THIS IS IT

Just Blowing Smoke

The job wrapped up, I got a lay off check Wednesday, in a little more than a week, that’s what will be plastered across the Marquee. I wonder, who has their name on this little brain shower, what genius, talk about thinking forward, it wasn’t more than a couple days after his death, when we all learned of the video, that there were hundreds of hours, that they would work hard editing, that a movie would be ready for release, late October. Well this is sure to trump, Elvis in Vegas, and why not, after all, corporate entertainment at its best,(or worst)! While working the project at Hollywood and Vine, I became acuity aware of long range planning, that over thirty years, land was acquired, the entire block, Vine to Argile, Hollywood to Selma was bought up. They won the battle over the Brown Derby, crushing Hollywood History, all in the interest of progress.(profits) I guess I have been somewhat naive, I’ve always marched to a different drum, you know, one foot, in front of the other. When my eyes opened, when it all made sense, this land grab in Hollywood, took place over more than three decades, that people thought and planned that far out front. On some levels, being surprised, as an old man, is uplifting, that maybe I haven’t seen it all. Funny thing, it all probably has been going on all along, that I just needed to go a little deeper between the lines. Somethings rotten in Denmark, when I signed on this last job, part of my package, was a sort of, how to act, if I became injured. Published by AIG, this was new, I was surprised, needless to say, I was rubbed the wrong way. What I understood, to be my primary objective on this job, was not to be injured, with great relief, I can tell you, myself, nor anyone on our crew was. I guess it was about two weeks into the job, when I realized, what was going on, the push was on. When this place opened, it would be with a bang, about a month into the job, it was all over the news. “This Is It” would premiere, in all fourteen theaters, should I be amazed at how this is all working out, it all seems so convenient. Let’s review, AIG owns the Staples Center, the venue Michael Jackson rehearsed his comeback tour, I bet the guy who thought to video tape the rehearsals, is up for a nice bonus. AIG also owns quite a large area of land around the Staples Center, if you remember, at the Michael Jackson funeral, there was some mention, of how AIG was leasing space to the media. I guess this shouldn’t surprise me, after all, by all accounts, a disaster, this is the business of AIG. Now I don’t know, how heavily involved AIG, is with the venue, LA LIVE, what I do know, is I was provided a brochure, published by AIG, on how I must act, if injured, while working on the Theaters at LA Live. It amazes me, at how this is all working out, talk about pulling a rabbit out of your hat, I’m sure it will be a grand event, AIG is sure to secure their pound of flesh. This week AIG was in the news, that the American People, own 80%, so I get a little confused on how this all shakes out. Why is it, at a time of great debate, over the future of health care in our country, we have this insurance corporation, AIG owned by Americans, and their out promoting “THIS IS IT”? An eighty percent stake in ownership, I would think wields a lot of power, why is this asset not being used to benefit American People, to bring in line, the insurance industry. Where I stand, after completing this job, is 15 hours short, of what I need to have my health insurance reinstated. 250 hours per quarter, in good times, easy to achieve, with 500 carpenters on the out of work list, it’s questionable as to whether I will get the sixteen hours that I need. So this is the way its gonna go, if Congress passes health care, as I understand it. If I come up short, on hours required, to keep my insurance active in a quarter, as a result of a bad economy, or any other reason, I would be required to buy insurance by law, and pay the penalty if I refused. I guess I’ll have to move back to New Mexico, land of misfits, outlaws, and under achievers. There ought to be a law keeping these people out of my pocket. I hear a lot about how peoples mistrust government, I would like to see more protection from corporate greed, by government, I still believe the concept, a government of the people, for the people. In my heart, I believe government, will do a better job, overseeing my health care, providing a public option, draw these insurance corporations, back in line, the effect, I am hopeful, their mandate, greed, abandoned