There’s like…four of them.

Whoa

The Star Spangled Banner

(The Defense of Fort McHenry)
September 20, 1814
By Francis Scott Key

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

It’s true. If you’re at the DeSoto Civic Center on Saturday Night for the final Riverkings game of the season, you’ll hear yours truly belting out the Star Spangled Banner before the game. The first 1000 visitors get a free Riverkings t-shirt, nope I don’t have any free tickets, and I hope some of you will be there!`

I am working on this Fox pilot and everything is going great. People that I am working with are very professional, a lot of fun, and this whole thing looks like it will be really cool. I can’t spill any details, but I hope it turns out as good as it looks when they’re shooting it. Mind you, I’m not working on the set on this project for the first time ever. I actually enjoy the work, the people I’m working with, and the project. It’s great.

Here’s what I learned from this job before I ever started: I never thought that jobs which pay so little and are frequently so thankless as Production Assistant could be the fodder for political moves and positioning by people with no functional understanding of the business we are working in. Thanks to the people who have given me their honesty, I have come to realize that the fear that other people face in being honest with themselves and one another spill over into their professional decision making. I’d rather hang with the people who tell it like it is, make things actually happen, and are part of the creative process. I’m a friendly person who is geniuinely interested in the people that I interact with, so if you think that means I’m kissing your ass you should think again. I don’t get paid enough to kiss your ass.

If the idea of a friendly ambitious guy who gives 110% of themselves in order to get the job done rubs you the wrong way then by all means…feel free to kiss my ass. There’s a reason why success, particularly the longer it takes, is much sweeter for those who obtain it — because truly successful people have to work for their success and thereby appreciate it more. People who are given everything in life never appreciate anything.

Don’t misinterpret any of this as upset with the job I’m currently working — quite the opposite. When I learn something, even from the best of times, it’s important to talk about it. I gotta get back to work though. Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

There is something unique about the way people in our town like to do business. Many of them, particularly the ones who own their own businesses, seem to have a “devil-may-care” attitude when it comes to accepting your business. I don’t think it’s always intentional — people get busy, things slip minds. But it’s almost an affront to the idea of getting ahead in this world to sleep on opportunity when it knocks.

I’m working for a production that, at it’s peak, will have 110 full-time employees. Those people are visiting our city. They have needs. You have services to offer that can fulfill their needs. You can make some money while they are here. Wouldn’t it be to your benefit, when that phone call comes in, to remember to take the call? To return the call if you’re busy? Wouldn’t it be nice to have that additional money in your pocket and have a new, satisfied customer?

I guess what it comes down to is that people are afraid of success because it means they might have to do some real work. People would rather be lazy because it’s easier to be lazy in this world than to succeed. If you’re lazy, you don’t have to answer to people. You can set your own hours. People will ignore you. You can make enough money to get by.

If you want to succeed, you can’t sleep. Well, you can, but you can’t sleep as much as the people who aren’t trying to succeed.

The choice, Memphians, will always be up to you. I know it’s a new concept, a successful, focused Memphis where things get done and people make things happen and you’re able to enjoy opportunities only available in other places. But this doesn’t happen if you don’t want my business when I’m calling you to offer it to you.

After all, it’s not my money. It’s the Man’s. And not many times in this world is the man just gonna call you up and give up the money.

For the last couple of days, while recovering slowly from illness, I’ve read innumerable stories about people up in arms over Crash beating out Brokeback Mountain for the coveted Best Picture Oscar. I’ve tried to just sit around and ignore all the hoo-hah as Hollywood baiting, people with an agenda who feel they’ve been wronged. At the end of all the fussing, I’ve read no less than a dozen stories equating Brokeback‘s loss to “Hollywood’s homophobia” or something equal. It was already written long before this Academy Awards presentation that if Crash were to beat Brokeback, it would somehow point out the deep-seeded homophobic underbelly of Hollywood — one which may be true, but one to which this contest was not the bell ringer or bastion of proof.

To those who have not seen Crash and who have seen Brokeback Mountain, you’re short-changing yourself into believing what you want to believe. If you read this blog regularly, you know my stance on all issues regarding gay civil rights and the rights of the disenfranchised millions out there who have no voice. So please take to heart what I’m about to say: for your own benefit, get over it.

I would never argue that Brokeback Mountain was not an epic accomplishment in filmmaking for a number of reasons. I would never argue that it was not a great film, a memorable film, and a well done film. But the issues of humanity explored in Brokeback Mountain are completely overshadowed by the issues of humanity explored in Crash. It’s a film with universal appeal, one that talks to the worst in each of us.

The Gay press needs to back down, back way way way down about this. It’s a non-issue. Why? Because Brokeback Mountain represents much more than an Academy Award. It represents a sea change in the way films will be looked at and made in Hollywood with regard to gay themes and issues. It signals an enormous acceptance by movie-going audiences and the major studios of romantic themes involving gay characters, and those victories should be enough. Don’t sit around and cry because you didn’t get to take home all the prizes. Even if you didn’t win this trophy, you still won. Victory is yours.

Don’t point your fingers at Hollywood, don’t call Paul Haggis a “hack” (as one person referred to the Oscar-winning director in a conversation with me), and don’t dismiss Crash because it beat out your horse for a stupid trophy. It reflects poorly on you to pit these two films against one another, particularly when there were FIVE films nominated in this category — including Capote (also a film with a gay protagonist), Munich (a deeply political film), and Good Night, and Good Luck (a film with deeply important historical, social, and political commentary).

At the finish line, since these two films have been pitted against one another, Crash is a film that deals with the humanity of everyday life, a humanity to which people can actually relate. It’s not the spoiler at the Brokeback Mountain party so much as it is the winner at the “universally moving portrayal of the human condition” party.

One argument I don’t have an explanation for that I’d like to hear someone weigh in on: the cinematography in Brokeback Mountain was inarguably superior to that of Memoirs of a Geisha, a nonetheless beautifully-shot film. Why is it that Rodrigo Prieto keeps getting overlooked by the Academy? This is one of not only the greatest DP’s in the business but one of the greatest PEOPLE in the business. It’s a bizarre insult that year after year, his greatest accomplishments get slapped down by the Academy voters.

It hardly matters that it’s not true, but its a funny phrase nonetheless. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever be able to utter that phrase, but I think it’s got some heat. Phrases like:

• Oscar-Winners Triple 6 Mafia
• Academy-Award Winner Frayzer Boy

Did you ever think these phrases would be uttered? I am still sitting here beside myself, mostly because i’m still sick as a dog and I’m only barely fighting it.

Let’s talk about my trip to The Church Health Center. If you’re poor and you’re sick, you have only one option: The Church Health Center on Peabody and Bellevue. The clinic opens at 7am for appointment setting, but if you’re not in line by 6:45, you can expect not to be seen. The clinic is only open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. If you’re indigent, jobless, or without health insurance, you can be seen at the clinic and receive all of your medications for a total cost of $30 payable upon rendering of services — check or cash only, no exception.

I was second in a very lengthy Monday morning line. I was checked in and seen by a doctor before 8am. No bloodwork was done, and though I described my symptoms in depth to the good Doctor (including the fact I had been taking OTC remedies to mask the symptoms), the best she would do is to give me some Flonase and Allegra for my allergies and send me on my way. I was livid. I explained that I had a history of Tonsilitis, that at one time my doctor had put me on a steroid-pak to keep me from having to have them removed. She “disagreed” and then, as I waited for my meds, suspiciously discovered they had no Allegra on hand. Meanwhile, I’m watching patients walk out with handfuls of medications to deal with problems. I’m sitting there (as I am right now) suffering from chills, nausea, random sweats, swelled-up tonsils and body aches, the doctor is going to argue with me.

Beggars can’t be choosers, but I smell a might of discrimination. Apparently, I need to be poorer and less enfranchised than I currently am (meaning out in the street pushing a metal cart full of Ding Dongs and umbrellas up Madison singing “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”) in order to benefit from the Church Health Center’s program. Next time, I’ll wait until I’ve been sent to the emergency room to call on them — by that point, maybe they’ll alter their prognosis.

I am so sick I can barely stand up, I haven’t been able to hold down solid food since yesterday, my tonsils are swelled up like golf balls, and I’ve just learned that Memphis’ own Three Six Mafia win the Academy Award for “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp”. I am speechless, mostly because my throat hurts too bad to talk. Congratulations, peeps.