What Morris Kight thought it might be like in 2010

In a 1976 radio interview with Jonathan N. Katz (this Jonathan Katz NOT that Jonathan Katz), Morris Kight said: 

"By the year 2010 the population will have doubled. If you believe that we're doing a lousy job now think what it'll be like with the decline of fossil fuel, deterioration of air and water, world wide wars. A lot of troubles are coming. Society can be conned into believing a lot of lies. Gays as sick or sinful is a lie. There are a lot of other lies."

As much as Kight loved being right, I can't imagine he'd be too happy about being this right.

Congratulations to all who voted

Another election season over.  California did right by the blues and rest of the country was given back to the reds.  If all is fair in love and war, than it's even more fair in an elected government.  We need to sit tight and let the people do their jobs.

Representatives from the tea party have been in office for less than 48 hours and they aren't complaining about Obama--yet.

Prop 19, though it didn't pass it proved that there are at least 47% of voters in favor of legalizing personal use of cannabis.  This has propelled the conversation forward in a huge way.  Recently, while going through some newspapers from 1970, I found a number of editorials calling for the death penalty for pot use.  So, this may not be the prize we hoped for--but it is huge progress.  Don't discount that and know that the initiative will be back on the ballot.

Interesting note about Prop 19, it didn't win Humboldt County.  Humboldt is the growing capital of the world for cannabis.  It is big business and family business in those parts and those folk scrutinized this bill.  Tells me, they didn't like the taxing aspect and that it was, in fact, a poorly written initiative.

Meg-a-bucks Whittman was told by the California voters what she can do with her almost 150 million dollars.  These were obscene amounts of money spent on this election, but Meg outdid all.  It's obscene because of the number of folk standing in food lines and sleeping on the streets.  She couldn't fix the world with her money anymore that she'd fix California with her "business expertise."

Glad to see Carly go away.

And oh so glad that California told those two Texas gazillionares what they can do with their oil.  There was a loud shout of "No on 23" heard throughout the state.

Game on.

Vote!

November 2 - get prepared, review your sample ballot, know the issues and understand your position.  It's your civic duty.  This is the only "homework" we really get in life--to effectively participate in our government.

I voted today.  I always vote early and vote by mail.  I enjoy the process.  I spent a little time online this afternoon researching the judicial appointments.  Most of these are "yes" or "no" votes (should they be elected to the office).  It can be a little complicated.  If you live in California, I found a cool website that helps you to "choose your judges," the three Supreme Court Justice choices.  It is a system, based upon your personal answers to a short survey, how you would likely vote based upon your values and preferences.

The rest of the judges, you're on your own.

If you're looking for some opposing views on the judges, this site is much more right-leaning than myself, but it's a good comparison and I use this as a "Reality Check," meaning that if this guy is for something then I'm generally not.

For the State Measures, there are some excellent resources with organizations recommendations.  My recommendation is for your to check out a few of these, compare them, and then check your own conscience and vote the way you truly want to see the world operate. 


League of Women Voters go over the Measure quite thoroughly, you can get a lay-man's understanding of the issues and the impacts.

Go beyond your comfort level a little this time.  I am a big proponent of dismantling the two-party system and we'll do that not by creating a three-party system.  We'll dismantle the two-party system by not supporting the parties.  Support the candidate, the idea, the value system, support the hair cut if you must.  But be willing to see beyond your party lines. 

The most important thing is- Vote.

Los Angeles Irish Film Festival

Thursday, the last day of September 2010, was a huge successful festive kick-off to the fourth LA Irish Film Festival at the new location for the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences (on Vine Street in Hollywood). 

The festival kicked off with two rare silent films, great finds from the archives, with an original musical composition by the extremely talented Eimear Noone.  From 1914 is a film about the story (one of the many stories) of Ireland's fight for independence using patriot Father Tom Murphy, who had a price on his head, and the famed Irish leader (depending upon who you talk to) Robert Emmet.  Included is news footage from the day that included a piece with the big man himself, Michael Collins.  the second silent film, with an original composition by Noone, was the very funny "William Rogers in Dublin," from the American Cowboy's trip to the city in 1927.  It was most likely Rogers who, unwittingly, set a precedent for teasing the Irish just for being Irish.

The festival was off to a successful start and officially began with the contemporary dramady (a word the Irish probably detest), "Pierre's Bounty."  Unfortunately, it won't get a wide release in the States but will be available on DVD.  It's funny, it's unpredictable, and it has the ever so good Jim Broadbent. 

Followed by cheer and regalia till sometime in the early hours of the first day of October, 'twas a good start to a weekend of talent and cheer.

I was back for the closing night (I prefer to bookend these kinds of things) at the Aero Theatre on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica.  The documentary, "BallyBrando," about the making (or the monumental unmaking) of a film "Divine Rapture," that had begun filming in Ballycotton in 1995 starring Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Debra Winger, and John Hurt.  After 10 days of filming in the small Irish village, the movie came crashing down on everyone's hopes when the young producer, Barry Navidi, found out that he'd been "had," and the escrow account that contained all the production monies was a fraud.  some of the best interviews include the village locals who entertained and boarded the American interlopers, only too briefly.  Brando's cook said, that Brando told her that Ireland made him feel "more at home here than anywhere else in the world.  It's nice because this was all weeks after the disastrous suicide of his young daughter, Cheyenne.  Perhaps the documentary will do what the feature film could not do, put Ballycotton on the motion picture map.  If you ever had the opportunity to see this documentary, see it.

Followed by a brief Colin Devlin set on his acoustic and electric guitars.  Good stuff.

The festival closed with a screening of the 1990 film, "The Field," starring Richard Harris and, once again, John Hurt (can't really get enough of John Hurt).  "The Field," is a poignant, yet sad, tale of an Irishman and his field and an American interloper coming back "to find his roots," as the locals sneer.  This Ireland at its most heartbreaking, depressing, and it's what gives them a reason to drink.  Jim Sheridan, the film's director, was at the last minute unable to make the evening.  He was supposed to conduct a tribute to Richard Harris by way of interviewing Harris' three grown sons, Jared, Damian, and Jamie (and his grandson joined them on stage but I didn't catch the young boy's name).  Middle son Damian was a bit snarly and wouldn't take the bloody gum out of his mouth as he spoke.  All three work in the film industry, to varying degrees of success.  Their talk, moderated by Paul Quinn, was unfocused and did little to enlighten anyone but to the fact that as children these boys met a lot of famous people.  One of the brother's began with, "well, my step father is Rex Harrison," and that pretty much began the litany of names dropping.

A reception followed across the street from the Aero at EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY (a children's book and art store).  They kindly opened their doors for us as their first public opening.

The series was compiled by Lisa McLaughlin-Strassman (who also uncovered the two silent films that opened the weekend) and Juli C. Lasselle.  Gwen Deglise assisted. Rachele Rath, my new friend, organized the voluteers.

Any day is a good day to be Irish, but this was the best weekend to be Irish in Los Angeles.  Thank you to the Irish Film Board for keeping their doors open in these economically challenging times and for funding some of the best artists in the world.  I felt like I was in the middle of the Saudi Arabia of Northern Europe--there is an oil well of talent yet to be found.

Blessings to all!

Fagots Stay Out

This is the sign that hung in a neighborhood bar in West Hollywood from the mid-fifties to 1970.  This is how Morris Kight tells the story:


"This sign was a great catalyst for the gay movement.  In spring of 1970 we did a change-in, sit-in, shop in, boycott and picket.  It took all that to persuade [the owner] to surrender us the sign and to never discriminate again in employment or service."

The pickets went on for months and in an unusual twist for the times the LA County Sheriff's were on the side of the demonstrators.  Especially odd since the sign went up in the fifties when the Sheriff's Department warned the owner that his place was picking up "a reputation."

So the the sign came down in 1970 and became a central piece in the Morris Kight Collection.  The new owner of the place (escrow hadn't even closed when the demonstrations began) enjoyed the free publicity that the sign (and the demonstrations) generated that he scrawled out a new fagots stay out sign (questionable spelling and all).  That sign would get taken down and put back up over the years.  At one point, he even had it match books printed.  Finally, West Hollywood incorporated in 1984 and the very first thing the newly elected mayor did was to march into the bar and demand that that sign come down and that discrimination against homosexuals would no longer be tolerated.

Washington D.C., did you hear that?

9/11 12,13,14...

And life goes on. It's different, sure. Those who are eager to pontificate will ask, 'what did we learn?' Well, we learned that there are no weapons of mass destruction--other than our own imaginations. But I'm not certain everyone of us learned that.

Our 9/11 memorializing has turned into "angry protests." We are set upon ourselves. We are determined not to get along. We, human beings, always return to a pattern of isolating a group of individuals for being a certain way. It's a pattern since long before WWII and Nazi Germany. Humans need to hold themselves above other humans. It's odd when you stand back and simply observe the behavior. I recently came across the Dr. Martin Niemeller poem, First they came:

In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time, no one was left to speak up.

Dr. Niemeller, a German theologian and a Lutheran pastor, anti-Nazi, wrote that poem sometime around 1955 (there are disputes over the exact time of writing and the exact wording)
years after WWII ended. Today, I'm so sorry to say, we'd have to add a line about Muslims. What we, the collective American bargaining-away-civil-liberties We, are saying is that they--simply because they are Muslim--are not afforded equal opportunity because of who they are. This is race bait. We treat them differently, like bogeymen, simply because they are not like us. There is no proof that the iman or anyone involved with the "Cultural Center," is a terrorist, is associated with terrorist activities, or will harbor and train and provide seven lucky virgins for every terrorist in America.

And there were NO weapons of mass destruction.

People are saying it's an issue of "sensitivity." Yes, sensitive to all races and creeds. It's in the constitution--not in those exact words but certainly in the spirit of "being sensitive."

The owner of the property sited for an Islamic Cultural Center did not accept Trumps offer of 25% over what he paid for it. Yeah, yeah it's trump tooting his horn again but there is some legitimacy to the idea that this is not about money for the Muslim community. Does that make sense to anyone else?

This is about the bigger principles upon which we lean everyday. If this country wants to tout freedom of religion, then we need to exercise tolerance.

What I'd like to see--maybe this could work out--if the Muslim community behind the Cultural Center would extend an area, a space to share all religions. A place where every person who was killed in the Towers that day will be represented through their religion.

And then watch the bigots shout and go at each other.

Baked

Mark Haskell Smith has just released his third novel, Baked. It was the perfect summer detour for me having been hugging the non-fiction for the past few years for the Kight biography. Baked took me on a ride through the marijuana industry (and make no mistake about it folks--it is an industry), introduced me to a stray Mormon, some (new) kinky sex tricks, and inside the head of an LAPD detective desperately in need of a vacation.

I've been so wrapped up in piecing together a non-fiction story, the life of Morris Kight, that I may have forgotten the joy of writing for the sake of the joy of writing. Haskell Smith gently reminded me of what I've been missing.

I wish Mark Haskell Smith all the success in the world with Baked.

Now back to my regularly scheduled input/output. But I'll be blogging more.