Jeez Jon

Movies From My Past: Addams Family Values

Growing up, I had a few pop culture associations with Thanksgiving:  the Macy's Parade (of course) and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. But after 1993, my first pop culture thought for Thanksgiving goes to Addams Family Values, which is one of the funniest movies ever made.  Seriously.  If you disagree, then I think you haven't seen it in a while.  Or at all.  Written by Paul Rudnick, the movie is a bitchy joke machine, cranking out one catty one-liner after another.  The jokes and gags are packed so tightly that as you laugh at one you miss the next two.  So, repeated viewings are necessary.  I have seen it, no joke, 10 times already, and I laugh every single time.  A lot

For the uninitiated, the plot revolves around Gomez and Morticia having a new baby, requiring a new nanny, Debbie (played with delicious elan by Joan Cusack).  Turns out that Debbie is a serial killer after Uncle Fester's money.  After the kids catch onto her plans, Debbie convinces Gomez and Morticia to send Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley to summer camp.  And the camp?  Oh my.  "Camp Chippewa", run by camp counselors Peter MacNichol and Christine Baranski as two of the WASPiest WASPs who ever lived.  After Wednesday and Pugsley repeatedly try to escape, they keep getting caught by the counselors and Wednesday's blonde nemesis Amanda Buckman (played to perfection by Mercedes McNab, who later played Harmony on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel).  So, Wednesday decides to play along in MacNichol's play devoted to the First Thanksgiving.  Enjoy it (and what Wednesday does) below:

Have a great Thanksgiving!

The One Bit Of Good News

Last Friday I acted in an episode of Bones.  I can't get into detail about the plot of the episode but I can say my one-liner role is very... appropriate for me.    And yes, it's one line.  It's actually one word.  But hey, work is work. I was in and out in 4 hours which is record time in TV, I'm sure. David Boreanaz was not there, but Emily Deschanel was, and she's great.  All in all, a great experience.  We'll see if I make the final cut. 

Some Good News For A Change

Let me catch you up to speed about what I've been doing for the past week and a half.  The Friday following election day was my last day on Trading Spaces.  The season, for us, had come to an end.  So, for the first time in about a year, I am unemployed.  Tom also ended his gig on his show on the same day, so we're both unemployed together.  Fun...!  As we are both looking for TV gigs around the holidays (which is a rough proposition), we have stocked up our kitchen, lined up our Netflix queues, and girded our loins for a possible stretch of no work. 

The great news this week is our wayward kitty Natasha is back! With the help of a cat trap, we nabbed her in the side yard last night.   The two months of being outside has left her a bit skinny, but she's now back to normal: sitting in her favorite chair, purring, being cute.  Floppy is not terribly pleased, having to share the house with her again.  Floppy will come around, though. 

I have one more iron in the fire, and this will be taken care of on Friday.  Once this happens, I can impart some more good news.  It's been a good week thus far.  *knocking wood* 

How are you guys doing?

Blowback

Saturday night, I went with three of my neighbors to the Anti-Prop 8 protest in Silver Lake.  Alas, I forgot to bring my camera, so let me try to paint the picture with words.  By the time we got to the rally site, there were so many people there that my party and I couldn't see the stage and could barely hear what the speakers were saying.  After about half an hour of waiting around, we marched.  And there were thousands of us: gays, lesbians, heteros, gay married couples, straight families with kids, gay families with kids, old, young, middle aged, Latino, Asian, African-American, etc. We all marched together, chanting:

What do we want? EQUAL RIGHTS! When do we want it?  NOW!

Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right!

TAX THE CHURCH!  TAX THE CHURCH!

During the first turn through Silver Lake, we encountered counter-protestors from the infamously gay-hating Westboro Baptist Church.  Fortunately, I was in the middle of the crowd and not by where they were gathered 'cause I would have probably let loose with a lot of profanities.  It wouldn't have been helpful, that's for sure.  We moved past them quickly and kept on marching.

The march lasted about 2 hours, starting  around 6pm. My good friend and neighbor Susan and I were march-buddies, sticking close to each other, commenting on the homemade signs people had, and the crazy homeless woman who ended up marching by us for about 10 minutes.  After a while, hunger starting kicking in for all of us there. 

Me:  "What do we want?  A BURRITO!  When do we want it?"

Susan: "Now!"

As we were marching up Vermont Avenue into Hollywood, one of the rally guys decided to change up our chants:

Rally Guy:  "Okay, guys.  Repeat after me!  'No you di'int, California!  No you di'int, California!"

All:  "No you di'int, California!  No you di'in't, California!"

Susan:  "Ok, that is totally my favorite chant."

Me:  "Me too."

The rally was amazing.  It was so invigorating being around thousands of people all marching and chanting and feeling the same cause.  I do feel that this is the start of a serious movement.  It really shocked many people, myself included, that California would actually vote to restrict people's rights.  I plan to participate in more rallies and actions.  This country's history is one of expanding rights, and being more inclusive, not going the other direction.  But this forward movement is based on the hard work and actions of people pushing America forward.  The push by the religious right to restrict our rights with Prop 8 has now huge consequences.  The blowback against the Church of Latter Day Saints, The Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus and other organizations is going to be fierce.  My blog pal Brett has compiled the list of Yes on 8 supporters, including every business that donated to their cause.  In addition to others across the nation, I urge a boycott of every business and organization that supported Prop 8.  You want to take away my rights?  You will not get a dime of my money and the money of my family and friends.  You want to treat me as a second class citizen?  Fine.  But you will pay the price for that.  Because millions of people are now awaken from their complacency, angered, upset, and not willing to let this go.  Because the blowback against all of you is going to be intense.  Actions have consequences, and yours will really, really hurt.

Two Steps Forward, One Big Step Back

We have a new President. And he's the one I voted for, the one I've been a fan of for a while, the one I've been championing.  And he's going to be our new President.  This is just amazing.  As Tom and I watched the results with our neighbors & friends last night, I just kept saying "Oh shit!" and "Holy crap" and "Holy balls, this is really happening!"  I teared up a bit during Obama's acceptance speech and was very touched by how classy McCain was with his concession. 

Barack Obama is going to be our new president.  I just love typing that.  I'll do it again:  Barack Obama is going to be our new president.  This is just amazing.  It's history; we are living through history right now.  For the first time in my life, I've voted for a candidate I've not only admired but also respected.  He inspires me and I feel he will treat us well.  And the fact that he's African-American is just icing on the cake.  As I was telling one of my co-workers today, "Our country needs him to fix the mess we're in right now; it just happens that he's black."  He will be an inspiration to us all.  Many of us are told when we were young that if we apply ourselves when we can be whatever we wanted, even president of the United States.  And here we are, a bi-racial man with a funny name from a broken home who lived on assistance applied himself and he's now going to be our next President. That is an inspiring story.  That's an American story. 

With the election of Barack Obama, we as a nation have taken a bold step toward helping to rectify our nation's problems with race.  They won't completely go away once he's inaugurated but he's a big step forward. Forty-four years after the signing of the Civil Rights Laws, our 44th President will be an African-American. 

While civil rights have come a long way in some aspects, the US of A has moved backwards in others.  It  looks like Prop 8 is going to pass.  The No on Prop 8 people are hoping that the 3 million plus provisional and absentee ballots will tip the scales, but to be honest, my hopes aren't terribly high.  I'm devastated when I should be excited.  According to our Attorney General Jerry Brown, my marriage is still valid and it won't be retroactively affected.  But I'm now in some legal limbo; neither fish nor fowl. 

There's a big rally tonight in West Hollywood to protest against the passage, and to be frank, I'm too exhausted to go.  I can't. I'm spent.  Now, in my head, I know that this is a setback but we can make more progress.  With Obama in the White House and larger Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, the prospects of getting more gay rights (besides marriage) through is pretty high.  But my gut?  My gut wants to scream out 'FUCK YOU BIGOTS, HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY RIGHTS AWAY FROM ME?  WHAT IS FUCKING WRONG WITH YOU?  FUCK YOU AND THE BIGOTED, SMALL-HEARTED HORSES YOU RODE IN ON!' 

I know things will get better.  I know this is part of a longer course and I do feel that it is an inevitability and this part of history will be looked at with shaking heads and tsk-ing demeanors.  But right now?  I'm just very, very sad.  And exhausted.  I'll pick up the fight tomorrow. 

Smiling

I'm just amazed. So pleased.  So happy.

The Home Stretch

Election Day is tomorrow, and I can't be more excited.  And nervous.  And freaked out.  And edgy. And giddy.  There's a reason why Tom and I went as political junkies for Halloween (picture to be posted later).  We've been all but consumed with this election.  I have never watched MSNBC this much in my entire life.  Pollster is my new favorite electoral polling crack site, though my co-worker Ron has turned me onto 270 To Win, which has its charms as well. 

A lot of people say and have said that this is the most important election in a generation, and I would have to agree with them.  It has been such highs and lows.  Remember when the front runners were Hillary Clinton and Guiliani?  That's a million years ago, right?  No.  And now, it's down to one Senator who had to fly commercial for a while since his campaign was strapped for cash (McCain) and the junior senator from Illinois with a funny name (Obama).  It's pretty incredible that it all ends tomorrow. Hopefully.

I have been temperating my optimism about Obama and the failure of Prop 8.  I don't want to get my hopes up.  They were up in 2000 and again in 2004.  Now, things look a lot better for Obama than it for Kerry in 2004, but I'm still keeping a lid on my feelings, trying not to get ahead of myself. 

Here are the four scenarios for tomorrow:

1.  Awesome:  Obama Wins, Prop 8 Fails.

Obama does something close to a sweep, carrying a lot of the swing states in play:  Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Missouri.  This swelling up of optimism sweeps the land, and people out here in California get caught up in the feeling-good, and vote down a discriminatory amendment.  Bottles of champagne are popped and there is much cheering coming from our building in northeastern Los Angeles.

2. Good Not Great:  Obama Wins, Prop 8 Passes.

Obama wins, but Prop 8 ends up barely passing.  While I would be severely bummed about the passage of a state constitutional amendment that strips my rights away from me, at least we would have a federal government that is the most gay-friendly in the history of United States.  We can then push for a repeal of Prop 8 for 2009.

3.  Not Good: McCain Wins, Prop 8 Fails

McCain wins back the swing states and gains New Hampshire, which would give him a victory by a very slim margin.  But, the failure of Prop 8 means that if Tom and I drink ourselves into a stupor to deal with a McCain presidency, we can at least visit each other in the hospital without any problems.

4.  Oh Shit: McCain Wins, Prop 8 Passes

McCain wins the swing states, New Hampshire, and Minnesota (for some odd reason).  The so-called Bradley Effect seriously kicks in, and Obama loses rather significantly based on his lead.  The major right-wingers in CA, flush with Mormon money, pack the polls and Prop 8 passes.  This scenario could possibly lead to my becoming an alcoholic, since I would need to suckle at the Smirnoff teat to help deaden the pain. 

In all seriousness, I do think that we should keep an eye on a few states.  The first is New Hampshire, the only New England state where McCain stands a chance to win.  They like him a lot, even going back to his 2000 campaign  If this small state goes for Obama pretty quickly, that's a good sign that Obama could sew this up pretty quickly. If New Hampshire takes a while for Obama to win, things for Obama will be a lot tighter as the evening goes on but should end well.  If McCain wins New Hampshire, then things will be very, very close. 

The next state is North Carolina.  The state's been solidly red for over a generation until Obama came along.  If he wins NC, then other southern states might follow.  If McCain wins North Carolina, then he could possibly take it.  Possibly. 

Tom, myself and a couple of our neighbors are planning on hitting the polls right at 7am tomorrow morning then going off for breakfast.  I will probably be a basketcase for most of the day, to be honest.  Tomorrow night, we will join the neighbors for an election party, watching the results with bated breath. 

I really, really hope Obama wins.  We really need him right now.  The economy is in the shitter due to Republican mismanagement.  The war in Iraq needs to end and end quickly.  We need to repair our standing in the world after 8 years of arrogance and stupidity. I want this over with. I want Bush out of office.  He will go down in history as one of the worst presidents we've ever had.  We went from surpluses to deficits, enthusiasm to apathy, peace to war, elation to anxiety, and flush to broke.  We need change.  And that's what Obama brings. 

I hope things go our way tomorrow.  I really do.