One Shot and the World Gets Smaller...

Holy shit, there are many things I'd like to write about here... that I just can't.

People got fired at work on Wednesday. Happy Hump Day...

I finished mapping the story beats for my new screenplay. Which is fucking massive. I am so chuffed on that front.

Now, all I've got to do is WRITE it.

But now I have a map. And a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho.

STAGEHAND STRIKE IS OVER!

WGA/AMPTP TALKS STILL GOING...

In The End, It Doesn't Really Matter

I adore Anna Friel. I adore her black and blue.

I miss internet access and email at work. Arguably it helps because it cuts off those distractions and forces me to work on the writing, but I've gotta write longhand or type something up and print it out at the end of the day. A lot of things would be easier if I had electronic access to the outside world.

And ten hours a day is a long ass stretch to get through when it's dead. Being cut off from the world, it feels like being in a straitjacket.

Small sacrifices, I know.

New script's shaping up. Hammering away at the structure but I ought to be good to start the heavy lifting this weekend. Trying to design it so that it's fun for me to write. (As fun as writing can be.)

I know, this must be absolutely fascinating for you to read about.

Bat Out of Hell

Word on the street—unconfirmed, nebulous—is that there's some real progress with the negotiations, which restarted on Monday. There's chatter about a new contract that could potentially happen by Christmas. My feelings?

PANIC.

I've got to have some new product ready before this shit clears up. I've been pulling my hair out trying to knock some sense into an old horror script that I wrote back in college. It was a script that actually got a lot of good notice back then, in school.

But school is out. And over a decade later, I've been trying to fix big issues with it that are all too clear to me now. I have been having a bitch of a time with it: getting my head into its game, sorting through its many complications.

So...

... I'm going to put it aside and power through a brand new script that I've been tinkering with for weeks. Something a lot simpler. Something I think I can hammer out on a faster clock.

No time for love, Dr. Jones. I've got to move fast.

Everything is riding on the next few weeks...

Average Frustrated Mondays

"Hell is the Monday after a holiday weekend," mused the Average Frustrated Raccoon.

I slept a whole lot this weekend. Not proud of that. It just is. I think it's a reaction to getting a whole lot less sleep during a work week.

What's sadder is that my first week back at the desk job wasn't even a full work week. Monday through Wednesday—and Wednesday we got let out 2 hours early.

Guess it's been a warm-up to this week, my first full week. This is where I really get acclimated. The lead-up to Christmas.

I used to be really fond of Christmas. Now it's just one of those grim-reminder times. I don't even buy gifts because

a) I have evolved into a rather poor friend.
b) money's tight.

Well. One last week of November and we're onto December. Anxiety mounts.

Remember newsgroups? They were my introduction to THE INTERNET...

alt.tv.simpsons
alt.music.guns-n-roses
alt.holiday.suicide

I've been subscribed to an old Guns N' Roses mailing list since way back in college—over a decade now. Over the years, I've gotten accustomed to deleting the email that had "[GNR]" in the subject field because... well, the days when I salivated over every spec of a band's past/present/future are long gone.

Sunday, I got an email from the guy who's run the mailing list for all this time. He is finally hanging up his hat. Back in the day, you'd mail blank audiotapes to people for them to make you copies of bootleg concerts. Now, you can go on YOU TUBE and view obscure concert footage with a few mouse clicks.

Still, I mourn the end of an era... and the end of a holiday weekend.

How to launch a successful viral video.

Raphael Sbarge

Ah, yes, it's time to devote a weekend entry to Raphael Sbarge.

Who's Raphael Sbarge? Don't be an asshole...

Risky Business. Vision Quest. Billionaire Boys Club.

My Science Project...!

Raphael was all over the 80s, and he seems to have worked steadily since. He's been on all the big shows. His IMDB looks like the history of television. And yet, he pops up on fucking "Journeyman" this past week and it struck me that I didn't even know his name...

Well, now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

Oh, and while we're here, who here remembers Meredith Salenger?

Fucking Journey of Natty Gann!

I'd kind of like to eff the shit out of her, even though she bears a peculiar resemblance to Adrian Grenier:
Seriously, though, Meredith also appears to have kept pretty steady work through the years, albeit mostly in TV shows I haven't watched. (They DO exist.)

I am going to die alone, aren't I?

Black Friday

Gay Horse has gone shopping!

I'm recovering from chronic, holiday-induced overindulgence... J amassed an incredible banquet, D roasted one hell of a turkey...

Give us a few days to get back to speed here... it hurts, Mister B.

It hurts.

Shame On Us

Tough as it is, tough as it ever was, at least you're not in Iraq.

My Cali agent called me at work on Wednesday. He sounded even worse than when I last spoke with him. He sounded tired and thoroughly demoralized. I wonder how many of these phone calls he'd made, checking in with various clients before the holiday. At least writers can keep writing on our own; agents can't do much of anything on their own.

I've had a hard time, but I've got to be thankful for what I've got. A regular desk job that pays relatively well and isn't terribly difficult. A writing career full of promise, just waiting to take off...

It's easy to let the desk job get to me. Easy to worry over the uncertainties of the career.

But I have got so much going for me.

My biggest worries are really negligible in the grand scheme.

A lot of other people have a lot more to lose out there.

I'm recalibrating right now. It sucks, but I've suffered worse indignities.

Happy Thanksgiving, people.

(Except for the people on my shit-list: you people should choke. You know who you fucking are.)

Last One Out

Second day back at work, a bit more at ease. Keeping a day job is all about getting into a groove. The regularity can be comforting, in a disgusting way.

Still, no email and no internet makes Malice something something...

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Ought to be a stellar work day. Might as well write this week off as an aberration. Best way to begin is on an aberration.

Shit, I'm glad there's a holiday weekend upon us...

Zombie, Zombie, Zomb EE EE EE

Hell.

First day back at work was tough.

Dead. Barely got any work. Experienced some minor technical difficulties with what work I did receive, but I resolved the issues.

The worst part was being stuck there for 10 hours with no internet or email. That was murder. Felt like solitary confinement. Far worse than being in my tiny studio apartment.

Just got to manage my time better. Downtime at work, then what remains of my Monday through Thursday weeknights. I've done it before. I've just got more at stake now.

CBS News writers have voted to strike. The stagehands are going through some tumultuous negotiations. It's the perfect storm. It's all a complete mess that's snowballing. Something's got to give.

We've got to get out of here...

Turducken Nation

You know what time it is.

Fucking Turducken Time, bitches.

A de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, stuffed into a de-boned turkey. Sounds like a Clive Barker monstrosity. A Hellraiser Thanksgiving Special. A tryptophan IED, ready to decimate entire families. And one day, I'm determined to try it...

What a strange time to go back to the day job grind. The week of Thanksgiving. Hope it's less intense, but I've got no idea what to expect. I'm gonna be focused on getting to work on time. Pen & paper, books, magazines, assuming I won't have internet access. (Not expecting email access either, btw.) Steering clear of breaks and probably gonna stick with abbreviated lunches, too. Low profile is how I want to try to keep this. Just doing what I need to do here.

Negotiations are finally going to resume between the AMPTP and the WGA next week. I'd like to keep positive about it, but I'm not expecting any swift resolution. As far as I've read and heard, the other side hasn't seriously negotiated up to now...

Saturday Night Live staff has apparently been fired. There's going to be a lot of that, in TV Land. Hopefully, it'll all be short-lived.

My biggest concern remains getting my career back on its legs once the strike blows over. Writing's been tough-going, but I'm keeping at this thing.

"Maybe you should try not watching every fucking thing on television," suggested the Average Frustrated Raccoon. "I mean, really..."

Monday mourning. We meet again.

It's Never Too Late to Work 9-5

Sorry for the tardiness of today's TGIF entry, Dear Lurkers. Yesterday was kind of surreal...

Waking up early, taking the old train route to the old job. One-on-one refresher session with a familiar old trainer. I went in with a lot of trepidation. Walking through the lobby, taking the elevator, looking out for anyone I knew back in the day...

I wasn't sure how easily I'd slip back into the old skillset. It had been over a year but I'd done the damn job for 6+. Thankfully, it all came back... more or less. I had to do the training materials on a laptop, which hindered my sense-memory.

It was like learning how to walk again after an accident.

When I left my position in 06, I could've done the work with my eyes closed. Taking the refresher, there were actually a few things that took a little while to jog my memory. It's such a peculiar, specialized job that's hard to explain to other people.

But when I finished the refresher class, around 2pm, we went down to the center... which had been thoroughly remodeled. Met some people I used to work with who couldn't have been cooler. And everyone seemed to appreciate my predicament—appreciated that I was only there till the strike is over... but were happy to see me.

It felt so odd. Like I was back from some extended vacation. It was actually *nice* to see the friendly faces. Sad as it may be to admit, it felt like I was visiting home. Maybe going back to the old job isn't the worst fate in the world...

Left around 2:30pm. Walked to the location of the day's picket—which I'd missed by a good half-hour, so no one was there. Walked past striking theater stage-hands, whose lines are decidedly less glamorous.

Read somewhere that both "30 Rock" and "SNL" casts and writers are going to be doing live theater shows, profits of which will go to the WGA strike fund. The "30 Rock" shows are apparently sold out already. I always fucking miss out on this shit.

"Maybe because you don't talk to people," the Gay Horse suggested, rolling his eyes.

Temp Shuffled 5:
1. "The Boney King of Nowhere", Radiohead
2. "Hitchin' a Ride", Green Day
3. "Guilty", Kid Rock
4. "Somebody Already Broke My Heart", Sade
5. "Volcano", Damien Rice

Timesheet Bonus
"It All Comes Back to You", Cheap Trick

Requisite Strike Article:
NPR: All Things Considered
Nick Counter Must Go
Why We Strike

Old School Gamer Center:
Pac-Man Text Game

Coolest Video Ever (for today):

For all you old-school gamers...

O Lucky Man

"What's there to smile about?"
— Malcolm McDowell, O Lucky Man!

Week Two of the big fucking Writers Strike. I trudge to the picket lines, expecting the numbers to thin, but they continue to be healthy. It was packed in front of the Disney Store on Wednesday. Instead of marching, they gave me flyers to hand out. I am the worst person to hand out flyers...

Thursday, I've got 8 hours of a refresher course to wade through. Don't ge'mmee wrong, I need the refresher—I've been away from the job for over a year—but 8 hours sounds diabolical... I'll probably have to do some things that I rarely had to do in the 6+ years I was there. Bubble graphs? Italian charts?

I won't be out there, but the NYC picket location for Thursday is outside the Viacom building. Times Square, MTV, the glut of tourists who can't see the musical theater they'd been waiting to see for months because of the stagehand strike: ought to be fun.

Everyone's going on strike. The CBS newswriters are next up, having gone without a contract for years.

Hell of a way to close out the year. I am a reluctant part of history.

MaliceWorld

It may be a solipsistic worldview and I don't mean to imply that the world revolves around me... but assuming for a moment that it does, perhaps there's a good reason for this writers strike to happen in my life right now.

I think it's human nature to want to assign order to random, horrible, seemingly senseless events.

Going back to my old day job + filling out the forms + getting a new TEMP i.d. = one of the most depressing experiences I've had in a long while.

I dread going back, for a litterbox of reasons.

But. Again. Sense out of the wreckage. Maybe there's some value in me going back right now, for a while. Maybe the regular office hours will help me get some routine back. Maybe, in some peculiar way, it'll actually help me get some more writing done.

I don't know. I ain't fuckin happy. As positive and philosophical as I'm trying to be about all this, THIS STRIKE IS NOT FUN.

Certainly not for the new kid who was just about to take off.

WGA East is picketing the fucking DISNEY STORE Wednesday, 10am - 2pm. I'll be brutally honest, I'm not too excited about this one. The fucking Disney Store? Are we stretching it a bit thin here? Week 2? I feel compelled to go, but I'm pretty torn...

Identification

You people don't know how lucky you are. Were it not for the fact that I couldn't make myself fall asleep at midnight, I wouldn't be writing this half-assed blog entry right about now...

The Letterman writers have their own blog now. Excerpt:

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN TELL YOU'RE READING TOO MUCH STRIKE COVERAGE:

• IF YOU NO LONGER CRINGE WHEN YOU SEE AGENTS REFERRED TO AS “TEN PERCENTERS,” YOU'RE READING TOO MUCH STRIKE COVERAGE
• IF YOU DON'T MAKE ANY DECISIONS WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING WITH NIKKI FINKE, YOU'RE READING TOO MUCH STRIKE COVERAGE
• IF YOUR FAMILY TREE IS A STRAIGHT LINE, YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK

I'm trying to get to bed a little earlier than usual (usual being anywhere between 2am/4am) so that I can get to the old work place to get re-fingerprinted @ 11am. Not sure how long the whole thing is going to take. Thought about seeing if J-Goose would be available for lunch, but maybe she'll read this and txt msg me.

Good news and bad news. Good news is, I thought for sure I'd get saddled with some painful night shift hours and a pay-cut going back to the old job. But, miraculously, I'm getting my same hours and my same pay-rate.

Bad news? Going back to my old job. Step backwards.

Positive thoughts. In an odd way, it may help me get more focused with this script I'm revising.

Writers strike may last a while. Earliest predictions for an end: mid-January. As discouraging as that may sound, it's not really a long stretch of time. I could do 'at standing on my friggin head...

Tuesday Mourning Reads:

1. Simpsons Writer Blog
2. New Mother Weathers Strike
3. Writers Strike East

Misanthropy of the Dead

My return to the old desk job is somewhat delayed. Not diving back into work this week. Tuesday, I'll go in to get re-ID'ed. Thursday, I've got an all-day "refresher class". Won't that be fun?

Thought it'd give me a chance to put in some more time on the picket lines, but the WGAE is mixing it up this 2nd week of the strike. No actions scheduled for Monday. Tuesday, it's just handing out flyers around Wall Street. Wednesday, there might be a picket at the fucking Disney Store.

I've been trying to get back into the headspace of going to an office regularly again. It's probably best that I'm not jumping right back into the shit this week.

"It's a trap!" cried the Average Frustrated Raccoon. "Everyone can see that, WHY CAN'T YOU?!!?"


Monday Mourning Reads:

There was an interesting article in The New Yorker about how shizophrenics identify with Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm".

EW, in defense of the writers.

Hey Hey, Ho Ho

What's the origin of the old "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, [bad thing] has got to go!" strike chant? I have never liked it. I guess it's an easy rhyme and it's easy to plug shit into it, Mad-Libs style, but I am NOT good at selling it. I was going to write a little entry about the origin of it, but I couldn't find any easy answers online.

And if it ain't easy, I ain't doin it!

Seriously, writers in general aren't the most vociferous lot. I feel sorry for the few in the picket lines who try to get the chanting going. I understand the need for it, especially when the TV cameras are rolling. It's just not everyone's cup of tea. Frankly, I think it's enough that people are showing up to march. As the weeks roll by, I have no idea what it's going to look like. How quickly the celebrity actors and writers are going to drop off.

But you've got to admit, for the first week, it's been pret-ty, pret-ty strong...!

I completely lost track of all the celebrities in attendance on Thursday, but here's the best I could cobble together:

David Chase, Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Holly Hunter, Joan Allen, Paul Bettany, Robin Williams, Richard Belzer, Chris Meloni, Bobby Cannavale, David Hyde Pierce, Oliver Platt, Tony Gilroy, Andrew Bergman

From THE WIRE:
Callie Thorne
Amy Ryan
Clarke Peters

SNLers:
Seth Meyers
Will Forte
Fred Armisen
Rachel Dratch

And best of all... Joy Behar from THE VIEW.

Those are only the people that I saw and could NAME. There were so many people, so many familiar faces, people I missed (Susan Sarandon, Randy Quaid)...

Who wants to see some shitty cell phone pictures??

Establishing shot: Columbus Circle, EXT. Time Warner Building. 11/08/07.
Note that the ubiquitous inflatable rat has been replaced (at least for today) by a big fat inflatable pig. With a lot of money, judging by his fancy cigar and top hat.

David Chase was marching right in front of me:
He was even marching with the picket sign that I'd been marching with on Wednesday:
Detective Munch showed up with two dogs and interrogated Chase for a stretch:
Another supportive labor union took a break from zapping rats & roaches to pose for a picture with Tim Robbins:
Robin Williams did his schtick for the cameras:
This one's a Where's Waldo? Oliver Platt, Holly Hunter and... is that James Frey...?
Another snapshot of James Frey, talking on his cell, looking sketchy like he's afraid Oprah's about to show up:
Paul Bettany, Tim Robbins and the delightfully diminutive Holly Hunter:

I've been putting a lot of time into the picket lines this first week because—

A) It's the first week and we had to come on strong.
B) Writing is solitude, and being part of something like this makes you appreciate that you're part of a larger community.
C) It has been kinda cool seeing the celebs and wondering who's going to show up next.
D) Next week, I'm going to have to cut my picketing hours wayyy down because I've got to head back to the old day job.

Yessir, "D" is the downer of the lot.

I'm trying to keep a more positive attitude about it. Like I've said, I'm NOT slouching back because I've fucked up my career opportunities. The reason I'm going back is national news, fer chrissakes.

I just left that job in a very... extravagant manner. It was a good ending. But in the feast-or-famine world of screenwriting, it's probably always best to leave options open.

"Failure..." the Gay Horse muttered under his breath, by the watercooler.

Hey Hey Shuffled 5:
1. "Tomb of the Boom", Outkast
2. "Your Picture", Camera Obscura
3. "Diamonds from Sierra", Kanye West
4. "Wear You Out", TV on the Radio
5. "I Fought Piranhas", The White Stripes

Ho Ho Bonus
"Everything (Between Us)", Liz Phair

Encouraging Strike Article:
Advantage: Writers

Please visit picket lines. If you don't want to march, buy them some food. (Some girl showed up with a big pizza pie.)

Friday's picket location:
1211 Avenue of the Americas, bet. 47th/48th
9am-5pm

Rollin' Down Rodeo with a Shotgun

Wednesday, Chelsea Piers. Sam Watterston and Tim Robbins were supposedly there, but I missed them. (The picket was divided into two areas and I just stuck to the one with the big inflated rat.) I did see Kal Penn, and 2/3's of The Lonely Island, and some SNL folks. And Insomniac Dave Attell, though he seemed to be just walking by.

Here's the deal:

You don't have to be in the WGA to help picket.

SAG people are out there supporting, on both coasts. The celebs are great for us because they're media-magnets. The news naturally gravitates to any identifiable faces, and that helps us greatly. They may not stay out for 8 hours, but even if they're out for half an hour and get their picture taken, it helps.

You can go to a picket line, pick up a sign and help the cause. Even if you're not a writer or actor. If you're an aspiring writer/actor, you can come and chat up the celebs/writers. Or just gawk like I do. Take a picture, it'll last longer.

You don't have to stay for an entire shift, either.

The East is picketing at a different location each day.

Thursday, it's the Time Warner Center, between 58th and 60th Sts, Columbus Circle. It's supposed to be a special SAG/WGA one, so there will most certainly be some celebs there.

Friday, it'll be at News Corp, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, between 47th and 48th.

Andy Rooney sat in front of me at a WGA meeting Wednesday night, @ the Crowne Plaza. He appeared to be even more antisocial than me.

Joss Whedon on the strike.

Harlan Ellison, spitting mad:



They always want the writer to work for nothing.

Support the writers.

Uprising

The cat is in the bag. The bag is in the river.

Trying to negotiate the details for going back to a regular desk job next week. My old job? Some new one? Not sure at this hour. Depends on what's available and what's the best scenario for me...

What really blows is that the AMPTP and the WGA haven't returned to the negotiation table since Sunday night. And aren't scheduled to in the near future. What do we have instead? A war of words in the press, from both sides, that sounds like children trading insults in a playground. That is fucking fucked up.

There are a million news links. Some more biased than others.

The AMPTP have been completely unreasonable. They've really forced this situation. The strike is the only weapon we had, and we HAD to use it.

This is just the first week. The first few days. And what's most discouraging is that all the indications out there are that this is going to be a long motherfucking haul.

Picket line @ Chelsea Piers Wednesday aft. Big WGA East meeting Wednesday night, wherein I'm sure it's going to be a buffet of grim news.

And my writing's been shit lately...

This year was looking SO promising before it got flushed down the toilet...!

Walk the Line

I thought marching in circles for 4 hours would be tiring, but there's something more tiring:

Mostly standing still for 4 hours.

I'm not sure what it was, but they could NOT get the WGA Easters to march in a continuous loop on the first day of the big 2007 Writers Strike. We'd shuffle forward a few steps and the whole operation would stall. It was like trying to show zombies how to moonwalk.

Most people are accustomed to walking lines, but not as many can handle a simple loop. I think it was the continuous motion that was throwing people. Their bodies are used to stopping and going when they're walking on a line. A line takes on a life of its own. A zombie life.

Our first day of striking brought out the big numbers, East and West.

At Rockefeller Center, I was marching with Tina Fey, Griffin Dunne, some SNL writers and cast members (Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Will Forte, Akiva and Jorma from The Lonely Island), writers from all the NY-based shows (Conan, Letterman, Colbert, Daily Show, 30 Rock). Apparently, John Leguizamo was there earlier. A despised teacher I had for one semester at NYU whose name I couldn't even remember. Tom Fontana, of course. And a lot of other people who were probably big deals who I couldn't place.

In the West, the picket lines are at all the different studios. They've got more member numbers than us. Our picket line will be at a single location for each day.

Tuesday, it's going to be at Silvercup Studios, in Queens.

I didn't sign up for it. I signed up for Wednesday afternoon, at Chelsea Piers. Rain + Queens = rough-sounding conditions. But I'm actually on the fence. Could be cool to see Silvercup...

Then again, I could use the extra writing time. Especially if I'm going to go back to a desk job next week... story to be confirmed...

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

So... it looks like I'll be walking the picket line from 1pm to 5pm at Rockefeller Center.

Walking the line is mandatory. Supposedly 20 (!?) hours a week. Some of the strike rules are pretty confusing. I may need to find a way out of the hour-minimum because I need to be looking for some regular work.

Here's another explanation of what we're fighting for.

I've been checking out Deadline Hollywood for the latest-breaking news.

Some bad times...

M.

Shit Just Got Real

Pencils down means pencils down, people.

So long, Heroes: Origins!

NPR has their version.

Another take from BusinessWeek.

A personal take via Huffington Post.

A WRITERS STRIKE IS GOING TO BE CALLED.

We're not scaremongering. This is really happening.

(If you're unimpressed with the writers going on strike, just wait until the zombies hit the picket lines.)

I know I've been going on about this whole situation...

Well... shit just got real.

Thursday night, there was a huge WGA West meeting out in L.A., apparently packed to the rafters. Everyone's ready to strike. It's a complicated situation. Everyone agrees that a strike is our only real weapon. But the last WGA strike lasted nearly 6 months and yielded what most people agree was a very poor contract for the writers.

But really, management has been remarkably pig-headed with these "negotiations". And their 11th hour offer really is "unacceptable".

I need to be responsible and get me some regular civilian work. To cover me for a stretch, however long it lasts, and until I can get the career back to speed in the aftermath. It's going to be all right. These things happen. I just need to keep my wits about me.

"Oh, BOO HOO!" taunted the Gay Horse. "Ooooh, I can't get paid to write! New media this, DVD residuals that...!

"Isn't this all just an elaborate smokescreen for the real story? The shafting of the Gay Horse as the self-hectoring voice of Misanthropy Central?

"Couldn't take the heat, could you? Had to hire a hack raccoon scab?"


"I've got the same voice as you!" protested the Average Frustrated Raccoon, struggling against his wire enclosure. "And isn't frustration more appropriate for these times?

"Certainly more meaningful than a horse carrying a purse in his mouth, getting ready to go clubbing in Chelsea..."

"Homophobe!" aspersed the Gay Horse.

Commuter Shuffled 5:
1. "Surfin' Safari", Beach Boys
2. "Butch", Geraldine Fibbers
3. "Hoops", Chemical Brothers
4. "Halo", Foo Fighters
5. "Circus Envy", R.E.M.

Metrocard Refill Bonus
"Great Big White World", Marilyn Manson

Day of the Dead

No greater way to spend Halloween than to revisit The Great Pumpkin, Sparky Schultz's enchanting paean to atheism.

Speaking of a world with dying hope, it appears that the Writers Guild strike is going to happen. Nothing's official at this hour, but it is looking grim. I won't go into a whole explanation of the issues...

United Hollywood is a WGA outreach blog, for more information: a pro-writer, pro-guild sanctuary to help counter the negative PR out there. The Artful Writer is a good, provocative blog on WGA issues, run by two prominent WGA members. Check it out for some heated debates.

At this point, honestly, I'd rather we strike sooner rather than later. Technically, we could postpone an official strike and continue to work without a contract while negotiations continue... but I ain't working as it is. And I'm not likely to get new work in the current environment.

Time to activate the Left Brain...

Need to finish some writing. Need to secure some work to get me through the rest of the year. Prepare for the rough times.

Everything is going to be okay.

We are not the bad guys.