Observations on this life

Holly-Weirdness

So, actors in Hollweird make grand sums of money playing cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, murders and victims. They work hard, yes, but are well taken care of while making a picture. They live in more than one house.... they eat and drink better than the rest of us and get freebies all the time that they could afford to pay for..... So, when I read in the New York Times that Randy Quaid was suing the producers of Brokeback Mountain because he agreed to do the damn movie for scale, "the complaint notes that the actors were paid a total of $521,000 for their work on the film", I wanted to kick the boy in the backside!

I figure I've made about $300,00 over the course of my working life up until now. A mere pittance in their world. They probably spend more than that on vacations every year....

I have no sympathy for Mr. Quaid. Well, a little because his brother is more famous and better looking. An actor at the top echelons of the game has no right to complain. They are given everything, and if requested in their contract I suppose it would come on a silver platter. At every awards ceremony and film festival they go on shopping sprees that don't cost them a dime. Companies court them as if they wanted to bed them or marry them. "Please, just wear my __________ one time so the masses will want to have it!" They are chauffered around and pampered and taken to lunch at the best restaurants. They live a grand life by playing make believe at work. So forgive me if I don't shed a tear for Mr. Quaid or any other "star" that feels slighted because their chunk of the backend profits add up to nil.

When you fight to keep a roof over your head, to keep food on the table, or scrounge for change to put gas in the car you can whine... Until then, take your big chunk of change and go back to your big house on the hill and shut your big pie hole. Be grateful that you have a life of luxury when most poor suckers are fighting to survive in this country with very mixed up priorities.

observations on this life

What the Hell is Going On Here?

Ok, once again I have mixed feeling about something Uncle Sam is doing in the name of justice. This hum moment concerns the trial of a french national accused of being a part of the posse' that carried out the September 11th attacks. In a New York Times article published this morning it states, "At the time of the attacks, Mr. Moussaoui was already in jail, having been arrested three weeks earlier on immigration violations in Minnesota, where he was taking lessons to fly a jetliner." The article further states, "The Justice Department has argued that even though he was not a direct participant in the Sept. 11 attacks, he is responsible for those deaths because he lied to investigators when he was arrested, concealing his knowledge of Al Qaeda's interest in flying planes into buildings."

Now, I know that in some cases the person who didn't pull the trigger got the needle anyway.... I'm not aligned with that policy.... but then again, I'm not at all aligned with killing anyone. Hate the death penalty... Always have, always will. But, in this case, the guy was arrested for immigration violations.... The guy was obviously not on the plane. The guy was in jail... So how you gonna make a case for killing him when he was in the custody of said government at the time of the attacks.

Porsecutors want this guy dead so badly that they've started coaching witnesses and providing transcripts of portions of the trial to them so that they do not make errors in their statements that could harm the government's case. The judge, a woman, is furious and threatening to throw out the option of a death sentence because of the misconduct. Hoorraayyy for her.... Too bad she won't throw the case out completely.

If Mr. Moussaoui knew about the plot, one will never know... But, government officials did have intelligence that told them it could happen. Does that mean that each person in the dark, dank, deep offices that feret out that kind of intelligence should go to the gallows with this guy, maybe.... I guess that if he knew and did nothing to stop the attacks, and if the government knew it could happen, and they did nothing to stop the ability of people to carry knives on planes, then aren't they both as guilty and therefore subject to a lethel injection?

Seems to me that whatever the sentence dropped down on the head of the frenchman should be dropped on the people in our government who knew too.... Fair is fair, unless you're Uncle Sam's boy and then... well.... you will get out of jail for free and you don't even need a card!

If what the government is saying is true and this frenchman did indeed intent to fly a plane into a civilian target, he should go to prison, maybe not for life, but long enough that he is no longer a threat to the women and children in this country when he is released.

I understand the gravity of what happened that day, but I also understand that in these "fucked up united states" we play the game in an unfair way..... Getting a conviction is more important than following the letter of the law, which they made. Witnesses that have yet to testify are kept out of the courtroom for a reason... prosecutors are allowed to coach them, but they can't share everything with them... taints the case.... but who cares about tainting where men like Frenchie are concerned... He's Muslim, probably fundamentally so. He was learning to fly jets, and had overstayed his visa.... sounds like reason enough to wack him.... NOT!

observations on this life

It's Official

I did indeed make it to fifty at 6:26 pm yesterday.... the official time of my birth. I spent the day doing something I love... sperm of the moment road trip up the Columbia River Gorge to Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam, and the fish hatchery where I met Herman, a sixtyy-five year old Pacific Sturgeon that weighs hundreds of pounds and is over seven feet long.... the dinosaur of fish.... amazing to look at and very scary too. Would never want one swimming up on me in the wild... Had the company of a bald eagle for awhile. Not something that usually happens to me unless I am on Indian land.... guess it's all Indian land, but I've never seen one in the wild unless it was on a reservation.

In the three plus years I've been in Portland I'd never made it up the gorge.... The Columbia River is wider than I thought it would be, and the cliffs that rise above the banks are spectacular. They remind me of New Mexico in spots. All the falls we saw were amazing.... loud and white with foam. I got some good pictures and will post them here later in the day.

Why is it that I love wandering around fish hatcheries, and Corp of Engineers visitor centers, and stuff like that? Guess it is because I never would have known that they count fish as they move up the fish ladders at the dam, or that 11 million fish are released from the hatchery back into the wild every year if I didn't stop long enough to read and look and ask questions.

Usually I do this kind of stuff on my own, but yesterday I had company and a chauffer in my housemate. It's hard to find someone who wants to do all the dorky things with me. We had a great time. We even extended our little adventure by trying to find the hotsprings that are south of Esticada. Never made it to the hot springs, but I did see so much beauty as we hunted.... the mountains are beautiful... still some snow to be seen. The Clackamas River is such a beautiful color of jade. It was evening and the fish were jumping and the light on the water made the ripples shimmer. Very beautiful.... and good for my soul.

Oh, and as to that job I spoke of in my last post, I got fired.... can't really say why, as two days before getting fired I was the star.... the one with passion and drive and the girl who worked harder than three guys, according to the chef. He told me a month ago that he would never fire me. That he needed me on his team. That he loved working with me. That he couldn't do this job without me. But I guess he changed his mind. My confidence and my ego are a bit bruised. It was a crazy place to work but I loved the crew and I loved getting to do what is my passion. Now it's on to the next chapter in my culinary education.... who knows where I will land, but I will land on my feet.