The Dalai Lama's 80th Birthday....

So I'm home now from helping celebrate the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. Want to know how it went?

Onstage guests included Josh Radnor ("How I Met Your Mother,") Julia Ormond, Desmond Tutu's grandson, Wilmer Valderrama ("That 70s Show,") some 20-something Aussie musician (Cody Simpson), George Lopez (doing his usual schtick, bashing on Donald trump) Randy Jackson, and MC HAMMER (yes you read that right), who wore Stevie Wonder-grade sunglasses the whole time, and more. Two and a half hours of this michegoss before His Holiness said a single word.

And when he did speak, it was for 20 minutes.

After that, there was not a Q&A, but "a dialogue," in which these nitwits all spouted their opinions and were quick to point out what everyone else should be doing to save the world. I couldn't give two shits about their opinions; I was there to hear the Dalai Lama.

I did have to laugh, though, when George Lopez was complaining about all the criticism people were posting about him on the Internet, and asked the Dalai Lama (basically) what could be done to stop that. I wish with all my heart his Holiness had answered, "Well, maybe you should stop being a dick."

All in all, it was a bizarre and surreal experience. As each Z list non-celebrity took to the podium, I got more and more tempted to leave my seat and go up there myself. I'm sure I could have done a better job - and I'm more famous than at least half of them.

The whole wretched mess was emceed by Ann Curry, who kept saying stuff like, "of course you've seen the television show, 'How I Met Your Mother' or 'That 70s Show.'" Jesus GOD, I told myself, I certainly hope not!

The very last bit (it just wouldn't end) was basically a pole dance by the Lucent Dossier folk. An aerialist performed full-on stripper moves inside a giant lotus flower that hung 20 feet above the stage (and completely out of the Dalai Lama's sight line).

Hey, I guess after all is said and done, the man is still a man. And anybody who makes it to 80 deserves a little pole dance action if he wants it. 

Nick Cave's The Sick Bag Song - What the hell happened?

An open letter to Nick Cave and the American Cinematheque

Hello Cinematheque staff -

Last night I attended the Nick Cave Sick Bag Song event at the Egyptian. As a dedicated fan, I jump on every chance I have to see him live, and was very excited about this event. I also love the Egyptian and get there as often as I can.

BOY was I ever disappointed. So much so that I feel the need to reach out to you.

From start to finish, the whole event was one Epic Failure.

1. Nick's headset mic failed completely, and the hand-held wasn't much better. Really? No sound check?

2. How on earth did you choose That Guy to interview Nick? That was by far the WORST "interview" I've seen. He just made a bunch of vague statements, leaving poor Nick to try to come up with "answers." It was pretty much, "Dude. I read your book. Awesome." Incredibly unprofessional. He was clearly unprepared. I was embarrassed for him and mortified for Nick.

3. The two videos - I liked the LA one, but the trailer for the book is posted on the Sick Bag Song website and can be seen for free. I didn't mind seeing it again, but when I realized it was one of only two videos, I started feeling a bit short-changed.

4. The Q&A - Have you never done a Q&A before? This was an even bigger mess than the rest of the evening, which is saying something. Eventually, two people with mics moved through the audience, but there was zero organization and a lot of wasted time. Here's some free advice on how to do a Q&A: BEFORE the show, have people write their questions cards (either while they wait in line or once they are in the lobby) and hand them in to staff. There was plenty of time for this last night. Your performer can review the questions, choose which he wants to answer, and maybe even prepare a bit. This eliminates the need for roving mics, repeated questions, and questions your subject doesn't want to answer. You're welcome.

5. The staging - I was seated in the fourth row and all I could see was the heads of the people in front of me. The seats sink very low (yes, this is great if you're watching a film), but you should have compensated for that by building a platform or riser so Nick and the interviewer sat high enough to actually get seen.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't be so vocal had this event cost $25. But it cost $65 (plus TicketBastard's usury fee). For that price you should have included a copy of the book (and/or put on a professional show).

And by the way, Nick had NO IDEA the book was on sale in the lobby. He talked a lot about how this was an experiment in publishing; that the book was ONLY available from the website - while members of the audience held freshly-purchased copies in their hands. Again, I was embarrassed for Nick. You made him look stupid - something I never thought possible.

The only moments of value in this very short event were Nick reading from the book and the LA video. I would have been much happier to see more of him reading, much less of him being interviewed (or him being interviewed by someone who knows how to do that), and a Q&A (if you must) as described above.

I've seen better-organized events at a junior high school. You should be ashamed.

Sincerely,



Ruth Waytz

For all you head-scratchers out there

Been following my Instagram, Twitter, or Flickr? Wondering what I've been up to this weekend? What's the big idea behind the whole so-called purge?

Well, I'll tell you.

For the past five years I have been keeping the coopstuff site online in an attempt to sell off the inventory I had on hand when Cooper and I split in 2009. The truth is nobody wants this shit. No matter how far I mark things down – and this includes well below my cost – nothing is moving, and my excuse to keep things going for even the nominal income it brought – well, I'm pretty sure this year hasn't even brought in the $1000 it cost me to have it hauled away.

Keeping the site up only perpetuates the illusion that any of it has any value. It doesn't. I couldn't be more clear on that, and I hope now you are too.

The comments that I'm "throwing away money" are based in that illusion and completely unfounded, because it isn't money. It's garbage. I was unable to get rid of it any other way (and believe me, I tried).

I've never been vocal about these private details, because frankly it's no one's business but my own.

Until my book comes out….

YUM Wins This Week's Free Publicity Award

Hats off to YUM for this great free publicity campaign - I get that the star evokes communism, but so what?

My pitch if I'm their ad agency:

No big deal, another sandwich shop opens. Hey, how about we fake some local ethnic outrage generated by our otherwise uninteresting logo?

We get lots of free news coverage, and not just local!

We spent what? A few hundred bucks on this sign? We get a new one, paid for with all this Good Will!

Before this campaign, five people know about this place? After - we're clear to take the chain national!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/yum-axes-restaurant-logo-uproar-175259213.html

The "Free Flow of Information Act" - Except Not

Last week I received yet another fine and lovely patronizing email from my Senator Dianne Feinstein.

She was responding to my correspondence about the Free Flow of Information act. I had of course written to instruct her to protect ALL writing, not just that by degreed journalists (although I do sport one of those degrees).

Her response to me (and yes I have repeatedly informed her that I am female):



Dear Mr. Waytz:

Thank you for writing to express your concerns about my amendment to the "Free Flow of Information Act" (S. 987). Your correspondence is important to me, and I welcome the opportunity to clarify my amendment.

I believe a free press is a cornerstone to our democracy, and an independent media is essential to hold government accountable. Let me be clear: I support a reporter-shield law. I voted in favor of similar legislation in previous Congresses. More than 30 states, including California, have adopted a reporter-shield law, but there is no federal protection for journalists and reporters with professional credentials.

As you may know, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced a reporter shield bill called the "Free Flow of Information Act" (S. 987). This legislation would create a federal reporter shield law, prohibiting federal law enforcement agencies from compelling a reporter to reveal his or her sources. I was concerned the protection in the original draft provided a special privilege to people who are not really reporters – namely the operators of Wikileaks or hate websites.

Therefore, when the Senate Judiciary Committee debated this bill, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and I offered an amendment to define who is considered a "covered journalist" in order to receive this new special privilege.

Under our amendment, a "covered journalist" is defined as someone who is an employee, agent, or independent contractor for a media entity. You should know that this definition would also include freelance journalists, documentarians, book authors, bloggers for news sites, and many others. I believe the language "legitimate news-gathering activities" is key and would exclude hate websites and other persons who are not actually engaged in a journalist pursuit. I am pleased to report the amendment is supported by a list of more than 70 different media and public interest organizations, including CNN, Fox News Network Inc., and the Newspaper Association of America.

On September 12, 2013, Senator Schumer's bill was considered by the Judiciary Committee. I voted for it, and the bill was approved 13-5. It now awaits action on the Senate floor.

Once again, thank you for your letter. I hope you will continue to write on matters of importance to you. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein United States Senator



MY response to her response:

Dear Mr. Feinstein -

I think you're wrong on this. The First Amendment protects speech, and in this day and age, Any Citizen who reports a story should be protected by this legislation. You don't get to pick and choose the reportage you like.

Further, only protecting "approved" journalists is actually worse than not protecting anyone, because any number of nefarious agenda-bearers (including the Federal Government) will control the approval process. That is WAY too much power. Ironic this is "The Free Flow of Information Act," because the way it's written now, it's anything but that.

I'm very discouraged by the tightening of the noose.

Please remember I remain,

Your Employer,



Ruth Waytz

Stop Spilling Your Seed

Yeah I said it. 

Hebrew mythology has a nice piece of finger-wagging, admonishing us not to "spill our seed upon the ground." True, they're probably going for the literal read here, but I'm taking this in a different direction: I challenge to you to stop expending your best energy on Facebook (or twitter, or Instagram, or Tumblr, or whatever). Stop generating free content for people don't know you and don't give a rat's ass if you live or die. 

I'm not telling you stop posting on Facebook; I'm asking you to stop writing FOR Facebook. Keep creating - by all means - but do it on your own blog, for your own self, and then link to it on Facebook to increase Your page views and build Your brand. 

There's never been a better time or an easier time to be a writer, photographer, or artist. Blogs can be set up instantly and free. There are plenty of apps. You can do it from your phone. Remember: social media means to steal your gift, or worse yet, to compel you to give it away to them for free. So stop. 

Why not have Facebook and its ilk work for you, instead of the other way around?

Not all posts showing up on Twitter and Facebook?

Over the weekend I figured out twitterfeed, and got it up and running. Or so I thought. It harvested my most recent post and published it to both twitter and facebook - yay - but this morning it ignored my post about Sochi's dismal ticket sales - another yay - and published my Guest Post by Michael Cade. WTF?

Be My Guest ~ A post by the esteemed Michael Cade

Per pal Ruth's request/order, I'm tackling the subject of:

What's the Point of Blogging?

My testimony is provided in several short chapters below.

INTRODUCTION

Honestly, I think the main function blogging (or micro-blogging, in the case of Twitter) serves is to satisfy my somewhat pronounced obsessive-compulsive urges. The Internet is a wonderful (and horrible) drug for those of us with impulse-control issues. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="189"] Micro-blogging![/caption]

BEING GOD

I do like the idea of being in complete control. On my blog, no meddling editors can bend my prose or change the meaning of something I wrote. Everything that's good (or bad!) -- is solely attributable to me. That's accountability!

TALKING ABOUT ASSHOLES

I sometimes use blogs to direct my raw hatred at various nemeses and fools. I've earned the right to do so because pop culture has rammed the dumb ideas of these dicks down my throat for years.

NARCISSISM

There's a narcissistic quality to the medium of blogging, of course. Although, in recent years, I've felt less desire to satisfy this portion of my brain. Fame -- even on a micro-level -- doesn't hold much appeal for me. (Money, yes. Fame, no.)

VISUALLY ARRESTING IMAGES

Blogging can produce a number of aesthetically pleasing images. (See below.)

OPINION-SHAPING

I've delved less and less into attempts at opinion-shaping with blogs. Generally, most people will believe what they want to believe, regardless of how convincing an argument you construct to the contrary. And people will often view you (or the idea you're presenting) through a preconceived lens, which means they're either amenable to your ideas or they aren't. Most aren't. Jerks.

AN APPROPRIATE USE OF TIME

The business of day-to-day life makes longform blogging nearly impossible. In many respects, that's a good thing. If I'm too busy to write a 2,000 word blog post about the minutia of Fill-in-the-Blank, that probably means I'm actively engaged in more worthwhile pursuits e.g., contemplating how taut my balls are.

STORIES ABOUT HOW TAUT MY BALLS ARE

With regard to personal stuff, I don't like blogging about these things. It's Too Much Information. No one wants to hear about my hygiene. Or my Type II Diabetes. Or the women I date. Or my attempts at DIY dermatological surgery.

FORCE YOUR DESIRED OUTCOMES ON THE WORLD

I think writing is a really worthwhile endeavor but I have no idea where it sits on my own personal Priority Tree. Lately, it's way down on the lower branches. To me, the most compelling thing about writing is the idea of memorializing and capturing your ideas with the printed word, as doing so may create a pathway to those ideas actually happening (should you want them to happen). Similarly, I think that acknowledging your failures and shortcomings via the printed word may lead to the subconscious correcting of such missteps in the future. What's also cool about blogging is that you can finish a post without resorting to the hokey tricks of newspaper columnists, e.g., making your story come full circle with a trite and contrived end-phrase, e.g,

"Folks, that's something we can all stop and think about, regardless of political affiliation."

Rather, you can end the post in a more productive way, maybe by (i) wishing that your enemies boil in white-hot excrement for eternity or (ii) wishing good tidings and massive success to all the people you love. (I choose the latter, though the former is tempting.)

Looks like my Sochi boycott is working

So happy to read that people are too scared and too pissed off to go to the Olympics: I do still wish we hadn't agreed to send our athletes....

... and kitty angels meow thee to thy rest

Deep and heartfelt thanks to all who reached out to express sympathy for the loss of our dear boy Lefty.

I know people with human offspring roll their eyes when people like me (born minus the urge to replicate and surgically ensuring that outcome at age 22) refer to pets as their children, but love is love and loss is loss, regardless of species. You share your love, your life, your bed, and your heart with these creatures, so when they go the pain is all-encompassing.

Fortunately I never lose sight of the fact that I am borne aloft on an immeasurable wave of love and support. Lefty and I had a good run together, and he went out in the best way possible. He managed to leave the party while he was still having a good time, which is more than a lot of us ever get. His days were filled with good food, cool sinks, running faucets, and high thread count down bedding. He had toys, perches, and friends of both human and feline variety.

It's going to be a while before I stop hearing him howl out the news of the day to no one in particular until I can finally get him into bed, where he will paw at me until I lie in a snuggle-appropriate configuration, and before I will stop offering my arm for him to curl up into for some quality face-rubbing.
He was a Good Boy and as with all adored pets, I had hoped we'd have more time together.

Big Dairy to change the definition of “milk” so they can add chemical sweeteners without labeling.

So this morning I read that the FDA is reviewing a petition to allow Big Dairy to add - gee, I dunno - Aspartame and Sucralose (and who knows what else?) to milk. And get this: They want the FDA to let them do it WITHOUT HAVING TO MENTION IT ON THE LABELS.

Yes, you read that right.

After all we had to do to GET ingredient lists on food labels (and yes we know that "natural flavoring" means secretions from a beaver ass), here comes this: The Dairy industry is suffering! People are finally realizing that humans are the only species that drink the milk of other species, and that there's no reason for it, especially for children.

So sales are down and everybody knows Kids Love Sweets, so let's make milk SWEET for them!

Hey Michelle Obama, if you really do give a crap about the obesity issue, take a gander at this issue. It's well known that artificial sweeteners have a carload of really nasty side effects. Are we really okay to flood our nation's milk supply with them?

Here's a link to write your comments to the FDA. They've logged 6,626 comments as of midnight last night.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=FDA-2009-P-0147-0012

Or you can just copy or edit my comment:

SO MUCH WRONG with this!

First, the idea that milk - a product ingested primarily by children - would be adulterated with chemicals like aspartame and sucralose, which are known to be Harmful To Children? That's insane enough on its own.

Second, that even if a parent wanted to be conscientious and choose milk that DIDN'T have these poisons, this petition grants the milk producers the right to include these chemicals (and who knows what ELSE) WITHOUT HAVING TO INCLUDE THEM ON THE LABELS.

This completely overrides the consumers' rights to CHOOSE what we are eating, drinking, and giving to our children.

SHAME ON YOU if you agree to this.

You can't show me one single advantage to granting anyone the authority to exclude ingredients from the list we fought so hard to see on our foods. Oh wait - More Sales for the Dairy folks and more sick people who need expensive health care.

Silly me.

But Heads Up, FDA - We're watching you.

So ... What's New (Year's)?

People who know me have come to expect “happy new year” wishes from me many times a year, since I celebrate pretty much everybody’s version of New Year’s.

Jewish New Year, Chinese New Year, Diwali, and even the lamest and most forced of the New Yearses: The “celebration” of January first.

Yep, leave it to the US to have the boringest, just the first day of the month celebration. New Years Day is easy to ignore because January First has no meaningful rituals (getting drunk may be fun but it has no real cultural resonance).

No matter – I still take every possible chance to start fresh and celebrate new beginnings.

So while it may be lame to celebrate the turning over of a single calendar page, it really Can have possibilities – Every Single Day is a new beginning; you don’t need to wait for the first of the year or the first of the month or even the first of the week.

NOW is New Year’s. Every time you take a breath.

So what if sometimes you share your celebration with a bunch of idiots freezing their asses off in Times Square? I say make the most of it.



PS

Just for fun, check this out – nice to know I’m in good company:

Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever. We shall also reflect pleasantly upon how we did the same old thing last year about this time. However, go in, community. New Year’s is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls, and humbug resolutions, and we wish you to enjoy it with a looseness suited to the greatness of the occasion.

Mark Twain, writing in the Territorial Enterprise (Virginia City, Nevada), Jan. 1, 1863

Bob Hope's Garage Sale - This Weekend!

Not sure if he got a permit or not, but it looks like Bob Hope, dead since July of 2003, is finally getting around to having that One Last Garage Sale at his Toluca Lake CA home.

I'm sorry to say I don't think I've got it in me to brave the crowds.

Besides, I already have Raymond Burr's bathrobe.

Wait - Your'e a WHAT???

The short answer is I've been Mostly Vegan since February of this year.

The longer answer is that my doctor discovered pretty high blood pressure last December and of course said I needed to lose 20lbs. Plus it seems that in spite of all my denial (and efforts to the contrary), I'm actually aging.

I was alarmed by the blood pressure news and although I still believe the pig is god's most delicious animal, I agreed to try an animal-free diet - provided the food wasn't bland horrible sawdust, or the steady stream of cupcakes and French fries I've seen every other vegan eat. I've spent years delighting in making fun of vegans, so I was as eager as anybody to see how this caper would turn out.

...

What do you know? There's some really great foods to make and some swell restaurants like Sage, Mohawk Bend, Golden Mean, and even Cafe Gratitude. I cook and portion out (how my OCD loves this!) food for the week, and when I don't feel like a meal I throw some fruit and veggies in the Blendtec and have a delicious smoothie that delivers more protein and vitamins than that steak you'll be digesting for the next three days.

I've lost 10lbs and my blood pressure is down 20 points, into "normal" and sometimes even "optimal" readings. I already hated and avoided fast food, junk food, and most processed foods, so going vegan was a pretty natural progression.

That's my story (and I'm sticking to it). I eat maybe two or three non-vegan meals a month, and I feel GREAT. No more Food Comas. Greatly improved sleep. My skin (which was always lovely) looks better than ever. And when I went in for my "congratulations, you're 50" colonoscopy, both the prep and the test were super easy (and with great results).

The holidays are already posing a challenge - all that wonderful butter - but I'll do my best and that's that. There's no gun to my head, after all, but I have to say this all just makes sense. Plus it's been a lot more enjoyable than I ever imagined it could be.

Join me?

(Oh and I thoroughly hate these "conversion" movies with all kinds of disgusting footage of animal abuse, but I think "Vegucated" is a pretty good movie - and I fast-forwarded through the brief farm porn. It's streaming on Netflix for free.)

I was much cooler when I was 10.

I was much cooler when I was 10.

I read tarot cards, cast the I Ching, and was into astrology and numerology. I’d memorized the numerology table and could figure out numbers in my head.

I was way into both yoga (did you know I invented the Lotus Position?) and witchcraft, and was making wax dolls and casting spells on people.

I had purple bell bottomed hip huggers and platform shoes.

I read so many books we couldn’t keep count.

I wrote poetry and could make a perfect pie crust.

I had a purple shag bedspread and I could crochet.

I didn’t like my parents much, so I found a better set and spent at least five nights a week away from home, enjoying a much better deal. My new parents drove Porsches, shot pheasants, and had Christmas.

I put on Mom’s high heels and descended their staircase, belting out “Hey Big Spender” along with the record (primitive karaoke).

I didn’t much care for my name either, so I changed it to Cynthia Joann Lewis, and even wrote that name on my papers at school. (How the teachers allowed this I’ll never know, but I’m glad they just went along with it.)

Yeah, I didn’t have my own house or my own car or my own pets (and I wasn’t a blonde), but all in all I still think I was much cooler. I wouldn’t trade back, because being an adult is awesome, but….

Is Quicksand Real?

Is Quicksand Real?

The short answer is NO. Evidence shows that although technically quicksand does exist, it doesn’t behave in any way close to the crazy-ass manner we were taught it did in all those crappy movies.

But even without there being real, scientist-devouring quicksand, I’m pretty sure we’re all working against some pretty powerful Temporal Quicksand™.

Huh? Well, unless I’m being repeatedly abducted and returned by aliens, What the hell am I doing with huge hunks of my day? I couldn’t rightly tell you. All I know is that Friday after Friday goes cycling by and I have goddamn Nothing to show for myself, even though the amount of Actual Work I have to do at my job doesn’t nearly take up a whole eight-hour day.

I started this last week, on the day Zig Zigler died. I often quote him (or at least paraphrase) that every one of us has the same 24 hours per day. What differentiates Richard Branson from Octomom (from me) is how we choose to use those same 24 hours.

The only explanation is temporal quicksand. Assuming it produces both blindness and amnesia, and that I can’t know what I’m doing while I’m stuck in it, let’s at least look at what am I NOT doing –

I’m not Stumbling Upon, reading Gizmodo, BoingBoing or any other news aggregators (except for my Yahoo news homepage). With the exception of one hour at the end of the day (and ok probably another before bed), I’m barely reading the news feed on Facebook (although I do make a lot of posts to twitter on most work days).

I’m not reading blogs, I’m not on Pinterest, Tumblr or Instagram, and I’m not watching tv or movies on NetFlix or Hulu. I do check email and sometimes troll fab.com or fancy, or look for something specific on eBay or Amazon, but those things are focused and short-lived.

I’m not reading an actual book haven’t been doing any real writing for probably a year.

I’m not exercising (although I used to be quite an enthusiast) and I’m not learning Italian.

My sole multitasking is setting twitter to populate to Facebook, which I’m ashamed to admit is how I communicate with a significant portion of my real-world friends.

And I do take a lot of photos.

Still, several times a day I must slip into some fuzzy, time-devouring bathrobe that adds nothing to me and in fact leaves me with an ever worsening vague but palpable malaise – you never get any time back and you never see the revolving door of temporal quicksand before it swallows you in a single swoosh.

As the end of any year draws nigh, it’s normal to take stock and resolve to make some Big Changes come next month. But unless we outsmart the temporal quicksand, all resolutions are doomed to fail.

It’s too easy to blame work, and besides that if work were the culprit there would be no temporal quicksand at home – and we all know there are huge portals of it in every room in the house.

I’m about to try mimicking school by breaking the day into scheduled and assigned periods and marking the time when I pick up the iPhone to check email or Facebook or whatever.

I don’t want my life to be a blur. I want to be in focus. I want to be productive and make a difference - and I want to stay as far as I can from the temporal quicksand.

I’ll let you know how that goes.

My thoughts on Prop 37

Given that the electoral college has yet to be dissolved, I'm at peace with knowing my vote for President is irrelevant.

The propositions, however, are another story, and although in the past I've been happy to insure my taxes don't go up by merely voting NO on Everything, this year there are some challenges.

First, Prop 37 - the labeling of GMO foods.

I'm on both sides: Simply, I want to know what's in my food so I can make an informed choice on what I want to put into my body. Now more than ever we are bombarded by chemicals, and I choose to opt out of that.

Unfortunately, this is not a simple issue. It's true that GMO is nothing new, and in many cases it's not actually evil.

In every election I remind people that the only way to see what any legislation is (and who will Really benefit from it) is to see who's for and who's against. I fear that although Prop 37 is being sold as a "David and Goliath" story (peace-loving humans on the left/evil conglomerates on the right), that our passing this proposition will only make things worse for the struggling independents (and probably kill farmers markets because they won't be able to afford to comply with the nifty new laws).

The small farmers can't afford the testing and requirements. The big farms don't care (and actually benefit) because they can pass on the costs while crippling their smaller competitors. We are already facing huge increases in food prices with the drought, and Of Course remember ADM and its Washington butt buddies have us wasting 40% of our corn crop on ethanol.

Yes, part of me says, "It's a start, so let's pass it." The bigger part of me worries that it will do more harm than good, that Monsanto (and other super-giants) have endless funds to do whatever they want, easily circumventing any piddling laws we mortals might pass.

Conflicted. That's me. I have thoughts on the other propositions, but so far this one hits me hardest.

Read, if you dare:

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_37,_Mandatory_Labeling_of_Genetically_Engineered_Food_(2012)

And here's what NPR has to say:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/26/163700238/as-california-vote-looms-scientists-say-no-to-genetically-modified-food-labels

A New Look!

Yes!

After I don't know how long, I've made some changes to this blog.

First, I've added my twitter feed, since my ability to express myself is often limited to 140 characters or less.

Next, to accommodate this, I've had to change my template.

Although this is less than ideal, it's not wholly unpleasant, and it accommodates the twitter feed without cutting off characters (what happened when I added it to the previous template).

Feel free to let me know what you think.

(All this is an effort to reach people who want to be in my loop without subjecting them to Facebook, which I hope to phase out by the end of the year. Wish me luck.)

LAFD Rocks It Again!

I just want to take a moment to exploit this public forum to send out some very personal gratitude to the LAFD's emergency responders.

Thankfully, it was only water spurting out under high pressure this morning and not blood, but the intrepid (and so handsome!) dudes appeared in a jiffy and had the situation under control in short order.

Did I mention they were gorgeous? And that after battling the water I looked like a drowned rat?

Oh and before you downgrade my IQ by 50 points you should know that They couldn't find the water shutoff to the house either.

In fact, now that daylight is upon us and calm is restored, I'd really like to know where that shutoff is....

(and PS, kids: if you're gonna sleep naked, maybe have some clothes in your handy emergency kit. Just sayin.)

WTF - Grauman's Chinese getting sold to developers???

[Sorry, too angry to dig for a CC photo]

I realize the world will end anyway on May 21st, but The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that Grauman's Chinese Theater is being sold and we should Expect Some Changes once their deal closes on May 20th.

Bull SHIT, sez me!

There's a Facebook page to save it but everybody knows what that's worth.

I'm not completely clear if they're only getting the Mann Chinese 6 at Hollywood and Highland, or if the rumor that the developers are "considering turning the theater, which has 1,152 seats, into a nightclub," is anything more than that, but still.

Really? The Chinese Theater? It's not IT enough for you?

The Chinese is on all the historic registries, but developers (and Samaha in particular) are notorious for moving forward with their nefarious agendas and hoping no one will notice until it's too late (Yes I Mean You out there bulldozing Johnnie's Broiler).

Let's not let this get swept under the rug, Angelenos!