Well, it's been a long time since I posted any blog. I think I need to change that. I'll find out how much time since when this posts. I also want to see if my posting chain still works all the way through. What have I been up to. Quite a bit, and that's also part of the problem.
I'm now working in Automotive, learning new things, and planning work with many changes to systems I never worked on. It's a challenge, so I'm always busy at work. But that never stopped me from doing other things outside of work.
Classes: I took one called TV and Film where I learn to be on film. There were quite a few things I learned that will also help me if I do more directing. This includes the master shot, the mid range and the close up. What do you do with the actor they are playing opposite? You need to have them there, even if the camera is not showing them. That's something that may help my own setups. I also learned that my closeups should be as seen from Cleveland, just like Dustin Hoffman. The class was fun, and I played the last scene of Michael Clayton where George Clooney's character Michael Clayton is setting up Karen for her fall. It was put on DVD for only me, so I saw how I progressed. I do make an excellent bagman and I do it completely different than Clooney.
At the same time, I completed my first script for my series, and I had a read through / critique held under the help/coordination of the IAWTV. For my first script, I think I did well, and I made modifications to it. I have more work to do. I want to finish all the scripts before setting up for the shoots. This is because I want to do everything for a year at once. It saves trying to get the same actors if needed. They should all be there. Then I did more acting. Primarily on a movie called The P.A.C.T. that is being produced by Zen-Sapien Films. The director is Nathan Waire, and he's bigger than me. I play a psychologist in a community group that caters to helping poor people with mental health issues. Part of the scenes needed to be done to a green screen, and they used my equipment and shot that part at my house. I also edited those portions for Nathan. I hope they work well for him.
Then came November and National Novel Writing Month (though I prefer to think of it as the National November Writing Month). I had heard about it last year, but I didn't enter. I did do it this year, and I completed it. The store is a precursor to my scripts and has many of the people that are in it. I wanted to flesh out the people and figure the universe and the world that is on that silly little asteroid in space. It was a very loose outline I had but I finished with 52K words. I finished the day after Thanksgiving. So 26 days of typing almost 2000 words a day.
The book in it's current form is really rough. Not for current display. It would need several (probably at least 6 re-writes) to be nice. One or two rewrites should make it good enough for actors to use for backstory. And now the airline story. I saw that Alec Baldwin got kicked off a flight for keeping his iPad on a bit too long, and for 'Slamming' a rest room door. I can sympathize and I don't think the problem is just his. I went to LA to have a little fun, and while I was on the plane, the doors were closed (just like in Alec's case). The message when on to turn off all the devices, yada yada yada. So I got out my iPhone, went to the setting, turned it to airplane mode, then after checking, I turned it off. Of course I put my phone back in my pocket which means I had to unbuckle, slide the phone in and re-buckle. I am not a thin person, so this is not as easy as you may think. It does take some time. I then went to do the same thing to my iPad which I had put in the front pocket. I turned it on, and went to find the settings. It's in a different place than on my iPhone. So I just get there and one of the flight attendants says loudly and in a rude voice: "Not just in airplane mode. I need it completely OFF." I turned to him to say that I am shutting it down, but he opens his mouth before I speak as if he knows what I am going to say. He starts saying that it's not enough to turn off the screen but do a power down. Several times I try to say that it's what I am trying to do, but I wanted it in flight mode when it was being shut down. That way it start's up without turning on the radio. That's the correct FAA (and Apple) procedure, but he's just not listening and he interrupts me all the time. This does piss me off. I stopped and just looked at him until he finally did shut up. I then shut it down. He was being kind of an dick. I'm mad, but I also know don't feed the trolls. The flight attendant probably has to deal with lots of people, taking their time and doing things wrong, but they should never assume that someone doesn't know how to do the correct procedure. I can see how someone can get aggravated like Alex did. They should never think what I'm going to say is a given. I certainly don't.
So what did I watch when I did turn on the iPAD after it was ok to have it on again. The pilot of Pan-Am. I understand that it was cancelled, and maybe this is why. Airlines would not support it. Why? Because it shows how far downhill the airlines have gotten in service. I do not mean how pretty the stewardesses are, but I mean the politeness and the level of service they gave.
Americans have gotten too used to the fast food ordering where service is quick but impolite, and now that is also making the service hell in the air. They are being overworked as waitresses because they now have to take change, and it slows everything down. They have gone where Greyhound was 20 years ago. Giving horrible service.
What's the solution? I think regulation needs to start back up. Not price fixing, which is what it was before, but regulating what a flight entails. It shouldn't be just going from A to B and everything is a fee (hello Ryan Air). Seats should have minimum X amount of width, Y minimum amount of legroom and lean back of Z inches. It should permit one carryon bag, one business bag (purse etc), one luggage in hold bag, snack for flights longer than 2 hours and means for flights longer than 4. No other fee can be added other than government standard fees. Basically fix what is being compared. Because they are NOT the same things. The standards need to be fixed on the current standard for an American, not one from the Navy in the 50s.
What's the penalty? If you don't meet the condition on the prices you can't advertise on a price comparator site (Orbitz, Hotwire,Priceline, Kayak, etc). The reason is that way the pricing is always for a similar or better thing. You always have someone complaining about how they aren't using a service so shouldn't be charged, but my bet is that when they are charged, they complain about it too. The prices should include the perks. As for Alec Baldwin and American Airlines, I can see how the crew is pissed at AMR (the parent of American Airlines). After all it declared bankruptcy in order to screw it's own staff. So that probably didn't help their stress levels too.
Oh, and lastly the other thing that was given away more in the 60s. Valium. Peace in the sky.
Louis Srygley
@osiramon