The Writers' Strike continues

Took Astro-Girl to Gone Baby Gone on Saturday, saw the Horton cut-out in the lobby and thought: Hmm, did I cross a picket line? I asked my friend Cinco Paul--co-Horton writer, WGA card-holder and late-blooming rabble-rouser. Cinco's response:

No, you didn't cross a picket line. There's really
nothing for you to do, except spread the word, which
you seem already to be doing, and which I appreciate.
Public support is important. In January when scripted
TV runs out, just don't watch all the reality TV that
gets foisted on you (as if you would).

Went to a big rally on Friday. The Rev. Jesse Jackson
spoke, which I know you'd appreciate. Say what you
will about the man, he's a mesmerizing and effective
speaker. Rage Against the Machine also performed. It
was a bit of a left-fest. But for a middle of the
road guy like me, it was nice to play radical. And
march next to greats like Norman Lear and Garry
Marshall and all The Office writers and Julia
Louis-Dreyfus, etc., etc. It was fun wondering to
myself, "What do all these people write? What have
they written?" Ken and I designed our own t-shirts,
which read (as a tribute to Horton--which is at Fox,
the site of the rally): "a writer's a writer, no
matter how small."

Astro-Girl, when told of--come January or so--the loss of her beloved "Grey's Anatomy," her beloved "Private Practice," her beloved "Boston Legal," and her beloved (in all its forms) "Law & Order" (the regular, the major case, and the SUV) spoke out in favor of a quick settlement.

She quoted a famous Angeleno: "Can't we all get along?"

And she said, "We should all do what Horton says. We should give a hoot."

And, by the way, I did hear Reverend Jackson speak, in 1988, when I was TA at Binghamton University in upstate New York and the Rev was running for President. Ah, were those the days. Binghamton U is basically the five buroughs of New York City shipped 70 miles north and 100 miles west, but with all the city's appetites, resentments, and prejudices intact. I happened, 15 minutes before Jesse's speech, to stand at a the flashpoint of two flying wedges headed straight for one another: the Jewish students (still seething over "Hymietown" and whatnot) and the black students (taken as read). The lead Jewish flyer was screaming about how Jesse hated Jews; the lead person of color was going on about how the black soliders freed the Jews in World War II. Entertaining stuff.

Yes: Jesse is mesmerizing; I saw it for myself. And I'm happy he's helping out the screenwriters (and by extension, my friend Cinco) against the lying bloodsuckers of Hollywood. But what keeps him from greatness is that so much of what he says is crap; not just lies ("Why, Mr. O'Neill, here is the proof that Lt. Kerry was in Cambodia") but just so much bibble-babble: five, ten, fifteen bits of horsecrap for very minute expended, followed up by a plea for lighter sentences for crack dealers. Now, that's something we can all get behind, ya think?

But: Fight the power! Don't watch "Survivor: Hoboken," or whatever the hell it's called this month.