My Personal Conspiracy Theory

I hope I'm completely off base, crackpot crazy for this...but just in case, I wanted the 9 to know.

Remember 2008? The Presidential race? Remember how it seemed it was going to be Hillary's race to lose? Obama was charismatic and young and everybody was talking about how he was a comer...but not just yet? Bush had all but burned us to the ground so there was no way in hell a republican was going to win...cut to, John McCain being forced to accept this powder puff "hockey mom" Palin as his running mate. Literally, out of the blue and overnight. And the "people" loved her! Those people. The same people who thought there was nothing shady about the fact they were being approved for mortgages they couldn't afford. Who have 20 credit cards. All maxed out. The wrestling fans, the Nascar fans, the HeeHaw nation who love their guns and their Pontiac Chargers and still harbor fond memories of when "whitey" ruled supreme. That guaranteed the powers that be - the "owners" of America, as George Carlin called them, that McCain was dead in the water and forced voters who's brains aren't made of Cheese Whiz to swing to the democratic choices. Now, I know we all wanted to believe that Obama turned the tide with his grassroots campaigning, his considerable charm and gravitas and offerings of Hope. But I believe the PTB (Powers That Be) set in motion a plan that would ultimately kill two birds with one stone and clear the path for another protracted republican reign once the smoke cleared...still with me?

During the '08 election the long dreamt of, theorized about possibilities of having a woman President or a black President became sharply real. So, why did the PTB throw all of their machinating efforts behind Obama and not Hillary? Because Hillary is a seasoned player. She spent 8 years in the White House and knows everything Bill knows. Whatever it is that they reveal to presidents after they're sworn in (that makes them age overnight), she already knows. She's smart, ruthless, knows the players, where the bodies are buried and would have given the PTB a run for their money. We all know how Obama has fared since the election. It's agonizing to watch how incredibly difficult things have been made for him. There's an email going around that touts his achievements in office thus far. And he HAS achieved things but you'd never know about it from the avalanche of media out there. Even Bill Maher's starting to turn. The PTB have done a number of epic proportions on this president and it'll be a miracle if he's reelected. And I'm sad to say, I don't think there'll be another black President any time soon. One bird down, one to go.

The PTB have been and continue to tee Palin up for the slam dunk in 2012. I know it seems as though that should be insanely preposterous but it's becoming less and less so. She's been running since 2008 and the media (owned by...say it with me...the PTB) is spoon feeding her to the Velveeta masses and they are eating her up like nachos. The Palin's are the very definition of white trash with credit. Bristol (no doubt named after the Bristol Creme Sarah was swilling when she got knocked up) IS the only DWTS contestant that didn't lose weight - you are so right, Kathy Griffin - and still almost WON. If that didn't send shivers up your spine...if the fact that the troops booed Griffin for making fun of the girl didn't make the hairs on your arm stand up, keep sleeping. But why, you ask, would the PTB support a nincompoop like Palin? Really?? Is it because they plan to stick their collective fist up her ass and work her like a puppet? I thought that until I watched the finale of Boardwalk Empire and remembered that this country is owned and operated by wealthy, white, conservative men. I think, once she's elected they will leave her dumb ass to flounder and fail and as her beloved grizzly supporters turn on her, the stone will have taken the 2nd bird down. One term and out and the consensus will be "Well, we gave the women and the blacks a shot and they're obviously not capable of running anything. And come 2016, the status quo will be restored as a white male republican president takes office. All accomplished in 8 short years.

Time will tell if I'm wrong and/or nuts...somebody that I shared this with privately pointed out that they didn't think the republicans were smart enough or had the resources to plot something like this. But the PTB are. And if I can think of it..surely some stupid old men can.

Please also read Aaron Sorkin's great piece on Huffington Post today. Brilliant.

A Pearl Revealed

Ok, I had to share this with you. As I'm driving home I go into one of my good meditative states and I'm feeling happy because something I created made someone laugh. Then that caused me to have a "This is your life!" moment about what experience had brought me to this point creatively.



Here's the Reader's Digest version. At the end of 2007, I was approached by a former colleague and friend. He had somehow latched on to some money guy in Utah and wanted to make a documentary that followed the Hillary Clinton campaign around before and up to her presumed election. He offered me the opportunity to direct it. And of course I said yes. I had just finished working my a** off on another challenging indie picture with shaky money and drama galore, so I was ready to jump into this. As we discussed it I began shaping it and making it mine. I wanted to explore how women, across the country, felt about power at this zenith period in time when we were fully expecting to have the first woman president. That's heady stuff. And as secretly afraid as I was to take this challenge on, I knew I could do it and that it could be really cool.

There was much talk about buying a winnebago filled with gadgets and having a driver. But even as the production package kept getting downgraded, I became more determined to do it no matter what. When we purchased the camera package and the Macbook Pro it was surreal... I know my way around a film set. I have an eye for setting up shots and good editing instincts but I had never done any of those things first hand. I had overseen. But when you are first confronted with equipment like that...the shit gets real, as they say. Like the first time I held a gun. So off we went on our grand adventure for what was supposed to be eight months. We got some amazing stuff on our first leg.

But in February the unexpected happened. Obama. Suddenly our investor didn't think it was such a slam dunk anymore. He and eventually my "friend" both wanted to pull the plug if Hillary didn't get the candidacy. It didn't end well. They owed me money but I had the equipment and the computer and all of the footage. At the time I was very discouraged and thinking "there goes my Sisyphean boulder again". But I realized this evening that they gave me a fantastic gift. Aside from the obvious monetary value. By ending up with that equipment and this computer, I was given the tools to spread my creative wings. Like I said, I had never been hands on with my creativity. I still had the studio mentality because that's where I started. So I never acknowledged the artist in me. But that forces you to be dependent on others to realize your vision...

I had to sell the bigger cameras and the equipment but ended up with a sweet little HD camera and my awesome MAC. Gradually I started really getting into working with imovie and Final Cut Pro and creating and shooting little videos for my one woman show and a bunch of other projects. And each time I'd be pushing myself to stretch further, learn more about these powerful tools at my fingertips! I'm eager to learn more and be able to express my vision in a visual medium as opposed to only on the pages of a script. I can spend endless hours editing or creating podcasts and websites. I never thought I'd be that person and now it seems as though that's who I was all along.

So, I recognize the gift. The pearl in the oyster, if you will. Thanks!