Reality Bites

I am sick to death of the writers' strike. I like to watch TV, & since I abhor most reality shows, things are not good for me in TV land, & if the strike isn't settled soon, things will get worse & worse. I'd say I could read more, but I already read a lot. Sometimes you just need to stop thinking & veg out in front of the tube. OK, I get it, WGA, you're getting screwed on royalties, or residuals, or DVD sales, or internet content, probably all of it, but enough is enough. For God's sake, get somebody in there to negotiate for you who knows how the other side thinks, like agents, or proven labor negotiators for other unions, or Alec Baldwin (you know what I'm talking about if you read the Huffington Post), or somebody who can shake things up, not just make a point. There are lots & lots of people this strike is affecting, not just writers. All the production & post-production people who work for the scripted shows are out of work, too. You can only expect solidarity so long. When you can't feed your kids, or pay your rent, or go to the doctor if you're sick, then solidarity turns to resentment & anger. Sure, SAG & DGA support you, but these are generally people who make a lot more money than the others I've mentioned- they can afford it. Obviously, negotiations have not gone well; I don't know if they're still broken off or not, but just saying that you're right & the other side are souless money-grubbers is not working very well, is it? Yes, you're the ones who actually create the shows, but right now, that's just not enough, is it? Maybe before reality TV had such a stranglehold on the public (I guess there's no accounting for taste, or lack of) that was the case, but unfortunately, no longer. I don't know the answer to this dilemma, but I know there are smarter people than me out there who do. It's time for them to do something.

On another note, is anybody else out there terrified what Bush might or might not do in response to Benazir Bhutto's assassination? What a real tragedy that was, but the response from this inept, ignorant administration could possibly make the repercussions just as tragic. How insane is that, that we need to be afraid that our elected government will do something that could possibly lead to nuclear annihiliation? I really don't think that people are taking this situation as seriously as it should be taken. Pakistan is generally regarded as the most unstable country in the most unstable part of the world, & now this country, already in chaos, could be plunged into civil war, or worse. Maybe if they didn't have nuclear capabilities, things would not be quite as scary, but they do, & anyone not extremely concerned about this is just not paying attention, or a moron. Maybe praying wouldn't hurt, but sometimes I think that God just isn't paying attention anymore, either.

I know that most of the readers of my blog have come to me through Arlan, & I thank her, & you all, very much for giving me the chance to vent my frustrations on a somewhat larger stage than my living room. In spite of all that we have to worry about in the world, & all the problems we've yet to solve, please try to have a Happy New Year. Maybe we can all resolve to each do something to make 2008 a better, safer, & happier year than this one (like electing a Democrat president, for example). See you next year.

Twilight Zone

In whatever alternative universe he seems to inhabit, Dubya thinks the economy is "doing okay." I guess in Bushworld, he could be right. I'm sure that he & his friends are doing just dandy. Meanwhile, most of the rest of us are struggling to pay our bills, while our salaries are just not keeping up. I don't know about you, but I can't afford $3 gas & higher utility & food prices, but this president is so totally isolated from the real world, he doesn't have a clue. Not that he would care, anyway, & that's the pathetic part of it. I would pick frigging Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney over Bush, that's how disgusted I am with him. Not that I would even think seriously of voting Republican: the first & last time I would have done that was 1964, for Goldwater, & back then I couldn't vote yet (in the Dark Ages). Is it really possible that everything in this country is actually getting even worse than we thought it could get? The absolute saddest & most pathetic thing is that we all just have accepted that conditions in almost every area of American life CAN get worse. The American dream has become the American nightmare under Bush & his cronies, & I just cannot understand how we could have let this happen. It astounds me, & I'm pretty cynical.

Anyway, I guess we all should try to make the best of it through the holidays, but after that, we have got to get serious, folks. I read that Sen. Chris Dodd is considering running for majority leader in the Senate, & since he's one of the few Democrats (running for president or not) that actually has a backbone & at least tries to use it, I really hope he does run & win. To say I'm underwhelmed by what the congressional Democrats, especially in the Senate, have done so far after all the expectations we had for them is an understatement. They're still letting Bush fuck them at almost every opportunity. I mean, come on, we don't have to take this shit. What's really interesting is that despite the war, the scandals, the disregard of our civil liberties, & all the other outrages perpetrated on us for the past (almost) 8 years, again it may be "it's the economy, stupid" that finally resonates with people next year. Economic conditions sure aren't going to get any better; if anything, they'll get worse. If we would have another 4 years of Republican rule, I honestly think the middle class in America would be a memory. We'd become like lots of those countries in South America & other places in the world where there's just the rich & the poor, with nothing in between.
I don't think that my grandparents & all the other immigrants who came to this country hoping for a better life could have ever foreseen this happening. That still just might be the ultimate tragedy of the Bush administration.

In spite of all this, please try to have a good holiday season, & we'll take on the bastards again next year, ok?

Holiday Blues (or not)

I've had a love/hate relationship with Christmas for a while now (can you have a relationship with a holiday?). It sort of started when my daughter was small, & Christmas was really fun. Among my husband & myself, my parents, & several aunts & uncles, the living room looked like a small version of "Toys R Us." Back then, I had a lot of people to buy presents for, & although it seemed like a chore at the time to buy & wrap gifts for all of them, I kind of miss it now.

Since that time, I've had a lot of personal loss, a great deal of it just before or after the holidays. I usually more or less dread the season now, which is hard in our household because my daughter LOVES Christmas. Always has & always will, probably. Even though she doesn't get the huge volume of presents she was used to getting in the past, the season really means what it should to her, which is giving - not only gifts but goodwill & affection. And for some reason, this year things have been a little better for me & I really don't know why. I've never outwardly had a "bah humbug" attitude, but then I've never been one to show my sorrow or unhappiness to the world. Everybody thinks that everything is always perfectly fine with me, regardless of how I really feel. And I guess that's ok; why should you bring down everybody else around you just because you're upset or unhappy or grieving? Being repressed does have its upside, I suppose.

Now that I've thoroughly depressed everyone reading this (if anyone is actually reading it, I mean), maybe I should try to be a little more upbeat. As I said before, this year has not been such a downer for me, & I suspect that part of it is that my daughter's generally happier than she's been in a pretty long time. She's in a relationship that seems healthy, & she appears to know what she wants to do with her life long-term, without being in a panic to do everything right now. I guess I'm trying to say that when she's happy, I'm happy, or at least happier. She's basically my life, & that's not as sad as it sounds, because we've always had a wonderful relationship, & she's a warm, caring, intelligent & funny person. She's truly a gift from God & I'm grateful every day for her. Also, I'm not as behind on shopping as I usually am, so that's good. Maybe, too, I'm starting to accept my situation in life & not yearn as much for what I've lost or what could have been, & realize that there's very little I can actually do about it, so I guess that's progress of a sort. Anyway, I am a little bit in the Christmas spirit this year; it was actually I who suggested it was time to put up the tree in our house, & I even enjoyed decorating it. For me that's definitely a plus.

In case I don't write again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season.