Monday, May 30, 2011

The Listener/ comparisons/ writing

May 27 The Listener: There was an episode called "The Magician." It was kind of like the movie Hannibal. The killer plays mind games with the woman law enforcement officer McCluskey on the show. You know he's a bad guy because he's handcuffed with his hands and ankles, and chained to the floor. He says he has info on a kidnapped man.

Kristopher Turner was on. He was on the other Toronto shot show Instant Star. You may have seen him in the Tim Horton's commercial selling hot chocolate where he's sitting with a girl watching the parade while inside the restaurant. KT was a college student and he murdered the killer's Magnus's daughter at the University of Toronto. Toby could see it in KT's mind.

The killer Magnus had left his daughter when she was a kid, and he knew KT murdered her. Toby could see the images of Magnus leaving his daughter in Magnus's mind. Magnus plays mind games with McCluskey the entire ep. Later it turns out Magnus set up so KT could get arrested for being behind the kidnapping of the man.

Magnus's jail guard was the one who put the evidence of a gun in KT's locker and KT gets arrested. The guard puts KT in the cell with Magnus and Magnus tries to kill KT. Fortunately, Toby and McCluskey get there in time and save KT.

On another note, Toby looks good in a button down white shirt with jeans.

Comparisons: It's been a month since I wrote about my comparisons. My friend Angela had said it wasn't very interesting when I talk about what I have seen a storyline in the following TV shows. However, this time I'm going to add why it's so commonly used. I need to analyze to fight my writer's block.

Hannibal killer: It was done on The Listener, and on Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Helpless." It's where Buffy turns 18 and she has to kill an criminally insane vampire who kidnapped Buffy's mother. How scary is that? Buffy not having her physical strength and her mother is kidnapped by this scary vampire. Her friends couldn't really help her, she's on her own.

Funerals begin the series: It was used on Alias (2001) when Sydney's fiance was murdered. Funerals are dramatic. It's used to show that the company SD6 that Sydney is working for is evil. That's how it starts the series so Sydney can bring it down. It was used in Desperate Housewives (2004) so it can start the mystery of why Mary Alice killed herself. Same with Pretty Little Liars (2010) to have the mystery of who killed Allison.

Funerals end of season: It was used in the Tru Calling season 1 finale (2004) when Tru's boyfriend Luc gets killed. It was to show how evil Jack is to set up so that an innocent person like Luc will get killed. It was done on Vampire Diaries season 2 (2011) to kill some unnecessary characters off. I did feel sad when the characters got killed, but they had their run on the show. It was really the 2nd to last episode of the season.

It was done on Castle to get rid of a regular character. It was very pivotal to the show and the major effect it will have on the characters next season.

There was even a funeral during the sitcom Parks and Recreation season finale. It was for a horse so it can still be light and funny.

Weddings at the end of the season: It was done on Gossip Girl. Well that show has a party nearly every week. It was done on Tru Calling season 1 finale (2004) to write off a character that wasn't very important to the show. It was done on Secret Life of the American Teenager season 2.

Character finding long lost parent: It was done on Veronica Mars. There was one ep in the first season where a guy asks VM to look for his father who walked out on him. Then it's VM herself looking for her mom in the first season.

There was Gossip Girl did this with Serena looking for her father who she hardly has contact with. Then Chuck looking for his mother who supposedly died, but is actually alive. Then it's repeated with Raina looking for her mother when it turns out she's dead.

It was done on Melrose Place where this girl thinks this woman is her mother and does a DNA test by taking hair from a hair brush.

It's used in dramas because family is important. It's a part of your life, of your DNA. There's the whole nature vs. nurture aspect.

Someone gives birth in the season finale: It was done on Heartland when Lou gives birth. It was done on Degrassi: The Next Generation season 11 finale called "Drop the World." I thought it was going to happen in season 10. Jenna's water broke and gives birth. Her friends come to the hospital to support her. It was done on the Secret Life of the American Teenager season 1 finale where the teen girl Amy gives birth at the hospital.

Giving birth is a major life event. It gets the season finale.

Young couple that got married, but really isn't: I saw that on Heartland with Ashley and Caleb. Then I saw a 18 to Life promo which is a Canadian sitcom about a young married couple and the whacky hijinks. It's often a young couple and a sitcom, because it wouldn't really be funny if the couple was old and were married for a long time. Like you thought were married to this person for 5 yrs, but really wasn't? How's that's funny?

If it was like for 1 yr or less, than that could be funny. It was kind of done on the show Dinosaurs about dinosaurs that act like humans. The couple Earl and Fran has been married for 20 yrs were married, but their marriage license has expired so they have to get it back.

Give birth at home: It was done on Secret Life of the American Teenager with the 40 yr old mom Anne gives birth at home. It was done on Heartland where 30 something Lou gives birth at home. It's done at home because it's a family show, it's not very dramatic if it's an older woman who gives birth at home. It's dramatic, but if it's a teen girl suddenly have to give birth at home than that's even more dramatic. A teen girl isn't as prepared or mature as an older adult woman.

It was done on Desperate Housewives where Bree's teen daughter suddenly has to give birth at the Halloween party. Bree was hiding the teen's pregnancy from her friends and family. It was a pivotal moment in the season because then some of the neighbors know the secret and they have to keep it.

Give birth in an elevator: I saw this on the 90s sitcom The Jerichos about a black man named Josh in his 20s and he has to take care of his 5 younger siblings. He sometimes dresses like a 50 yr old woman and pretends to be the aunt/ guardian of the family.

Josh is trapped in an elevator with this pregnant woman that he just met. She goes into labor and he helps deliver the baby. It was also done on 7th Heaven.

Baby gets kidnapped: I saw it on The Listener, Flashpoint, and CSI: NY. A good guy getting kidnapped by a bad guy happens all the time. However, a baby is different because they are completely helpless. With a grown up good guy (or a teen, or kid), they can fight back, try to escape, and yell. A baby can't do that. Maybe yell, but it's going to cry and no one's really going to notice that.

May 28 Writing: It's great now that I wrote about these comparisons. I should write about some life- changing event like giving birth, getting married or death. In my The Fighter script, the lead character gets a job. At first the job is good, and then it goes sideways.

In my Rain script, something bad happens to the lead character which makes her want to exact revenge. The revenge plan goes sideways. Now I need to figure out which direction for it to go.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

song/ marriage advice/ Target

May 25 Song: I was listening to Bow Wow feat. Omarion "Let Me Hold You." 43 people disliked the song on Youtube. A comment was: "43 people have never been held!" lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3RjfSRAnwA

Unintentionally funny: I was on twop.com, reading the thread "Unintentionally funny moments on TV:

Person: I've never read anything about this OTH scene until today. I've never even seen One Tree Hill, but boy am I apparently missing out. (Also, I'm sure this could also go under WTF?, but I could not stop cracking up.)

Dog ate Dan's new heart.

It just never gets old.

Me: Here's the video.
Cut to a hospital. A Paramedic is running down the hospital hallway and he is holding a styrofoam box with a heart in it.
Cut to the waiting room, and there is a golden retriever there.
Cut to Dan who's in a wheelchair, waiting to get his heart.
The Paramedic runs into the waiting room, trips and falls down.
The heart falls out and so does some ice.

The golden retriever runs over to it and eats the heart.
The dog runs down the hall.
Dan looks on.

Person 2: The HELL???! That's an actual show??? Not a fake SNL spoof? How can anybody involved with that episode NOT be completely embarrassed? Because all precious donor hearts are carried around in an unlockable styrofoam beer chest without any wrapping whatsoever, accompanied by a few sad pieces of ice. OMG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzPDEirVTZk

Me: I didn't really find it funny. I found it weird. Then I read some Youtube comments about how unbelievable it is. This is supposed to be dramatic, but now it's comical.

Jokes: I was watching 30 Rock a few months ago. John Cho (from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) was on.

JC: I'm a stereotype. All guys from Quebec know karate.

Tosh.O: This 13 yr old boy named Drew talked to Daniel Tosh over Skype. Drew collected scented candles.

Drew: I like Apple McIntosh Candle.
DT: I like it too because it has my name in it.
Drew: Clever.
DT: Thanks. Your approval means everything to me.

Me: I thought it was clever.

May 26 No TV: Yesterday I didn't watch TV at all. Nothing was on TV. I could have joined in with my sister to watch Modern Family with her, but I washed the dishes and read the newspaper. I then fell asleep at 9pm, and missed Jay Leno's monologue that I watch every night at 9:35pm.

I also went 5 weeks without reading the 16&P thread on twop.com. It's good to break out of routine.

Abortion advice: I was thinking about what my friend Angela's comment about my "school advice" email. She says I am qualified to give school advice because I've actually struggled with school and been through it. I don't feel I'm qualified to give school advice because of my mediocre grades. If I didn't have my sister tutoring me in math and my parents paying for my other math tutor, I wouldn't have passed.

Same with telling someone to have an abortion. If a friend who got pregnant as a teenager asked me what my advice is, I would say get an abortion or adoption. I'm not a qualified or trained counselor for this. It's a really case by case basis. I would tell her to see a counselor.

I was thinking about the girl Jessica on Tyra Banks.

Jessica: I had 2 abortions and a miscarriage.
TB: The way you said it, it sounded like: "I had a sandwich, a can of pop, and a bag of chips."

Or the girl on Jenny Jones.

JJ: So you got pregnant when you were 13?
Girl: Yeah.
JJ: And you got an abortion?
Girl: Yeah.

I'm sure those 2 girls would say: "Just get an abortion. I had an abortion and I don't regret it all. You can totally get over it and move on."

These girls have first hand experience with abortion, but does that mean you're going to listen to them? Abortion affects people differently. Some don't regret it, some do. If you don't want to get pregnant, please use 2 forms of birth control like the pill and a condom.

Marriage advice: I have never been married or engaged. I have watched 3 seasons of Dr. Phil and I have learned the following things from him and his show. Even if you hate him, is there anyone here who thinks the following is bad advice?

1. Don't get married just because you're pregnant. Wait one or two years after the baby's born to see if you guys are compatible. It's a case by case basis because you may have been together for 5 yrs and then got pregnant, and then got married.

2. Don't get married before you're 25. You're most likely not finished college, don't have a steady job, or your own place to live. You also don't totally know what you want in life.

3. Do have all your ducks lined up. Finish college, if you're in it and/ or have a job. College isn't for everybody so some don't go, but they have a steady job.

4. Have your own place to live. What are you going to do? Live with your in-laws? Some do. My friend Michelle's friend lives with her husband, and they live in her parents home. The parents want them to live there. As long as it's not awkward and they pay rent, then fine.

5. A good wedding doesn't have any correlation to a good marriage.

Writing: Today I submitted a poem and a short story for a writing contest. I might win the cash prize. If not, I might get published. I'm going to admit that I have been procrastinating on my writing. I've been focusing on my top 2 goals of working at my job, and looking for an office job.

Cliche: I was watching Gossip Girl with my sister. We were talking about how Juliet, Vanessa, and Jenny were in on a plan together, but then Juliet took over.

Me: But it wasn't part of the plan.
S: That's a cliche. That line is a TV trope.

That reminds me of the writer Marty Chan and how he predicted how and when the plan in my script was going to go sideways. Plans on stories always go sideways to make things more interesting. Robert McKee had said "You put characters under pressure to reveal character."

Sometimes the plan does go well, but the plan isn't explained to the audience beforehand so the audience can be surprised. It was done on the TV movie False Pretenses starring Peta Wilson from the 1997-2001 show Nikita. I thought the plan was great.

Watch: I also bought myself a new watch strap. I bought one 6 months ago, but it broke. I tried to fix it. It lasts for awhile, but then it breaks again so I went and spent $6 for a new one in Chinatown.

May 27 Target: Months ago I read that Target is taking over Zellers stores in Canada. Today I read in the Edmonton Journal that Target is taking over the Zellers in Bonnie Doon, Kingsway, and Millwoods Town Centre. So I guess the Zellers people are going to get laid off, unless they get hired by Target.

Target is going to have 150-200 staff members per store. Zellers usually has 115. It also makes me think about Wal- Mart. If Zellers is closing down, maybe Wal- Mart too.

Unpaid work: If you want to get job experience, volunteer. Volunteering is unpaid work, but you can put it on your resume. You're also helping people too. There are also unpaid internships, that could lead to paid work. You can put that on your resume.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

income/ inspirational people/ W5

May 24 Income: I read in the newspaper that: "$22,000 is the lowest income for a single person in 2011." In 2009, I was working full-time the entire year, and I made something around there. In 2010, I was laid off and unemployed for 8 months and I made significantly less.

Inspirational people: So it's Oprah's final week and she has been talking to memorable guests.

Tererarai: One was a woman named Tererarai Trent. She's an African woman from an isolated African village. She learned how to read and write from her brother's books. The brother's teacher found out and talked to her to let her go to school. After two terms, she was married off at 11 yrs old.

She had 3 kids by the time she was 18. Her husband beats her. A woman from a charity organization helped her to come to the US with her husband and 5 children. She got a Bachelor's degree, Masters, and a Phd. Her husband was deported for beating her. She remarries someone else.

Oprah: You don't have to live like this for your whole life.

T designs t-shirts to sell and raise money for a school in Africa. Oprah bought 326 shirts for her audience to help T. O then donates $1.5 million to T's school to rebuild it. Save the Children charity will build the school.

Jacqui: Jacqui is a woman from Venezuela. In a Nov. 2003 episode, she talked about how in 1999, she got into a car accident by a drunk driver in Texas. J was on fire for a minute. She talks about how she cries for 5 min. a day, then she makes herself stop and live the rest of her day. She can talk normally.

She doesn't look like a normal person, but after multiple surgeries, she does have a face. She mentions about having chronic depression.

Matty: In an Oct. 2001 ep, Matty Stepankek is a young boy who has muscular dystrophy, and is in a wheelchair and has an oxygen tank. He says smart and thoughtful things like: "A champion doesn't bring a trophy home." He also has a park named after him and his mother who also has the same condition lives close to it. They have written a book together called The Messenger.

Matty passed away at 13 yrs old. He had written to Oprah that O was going to end her show after 20 yrs. He told her that he should keep her show for 5 more years. She thought about it and did.

Clementine and Claire: In another Oprah ep, she brought back guests Clementine and Claire. They are two Rwandan sisters. Their house had burned down during the Rwanda Genocide. For 6 yrs they lived in refugee camps. A church organization bought them to the US. They lived in foster homes. Clementine wrote to Oprah. The sisters went on the show and were reunited with their family. They screamed and hugged. Clementine is in Yale.

Erin Kramp: Erin was dying of cancer. She was on Oprah in 1998 and had recorded hours of video tapes that are motherly advice to her daughter Peyton. She was in her 30s. 6 months after she was on the show, she passes away. 13 yrs later, Peyton is 19 and in university.

The dad has gotten remarried and has 2 boys. He still receives letters sent to Erin and after she has died. He got teary eyed with the letters.

Divorce: Also on the show, they brought back this psychotherapist who talked to these 2 kids who are going through a divorce. One was a 11 yr old girl, and a 7 yr old boy and the dad is raising them. The psychotherapist said this: "Everybody wants to be mothered and nurtured. If you don't value yourself, other people won't value you."

Merge: The Edmonton magazine Merge is back. It had printed 5 issues, and then it folded due to lack of money to produce it. Now they found some money and are back to producing it. Good. Maybe they will publish that charity article I sent them.

Charity: I read in the Globe and Mail today that the singer Justin Beiber has created a girl's perfume and will donate the profits to charity. That's good.

Writing: I was thinking about how characters are agents to plots. That reminds me of Lana Lang on Smallville. I remember way back in 2001, I was reading an article on the internet about the character and how they treat her like a trophy and trade her around like currency. Clark often has to save her.

Smallville: I remember reading in jumptheshark.com that the show was bad because there was too much fawning over Lana. I only watched the first season because my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson was a regular on it. He got written off. Then I watched the next couple of seasons out of habit and not because I enjoyed it. I definitely saw 1 ep in season 4 because EJ made an appearance in it, and then I totally quit.

It was a very boring and repetitive show with the freak of the weeks. Some character gets infected with kryptonite and acts crazy. Then he gets in a fight with Clark, and the bad guy will always accidentally kill himself/ herself, land in a coma, or go to the mental institution. The show has now ended after 10 seasons.

W5: W5 did a piece about mechanics scamming you last month. I got a flashback of a Maury ep of "Crazy things caught on tape" of a mechanic making the hole bigger in a tire to show that there was a hole in it.

Active Green and Ross mechanic shop did unnecessary work to a car, and they did the work badly. The W5 host Paula Todd confronts Canadian Tire. The workers delegate to the manager to deal with. I would have gotten the manager myself if a camera crew came in complaining about our work.

Mystery shoppers were going to mechanic shops. The shops in Toronto miss problems and give unnecessary changes. A Canadian Tire in Calgary switched spark plugs. They could tell because there's a mark. APA graded 22/30 mechanic shops failed.

There is some good news. There is a Fountain Tire they went to that made a mistake. The manager was very candid and apologized for it. He was going to refund the money. Delta Autocare is run by a Chinese man for his honest work.

To avoid getting scammed by a mechanic shop, always get a second opinion. Also shop around, because the services to get your car fixed could be cheaper somewhere else.

May 25 Job: Today I woke up 30min earlier, so I could get to work earlier and make a little bit more money since my hours have been cut. Back at the old restaurant I worked from 9am-2pm. Then we were transferred to another restaurant and we leave by 12pm. So I started work at 8:45am. Now I get there by 8:15am.

I did the math. If I work 2 hrs extra each week, I make $20 more. In a month, I would make $80. In a year, it would be $960. However, I started in May, so it would be less. But I didn't get transferred to this restaurant until Feb. So I missed a few months where I could have gone in earlier.

I'm proud of myself for sacrificing 30min of sleep to get to work earlier to make more money. That's quite a change than back in 2005, I could have gone to work earlier at Call Centre #1, but didn't so I could watch Dr. Phil and Maury.

It was also kind of crazy today at work. At the last hour of our shift, the lights went out. We still kept doing our work with the emergency lighting on.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Emperor's Palace/ literacy/ spring cleaning

May 21 Emperor's Palace: A couple of weeks ago I went to a new Chinese restaurant called the Emperor's Palace. It's very classy and expensive. The decorations are very nice, and they put wine out in this glass case. The washroom's are nice. It seems to be aimed at more Western than Chinese style.

We all ate on plates instead of bowls. For a meal for 6 people, it was $150. At other Chinese restaurants, it would be $90. I do recommend it.

Pizza 73: There's a new pizza at Pizza 73 with donair meat on it. It tastes really good, I recommend that too.

How to eat for cheap:

Buy food that takes a long time to expire: I found this box of Splenda sugar from 1999. I mixed it with my coffee and I didn't get sick. I have drank hot chocolate mix that was a yr old and didn't get sick either.

Buy canned food: I drank a can of mushroom soup that expired 6 weeks ago. It tastes fine because it's harder for canned foods to expired when they're sealed up.

Buy frozen food: I ate chocolate ice cream that expired 1 month ago. It doesn't go bad.

Keep expired foods in fridge: I ate cream cheese that expired 2 days ago. It tastes fine because it's refrigerated.

Remember the food in your house: I ate stale bread because no one else ate it. It was hard, but I didn't get sick. I also found cheese in the fridge that people forgot including me. It was not expired, but it could have been if I didn't find it.

May 22:

Put flavors in your food: Instead of buying food with flavor, buy things like soy sauce or Oregano. My family bought this Clubhouse Vegetable flavor seasoning and I put it on things that don't taste good or tastes bland.

Literacy: I was thinking about the girl who couldn't read, and I thought that she should work as a stripper. That was when I was 23. Now I'm 25, and instead of thinking of jobs that don't require reading, she should learn how to read. There are lots of adult literacy programs out there.

I read in Seventeen magazine that there is this black girl who couldn't read. When she was called in class to read, a friend of hers whispered her the words so she could pretend she was reading. I remember reading in the Edmonton Journal about this white woman who couldn't read. She and the Seventeen girl both lived their lives like ordering food that weren't on the menu, because they couldn't read it.

This woman had a kid and when she couldn't read a story to her kid, she then decided to learn how to read.

Now I'm getting some flashbacks. On the old 90s show Sweet Valley High, there was a high school guy who couldn't read. In the teen show In a Heartbeat, one of the characters meets someone who can't read because he gave the wrong medication to a kid. If he knew how to read, he wouldn't have made that mistake.

I mean, this girl who can't read may not be able to go to college or use a computer. But if she can read, than everything else will fall into place. She can go to college and use a computer. If not, at least she can get a job and have some basic reading skills.

I was thinking about my dad kind of saying that I should get an office job: "If you can get an office job, you can live off that kind of money on your own. You can then get your own place. Everything else will fall into place."

Goals: It makes me think of what is a more achievable goal. I started looking for office jobs in 2008 when my dad told me. I got an office job at a bank in 2008, and lasted for a month. In 2010, I got a office job and lasted for two weeks. I don't know if you count working at a call centre as an office job. It did pay $12/hr which is how much an office job pays. However, the hours were then turned part- time, so I didn't get paid as much.

Getting an office job is an achievable goal. I got them twice. I didn't last in it. Maybe 3rd time's the charmed. As for getting my script produced, I've been pitching The Fighter since 2008. It still isn't produced. I am getting closer. I got lots of producers, actors, readers, and writers reading it.

Unpaid work: I was thinking in 2008, I did an even amount of job searching and script pitching. In 2009, most of my unpaid work was pitching my script and writing it. I only sent 110 resumes last year in my office job search.

In 2010, most of my unpaid work was looking for a job/ office job. I sent over a 100 resumes a month in a period of 8 months. I only spent a 2 months pitching my script intensely.

May 23 Jesse McCartney: I found this great song of his song called "In My Veins." It's as sexy as Robin Thicke's "Sex Therapy."

Here's "In My Veins":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_AcskGafqI

JM is a singer and actor. It turns out he went out with the Melrose Place actress Katie Cassidy for 3 yrs. I didn't know that until I saw the pictures on Youtube.

May 24 Analyze: I was thinking about the comparison between Cordelia dissing Buffy because her parents are divorced on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Tobias dissing Michael because his wife is dead on Arrested Development. Well Buffy and Cordelia are arguing, so they were bound to say something mean to each other.

As for Michael who was giving marriage advice, Tobias goes and disses him when Michael was trying to help him. That was meaner because it was unexpected. They weren't arguing and T says something so mean.

Spring cleaning: My mom and grandma told me to wipe the dust in my room, but I was procrastinating. I don't really need to do it, but then my grandma offered to help me with it, and I did it today on my day off. I changed the sheets, bed covers, wiped the dust off my windows and dresser, and vacuumed. I feel accomplished. lol.

The lesson is if there is something that you don't like to do, just do it and you will feel accomplished. Or do it with someone else and it will be done quicker and you might even enjoy it a bit.

Job search: I also finally went and emailed my resume to this company. My brother's friend had worked there and told me about it a couple of months ago.

Doomsday: Dooms Day was supposed to be May 21. Oh, look we're still here. lol. On May 20, I was thinking of blowing off my job search. However, I was really looking for an excuse to stop my job search. The hard work and discipline is instilled in me so I kept looking for a job.

Postage: Did you know that postage is now 59 cents to send something in Canada? I found that out today. I did read in the Edmonton Journal about Canada Post wanting a strike, but will keep delivering welfare checks and important things like that.

Teen pregnancy: There was this girl on 16&P named Lizzie. Her dad was on twop.com and made a few posts on the thread. He was on the episode. L said she didn't want to go to the gynecologist and that's how she ended up pregnant.

Someone on twop said: "It's like saying she doesn't want to go to the dentist, and would rather have a tooth pulled out of her once a week from now on."

Yeah, poor logic. That also reminds me of the girl Ashley who I used to go to gr. 7 with. She had gotten pregnant in high school. In jr. high she admitted that she had thrown up sometimes whenever she thinks she ate too much so she won't get fat. Now that I think of it, if she stayed pregnant, then she's going to gain a lot of weight. If you don't want to gain weight, then you never should have stayed pregnant.

There's this new girl Chelsea who got hired at my restaurant. She told me she has a sister who gotten pregnant when she was a teen.

Chelsea: I knew my sister was pregnant, but I haven't seen her in a long time because we don't live together. When I saw her pregnant, I started crying.

Friday, May 20, 2011

jokes/ unpaid work/ The Listener

May 19 Jokes: I was watching this Jay Leno piece, and this comedian pretends to be a handwriting analyst. He then reveals the truth to this man he played the trick on.

Comedian: You're very gullible. Where are you from? Utah?
Man laughs.
Comedian: Where are you from?
Man: Utah.
lol.

In JL's monologue, he talks about this: "This movie has people fight and kill each other over oil. It takes place in the future, like July."

Fun store: I was watching 16 and Pregnant and they went to a store called Glazed and Confused. It's a place to make pottery. I thought that was a fun and quirky name.

Dog joke: This is also from 16&P, but a different episode.

Dad: Why was the dog sweating?
Pause.
Dad: Because it was a hot dog.

The Office: I have a light joke, and then a dark joke. So be prepared. On The Office, there is a fun awards show in their office for their employees. The bosses Michael and D'Angelo have to learn to make some witty banter.

Michael: How are you?
Ryan: Ask my therapist, my mom pays her enough.
D'Angelo: Are you enjoying the show?
Jim: Yeah.
D'Angelo: So where were you on Sept.11?

May 20 Job interviews: I was watching The Office season finale yesterday where they did a whole string of job interviews to look for a new manager. Will Arnett guest- starred (Gob from Arrested Development. He was also in the Beastie Boys new music video "Make Some Noise.") He says he a 3 step plan to increase business, but won't tell what it is until he gets hired. What he should have said was how he helped increase business at one of his last jobs, without revealing his plan.

I remember reading in Marie Claire, there was a woman who became an HR director and paraphrase: "There were 20 unfilled positions for months. When I got hired, I got 16 positions filled." Then explain how.

There were a lot of guest- stars like Jim Carrey, Ricky Gervais (from the British The Office), Raymond from Everybody Loves Raymond. There were a lot of poor interviews like where they have to interview internal candidates that they know:

Gabe: So do you have any weaknesses?
Kelly: None, you jackass.

Pretty Little Liars: This is a joke from the show. Spencer's sister Ren is talking about expecting a baby.

Ren: We're going to have a christening.
Spencer: Are you sure the baby is even going to be human?
I laughed out loud.

Job search: I feel anxious. It's been 7 months on my office job search where I send over a hundred resumes a month through the internet. I look through my sources of the internet and newspaper for jobs. I subscribe to Job Boom.com and Albertajobcentre.com newsletters. I read Marie Claire's "The Careerist" and "Cubicle Coach", the business section of my three newspapers my family subscribes to everyday.

Unpaid work: I don't pay rent because I live with my parents. I do housework for them. My unpaid work is really my office job search. I do get results like job interviews and phone call interviews. Looking for a job isn't really fun. I do like reading magazines, newspapers, and newsletters where I learn about business and the job market.

I haven't pitched my Fighter script in a long time because I was busy with my job and job search. Pitching my script is unpaid work where I sit in front of the computer emailing production companies. Pitching my script and looking for a job can be made a little fun when I listen to music during it.

Writing my script is unpaid work too. But it's fun. However, I have writer's block at the moment. Going to school is unpaid work, but it will pay off when you use that education. You are paying for your education if you go to college. Our tax money pays for public schools. Volunteering is unpaid work.

Unpaid work like housework, I work for my parents, and my grandma that way. All the unpaid work I do like my job search, pitching my script, and writing my script, is work that I work for myself. In 2010, when I was on EI and I was looking for a job. Every 2 weeks I got EI, so I was getting paid to look for a job.

Analogy: I was watching Degrassi: The Next Generation and Holly J is thinking about breaking up with Sav. He's a great guy and all, but she wasn't feeling it anymore. Her friend Anya says a good line:

Anya: No reason to leave, is not a good reason to stay.

If you're not happy with a relationship, then you need to quit. As for a job, if I was 20, and I didn't like it as much as I first started or was bored by it, I would start looking for something else. I worked at a clothing store back in 2005, then after 5 months I quit so I could work at Call Centre #1 until they laid me off 7 months later.

Now after that job search of 2010, I'm staying at my restaurant job. I've been here for 7 months. I may not like it as much when I first started, but I'm not going to quit, unless it's for a career.

Actors: I need to find some inspiration. You know that show Melrose Place? It came out in 2009 and then got cancelled after 1 season. The thing is, after the show was over, it's not like all the actors careers are over. Look at Katie Cassidy. She went on to Gossip Girl.

Michael Rady appeared on Castle. I also saw him on CSI: NY rerun before he got on MP. Colin Eggsfield is now in the movie Something Borrowed. The thing is, you can bounce back, and so can I.

I'll even throw in former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. She was on an episode of 30 Rock. She plays herself and showcases her talent of playing the piano.

The Listener: Another Friday, where the show isn't on. I will now write about the episode "Ace in the Hole." It was a fun episode where it starts with the point of view of someone lying down flat on their back. It's Oz who fell down playing touch football. Toby uses his ability to hear the competing team's game strategy. He hasn't done that before on the show.

T was able to score a touch down and dances a bit. lol. The show goes a little CSI: NY style when the IIB finds a dead body after S&M. CSI: NY often starts their show with finding a dead body and/ or a sexy situation. They mention the CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Services.) I'm getting a flashback where I learned this on this little kids show called Spynet where it's an educational show teaching youth about spies. That was in 2002.

This episode is pretty sexy, like PG 13, maybe 14A. The first season was PG. This is the first time they showed T in a shirt and boxers. It turns out he slept with the girl who he played touch football with. They never showed he had sex before until this episode.

The show is fun with Toby modeling suits to get into a poker game. T has to be in it so he could find the assassin. In the first season, T was in a poker game with his coworkers, and he was reading their minds. However, he lost that time. This one is a high stakes poker game with thousands of dollars. There's even a slow motion walk out of the convertible.

You also see McClusky have some chemistry with her estranged husband who worked for CSIS. He's also at the poker game. It turns out the estranged husband is the bad guy and he's working for the bad guy too. The waitress at the game is the spy/ assassin. I didn't predict those things at all.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Listener/ psychopath movies/ blog

May 16 The Listener: Here's a mild rant. The Listener hasn't been on in a few weeks. I check what's on TV every night. They moved the show from Tues. to Fri. and it's not on Fri. It's on Sat. I checked the ep description on my satellite TV, and it's a new ep. I then tune in and it's the pilot instead. There are 3 more episodes left of the season according to imdb.com. I will give points to CTV.ca for having all the episodes on their website so you can watch all of them.

Unlike American shows like The Mentalist, CTV.ca only has the latest two eps because they really want to promote the Canadian show The Listener.

Now onto the latest episode aired "Desperate Hours." I recognized the blonde girl who was the ambulance dispatcher. She's on those Rogers cell phone commercials. Toby and Oz respond to a call in a bank, because a banker was shot in the leg. A couple was with him and they're his clients.

The couple then hold Toby, Oz, and banker hostage because the banker is a Ponzi schemer. The recession must have influenced the writer of this episode. lol. The Banker wouldn't tell where the couple's money is, so the man shot him. The man wants Toby and Oz to take out the bullet.

Toby: We're first responders, we're not surgeons.
Man holds gun to T.
Man: Well you just got promoted.
I like that part.

The IIB and the hospital have a GPS on the ambulance and are looking for them. The dr. Olivia talks Toby through the surgery over the phone while she's at the hospital. T does the home- based surgery by pulling the bullet out of the Banker. Banker dies after bullet is taken out due to cardiac arrest.

The couple goes through Banker's wallet and leads to a storage unit. There is wine bottle and diamonds were hidden in it. During this, the IIB interviews this 2nd couple that got the first couple into the Ponzi scheme.

T, O, and the 1st couple drive to this airport where it has a private jet. That's where the Banker was going to go and fly somewhere far away with the diamonds. When they get there, the 2nd couple are on the plane to fly away with the banker. T gets the gun as the woman is distracted while arguing with the 2nd couple. T gives the gun to O. Police come.

I do like the line: "Your job is to save lives. We risk our lives doing it." That can be used to describe police officers and soldiers. I think IIB Agent McClusky said that to Toby.

Psychopath movies: I'm going to analyze some psychopath movies.

American Psycho: A couple of weeks ago, my sister borrowed the movie American Psycho from the library. Her friend made a reference to the movie to her, so that's why she took it out. I watched it with her, and then she turned it off 40min in. I knew she can't handle that kind of disturbing movie. She didn't like The Cell where someone goes into the mind of a serial killer so I doubt she would like this movie.

I was annoyed that she wouldn't leave it on for me to watch the rest of it. Whatever, my brother then got to watch his show. They got a good cast of Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon, and Jared Leto. Chloe Sevigny whom I know from the movie Shattered Glass and TV show Big Love plays the secretary. This movie was kind of funny in a dark way. It's set in the 1980s where a psychopath works on Wall Street and kills people for no reason. I would write more, but I can't give a review until I see the entire movie. Maybe when it comes on TV, I'll watch the rest of it.

Scorn: While watching it, it reminded me of the TV movie Scorn in 2000. It stars my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson who plays a high school senior Darren Huenemann who gets his mother and grandmother killed so he could get his inheritance early. It's based on a true story that happened in 1992. DH is serving 25 years to life.

This is the TV movie where I saw EJ for the first time. I rewatched the TV movie when it aired in 2004. By watching American Psycho, it reminded me of how I tried to write a story about a psycho through his eyes. It was written like a novel for a few pages, and then I turned to script. Scorn was the inspiration for my novel/ script.

That was way back in 2004. It wasn't until 2005, the show Criminal Minds came out and then I was able to learn about serial killers. There was also the TV show Dexter. I watch these shows as my research.

Hard Candy: This is a movie starring Ellen Page (Juno) and Patrick Wilson (Watchmen). It's about a sociopath 14 yr old girl who tortures a 32 yr old sexual predator. I remember back in 2006, I watched this movie with my friend Angela at my house.

Me: So what do you think?
Angela: That girl is a bitch.
Me: Yeah, I say so too, but as a compliment. You don't want to f--- with her.

Look, in this movie, there's really no likeable character you can root for. It's an interesting movie.

May 17 Perception: I was thinking about my friend Angela and how she said that she doesn't see me as a receptionist due to my interpersonal skills. My dad and I thought I had to work on my technical skills to get the job.

I got this flashback. When I was in the talent show in jr. high, a lot of people said they see me as shy and quiet and couldn't believe I was dancing by myself in front of 700 people.

I would say when my gr. 9 teachers recommended that I go into all the low classes when I was signing up for them in high school. Now that was more a shot at me than me friend Angela saying she doesn't see me as a receptionist. My gr. 9 teachers all had low expectations of me so that's why they all circled the low classes.

Blog: I got this email through my blog. It's a good article about how your hobbies can help your career. I already do a few hobbies like reading and blogging that's mentioned in the article. I also do crossword puzzles on the bus ride home from work. You should read how these hobbies help you.

Hi Tracy,

We recently published an article that you may be interested in entitled, “The 10 Best Hobbies to Boost Your Career."

After having followed your blog for a while, I feel that this one article would align well with your blog's subject matter. I thought perhaps you'd be interested in sharing this article with your readers? Thanks, and keep up the great blogging!

Sincerely,

Jesse Young

Job articles: My sister had give me her old Marie Claire's and I've been reading the 2008-2011 issues where there was the "Cubicle Coach" where she gives answers to work- related questions and "The Careerist" about topics that concern the office. Then second, I like to read the money articles like "Earn, Baby, Earn." lol.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

shopping/ The Office/ Parks and Recreation

May 11 Shopping: My mom had gotten sneakers on sale. She always buy them on sale because my family and I always need them. My mom told me that my black pair was wearing out, so I had to get new ones. I didn't want to because I can keep wearing it until there's a hole in them. She said there was one, but I didn't notice it.

I bought a pair for $47.15 at Pay Less. Sport Mart is too expensive. I didn't want to buy new shoes, because I've always been a saver. Also I've been really stingy with my money due to my ebb at my job. Mom paid with her credit card to get air miles while I paid her back with cash.

May 12: I got a day off today so I did my job search. I also deposited my tip money into my bank account. It wasn't as much, and if it keeps up like this for the rest of the month, I won't be depositing as much money because I haven't been getting a lot of tips. Another sign of an ebb at my job.

May 13 Friends: I was talking with my friend Angela today over the phone for 20min.

Angela: I don't really see you as a receptionist. You seem a little blunt. I don't mean to be mean.
Me: That's okay. You were being brutally honest. Then again you not seeing me as a receptionist is not the most meanest thing anyone has ever said to me.

My sister did tell me to work on my telephone manners. Now Angela has told me to find a job that fits my personality. I told her "beggars cannot be choosers." At the job I'm working right now, I wouldn't be able to live on it if I lived alone. I need an office job so I could live on it.

May 14 The Office: I always say TV is the biggest influence on me, but I feel like my job search has influenced how I think of the TV show The Office. On the show they hired a new executive assistant named Jordan. She only worked at Anthropologie and doesn't have any office experience.

Isn't an executive assistant job harder to get than an administrative assistant and/ or receptionist position? An executive assistant needs several years of experience. I have seen that on those job ads on my job search. An administrative assistant or receptionist is an entry level position and easier to get.

Anthropologie is a good store. It's like Urban Outfitters. They're both at West Ed Mall and sell clothes, jewelery, books, dishes, and furniture.

In another episode, Jim was offered to be the acting manager. The first boss Michael quit, and the new one D'Angelo is in the hospital. Jim turned it down because the office worked so well without supervision. I would have asked: "Do I get a raise? What are the duties? Let me think about it."

If I get a raise, and the duties aren't too hard for me to do, I would take it. It would look good on my resume even if I'm the acting manager for a month. I'm still at the same company. Since Jim turned it down, Dwight got the offer and he took it. It was a fun episode where D is the worst boss ever because he runs things poorly. Then the oldest guy Creed got the position.

Parks and Recreation: Afterwards was the TV show Parks and Recreation. Leslie got Ann a job interview to be part of the health department at the Pawnee municipal govt. Ann is a nurse so she's qualified for it. She'll be working there part-time and work as a nurse 2 days a week. My sister was watching it with me.

S: Isn't this-
Me: Contrived? They need to create a job for Ann so that's why this would explain why she's at the office so much even though she's a nurse and works at a hospital.
S: No, conflict of interest. One of the people who interviews Ann is her friend Leslie. Ann gets a second interview from a guy she used to go out with.

Oh yes, there is bias then. However, this is fictional. You can also wank it in your mind that it's a municipal govt. and it's a small town so not a lot of people work there and could interview Ann.

May 15: I want to add to The Office. Maybe Jordan did go to school and took an administrative assistant program. It wasn't mentioned on the show, but she may have education and no job experience.

Post Secret: I found these secrets about love:

"I wish I had it in me to walk up to you at graduation and say I have liked you for what seems like my entire life."

"I am still in love with my high school sweetheart. I'm 46."

Or here's a serious one:

"The coroner's official report said it was SIDS. It wasn't. She smothered him with a stuffed animal so she could move across the country to be with a man she met on the internet. This is not the first time."

Job rant: I feel angry and depressed because my job is at an ebb. Hopefully it won't be like Call Centre #3. The first two weeks there I got full-time hours, then I only got part-time. It went south after that because there were canceled shifts and I stopped getting shifts altogether 3 months in. It was an ebb.

Maybe this restaurant job will be an ebb and flow like the Soup place. The first 6 months were good, and then that bad employee joined in. Then she quit after 3 months and we got another woman. She was good, and then she started missing one or two days of work a week, so with this other guy. This happened for a few months. An ebb. I told the boss to hire one or two people to come in because we have to work harder for the people who keep missing work.

The bosses wouldn't listen because they wanted to keep the money for themselves. They did have it in their budget to hire two people (because when I only worked on the weekends because I went to Call Centre #3 on the weekdays,) they hired two new people. I then still kept getting called in to work at the Soup place so it was a flow.

Dance: I was watching America's Best Dance Crew and there's a crew of 13 yr old boys dancing. They are the youngest crew to be on this show. Everybody else is like 18 and up so props to these kids for being so young and talented to get on this TV show.

Dialogue: I was watching Parks and Recreation ep "The Fight" where Tom writes a script and it has poor dialogue. He was trying to sell this alcohol he bought for his bar. He wants his friends to pretend they really like this alcohol so others would buy it too. It was so unnatural. Maybe his friends weren't reading it well, but Ron Swanson says the line: "This is Cah-razy." He would never say that. Write dialogue characters would actually say that's within character.

I was watching Gossip Girl and there's a good line: "The only thing that's thicker than blood is the ink on Page Six."

Actors: I was watching The Mentalist and I saw the name Alan Blumenfield. I thought it sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place it. Then I saw him on screen and it's Bob Buss from 2gether. He played the manager who created the fictional boy band 2gether in 2000. I haven't seen him since 2003/2004 on that show called Century City. That show was about lawyers in the year 2030 with floating cars.

I was also watching The Mentalist and during the episode "Red Alert", the actor Carlos Jacott appeared. I was like: "Jack from She Spies!" He was the handler for 3 beautiful women spies on the show She Spies in the first season. He was also on Buffy season 3 ep called "Anne." It's where Buffy was in LA and she found out that CJ's character's a demon who was luring street kids to work for him in hell.

Friday, May 13, 2011

physical comedy/ Freedom Riders/ The Listener

May 11 Physical comedy: I will say sex jokes are my favorite jokes. However, I do find myself laughing really hard at physical comedy. It was way back in 2002, I was watching The Sausage Factory. This teenage guy Gilby gets into this fantasy sequence where he is getting spanked. Cut to present time.

Gilby is on the bed and he is spanking himself and he looks like he's really enjoying it.
The first time I saw that I burst out laughing so hard. When I got my little brother into the show, when he saw it, he burst out laughing at that part too. We do have the same sense of humor. I looked it up on Youtube, but they don't have that episode up clip up.

One time I was on the internet and watching Dateline: To Catch a Predator. A predator walks into the backyard. The host Chris Hansen pops out.

CH: Hi, there, please have a seat.
Cut to shots of three different predator's with fear and panic in their eyes. They each run out of the yard really fast.

I burst out laughing like this: "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
The whole house could hear me. My brother from the opposite side of the house ran downstairs.

P: Hey Tracy, what are you watch?
Me: Dateline: To Catch a Predator.
P's face is straight.

It also reminds me of The Simpsons where Homer goes to college and makes a prank phone call to the dean.

Homer: Hello Dean, you're a big stupid head.
Dean: Homer is that you?
Dean looks out the window and Homer is standing at the payphone.
Homer screams and runs away really fast.

Funny commercial: This is a commercial that I saw years ago.

Cut to a hockey team of 13 yr old boys entering the locker room.
They all look sad.
Coach enters and he looks angry.
Coach: You guys all stink.

Cut to the hockey team walking out of the locker room.
Coach is spraying them with Febreeze or some product like that.

lol. You think the coach is saying their playing was bad, but it's that they literally smell.

Joke: I was watching 90210 in Dec. 2010, and I had written down a good joke they did.
There is a bachelor auction that Dixon is in. His girlfriend Ivy will be bidding on him and she will lose her virginity to him.

Dixon: Yeah, a lot of people have to pay for their first time.
lol.

May 12 The Princess Bride: I was watching Gossip Girl episode "Shattered Bass" and the actor Wallace Shawn guest- starred. He says the line: "But you're the princess bride to be."

I was like: "Oh." Then my sister said the same thing. I like that shout out. WS was in the movie The Princess Bride and they work that line in for him to say. lol. WS was also recently on Family Guy where he voices Stewie's enemy Bertrom, this other baby that acts like an adult.

I saw Princess Bride way back in 1996 at school when I was in gr. 5. I remember my friend Leslie saying to me that I would like it. It was okay. I saw the ending again in 1999 also at school. All I remember is the good guy having a sword fight with bad guy. The giant. The good guy trying to get through the door, but couldn't break it so the giant had to come and break it. A image of the four good guys riding away on white horses.

May 13 Freedom Riders: I saw this on Oprah, and there was an articles in The Globe and Mail about the Freedom Riders. This is a documentary on PBS. In 1951, 13 Freedom Riders, men, women, black and white, college age and tested the laws of segregation. They wanted to end segregation. They sit in colored and white places. It's a non-violent protest.

More people joined and 171 Freedom Riders were on Oprah. There was no security with them, and some have been attacked or killed. On the 11th day of the ride in 1961, the KKK destroyed the bus for 15 min. The bus driver drives away, but a tire was slashed. Later the bus stops, and the driver went away. The mob set the bus on fire.

The fuel tank blew up and that's how they got out of the bus. A 12 yr old girl named Janie Forsyth McKinney who's white, went and helped the riders. One of the riders was a black man named Hank. Janie could have been killed by the KKK, but they gave her a pass because she was 12. If she was an adult, she would have been dead.

Congressman John Lewis who is black, had gotten beaten up by a KKK member. That member Elwin Wilson apologized to John Lewis in 2009. Police told JL that he could press charges, but he didn't.

JL: He was the first and only person to apologize to me.

Oprah: Ordinary people can bring about change.

Oprah: What's wrong with the world and what can we do to change it?

The Listener: The show hasn't been on in the past couple of weeks and I know I have been behind on writing about the episodes. Here's one called "Jericho." The ep starts of with Toby playing hockey which is so Canadian. I liked how T talked about buying a motorcycle and not having money. That's a realistic conversation and continuity because this season he started riding one.

It was so cool that the actress Alexz Johnson guest-starred. She and the actor Craig Olejnik who plays Toby have worked with each other before way back in 2000. AJ was the star of her own show called So Weird about the supernatural, and CO guest- starred on her show. She's the lead in the old TV show Instant Star. She had short red hair on The Listener, the same kind of color she had on earlier seasons of Instant Star. Then later it's her natural blonde at the end of The Listener episode like how she wore on the last season of Instant Star.

Aaron Ashmore (Canadian actor from Smallville) guest- starred too. I also recognize the hacker teen Devon Bostick. He's making rounds on other Toronto shot shows like Rookie Blue pilot and Flashpoint.

So now onto the actual episode. T gets assigned on a case to find the Jericho 11 files which has old Social Insurance Numbers and personal information that's been forgotten. The hackers want to get that and sell the numbers to make millions. It used to belong to Revenue Canada that this big business man Kenneth Neil works at. Alexz Johnson plays a blogger. She tells Toby that her dad committed suicide because Kenneth stole her dad's idea. Her dad became poor.

AJ is also a hacker and she got the 14 million SIN numbers. She wasn't going to sell them and make money for herself. She doesn't want other people's lives to be ruined like hers. She gave the hard drive to Toby. T puts it in the microwave. The hacker that Aaron Ashmore plays and Kenneth Neil got arrested because they were trying to get the numbers. AJ changes her look and runs out of town so she won't get arrested.

I like the little Canadian things they mentioned and showed like playing Foozeball with hockey and mentioning Revenue Canada. They said The Keg and I had to look it up if it's Canadian. On Wikipedia it said it originated from North Vancouver, so yes it's Canadian.

Product placement: I was watching Castle and they weren't as blatant about product placement as Gossip Girl was with Vitamin Water. Castle was on his cell phone and it showed a flash of the company Netflix. It was part of the story because they had to find this actress and he wanted to see what she's been in.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

job search/ child abuse/ cult

May 10 Job search: Yesterday I got a phone call from a company to do this test through the internet. I then did the test this morning. It turns out I did this exact test way back in 2008 when I went to this staffing agency, before I found out that I'm supposed to avoid staffing agencies. Anyway, by doing that test twice in 2008, I did do the interview for the same company and I learned some tips.

The interview tips is that my answers should be longer. I have also had the tour of the company's office so I know what to expect. Unless they changed the office a bit in the past three years. Anyway, I don't totally know what my test score is because you can't really have any right or wrong answers in that kind of test.

Today is my day off and it's been very productive. I went to the usual five sources to look for a job that I do everyday. Today I went to all my bank websites that I bookmarked. I applied to 19 jobs.

Child abuse: I watched Oprah last month and it was about a 6yr old boy who was chained in a closet back in 2000. The closet was less than 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. There's a wire fence and chain in the closet. The boy's name is Clayton and he was abused by his father and step mom. He was chained for hours. He had to stand for 24hrs even when sleeping. He was forced to go to the washroom in the closet. He was also starved.

His 14 yr old step sister lets him out and feeds him cereal when his parents are gone. This occurred for months. The step sister ran away and the police forced her to go home. She told about the child abuse of Clayton to the police. When Clayton screamed, the dad and step mom put dish soap in his mouth. The closet was in the washroom.

It's heartbreaking and disturbing to hear the cop interview 6 yr old C talk about the abuse. C is adopted now and had went to counseling for a little while afterwards. The step mom Carmen served 2 yrs of her maximum 4 yr sentence. The dad Joseph got 21 months out of 4 yrs. He had gotten a GED during his sentence which knocked 6 months out of his sentence.

Clayton is now 19 and being interviewed by Oprah.

Clayton: I had a good relationship with my dad until Carmen came.

C's biological mom left them. C was adopted by his aunt Patty who is C's biological mom's sister. Patty had kept newspaper articles about abuse.

Cop Todd Pate went from Detective to now Sheriff. C and TP reunited after 13 yrs when TP rescued C. TP had said to parents to pick up step sister in Kentucky in hopes parents will bring C. TP did talk to C and fed him peanut butter and crackers. C told the truth about the abuse, even though his dad told him not to.

TP (lies): Your dad wants you to tell the truth.
C: He does?
This really shows that C is a vulnerable little kid.

Later C had mailed a note to TP when he was a little kid. It was a post- it note that said: "Todd, you are nice. Clayton." TP kept it all these years.

There's an extra part: This 9 yr old black girl saw an ep of Oprah back in 2000 about Clayton. The girl Tiffany was raped by her step dad since she was 6. She then told her teacher about it the next day. She's now a star basketball player and going to college in the fall. Tiffany and Clayton hugged each other at the end.

Oprah: Don't let the past define who you are.

Cult: I was watching 20/20 last month and they did a piece about the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Church. Not all IFB churches are the same. This one IFB church had all these rules about not being able to go to the movies, hold hands with a boy, and dress conservatively. The women are subordinate.

The minister had said: "If you're not bruising your child, you're not spanking him enough." They interviewed Tina Anderson. Her step dad Daniel Leaf physically hits his daughter and son. He molested TA.

A IFB member raped TA when she was 14. He taught her driving and then raped her. He raped her the second time when she let him into the house. She remembers saying no. She became pregnant after that. The rapist is Ernie Willis and he said he will pay for the abortion or punch her in the stomach so she would miscarry. 20/20 had said something about the state they were in that a 15 yr old girl cannot really give consent to have sex.

The IFB church then made TA write about being sorry for being raped and read it out loud in front of entire church. 3 other IFB members who listened to it were upset about it when 20/20 interviewed them. Pastor Phelps order TA to write a letter to rapist's wife and apologize to her.

Pastor Phillips also sent TA to live with an IFB family she has never met before. The family was nice. Ernie Willis admitted he was the father. TA give birth to a daughter and gave it up for adoption to 1 of 3 anonymous IFB families.

In the present time Ernie Willis got arrested for sexual assault. Tina Anderson has gotten married and has 3 children.

There's also an extra part: Jocelyn Zipperman was part of the IFB. She was molested by her brothers and dad. JZ sued them for sexual assault. It was settled out of court. JZ was abused all of her life from toddler to the end of high school. She says it's a cult and has taken her children away from the cult and lost family and friends.

JZ has started a Facebook group and 1000 people joined and emailed her saying they were abused. IFB had said that a 2 week old baby needs to be spanked. IFB leaders and parents have been arrested for child abuse.

Blog: I saw this on Yahoon news. Derek K. Miller is a writer and has a blog. He wrote one last blog post weeks before he died of cancer. He told his family and friends to put up that blog post after he has passed away.

Here's the Yahoo article: It said: "'He was proud of his blog and now it is his legacy,' Karl Miller said in an interview with The Province."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/final-blog-post-b-c-writer-died-cancer-204905300.html

Here's his blog:
http://www.penmachine.com/2011/05/the-last-post

May 11 Rant: I have some mild rants:

Last weekend a Jehovah's witness approached me at the bus stop. They often get at me on the weekends. I realized it's because they have jobs to get to on the weekdays, so they will try to convert people to their religion on the weekends.

My sister gave me her old Marie Claire magazines. It's a good magazine from the Hearst magazine company. I see that it's just like Cosmogirl (before it folded) because both magazines have the same ads and fonts. What I don't like is that Marie Claire has cigarette ads in their magazine. I remember reading that you should rip out cigarette ads in your own magazines, so I did.

I was watching Gossip Girl yesterday and they had the most blatant advertisement of Vitamin Water ever. I have seen earlier seasons where it's more subtle with a character holding or drinking it, or having the fridge in the scene. In the episode "Shattered Bass", they showed the bottles and the word Vitamin Water on the piece of paper where everybody can read it.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day: We can change women's lives

I signed the petition to help women in third world countries and so should you.

http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=689


May 2011
Mother's Day: We can change women's lives

Mother’s Day is an opportunity to honour and celebrate the women who provide care and inspiration in our lives.

It is also an opportunity to call for the protection of the rights of women in pregnany and childbirth.

Join us to take action.

This Mother’s Day 2011, Amnesty International is calling for the protection of women’s lives around the world, focusing on the need for life-saving maternal health care services in Peru.

In Peru, hundreds of women die every year in pregnancy or childbirth - the vast majority of these deaths are preventable.

Take action now | Learn more
Peru

act button


Photo: A pregnant woman stands inside a maternal waiting house in Huancarani, on the outskirts of Cuzco.. © Enrique Castro-Mendivil

members@amnesty.ca | 1-800-AMNESTY (1-800-266-3789) | www.amnesty.ca
312 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa ON K1N 1H9
Registered Charity #11878 5914 RR0001

writing/ charity/ positive

May 2 Writing: Today is my day off and I put 2 hrs into my job search. I also put in 2 hrs to my Rain script. I recently read in The Globe and Mail about typewriters. It's interesting to read what got deleted because the typewriters have it all written up. In a computer, if it gets deleted, it stays that way and you don't see what got deleted.

Well you can save your documents and email it to yourself as a back up if your computer, USB key, or 3.5 floppy disk stops working. That's what I do. In my Legal Issues for Writers class, my lawyer/ teacher said that to copyright your work, you should keep drafts of what you had written. So all my earlier drafts are in my email.

May 4 Charity: Today my family donated our used clothing to the Diabetes foundation. The Cerebral Palsy charity called us for the same things, but we already planned to donate to Diabetes. We did some spring cleaning and managed to get rid of stuff we don't use and to give to people who need it more.

Cancer charity: I read in the newspaper that everybody donates to breast cancer, but not to stomach or lung cancer. Only 13% of lung cancer patients are smokers. Stomach cancer is more deadly than breast cancer.

May 6 Gambling charity: I was reading in the Edmonton Journal about how gambling revenues provide to charity. Did you know that 15% of gamblers earn less than $30,000? 1 in 5 make less than $50,000. 50% of all gambling revenues that charities and government gets come from problem gamblers.

Celebrity charity: I recently read that the singer Alicia Keyes is promoting AIDS/ HIV awareness.

I heard on the radio, that New Kid on the Block/ actor Donnie Wahlberg helped find a kidney for a fan through Twitter.

Job rant: This week hasn't been really good for me at my job. My hours are cut, and I don't have much tips coming in. I feel like I should have reactivated my EI to make up for my loss income.

The only good thing I can say is that since I have a couple more extra hours that I could be working, I'm actually at home on my job search. My 20 yr old self would be using this free time to be having fun by watching TV and going on twop.com. My 25 yr old self here is being productive with her job search.

School: My other rant is now that I'm looking back at my 8 month unemployment last year, I should have gone to school like my parents and grandma told me to. Well I was doing something productive with the entire 8 months. I was looking for a job constantly and I did work here and there, but the jobs didn't work out. It had a lasting effect on me as in I will stay at my current job because I don't want to be on a job search unless it's for an office job.

The thing is to do things that produce results. By looking for a job, I get a job. By working at a job, I make money. As for my Professional Writing diploma, I go to school and there aren't any results from it. Well it looks good on my resume. It's good for my self- esteem that I did manage to get a college diploma. It also looks good when I'm pitching my script to producers.

I don't want to go to school full- time. I was talking with my dad the other day, and I did listen to my sister at the dinner table. She is taking one class to develop a skill for her resume. I guess I should take one class and put it on my resume. I have time because I only work part- time, and I'm still making money and not spending a lot of money on one class.

Dateline: When I'm mad about one thing, I get mad about everything else even when it's not really relevant to my life. I'm going to bring up that Dateline: To Catch a Predator thing again about that 35 yr old guy dating a 12 yr old girl. One comment on Youtube was: "At least he (predator) was honest."

Yeah, he was honest to the host Chris Hansen. Unlike the other guys who always say: "I just came here to talk." He was honest to CH, but he was so fake to the 12 yr old girl. He seemed fake to me. He said: "I thought we should get to know each other a bit first." I don't know if he was lying to the girl or to himself so it would make it less wrong that he's dating a 12 yr old.

I can imagine that the guy was thinking to say that in case the police questioned them. The girl would tell the police: "He didn't try to have sex with me at all when we first met."

Lonely: The Dateline guy said he was "lonely." He is so lonely and desperate, he was going to do something illegal and date a 12 yr old. I mean, I know when you're lonely, you can become desperate for any social contact even if you don't really like or are interested in the person. It reminds me of my ex- friend Grace. When the friendship turned sour, she still kept wanting to hang out with me because she didn't have any friends.

When I turned her down, she goes and asks to play with my little brother who's 3 yrs younger. I remember one time she then dissed him to me about this game he thought to play. I was thinking: "If you don't like playing with him, then don't." But I can tell she's lonely.

Here are a couple of fictional examples: On Gossip Girl, Eric doesn't have any friends so he hangs out with the drug dealer Damien. In the book series California Diaries, Dawn spends some time with ex-friend Jill though she had outgrew her.

Job article: I got this email through my blog and thought it was very informative and that everybody should read regarding their job search.

Hi Tracy,

We would love to share with you an article that we just posted on our own blog! “10 Ways to Decide to Accept a New Job or Stay Put” (http://www.cheapestservice.com/blog/10-ways-to-decide-to-accept-a-new-job-or-stay-put/) would be an interesting story for your readers to check out and discuss on your blog.

Thanks for sharing some great content through your blog. It has been a sincere pleasure to read.

Sincerely,
Lauren diaz

Some of things listed were wages, benefits, advancement potential, and job security. They asked good questions to think about when you think of taking another job.

May 7 Positive: It's a new day and I have a new outlook. Yesterday I was angry and sad about my lack of money due to shortage of hours. I looked at my Mar. paychecks and compared it to my Apr. paychecks. I made a couple hundred dollars more in Apr. I did make a couple hundreds dollar less in Apr. tips than in Mar. tips.

It was a bad week. Let's look at the bigger picture of the months. It's that saying I heard from Chris from the boy band Nsync way back in 2001: "It's not about the amount of money, it's about the idea of it."

This is a job with an ebb and flow. I had a good flow in Dec. and Jan. during the holiday season. Now it's at an ebb.

Friday, May 6, 2011

school/ Osama bin Laden/ analyze

May 4 School: My little brother took an online course to help get a career. He studied for a few months and did a test. He got 89% and I congratulated him. A month or so earlier:

Me: You can only take this test twice in one year. You should take the test once in June, and if you don't pass, you can take it again in December.
My sister was there.
S: Tracy, you are the last person to be giving school advice.

Yes, because of my mediocre grades. But is there anyone here who thinks the above advice is bad? Well my brother thanked me. He took the test last month, so he can't take it in June.

It's not like that time on The Simpsons. Cut to Lisa doing her homework in her room and Homer is standing at the door.

Homer: Lisa, honey, do you need some help with your homework?
Lisa: Yeah, sure. You can help me find three words where they use the letter y as a vowel.
Homer slowly backs out of the room.

Me: Gym. That's a word where they use the letter y as a vowel.

Bad advice: I was thinking about bad advice. My friend Sherry had asked me this in 2009: "What kind of job could a girl get if she can't read?" I thought about it and wrote in an email: "I don't know. She can work as a stripper. She can make a lot of money and she doesn't have to read. I'm sure all of you guys are laughing at me right now." My friend Ray said she did laugh at that.

I personally didn't give that advice to anyone. I was tossing out my idea for a job where you don't have to read.

Question: Work was pretty boring so I asked my two co-workers this question: "Which would you prefer? Your daughter being 16 and pregnant or your daughter being a stripper at 18?" They preferred stripping like my friend Jessica and I. Only my friend Sherry said having a baby. My friend Ray said having a baby, but that was compared objectively about girls on Maury and not about your own daughter. They're either out-of- control teen girls who want to be strippers or have a baby.

Funny performance: This was way back in Sept. 2010, but I really liked it. It's where Justin Timberlake was on the Jimmy Fallon show. They are singing and dancing to a medley of rap and hip hop songs. It was very good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCxZB6GOtoM

Saturday Night Live: That kind of reminds me of when Amy Poehler (SNL alumni) came to host SNL. The sketch was a dream sequence where Timberlake was on and he kisses AP for a second. He then says she's a bad kisser. lol.

May 5: Also in the same episode, there was a sketch about this Republican commercial. There would be gay weddings and a mosque on Ground Zero and a pregnancy termination lounge. The end line was: "It could happen to you."

Election: I voted earlier this week. I remember watching 20/20 about the government doesn't run the entire country. Sometimes the country does "spontaneous organization" and take care of things themselves. You know like more money is needed for public schools so instead of the school asking the govt. for money, they hold a fundraiser.

Osama bin Laden: I was going to watch The Simpsons on Fox on Sun., but instead it was preempted by FOX news that bin Laden has been killed. I call to my brother and he tells me to go to CNN. We watch for about 10min. I looked around for The Simpsons. I was mainly waiting for Barack Obama to come on and he came at 9:30pm. The news reporters kept repeating the same thing so I might as well watch something else.

I was surprised when I saw that Osama may have been killed. I couldn't really believe it. It took them 10 years to find him and kill him. I felt this cautious optimism. I feel like the President is going to come and say: "Oh, we don't have him." Psych! When it was confirmed he was dead, I was still in disbelief. I have to see the body and pictures to make sure he is dead.

I then went on Facebook, and the actor Giles Panton had this Martin Luther King Jr. quote about how we're celebrating a hated person's death. I read in the 24 news today, Fallout Boy lead singer Patrick Stump was surprised people were celebrating bin Laden's death.
I never thought about celebrating a hated person's death.

I felt if bin Laden is dead, then that's a relief. However, it's not the end of terrorism. There's still going to be terrorists and probably a new leader to take over. Once again cautious optimism. At least they took out one of the biggest threats and terrorist there is.

Barack Obama: I was watching Barack and Michelle Obama on Oprah this week. It was a fun episode. BO talked about how all the political issues were overshadowed by people thinking that he's not born in the US. So he finally got the birth certificate released, and then everybody can focus on the important issues at hand.

Rape: Today I was reading in the 24 news about how 3 women in the ages of 18-22 were raped by this one guy. The women saw a job ad online and in the newspaper for an administrative assistant position. They each did an interview a business, and then were taken to the home office and was assaulted there.

That is scary. I go on the internet and newspapers to look for an admin assistant position. I never thought I would be in danger. I'm always alert when I meet people on the internet. The job interviews I go to are at the mall or an office.

May 6 Job interview: Earlier this week I did a job interview for a bank. It was 30min phone interview. It was okay, but I don't think I got the job. My dad said I was "in over my head" after I told him. Yeah.

Job: One busser quit last week after working here for months. She's moving out of the city and she's going to get a higher paying job. A hostess quit after a month or so. She had gotten a second job that pays higher and gives her more hour. After awhile, she decided to only work there.

Analyze: I've been thinking about the "laughing about death" email/ blog post. It's where Cordelia disses Buffy (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) for her parents being divorced by saying: "I have two unlike some people" and Tobias dissing his brother-in-law Michael (Arrested Development): "Look at you. You're not married. Why? Because your wife is dead."

Which is worse? Cordelia didn't apologize, but Tobias did. C often says mean things, but T often doesn't. It's kind of a mixed bag. If you want to look solely at the insult, than I would say T is worse for dissing someone for losing a loved one. But you add the apology and the character's personality, who is worse?

C got Buffy angry, but T got Michael sad. If C said that in front of a live audience, the audience would say: "Ohhhhh." But if T said that in front of a live audience, no one would say anything because it's so mean. It's a toss up.

Law of attraction: I was watching Castle earlier this week, and Beckett's old training officer comes into the alley. The tint was all blue. It then made me think of Prison Break. If you watch Prison Break, then you would know that it's always shot in a blue tint. It also reminded me of a scene on the show where Michael gets kidnapped in an alley.

Then Dominic Purcell from Prison Break shows up on Castle.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

truth/ snapshot of life/ mixed results

May 1 Truth: I got this email through my blog. I thought the site was very interesting, informative, with fun graphics. The link is cool, check it out.

Hello Tracy!

Kate here, and just wanted to bring to light an important caution. As the
world runs on social interaction, it can get quite difficult at times to
discern whether the person you just met is telling the truth. And with the
economy not doing so hot, everyone's trying to get a leg up somehow.
There's quite an interesting infographic out there that highlights just how
you can tell if a person has pure intentions as they interact with you. You
can check it out here:

blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2011/03/how_to_spot_a_liar_gratuitous_random
ness.php

Anyways, thought this might be of interest to you. If you'd like other
infographics such as these, or if you also have an infographic you think I'd
might like, let me know!

Thanks,

Kate
twitter.com/katehersch

Blog: I got this email through my blog. The article I read was very light, easy, and fun read. Check it out.

Hi Tracy,

I have become a frequent reader of your blog and we recently posted an article “10 Things You Shouldn’t Tell Someone Over the Phone”. I thought that you or your readers might find it appealing and you may be interested in sharing with your readers.

Here's the link: (http://www.phoneservice.org/blog/2011/10-things-you-shouldnt-tell-someone-over-the-phone/).

Thanks again for the great content, and I hope the article I've linked primes your interest.

Regards,

Selena Routh

May 1 Wal- mart: I mentioned this probably like a year ago. It was about how to bring down Wal- mart from the inside. Get a job there and give bad customer service by being passive- aggressive. When you take on customer complaints, look at them like you're bored and tired and not paying attention. The customers will hate you and the company. Though you may get fired.

You're probably thinking: "Do you really think that you can bring down the world's largest retailer with one person's bad customer service?" A girl can dream. There was a cartoon TV show called Dilbert based on the comic strip. There's an episode where Dilbert unintentionally single- handedly brought down a company in one day.

If you really want to bring down a company from the inside, you probably need a manager position. Or it can take care of itself like Eaton's. Does anyone remember the department store Eaton's? It closed down in 1999. It could be like Blockbuster. It used to be really big, and now they're all shutting down.

Date: I went on a date last week. It was okay, though we didn't call or email each other afterward. We walked around the mall a bit, and then we sat and talked at a bar. He does watch Tosh.O and he did find my dark jokes funny. I didn't feel there was a connection though. I'll go email him.

Clarification: I want to clarify about that Summer Heights High joke. The one where Jonah falsely accuses his dad of touching him so he can get out of English class. He didn't really falsely accuse his dad. He insinuated his dad touches him because he drew a picture and didn't say explicitly his dad touches him.

Cry: I was thinking about how many times I have seen my friends cry. I can list 6 times I have seen my friend Leslie cry. Well I did see her nearly everyday from kindergarten to gr. 10. I was there. I'm not going to list them here, because it's private. I have seen my friend Michelle cry once. I don't remember seeing my friend Angela cry. I have seen Heather cry once.

Snapshot of life: I was thinking about the girl Ashley who I used to go to gr. 7 with. Angela told me Ashley had gotten pregnant as a teenager. When I look at the snapshot of life, of the one year I knew Ashley, I wasn't surprised. She wasn't very smart as in good in school, she wasn't street smart because she threw up sometimes so she won't get fat. She was also boy- crazy.

I was thinking about the girl Grace whom I used to be friends with, but the friendship went sour. I knew her when when I was in gr. 5 and 6. For the two year snapshot, I knew of her, what did I predict for her? She wasn't very smart because she was held back two grades. She was 11 and she was in gr. 3. She was supposed to be in gr.5. She wasn't very people smart because she didn't keep her friends, and the ones she did, she started disrespecting them like me.

I don't really see her succeeding. It's not because I don't like her, but if she doesn't change her study habits or attitude about school, she's not going to succeed. I don't know, she may change. It's kind of like my brother. When he was in elementary school he got Cs. Then he got to jr. high, and he became an honors student and kept on getting good grades.

I remember one time Grace didn't know what the word anonymous means or how it was pronounced. I'm going to admit that I recently looked her up on Facebook. I even looked up my old friend Yasmine. She actually was held back two grades too. She was 11 and in gr. 4. But she was smart, and people and street smart. When I imagine her future, I can see her going to college and having a career.

Mixed results: I remember back in 2005, I was working at the mall and this guy Chris Krieger who I used to go to jr. high and high school with came in, with a baby stroller and his two friends. We were 19.

Me: Chris?
C: Yeah.
Me: You have a kid?
C: Yeah.
Me: Are you married?
C: No, that's one thing I don't plan to do.

C didn't have good grades in school, and he became an electrician. There are mixed results with this guy. The good things are that he has a career, he's taking care of his baby, and he's not going to get married just because he has a baby and he's under 25.

The bad things are that he's 19 and he already has a kid. My co-worker Jordan and my sister said that he was stupid when I told them about him. My friend Angela said that she's glad that she's not him to be saddled with a baby.

Then there's me. I am a mixed result. If you look at the snapshot of my life in gr. 9. All my teachers recommended I go into all the low classes. The good things are that I graduated within the three years, and with mediocre and average grades in some grade level classes and not all low classes. I got a 2 yr college diploma in Professional Writing.

The bad things are that I'm working at a restaurant and not utilizing my college diploma.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

writing/ disability/ abortions on TV

Apr. 26 Writing: I got some more feedback from Marty Chan. I asked him if he predicted this other plot point in the script, and he said he didn't. That's good. He says: "...the more pressing concern is the fact that I had trouble caring about them as characters. As you cycle through your script, find more opportunities to build their relationship in a plausible way."

I remember this tip of how you write 10 pages and you give it to someone to read. They give feedback and you rewrite it. You give that 10 pages to someone else for feedback, they read it and you rewrite it again. You would keep rewriting the same 10 pages. You should write the whole thing and then have someone read it.

If you get writer's block, you can have someone read it. The important thing is to complete it. That's why I kept submitting to MC new pages. However, I have now sent Part 5 of the script, and have writer's block. I feel like I should go back and rewrite some things. It could make me think of things to add to my script.

Apr. 30 Newspapers: I don't read books anymore. I used to when I was a kid and a teenager. Now all I do is read newspapers because I learn a lot and it expands my mind.

The A section: It's important to know what's going on in the world.

The business section: I need to know how the economy is going, and it helps me with my job search. There are career tips.

The entertainment section: I like reading TV and movie reviews because it helps with my writing.

The life section: It gives me tips about relationships, and advice. I really like reading The Globe and Mail life section because on Tues. it's about money and on Fri. it's about relationships.

Disability: Today at the restaurant, I saw a woman without any arms. She was using her feet and toes to use a fork to eat off her plate. I have seen this before. I have written about this young Chinese man who lost his arms in an accident when he was 10. Then he learned how to adjust to life and learned how to play the piano with his toes. He got so good he went on some Chinese TV talent show.

I have even seen something like this years ago on Maury. This black woman didn't have arms, and she went grocery shopping and cooked dinner with her feet. She chopped vegetables using her toes to hold the knife.

I have seen this man on 20/20. He didn't have legs or arms. He was born that way. He's a motivational speaker. I have seen the same guy on Chinese TV.

May 1 Rant: Prep yourself up for an angry email.

This is a mild rant. It happened about a month ago. I was waiting for the bus, and this Jehovah's witness was walking toward me and the others who are waiting. Then the bus came and the witness walked away. Ha, ha, now you can't pass your propaganda to us. lol.

Dateline: I was thinking about that Dateline: To Catch a Predator ep again about a 35 yr old guy dating a 12 yr old. Wouldn't it be kind of funny that after that date, the girl emails him back saying she's not interested in him? Isn't that a blow to his ego that he can't even get a 12 yr old to date him?

I kind of got that one from 90210. It was in Dec. 2010, and Dixon had dated a woman named Sasha who is in her 20s. Sasha makes an appearance on the show where she says to Dixon (paraphrase): "I got dumped by my boyfriend. Then I went out with you and you dumped me, and a high school kid rejecting me really hurt my ego."

However, that 35 yr old guy could go and get another 12 yr old, so Dateline had to stop him from continuing preying on children.

Abortions on TV: It's kind of annoying that American TV shows hardly show anyone having an abortion because it's a controversial topic. I was watching Pretty Little Liars and Spencer's sister Ren tells her that she was pregnant last summer. She was going to have an abortion, but she had a miscarriage before she went. How convenient.

I will give this show partial credit for having a character going to have an abortion. It kind of loses points that she conveniently miscarries. I guess to make Ren a sympathetic character.

I will give points for Criminal Minds. The character Agent Prentiss had talked about having an abortion when she was a teenager. Go Criminal Minds. I guess it's a adult crime drama so that's why you can have a regular character have an abortion. Pretty Little Liars is a teen show so you can't have an abortion.

I do remember on Law and Order: SVU where a teen girl said she had an abortion. I remember Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina from Sabrina the Teenage Witch) guest- star on the show and she had abortion too on the episode she was in.

I can't believe it, but I'm going to say something good about Secret Life of the American Teenager. Brenda Hampton is the worst writer ever, but she managed to write a good piece of dialogue here. Ricky, and his mom Nora are at a butcher shop talking about abortion.

Nora: Like a butcher shop isn't the perfect place to talk about-
Ricky: Mom!

It's kind of a dark joke. I would expect that from Tosh. O. On Tosh. O, I remember where Daniel Tosh says (paraphrase):

DT: My mom says: "Where's my grandchild?" I say: "You did have a grandchild. She just didn't keep it."

STDs on TV: On the Canadian TV show The Best Years, about college, there was an STD episode. The Halloween episode has a girl find out that one of her friends is HIV positive.

On 90210, Dixon's ex Sasha was HIV positive. I don't even watch this show anymore, because it's crappy and I'm not interested in it. I will give the show points that it did show the girl Ivy talking to her mom about sex and condoms.

I remember way back in 2003, when I used to watch The Young and the Restless, Lily got chlamydia. I was 18 back then, and I thought that if she got pregnant, then she would just get an abortion. That was naive of me to think she would have an abortion, because you don't have abortions on American network TV. So that's why she has an STD to deal with it.

I remember Mac had a miscarriage. Then years later there was a storyline where Lily is married and gotten pregnant. She did say: "I don't even know about having the kid." So at least they're talking about abortion on American network TV.

Blog: I found this article to be very interesting and informative. Did you know that men used to be telephone operators? But then they started doing prank phone calls and too busy flirting with women callers. Then only women became telephone operators because they were able to be professional on the job.

Hi Tracy,

We would love to share with you an article that we just posted on our own blog! “10 Fun Phone Facts from Telephone History” (http://www.landlinephoneservice.net/blog/2011/10-fun-phone-facts-from-telephone-history/) would be an interesting story for your readers to check out and discuss on your blog, so we hope you will consider sharing it!

Thanks so much for your time!
Lindsay Willison