Somebody Loves Me!

Yay! Phone call from C&G Casting! Off to Staten Island tomorrow for the new Al Pacino film, You Don't Know Jack, about Dr. Kevorkian. I'm playing a Hemlock Society member/protester...they're the right to die people. (This is something of which I thoroughly approve, as I think I've mentioned...and it's sure as hell closer to my reality than playing a lady in favor of Prohibition in Boardwalk Empire!)

Meanwhile, our friend Vicky is in residence at our house, because she's here from LA for a two month job...she's an interesting form of house guest because our hours don't coincide AT ALL...which means the only time I know she's around is when I hear the bathroom door in the middle of the night. This is both restful and slightly sad, because last time she stayed here we used to have lovely kitchen table chats. Ah, well.

I went out to dinner with my pal Caesar on Sunday, and spent Labor Day doing nothing in particular...then I did a small job for my crazy temp lady yesterday morning...earning the magnificent sum of, I think, about 30 bucks after taxes. Well, it's 30 bucks I wouldn't have otherwise, right?

And tomorrow a nice movie to shoot!

By the way, I was meaning to blog about something before it happened, but I couldn't get myself to the blog (just feeling lazy and disinclined to do anything much more intellectual than play solitaire). What on earth was with all those idiotic people getting their knickers in a twist about Obama's talk to schoolkids?

The text of the speech was on the internet before it went out on the airwaves. Any parent who was at all concerned could have easily read it. And I have never read anything more innocuous. It was just what I'm sure he says to his own daughters, and just what I said to Sarah, and just what every single parent has said to his/her child since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of education). Work hard, stay out of trouble, you can make something of yourself no matter where you come from. The only thing different about it was that it came from a black man who overcame youthful difficulties and actually became President of the United States. Frankly, I think that's a damn powerful message...particularly for young black children to hear.

But the lunatic fringe are now saying that there were subliminal socialist messages implanted in the speech...or some foolishness. To begin with, it has been debunked that there actually ever was such a thing as subliminal messages...some time ago (50's or thereabouts, I seem to recall) when it was thought that movies theatres were planting these messages to get people to buy more candy. I believe it was tried, but it simply didn't work. And then of course we got to the whole "Play the rock and roll song backwards for the Satanic messages" idiocy. Sheesh.

Really, as others have said before me, this country seems to spend all its time being afraid of the strangest damn things, without paying attention to the things that are REALLY dangerous. As a nation, we're terrified of cholesterol and transfats...but go right on stuffing our faces. (For instance, it has now been proved that diet margarine is a lot worse for you than actual butter. I once, after a heart disease scare, took to using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Well, first of all, I could absolutely believe it wasn't butter...then it dissolved a bowl of popcorn I put it on, and I quit using it on the spot.) Not to mention that the experts all down the line keep informing everybody that fresh, home-cooked food is the best for you...and everybody lines up at McDonald's, KFC, and Domino's pizza...some of them EVERY DAY.

Many people are afraid of invasion from outer space, and the total annihilation of our world by aliens...and happily drive drunk down a highway, texting merrily away on their phones.

And we are mortally afraid of a healthy and open sex life, and have all kinds of movie ratings to prevent our children from seeing a sex act on screen, yet idolize 16 year olds dancing about on stage and screen (and everywhere else) without half their clothes on. Not to mention evidently condoning violent war and crime on screen and in video games. This is supposed to be BETTER for the kids than seeing two people in love?

At this point, I invariably remember a very old Quaker saying: Everyone's queer except thee and me, and sometimes I wonder about thee.

Meanwhile, for a wonderful travel disaster story, you MUST read the comment to my last post, from my pal Texas Beth...it's wonderful (well, it's awful...but what a tale)! Many thanks, Beth!

Love, Wendy