Yow

I'm slowly coming out of zombieland.

This past Friday I was hit with the mother of all kidney stones, so the weekend has been a bit of a blur. The only thing that seemed to get me out of my stupor was the nomination of Sarah Palin, which just cemented my vote for Obama.

I shall survive. The country is another matter.

One Step

And who said Fridays were dull?

Don't want to jinx it, but I got some news that may pan out into something...and then, again, it may not. I've been in this position before, I'm the relay runner and I pass the baton off and my teammate fumbles it.

So until I know more, just keep those good vibes coming my way. Masochist, thy name is screenwriter.

Hanging On

Doing my usual thing, besides loafing, and not even much of that (loafing).

Still working on the Christmas script. After some bumps in the road, it seems to have settled down into semi-coherent treacle. I'm not used to grinding stuff out, so this has felt like an extended labor.

And while I've been working on the Christmas script (and not feeling very Christmassy, maybe I should play "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"), I'm doing other stuff like reading scripts, jotting down ideas, and misc. which falls under the umbrella of life.

Am still waiting for the shoe to drop on the John Edwards scandal. Whatever it is, you know it has to be a biggie. Why are his minions still ferrying Rielle Hunter around from one manse to the other and paying her expenses if it's over and done with? What does she know that's even more damaging than their affair and the baby?
The mind reels.

As if anyone cares I've been very disappointed with MONK, am biting my tongue until the halfway mark. I've been scolded on the USA Network Board for being a "critic" and not a fan. Horrors! But that's another blog.

Come to think of it, I haven't been feeling PROJECT RUNWAY either; this season's challenges haven't been very challenging and the design divas haven't been very divalicious. Maybe the switcheroo to another network will give it some new blood. SHEAR GENIUS is limping along to the finale but I am looking forward to the Tabitha spin-off.

Other than that, it's been the same old same old. And rejection. Always plenty of that.

Sex, Lies, Money, Videotape and Pampers

Okay, if you don't want to read another John Edwards screed, stop right now---yes, you---and head on over to www.rougewave.blogspot.com where Madame Cupcake has one of my latest blogs, a rant on The M Word. And it's got nothing to do with Rielle Hunter. I promise.

But...if you're like me, a true gossiphile who can't resist a juicy sex scandal, continue reading.

Let's face, nothing enlivens the dog days of August than a high powered politician caught with his pants down. This story should be a journalist's wet dream: web sites being scrubbed, assumed names, huge monthly pay-offs, a stooge to take the fall, the terminally ill wife, the stool pigeon friends and family...hell, the only thing missing is dead horses. And we got them too!

Sad to say, it SHOULD BE a journalist's wet dream...because it appears that, yet again, the MSM is letting bloggers like Deceiver and Death By A Thousand Paper Cuts do the leg work. Even more appalling is when MSM writes about it, and then fails to properly attribute their sources. Come on guys, you know better than that. You're not some rinky dink operation like Newsday (which, by the way, except for one headline story, has pretty much stayed away from the JE mess like Christie Brinkley from her snake of an ex). I like Christie, I'm glad she stood up to that jerk, but that's another blog.

Belatedly, it comes out that pretty much everyone knew that JE was having an affair. Even Hilary's people knew and decided not to make an issue of it. Everyone knew except, you know, the people that counted...THE VOTING PUBLIC.

Not unexpectedly, the MSM, instead of doing what they're supposed to do, like, uhm, report the news, is still picking up other people's crumbs. John Edwards did this big confession which was designed to put the whole thing to bed (sorry), but it did just the opposite. His half-assed confession got so many people mad and upset, that they're shoveling even more. And sorry for JE, nothing they're churning up is any good. They never learn, do they, and it's so simple. JUST TELL THE GODDAMN TRUTH.

And some of these progressive sites I go to, well, after a burst of righteous indignation, they seem to have fallen back to their sloppy ways of blaming everyone but JE and EE. He lied, he's still lying, everyone is lying...but let's not talk about it because, you know...we bought those lies. And since JE isn't going to be at the convention, hey, it's over with. Not important. Move along. We have to keep our eye on the prize.

Uh-uh. I'm not buying that shit.

Until and unless JE comes clean, le Hunter scandale will permeate the National Convention like dead meat. Sure, people may not want to talk about it, but it's there, and each revelation drips like Chinese Water Torture. Yesterday it was RH's sisters going on TV to say that RH's baby looks like "JE in a onesie", today it's a story in the NY Post that EE was told about the affair in "installments." That's a new one on me, the pay as you go plan for adultery. When JE's colleagues (without his approval or knowledge, of course), paid people off, they forgot to include a lot of RH's friends and family on the gravy train.

I admit, I'm baffled by this "herd mentality" that exists on several "progressive" sites. Yes, we're getting hit hard (as well we should). So they bring up John McCain's affair and Cindy McCain's drug addiction as if we should be keeping score, as if this somehow evens the playing field. Honestly, this is pathetic. Look, I don't like John McCain either, but unless you have him in bed with a lobbyist NOW, forget it. Yes, his behavior toward his first wife was horrible, but he already copped to it, and it was thirty years ago. And yes, Cindy did some bad things when she was a pill addict back in the 90's, but by all accounts, she's recovered. Dredging up this crap is petty and mean and isn't going to change the conversation or the spotlight.

Yes sir, we just love a rip roaring sex scandale in the morning. Remember Elizabeth Taylor? Fuck the fake Olympic fireworks and the lip synching cutie. Pretty soon we'll be reading in The Globe that Michael Phelps can't even swim. This is better than TROPICAL THUNDER. Popcorn, anyone?


PS I got the tombstone photo from DBKP. Love ya!

Let's Get Rielle

Most people on the web know me through my screenwriting, but there's a reason why I have "proud bleeding heart liberal" as my "tagline". In addition to writing scripts and novels, I used to be heavily involved in several prominent left wing blogsites back in the late 90's-2001. I wrote essays and humour pieces, mostly. After the 2001 election debacle, I had to pull back to maintain my sanity. Still, I frequent them, and put in my two cents, sometimes three, when I feel the urge and need to. And I certainly do feel the need to in the wake of the John Edwards mess. Probably what I write won't matter to anyone but me, it's a blogsumi, it's like spitting in the eye of a hurricane.

As a former JE supporter, I'm totally and completely disgusted with him. I don't think there are enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe how incredibly stupid, irresponsible and despicable his conduct has been, and continues to be. Unfortunately, my gut tells me that there's more to this story to come, but that's for another day.

Moreover, I'm also disgusted at how the MSM and many left wing bloggers refused to investigate this story (or even report on it) until it was in their collective faces. Since when has the National Enquirer become the de facto investigative newspaper of record?

Worse, when some tried to write about the subject on some sites, they were derided, castigated, vilified and even banned outright. I know, because when I wrote on one site to defend a member who had been banned, I was called every vicious name in the book: troll, right wing sock puppet, etc.

This disturbed me no end, this indignant hypocrisy. Let's face it: if this had been Mitt Romney or any other prominent Repub who had run for President, these sites would have been all over it like Krazy Glue. But because it was John Edwards, because of his terminally ill wife, because the details, if true, was just so sad and sordid, they wanted to ignore it, much like the Emperor With No Clothes.

Now that they can't, these so-called MSM journalists are tripping over themselves in as they try to explain why they didn't cover the story. It's now become clear that papers like the New York Times did the most perfunctory of investigations, which meant just relying on Edwards. For crying out loud, it's not like there wasn't anything to investigate, all this stuff has been out there since 2006. They simply chose not to dig deeper. They abdicated their responsibility big time. All of them, even Newsday, my old employer, now a sad shell of its former shelf and just another sales tool for the almighty Cablevision empire.

It's a cliche, but it's usually true: where there's smoke, there's fire. And it took the dogged efforts of the Enquirer and sites like Huffington Post, Stranahan, Deceiver, Radar Online, Gawker, Wonkette and others to keep the pressure on. Do you think Edwards would have owned up to his adultery if the Enquirer hadn't snookered him at the Beverly Hilton? Think about it. Jay Leno was making jokes about it for two weeks. Where the hell was Wolf Blitzer and Jack McCaffrey?

And don't give me that crap about Edwards being a "private citizen". He's an ex-Senator. He was running for President. Obama was considering him for Veep, if not that, certainly a cabinet post. Edwards was fair game. He made himself so. His hubris and arrogance, and yes, his dick, overtook his common sense. In my book, Edwards isn't the only one who should be hanging his head in shame.

Yes, I'm still a bleeding heart liberal, but at this moment, not a proud one.

For Scott

Now Dennis Hopper is a man who looks as smooth as a glass of aged bourbon. I wouldn't kick him out of my bed, that's for damn sure.

My Muse

Hey Ma, lookee, they're taking my picture!



I know what he's thinking, and he knows that I know...hell, I'll race ya!