play is not necessarily fair play.

Apparently Variety delivered boxes of issues to a protest where John Edwards appeared in hopes of spreading disinformation. That issue had an article saying some writers had agreed to drop the pickets and return to work regardless of an agreement, and buried information that showrunners are walking the picket line and closing down the show. A reaction note was sent to Variety by an accused group:

"As the writing staff of
The Young and The Restless gathered together to share pizza -- something we have vowed to do weekly until the strike ends -- we were incensed to read the incorrect information printed in Variety, that several writers on our show sought financial core status. Our entire writing staff of 18 is united, and we fully support our union. Not a single person who was writing for Y&R when we struck has gone core. Not one. We stand united with sore feet from picketing. Well, some of us sit. But we all do our part, and we cannot be parted.

"The Y&R writers have been asked how long the strike will last. We know it will last as long as it takes to get a fair contract. We've also been asked if Jack Abbott will prove Victor Newman is a killer. We could answer that one, but we're not going to -- because we are not writing."

It sounds as if they are standing firm and ready for whatever lays ahead. I hope the rumor is more than a rumor and a good agreement is in the works. And besides, I want to see if and how Jack proves Victor is a killer.

Technorati technorati tags: , , , ,


Wednesday, November 21, 2007

World Hello Day Promotes World Peace


Remember the conflict between Israel and Egypt in 1973? It prompted the creation of World Hello Day. This day was begun as a message to world leaders to encourage communication over force, and has been observed by people in 180 countries.

Today is the 35th annual World Hello Day. Anyone can participate, and in fact, many people do.

I am very happy to know that your organisation is working for the promotion of world peace. -- Mother Teresa 1981
I wholeheartedly support your efforts for world peace and unity and wish you the best in your endeavors. -- Joe Paterno 1987
This simple campaign has worldwide importance -- keep it going. -- Whoopi Goldberg 1992

Read the full text of 80 letters by a variety of celebrities, entertainers, world leaders, and more!

Be sure to say "Hello" to at least ten people today -- demonstrate the importance of personal communication for preserving peace.

Technorati technorati tags: , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Listen to the Demo Girl

When you want to buy a new service or product, how do you decide? What about a 2 or 3 minute screencast demo? Then you could see for yourself if it's something that really interests you.

Molly McDonald thinks a short video demo might be just what you might like to become familiar with new software. As the voice and Editor in Chief of DemoGirl, she has created more than 300 screencasts available for viewing FREE as far back as April 2006.

Visit Demo Girl for a new demo each day. Then look at the sidebar and select a topic to see what is available. I looked under "bookmarking" and found ten demos for packages including Yahoo!, Zoho, Searchles TV, del.icio.us,
Technorati, AOL and more. Pretty impressive.

I happened across this site while looking over Garry's shoulder. He found BoomShuffle, watched the demo, and developed a music mix on Garry's Blog. Visit his blog and listen to the tunes he chose.

Technorati technorati tags: , , , , ,

Monday, November 19, 2007

Attitude

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." -- G.K. Chesterton
Chesterton was quite a prolific writer and a friend to one of my favorite playwrights George Bernard Shaw. They must have had lively discussions. At one time they played cowboys in a silent movie, but it was never released. How fun it would have been!






Technorati technorati tags: , , , , ,

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Marooned? Without a Compass?

Today is Marooned without a Compass Day.

Marooned is to be isolated with little hope of rescue or escape. Pirates used to abandon people on islands so they were intentionally marooned. A compass is a device used to determine geographic direction, so it could be useful when trying to become un-marooned. Except for those abandoned by the pirates -- knowing which direction is North is nice, but not very helpful for those surrounded by the ocean in all directions.


If someone was marooned in Europe before the 14th Century, they understood the spirit of the day because the compass had not been invented yet. The Chinese were luckier, though,
because they had a compass as far back as the 11th Century.

Today we have a choice of compasses: There's the electronic compass, the magnetic compass,
and the solar compass which made its appearance in 1836. There are also many other patents, so we can find our choice of compasses.

Some cars even have their own built in compass which is very helpful if only you knew if your friend lives east or west of your house. Sometimes the highways are named to be helpful to those of us who do not carry a compass, but they can be confusing, too. For example, Interstate 35 splits at one point between Waco and Denton, so you might be on East North I-35. Good luck!

Technorati technorati tags: , , ,