This is the Last Time...

An ultimatum, but also a song.

Because this IS the last time I'll comment on Mazin's site, unless I'm commenting on one of his posts. But the array of clowns posting comments? No more.

Michael Sterling asks,

Not that I want this site to be the Rebellion to Craig's Empire, but could you give a primer or something on what exactly your problem is with Craig and what's the deal with the whole Josh/Craig thing. I read his site, but not the comments. So while I agree and disagree with various things on his site, I feel like I'm missing a lot. And then I come here and you seem really pissed with him. Unreasonably so based on what he's posted. So what's the deal?

A lot of what has happened on that site did happen in the comments. The short version goes something like this. Up until a few days ago, Craig was not involved with what was happening on the strike lines but he felt compelled to post erroneous rumors and, what looked to me and others, like anti-guild propaganda.

He has every right to post whatever he wants, and I have every right to disagree with it. For example, I don't think it's appropriate to do anything right now but show support for the leadership and unity to the guild. I was critical of the lead-up to the strike. So was Craig, but for different reasons. Craig has not changed his position. I have. This, in part, led the tinfoils on his site to eviscerate me. These aren't stupid people, and I think they were being maliciously disingenuous to not understand the difference between the period prior to the strike, and the actual fucking strike.

Craig sat back and let it happen, after maintaining over and over that he wouldn't allow attacks. Then he banned Josh, but the tinfoils stayed. So what that looks like to me is, Craig fosters a certain opinion on his site. That's fine, of course; it's his site. But he should be honest about it, and he wasn't.

I thought honesty was sort of the point of having a blog, but maybe I'm just naive. Craig's tinfoils don't seem to understand what constitutes honesty. In fact, they think honesty is only positivity. These two statements are both honest:

"I sold a pilot to a network, and the executive loved it. This year rocks."

"So I didn't sell the pilot. This year sucks."

The latter statement, according to the tinfoils, is seething with bitterness. So yes, honesty will get you killed. But I'm not going to turn into Craig and be aggressively disingenuous and, well, dishonest. My agenda is not to convince people that things are rockin' along quite nicely if they aren't. That was never the point of starting a blog.

Apparently, Wednesday was "Blogger Day" at my gate. Writer/bloggers were contacted via e-mail to show up and... I dunno. Meet, I guess? Talk to fans? I really don't know. Craig is a part of that community, so he showed up. I think it was his second day on the line. I, on the other hand, picket at that gate four days a week.

It was fucking PACKED with people, mostly people who wouldn't pay attention to the #$%&%## light, but lots of people nonetheless, and that led to a lot of honking. Yesterday, the celebrity writer/bloggers who ARE picketing every day -- like Jane Espenson -- went back to their regular stomping grounds. Those who just picket when there's a photo op weren't out there today. There were about eight of us -- the same core group who usually pickets every fucking day. And a Smallville fan named Jim came out to picket before going in to work. There's nothing cooler than being supported by the fans and the public. Nothing. Every wave, every smile, every tap of the horn... it makes a difference. It strengthens our resolve, which IS important. It's hilarious that the same people who equate my honesty with bitterness are so cynical and robotic that they don't think anything one person does makes a difference.

Irony is indeed lost on the masses.

Craig doesn't understand this, because he only pickets when the muse wants to take his picture. I watched him do this the other day. I watched him solicit the photo ops, and then -- lo and fucking behold -- he posted about it on his blog. It's self-serving bullshit, in my opinion. And as someone who's out there every fucking day, it's infuriating.

So anybody who wonders why I take issue with Craig, I'm only going to say this one more time and then that's it: he's surfing our waves. He can pretend that he's out there every day. He can pretend that he acknowledges the people who honk for us. He can pretend he's grateful to see people other than writers out there on the line. He can pretend he understands what it's like to be out there, picketing in week five. He can pretend he stood in the rain at Sony.

But he didn't, and he doesn't understand. And it's really infuriating that this is the spokesmodel for our cause.

As for what happened with Craig and Josh, I won't speak for Josh. But I'm not very impressed with the way Craig has handled himself as a human being.

So we're done with Craig now, right? Because next time, I want to talk about TeeVee I love, and other substantial things, like... Andruw Jones to the Dodgers??? How the fuck did THAT happen???

Little Miss Nomad wonders,

You know what I wonder? Who came up with the word "asshat"? I have a post about the possible meanings/origins of this neologism here, but I'd really like your thoughts on it...

I believe it was coined, as was the lovely 'jackhole,' by the World Famous KROQ's Kevin and Bean. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember then making up not-nasty curse words. And anybody who knows who called KROQ "The World Famous KROQ" in the first place gets my two cents from my next DVD sale (I don't get four cents; I have to split it with my writing partner).

np -- "My Biggest Thrill," the Mighty Lemon Drops. From Rhino's four-CD orgy, "The Brit Box."