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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

OUR REVOLUTION: BERNIE SANDERS




 November 30, 2016

Last night, in a room filled to the rafters with over fourteen hundred other folks in the historic Alex Theater 

in Glendale, California, Bernie Sanders held forth, gifting each of his fans with his new book, OUR REVOLUTION. Warmly received, in opening remarks he repeated many of the points that made him popular in his bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination.  The welcoming crowd stood and cheered and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.  

The 'interview' with Sarah Silverman hit a high point when she turned to the audience and said, "I've never interviewed anyone before!"  To which Bernie came back with, "Now you tell me!!"


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Nothing to do with Bernie watch for The Hollywood Ten!  Stay tuned.
//
 November 30, 2016
michaelsheehan
Chayote 11/30/16
 

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

BERNIE AND SARAH


November 29, 2016

The sun shines.  

Some days are overwhelming.  Thank goodness for the sun shine.

November 29, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote  11/29/16
 

Monday, November 28, 2016

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

November 28, 2016

I love it when there are actual clouds across the way. Looks like we'll have some sun, too. 

The Gift that keeps on Giving!?  Today, in the name  of a guy I don't even know, I made a contribution of a few bucks to Planned Parenthood. If a miracle happens, his name will return to virtual  obscurity and the United States may recover from this blast of fascism that seems on the horizon.  I won't even mention the name of this guy from Indiana with the hope that if this writing is discovered years from now that it will be a mystery as to who he ever was.  I hope that his office fills to the rafters with 'thank you' cards from Planned Parenthood. Make a contribution of any amount and PP will happily send a card of thanks to the Indiana governor!

// 

The anticipation of seeing Bernie Sanders and Sarah Silverman tomorrow is exciting.   Film at eleven.

//
I am recruiting more and more people to write to electors.  I like it when some friend of a friend, whom I don't know, asks for the mailing lists.  It will cost less than forty dollars to write to these ninety electors on post cards.  What a pleasure it will be to know that if even one elector becomes a person of good will and good conscience and doesn't cast a Red Ballot, that will be energy well spent.  I'll have my cards in the mail in about a week or so. The meeting of the Electoral College is on December 19th. 

Ready set go.. (I have no idea why I wrote that!)

michael sheehan
November 28, 2016

Cayote 11/28/16
 

Sunday, November 27, 2016

RAINBOWS




November 27, 2016
Some days are gray.  Like today. 
Gray days..and grey deys? tend to slow things down.  The chill and the damp and no sunshine slow things down. No sun. No rainbow.  

I wonder if, when the sun is sufficient to create a rainbow, if the one I see is the same one you see from another angle?  It's like the question about how I see a color and you see the same color and we agree that it is 'red' or 'blue.'  But, will I ever know if we see eye to eye? This brings to mind the classic Buick that was painted "Dove Gray" and a huge argument in my VW bus while driving south  on the 101 on an overcast day.  A gray/grey day.
 ///
The chill seems to slow this chayote down.

November 27, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote 11/27/16
 

Saturday, November 26, 2016

BULLYING THE BULLY?

November 26, 2016
Who is the bigger jerk? The guy who wants to stand up to a bully or the bully? In minor FB dustups it's easy to get carried away and one up folks who are semi-literate or just angry .. often they are both. 
We are in a desperate time.  It's really uncomfortable: icky to say the least.   In a nutshell, some poor old guy who is a friend of a friend dropped out of school in the eighth grade and his grammar was lacking in advocating for standing up to a misdirected bully in a recent airline incident.  The old guy advocated for confronting a bully (who may have been drunk?) who made disparaging remarks about the election, taunting Hillary supporters on the plane.  Evidently, the loud mouth was removed from the plane but then returned.  I advocate for free speech, but the old line about shouting "Fire" in a crowded theater may be a good analogy here.  The old guy on FB was all for confronting this bully and I basically allowed that you have no idea how drunk or crazy a person like this might be, it's wise to leave it to the people in charge.  I tried to shame the old guy for his bad grammar and got his dander up!  It's just not nice to do that but I won't make an apology. In fact I just blocked the old guy and let it go after he was really upset: calling names and acting like a republicant.  My last retort was for him to look into a mirror and deal with what he saw.  That's not nice either.  

///
I have the TV set on for company these mornings and notice that commercials for college football include highly violent games like Call to Duty.  I wonder how much influence this stuff has on kids?  A friend used to say that he thought it made no difference, but I'm not so sure.  The 'bad guys' get blown to smithereens.  Do these games use realistic fire arms that point at the monitor?  There is a certain thrill for blowing things up, for sure.   I played 'guns' with a realistic six shooter with a Texas Longhorn on the plastic grip.  I practiced my quick draw and could fan it like Johnny Mack Brown, but have never wanted to really shoot anyone.  So.. I know and knew the difference.  Do gun nuts really want to blow 'enemies' away?  Evidently, if the story of a Black Friday murder over a parking space is going on. 

Years ago I wrote a program (the text.. not an actual computer program!!) for a pre-computer type computer game that Mattel was doing.  It was called the Touch Learning Center (TLC!).  The game they asked me to write was a submarine scenario with the subs destroying enemy battleships, I think.  I asked the coordinator at Mattel is we could not kill people by changing the game to Mine Sweeper.  The danger is still there but we would be saving lives instead of destroying them.   Mattel bought the idea!  I used to go into KayBee Toys and put that game in front of the display and wonder if playing my game instead of an aggressive 'kill the enemy' game saved one kid from joining the military or even going on in life to make some kind of peace?  

The guy I don't know on FB will stew in his own juices and the whole exchange is gone by my hand. The mutual FB friend is someone by whom I feel mostly dismissed anyway.  Funny how that happens. 

Is rain on the way?  Remember when the rhubarb used to grow wild along the wire fences that kept your chickens out of the neighbor's yard? 

November 26, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote 11/26/2016


 

Friday, November 25, 2016

WELL FED AND FRISKY?

November 25, 2016

Florence Henderson dies at 82.  

We mourn the dead, especially when they are so well loved. But, 82 is a good run.  She was active and pretty and for all we knew perky to the end. She will always be the mom from The Brady Bunch. 

In our society we mourn every death.  The death of institutions and the death of relationships.. and death of those whom we love.  But John Donne sums it up pretty well in his poem, Death Be Not Proud.. 
"... One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die!
"

Myself? I'm not so sure, but the mystery is worth the contemplation and all that "passes understanding" shall so remain until some other time ...  or not? 

A favorite grand dame: Cloris Leachman, will be ninety-one next April.   Seeing her yesterday in the "It's a Good Life" episode of The Twilight Zone over fifty  years ago and then remembering her in her Oscar turn in "The Last Picture Show" are just wonderful memories.    We come on the scene and if actors are lucky, make a mark and sometimes the mark remains.  These women will certainly remain in memory, yes...

Today?  How fame shifts?  Burt Reynolds created a warm and cuddly sit com called Evening Shade.  A good friend was a camera operator on that show and an actor I used to know, Charlie Dell, played a sweet character on it.  He, along with Michael Jeter, were the spices that gave the show extra flavor.  I mention Charlie because he is currently in a commercial for ...  I think... a cell phone? Anyway, a handsome studly guy has excused himself to a fancy mens' restroom to check his iphone. Charlie is crisply attired as the Rest Room Attendant, standing quietly in the very background. He stands at relaxed attention.  As the spot fades, he completely steals the scene with a very subtle eye move.. just his eyes!  I wonder if it was his idea or if the director had him do it? His Evening Shade character, Nub, was embraced by the actual town of Evening Shade in Arkansas (population about 500!). Charlie was married there to his wife, Jennifer Williams! I attended a party at their home where Lois Nettleton impressed me big time! (She died at the age of 80!)  
Hollywood connections.  Life goes on.

November 25, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote 11/25/16
 



Thursday, November 24, 2016

GIVING THANKS : THANKSGIVING

November 24, 2016

Remembering my cousin's big house where the family would gather on one specific day of Giving Thanks.  The men would slouch into the 'game room' where an illegal slot machine and Irish whiskey was on hand.  Two fingers did me in that day.  Wow..

Watched a movie by the Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael last night, The Eighth Day. He also directed a terrific film called Mr.Nobody that was odd and fantastical.. as this film also is... It's a take on Down Syndrome that will melt your heart and will melt it even more if you understand French..or can read Korean subtitles.  It works just fine with the images and snatches of words you may have heard before "Formidable.." 
 I am thankful for many things.. It's nice that a few folks whom I may not even know, read these ramblings and chart the changes in the sky, the growth of the trees and, even, my chayote. 

Twilight Zone Marathon!  The oddly soothing voice of Rod Serling narrating tales laced with irony.  Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis, Reader:  Isn't it great that one sentence can recall an entire episode of the series?  (Well, for me, anyway.)

Fresh grapefruit juice from the neighbor down the street and oranges and blessings.  

November 24, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote 11/24/16
 

 

 


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

DO SOMETHNG!

November 23, 2016
Sick feeling..
Since November 9th, I've been feeling disoriented a bit.  Never felt like this before.  Certainly, the feeling of confusion is something we all may have had? "Cognitive dissonance?"  
Feeling helpless in the face of a looming disaster? Duck and Cover? 

I'll be writing snail mails to at least ninety Electoral College Electors in the hope that at least one may go away from voting for the republican. 

Being in denial regarding this odd and off putting election is a defense mechanism.  Writing the post cards to the hopefully 'faithless electors' is helpful.  What if one of them actually decides .for the good of our country... to not vote orange? "There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Leonard Cohen

The Holidays.. are on us.  Chilly nights. Extra blankets. Waiting for the mail to bring a nice new hot water bottle!  

Watched a docu about Leonard Cohen, "I'm Your Man" that was nostalgic and a wonderful insight into the man's life and music, especially Rufus Wainwright's version of Hallelujah.  

Be brave, Americans.  Take a redneck to lunch. Expect a Miracle.

November 23, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote 11/23/16
 

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

FIFTYTHREE YEARS AGO....

November 22, 2016

Many folks reading this may not know about this date.  It is, evidently, slipping from our memories. Even if  you were not alive, this date in 1963, changed the course of history and subsequently, our lives.  The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is still not, to my mind, a solved murder.  Is 'assassination' a good term?  It depends on how famous one is.  The world is in chaos. The United States is being ripped apart by ideology that is anathema to people I know and celebrated by people I do not understand.  

I really do NOT like politics. It makes folks behave in a way that will get them what they want. Telling the truth will not get anyone elected to anything: Blue or Red.  But we pick and choose our colors and hope for the best.

"That can't be true," said the pretty young teacher, as we sat in mom's Pontiac at lunch.  But, it was true. Dallas.  And, it was awful. This is a little like what I'm feeling as December 19th approaches. And, indirectly, this had been predicted by a Ouija board that I was touching the summer before.  Really. 

November 22, 2016
michael sheehan

Chayote 11/22/16


Monday, November 21, 2016

BLISS

November 21, 2016
Rain!  
My handle for my main email account includes "laotzu"..  Reading The Tao of Pooh.. imagine.. I learned that t'se (sometimes Lao Tzu's name is spelled Lao T'se) .. that t'se translates to 'compassion.' And, in his book, Benjamin Hoff discusses the difference between 'knowledge' and 'wisdom.'   Compassion relates to wisdom. Knowledge relates to 'understanding' but that is thinking oriented.  Think about it. 
It seems that knowledge is highly acclaimed these days, but wisdom? I'm not so sure.  

I've really got nothing today.  Rains and a spooky old pickup, but not old enough to be interesting parked in front of my house..  Art to make and a terrific presentation about Babe Egan and her Hollywood Redheads tonight.  Shopping? Chilly day? I wonder if the heater in the car works?  In the bus.. years ago this time of year I drove from Colorado to California over Loveland Pass with one of those little parabolic propane heaters on my feet.  A lot of good that did! Brrrr. 

The phone rings.. "Hello"  A recording, "This is not a solicitation... blah blah.."  I press One to see what will happen.  A young man's voice, "Hello, how are you?"  Me: "Why, I am fine. How are you?"  Click.

One more pitch for the cast of Hamilton? Write them a snail mail? c/o Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 W 46th street, New York, NY 10036.

And..  if you will follow me into the Valley of Death..  I'll send you the mailing lists of hopefully 'faithless electors.'  Snail mail asking the electors to NOT vote for the orange man.  

November 21, 2016
michaelsheehan
Chayote 11/21/16


Sunday, November 20, 2016

ROBERT RYAN.. GONE TOO SOON...

November 20, 2016

I met Robert Ryan.. (the younger actor, not the '60s movie star) back in the days of early log on social media.  Modem Butterfly's Connection.  A dial up Bulletin System: BBS.  No graphics except what you could fake with key strokes and friendly folks who were local and articulate on the keyboard..or angry or silly.. but kind.  Robert has succumbed to illness and is gone before his time.  We resist saying 'dead.'  But, dead is what we all shall be one day. The wonderful thing about the evolution of cyberspace and the internet is that we now have images and links and kinks and winks that make us laugh... and today may make us weep.  I'd see RR at theatre procuctios that we'd attend from time to time. We had a mutual friend, Susan Goldberg, whom I've lost touch with. She'd have a seder and invite friends, including RR and me.  This is a farewell to a guy who always exhibited a gentle spirit and fought like a tiger when gravity and time and misforutne stepped in.  Stop for one second and right now say his name: Robert Ryan.  Out loud..  a tribute to a very nice man. That's what I just did.

/// 

The bruhaha of the VP elect showing up at a performance of the Broadway hit HAMILTON elicited a beautiful response from the cast at the curtain call of their performance.  It was eloquent and respectful.  The audience stood and cheered. I got this note forwarded from a friend, encouraging folks to write to the cast of Hamilton thanking them for their classy reaction to having this guy in their audience.  I'm writing to that cast today at this address:
" The Cast of Hamilton, Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 W 46th street, NY, NY  10036"

///
I awakened angry that The Apprentice will air again on NBC with Arnold What's his name, as the Boss.  It will mean millions into the orange man's pockets and this so riled me that I was going to go off on it before I learned of Robert's death.
So.. please boycott NBC, The Apprentice and if  you are really into it,  leave a comment:
NBC Comment line: 
1-212-664-2333  
(a local 818 number was not working!)

/// 

Please consider writing to electors asking respectfully to cast their electoral ballots for anyone else but the orange man.  The tide is turning.  Keep bailing! 
///
Finally..  I've composed and printed out  snail mail to the cast of HAMILTON and, also, a note to Gabrielle Carteris, President of SAGAFTRA discussing the SAGAFTRA Film Society.  FS Members need respect.. at least more respect than they are getting now at screenings at the DGA in Hollywood. 

It's raining! Yay!! 

// 
November 20, 2016
michaelsheehan
I loved the clouds that preceeded today's rain? 



 and your friendly chayote: 

Chayote 11/20/16

Saturday, November 19, 2016

SOCIAL MEDIA ROCKS!

November 19, 2016

What's this thing with guys growing scruffy beards? Or huge fluffies?
///
One month from today 538 Electors will cast ballots to elect the President of the United States. Having pledged to never utter the Prez Elect's name nor write it, we all know that this is the worst election in the history of the USA. Passing the ignorance of GWB and the harm done by others, this is a dangerous time.  I will send snail mail to a selected handful of Electors whom I hope will become "faithless" electors..whom I choose to call Patriots.. to respectfully ask that they not cast their electoral ballot for the orange man. If you will join me, send me an email at directortv41 at yahoo and I'll send mailing labels.

This is a call to arms not unlike an electronic Paul Revere (though my silver smithing is minimal.. I have made some silver jewelry!) and the hew and cry must be heard.  Windmills to tilt?  It's my stock in trade.  One windmill down or at least winged, will be something.  Can we make a change.  I am part of a secret group working to contact electors to ask respectfully that they vote for ANYONE other than the orange man. 

I'm hoping that many electors will exhibit their patriotic option to abstain or to vote contrary to the 'rules.'  

Of course, it is past time for the rules to change.  One person, one Vote.  Majority rule is Not a Bad Thing.  I'd feel the same way if the situation were reversed.  Don't you? 

November 19, 2016
michaelsheehan

Chayote 11/19/16



Friday, November 18, 2016

STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE!

November 18, 2016

I'll be sending about a hundred postcards to members of the Electoral College soon to respectfully ask them to please NOT cast their ballot for the orange man.   It's such a long shot, but those who are with me on this have begun emails and snail mails to the electors hoping to gather together as many 'faithless electors' as we can gather.  Early responses in email have been rude.  I doubt that the person making the request was anything but civil and polite.  

Ironically, in my zeal to get these requests into the mail, I went to the post office yesterday and asked for a hundred post cards.  The clerk held up a roll of stamps!  I said I'd like cards with the postage affixed to them.  It took her a minute to understand what I was asking for!   She came back with twelve cards.  They are 38 cents each. The USPS charges four cents to print them.  I'll do my own cards for that price!!   Why wouldn't the Post Office have a stock of postcards? 

Today I found a stack of very old picture post cards that I might use, but because this is serious business, I'm guessing that it wouldn't be a good idea to send a card with two hunters discussing 'mother-in-law season.'  Pictures of the Petrified Forest? Notre Dame? Pyramids in Egypt? Tucson! (I do have friends in Tucson!)

The name Publius is being used by the group sending mail to electors asking them to NOT vote for the orange man.    Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and other Founding Fathers used that pseudonym when publishing their case in The Federalist Papers.    Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally ... Wikipedia

I am imagining these mostly every day citizens, the members of the Electoral College,  who are now just beginning to feel the weight of the election descending upon them, may have difficulty responding.  How many are of good conscience and know in their hearts that this election (with the erroneous email statement by FBI director Comey coming hours before the vote on November 8th) has been politically manipulated? As the case for a 'do over' is probably not going to happen, THEY have the power to do something.  What would you do?  Are you as upset as I am?   Would we be aligned in the way we voted: Blue?  But.. what about these intelligent and hopefully educated   Republicans?  Are they all swung so far to the right that they actually want the orange man, really?  Are they all so conservative as to see some value in a person with no experience; exhibiting blatant prejudices and out right disrespect for other folks?   Will they actually cast an electoral ballot for him?  If one person demurs, that is a victory.  If enough decide that enough is enough and even if they don't cast a Blue Ballot, but do not support the orange man,  it gives our country hope. The Audacity of Hope.  

Would you like me to send you mailing labels?  Can you contact ten people with a civil request with a hope for the future of our country? More? Email me at directortv41 at Yahoo.  Please, let me hear from you. 

November 18, 2016
michaelsheehan Publius
Chayote 11/18/16





Thursday, November 17, 2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAYNE HAMIL

November 17, 2016

It's Jayne Hamil's natal day!  She is one of those glowing people who came into my life at exactly the right time.  It was a good time in my life when fortune had smiled on me as I strove to create my career as an actor.  Jayne had run away from home at the age of 25 to join the 'circus' and had fallen in with a voice over workshop that I joined and  the rest is history.   I miss her sometimes and wish that I could hug her to congratulate her on her Emmy Award.  I wish we could remember Rabbit Days.  She is one of the most creative and talented people I've ever met. Ever.  If you know her, please wish her a Happy Birthday and tell her that I love her. 

///

A group of concerned folks are lobbying Electoral College Electors to change any pledged vote for the orange man to anyone else.. or, ideally, to vote Blue for Hillary Clinton.  The dilemma turns on how much the Red Electors dislike Mrs. Clinton. The first challenge is to get these folks  to see what serious danger our country is in right now.  Though I really want the popular vote to carry the day, I guess even more I DO NOT want the republicant to win.  
 
A Sea Change!  Wow..  There are about 160 'faithless electors' who could change things big time. If  you would like to lobby them for the survival of the United States, please send me an email: directortv41@ yahoo.  Who knows? If "a snowflake can bend a bamboo leaf," what if one post card or letter to the right person made this change happen. It's a lottery for our lives.. life as we know it, not only in our USA, but on Planet Earth!  Too dramatic? Really?  Dramatic and Very Important for sure.  As the whole business of politics is abhorrent to me, my involvement is rather out of character.  Gosh.. what if this handful of patriots actually made a difference?? 

///

Meeting Jayne made a big difference in my life.  Have you ever been in the right place at the exact right time for Good?  Or, maybe another life changing incident?  Meeting her was a thousand times more important than even surviving a life threatening accident for me. Thank you, Ms Hamil. 
November 17, 2016
michaels heehan

Chaoyte 11/17/16

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

STEINBECK AND EISENBERG

November 16, 2016

Dinner with a long time actor/director friend tonight was long overdue.  Larry Eisenberg is the artistic director of the Lonny Chapman Group Theatre in Burbank. His is a labor of love that has helped keep shows on the stage and the doors open wide for 43 years.  Lonny Chapman was one of those 'character' actors who so loved the theatre that he formed his own Group and gathered like minded folks to keep the dream alive.  I recently saw Lonny in Elia Kazan's BABY DOLL with Carol Baker and Carl Malden.  He was a ubiquitous guy mostly in the background, but steady and reliable and recognizable.  

Reconnecting with Larry on Sunday was a nice surprise and as we caught up over dinner, I remembered what a present and intelligent and generous guy he is.  Being in the presence of folks like this awakened me to life in and around the Theatre. Theatre is immediate and personal, never quite the same from one performance to the next: Alive.

This all turns on a quote that I saw tonight about the presence of Theatre by John Steinbeck, which reminded me of Tom Joad's speech at the end of The Grapes of Wrath:

"... I’ll be all around in the dark – I’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look – wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad. I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready, and when the people are eatin’ the stuff they raise and livin’ in the houses they build – I’ll be there, too." 

That spirit lives in Theatre.  In the dark.. taking us just about anywhere we agree to abandon disbelief and head off to.  Laughter and Pain and Hope.. on the stage.    

///
The idea to encourage Faithless Electors to not vote for the republican is growing.  This link is to a site that I have not vetted that cites precedent for electors to not vote for the candidate they were expected to vote for.  It's time to abolish the Electoral College and if enough electors decide to change this election, that idea may be coming of age.  Check this out for more information. 


And, one recharging chayote!

Chayote 11/16/16
  michaelsheehan
November 16, 2016