The title of today's installment has nothing to do with Haywire - that was just a little somthin' somthin' for my buddy John Lenihan, the guy who got me involved with Haywire in the first place (big Star Wars junkie is Mr. Lenihan). Back when we were in college together, we talked nearly every day about making movies - and now, here we are. Not only is John acting in this episode, but he wrote, directed and edited it as well. I'm just waiting to see how long it will take before his Haywire character, Trick Moran, is sporting an Indiana Jones fedora (another inside joke), but in the meantime, here he is in Haywire, Episode Four - The Situation...
Okay, so I was going to go into a little gabfest about independent film, videos that I made for people's birthdays using the lowest of tech, and my love and admiration for Robert Rodriguez for all that he endured in making the film, "El Mariachi".
I was going to do that...but I am just too damned tired. And besides, you're really here to see Episode Three of Haywire, right?
Okay, let me get that ready for you. In the meantime, two quick points - if I've sparked your interest in the making of "El Mariachi" and you'd like to learn more, the book "Rebel Without a Crew", by Robert Rodriguez chronicles the whole thing and is a great read. Second point - Steve Hoveke, who plays Dan in this episode, really took that fall! Even offered to do it! Wondering what I'm talking about? Check out Haywire, Episode Three - "Return to Sender" and see for yourself!
Okay, so I just looked at the menu on my cable tv to see what the premium channels were playing. Among my favorites - "Backdraft", "The First Wives Club", "Bad Boys 2" and "Stargate". Pretty funny that they charge us all that extra money to watch movies that are twenty years old, huh? Especially when there is a wealth of brand new, cutting edge entertainment available to us without the premium channel price tag. What do I mean? I mean KoldCast TV.
Here's the quick press on my new obsession:
KoldCast TV delivers only the best episodic programming from today’s brightest creative talents producing independent television in this new era of entertainment. New Shows premiere weekly and new episodes are released daily.
KoldCast programming centers around the following genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, SciFi, Horror, Travel, Culture, Lifestyle, Fantasy, Mystery, Science, Technology News, Animation.
Audiences from all walks of life watch KoldCast – from teens, 18 years and older, to cutting-edge seniors – both guys and girls discover Shows they enjoy, and our audience is international, with 209 countries/territories now watching.
Let me tell you, this place gets the Daddy on the Edge seal of approval. Not only are they a central hub for all of the very best web series out there, but they had the good sense to add "Haywire" to their roster. Now, I could be wrong, but I think it was Episode Two, "The Beaten Path" that really caught KoldCast's attention. This episode is one of Daddy's favorites, and I hope it becomes one of yours. I give you Haywire - Episode Two: The Beaten Path...
In my life, I have had the privilege of meeting and working with some extraordinarily creative minds on some wonderful and diverse projects. Over the years, I have been able to hitch a ride with them on their various enterprises, and I can say without doubt that they have, on more than one occasion, salvaged my soul. Life can be gloomy. It can be harsh. Read the rest of this blog; oft times, life can be a bitch that you just wanna bury in a shallow grave off the interstate. But there are bright spots; points of light in the sackcloth landscape that make you feel good about getting up in the morning...rays of sun that penetrate the ink black night and warm the soul. So, every once in a while, I'm going to dedicate my little blogosporium to these people and their efforts. Like right now.
Watch This.
Holy Crap, right? Now watch this -
This is "Haywire", a relatively new web series created by a relatively new friend of mine, Scott Klein. Working closely with Scott on this endeavor is John Lenihan, a much older friend of mine and the one that has brought Daddy hisself into the Haywire cast. But I'm getting ahead of myself - here's the show's synopsis -
Monroe, NY. A burst of light. Area-wide power outages and the complete failure of all electronic devices. All within line-of-sight of the burst are affected. Their minds short-circuit. Their thought processes scramble and become a never-ending loop. Accomplish what you were doing when you saw the light. Then do it again. And again. And again. And if something gets in your way…
Yeah, well - from what I've seen, you don't want to get in their way. But don't just take my word for it - check out Episode One and let "The Gardener" tell you first hand.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you what's going on in Wisconsin. Governor Scott Walker is doing his level best to push through legislation that would destroy the collective bargaining power of public employee unions. And it was recently discovered that he is pretty much a bought and paid for employee of the billionaire Koch Brothers, which makes Scott Walker...a Koch Whore.
That's what most people know about this bill. The part that is going unnoticed and largely unreported is as disturbing, if not more so. Check out this part of that same bill;
Section 44.16.896 of Wisconsin Senate Bill 11 reads–
(1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
So basically, Walker can sell Wisconsin's public utilities to whomever he wants, for as little as he wants - and no one can stop him.
Now, the Koch Brothers have said that they're not interested in buying the utilities. They've also said that the Tea Party is a grass roots movement and that climate change is a hoax, so you decide if you want to take them at their word on this one.
The Koch Brothers are to the Tea Party what Colonel Tom Parker was to Elvis - largely behind the scenes, but pulling every string. Up until recently, most people hadn't heard of the Koch Brothers or Koch Industries. This was by design. Here's a little about the heads of Koch Industries (yes...the Koch Heads).
Koch Industries is the largest privately owned company in the US, and it makes nearly $100 billion every year but, until recently, it wasn't exactly a household name. Company head David Koch is fond of saying that his company is "the biggest company you've never heard of." The majority of its business is in oil refining, coal, and manufacturing.
The rest of their business revolves around paper goods, political corruption and engineering, moral bankruptcy, pollution and criminal malfeasance.
Y'know that saying, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem"? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Problem;
Koch is responsible for over 300 oil spills in the U.S. and has leaked 3 million gallons of crude oil into fisheries and drinking waters. (EPA)
Koch Industries spent more than $48.5 million from 1997 to 2008 funding climate science opposition groups.
Koch Industries operates oil refineries in Texas, Alaska and Minnesota, and controls roughly 4,000 miles of oil pipelines.
Koch Industries has spent $16,922,000 so far in the 111th Congress on lobbying.
Koch Industries spent $1 million trying to roll back California's clean energy law - and failed.
And that is just the tip of the toxic iceberg. Daddy's been sick and tired of these guys since about five minutes after I heard of them. Turns out, I'm not alone. "Anonymous" has also taken an interest in the Koch Fiends. The following is an open letter to the people of the United States from Anonymous;
OpWisconsin
Press Release: #OpWisconsin
Dear Citizens of the United States of America,
It has come to our attention that the brothers, David and Charles Koch--the billionaire owners of Koch Industries--have long attempted to usurp American Democracy. Their actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back.
Koch Industries, and oligarchs like them, have most recently started to manipulate the political agenda in Wisconsin. Governor Walker's union-busting budget plan contains a clause that went nearly un-noticed. This clause would allow the sale of publicly owned utility plants in Wisconsin to private parties (specifically, Koch Industries) at any price, no matter how low, without a public bidding process. The Koch's have helped to fuel the unrest in Wisconsin and the drive behind the bill to eliminate the collective bargaining power of unions in a bid to gain a monopoly over the state's power supplies.
The Koch brothers have made a science of fabricating 'grassroots' organizations and advertising campaigns to support them in an attempt to sway voters based on their falsehoods. Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth and Citizens United are just a few of these organizations. In a world where corporate money has become the lifeblood of political influence, the labor unions are one of the few ways citizens have to fight against corporate greed. Anonymous cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America's broken political system. For these reasons, we feel that the Koch brothers threaten the United States democratic system and, by extension, all freedom-loving individuals everywhere. As such, we have no choice but to spread the word of the Koch brothers' political manipulation, their single-minded intent and the insidious truth of their actions in Wisconsin, for all to witness.
Anonymous hears the voice of the downtrodden American people, whose rights and liberties are being systematically removed one by one, even when their own government refuses to listen or worse - is complicit in these attacks. We are actively seeking vulnerabilities, but in the mean time we are calling for all supporters of true Democracy, and Freedom of The People, to boycott all Koch Industries' paper products. We welcome unions across the globe to join us in this boycott to show that you will not allow big business to dictate your freedom.
U.S. Product Boycott List
Vanity Fair
Quilted Northern
Angel Soft
Sparkle
Brawny
Mardi Gras
Dixie
European Product Boycott List
Demak'Up
Kitten Soft
Lotus / Lotus Soft
Tenderly
Nouvelle Soft
Okay Ktchen Towels
Colhogar
Delica
Inversoft
Tutto
To identify these brands, please look for the following logo anywhere on the packaging:
Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.
Anonymous rocks my world. To be sure, boycotting Koch Fiend products is a fantastic idea. But we need to do so much more. The Tea Party is right, we do need to take our country back, but not from our government, not from our President, not from some imaginary socialist boogieman. We need to take our country, our society, our planet back from the plutarchy that would have us as their indentured servants. I may not make millions or billions of dollars a year, but I am an American. Daddy's family has been on this soil for over 300 years, and I'm not about to sit around while a bunch of rich guys try to throw up a velvet rope at the door and impose a cover charge to keep me out. This country was built on courage, determination and yes - the audacity of hope. Let us not now give it away in the throws of fear, stupidity and cowardice. We are America - We are better than that.
Americans can do anything. I truly believe that. Further, I believe we can do extraordinary things..in just four years. Zoë Kors- Rock Star, Personal Coach Extraordinaire and close personal friend to Daddy sent out the word today of a new mission. A four year quest to turn it all around.
Who knew I'd ever have so much to say about Wyoming?
Truth is, Daddy's just here to apologize. In previous posts, I had said that Wyoming sucked. I said this because it appeared that the leaders of the state had gone just a tad batshit crazy and were trying to knock the rights of the LGBT community and women back into the 19th century.
And that sucked.
Turns out though, that there are some folks in charge over there that get it. They've made that quantum leap of logical thinking and now understand that gays, lesbians, women, transpeeps - that they are all people too! Just like the bulk of Republican lawmakers and Daddy and all of the other old, straight white guys on the planet. And maybe, just maybe... they deserve some rights, too. Here's Rachel to tell you all about it:
Sorry for not being around lately - Daddy actually got a paid writing gig, so I've been working on that a bit, not to mention it's Black History Month, and we've got two fourth grade projects to finish. Reallllly loving me some Oprah Winfrey and Frederick Douglass right now.
But to the point at hand - Wyoming. When last we met, I reported that Wyoming sucked. I just checked - they still suck. Seems their Defense of Marriage Constitutional Amendment passed a Wyoming House committee today, so in the push to treat the gay and lesbian citizens of their state as second class (or worse), Wyoming is doing their part to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Say it with me now - Weenies.
However...in other local news, it turns out that some Wyoming legislators actually have some sense. Some of them understand when things are going too far and some of them actually have the balls to stand up to their party and say so. I could go on, but Rachel Maddow, my favorite political rock star, has done it sooo much better than Daddy ever could, so without further ado, heeeeere's Rachel -
Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.
My Top YA and MG of 2015
-
Oh man, this was a tough list. Elsewhere: My Top Memoirs of 2015 My Top
Adult SciFi/Fantasy of 2015 My Top Nonfiction of 2015 I’ll Give You The Sun
– Jandy...
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