A Muse with a View

I have traveled quite a bit in the past few months, and every time I get on a plane I am reminded that the world of travelers needs a list of 10 commandments.

The 10 Commandments of Travel

1. Thou shalt not walk through security with a fifth of Tanquerey.

I recently flew from L.A. to Portland and had to go through a security line that was a mix of passengers leaving on domestic flights and international flights. I saw a guy walk right by the bin where you pour out the liquids and get busted for having a fifth of Tanquerey in his backpack. He said he thought the ban was on water only.

2. Thou shalt not call your spouse on a cell phone as soon as the plane hits the tarmac.

It never fails The plane touches down, everyone reaches for their phones, and one idiot calls someone and loudly announces, “We just landed.” Have you heard of text messaging? Why do we all have to hear your entire conversation with your spouse about the lack of tasty snacks on the plane? The plane will be at the gate in five minutes. Please don’t torture the rest of us while we are all trapped in the fuselage with you.

3. Thou shalt not stand in line to board the plane if your group or row number has not been called.

Hey you with the roller bag and the boarding pass that says Group 5, go sit down! The flight attendant said First Class, MVP, and Group 1. Trying to get on board before your group is called will not win you a prize, get you more peanuts, or even get you space in the overhead bin, because the gate agent is going to call you out when you get to the podium. The gate agent comes on the PA and says, “We have a gate crasher at Gate 87. Someone isn’t listening. I’m sorry sir, but you will now go to the end of the line and board last,” as she takes out a ruler and slaps the back of your hand.

4. Thou shalt not bring stinky food on the plane.

Smart travelers know to bring their own food on the plane unless they want to be stuck with a “picnic pack” for dinner. Smart travelers also realize the air in the plane is circulated around and around, and if you bring a stinky curry on the plane you aren’t the only one who has to smell it for the remainder of the flight. Sandwich good. Curry not good.

5. Thou shalt not walk through the metal detector with metal.

It’s called a metal detector for a reason! Why do you have five dollars in change in your pocket? A smart traveler will keep her eyes and ears open for people wearing belts, jingling change in their pockets, and carrying a raft of TSA infractions, and will avoid going through the same scan line.

6. Thou shalt not block the jetway with three children and a stroller.

You managed to get your kids on the plane and check the stroller at the jetway. Why must you block the jetway for everyone while you try to organize your stroller, your diaper bag and three cranky kids? The courteous thing to do is to allow everyone else to exit the plane first so you can take your time with your kids.

7. Thou shalt be prepared if you are traveling with children.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen parents get on a plane with their kids and have nothing for them to eat, and nothing for them to do. The key is distraction people. No kid wants to sit in a seat with a seatbelt on for hours on end with nothing to do. If you don’t entertain them they will entertain themselves, which usually involves flipping the tray up and down and kicking the seat in front of them.

8. Though shalt not stand sideways in the aisle.

Remember that blog I wrote a long time ago called “Crotches and Asses?” The next time you’re standing sideways in the aisle of a plane, take a look at the view you’re giving the passengers on either side of you. Yep. Everything below the belt is right at eye level with that poor sap who chose the aisle seat.

9. Thou shalt not bring reading material into the lavatory.

I was recently on a flight where a passenger picked up a book off the flight attendant’s jump seat and brought it into the lavatory. That is disturbing on two levels. First off, that book belonged to a flight attendant, and I’m sure she was really grossed out with the fact that a passenger brought it into the lavatory in the first place. And second, the flight was less than two hours. Why does anyone need to spend time in “the library” on a short flight? Do your business before you board. Note: passengers on flights coming back from Mexico are exempt from this rule.

10. Thou shalt not hog armrest real estate.

What is it with people, especially businessmen, who sit down and spread out like they’re in an easy chair in their living room. Don’t give me the flight elbow! That armrest is a mere two inches wide, and one inch of that is mine!

Common Sense

Most of the commandments are just common sense. If you’re going to fly I suggest you do the following:

• Review the rules of your chosen airline on their website. Check to see what the cut off is for baggage check-in, fees for checked bags, and whether or not there will be food for purchase on the flight.
• Review the TSA website, because you never know what they will ban next. Their website even has tips for how to gett hrough the line faster. http://www.tsa.gov/
• Review the 10 Commandments of Travel, because you never know when you might run into me on a flight!

Enjoy your trip!

I have a pie-in-the-sky bucket list. My bucket list contains very specific items like:

• Sing karaoke in Tokyo while wearing a pink wig like Scarlett Johnasson in Lost in Translation.
• Hot air balloon ride over Napa with someone I’m madly in love with.
• Win an Academy Award.
• Win an Emmy® award.

Well, okay, those last two aren’t very specific at all when you think about it. I never specified what kind of Academy Award or what kind of Emmy® I wanted to win. I just put it out there for the universe to chew on.

I spent last weekend in Hollywood: at the 62nd Annual Primetime Engineering Emmy® Awards, as the recipient of an Emmy®. Yes, really.

There are three  types of Engineering Emmys, and these are the definitions:

The Engineering Emmy®: This award is presented to an individual, a company, or an organization for developments in engineering that are either so extensive an improvement on existing methods or so innovative in nature that they materially affect the transmission, recording or reception of television.

The Engineering Emmy® Plaque: This award is presented to those achievements that exhibit a high level of engineering and are important to the progress of the industry.

The Philo T. Farnsworth Award: This award honors an agency, company or institution whose contributions over a long period of time have significantly affected the state of television technology and engineering.

This year they awarded ONE Engineering Emmy®, TWO Farnsworth Awards (one went to Desilu Studios if that gives you an idea of how prestigious this award is), and FOUR Engineering Emmy® Plaques.

Ensequence and Showtime were awarded the Emmy® Plaque for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development for the Showtime Sports Interactive project, which I have been the technical operations lead on for the past 18 months.

I have submitted my application to become a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You either have to win an Emmy® or get signatures from two sponsors in your peer group (mine is Interactive Media) to get approved. I did both just to hedge my bets!

I am still on Cloud 9.

Right before I walked in.

Accepting the award with Showtime.

Standing on the stage after it was all over.

Our hosts for the evening, Kunal Nayyar and Simon Helberg of Big Bang Theory.

Let me just say that last Thursday was surreal. Wait a minute, let me back up a week or two.

The Emmy Nomination…

A few weeks ago I wrote in a Cheers and Jeers blog that a project I’m on had been nominated for an Engineering Emmy. The category we were in was tough, and the enthusiasm was tempered because of this. Nobody expected us to win.

And the Emmy goes to…

Well, we won! Ensequence (the company I work for) won a joint Engineering Emmy with Showtime for “Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development” for Showtime Sports Interactive. I have been the technical lead on this project for the past 18 months so this is what I have been living and breathing for over a year.

Word in the hallways was that we would probably only get a few seats at the awards ceremony, so there was no way I was expecting to go. I assumed the CEO would go with the project manager or something.

Fast forward to last Thursday.

L.A. Bound…

I get an email (from someone I won’t name) asking if I’m available on August 14th to go to L.A. and attend the 62nd Primetime Emmy® Engineering Awards. Holy sh*t! It took me less than five seconds to reply, “YES!” And I spent the next three hours bouncing off the walls like a 5-year old on a sugar high, and texting all of my friends.

My company got two seats at the awards. TWO. And they decided to send me and the project manager, who is also a woman. That is so cool.

The 62nd Primetime Emmy® Engineering Awards will be hosted by none other than Simon Helberg And Kunal Nayyar of Big Bang Theory. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.

The Super Secret Silversun Pickups Concert…

Oh, I almost forgot about the second reason Thursday was so surreal. My friend Peter sent me a text asking me if I was going to the secret Silversun Pickups show, and he forwarded me the email with the clues from 94.7 KNRK. I had received the same email but hadn’t had any time to even open it. I read the clues, “Take the trolley to the Pearl…lips that are hot…” I immediately knew it was Hot Lips Pizza in the Pearl. So, I recruited my friend Joe to walk over there with me at 5pm to see if the Silversun pickups were really going to play a concert in the parking lot of the Ecotrust Building (where Hot Lips Pizza is located).

I think the pictures below speak for themselves. They came, they played, they jumped in a tinted-windows van immediately afterwards and headed to the Crystal Ballroom for sound check (they were playing a regular sold-out show there that night).

So let’s recap:

1. I woke up and found out I was going to the Engineering Emmys.
2. The day ended with a free concert by the Silversun Pickups,who played in a parking lot in the Pearl District.

SSPU take the stage in the Ecotrust parking lot.

Three cyclists powered the show.

Cheers: to Showtime for being nominated for a Technical Emmy for their Interactive Sports technology, and Dexter Interactive. I have been technical lead on their Showtime Boxing app for the past 18 months. Woot! You can see a demo of the application here: Showtime Boxing.

Cheers: to all of the Portland food carts downtown for providing me with ample lunchtime choices. My favorite by far is Rick’s Wild Seafood.

Cheers: to summer for finally showing up in Portland.

Cheers: to my friend Veanne who has kept her brilliant sense of humor throughout her battle with breast cancer.

Jeers: to the breast cancer and chemo that is making my friend Veanne feel like crap!

Cheers: to my friend Al in St. Petersburg, Florida for hosting me for a fun weekend in Florida. The Salvador Dali museum was the highlight of my trip.

Jeers: to the people two rows behind me on my red eye flight to Tampa who decided it was a good idea to watch a movie on their laptop without wearing headphones.

Jeers: to Hurricane Alex who made it rain the entire time I was in Florida!

Cheers: to Beth for taking me to see The Wailers at the KINK Live Performance Lounge on Tuesday.

Jeers: to BP for being so greedy.

Cheers: to Eleanor Reese Morse, who, together with her late husband A. Reynolds Morse, founded the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mrs. Morse passed away the day before I toured the museum. Fantastic collection of Dali art. I took home a print of my favorite piece Nature Morte Vivanteb (Still Life–Fast Moving).

Cheers: to all of the people who will be walking the Survivor Lap at Relay for Life in Lake Oswego this weekend.

Sorry for the radio silence, but I have been under a gag order of sorts, due to the fact that…well I can’t tell you yet.

But there are some things that I can blog about, and one of them is dead cows. That’s right, dead cows. I was out for a lunchtime run along the Eastside Esplanade in downtown Portland last week, and being that I don’t run at the speed of sound (or light for that matter) I had plenty of time to take in the sights along the way. I was running along, enjoying the one sunny day we’ve had since last October, when I saw a group of seagulls having what looked to be an organized Teamsters meeting in a small marina off the Esplanade.

I can just imagine the conversation they were having…

What are we going to do with him now?

I don’t know. This was your idea!

I said “cow tipping” not cow dipping!

As I got closer I noticed why all of the seagulls were hanging out in the marina. Dead cow floating.

We’ve had a lot of rain in Portland over the past month and the river is running really high. I figure it swamped some farmland somewhere along the way, and this cow just got trapped and eventually carried away.

I posted the following status to Facebook:

“I went for a lunchtime run on the waterfront and saw a dead cow floating in the Willamette River. The End.”

I have since been back to that spot and the dead cow and the seagulls are gone. I posted the following status update to Facebook:

“I thought you’d like to know that the dead cow that was floating in the Willamette last week has either: a) Been consumed by the local wildlife (the seagulls looked awfully fat and happy), b) Been taken away by some official agency, or c) Has floated downriver to the Columbia and is now docked behind Salty’s restaurant.”

I still run along the Esplanade at lunch a few times a week, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pass that spot again without thinking about that dead cow floating.

I’m a list person. Shopping at Fry’s during their 25th Anniversary celebration was not on my list on Saturday, but I guess I missed the huge ad campaign they supposedly ran promoting this event.

If I tell my kids that I have errands to run, and then ask them if they’d like to join me, their normal reaction is to just pretend they didn’t hear me, which is exactly what happened on Saturday.

“Okay then. I’ll just see you guys when I get back from Fry’s,” I said casually as I grabbed for my purse and started heading for the door, knowing full well what their reaction would be.

You would have thought I yelled “Fire!”

“Fry’s?! Wait! Hold on! Just let me finish this level. I want to go,” said both of my previously deaf children.

We drove down to Wilsonville and pulled into the crowded Fry’s parking lot to find…red white and blue streamers and…a petting zoo. WTF?

“Is that a llama in the parking lot?” my daughter exclaimed.

“No, I believe that’s a miniature donkey,” I said, wondering what the connection was between the petting zoo and the anniversary.

We skipped the petting zoo, and walked through the front door to be greeted by a Fry’s employee who handed me a raffle ticket to win some huge TV, and pointed me in the direction of the live music and free popcorn.

I had my list. I was on a mission. How dare they try to distract me with live music, free popcorn and mutant animals in the parking lot. I put on my blinders and headed straight to the cell phone kiosk with my daughter, while my son headed straight to the game aisle. We all had our priorities.

My daughter’s phone contract had expired with AT&T, and I had been pretty stealth about making sure the mailers that showed up in my mailbox weekly made it to the recycle bin before she had a chance to see them.  I was enjoying the fact that the contract was expired and I wasn’t beholden to AT&T at the moment. But, one day she went to the mailbox before I got home, and there it was: the AT&T mailer showing the latest touch screen phone that could be hers if I just signed a new 2-year contract.

So, here we were at the AT&T kiosk, two weeks before her birthday, Mom caving in. She walked right up to the AT&T display and said, “I want that one.”

We were quickly approached by a Fry’s employee who’s name rhymes with Bill.

“Listen,” I said. “Is this phone really free or do I have to sign up for some data package or messaging package to get it? Because when I went into the AT&T store they said this required a data package if I wanted it for free.”

Bill informed me that the AT&T stores operate under different rules than resellers like Fry’s, and that Fry’s did not require a data package, and by the way this particular phone was part of the 25th anniversary special and was indeed free.

Score.

“Great,” I said. “We’ll take it. And do you have a replacement battery for this Blackberry Bold? I know it’s considered ancient by your standards since it’s an older model.”

Bill walked us to the battery aisle, found a replacement battery and walked us back to the phone kiosk so we could complete our phone upgrade.

“I need this phone battery, because I’m leaving for Italy on Tuesday and I don’t want my phone to die every two hours,” I said.

“I’m going to Finland in a week,” he answered, and then explained that his brother had been signed to play on a professional football team in Finland, and he was going to visit him in some city that started with a “J”  and was a couple of hours north of Helsinki. “Oh, Jyväskylä?” I said, because it was the first city I thought of that started with a J. He said he thought that was the place, but I think he may have been thinking of the word “jalkopallon” which means football in Finnish.

Back to business. He started trying to upgrade my phone, and noticed the AT&T plan I had. “Wow. I’ve never seen this plan before.” He called his colleagues over to take a look at it, and they were all scratching their heads.

You see, I have a plan that AT&T doesn’t have listed on their website, doesn’t advertise, and would probably deny its existence if you called and ask for it. It’s $19.99 a month. I got it because I called AT&T to try to reduce my daughter’s monthly phone bill somehow, and I just kept pushing and pushing until I had whittled down the phone plan to the bare minimum. My daughter wants to text her friends. They all live in the 503 area code. That’s it. She can call and text anyone she wants in the 503 area code for $19.99 a month. Excellent.

Because this plan doesn’t actually exist in their upgrade screen it required some manual intervention, which gave Bill and I some time to chat. Turns out Bill is going to law school, and judging from the way he finagled that free phone upgrade I’d say he’ll make a fine lawyer.

We swapped out the battery in my Bold, moved the SIM chip from my daughter’s old phone to the new phone, said our goodbyes and went on our merry way.

Next stop, laptop accessories. I needed a power adapter for the airplane. No, not because I want to work the whole way. I have Rosetta Stone on my laptop, and I want to practice my Italian.

Need an extra storage card for my camera. Check.

Time to head to the check out counter, which as you know requires you to walk the gauntlet of temptation. Fry’s knows geeks and their children well. You came to buy a wireless router, but they know you have a weakness for peanut M&Ms while you install that router. They know you’re going to take that new XBox 360 game home and play it for hours, and you will need sustinence. And they make you wait in that aisle for the next available register, giving your will power ample time to crumble.

I quickly walked through the candy gauntlet, kids behind me saying, “Mom, can I get something,” to which I replied, “No, no and no.”

By the time we got out of Fry’s it was nearly 5pm and the petting zoo was gone, which begs the question, was it really every even there in the first place? Was there really a 25th Anniversary celebration or was that just my alternate reality that day? Was Bill really an adorable law student working at Fry’s for fun while he lived off student loans and got his law degree? Does professional American football really exist in Finland?

If I win that giant TV I got a raffle ticket for I’ll believe it was all real. Until then I’ll believe I was in the Twilight Zone for a few hours that day.

These were the topics of discussion for the two To the Point shows we taped on April 22, 2010. You will be able to find the shows on our YouTube channel and on the To the Point website soon!

Show 1

Topic 1

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not accept demands that Israel stop building in occupied East Jerusalem. Will this cause a new flare up in violence or is Israel using this as a bargaining chip to jump start stalled Palestinian – Israeli peace talks?

Topic 2

On April 16, the Securities and Exchange commission filed a complaint against Goldman, Sachs & Company and one of its employees Fabrice Tourre. The suit alleges that Goldman, Sachs created a synthetic housing-market bond that was sure to fail, sold the bond to customers, and then conspired with a short seller to bet against it. Could this one bond and the people involved have triggered the collapse of the financial markets, and one of the worst recessions in recent history, all while Goldman Sachs posted record profits?

Topic 3

The Portland City Council recently approved a plan that would impose new regulations on where and how developers can build along an 11-mile stretch of the Willamette River. The River Plan, as it’s called, would require developers to set aside 15 percent of their property for landscaping when they start projects, and would require any existing project that expands a business’s footprint would undergo a new city review process. Many businesses along the river are already crying foul, and rumor has it that Washington is already courting the ports and rail yards to move north. Is the new River Plan the best way to strike a balance between businesses and the river environment, or will it just drive businesses out of the state?

Show 2

Topic 1

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made a successful appeal to the Iraqi court to order a recount of votes for the recent parliamentary elections, due to allegations of widespread fraud. Election results showed former prime minister Ayad Allawi with a slim lead. Will this recount signal an end to the Maliki government and a shift in US-Iraq relations?

Topic 2

The FAA recently imposed a moratorium on all new wind projects in the Mid-Columbia region of Oregon. The reason? The wind turbines interfere with a military radar site in Fossil. Wind farms developed by large corporations and private land owners in Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, and Klickitat counties have time-sensitive binding power purchase agreements and a wide variety of contracts in place that could cost the Mid-Columbia region to lose $2-3 billion dollars in new investments, jobs, property taxes, land leases, and other economic activities if the ban is not lifted. Did the FAA blindside these projects by shutting them down in such a critical stage, and do the landowners have any recourse? What’s the real story here?

Topic 3

The Portland Police Bureau has been under siege for recent actions resulting in numerous deaths. Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman requested further review, and the FBI is now beginning an investigation into at least one specific incident, the fatal police shooting of Aaron Campbell, an unarmed man who was shot in the back earlier this year. If the investigation finds violations of federal criminal civil rights statutes, what can and should be done to get the police bureau back on track?

Richard Chamberlain in Portland for Leverage
It’s not every day you see Richard Chamberlain sitting at a table at Mother’s Bistro studying a script! Chamberlain is in town this week, joining the cast of TNT’s Leverage as a dashing thief named Archie Leech. Knowing Chamberlain’s talents, this won’t be the last we see of Archie Leech on Leverage.

The NBC Movie In Her Shoes Needs You!
Are you a tall African American 18-20-year-old basketball player who can act? If so, casting director Lana Veenker may want to talk to you. If you fit the profile, are based in Oregon or Washington, and are available to shoot in the month of May, you can submit your information via Casting Frontier:

1. Create a free Basic profile on Casting Frontier
2. Email the link to your profile to intern@slateplease.com.

No direct submissions or phone calls will be accepted. Your Casting Frontier profile MUST include a photo, clothing sizes, shoe size, contact information and acting/basketball experience.

NOTE:  You can register on Casting Frontier as an actor only if you want to be considered for speaking roles in the future.  If you want to be considered for both speaking AND non-speaking roles on future projects, register as an extra.

Not Dead Yet Premiere at Hollywood Theater
Most middle aged actresses will tell you that a large percentage of casting calls for the juicy roles read “Female 18-24.”  Hot Flash Films PDX and Velocity Sisterhood present three separate event screenings of Not Dead Yet, a dramedy about life, hot flashes and profound re-awakenings, at the Hollywood Theater April 23rd-25th. All ticket sales will benefit five Portland-area women’s non-profits: Life By Design NW, Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice and OAASIS – Oregon Association of Abuse Survivors in Service.

Each showing of the film will be followed by a themed discussion, highlights of which will be posted to the Hot Flash Films PDX website and potentially used in a documentary. Event times are Friday at 6pm, Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are available at http://blog.notdeadyetthefilm.com.

The film stars Susan Hess Logeais, Sherilyn Lawson, and Betty Moyer, and features David Ogden Stiers, Seymour Cassel, Jill Andre, Patricia Ferguson, Alexander Blaise, Allen Nause, and Ryan Findlay

Meet Jane Doe to host Kick-Off Event
The cast and crew of the upcoming feature film Meet Jane Doe will host a Teaser Trailer Release Party and Fundraising Kick-Off event at Grand Central Bowl in SE Portland on May 2. According to Jacqueline Gault, the film’s writer and director, the goal is to raise enough money to qualify for the Oregon Indigenous Production Fund, which would allow the production to receive rebates on every dollar spent.

“We are hoping that people will contribute whatever they can, even if it is only a few dollars. We will reward people with a raffle that will include gift certificates from Widmer Brothers Brewing (one of the film’s product sponsors), Grand Central Bowl and more.” Investor packets for those wishing to invest at the Executive Producer level will be available at the event. For more information contact Ms. Gault at jacqgaul@gmail.com.

Casting Couch
Recently cast: Montevilla sewing, Leverage episode 306, Meet Jane Doe principal roles. Ongoing casting: Oregon Lottery, Legacy, Leverage 307, NBC Movie of the Week In Her Shoes.

Crew Call
The Public Internet Channel (PIC.TV) is shooting a nine-episode Public Purpose Media web-series in Portland in June and is looking to fill a number of paid crew positions including Key Grip, Art Director, 1st AD, Gaffer, Props Master, Makeup and more. The web series will examine the consequences of teenage pregnancy from a teen father’s point of view. See the Oregon Film website for a complete list of available positions and submission requirements.

NBC Movie of the Week Shooting in Portland

I was standing in my agent’s office when the breakdown for NBC’s Movie of the Week In Her Shoes—not to be confused with the Cameron Diaz movie of the same name—came in. The excitement of yet another major movie project coming to Portland certainly created a buzz. I have not read the entire script, but I will say it involves a few very topical events, including families struggling to cope when a family member is away on military duty.

First-round auditions are over for most roles and callbacks are in progress. So far no major roles have been cast out of Portland or L.A.; fingers crossed for all of the Portland actors!

Extras Only hasn’t announced if they will be doing the extras casting for this project, but my guess is they will. So go sign up to be an extra if you want to be part of this movie.

In Her Shoes will be directed by John Kent Harrison and films in Portland during May.

Leverage Needs You

So you missed the Thug Boot Camp that Lana Veenker put on and you want to know if you can still be involved with Leverage. The answer is YES! The staff at Extras Only Casting needs you. They are looking for all types of people, not just “thugs.” They need all minorities, and upscale business types as well.

Go to www.extrasonly.com, fill in your information, and put the word “LEVERAGE” in the Project Code box at the bottom of the page. Extras Only is the premiere extras agency in town, and there are no fees. They get paid when you get paid. They cast almost every major project that comes into town, so if you don’t get on Leverage they may be able to use you for something else.

Leverage Fans Converge on Portland for Con-Con 2010
Back in October of 2009, a group of fans got together and decided to meet up in Portland to share their passion for their favorite TV show: Leverage. What started as an idea became a full fledged convention (Con-Con) the weekend of March 20th, attended by hundreds of fans from around the world. The highlight of the convention (held at the Governor Hotel) was a Q&A session featuring the Leverage cast and executive producer Dean Devlin.

Industry Networking Events
Schmooze, a networking event for people from all areas of the film community (casting directors, musicians, crew, and of course actors), is happening on Monday, April 12, 7pm to 10pm at Urban Grind, 2214 NE Oregon St, Portland St. Bring your self, your screenplay, your project and network with the local film community. The event is free, and the organizers hope to make it a regular event.

Casting Couch

Spots recently shot: Humana, Leverage promo. Recent and current castings: XBox, Capital One, Oregon Lottery, AT&T, T-Mobile, Kroger (Fred Meyer), NBC Movie of the Week In Her Shoes, Leverage, Meet Jane Doe.

I was at a friend’s birthday party a few weeks back, and found myself squirreled away in the corner talking to a cardiac surgeon from Denmark about the state of our healthcare system in the United States. I was frankly tired of debating the topic with many Americans who have never had the opportunity to live overseas, and experience nationalized healthcare first hand, and I was looking for a new perspective.

My Danish friend made three main points:

1. Free healthcare is cheaper than making people pay (in the long run).
2. Medical school should be affordable for anyone who wants to go.
3. Once people see the value of the services, they are willing to pay higher taxes for it.

He told me a story about how healthcare in Denmark had been absolutely free at one time. Then the hospitals decided to start charging something like $20 a visit. This one change had a disatrous result. Why? Because some of the main customers at the ER had been addicts. Normally, they would come in immediately when they started getting infections around their injection sites. The doctors would see them, hand out antibiotics, and send them on their way.

When the ER started charging $20 the addicts stopped coming in, that is, until they were so sick they had to. So instead of just handing out antibiotics for minor infections, the addicts were now being admitted to the ICU for raging infections that had been left unchecked, all because they didn’t want to spend the $20.

We talked about the ridiculously high cost of medical school here, and how exclusive it is. In Denmark they pay you to go to medical school. They pay your tuition and give you a monthly allowance. If you have the smarts, you can attend medical school.

And lastly we talked about the tax rate in Denmark, which can be as high as 60%. When Danes were asked if they would pay higher taxes for better healthcare, the majority said they would.

When I lived in Finland for a year as a teenager I noticed something: the elderly were carefree, healthy and happy. They knew they were going to be taken care of by their national healthcare system when they retired. They knew they would never bankrupt their families with a terminal illness. They knew they’d have a place to live among their peers that would provide them everything they needed, to enjoy their sunset years.

Those without healthcare in the United States live in a constant state of fear and uncertainty. One major illness could send any one of us into bankruptcy, whether we have healthcare or not. It is time for America, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, to grow up and take care of its people before it’s too late.