time and relative dimension in space

My computer is PISSING ME OFF because it keeps freezing and refusing to do anything whatsoever. *glares at it* It hasn't even been on for forty-eight hours! When I leave it on forty-eight hours in a row, then I at least understand this behavior, but when it's been less than TWELVE... *growls*

There is a WGA rally in Boston Dec. 14 at noon. So if you're in the area and can go, then go! I can't, sadly, because I have a final exam at one and there's no way I could get back here by then if I went. But I waaaaaaaaant to. Joss Whedon is supposed to show up.


( Take the first sentence (or 2) from the first post of each month of 2007. That's your year in review. )

My year in review: CHICA IS BORING.

You may have already heard, but just in case: the Local One strike is over and Broadway is once again bright!

Three cheers!

If you are at all interested in the WGA strike -- if you're undecided who you side with -- if you're not quite sure what's going on -- if ANYTHING, watch this video. It's kind of heartbreaking.

WGA strike-related links:

Why Strike II - a clear summation of the issues by a striking WGA writer.

Damon Lindelof of Lost talks the strike - an op-ed that seriously breaks my heart and renews my love for the Lost crew.

Striking Writers Seek Creative Options - a slightly lighter-hearted article about the writers who are currently Not Working.

The Ask A Ninja Ninja offers advice to the striking writers

A video of highlights from the Friday rally at Fox studios; Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy and American Dad fame makes an inspiring speech in Stewie's voice.

I also finally remembered to go over to ExIsle to check for strike news, and discovered to my delight that Zack, Ash, and Robert all confirm that they're walking the picket line. I love you guys!

A graphic explaining the strike in the Simplest Possible Terms, constructed by fusepark over at wga_supporters: ( Read more... )

And, finally, a reminder to please support the strike and not buy DVDs or legal downloads until it's over. Deal?



Local One strike-related links:

Broadway Producers Respond To Local One Strike

Local One Flier and an accompanying article -- the flier, which is being passed out at each of the theaters that the union is striking, reads

We are Local One, the stagehands who work behind the scenes for all the shows on Broadway.

We truly regret that there is no show.

Theatre owners and producers are demanding a 38% cut in our jobs and wages. They have built a $20 million fund to be used against us from the sale of theatre tickets to the public.

Broadway is a billion dollar a year industry and has never been more profitable than now.

Cuts in our jobs and wages will never result in a cut in ticket prices to benefit the public, but only an increase in the profits for producers.

Unlike the producers, we are not fighting for our second or third homes; we are fighting to keep the one that we have.

We ask for your understanding in our efforts to defend ourselves and protect our families.

Sincerely,

The Brothers and Sisters of Local One, I.A.T.S.E

Long Live The Village Green talks the strike

Broadway Goes Dark As Stagehands Strike

Support the strike.

Gratuitous icon post! It's...not very pretty, I admit, but I threw it together on an impulse. May go back and put together a prettier version later.

Also I have been randomly googling my screenname and have discovered that some people at the old SciFi Andromeda boards decided that I had a sockpuppet in a loud and fairly-well-known idiot ranter. *laughs* It's amusing! Especially because I haven't been there in God knows how long and don't recognize the name of the loud-and-fairly-well-known-idiot-ranter.

...My fingers are cold. And I have strike news that I will post later, probably.




My wishlist! If you have a wishlist that I haven't seen, drop me a link. I want to make dreams come true, if I may. ♥

STEP ONE
- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you. [Note: Your home address is not required!]

- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it'll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

STEP TWO
- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call. There are no guarantees with this project, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

( My Wishlist )

Yeah, this is more strike news. But it's not WGA strike news.

Today (Saturday, November 10th), Local One -- the Broadway stagehands' union -- went on strike. Broadway, in other words, is going dark. Their last contract expired mid-summer and they've been working without one since; negotiations went sour, and they threatened strike about a month ago. But the proper steps weren't taken or something, so they tried negotiations again -- but when that didn't go anywhere, they went on strike starting today.

I've been reading links since I got out of the fastest dry tech ever, but I'm still not totally clear on what the issues are. Unsurprisingly there isn't as much information out there on the L1 strike as there is on the WGA strike...but it looks like it has to do with hiring requirements, pay rates, that sort of thing. The companies want to renegotiate to get rid of some rules that they think are pointless (like needing to hire a fly operator for every show regardless of whether a fly is being used) and the stagehands don't want to give up the little bit of job security they have without getting something in return.

As a stage tech, it no doubt fails to surprise you that I support the strike.


Variety's coverage of the strike

Deadline Hollywood Daily's coverage of the strike

NY Times' coverage of the strike

Local One's official website

ohnotheydidnt talks strike

Playbill.com's coverage of the strike

Shows running and not running


...I promise, non-strike-news post coming later today.