So now I know why TV *sucks*.

I have been looking into what is required to submit an idea for a new show, and I have to say, I think I now have a much greater appreciation for why most of what is on TV today genuinely sucks.

I write, as does just about everyone I guess. I don't claim to be the best writer ever, but I do have a lot of unique, quirky ideas that seem to entertain the hell out of family and friends.

I often find myself sitting in a room full of people orating to an audience. It'll start as a conversation between myself and one or two other people. Often, since I prefer spending time with intelligent, creative people, the conversation comes around to this eventually.

I'll make a remark about a new story idea, someone will ask for a bit more detail, and other's will catch a bit and ask for a recap. This winds up catching more attention, the cycle continues, and I'll wind up with everyone staring at me like it's story time by the camp fire.

I admit, I do have my moods, and when I'm in *that* mood, it just flows from me. I'm good at taking a concept and fleshing it in as I go, and wind up with a bunch of suggestions, ranging from writing it as a novel to pitching it as a TV show, or submitting it to magazines. I've even had offers from a few folks to pay for a vanity publishing just to get things moving.

Now, back on point. I had a idea for a story, which evolved in my head as I was pondering it, initially as a short novel(maybe 500 or 600 pages). As I considered the idea, the book got bigger, the subplots multiplied like rabbits on a carrot farm, and I wound up with something that I thought could legitimately make either a series of books, or a great TV show. It has endless opportunities for sub plots, new characters, new scenarios, etc.

Anyone who has ever looked into being published in any way is already aware of the hoops you're expected to hop through on demand. For those who don't let me clarify.

Most writers, be it print, TV, or any other mass media, simply will not ever be seen without having an agent, or at least an attorney experienced in the industry. Then you have to submit your story in some predetermined format that often either doesn't make sense at all, or is offensively obsolete.

First they want a one paragraph synopsis, or 3 paragraphs. Then some want the opening chapter, other's want 3 chapters, or a synopsis of the first chapter, in this font, weight, and spacing. On this kind of paper, mailed in this type of envelope, etc. I was only able to find a SINGLE major publisher who would even accept anything in electronic format!

No wonder the majority of what is pumped out has the complexity of the average school girl's world view. How the hell do you give a fair synopsis of a complex story in a paragraph and still do it any justice?

So just having your idea actually SEEN by anyone inside a publishing or production house is an arduous, tedious, mind numbingly frustrating endeavor. It's insane, IMO, to have this daunting gamut run between yourself, as a business, and potential cash cows.

How many times have you heard how *desperate* everyone is for new writers? How hard it is to find good new novelists, or television writers, or movie writers. A good story teller is exactly that; a story teller. Whatever medium or genre, all of the other shit should be taken care of by those who need it, particularly when they're screaming for new blood, and new ideas.

The computer tech doesn't create the components, someone else does. A contractor doesn't create his tools, a driver doesn't make his own car, and a writer shouldn't have to create format specific anything. A writer tells a story. A writer captures your attention and imagination, allows you to suspend your disbelief for a short time and immerses you in a time and place where fascinating things can happen. A writer is a story teller, not a clerk, not a secretary, and not interested in jumping through your silly hoops and spitting fire to get your attention.

No wonder the vast majority of new novels are your standard, garbage, cookie cutter stories. 400 to 500 pages of shit you've seen, with new names and new places, but the same tired old plots.

No wonder new TV shows are just like the last 50, or 100, or 200 that have failed. No wonder most movies are only interesting to the average 12 year old. Not wonder they all jump on the band wagon. We've all noticed that one a movie makes it, there are dozens of clones within weeks or months hitting the market.

There are so few story tellers left in the industry, and no real alternative *to* that industry. I wonder how many wonderful stories, how many interesting and endearing characters, how many thought provoking plots and daring adventures are moldering away in someone's trunk, or in someone's mind, because they simply cannot, or will not, dance like a fool for the amusement and attention of those who make their living exploiting talent, because they have none of their own.

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A Suggestion to Mexico

Yet again, the Mexican government is acting outraged that a US Border Patrol Agent had the audacity to defend himself when an illegal named Jose Alejandro Ortiz Castillo, who has been CAUGHT 28 times since '99 crossing our border illegally, picked up a large chunk of concrete while the border agent was arresting one of the illegals Ortiz was smuggling into our country. The agent shot him, and Ortiz later died. Now, anyone with common sense and even a tiny glimmer of justice and fair play would simply shrug this off with a simple, logical statement akin to "Well, he shouldn't have been smuggling illegals into the country, and DAMN sure shouldn't have tried to smash the agent's head in with a grapefruit sized chunk of stone."

Well, why am I not surprised that the Mexican government has a different take on this? The Mexican government officially condemned the border patrol, and actually called for an investigation! Sure, they know where their meal ticket is, and so does everyone else, but how about this: If you're so fucking worried about the illegals that your country is spewing across our border at a rate of hundreds of thousands a year, why don't YOU patrol the border on YOUR side, and stop the criminals before they get into the "Danger Zone" controlled by OUR border patrol?

How about you take a little of the money being siphoned out of OUR economy every year and sent back there to build a little infrastructure? How about the people of Mexico stop having revolution after revolution, then letting the same fucking criminals take control over and over? And while we're at it, how about Mexico use even HALF the restraint that the US border patrol shows on their OWN southern border?

You want to see atrocities? Take a few minutes and look up what the Mexican government does to illegal immigrants on it's own southern border.

So, from Joe Sixpack, Fuck you Mexico, fuck your hypocrisy, and fuck your complicity in this whole problem. And while we're at it, fuck you Washington for not FIXING this in the 21 years since the 1986 resolution signed by Regan to take care of this before it got this out of hand.

What ever happened to solutions based leadership in this country?

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What ever happened to Class?

Now don't get me wrong. I grew up in what is easily one of the roughest neighborhoods in the country. There were shootings constantly, drugs everywhere, and if you wanted to keep owning something, you either chained it down, or made sure it was worthless beyond even the measure of a crackhead on a mission to get a hit. Add to all of this the fact that my white face might as well have been a beacon in the night for all that it allowed me to blend in with those around me.

I mention these things not because I'm proud of them in some way, and for some this certainly is some sick source of pride. I mention these things to allow for some perspective on what I'm about to say.

When the fuck did the concept of a "classy girl" get confused with "desperate, dysfunctional little girl whose Daddy didn't pay her enough attention so now she's willing to do ANYTHING to get noticed by men"?

Don't get me wrong, I come from Trashy(that's right, capital T). I appreciate that loud and toothless can still be good people. Hell, some of my best friends are exactly that. But I don't delude myself. I don't deny the reality, and I don't fail to appreciate that reality when I'm in a given situation. I made damn sure that in my early 30's, I still have all my teeth. I made sure that I don't have that look we call "hard livin". I struggled to get out, with a lot of help from some friends, and a lot of determination, and good ole fashioned hard work, and my fair share of luck.

Now that we've established that I in no way look down my nose at anyone because of where they come from, lets get to it.

Raunchy, ladies, is NOT sexy. To anyone but a few truly sick individuals who self loathe, and use(yes use) raunchy women to punish themselves, but that's an entirely different topic. Back to it. When you strike that pose with your tongue and your tits sticking out in front and your ass with thong hanging out in the back, you don't look sexy, you look slutty. The two, despite popular belief, are NOT synonymous. And unfortunately, the common "wisdom" on this subject is anything but.

When you look and act slutty, we guys use another word when you can't hear us. Pig. Or sometimes worse, but I'll be nice here. When you walk by with that stripper strut and men are looking, they're thinking of you bent over holding onto the pole, or wondering if you'll let their buddies tag team you, not long term anything but physical use. Once you've been seen in that light, it's over. You will NEVER been seen as a viable option for anything beyond what fantasy you will be used for. You can't change it later, you're never going to be seen as anything beyond that initial impression. If you doubt me, ask yourself(and actually answer yourself honestly), how many strippers(or girls who act like one) you've ever known or heard of that are in a happy relationship. The answer, of course, is none(unless you're hopelessly dishonest with yourself, in which case you're mind-fucked and emotionally damaged beyond help, move on and forget this blog ever existed).

Sexy is something that you exude on a subtle level. A sensuality that men cannot help but notice, even though you aren't trying. It's decidedly a learned state, but one that is taught in conjunction with self respect, and an acceptable level of modesty. In other words, Class(again, the capital is intentional).

Now I'm not talking about being a prude, and I'm not saying you need to be covered head to toe in a berka. I AM, however, nicely informing any of you who happen across this little blog, that men, ALL men, know the difference. If you doubt me, then ask any guy you know who will be even partially honest with you whether or not they differentiate between who they'll sleep with, and who they'll take home to meet their Mothers. We call the latter "the marrying kind". Men don't marry their sluts, they use them until the crazy bitches become more trouble than they're worth, then they find a new one. They're everywhere today. Thinking that they're free, instead of realizing that they're just lost, pretending to be happy when they're really desperate to understand what they're doing wrong, even taking these things to the level of self denial. You know in your heart ladies, and ignoring it isn't going to help you. For many, it's too late. But for others it's still possible, just maybe, to understand.

Who's fault is it? Well, you could lay blame on a million different people. The absent fathers, the working mothers, the Hollywood pimps who try to pretend that lack of any morals at all equates to freedom, rather than cluelessness. They have a goal in that girls. If women stop buying that there is some positive aspect to being a whore, then who would they make billions exploiting? Hollywood has nothing to offer in the real world, and neither does the mainstream media.

You don't have to blindly believe me ladies. I have no dog in this fight. I'm not the one being exploited, used, abused, then tossed away for a fresher, younger one. That's you. Think about all of those who you know that ARE happily married. They're the ones to emulate. And if you buy that silly notion that you can do whatever you want now, and it won't catch up with you later, you're sadly, sadly mistaken. Doubt it? Find someone who's done it.

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