AMPTP May Have Money and Power, But No Public Sympathy January 5, 2008
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Geekery, Television, Writing.Tags: AMPTP, DGA, SAG, Scrubs, WGA, writers strike
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What I’m about to say may sound ludicrous, considering that I’m desperate to see more of the final season of Scrubs, but…
I hope the writers’ strike continues. Or that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers breaks because of it.
Take whatever side you want in this debate, it’s plain as day that the writers have pretty much won the public relations side of the conflict. Not only are they utilizing their talents to produce plenty of amusing and informative (and, of course, biased) videos explaining their side of things; not only are the picket lines of striking writers (and often, famous actors beside them) drawing plenty of sympathy from the general public struggling to understand why their favorite shows aren’t on TV right now; not only have the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild already made implicit gestures of support to Writers Guild America; but most importantly, the writers as a whole have actually made an effort to communicate their side of the story themselves, and not through the spokespersons, negotiators, and lawyers that we typically expect to come from gigantic, faceless corporations.
It’s just not possible to feel much sympathy when a spokesman for a multi-million-dollar conglomerate (or consortium of them) essentially tells everyone that they have to protect their bottom line for the future good of the industry. I mean, talk about an answer that says absolutely nothing! “We have a greater insight to the future of this industry than the people who work in it, and you just have to trust us,” is what they may as well say, along with, “We will be here FOREVER, and we’re just going to wait you out.”
Such a lazy stock answer also conjures visions of rich old white men sitting in a board room somewhere, drinking their wine and telling their board chairmen to protect their money and lifestyle no matter what the cost to the little folk. And of course, the chairmen don’t want to deal with the public scrutiny. The answer? Send a lawyer with a stock answer; it’s not like people don’t already dislike lawyers.
I’m no professional writer, and in this climate I’m not sure I’d want to be one in this industry. But I do sympathize with creative professionals who need work as well as the capability to protect the rights to their intellectual property down the road. So my stance on the strike isn’t difficult to figure out. But I doubt even the most rabid supporter of the AMPTP can make a convincing argument that they’ve done everything they could to reach out and make themselves look good, or at least sympathetic, to the public, the writers, and the rest of the industry.
And I think that’s a big part of why the writer’s have held out so long and done as well as they have against the money-laden machines they oppose.
Settling In July 29, 2006
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Geekery, General Incoherency, Television.add a comment
As Sarabeth and I start filling out applications and looking for steady employment in the Houston area, I thought I’d share a few tidbits from the last few days.
My youngest sisters are very amusing. One of them is just now becoming a monster with a capital T(eenager). I’ve been flashed the "L" (as in, loser) hand more times than I can count. The other one has demanded access to all my Gamecube and PS2 games, and immerses herself in the videogames when she gets them. Despite all this, we’re having a lot of fun–I went "treasure hunting" with one of them in the pool, and watched Batman Begins with the other one.
(sidenote: neither of my little sisters had seen Batman Begins as of last night. I must correct this.)
Sarabeth and I are still settling in, though we’ve unpacked most of our stuff and gotten more or less situated. The transition is more than a physical one for Sarabeth, who of course is a little uncomfortable with the idea of living with another person’s family. She’s still apprehensive, and willl need to adapt to things, but I’m hopeful that time and activity will alleviate things for her.
We also discovered a new TV show to which we can devote the brain-rot portion of our IQs. Stan Lee’s Who Wants to Be a Superhero? seems set to air on Thursday evenings on the SciFi channel, and as geeky and campy as it seems to be, it also looks like as much fun as I could ever have without becoming an actual superhero. It’s apparently only going to run for six episodes, but this isn’t a bad thing, given that I generally don’t watch reality television shows (such as it is).
On the jobs front, I’ve seen more than a couple of library positions open that are in Houston. Needless to say, apps are being filled out and constructed as you read this! 
New Obsessions December 2, 2005
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in General Incoherency, Star Wars, Television, Web/Tech.add a comment
Now that the dust has settled from Turkey Day (well, not completely; I still have to post my pics of the turkey dinner I cooked), I can dive headlong into the chaos of Christmas season. Which, this year, will consist of spoiling my cats and hanging out with friends. Simple enough.
I’ve made a few discoveries the last few weeks, and would like to share. Check ‘em out and let me know what you think!
- Firefly – This show has done several things for me. First of all, it convinced me that the sci-fi spaceship setup can still be fun, exciting and fresh. It also showed me that once you move away from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon is actually one helluva writer (before any of you Buffy buffs start sending me nasty emails, I’m not saying the show was poorly written, just that Whedon’s writing didn’t grab me til I saw this show)! Finally, it lowered inestimably my regard for Fox programming’s collective judgment and competence. Anyone who watches this show will not be able to understand why it was cancelled after less than one season. It spawned a movie, Serenity, which I highly recommend and intend to own once it’s released.
- Wookieepedia – Oh, man, am I lovin’ this! When I want to research the Star Wars galaxy–and who doesn’t?–I just plop onto this little website, enter in the name of an obscure character, phenomenon, event, or place, and get taken into the depths of the Star Wars galaxy, limited only by the collective knowledge of the fans who collaborate on it! I can also obtain all kinds of information from about the movies, books, graphic novels, video games, etc. that portrayed these events, phenomena people, or places.
- Mozilla Firefox – Technically, this isn’t a new obsession; I’ve been a rabid, dedicated, and unapologetic Firefox convert for over a year, not long after this browser launched. But the release of Firefox version 1.5 sports a whole new host of modifications and upgrades that improves on the many versions I’ve downloaded and used, as well as fixes some bugs and hacks that were starting to get around the (still-awesome) pop-up blocker. I’m telling you, after using Firefox I will NEVER willingly go back to IE, and I think if you take a moment to try it out and see how smooth it is, neither will you.
So, there. A few of the new toys I’ve been playing with recently. I’ve of course amassed more Star Wars Miniatures, but I’m going to hold off on a picture of them for another few days. I want you to see the sheer size AND depth of my collection. >:-D
Until next time, remember: "I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar…"
Man, I love being a geek.
