Wednesday, March 30, 2005

SUGARLAND

woooohoooo
Kristen, Kristian and Jennifer are currently singin the new single on Leno..
damn they sound good! and they don't look bad either!

I love Kristen's hair! gota get me some of that! It didn't move at all! hehe

www.sugarlandmusic.com

aw man.. leno didn't even talk to them.. what a gyp!

ok now off to watch the johnnie cochran memorials on the rebroadcast of Larry King..

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

death and dying

The email came this afternoon,
announcing the death of a fine man..
one who will be remembered for something that most would like to forget..
One who was good and decent..
I watched one day in a church.. he was proud.. so proud..
a daddy whose smile lit up the whole room.
That's what I will remember..
and I will feel sorrow for TeTe whose daddy is gone now..
I hope she knows how proud he was of her..
I'm sure she does.. just as sure as I know that she was proud of him.
and I will give her a big ole hug as soon as I can.
No more pain.. no more sickness..
only peace...

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Peace Be With You

Happy Easter everyone..
may you feel the peace and wonder of the easter season.
I hope that you get to spend some time with the ones that you love..
many blessings in the coming year.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

The other silent victims in the Schiavo case

I was deeply saddened to read the accounts this morning of the woman desperately trying to get to her dying grandfather, who is in the same hospice as terri schiavo, only to be thwarted by the protestors, and security measures in place to deal with the protestors..
She got to her grandfather a few minutes too late.
He passed on from this mortal coil alone.. without those who loved him.. because they were fighting their way through the throngs of people who have made terri schiavo their poster child.
I wonder if they have even considered those other people in their "fight for right"
I am sad
I feel for Jennifer Johnson and her Grandfather Thomas Bone, may he rest in peace.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Terri Schiavo.. human pawn in a big game of chess

First let me say that I feel for the schindler family.. I do..
I don't know what motivates michael schiavo..
I don't know why he will not simply just sign terri over to the custody of her parents.. I would.. if it were me.. That being said.
Terri Schiavo has become a pawn in the pro life abortion movement, whose arms reach all the way to the congress of these united states and into the white house and it is absolutely inconceivable why the govt would get involved in a case that has already had its due process. Yes, I believe she deserves to live.. But I also don't think congress has a right to intervene. They called a special session to sign a bill that deals with one specific person, when there are thousands like her all over this country that no one has taken up the cause for.
I don't care what doctors say she won't feel her own starvation, it is wrong to let her starve to death. In the same time that the congress stood fighting for the "rights" of this woman, they should have also lobbied for assisted suicide, or euthanasia for human beings. but they won't..
It's not legal in this country to starve a dog, yet we are ok doing that to a person? We can't let someone who is cognizant make their own decision to end their own life, but we are willing to let the government step in and play god and decide who lives, and in essence, who dies, because there are people dying.. they just aren't named terri schiavo..
today Mr. Bush said in a written statement: "I will
continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans,
including those with disabilities."

what about all of those people he put to death in texas.. oh yeah.. they were criminals.. well.. most of them probably... what about all of the soldiers who have died fighting a war he lied about? oh yeah.. saddam is a bad man..

Truth is.. it's payback time..

time to pay back all of the religious conservatives that helped get him re-elected. time to make good on some of that glad handing.. The anti abortion movement has made terri schiavo their pet cause, and with that all the power and backing that comes with the religious conservatives.. michael schiavo doesn't have a chance in hell.
But then again, I wonder what exactly his motivations are.. When terri first had her incident, he vowed to fight till the end.. kinda like OJ looking for the killers or Ron and Nicole.. but then he moved on with his life.. michael that it.. and well OJ too... he got a settlement from the hospital (does he collect only after she is deceased?) and got himself a new woman in his life, which he cannot marry presumeable until his wife is dead.. it's a tangled little web, but involving congress sets up a dangerous precedent of future Hatfield and McCoy issues.. And sadly anyone who thinks the same way that I do, based purely on that fact, is labeled uncaring.. Democrats who voted against "terri's bill" are being called nasty names.. and the fight rages on.

I am glad that I have a living will.. and so does my partner. And when HIPPA passed and dad was in the hospital, it was painfully difficult to get anyone to answer any questions, even though he didn't really understand what was going on, now he has one as well, everyone should have one..

Do you?

photos

ok so I've got some learning to do on the whole photo hosting thing.. will work on it tomorrow.. off to bed..

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Mean Joe Green


Mean Joe Green
Originally uploaded by atlbiscuit.

As the crowd was arriving for the game.. one of the players went into the tunnel to inspect things..
I call this my Mean Joe Green shot..

Women hit the big time


xplosionstpats
Originally uploaded by atlbiscuit.

Yesterday was a very long, but very worthwhile day..
and though I'm exhausted it was a wonderful experience.
See.. those are my girls.. all of them.. there in red and white..
It's my tackle football team.. they look good don't they? The photo was taken as we prepared to participate in the 124th annual st. patrick's day parade. Earlier we had been to a walkthrough at Philips Arena.. We were scheduled to play an innersquad scrimmage at halftime of the Georgia Force game... They are part of the AFL, which is a little different.. it's arena football on a 50 yard field.. half of what the girls are used to. But they looked awesome! It was so very cool to see them on the jumbotron! and to see them on the field and hear the crowd of about 15,000 cheering for them.. they are used to a crowd of about 1,000.. but this was definitely much more intense!
They did a great job, we were tremendously proud of them.. and hopefully we will get some folks to come out and see them play at their first home game..

Friday, March 18, 2005

Lawmaker seeks to end "sexy" Cheerleading

give me a frickin break.. is THIS what our tax money is being spent on? and our education system is in such bad shape and now they want to penalize them if their performances are "too sexy" who determines what is too sexy? it's kind of like judging ice skating competitions, it's all subjective to whoever is judging..
I am so tired of people trying to legislate morality.. The decline of this nation (which is of course the fault of us gay people) it's about the economy stoopid!
Women had to go to work to be able to help support the family.. then we complained because we had lachkey kids, and as the economy got worse, the family got worse, because people were forced to be out of their homes for an extended period of time, less time with the family you see.. Then these senators and congressmen, many who are on their 3rd or 4th or 5th marriage.. want to tell us what is wrong with society, they are part of the problem.. but they want to blame it on anything but what the problem is.. the economy. Unless I am married to someone who makes scads of money, I couldn't stay at home with my kids if I wanted to..
Why can't the legislators work on somethings that are actually WRONG with this country.. like medicare, social security, homeland security (or lack thereof) and other things too numerous to name, instead of worrying about constitutional amendments, and whether an episode of "angel" breaks some FCC regulation on indecency.. I saw janet jackson's breast.. it did not mentally scar me..
I was reading something posted in the break room yesterday about "If you lived through 1960's or 1970's you lived through lead, lawn darts, you played outside every summer from the time you got up till the sun went down.. we didn't have video games, or worry about obesity or anything like that.. things were so much different.. anyway.. I realize that this is a state and local issue in this particular case, but I think that it permeates our legislative system at the moment.I was reading through a list of things that had been cleared by the FCC recently and it was obnoxious.
In December, MediaWeek obtained an in-house FCC report that estimated that the Parents Television Council was responsible for 99.8 percent of all indecency complaints that were investigated by the agency. Such statistics prompted critics to accuse outgoing FCC boss Michael Powell of allowing a special-interest group to drive the agency's agenda, allegations that he denied.
Of course he denied them.. what was he supposed to do say "hell yeah! I let em do it and I would let em do it all again!"
It's money wasting thigns like this that annoy me.. as apparently so many things do these days.. but not in a crazy ted kazynzki kinda of way.. :) so don't anybody worry.


AUSTIN (March 18) - The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders.
"It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down," said Edwards, a 26-year veteran of the Texas House. "And then we say to them, 'don't get involved in sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out there' and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those kind of gyrations."

Under Edwards' bill, if a school district knowingly permits such a performance, funds from the state would be reduced in an amount to be determined by the education commissioner.

Edwards said he filed the bill as a result of several instances of seeing such ribald performances in his district.

J.M. Farias, owner of Austin Cheer Factory, said cheerleading aficionados would welcome the law. Cheering competitions, he said, penalize for suggestive movements or any vulgarity.

"Any coaches that are good won't put that in their routines," he said. And, most girls cheering on Friday nights were trained by professionals who know better, he said.

"I don't think this law would really shake the industry at all. In fact, it would give parents a better feeling, mostly dads and boyfriends, too," Farias said.

Although cheerleaders must meet the same no-pass, no-play academic requirements of athletes, cheerleading is not a competition sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of Texas high school sports.

The UIL also does not have performance regulations for squads who cheer for their teams at state championships, said Athletic Coordinator Peter Contreras.

"I think it should have been cut out a long time ago," Edwards said. "It surely needs to be toned down."

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Bwaaaahaaaaaaa

OK, so a friend sent this, not knowing how much I needed a laugh today..
So in the spirit of sharing.. take a look at this..



it's called the alien song.. and it's really amusing..
I can't seem to get the link to work.. so do a google search for "alien song" and check it out..

and even though I'm not thrilled that there is an amber alert going on.. good to see the ticker is working..

prozac...party of one..

So, I found out today that my seretonin levels are off..
which could explain why I haven't been feeling quite myself..
they tell me..
I'm depressed..
why should I be depressed.. life is good. my spine repaired, my love life great.. my family.. wonderful..
yet..
it's physiological.. apparently.. this thing..
more blood...more pills.. more bills.. more pills..
I'm tired..
menopause..maybe..
more blood..
I miss my dog..maybe I feel guilty.. look there another tear..
why couldn't they help her.. why did she have to go away..
all neat in a little box..
I miss her.. though I try not to think about it..
it just makes me sad
I have her collar hanging in my truck.. maybe I should put it away
but I don't want to..
I feel bad for the other dog too.. the one that is left.. the one that is now alone, staring out the window.. looking for her friend.. she isn't coming back..
I killed her..
I didn't want to.. I tried everything not to..
but I did..
and I miss her.. terribly....

TVLand Awards

So I woke up a little while ago after a bit of a nap, and what to my wandering eyes did appear.. but the TVland awards!
Jaclyn Smith is still looking great after all this time.. they are honoring aaron spelling at the moment..
wow.. this is bringing back so many memories of my childhood.
I can remember how my career in TV started..
I watched in amazement as Jamie Sommers lifted a car..
I apparently argued with my mother about how I SAW her do it mommy! I watched them do the operation.. she really is bionic.. I was mesmerized.. It wasn't till much later that I found out Jamie had the help of a rather large crane...
and I was hooked.. when I graduated, mom sent flowers. "and just think it all started with the bionic woman"
I studied and toyed and worked my ass off.. I basically stalked the man that hired me in ga, for months I called him. just to keep my name running across his desk, and it worked..
won an emmy with a group of people.. my proudest accomplishment careerwise.. made my parents proud. I tried to give it to them, but they wanted me to keep it.. so I (we) had to buy a house with a mantle. and there it sits.. Haven't gotten another one.. haven't done any work worthy of entering lately.. have a bunch of nomination certificates.. it may be an honor to be nominated, but it's a hell of a lot more fun to win.
Aaron spelling is an interesting looking man.. like the keebler elf.
am I the only one not watching "desperate housewives"?
I must be..
interesting that they keep advertising "ambien" on TVland.. I suppose they figure that if you can't sleep, you will watch Murphy Brown and Roseanne and the Fresh Prince and Cosby.. and if you are up reeeeeaaaaaaly late, wings and full house.. I have some, but don't like to take it.. works really well though..
I was sending comic friend of mine an email talking about female stand up comics, it occurs to me that there aren't many anymore.. sure there is elvira kurt and suzanne westhenhofer for the ladies, but the louise DuArts, Brett Butlers, heck even carol burnetts I just can't think of any who are out there right now that aren't mentioned in that first group except Kathleen Madigan, and I rarely see her about.. will have to investigate this further.. cause now I am wondering where everyone went....
ooh sally field looks good too!wow 41 years in the biz.. that award is really cool lookin!
ooh funny desperate classic housewives..joyce dewitt..charro and the beav, marion ross, and tom bosley, and aunt barbara eden... hehe that was cute.. shirley jones,
a yob is a yob, oh I am thinking pat harrington is .. oh nope abe vigoda.. hehehe
don knotts.. ok that was definitely cute.. kudos to them for that one..

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

ick

so, I have the flu..
and all of my comments.. granted there weren't a lot of them... but they are now all gone after the addtion of haloscan.. so I know it's some kind of setting I need to change.. but at the moment I am goin to go get some tea..
finished Survivor and American idol and now I am goin to lie down.. thank the gods Mikalah survived the cut.. she's got moxie! I like her..
anyway, I will figure out the comment thing tomorrow.. just in case you were wondering where they might have gone..
biscuit..out

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

squeak...squeak

Blah blah blah.the weasel is on my tv.. squeaking....
Talking about all of his plans.
would take a question the first 4 years.. now
so cocky..
Run Hillary Run...
Thank the gods for cable... "the nanny" anyone?
I was watching Danza, a surprise call from Rosie, she won someone a $3,500 gift card and $10,000 donation to a group whose name I didn't catch cause of the special report.
good on ya.
see you can still do good things from the comfort of your own home

I don’t like Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), .. He actually said the following:


"Today's lower court ruling in California, and other court rulings, further support the need for a constitutional amendment to protect marriage from activist judges for the good of families, children and society," he said.


Huh? The good of society, families and children? Give me a frickin break..
I wish people would stop talking our of their ass.. nice little soundbites, suitable for a TV near you.. grow a brain. I am no more of a threat to you, your family or society than you are.. what are you afraid of Rick? They say that we project stuff onto other people.. you know.. your baggage... interesting...

Term limits party of one.. term limits party of one.. your table is ready….we have a special seat for you mr. Santorum.

I feel like hammered crap today, I think I'm coming down with something.. add to that my back bothering me a little, well it's just the recipie for a crappy day.. time to lie down..
night...night

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Rest In Peace

ALBERT L. "SONNY" FOURNIER
1934 - 2005




LEWISTON - Colonel Albert L. Fournier, 70, passed away on Saturday, March 12, at Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston.Born in Lewiston in 1934, he was the son of Albert H. Fournier and Eva M. L. He graduated from St. Dominic's High School in 1954, and entered into the Norwich University ROTC program where he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1958. He was a helicopter pilot trained at Liberty Army Air Field, Fort Stewart, Ga. While serving two tours in Vietnam, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Vietnam Cross for Gallantry. After thirty years of service he retired as Colonel with the National Guard Headquarters in Augusta in 1986. He was part of the Military Attaché while stationed in Paris, France, and the Military Attaché in the Congo.He was a great hockey player, loved fishing and hunting, and was an avid coin collector and also loved to travel.He was predeceased by his father and his first wife Doris. Al is survived by his wife Lorette of ; his mother, Eva; his sister, Suzanne and her companion, Stacey, of Scarborough; two stepsons, Tony and wife, Susan, of Livermore, Chuck and wife, Kelly, of Mt. Vernon; one stepdaughter, Sherry of Monmouth; and two step grandchildren, Christine and Jacob .

The L Word

first off for anyone who is wondering I am keeping the top post up at the top of my blog all day.. just cause I want to..


now on with the show....

The L word

A show made about lesbians, marketed to lesbians…
Sort of

I like the rest of “my people” anxiously awaited the premiere of this show,
I wasn’t a big fan of the movie that the producer had made years before, but I was
Willing to give it a chance..

L is for love

Sort of

From the get go, there was so much about this show that was wrong.
The main character seemed to be jenny… jenny who was engaged to tim.. tim not a lesbian
The show meandered through its first season. There was a lot of sex...
well a lot of sex between tim and jenny.. but a lot of sex.. I could do without it..
The deconstruction of bette.. bette had a long way to fall.. but pardon me if I don’t want to watch it.. At some point, you know you are doing something wrong, something that will irreparably damage your relationship.. but still.. no control..
I don’t like watching a committed couple fall apart in my living room.
And the religious right?
Why did you give them a voice? In a show about lesbians, for lesbians, why oh why?
I understand wanting to show how ‘over the top’ they are..
But I don’t invite people who hate me into my living room on a daily basis, and I am more than a little annoyed that you did it under the guise of entertainment..
Did you watch it?
It was not entertaining.
Watching the godly one tell the woman why her baby died..
It was evil
And unecessary.
I see that enough in my everyday life..
I don’t need to see it in a show for me, about me.. thanks though..
I get yelled at a lot..
“You should just be happy”
sorry, I expect more.. Bad writing, plot holes you can fly a C130 through, yeah I know.. I should just like it.
Now in this sophomore season, I hope for better ..
I saw the preview last week, the one that shows the “new” male character.. the one that they “have” to put in there to appeal to a wider audience.. and he disgusts me. He is a filmmaker.. and he has put cameras in the house he will now share with 2 characters.. to exploit them.. you know.. in that lesbian way..
It is vile.
And somehow I am just “supposed to be happy” because after all, they are making this show for me..
Don't get me wrong.. I want to like it.. I really do, but it disappoints me week after week.

Think I’ll pass on the ovations and the kudos, until I see how it ends..

I have high hopes.. and big fears..

just like in life.
that's entertainment!

funny in an unfortunate kind of way

there is actually someone in this city whose name is
Gay Love

while I think it's kinda cool, how could those parents do that? granted she is an older lady so it didn't have the same meaning as it does now.. but how unfortunate for her growing up..

scaaaaawwwwwy





You Are Not Scary

Not Scary!

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?


late night ramblings....

I’m not computer illiterate mean, I use one to edit video every day, I don’t generally have a problem with it, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to host a freakin picture on my blog.. I downloaded the necessary software, but I can’t seem to get it to work.
Can’t someone help me..
Bueller? Anyone?


So I went through and looked at all the aerial footage from the procession of the immigration officer, It sort of reminded me somewhat of post 9/11. On overpasses throughout the city, police officers stood at attention as the hearse passed on the interstate below them, it brought tears to my eyes.. maybe I am just PMS-ing… though it’s not possible.. but still I seem to be what in my family is known as a "bawl ass" lately.. The most poignant thing was a fire truck its ladder extended, with an American flag flapping in the breeze.. I think that is the image that makes me think of 9-11, flags seem to be synonymous with that in my head.
I missed having drinks with my sister (or as I like to call her seester) who was in town overnight on a business trip, I would have loved to have spent some time with her, but I wasn’t leaving work till 11pm and she was ready for bed after going to the "meat on a stick" restaurant. I can’t remember the translation of the actual restaurant name.. So I’m hoping for a moment tomorrow, possibly lunch where I can run by and give and get a hug. We weren’t really close growing up, when we were really young she used to have nightmares…. Every night she would wake me to go and get mom, I found out as she was toasting my wife and I at our commitment ceremony, that she was actually sending me to my certain death, thinking there were monsters under the bed, and so if she sent me to get mom, they would get me instead of her..
I love you too seester J
Seester says I watch too much TV, as evidenced by the contents of my blog.. More than the fact that it’s what I do, I enjoy it.. I don’t watch it the same way most normal folks do, I watch for CGI, editing, composition, continuity… all kinds of techical things, sometimes it annoys the people I’m with, if I catch something and want to rewind to see what it was.. but hey.. it’s what I do…
Seester is probably right..
I think it was our teen years where we parted ways, she had different friends, was in a different school, and I was a drama geek. Then she was gone to college, I barely ever saw her, cept on holidays.
We are much closer now, we talk on the phone a lot, and we made a pact to try to see more of each other outside of family functions, which I think, is a good thing.. Family is all you got..
I’ve been thinking a lot about the mortality of my parents, I don’t know that I will be able to deal very well.. I know it’s inevitable.. But I really think I might be rocking in a corner somewhere for a little while.
Still no tapes today.. though I sent emails and left messages.. I had a 3:30 shoot that I needed Broll for, that I suppose isn’t going to happen, unless I get them before the show airs and they can do it in post..
Argh
So I am intrigued by this new show on Nick at Night called "chasing farrah" it’s a reality show (of course!) and it follows 70’s TV Icon Farrah Fawcett around.. gonna check it out.. Now if they would only do the same thing for Lindsay Wagner, my life would be complete! (Well there are those sleep number infomercials, so there’s always that at 3am, but it’s just not the same)
And while we’re at it can we figure out a way to bring Karen Carpenter back? I miss her terribly.. every Christmas I am reminded how talented she was, and how misunderstood and lonely and sad.. Truly sad..
I’ve got the complete collection that I listen to, but new music is such a wonderful thing.. to hear a piece of music for the very first time, before you know the words and sing along.. to listen to every nuance, every harmony, note.. it’s one of my favorite things to do. After you’ve heard it 100 times, it’s fun but in a different way.. I like to make time to listen to music for the first time.. everyone should….. My favorite line from "The Incredibles" "Your suit can stretch as far as you...and machine washable dahhling.. that's a new feature"

Monday, March 14, 2005

this just in...........

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A judge ruled Monday that California's ban
on gay marriage is unconstitutional, saying the state could no
longer justify limiting marriage to a man and a woman.
In the eagerly awaited opinion likely to be appealed to the
state's highest court, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge
Richard Kramer said that withholding marriage licenses from gays
and lesbians is unconstitutional.
"It appears that no rational purpose exists for limiting
marriage in this state to opposite-sex partners," Kramer wrote.



I called my partner to let her know.. we thought about going to SF back when this was all going on, but figured we would wait.. it's a nice memento, but we want the real thing.. something that won't be revoked later on..
my co-worker, who is extremely pro gay marriage quipped, "now you can marry your dog, right?"
"cause isn't that the fear"?
I chuckled..
"yup, we are hoping that fido and I will be very happy"

Why are people so nervous? I don't care what you do in your bedroom, why do you care what I do in mine? Why does affording my partner and I some rights scare the hell out of you?
Fear is a dangerous thing..
are they afraid that we will take to the streets shouting
"we're here, we're queer, we've come to see your wife" ????
Interesting that no one can answer the one question I've put forth..
it isn't that long ago they were throwing christians to the lions, isn't this sort of the same?
(though I kind of expect they will start doing that at any moment..) I hope to put on a nice tenderizer as a kind of cologne so that my lion will enjoy a nice tasty treat. Maybe a nice marinade of some sort.. I will have to consult my martha stewart living mags to see if I can come up with anything.

yay...

and congratulations to every one who has been un-annulled..

Last respects and oooh that smell

Up and out early today as I go and meet with the doc to see how we are doing with pain meds..Along the way I notice what had to be just an overwhelming sight from the sky.Lining the side median of 85 nothbound was every police car it seemed in the metro area, as I am listening to mr. Boortz, I find out that it is for the procession of the immigration officer who was shot and killed in the courthouse rampage.. they are taking him home to Salisbury, N.C where he will be laid to rest. It was probably a 5 mile stretch of road, and there were just patrol cars and swat trucks and every kind of police vehicle you could imagine. I was hoping that I would finish in time to head back up the interestate and find a place to park and pay my respects, but I got behind the procession and stuck in the worst traffic jam in my recent memory, and it didn’t really matter to me. I’m sure there were those out there who were pissed to be sitting on the road not moving,, but I figured it is the least we could do.
I got a call over the weekdend that one of my cousins ( I think, I'm not exactly sure of the lineage, he is my cousin's brother.. so I'm gonna have to check on that..) passed away unexpectedly. He was a decorated Army guy, 2 terms in Vietnam, piloted a helicopter I believe.. I didn' know him very well, but went to visit him on one of my last visits home. His home was filled with all things army.. He was a very nice man. Even though I wasn't close to him, I am saddened when any member of my family passes over. I feel for those left behind. His mother, whom I adore, and my cousin, the one person I wanted desperately to be like when I grew up.. who knew in a silly kind of way, I ended up being just that. I never saw much of her growning up, but I loved our little moments when they happened.. She was one of the first female police officers in the city I believe.. and then went on to a brief stint serving the govt. I though she was so cool.. I remember seeing her handcuffs once, on a visit.. from that moment on I wanted to be just like her.. a police officer..
I went to school on a scholarship from the local police department, when I finished I was to enter the police academy.. I changed my mind and opted for a career in Televsion.. weird flip huh? I always thought so, but looking back, it was the career for me.. So to my family, though I can't be with you, you know that I am there with you in spirit, and on the phone a lot. :) But we all know that he's gone home and in no pain.. and we can remember him the way that he was.. So I did some gardening yesterday.. doesn’t sound like much, but it is a major feat to me considering where I was six months ago.. granted I didn’t do that much and I was very, very careful, but it felt good to be out in the fresh air, diggin in the dirt, smelling all the smells that go along with working in the yard.. It was a brilliant day..

Sunday, March 13, 2005

extreme makeovers

So I am sitting here in a puddle of my own tears. They are happy tears..
someone told me I should watch "extreme makeover home edition"
I checked it out a while back.. Every Sunday night I have a good cry..
There is a lot to be said for cryin..
This particular show centered around the cutest little girl named Kassandra.. she has been fighting cancer, and is currently in remission. she makes beaded necklaces to sell to raise money to redecorate the hospital ward..
She sent a tape to ABC, not for herself, but for the team to makeover the hospital ward where she was getting her treatment, cause it was all white walls and very clinical looking.. So, here's a little kid, who has fought harder than most, just to stay alive. And didn't want anything for herself, she just wanted to help the kids there to have something nice around them while they were working to feel better.
So a group of Disney imagineers head over to the hospital to help her decorate it.. (Ty had made her the team leader, and secretly the EX crew was actually renovating the family's house, not just renovating.. but bulldozing and building.
I've watched Ty Pennington since his days on "Trading Spaces" but this show is so much more than a decorating show.
It's just about helping people. How good it must be to have a job where all you do is go in and help people.. by giving them the one thing that everyone wants, a nice home. And these are people who have had things like fires, or something horrible happen to them, or they have been sick or something.. and every episode makes me cry..
so in the middle of the show is janine turner hawking something called "restasis" that helps you body's ability natural ability to create tears.. um? hello?? I mean I suppose it's a good place for this ad, cause if you aren't crying by the time they have revealed the new home to the homeowner, then either you need some tear replacement drops, or you have a heart of stone.
it just seemed like odd placement cause M and I were both sniffling and wiping away tears..
part of the big part of this particular story is centered around a book that the guys from the show wrote based on the tape that the family sent in.. so they hired an illustrator to write a book about butterflies and a healing tree.. I know that they made it for the family but I think it would be a wonderful thing to publish the book and have the proceeds donated to cancer research.. sign me up for a case..
and add a case of kleenex also.. Cause I'm gonna need it..

Whew.. and janis joplin-esque

whew...
what a couple of days it has been here in the city.
It went from pretty crazy to really insane..
spending the day answering phones since I had no real work to do, I thought I would help out..
calls from people wondering when "their stories" were going to be on..
always makes me chuckle.. I can miss a show and come back a couple weeks later and they are still in the same spot.. sometimes with the same clothes on. :)
Of course the wild speculation begins all day, where could he have gone? a green honda.. one of my players drives one, she's been looked at funny all day long.. people thinking maybe she was the madman.. I for some reason guessed pretty well, I had said I thought he got on MARTA which is exactly what he did..
what a lucky girl that woman was.. the one whose apartment he forced his way into.. I hope he didn't hurt her. Since he has a record of doin that type of thing. which begs the question, why was a rapist left alone in a holding room with a female deputy? these are questions I have. which I won't have an answer to I suppose..
So Saturday I get called into work.. I don't normally.. but this day, a day where I had made lots of plans, is the day.. I call the team and tell them I won't be there for the scrimmage game.. I mention that I have plans and can stay until about 8:15, but have tickets to a concert.. so I get ready and then head into work. Make arrangements for m to catch a ride into the city with friends who are meeting us for the show.
The goddess takes the stage. I first heard of her a few years ago.. we were doing a story on CD prices, and she was interviewed for it.. she gave the reporter her CD, which he gave to me, since I am the musical one. Sadly, it sat in my office for a while.. then m was looking for some new music so I gave it to her.. she instantly fell in love with it.. I did too.. but it took me longer to listen to it.
so a one night only show in the ATL is promised.. and wow! the Cathy Richardson Band CRB is what we call it. Cathy Richardson being the goddess.. She has this amazing voice that I like to call "rough and ready" I am a huge fan of good lyrics.. and her's are wonderful one of her's is now my signature on the bottom of all of my emails

"Forgive me father for I have sinned, I've taken your holy name in vain
against those who have twisted
your message around
and persecute
others
in your name...."
from the song "sinners and saints"

which of course is my own personal favorite cause of all of the debating I do with some folks about certain topics..
The show itself was so much fun but the best part was when all of a sudden she started channelling Janis Joplin.. I mean it was like janis was right there in the room with us. she even began to speak like her.. let me backtrack a bit.. Cathy played Janis in the off Broadway production of the show "love, janis" and there is no doubt why they chose her.. she has the ability to actually become janis.. of course when she sings her own songs.. they are totally different.. but still.. I watched melissa and joss stone sing on the grammys and had to wonder if they even knew Cathy was out there.. her album "road to bliss" was nominated for a grammy a couple years ago for the packaging (it's totally cool), so they must .. but they didn't use her.. I guess she wasn't a big enough name for them.. too bad for them.. she's our own little gem..
take a listen.. you too might love her..
http://www.crband.com

more later.. it's time for "extreme makeover" and I have already cried once while watching the intro.. it's probably the best show on tv..
biscuit ....out

Friday, March 11, 2005

arrgh... diamond in the rough

So it's september.. days before the anniversary of that awful day..
I'm wheeled into a room where the good doctor will be fixing my spine..
unaware.. sedated.. my cellphone rings
"where are the tapes" they demand those diamond people
they are reminded, I'm not with them at the moment.. they demand tapes..
My Sul jumps in and tells them off.. if they call my cell again she will go to them and deal with them herself..
They already have all the tapes.. they are just not smart.
fast forward to now..
I need my masters back.. I didn't want them to have them in the first place..
"it will be ok" I was told.. we "need" to get this done and you will be out of commission..
So off they went.. my tapes.. of all my girls... on the field hitting hard.. running hard..
and now I leave messages, like a desperate cop in search of a kidnapped family member..
"Hi, just checking on the status of your getting my tapes back?? I have a shoot on monday that I need B-roll for, and well, if I need to go and pick them up I certainly can do that, but please call me and let me know the status of things..... thanks.."

It's been months.. I've halfway healed for god sakes!
It's been a day of frustration, and phone calls and it makes me write the words arrrrrgh

argggh

I just want my tapes.. is that too much to ask?

People are crazy

So I am getting my early morning Regis and Kelly fix ( I love that Kelly Ripa.. she's just so funny!) and they break into programming with news of a shooting downtown.. So, being the news whore that I am, I immediately flip to my own channel where we are only on a static shot of the city, but with what I believe to be the most journalistically ethical reporting, not reporting the names of anyone killed until they are confirmed.. but jeez.. could we not get a camera in there quicker! One of our crews actually witnessed one of the shootings, but with no live truck. Sadly, the bastard wrestled a gun away from a deputy and shot and killed the judge, his court reporter and another deputy, shot yet another deputy and carjacked like 4 different vehicles. The city is in complete chaos looking for this guy.. He was apparently on trial for kidnapping and raping his ex-fiancee and then was involved in some sort of chase, he was on trial for that last week but the jury was hung.. according to a witness, he had tried to smuggle in a "shank" or homemade knife into the court last week.. why they weren't watching him a little better is beyond me. I feel bad for our crew that was there.. we have all seen really horrific things in our years in the news, but if you have never seen someone actually die right in front of you, well that's something that stays with you forever. trust me.. I still can see the eyes of the man that died as I was comforting him after a traffic accident.. you don't ever forget it. So now they are looking for this guy all over the city.. they know who he is, but they haven't found him yet.. dead man walking is what my mother-out-law called him.. and I have to say she is probably right. I guess he didn't really have anything to lose.. he was probably going away for a long time... but why the deputy didn't have the special holsters that are available where only the wearer can take the gun out. Someone needs to ask that question. I called the attorney's office and warned them that the courthouse was in lockdown and to stay put.. Hopefully none of them were down there for this.. It's a sad day in the city of Atlanta.. It is one of those days that makes me sad to work in news, though most days news isn't really that great to begin with.. but today it's overall just sucky.. In switching back and forth between stations though I have to say that our competitors kind of shocked me when 2 of the other news stations outright called the judge by name and said that he was dead, in addition to his court reporter and this was all well before anything had been confirmed.... how would they feel if they were driving down the road or watching tv and had someone blurt out that their husband, father, brother had just been killed.. It is to me ethically wrong. and I am glad that we have at least taken a stand and won't report anything like that without confirmation from police. I just think that in the race to be first.. to have the breaking news first, we (and by we I mean the media in general) lose sight of the fact that we are reporting on human beings.. and that those people have people in their lives that love them, and they deserve better than to hear it on the news. So, kudos to whoever is in charge at our place that made that rule and enforces it. it's a good human rule... in a career where a lot of times it's not fun.. it's at least nice to be able to say that we try to be sensitive to that fact. I finally got to watch the doctor phil from the other day with the follow up on the kid whose family thought he was a sexual predator.. scary stuff.. I watched the original 2 parter a few weeks ago, it was difficult to watch, but this kid I think had convinced himself that he wasn't doing anything inappropriate.. but ultimately he was found to have been not truthful and they sent him to treatment. but hopefully they can help this kid.. hopefully he won't end up as a news story somewhere down the line. My thoughts go out to the family of those people killed in Atlanta today..........rest in peace y'all..

Thursday, March 10, 2005

A room without the view

So I had this whole post done and got an error message.. when I went back to republish it was gone.. so copy your posts baybeeeee....


I used to be a big fan of "the view" I am also a Survivor nut, so it seemed like the best thing in the world to have Elisabeth from survivor joining my morning gals.. I was sadly mistaken.
I know that elisabeth is a staunch republican.. I get that.. but this morning was probably the last straw.. The girls are talking about a european newspaper article in which an army guy is quoted as saying that the US staged the capture of saddam.. yup.. that's right I said staged..
According to the army dude, they had acutally captured him in a house the day before and set up the fox hole capture for the Army TV production crew. So, miss E as I am callin her now, starts talking about how we are all paranoid, and how the US must have had another bigger mission that they were trying to protect....huh? bigger mission? what bigger mission could there be except Bin Laden and he's probably in the east wing of the white house resting comfortably..
First we are lied to about why we are going to war, then they allegedly faked the jessica lynch rescue for the cameras, and now this... why exactly should we believe anything they say. Oh yeah.. except that we are just supposed to.. BS...
I mean they lied to us right? isn't this just another in a pattern of deceit? if this admistration was my partner I woulda broken up with them already.. is this country just THAT stupid? Anyone who doesn't fall in line with the administration is either unpatriotic or a left wing liberal nut job..
if that's the case than "nutjob, party of one.. " right here..
The climate of this country right now is sad.. the legislation of morality that is going on scares me.. and I apparently am in the minority.. So now I can't watch the view.. it just makes me mad every time she says something.. I suppose I can watch while she is on maternity leave.. otherwise I guess it's back to "starting over" cause I am way tooo young to watch "the price is right!"

But on the upside.. I have found out that Rosie is bloggin.. yay! I've read her stuff and I love it!

I can remember waaaay back when sitting in my apartment in Long Beach eating ramen noodles and watching her crack on Eric Carmen and his big hair when she was a VJ on VH1.. ahhhh those were the days..
in other good news.. comcast is showing "on demand" episodes of "Maude" ... could I BE any happier??? (you have to say that in your best chandler bing impersonation)
So this weekend is catch up on "supernanny" (why isn't every parent made to watch this show? It is fantastic! I want a naughty mat just to have one!) and whatever other shows are in the TIVO (have I mentioned I love tivo!) and some live music saturday night when Cathy Richardson plays Atlanta wooohooo ! saw her open for sugarland a while back and she was phenomenal.. heavy rotation on all 5 of her CD's which we proudly now own.

I got a medical ID card for my dog the other day... it made me sad... I put it with her ashes in the pine box.. it must have been generated before we had to have her put to sleep, and the vet's office didn't catch it.. They were super cool though, made a donation to the UGA school of veterinary medicine in her name.. RIP buddy.. I miss you....

Fat Actress

So I watched the premiere of Fat Actress the other night and I have to say, it was disappointing..
I understand self depricating fat humor.. I use it all the time, but the show itself was uncomfortable to watch and the best stuff had been used in the promos.. add to that the fact that KA has allegedly said in interviews that she topped out at 203 lbs. and well.. if that's true.. I'm a supermodel.. personally I don't care how much she weighs, but puhleeeze

Michael Jackson has arrived at court after a bench warrant was issued cause he wasn't there on time.. apparently the judge wasn't so happy with him being late.. He looks kinda drugged, but lets see what the judge has to say.. as someone who has had spine surgery, he doesn't look like he has a bad back, he was walking on his own.. but he definitely looks out of it..