Yeah, the name is one I first heard on The Newsroom. The HBO, Aaron Sorkin show. But it perfectly describes the Tea Party faction of the GOP. They have totally hijacked that party with crazy super duper far right thinking that has made government grind to a halt.
Right now, about 15 minutes ago, the midnight deadline for a government shutdown passed. Which is the stupidest thing that could possibly happen. But the Tea Party is not very bright. They think they can force the Affordable Care Act to go away just by throwing a temper tantrum. The thing they don't seem to get is that this idea of healthcare reform had been vetted with the country since it had been signed into law in 2010.
They seem to think that the vote in both houses of congress, the signing by the President, the litigation upheld by the Supreme Court, a Presidential election where the opposing candidate promised multiple times a day to "repeal and replace Obamacare on day one," or the 42 or more votes which failed to get rid of the ACA don't matter. The country voted to re-elect the President by over 5 million votes and an electoral college landslide.
Doesn't matter to the 30-45 hard right terroists who are making the rest of the GOP jump like lemmings inot the abyss. But the lemming jump is not enough. They are wearing suicide vests and their fingers are gleefully thumbing the detonator.
Ther is no way for it to be resolved tonight. And the lesson of the 1996 shutdown is lost on these idiots. The government was shutdown for 21 days. They don't know the consequences. They will learn the impact of this ideological purity test. And I hope and pray that the fools of the Tea Party will all be voted out of congress. There is no room in governing for people who want to burn down the government.
It would be awesome if recall petitions were started in every state and congressional district of every GOP member who votes in this destructive and reckless way.
But this is just the preamble. The real crazy shit may happen when the debt ceiling limit comes to a vote.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Parenting Thoughts
Yeah. I have no kids. But I have strong opinions about parenting.
I was talking to a woman who has a 2 year old child and said I wouldn't do certain things. Thins she had done with her child. She put her hands on her hips and gave me a, "Really?" Which was not subtle code for, "You have no fucking children, why are you judging me?"
I have friends with kids and have seen different parenting styles from cajoling to guilt trips to begging to threats and intimidation. They may be the thing that that specific child needs. But in all the parenting styles I have watched I have to admit that I think the woman with hands on hips kind of got it all wrong.
The child is 2 and still breast feeds. Not because he needs the food or they live in sub Saharan Africa and there is no other source of protein for the child, it's because she wanted to breast feed for a long time. And now, at 2, it's hard to break the kid from the routine. Also, breastfeeding is now a security blanket for the child. If he bumps his head, he gets a boob. If he ever is sad, he gets a boob. I'm over 18. It would be fucking awesome to get a boob at the end of a bad day.
The child co-sleeps with them and has the entire time. The child had never slept in it's own bed until recently. It was more for her than the child. Um, have a crib near the bed to facilitate middle of the night feedings for the first 3-4 months, but you could roll over and hurt the child! That's just fucking dangerous. It's only recently the child has been sleeping in his own bed.
The parents told of how difficult it is to get the child to stop breast feeding and to sleep in it's own bed. Who's fault is that for not creating a routine? The kid is a precious glass unicorn that has never had a bad day. They are talking about home schooling. I don't buy that home schooled kids are at the same developmental stages as kids who go to public or private schools.
In school you learn things. Socialization. You learn your strengths and weaknesses. You learn that there are people in the world that are assholes and you won't like them. And they won't like you. You learn to play tag and dodgeball at recess and you run around. I doubt that home schooled kids get sent outside to run around. And prom is going to suck
You learn deadlines in school. You have to have work in by a certain time to get a grade. How do grades work for home schooled kids? How does Harvard look at a home schooled kid and say that they have a commensurate educational experience as the kids who went to public or private schools? For what is school training you for? A JOB. Yup, all the things you learned in school like sitting behind a desk and accomplishing a task, that is a precursor to having a job where you sit at a desk and get shit done. I'm not being Dickensian, but if a home schooled kid is only "working" for 3 hours because it is the same as 7 hours at a public school, then he will be shocked at how long a work day really is.
When the parents admonished the child for pushing another child, the mother said, "It makes Mommy feel bad when you do that." The dad also said, "Daddy doesn't like it when you do that." Um, in the world there are things you should do. Tell a child "No" and stick with it is one of the things. You can explain why, but what does the child learn being guilt tripped about an action the parents don't like? How do you explain to the child the stove is hot? "It burns Mommy when you stick your hand on the burner?" IT'S FUCKING DANGEROUS! Certain things in the world are dangerous and you need to tell the kid "NO." Don't run into the street. Don't jump off the roof. Don't stab Mommy. The justification of "it makes Mommy sad" is bullshit.
Generally, I think that these parents are raising a bright, lovely child who will have a universe filled with rainbows and butterflies... And be totally unprepared for how the world really works. This kid will be consoled if he fails. And you get a trophy for showing up.
But, really, don't you learn more from your failures than you successes? Anybody can win, but how do you deal with a loss? Does the loss drive you to do better or give up on doing that thing again? Feeling bad is part of being human. If you never learn how to cope, are you going to be looking for Mom's boob when you are 35 and didn't get a promotion at work?
Don't you learn more from the people who don't like you than the ones who like you and put up with your shit because they are your friend? My friends put up with my crap. But the ones who won't are the people I work for and the people who don't like me. They call my attention to the things I do that others let slide.
But then what do I know? I'm just some asshole who has no children.
I was talking to a woman who has a 2 year old child and said I wouldn't do certain things. Thins she had done with her child. She put her hands on her hips and gave me a, "Really?" Which was not subtle code for, "You have no fucking children, why are you judging me?"
I have friends with kids and have seen different parenting styles from cajoling to guilt trips to begging to threats and intimidation. They may be the thing that that specific child needs. But in all the parenting styles I have watched I have to admit that I think the woman with hands on hips kind of got it all wrong.
The child is 2 and still breast feeds. Not because he needs the food or they live in sub Saharan Africa and there is no other source of protein for the child, it's because she wanted to breast feed for a long time. And now, at 2, it's hard to break the kid from the routine. Also, breastfeeding is now a security blanket for the child. If he bumps his head, he gets a boob. If he ever is sad, he gets a boob. I'm over 18. It would be fucking awesome to get a boob at the end of a bad day.
The child co-sleeps with them and has the entire time. The child had never slept in it's own bed until recently. It was more for her than the child. Um, have a crib near the bed to facilitate middle of the night feedings for the first 3-4 months, but you could roll over and hurt the child! That's just fucking dangerous. It's only recently the child has been sleeping in his own bed.
The parents told of how difficult it is to get the child to stop breast feeding and to sleep in it's own bed. Who's fault is that for not creating a routine? The kid is a precious glass unicorn that has never had a bad day. They are talking about home schooling. I don't buy that home schooled kids are at the same developmental stages as kids who go to public or private schools.
In school you learn things. Socialization. You learn your strengths and weaknesses. You learn that there are people in the world that are assholes and you won't like them. And they won't like you. You learn to play tag and dodgeball at recess and you run around. I doubt that home schooled kids get sent outside to run around. And prom is going to suck
You learn deadlines in school. You have to have work in by a certain time to get a grade. How do grades work for home schooled kids? How does Harvard look at a home schooled kid and say that they have a commensurate educational experience as the kids who went to public or private schools? For what is school training you for? A JOB. Yup, all the things you learned in school like sitting behind a desk and accomplishing a task, that is a precursor to having a job where you sit at a desk and get shit done. I'm not being Dickensian, but if a home schooled kid is only "working" for 3 hours because it is the same as 7 hours at a public school, then he will be shocked at how long a work day really is.
When the parents admonished the child for pushing another child, the mother said, "It makes Mommy feel bad when you do that." The dad also said, "Daddy doesn't like it when you do that." Um, in the world there are things you should do. Tell a child "No" and stick with it is one of the things. You can explain why, but what does the child learn being guilt tripped about an action the parents don't like? How do you explain to the child the stove is hot? "It burns Mommy when you stick your hand on the burner?" IT'S FUCKING DANGEROUS! Certain things in the world are dangerous and you need to tell the kid "NO." Don't run into the street. Don't jump off the roof. Don't stab Mommy. The justification of "it makes Mommy sad" is bullshit.
Generally, I think that these parents are raising a bright, lovely child who will have a universe filled with rainbows and butterflies... And be totally unprepared for how the world really works. This kid will be consoled if he fails. And you get a trophy for showing up.
But, really, don't you learn more from your failures than you successes? Anybody can win, but how do you deal with a loss? Does the loss drive you to do better or give up on doing that thing again? Feeling bad is part of being human. If you never learn how to cope, are you going to be looking for Mom's boob when you are 35 and didn't get a promotion at work?
Don't you learn more from the people who don't like you than the ones who like you and put up with your shit because they are your friend? My friends put up with my crap. But the ones who won't are the people I work for and the people who don't like me. They call my attention to the things I do that others let slide.
But then what do I know? I'm just some asshole who has no children.
Friday, September 13, 2013
San Diego Comic Con Day 4
So on Saturday as I was in the car with Zack and Joanna going to their hotel in the marina area, we passed by the Midway aircraft carrier. I mentioned that I wanted to go on the ship. Zack pulled out his phone and made a call. His dad had been in the Navy and the Master Chief on the Midway used to work for his dad. So Zack left a message and the next morning we met when the ship opened and got a private tour of the aircraft carrier from the Master Chief. It was really cool to see the ship. Something like that boggles my mind a bit. The engineering it takes to create a floating city is simply astounding. We toured the ship fro a couple hours then went for lunch.
At the convention center in the afternoon we walked around. For me, this was unusual. I generally cut out in the early to mid afternoon and go back to Los Angeles. But I had made arrangements to stay with Bill and his family again. I wanted to take a little more time rather than rush back.
I said good-bye to Zack and Joanna and went to meet an old girlfriend for dinner. I hadn't seen her since the mid 90's at some convention. I don't remember which one. I had only recently had contact with her thru her mom and Christmas cards. So the dinner idea was weird to me. Whatever happened between us hadn't ended well. But time made the whole thing pretty inconsequential.
She happened to live with her husband on the way to Bill's house so I wasn't going the completely opposite direction. When I pulled up to her house she was outside across the street chatting with the neighbors. My arrival time was kind of a guess, but dinner was going to be chicken on the barbeque so there would not be a lot of cooking time.
She is on her second marriage so they have a blended family. The kids were with the other parents for the weekend so I didn't meet any of them. We hung out and chatted; catching up on more than 15 years. It was odd but nice. She still knew me, kinda, because she knew me then, but I'm different in some ways. And exactly the same in others.
I left their house and arrived at Bill's. His kids got me to promise I'd watch cartoons with them until they had to go to sleep. So I sat on the couch with tow little kids snuggled into me watching cartoons.
They all had to get up early to go to work, so bedtime was way before I normally go to sleep, but I didn't want to be wandering around while they are sleeping so I went to the guest room downstairs. In the morning the door opened up and the kids came in to get the cat's food so they could eat. A little face came very close to the bed and asked if I was asleep. I said, "kinda." They snuck out and let me sleep. When they left for the day they visited one last time. I thanked them for letting me stay the night.
I woke, showered and packed my stuff. I had to set the alarm when I left. That was kind of nerve wracking. I couldn't make any mistakes and leave something behind. Also it's a loud arming system. Kind of scared the shit out of me. There was a voice announcing I had 30 seconds to get out and then a loud beeping. Ahhhh!
I left and met up with the girl's mom. She was supposed to have come to dinner last night but didn't so I met them and one of the kids at a school garden. Previous years I would swing by and visit with her mom when I was in town for the con. I hadn't done it in a few years because of scheduling. We chatted for 30 minutes. Judy, the mom, would always shoot straight from the hip. One year I was visiting she told me I didn't look as gaunt as I used to. Thanks. This time she said I seemed comfortable with who I was.
That's not a bad thing, really.
At the convention center in the afternoon we walked around. For me, this was unusual. I generally cut out in the early to mid afternoon and go back to Los Angeles. But I had made arrangements to stay with Bill and his family again. I wanted to take a little more time rather than rush back.
I said good-bye to Zack and Joanna and went to meet an old girlfriend for dinner. I hadn't seen her since the mid 90's at some convention. I don't remember which one. I had only recently had contact with her thru her mom and Christmas cards. So the dinner idea was weird to me. Whatever happened between us hadn't ended well. But time made the whole thing pretty inconsequential.
She happened to live with her husband on the way to Bill's house so I wasn't going the completely opposite direction. When I pulled up to her house she was outside across the street chatting with the neighbors. My arrival time was kind of a guess, but dinner was going to be chicken on the barbeque so there would not be a lot of cooking time.
She is on her second marriage so they have a blended family. The kids were with the other parents for the weekend so I didn't meet any of them. We hung out and chatted; catching up on more than 15 years. It was odd but nice. She still knew me, kinda, because she knew me then, but I'm different in some ways. And exactly the same in others.
I left their house and arrived at Bill's. His kids got me to promise I'd watch cartoons with them until they had to go to sleep. So I sat on the couch with tow little kids snuggled into me watching cartoons.
They all had to get up early to go to work, so bedtime was way before I normally go to sleep, but I didn't want to be wandering around while they are sleeping so I went to the guest room downstairs. In the morning the door opened up and the kids came in to get the cat's food so they could eat. A little face came very close to the bed and asked if I was asleep. I said, "kinda." They snuck out and let me sleep. When they left for the day they visited one last time. I thanked them for letting me stay the night.
I woke, showered and packed my stuff. I had to set the alarm when I left. That was kind of nerve wracking. I couldn't make any mistakes and leave something behind. Also it's a loud arming system. Kind of scared the shit out of me. There was a voice announcing I had 30 seconds to get out and then a loud beeping. Ahhhh!
I left and met up with the girl's mom. She was supposed to have come to dinner last night but didn't so I met them and one of the kids at a school garden. Previous years I would swing by and visit with her mom when I was in town for the con. I hadn't done it in a few years because of scheduling. We chatted for 30 minutes. Judy, the mom, would always shoot straight from the hip. One year I was visiting she told me I didn't look as gaunt as I used to. Thanks. This time she said I seemed comfortable with who I was.
That's not a bad thing, really.
San Diego Comic Con Day 3
This was the day I had been waiting for. The whole reason I was there. This was Film School day 3 where Sean has a group of actors onstage talking about low budget filming. A number of the people from last year were on the panel and then there were 2 new people. # of the previous year's panel were not there.
I always get a little freaked out when talking in front of large groups. It sounds silly coming from an actor, but if I'm in a play or on set, I'm technically not me. Since there was only an hour we had limited things we could cover. It was cool to hear from the 2 new pwople on the panel because I'd heard some of the stories previous years. Though, my stories hadn't changed much from last year either.
We finished the panel and hung out in the hallway chatting with people who were in the audience. They usually want to chat, ask questions, etc. It's nice to hang out. After 30-45 minutes I left and wandered around. Zack was busy with work commitments and I wandered amilessly.
Now at Comic con there are booth babes. These are hot women hired by the dealers to catch the eye of the males in the crowd and draw them into the booth to talk about products or things for sale. As I was walking from one side to the other side a girl working a booth caught my eye. She was very cute and reminded me of a friend of mine. I was looking at her as I was fighting my way thru the crowd. She was also looking at me. it was an interesting connection with a stranger. Like 2 animals checking each other out. Because I was going to meet someone I couldn't stop and chat her up. But we kept eye contact for a good 100 feet. Which is tough to do. The next day when I was free I tried to find her and the booth she was at. But like a mirage in the desert she wasn't to be found and I couldn't be sure exactly where I saw her. None of the booths looked like the one she was at.
Anyway.
In the afternoon I put on another costume. The Scarlet Spider from Spider-man's clone saga from 1995 or so. It's a costume I've had since it was used in a masquerade in 1995. It's tight lycra and it still fits me. I wandered back to the convention hall from the hotel. Again people took my picture and little kids had their pictures taken with me. It was fun. People are generally polite and ask if they can get my picture. I ask when I want a picture of someone too. But wouldn't I be just the biggest asshole if someone asked if they could get my picture and I said, "No."
Because the costume has a mask I'm completely unknown. And sometimes they take a picture and I say, "Do it again, I blinked." That gets a laugh. While in costume I ran into my fellow panelist Valerie Perez. She's an actress and well known cosplayer. She is one of the best Wonder Woman cosplays you ever see. We walked around a bit together until I had to go change for dinner. Zack and his wife and friends of theirs, we were all going to dinner at this Mexican place in Old Town.
Dinner was fun. There was 10-12 of us. One of the people there had a son that was interested in acting. So I chatted with him about acting. What to do, what not to do, what is a rip off, what to look out for. His dad was listening but not saying anything. I told him the truth. I didn't try to discourage him, but I didn't sugar coat just how tough of a business it is.
After dinner I was dropped off at home. The plan was to meet in the morning and go to the Midway museum.
I always get a little freaked out when talking in front of large groups. It sounds silly coming from an actor, but if I'm in a play or on set, I'm technically not me. Since there was only an hour we had limited things we could cover. It was cool to hear from the 2 new pwople on the panel because I'd heard some of the stories previous years. Though, my stories hadn't changed much from last year either.
We finished the panel and hung out in the hallway chatting with people who were in the audience. They usually want to chat, ask questions, etc. It's nice to hang out. After 30-45 minutes I left and wandered around. Zack was busy with work commitments and I wandered amilessly.
Now at Comic con there are booth babes. These are hot women hired by the dealers to catch the eye of the males in the crowd and draw them into the booth to talk about products or things for sale. As I was walking from one side to the other side a girl working a booth caught my eye. She was very cute and reminded me of a friend of mine. I was looking at her as I was fighting my way thru the crowd. She was also looking at me. it was an interesting connection with a stranger. Like 2 animals checking each other out. Because I was going to meet someone I couldn't stop and chat her up. But we kept eye contact for a good 100 feet. Which is tough to do. The next day when I was free I tried to find her and the booth she was at. But like a mirage in the desert she wasn't to be found and I couldn't be sure exactly where I saw her. None of the booths looked like the one she was at.
Anyway.
In the afternoon I put on another costume. The Scarlet Spider from Spider-man's clone saga from 1995 or so. It's a costume I've had since it was used in a masquerade in 1995. It's tight lycra and it still fits me. I wandered back to the convention hall from the hotel. Again people took my picture and little kids had their pictures taken with me. It was fun. People are generally polite and ask if they can get my picture. I ask when I want a picture of someone too. But wouldn't I be just the biggest asshole if someone asked if they could get my picture and I said, "No."
Because the costume has a mask I'm completely unknown. And sometimes they take a picture and I say, "Do it again, I blinked." That gets a laugh. While in costume I ran into my fellow panelist Valerie Perez. She's an actress and well known cosplayer. She is one of the best Wonder Woman cosplays you ever see. We walked around a bit together until I had to go change for dinner. Zack and his wife and friends of theirs, we were all going to dinner at this Mexican place in Old Town.
Dinner was fun. There was 10-12 of us. One of the people there had a son that was interested in acting. So I chatted with him about acting. What to do, what not to do, what is a rip off, what to look out for. His dad was listening but not saying anything. I told him the truth. I didn't try to discourage him, but I didn't sugar coat just how tough of a business it is.
After dinner I was dropped off at home. The plan was to meet in the morning and go to the Midway museum.
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