Wednesday, July 26, 2006
My internet connection hell
I am going through hell and am wondering if anyone else is in the same place as me. I upgraded my earthlink dsl to earthlink through time warner cable back on January. All was fine for 5 months until my modem fried, it took Time Warner 5 days to get to my house to replace the modem.
It has been a nightmare since then. They have replaced my modem several times, been in the backyard climbing the pole, been on the roof checking the line and nothing, my modem keeps recycling sometimes twice a day sometimes every 5 minutes.
I also moved my phone service to vonage to save money and my vonage is useless because my modem keeps going out.
Time Warner (by the way you all suck and are useless) can't help me anymore so I decided to get a dsl on a different phone line in my house through earthlink.
The stuff came in the mail, I hooked it up and voila no dsl service. I had a technician in my house yesterday and he said the problem is not here but at the main office.
Suffice it to say earthlink (I have been a loyal customer for 10 years) sucks just like Time Warner. Every time I call customer service I get a useless person in India who has no idea how to help me and when I ask to be transferred to a supervisor I get someone else who can't help me.
And these guys had the nerve to already bill me when my service is not working and I can't reach anyone to give them shit about it becasue the wait to talk to someone was 20 minutes.
I emailed the ceo of earthlink earlier this week and have heard nothing back.
Help me get some satisfaction. If anyone reads this and has any idea what I should do, email me at: melsil@earthlink.net
It has been a nightmare since then. They have replaced my modem several times, been in the backyard climbing the pole, been on the roof checking the line and nothing, my modem keeps recycling sometimes twice a day sometimes every 5 minutes.
I also moved my phone service to vonage to save money and my vonage is useless because my modem keeps going out.
Time Warner (by the way you all suck and are useless) can't help me anymore so I decided to get a dsl on a different phone line in my house through earthlink.
The stuff came in the mail, I hooked it up and voila no dsl service. I had a technician in my house yesterday and he said the problem is not here but at the main office.
Suffice it to say earthlink (I have been a loyal customer for 10 years) sucks just like Time Warner. Every time I call customer service I get a useless person in India who has no idea how to help me and when I ask to be transferred to a supervisor I get someone else who can't help me.
And these guys had the nerve to already bill me when my service is not working and I can't reach anyone to give them shit about it becasue the wait to talk to someone was 20 minutes.
I emailed the ceo of earthlink earlier this week and have heard nothing back.
Help me get some satisfaction. If anyone reads this and has any idea what I should do, email me at: melsil@earthlink.net
New piece on Women in Hollywood
Here is my newest piece which appeared July 25 on the Women's Media center site and will soon appear on Alternet
WMC Exclusive: In Hollywood, Perception of Equality Doesn't Make it Real by Melissa Silverstein
July 25
With summer movie season upon us, a potential blockbuster opens each weekend on as many screens as possible throughout the local multiplex. By Sunday morning Hollywood executives know if they've got a hit or a flop. The choice this summer-Mission Impossible III, Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean II-are highly reminiscent of summers past: boy-centric action films directed by men.
The sad truth is the trend is not new. But it occurs at a time when the film and media communities seem to believe that women in record numbers are powerful decision makers in Hollywood. This perception began 18 months ago when a New York Times article, heralding Hollywood's New Old Girls' Network, declared that women "have finally buried the notion that Hollywood is a man's world."
But the reality today does not meet the perception. When that article was published in April 2005, women ran production at four of the six major Hollywood studios. Within the last week, the number fell to two and each of those women reports to a male boss.
Gender disparity runs rampant throughout the Hollywood studio system. Martha Lauzen from San Diego State University has tracked women working behind the scenes in top grossing films for several years. The 2005 statistics are out and the news is grim. Lauzen’s The Celluloid Ceiling reports that "women comprised 17% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films.” The percentage was the same in 1998.
Looking only at directors, the most creative position in Hollywood, the numbers are humbling: women were at 7% in 2005, up from the year before but down from an all-time high of 11% in 2000. Other measurements confirm Lauzen’s research. The Director’s Guild reports only 13% women among its 7,400 directing members. Variety stats list just three women directors of 2005’s top 100 grossing movies. Angela Robinson comes in at number 38 with a remake of Herbie Fully Loaded, Nora Ephron at 42 with Bewitched and Clare Kilner at 88 with The Wedding Date.
Why are there not more women directing movies? To begin with Hollywood remains a business of relationships, and the male executives are comfortable with male directors. "Male competency is assumed,” says Lauzen. “Female competency is frequently if not always questioned." According to Nikki Finke, columnist from LA Weekly and Deadline Hollywood blogger, if women have “one movie that doesn't perform they are punished more harshly." Remember Penny Marshall? She was a huge directing star after Big and A League of Their Own. She hasn't directed a film since Riding in Cars with Boys in 2001. Mimi Leder, plucked by Steven Spielberg from the TV set of ER, directed the action movies Deep Impact and The Peacemaker. But she hasn't directed on the big screen since Pay it Forward in 2000.
How could a community that prides itself on its liberalism and progressivism fail so miserably in this area? At the top film schools UCLA and NYU, women and men study film in roughly equal numbers. Are women not tough enough to handle the all-consuming role of director, or unwilling to sacrifice for the chance? Martha Lauzen says she knows many directors, who happen to be women, who would say, “I have a husband and kids, but if I can get that job I'll work that out."
Perhaps women do not even want to direct the monster budget, boy-focused films that seem to be Hollywood’s favorite product. Probably no director would turn down a job, but look at Nancy Meyers, whom Nikki Finke calls "the most successful woman director working today." Able to tap into the "zeitgeist" with stories that resonate with women, Meyers worked for years as screenwriter on Father of the Bride and other films her husband directed. Her success reached another level when she directed What Women Want and continued with Something’s Gotta Give, the 2003 film starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson which she wrote and directed. Her film The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, is slated for release later this year.
But without incentive to change, the status quo will remain in Hollywood, especially at a time when the studios are contracting. “Sometimes I think being labeled sexist in that community is not seen as negative but a badge of honor," says Martha Lauzen. Maybe Hollywood can learn from political women who have made concerted efforts to build a pipeline of candidates. Perhaps a consortium of women opening an independent studio, suggests Nikki Finke. One thing is clear from Lauzen's research: Hollywood’s women support each other when given the chance. "In both TV and film, when women are in a position to hire others they hire women at a greater rate then do men."
If ever there is a true "Old Girls Network," women could make films just as good—or as bad—as their fellow male directors. For now, Hollywood should stop pretending that women have power and actually work to get them some.
The Celluloid Ceiling
WMC Exclusive: In Hollywood, Perception of Equality Doesn't Make it Real by Melissa Silverstein
July 25
With summer movie season upon us, a potential blockbuster opens each weekend on as many screens as possible throughout the local multiplex. By Sunday morning Hollywood executives know if they've got a hit or a flop. The choice this summer-Mission Impossible III, Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean II-are highly reminiscent of summers past: boy-centric action films directed by men.
The sad truth is the trend is not new. But it occurs at a time when the film and media communities seem to believe that women in record numbers are powerful decision makers in Hollywood. This perception began 18 months ago when a New York Times article, heralding Hollywood's New Old Girls' Network, declared that women "have finally buried the notion that Hollywood is a man's world."
But the reality today does not meet the perception. When that article was published in April 2005, women ran production at four of the six major Hollywood studios. Within the last week, the number fell to two and each of those women reports to a male boss.
Gender disparity runs rampant throughout the Hollywood studio system. Martha Lauzen from San Diego State University has tracked women working behind the scenes in top grossing films for several years. The 2005 statistics are out and the news is grim. Lauzen’s The Celluloid Ceiling reports that "women comprised 17% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films.” The percentage was the same in 1998.
Looking only at directors, the most creative position in Hollywood, the numbers are humbling: women were at 7% in 2005, up from the year before but down from an all-time high of 11% in 2000. Other measurements confirm Lauzen’s research. The Director’s Guild reports only 13% women among its 7,400 directing members. Variety stats list just three women directors of 2005’s top 100 grossing movies. Angela Robinson comes in at number 38 with a remake of Herbie Fully Loaded, Nora Ephron at 42 with Bewitched and Clare Kilner at 88 with The Wedding Date.
Why are there not more women directing movies? To begin with Hollywood remains a business of relationships, and the male executives are comfortable with male directors. "Male competency is assumed,” says Lauzen. “Female competency is frequently if not always questioned." According to Nikki Finke, columnist from LA Weekly and Deadline Hollywood blogger, if women have “one movie that doesn't perform they are punished more harshly." Remember Penny Marshall? She was a huge directing star after Big and A League of Their Own. She hasn't directed a film since Riding in Cars with Boys in 2001. Mimi Leder, plucked by Steven Spielberg from the TV set of ER, directed the action movies Deep Impact and The Peacemaker. But she hasn't directed on the big screen since Pay it Forward in 2000.
How could a community that prides itself on its liberalism and progressivism fail so miserably in this area? At the top film schools UCLA and NYU, women and men study film in roughly equal numbers. Are women not tough enough to handle the all-consuming role of director, or unwilling to sacrifice for the chance? Martha Lauzen says she knows many directors, who happen to be women, who would say, “I have a husband and kids, but if I can get that job I'll work that out."
Perhaps women do not even want to direct the monster budget, boy-focused films that seem to be Hollywood’s favorite product. Probably no director would turn down a job, but look at Nancy Meyers, whom Nikki Finke calls "the most successful woman director working today." Able to tap into the "zeitgeist" with stories that resonate with women, Meyers worked for years as screenwriter on Father of the Bride and other films her husband directed. Her success reached another level when she directed What Women Want and continued with Something’s Gotta Give, the 2003 film starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson which she wrote and directed. Her film The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, is slated for release later this year.
But without incentive to change, the status quo will remain in Hollywood, especially at a time when the studios are contracting. “Sometimes I think being labeled sexist in that community is not seen as negative but a badge of honor," says Martha Lauzen. Maybe Hollywood can learn from political women who have made concerted efforts to build a pipeline of candidates. Perhaps a consortium of women opening an independent studio, suggests Nikki Finke. One thing is clear from Lauzen's research: Hollywood’s women support each other when given the chance. "In both TV and film, when women are in a position to hire others they hire women at a greater rate then do men."
If ever there is a true "Old Girls Network," women could make films just as good—or as bad—as their fellow male directors. For now, Hollywood should stop pretending that women have power and actually work to get them some.
The Celluloid Ceiling
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Another Sexist Sports Comment
So is Danica patrick that thretening to the male drivers that they need to make disgusting sexist comments about her being succcessful if its "that time of the month."
Idiot. His mother - the owner of his car- should kick his ass!
Here is the AP piece
Driver: 'Time of month' could help Danica in NASCAR
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A fellow IRL driver says Danica Patrick has what it takes to succeed if she switches to the paint-swapping world of NASCAR and she's plenty aggressive in open-wheel racing when it's "the right time of the month."
Ed Carpenter, who trails Patrick by four slots in the IRL IndyCar Series' points race, made the comment when asked how Patrick might handle NASCAR racing during a radio appearance to promote Saturday night's Firestone Indy 200.
"I think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars," Carpenter said Wednesday on WGFX-FM in Nashville.
"I mean, you know especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there," he said. "But I think she'll hold her own. Who's she's going to drive for is hard to say. I don't think she's leaving, so we'll see."
Carpenter later told The Associated Press he didn't mean to be disrespectful of Patrick by using a female stereotype.
He said he was trying to make the point that Patrick is competitive and already proven as a capable driver. He predicts she'll stay in the IndyCar Series.
"It's obvious when you're around her, she's very competitive," he said in a telephone interview afterward. "I think she has goals that she hasn't accomplished yet in the IRL Indy cars. That's going to want to make her stay."
Patrick, a presenter at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, didn't take offense when informed of Carpenter's comments.
"That sounds like a good joke to me, it's pretty funny to me," she said backstage. "No big deal. Ed is a really nice guy. There's no drama there. I think it's funny. I'm glad he's showing some personality."
There has been wide speculation that Patrick will switch leagues after her IRL contract ends this season. Her father was a guest of Roush Racing at Chicagoland Speedway for the Nextel Cup race last weekend.
Carpenter, who is married, drives for a team owned by his mother and her husband, Tony George -- chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League.
Patrick, who won three poles and was rookie of the year in 2005, ranks 12th in points this year, best on the Rahal-Letterman team.
"She's kind of leading the way for her team and putting up the best results for her team. She's going to get shoved around over there just because she's a girl, but I think she's going to be able to hold her own -- if she even goes over there," Carpenter said.
Idiot. His mother - the owner of his car- should kick his ass!
Here is the AP piece
Driver: 'Time of month' could help Danica in NASCAR
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A fellow IRL driver says Danica Patrick has what it takes to succeed if she switches to the paint-swapping world of NASCAR and she's plenty aggressive in open-wheel racing when it's "the right time of the month."
Ed Carpenter, who trails Patrick by four slots in the IRL IndyCar Series' points race, made the comment when asked how Patrick might handle NASCAR racing during a radio appearance to promote Saturday night's Firestone Indy 200.
"I think Danica's pretty aggressive in our cars," Carpenter said Wednesday on WGFX-FM in Nashville.
"I mean, you know especially if you catch her at the right time of the month, she might be trading plenty of paint out there," he said. "But I think she'll hold her own. Who's she's going to drive for is hard to say. I don't think she's leaving, so we'll see."
Carpenter later told The Associated Press he didn't mean to be disrespectful of Patrick by using a female stereotype.
He said he was trying to make the point that Patrick is competitive and already proven as a capable driver. He predicts she'll stay in the IndyCar Series.
"It's obvious when you're around her, she's very competitive," he said in a telephone interview afterward. "I think she has goals that she hasn't accomplished yet in the IRL Indy cars. That's going to want to make her stay."
Patrick, a presenter at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, didn't take offense when informed of Carpenter's comments.
"That sounds like a good joke to me, it's pretty funny to me," she said backstage. "No big deal. Ed is a really nice guy. There's no drama there. I think it's funny. I'm glad he's showing some personality."
There has been wide speculation that Patrick will switch leagues after her IRL contract ends this season. Her father was a guest of Roush Racing at Chicagoland Speedway for the Nextel Cup race last weekend.
Carpenter, who is married, drives for a team owned by his mother and her husband, Tony George -- chief executive officer of the Indy Racing League.
Patrick, who won three poles and was rookie of the year in 2005, ranks 12th in points this year, best on the Rahal-Letterman team.
"She's kind of leading the way for her team and putting up the best results for her team. She's going to get shoved around over there just because she's a girl, but I think she's going to be able to hold her own -- if she even goes over there," Carpenter said.
God Love the British
July 13, 2006
Found this story on my jaunt through the web this morning- from Reuters
"Wear nice pants" [meaning underpants] - police tell women drinkers
LONDON (Reuters) - Women going on boozy nights out have been warned by police to "wear nice pants" in case they fall down drunk in the street.
A Suffolk police safety campaign magazine shows pictures of young women slumped on the ground next to messages urging them: "If you've got it, don't flaunt it".
"If you fall over or pass out, remember your skirt or dress may ride up," the magazine says. "You could show off more than you intended -- for all our sakes, please make sure you're wearing nice pants and that you've recently had a wax."
Readers are also told to stick with friends, book a taxi home and watch the amount they drink.
Police said the Safe! magazine's gossipy, tongue-in-cheek style was designed to alert young women to the dangers they could face if they get drunk during a night out.
"We need to raise their awareness of potential problems," said Chief Superintendent David McDonnell. "They become more vulnerable whilst under the influence of alcohol.
Found this story on my jaunt through the web this morning- from Reuters
"Wear nice pants" [meaning underpants] - police tell women drinkers
LONDON (Reuters) - Women going on boozy nights out have been warned by police to "wear nice pants" in case they fall down drunk in the street.
A Suffolk police safety campaign magazine shows pictures of young women slumped on the ground next to messages urging them: "If you've got it, don't flaunt it".
"If you fall over or pass out, remember your skirt or dress may ride up," the magazine says. "You could show off more than you intended -- for all our sakes, please make sure you're wearing nice pants and that you've recently had a wax."
Readers are also told to stick with friends, book a taxi home and watch the amount they drink.
Police said the Safe! magazine's gossipy, tongue-in-cheek style was designed to alert young women to the dangers they could face if they get drunk during a night out.
"We need to raise their awareness of potential problems," said Chief Superintendent David McDonnell. "They become more vulnerable whilst under the influence of alcohol.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Zidane- Golden Boot Award?
I watched the World Cup with a bit of insane religiosity. I love soccer. But what Zidane did yesterday was horrible and inexcusable, and then for the journalists to name him the best player is a travesty.
I bet that a lot of people around the world (I know there were 2 in my house) hadn't watched any of the games except for the final. It was a cultural event not to be missed. That means that many people's only remembrance of this world cup will be zidane's head butt. Then the press goes ahead and rewards his behavior with the most prestigious award in soccer. Shameful.
Again, boys will be boys behavior is tolerated and exaulted and the role models for sports are men who cannot keep their cool in the heat of the moment.
Is it no surprise that the game has deteriorated into a folly of whistles with a little kicking in between each stop for a foul.
Women play soccer without all the crazy fouls. Maybe the guys should watch the women play -- they fight hard yet are not taking people down on a constant basis.
I bet that a lot of people around the world (I know there were 2 in my house) hadn't watched any of the games except for the final. It was a cultural event not to be missed. That means that many people's only remembrance of this world cup will be zidane's head butt. Then the press goes ahead and rewards his behavior with the most prestigious award in soccer. Shameful.
Again, boys will be boys behavior is tolerated and exaulted and the role models for sports are men who cannot keep their cool in the heat of the moment.
Is it no surprise that the game has deteriorated into a folly of whistles with a little kicking in between each stop for a foul.
Women play soccer without all the crazy fouls. Maybe the guys should watch the women play -- they fight hard yet are not taking people down on a constant basis.
Women do go to the movies
last weekend during the July 4th holiday weekend I went to see The Devil Wears Prada. Suffice it to say a lot of other people wanted to see that movie too- it took us two times (and ordering in advance even in Pittsfield, MA) to see the great Meryl Streep in another amazing role.
I still can't get over her voice.
Just remember when all the bullshit pundits say that women don't go to the movies that we do and we will go see movies that ARE GOOD!
Devil came in second place over the holiday weekend raking in almost 4o million dollars with an audience that was 79 percent female and 61 percent over 25.
Yeah for all of us over 25!
I still can't get over her voice.
Just remember when all the bullshit pundits say that women don't go to the movies that we do and we will go see movies that ARE GOOD!
Devil came in second place over the holiday weekend raking in almost 4o million dollars with an audience that was 79 percent female and 61 percent over 25.
Yeah for all of us over 25!
