Not a Happy Time in Real Life

I have no reason to complain. Jim and I are comfortably retired, while we can't travel, we are in a rural area with relatively little COVID-19 spread.

Still....

The behavior of some cops in some cities, the installed President Trump and much of the Congress is utterly appalling.

I have been disgusted by Trump since at least 1989, between his treatment of women and his call in a full page ad to execute some young black men, without a trial, whom he said had attacked a white jogger. While the teens were convicted of some of the crimes (without physical evidence), they were later exonerated when someone else confessed to the attack. Trump has never apologized for calling to execute black men before their trial, and I knew he was a dangerous racist.

And over the last week, his inciteful behavior again shows us that he and his administration are all dangerous racists.

How low will Trump go?

Very low. Here is an excellent example of how Trump is misusing his office for the sake of a photo op:

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A Force to Be Reckoned With

by Gini Gerbasi
Rector at St. John's Episcopal Church, Georgetown, Washington DC
Former Assistant Rector at St. John's Church, Lafayette Square

Friends, I am ok, but I am, frankly shaken. I was at St. John's, Lafayette Square most of the afternoon, with fellow clergy and laypeople - and clergy from some other denominations too. We were passing out water and snacks, and helping the patio area at St. John's, Lafayette square to be a place of respite and peace. All was well - with a few little tense moments - until about 6:15 or so. By then, I had connected with the Black Lives Matter medic team, which was headed by an EMT. Those people were AMAZING. They had been on the patio all day, and thankfully had not had to use much of the eyewash they had made. Around 6:15 or 6:30, the police started really pushing protestors off of H Street (the street between the church and Lafayette Park, and ultimately, the White House. They started using tear gas and folks were running at us for eyewashes or water or wet paper towels. At this point, Julia, one of our seminarians for next year (who is a trauma nurse) and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was coughing, her eyes were watering, and we were trying to help people as the police - in full riot gear - drove people toward us. Julia and her classmates left and I stayed with the BLM folks trying to help people. Suddenly, around 6:30, there was more tear gas, more concussion grenades, and I think I saw someone hit by a rubber bullet - he was grasping his stomach and there was a mark on his shirt. The police in their riot gear were literally walking onto the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with these metal shields, pushing people off the patio and driving them back. People were running at us as the police advanced toward us from the other side of the patio. We had to try to pick up what we could. The BLM medic folks were obviously well practiced. They picked up boxes and ran. I was so stunned I only got a few water bottles and my spray bottle of eyewash. We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear. We were pushed back 20 feet, and then eventually - with SO MANY concussion grenades - back to K street. By the time I got back to my car, around 7, I was getting texts from people saying that Trump was outside of St. John's, Lafayette Square. I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN'S - a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day - SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED!!!!

I am deeply shaken. I did not see any protestors throw anything until the tear gas and concussion grenades started, and then it was mostly water bottles. I am shaken, not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of a cough I still have, but by the fact that that show of force was for a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. The patio of St. John's, Lafayette square had been HOLY GROUND today. A place of respite and laughter and water and granola bars and fruit snacks. But that man turned it into a BATTLE GROUND first, and a cheap political stunt second. I am DEEPLY OFFENDED on behalf of every protestor, every Christian, the people of St. John's, Lafayette square, every decent person there, and the BLM medics who stayed with just a single box of supplies and a backpack, even when I got too scared and had to leave. I am ok. But I am now a force to be reckoned with.

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Thank-you, Rev. Gerbasi, for your decency and honesty. I wish we had that kind of behavior in our government and on more of our police forces where we need it desperately.

Happy Tales from Set: Oscar Isaac & Me

In 2011, I was an extra for Won't Back Down, a movie about a school in the inner city starring Viola Davis as a teacher and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a parent.

I was part of a big crowd scene. There was a really cute guy up with the teachers. I knew I recognized him but I couldn't figure out who it was and this bothered me.

After about an hour, someone yelled "Oscar!" and the cute guy left the school steps.

I realized it was Oscar Isaac. I turned to a friend and said "The last time I saw Oscar, he was naked!"

Well, naked on TV anyway. A few weeks earlier, I'd seen Robin Hood with a very attractive young actor co-starring as Prince John. The first scene in which Oscar Isaac appeared, he was quite naked.

But I had seen him at least one other time, as Orestes in the little seen-but otherwise excellent movie Agora. Agora starred a way too young Rachel Weiss as Hypatia, a scholar and librarian of the Library of Alexandria after her father's death. Oscar played a very tricky role very well, and I felt he was a potentially very interesting actor.

Like many science fiction fans, I'd read The Sparrow and Children of God, Maria Doria Russell's amazing books about an interstellar-traveling priest/linguist named Emilio Sandoz back in the '90s. There was some talk then that Antonio Banderas was attached to a possible production, and he would have been very good a Sandoz. That disappeared--perhaps the special effects needed to pull these movies off in the '90s wouldn't have been up to the tasks.

A few years later, though, Brad Pitt bought the rights to The Sparrow, and held them for a number of years.

Hmmm....Brad Pitt wouldn't be right for Sandoz...but Oscar Isaac sure would be. And by about 2010, CGI would have been good enough to pull off the necessary special effects.

I almost brought The Sparrow with me the next time I was called to set. I wondered if Oscar Isaac was familiar with the book and would want to be in a science fiction movie or two?

When you're an extra, you're not supposed to approach "the talent." I was usually pretty good about that beyond saying "Hi." Oscar was on set again, and this time there was more mingling between extras and "the talent" as a school festival was being shot. The assistant director sent Oscar over to one corner of the festival, and then sent me to the same corner.

So while we were waiting for the assistant director to call "Background!" (which is the call for the extras to start moving; this is said before the assistant director calls "Action!"), I told Oscar how much I'd enjoyed watching him in Agora (and did not mention Robin Hood).

"Thanks."

"Have you ever read Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow? I hear Brad Pitt has the rights and you'd be a great Emilio Sandoz."

"Background!" the Assistant Director screamed and that was that. I saw Isaac from time to time, but we never had the chance to talk again.

Oh well.

At least we know now he has been in major science fiction movies, and he was very good in Ex Machina and the more recent Star Wars movies as Poe. He looks like he'll be an outstanding Duke Leto in Dune. And he's still not too old to play Emilio Sandoz.

Happy Tales from Set: The "Quiet" Jack Reacher Bus Scene

Steveo Parys, AD extraordinaire, said on Facebook 

"Asking all friends from the world of entertainment to join the challenge of posting a photo of themselves in their workplace."

I'm a movie extra, paid for something like 30 different productions since 2008, and this turned out to be my favorite day on set:

The day was in early November 2011.  The place was east of Pittsburgh, in an old car dealership in Holiday Park. The movie was Jack Reacher.  It was my favorite day on set for a bunch of reasons - one of the Production Assistants was Mia La Monica, an utterly awesome PA who was very kind to me when I'd tripped on a step a few days earlier and spilled my lunch (which included rice) all over the floor.  I was hanging out with  Joyce Lynne who was always fun to hang out with.  I'd stood line line for the bus, listening to Rosamund Pike (whose voice I'd long adored) and Tom Cruise act their way through a long scene about Jack Reacher's life.  

(yes, that's me in the light blue jeans jacket beside Rosamund's nose)

I got to watch director Christopher McQuarrie work a few days earlier on an action scene and found him very interesting to watch.  2011 had been a time to watch directors named Christopher directing action scenes as I was in the stadium scene for The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan, which had been shot in August 2011.

So this day for Jack Reacher had been a long day.  They always hired many more extras than they needed for Jack Reacher scenes, probably to give them more flexibility if they needed it.  I'd been on set for three days, and while my car wound up being featured prominently the day before, I never was in front of the camera myself.  Though...I did get to briefly meet Caleb Deschanel who was the Cinemetographer.  Very cool. And I had watched the then unknown David Oyelowo do many takes to successfully shoot at Jack Reacher.  A few years later, David starred as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava Duverney's brilliant Selma.

Somehow, Joyce and I did wind up being in line for the bus, and stayed on the bus, which was very lucky because a bunch of extras were taken off to make room for the camera and the crew.

It was late, somewhere around midnight. Everyone was exhausted, and almost every extra did the same thing - dozed.

"Wait, you can't all sleep," Christopher McQuarrie called into the back of the bus.  "You need to do something.  Any ideas."

Silence.

I'm not good with silence when someone asks for ideas.

"I could knit," I said.  I'd learned ages ago to always have a book and some knitting with me when I'm on set.

"Good," Christopher said.  "Move to the aisle seat."  Where Joyce had sat.

"Sorry, Joyce," I mumbered, and Joyce took the seat next to the window.

"We need more."

I said "Joyce could read my book."

"Fine."  

I passed Joyce my book and pulled out my knitting.

"We need something else."

I knew the young people on my right had come together, so I said "She could sit on his lap and stick her feet into the aisle."

"No!" the young woman objected.

I forget what Christopher said, but she decided it would be OK if her naked feet stuck out in the aisle.

Five minutes later, the scene was shot and we were sent home.

The movie came out in 2012, and I think the DVD came out in 2013.  I love to listen to director's commentary, which, for this movie, was both the director, Christopher McQuarrie and the star, Tom Cruise.  When this scene came up, they both made a point of saying how hard the Pittsburgh extras worked on this movie!!  So what was another reason this scene was my favorite scene - not only was I in it, but I got to suggest three bits of business that the director used!

Another cool thing about this scene  - a friend from England emailed me after seeing the movie and said, "You have a doppleganger in Jack Reacher," so I got to reply "That was no doppleganger, that was me!"

Yet More Reasons for the Senate to Convict and Expel Trump

In the fall of 2019, George Kent testified before the House Intelligence Committee, "You can’t promote principled anti-corruption action without pissing off corrupt people." This is the perfect description of the actions of Lev Parnas, RudyG & Robert Hyde (whom I think should now be called the SpyBoys) towards Ambassador Yovanovitch last spring. Actions at the behest of Trump.

Also at last fall's hearings, Ambassador Marie Yonvanovitch testified about her safety. She felt somewhat endangered. I assumed it was the Russians who were endangering her. It is beyond disgusting that it was likely Trump & his SpyBoys doing the endangering. Shouldn't this be another article of Impeachment?

I was a Nixon-supporting teen until I watched the Watergate hearings in 1973. The testimony made it clear Nixon was guilty, even though it took another year for him to resign. I could not support a criminal for president and stopped supporting Nixon in particular and his cronies.

I didn't think Bill Clinton was guilty of having an affair while in the White House and lying about it. When it was clear that Clinton was lying about it, I was angry about it, believed Monica, but didn't think a person should be impeached for lying about a personal matter, even under oath. I don't think Ike, JFK or George HW Bush ever publicly admitted to any of their well-documented affairs.

While I know the Senate has few Senators with any courage, it would be nice if some Republicans were capable of interpreting evidence and the Constitution and convicting Trump in the upcoming impeachment trial.

Open Letter to the Port Authority About Its Metrowest "Service"

Is it possible to start a conversation about how mass transit is becoming impossible to use in some areas?  I live in Metrowest.  It used to be easy to get a 28X to go to Downtown or Oakland.  Over the last 10 years or so, companies like IKEA and now Robinson Town Centre no longer permit people to park in their rarely-full lots.  For the first time I remember, the 28X was not full at rush hour yesterday, mostly due to the parking restrictions in Metrowest.

I wouldn't mind driving to Carnegie to get the G2, but the Park and Ride only has space for 215 cars.  It does come frequently, which is an advantage, but if you drive to Carnegie and there's no place to park, you're pretty much stuck driving to Downtown or Oakland and pay for parking as the other lots along the West Busway are tiny.  Shouldn't a mass transit plan aim to reduce the number of cars in already densely-trafficked areas like Downtown and Oakland?

There are options.  For a few years, the G2 used to go to the Mall at Robinson.  Particularly now that Sears has closed, the end of the Mall at Robinson lot has plenty of parking space.  If IKEA would open up the end of their lot by the now closed Toys R Us, that would open up several hundred spaces.  There's a rumor the small lot near the Applebees in Robinson can be used as a Park N Ride but it's not marked.

It's frustrating when you'd prefer to use mass transit to avoid adding to rush hour traffic and your only option is to risk having your car towed due to parking restrictions.  In the meantime, I won't be shopping at IKEA any time soon, and hope other Metrowest commuters will consider boycotting them with me.