Jamie needs to record a Christmas Album

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post??!?? Where has the time gone? Hope I didn't lose any faithful readers, but you know how the holidays are. And, yes, according to Al Roker, who lit the tree in Rockefeller Center last night, the Holidays are officially here!

I thought Thanksgiving was the start of the Holiday season. Retailers seem to think it's Halloween. And Boston lit their tree the weekend before Thanksgiving. So, methinks NYC is a bit late this year. Or trying to hold onto their glory days as the best city to be decorated for the holidays. Actually,I think they still are. I went to London over Thanksgiving, and was surprised to find that there weren't trees on every corner, lights on all day and night. I expected it to look like that scene in Love, Actually. Sloane Square was done up nicely, Harrods looked nice, but no better than Macy's in Times Sq.

Let me tell you about my trip. For the first time in ages, I didn't visit any bookstores (unless you count the mini-Borders at Heathrow, which I don't), libraries, and I didn't worry about my job or what was waiting for me when I got back! My desk was not piled up with notes that I did not understand, my mailbox was not overflowing. Sure I still had lots to do, but not overwhelmingly so. Don't get me wrong: I miss my friends (very much) at SPL, but that was a real treat, walking into my office and seeing it just as I left it.

Course, our office was closed the Friday after Thanksgiving (and on the weekends), where the library is open all weekend! That does not seem fair...I really think having the library be closed on Black Friday would assist the economy. So next year I propose closing all public libraries on Black Friday, not for the staff to enjoy their day after cooking and hosting 30 people, but to boost the economy.

But back to my trip. I spent the whole time walking the city with my sister, we saw Jamie Cullum in concert, and even managed to get tickets to see Mary Poppins (another musical--what a surprise). We also shopped, went on the London Eye, and ate! The fruit in England is AMAZING! I don't know how it can be so fresh in the middle of November. I hope to go over again for another fun girl's weekend--maybe next summer.

So, how was your holiday? As exciting as mine?

STRIKE DRAGS ON FOR SECOND DAY! IS THIS THE END OF WRITTEN WORD?-Joss Whedon

So let's talk about this strike. Every night this week, there's a blurb on the news about day __ of the writer's strike. Are they gonna do this every day of it? Cuz I think this one is going to be a doozy. 25 years ago they went on strike, but not much changed. 2 years ago, they were planning on it, but it never happened (I believe that it was the actors' union that time). But this one...well, they are doing it for a reason I can get behind. Y'know how cool technology is? How you don't have to choose between Heroes, Chuck, and sleep on Mondays at 9? That's because we know that we can always go online an see what we missed. Networks are streaming their shows on their website--so awesome. AND, now you can buy individual episodes on iTunes, so you can take them to go on your iPod.

But here's the thing...while the actors, directors, producers, advertisers, and just about everyone else involved gets some sort of payment for their work, the writers aren't making a cent off of additional showings of their work. So for example, Keifer Sutherland gets paid for his work on 24, then if the show goes online and to iTunes, he gets another check. THEN, if the show goes into syndication (which it has) he gets another check for that.

Writers get money for the original show and syndications, but not that middle, "new technology" stuff. Now please don't misunderstand me...Hollywood has enough money. I stopped watching Friends when the stars demanded (and got!) one mil an episode, somewhere around the 4th season. But writers have a long history in Hollywood for being neglected, so I understand their reasoning.

Hopefully this will all end soon (an in support of the writers!). As it is, most of the late nite talk shows are in reruns, 24 has been postponed, and there will be no more new episodes of our favorites. The Heroes team has reworked an episode to serve as a season ender, in case the strike continues for longer than a few weeks. Lest we forget what this may do to views of shows like Lost: they've already lost (haha) many fans due to the convoluted storytelling ( I am not one of these fans--I learned long ago to trust JJ Abrams and his team and just enjoy the ride). What will a strike mean to shows depending on their fans? And most people who know me, know I feel that the writers are the stars of the shows--Joss, JJ, Tim, and Josh, you're the reasons Buffy, Alias, Heroes, and Chuck/Gossip Girls work. Oh sure, the actors and everyone else are important, but every show begins with a word, and it comes from you guys.

Note to strikers: feeling that writing bug bite? Try your hand at writing a YA novel! I'd love what some of you would do in the publishing field (I'm talkin' to you, Tina Fey!)

And the worst part of all this? More "reality" tv--as if they weren't stealing enoughs jobs from actual actors and writers!

Penny's boy Nick Lachey is 34 today. He's had such a hard time after his divorce, and would really appreciate it if you showed your support by buying his cd, right Pen? Yuck!