Response To McCain

STATEMENT ABOUT SENATOR JOHN McCAIN'S COMMENTS AT THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Last night, during the presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee, Senator John McCain made the following statement:

McCain: "While we were working to eliminate these pork barrel earmarks he (Senator Obama) voted for nearly $1 billion in pork barrel earmark projects. Including $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"

To clarify, the Adler Planetarium requested federal support – which was not funded – to replace the projector in its historic Sky Theater, the first planetarium theater in the Western Hemisphere. The Adler's Zeiss Mark VI projector – not an overhead projector – is the instrument that re-creates the night sky in a dome theater, the quintessential planetarium experience. The Adler's projector is nearly 40 years old and is no longer supported with parts or service by the manufacturer. It is only the second planetarium projector in the Adler's 78 years of operation.

Science literacy is an urgent issue in the United States. To remain competitive and ensure national security, it is vital that we educate and inspire the next generation of explorers to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Senator McCain's statements about the Adler Planetarium's request for federal support do not accurately reflect the museum's legislative history or relationship with Senator Obama. The Adler has approached the Illinois Congressional delegation the last few years for federal assistance with various initiatives. These have included museum exhibitions, equipment and educational programs we offer to area schools, including the Chicago Public Schools. We have made requests to Senators Durbin and Obama, as well as to 6 area Congressmen from both political parties. We are grateful that all of the Members we have approached, including Senator Obama, have deemed our activities worthy of their support, and have
made appropriations requests on our behalf, as they have for many worthy Illinois nonprofit organizations.

As a result of the hard work of our bipartisan congressional delegation, the Adler has been fortunate to receive a few federal appropriations the past couple of years. However, the Adler has never received an earmark as a result of Senator Obama's efforts. This is clearly evidenced by recent transparency laws implemented by the Congress, which have resulted in the names of all requesting Members being listed next to every earmark in the reports that accompany appropriations bills.
October 8, 2008
Adler Planetarium



*Original .pdf can be found on the planetarium website

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Zombie Karaoke

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PS....

I was cast in one of the plays and given an understudy role in the play I was most interested in, which means I'll do it at least once or twice.  

There was also talk of joining the company.  I'm very open to that.

I didn't expect any of this.

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Real Hollywood Fairy Tales

"The first duty of love is to listen."  -- Paul Tillich


Real Hollywood fairy tales are dark.  They end in tragedy or sadness.  Immortality here is often purchased in violent or senseless death.  Some people have better endings, but they too were bought at a price.  So, that undertone of shadow still remains.  It's the dirty little not-so-secret detail that adds to the twisted allure of this place.  There are those, like myself, who were naive enough to think that it could be avoided by being strong or holding onto integrity.  But you can't get anywhere here without getting something filthy on your soul, even if you manage to resist it or brush it off.

This weekend I was reminded of the fragility of the fast lane lifestyle by yet another death.  As is the case with many of them, I didn't know the person who passed on directly.  But I do know someone who was very close and thunderously affected.  It's this single degree of separation that usually brings such tragedy into my awareness.  This year has seen a number of such circumstances from locally infamous to internationally beloved.

I called my friend fresh upon the heels of the bad news.  It was some very bad timing on my part.  I knew right away something was wrong.  The sound of her voice was haunting and it struck a deep chord with me all weekend.  The City of Angels ate up one more beautiful human being.  It made everything around me seem twice as precious and, in some cases, exquisite.  It made me frantic too.  I feel my mortality more keenly than in any other time of my life even though I don't conduct myself with the wild disregard I used to in the past.

This afternoon all those thoughts were fresh in my mind as I walked down Vine Street to get to an audition I was ridiculously nervous about.  I wanted a particular role with every fiber of my being.  It's something I try to avoid so I can focus on doing the work required to give a good audition.  But I wasn't able to stop myself.  I craved it.  And, for that desire, I flustered myself.

Thankfully I had a rather lengthy walk from Hollywood Blvd down to Santa Monica Blvd where Theater Row lives.  I purposefully took the walk to force myself to stay in the moment and meditate upon how I was here, now, full of the potential to do whatever I dared to dream.  

On any walk through Hollywood, it is unavoidable to not experience the full spectrum of its inhabitance.  There are thousands of homeless living in unexpected nooks and crannies about town.  There are plenty of actors out there pounding the pavement to network or audition.  The insanely rich drive about in their luxury vehicles, partitioned off from the rest of us unless they so desire to mingle.  I saw everything from abject heartbreak to obvious success in the twenty minutes it took me to make it to the theater.  It's impossible to put to word what that is like to someone who isn't here experiencing it themselves.  It's both uplifting and frightening at once.  It's frenetic and alive.  It's sometimes desperate.  And at any given moment, someone somewhere in Los Angeles is giving up because it is all too much.

While it wasn't perfect, and I blew the role I had ultimately wanted, I went into the theater focused, giving the audition everything I had until I was so spent I was an empty husk.  I had lived another day in Hollywood and my own fairytale wasn't quite over, for better or worse.

Whatever sort of tale you are living, be it Disney or Brothers Grimm, don't give up.  If you feel as if you cannot go on, use everything you have left to find someone to listen.  And if you are the person being asked for an open ear - listen.  You could change someone's life with that simple act of love.

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Website Restored

It's been quite a month since my site went down.  But I've just finished reloaded it and I have several back up copies this time.  There are some tiny, cosmetic problems with it only I know about but I am going to fix them through the next few days.

I'm still planning on a full redesign next year.  I had this site built a certain way for purposes that I no longer pursue creatively.  I have a different future in mind and I'd like my little place on the internet to reflect that.


PS.  It has been pointed out to me that MySpace has disabled all links to my website, claiming it spam. I think it probably has more to do with the fact that my site contains adult material.  You have to physically go to the URL or google me.

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Restless In Hollywood

"Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility."  -- Sigmund Freud


I can't sleep.  The news yesterday upset me.  Remember that bizarre theory I've mentioned that I had a year ago that other people told me was completely nuts?  Well, with the new developments that unfolded during the course of the last 24 hours we are one step closer to that 'unrealistic' scenario.  Further, I'm now being echoed by some other very high profile voices.  Granted, our details are different but the overall end game is the same - the death of the United States as we know it along with its already fading democracy.

We have 116 days before the next administration takes power and I am so frightened by where it is all going.  I don't see enough comprehension in the eyes of the average American even at this juncture.  After McCain announced a 'suspension' of his campaign, there should have been a collective cold chill down the spine of this country.  When government pulls that stunt, it is generally followed by a dangerous, bloody regime.  Granted, this is a candidate not yet elected but it does beg the question of "Why?"  Is it a ploy for votes?  Is he concerned about leaving his campaign to his VP to run while he focuses on the economy?  Or are our paranoid nightmares based on something real and there is a greater agenda at work?  I think David Letterman hit many fine points in his rants last night after being canceled on by McCain in an epically lame reaction to crisis, something every president has to deal with while juggling other matters.  If you can find the show somewhere on the internet, watch it.  It is a must for all Americans.  

I have no idea how everyone else is processing these circumstances beyond my admittedly savvy social circle.  This country is falling apart piece by piece yet everyone is too busy stuffing their faces with processed 'food' totally void of nutrition while numbing themselves with various vices that ultimately sedate the mind.  How am I supposed to trust the 'common sense' of people with those 'values?'

I don't expect every American to have the same views I do or even agree with what I see.  But I'd feel a great deal better if I saw more comprehension backed by intelligent thoughts and some active participation going on with all this in meaningful ways beyond snarky remarks on the internet.  I honestly believe we'd be in a very different place all around if people were more educated, more concerned and more willing to take control of their own destiny rather than this apathy that could very well look this death rattle in the eye without ever grasping the significance of that final breath.  

There won't be any prayer to resurrect us from that abyss.

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The Sunlight Trembles

While last night's Emmy broadcast was one of the lowest rated, it was a proud evening for me.  I felt infinite pride with regards to working and living in Hollywood.  Even Jeremy Piven managed to take a clever swipe at what is passing for 'entertainment' these days.  

It was also a night for powerful female talent.  Not young pretty girls, mind you.  Fully grown, mature women still absolutely possessing their sexiness without apology and the hypnotic prowess that comes with time.  There has been some progress made in the battle to make women over 35 a force to reckon with as well as acknowledging their vital sexuality rather than boxing them up for storage as no longer useful and placing them on some shelf intended for nostalgic glances.

My bliss was short lived, however.  I woke in the morning to the sky falling yet again.  I have been conjuring up those year old nightmares people laughed at as completely idiotic and noticing how close to reality they are now.  My instincts seem less paranoid in the distilled Fall light of an October just months shy of Bush's theoretical exit from office.  How much more of this will it take before people disconnect from the Matrix, sit up, move past the shock and get it?

Today marks the beginning of my favorite time of year.  It feels odd.  The air is haunted and the sunlight trembles.  These specters are not the kind of ghosts I'd prefer, though.  

This darkness is human misery not quaint musty mystery cloaked in shadow.

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The Eloquent Deepak Chopra On The Election

I have been struggling with how to best express how I feel about this election and those individuals we have to select from this year.  It's difficult.  Emotions are high and the stakes are truly staggering.  I know that many of us will not agree and navigating that takes a special kind of eloquence to be heard past the vast sea of unwillingness to consider other perspectives.

Frankly, I'm baffled by the fact that anyone can consider McCain a viable option after the last 8 years of shockingly poor leadership.  I don't understand how Obama, the product of a barely scraping by single mother, who pulled himself from nothing can be considered elitist next to a guy who owns nine homes and lives in lavish comfort.  I'm further confused by the fact that anyone can listen to Sarah Palin talk and take her seriously.  She is  nothing more than a cheerleader/popular girl archetype running for student council.  Her disposition and statements literally take me back to high school with their lack of maturity or intelligence juxtaposed by the strange cult of personality following she seems to have garnered with her snark prowess.  Even more insulting are all the people who consider her the embodiment of female power.  If that is something you believe, you may wish to look up a few words in the dictionary because they do not mean what you think they do.

Thankfully, Deepak Chopra has articulated the understandings I have within my mind and presented them concisely.  It doesn't cover everything but it's a good start and a very insightful look at the overall picture.

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Ferocity Of Living

I will never forget the color of the early morning sunlight streaming in the windows on this morning as a scream woke me from my sleep.  I had only heard that sound once before in my life when I was a child and a Pope had been assassinated.  It was the wail of agonizing sorrow.  

I sat up as if a bolt of lightening had struck my nerves, my blood running cold.  My mind was too hazy to formulate any imaginative guesses as to what new horror could illicit that noise while the juxtaposition of absolute beauty awash in the golden light further screwed with my grasp on reality.

"Turn on the television," I heard someone sob.  I don't think the television was turned off until two weeks later.

In my mind, the replay of that whole day is like a movie in slow motion.  It's immaculate in clarity, saturated with the intense color of a late summer sun and surreal.

Like thousands of other people, my sense of mortality had shifted and I was desperate to live life like there was no tomorrow.  I stopped trying to live inside the expected box, accepted that as a creative my path would be very different than most, and started chasing down my desires once more, though there was a reckless quality to many of my decisions for the next couple of years.  

To this day, I still carry with me the ferocity of living that was sparked on that morning.  I've learned to temper it with better choices.

I remember.

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CreepyLA

If you haven't already gone to check out CreepyLA, let me give you more incentive.

I'm one of the contributing writers.

My first entry just went up and you can expect at least two a week from now until Halloween!

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