AFI Fest 2011

This is a copy of my e mail to AFI tonight having finally calmed down enough to write in a semi rational voice. I have deleted the names of both persons because they are in no way to blame for this ongoing fiasco that takes place every November in Hollywood. Next year I shall bring a camera and sound crew and win the following years Oscar for best Documentary! Enjoy!




Dear ------ and ----,

First of all allow me to thank you for arranging for me to be allocated 8 tickets for the AFI Fest. I am grateful to you both for your efforts and also to the kind person who phoned me to make the initial offer following my e mail. Sadly almost nothing worked out as planned owing to the abject failure of the system and also the unbelievable ignorance of the individual volunteers used at the Theatre. Permit me to elaborate.

J. Edgar 11/03/2011

My wife and I arrived well in advance of the time scheduled for issuing tickets. We parked in Orange Street and on reaching street level were greeted by a crowd already lining up. 2 AFI people were present but were lost in conversation with one another. Fortunately several members of the line volunteered the information that theirs was the Rush Line. We left them and entered Hollywood Boulevard at which point we had to do the annual silly dance of crossing the Boulevard and walking 50 yards or so on the other side before crossing back to the Theatre side. This because the sidewalk is closed for VIP Arrivals even though none are there at that time. We headed for the end of the Line near Grauman's Chinese and established that this was indeed the line for ticket holders. This information initially came from fellow patrons as no AFI people were in attendance. Later a young lady went down the line checking that we were all in the correct line. I showed her the e mail from Leti, explained the situation and she confirmed we were in the correct place. some 30 minutes or so after joining the line another young lady arrived, asking the same question. This time she took the E Mail away with her and a few minutes later returned to inform us we were in the wrong line. It was never made clear to us what this line was actually for. Perhaps it was a Hot Dog Queue. We went, as instructed, upstairs to seek another line where the tickets would be forthcoming. Once again, nobody was evident from AFI and it was left to the guys at the front of the line to tell us where to wait. This proved to be about (guess) 50 yards from the front.. Nobody challenged our right to be in this line and so I approached a young lady sitting at a table on a corner some 20 yards ahead and she checked my name off the list, thus registering my arrival. What followed was about 90 minutes of agonizing standing while self important nobody's strode around looking oh so busy and informed. A young man positioned himself in front of us all and was told that he had to keep a fire line free "just in case" wholly understandable. To watch him police this imaginary line was classic cinema in itself. Every now and again he was distracted by a question from a patron in the line or from a new arrival. Fortunately he was unable to offer any information at all to anyone and then had to check and re check the position of his imaginary wall. Several patrons took to challenging this IL by crossing it but no action was taken and we all became bored. On three or four occasions AFI "Management" came along but most were ignorant of what was going on. Then we began to learn that you had "oversold" and that we might be placed in another Theatre instead of Grauman's. Eventually after the specified 90 minutes or so we were given two tickets for Row A. I suspect we were among the last ten people to get tickets for the main house. As you know the Movie was to start at 7.30pm but we did not take our seats until well after this time and were by no means last to arrive in the auditorium. What was interesting was to spot the large number of people who we had seen in the Line outside coming up to the second floor to join the rest of us. I would say at least 20 of the people downstairs had to leave their line and join ours.

I listened rather than watched Mr. Di Caprio's performance which seemed worthy of Oscar consideration and have told him so. We were able to see Mr. Eastwood from very close up because when he spoke before the Movie he was only about 10 feet away. 

Carnage 11/05/2011

Once again we arrived early, though it has to be said, later than the previous occasion. Based upon our previous experience we knew exactly which line to join and did so This time we found ourselves completely outside on the second floor. The line must have been 200 yards long. It continued to grow over the next hour or so On this occasion, AFI People were better informed and in the space of ten minutes about an hour after joining the line, we were told that there was no chance of getting in to see the Movie and then we were all told that nobody knew if that was true as they were still doing the sums. Then we were informed that the Theatre was full and if we wanted to leave, that would be ok. My wife and I chose to leave and had dinner instead.

My Week With Marilyn 11/06/2011

Based on our experiences from 11/3 and 11/5 we decided not to bother even trying to line up

Shame 11/09/2011

Again, in the absence of any assurances to the contrary, we opted to ignore the performance. Thus completing our involvement with AFI Fest 2011 a Festival we have enjoyed every year since arriving in the United States and joining AFI in 2007.

I have more issues that the patience to deal with them here but do propose to ask some fairly obvious questions.

1: Why do you not issue tickets to ticket holders for the Gala Premieres prior to the night?

2: Why do you not limit the number of tickets made available to all comers to the number of seats available in the Theatre?

3: What is the value of joining AFI if when Festivals such as this take place, your members are lumped into the same line as the general public who have decided to do nothing to support the AFI except take the free tickets, popcorn and Pepsi?

4: What steps do you intend to take next year to avoid this amateur farce and turn it into the professional Festival it should have become after 25 years.

Today I bought 2 tickets to take my wife to Graumans Chinese Theatre we will visit without the Festival nonsense and I tell you this,  the price was worth it to avoid this fiasco.

Over to you, please feel free to pass this e mail on to whatever level of AFI Management you may feel would be interested. 

A few words on unrelated subjects except that the older you get, the more you realise everything is connected. Let me begin by re-printing an e mail received from a native of my adopted country. I think she says everything I could hope to say about our current situation and in fewer words.


SHE IS PISSED, and SHE'S  GOT IT RIGHT !!!!



Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats.



Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS in Montana ... I think she is a little ticked off! She also tells it like it is!

"Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight..

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

3 My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud..

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN.

5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt.
To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for YOU.

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators called Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcases who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.

And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch. 

My next thoughts are on those friends or foes of ours (depends where you stand) namely WALMART!

You must read the ending.........................  
See the editorial under the last picture. That says it all!

    The Emma Maersk, part of a Danish shipping line,  is shown in the photos below. 

    
  
     What a ship....no wonder 'Made in China ' is displacing North American made goods big time.
     This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!! This is one of three ships
      presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012.                       

    

       These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China . They hold an incredible 15,000 containers and have a 207 foot deck beam!!  The full crew is just 13 people on a ship longer than a US Aircraft Carrie r (which has a crew of 5,000) With it's 207' beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals ..
        
                    It is strictly transpacific.. Cruise speed: 31 knots. 

The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on a China -to- California  run.  91% of Walmart products are made in China .
So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.     
 
The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded.  
  The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11 cargo crane rigs
   that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours.  
   

               Additional info:

               Country of origin - Denmark
                    Length - 1,302 ft
                    Width - 207 ft
                    Net cargo - 123,200 tons
                    Engine - 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110,000 BHP)
                    Cruise Speed - 31 knots 
                    Cargo capacity - 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)
                    Crew - 13 people !
                    First Trip - Sept. 08, 2006
                    Construction cost - US $145,000,000+

                Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water 
                resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.
  

   

  


  

  

  

               Editorial Comment!
           A recent documentary in late March, 2010 on the History Channel noted that 
           all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY. Yep, that's right. 
           We send nothing back on these ships. What does that tell you about
           the current financial state of this country? Just keep buying those imported
           goods (mostly gadgets) until you run out of money.

           Then you may wonder what the cause of unemployment (maybe even your job)
           in the U..S. and Canada   might be????  Or even in the UK with WalMart extending their operations over here.

            'Nuff said ??

    This message, if any, surely deserves forwarding, doesn't it ? 

  Anyone else frightened by that on this  the day before All Hallows Eve?  What made America THE World Power after WW2 was it's ability to manufacture the Worlds needs Food, Vehicles and on and on. Lose that ability and we are done.

So it cannot be said that my rants are all doom and gloom I will leave you with this annoying little game. Try it and enjoy This is still a great country full of ordinary citizens leading extraordinary lives.

http://www.chezmaya.com/jeux/game33.htm

Here is a complete understanding of the whole economic debacle in just 3 minutes! Courtesy of Australia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOzR3UAyXao

G'Day Folks!

Charlie Reese's Final Column - Orlando Sentinel

This is the content of an e mail sent to me this evening. I think the column is brilliant and exactly to the point. I just wish people like Charlie Reese would not retire but continue to write oped pieces until the bitter end. I thought this was so good I sent it to friends in the UK and Spain knowing the same truth applies there too.

This is the content of an e mail sent to me this evening. I think the Column is brilliant and exactly

545 vs. 300,000,000 People -By Charlie Reese Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does. One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank. I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House now? He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to. It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan … If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way. There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees… We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess! What you do with this article now that you have read it… is up to you. This might be funny if it weren’t so true. Be sure to read all the way to the end: Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table, At which he’s fed. Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule. Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts anyway! Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat. Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt. Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think. Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears. Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass. Tax all he has Then let him know That you won’t be done Till he has no dough. When he screams and hollers; Then tax him some more, Tax him till He’s good and sore. Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he’s laid… Put these words Upon his tomb, ‘Taxes drove me to my doom…’ When he’s gone, Do not relax, Its time to apply The inheritance tax. Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL license Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Excise Taxes Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon) Gross Receipts Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Taxes Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Personal Property Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service Charge Tax Social Security Tax Road Usage Tax Recreational Vehicle Tax Sales Tax School Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom, if agreed, stayed home to raise the kids. What in the heck happened? Can you spell ‘politicians?’ I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there !!! GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN!!! Our Author

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