Meant to post this weekend, but I was too frakkin' wiped out and in need of decompressing with The Boyfriend. Many, many blogs have posted insightful reports and perspective from the week, so expect nothing like that here. Cliff notes on the strike so far:
Monday - First day on the line! I show up with friend BooM at Warner Bros. Gate 2, hoist a picket sign, and get to it. I learn that hour 3 is about when you start to flag. Chanting of slogans, lots of general woo-hooing to the many many honks of support. My favorites slogan of the day is "Exterior! Street! Writers are striking!"
Tuesday - Some idiot in a Volvo speeds past, flipping off both sides of the street. It's easy to be an asshat at 30mph. I spend my post-picket time at home online, catching up with all the great coverage including United Hollywood's amazing video street team.
Wednesday - Today we got NOIZ-EE. Clacky hands, party horns, buckets-as-drums, surprisingly noisy small cowbell. I learn that if you have one of the latter, you will go approximately 6 minutes at a time without someone yelling "More cowbell!" from that SNL sketch.
Thursday - Today we got FED. A parade of generous food donations from all manner of supporters. Agents from Paradigm, mine and others, descended in their nice suits with trays of lattes in the p.m. for the shift change. Thanks, guys!
Got a huge boost when fans of MOONLIGHT arrived with pizzas, a great sign ("Vampire solidarity! Rah rah rah!") and welcome moral support. Very cool.
And, we learn that our assistants got laid off. Not very cool. But they've since joined us on the line. Very cool again.
Friday - Rally, with inspiring speakers I couldn't quite hear over the insufficient sound system and HUGE crowd, but which I caught up on via YouTube. You know, that crazy new internet thing.
I hafta say, between the blogs, YouTube, Cafe Press supporter swag, fan petitions, etc. etc. The AMPTP is getting PWNED online. It is fairly awesome.
A "ring girl" walks around the rally with a "Day 5" sign. Lots of great signs, actually. The one that read "Nick Counter hates puppies and babies" first read to me as "Nick Counter eats puppies and babies." Hell, for all we know, that's true.
More agency food love! Assistants from CAA circulated with churros, UTA's young turks made the rounds with energy bars, and the kids from WMA staffed not one but two bagel and coffee stations. Writers love carbs. There was also a Guaraki truck, and someone handing out water in bottles that looked like flasks. Or maybe it just looked like water...
Monday - New shift hours. I'm trying the O-dark-thirty shift W-F this week. May indulge my inner fangirl to visit the Barham gate of Universal tomorrow, where I believe the Battlestar Galactica peeps will be. A Vitaminwater truck came by to cheer us up at Gate 4 and left us some cold drinks. I have little calluses starting on my hands from my picket sign. I'm oddly proud of them.
A final thought for the AMPTP, courtesy of Spoon:
You got no time for the messenger,
got no regard for the thing that you don't understand,
you got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive.
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