Writers Guild of America Solidarity Beard Update #6

You want to know what kind of weasels the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (or NAMBLA*) really are? They worked out a tentative deal with the Directors Guild for many of the same new media compensation issues that WGA writers want.

That's not bad, in and of itself, but at its core it's vile and insulting. Why?

Because now even fictional directors like Alan Smithee** will get compensation for Internet revenues while real people with families are still walking in picket lines.


My solidarity beard has gotten longer, and when I put on Ray Bans these two guys showed up and started following me around. They are teaching me the lyrics to "Sleeping Bag" and how to play guitar.

* © 1999-2008 Jon Stewart, and still funny every time he says it
** A name they stopped using a decade ago, but my point is still valid

Ellen Page/Writers Guild of America Solidarity Beard Update #5

Consider today's post a membership drive effort. You just tuned in to NPR for This American Life, and Ira Glass is asking you to pledge five bucks. Except I'm not asking for cash, and I won't be able to lure you with Sarah Vowell's lovely speaking voice.

Since David Letterman resumed The Late Show Wednesday night, Rider's Block has been viewed by no fewer than 40 unique hits in 36 hours due to Google searches for "writer's guild strike beard." My blog seems to be the top search result for that phrase.* (There's also the troubling visit I got from a branch of the U.S. Government, viewable here, but I won't get into that.)

And last week's searches for quotes from Hard Candy, detailed here, continue to bring in multiple hits a day.

I'd be a world-class idiot to not use these searches to attract readers, wouldn't I?

So here's Ellen Page, star of Hard Candy and Juno, with a Writers Guild of America solidarity beard.


My request of you, O Wise Searcher of Blogs: If you were amused by this post, stick around and read more. Bookmark it. Come back tomorrow. If you've never read a blog before, this is what Rider's Block is about. If the mood strikes, leave a comment. If you have a blog, I will link to it and read it. And if you roll your cursor above most of the images here, you're rewarded with hidden caption-treasures that tickle the spirit.

I'm trying to network, you see, for reasons I'll explain at the end of January.

Thanks for stopping by.

* I'm not among the top search results anymore. It dropped off overnight. But still.

Writers Guild of America Solidarity Beard Update #4

Late Show with David Letterman will return on Wednesday with its writers. Even the one who is growing his own solidarity beard. (Be patient while the blog loads--some genius decided 100-plus images on a single page was a good idea.)

My TiVo's "Now Playing List" is getting bare-bones. I'm in denial about no new 30 Rocks or The Offices, and I'm down to the last two Colbert Reports from before the strike.


In the meantime, my own facial hair is changing color and getting longer.

Writers Guild of America Solidarity Beard Update #3

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are going back to work in two weeks, and my beard has spread all over my body in happiness.


I'll be watching, of course, and not for the train wreck factor. Both those dudes can and will be funny as hell without writers. Come on, it's a stand-up comedian and a guy from Second City.

What I want to see are more television shows winging it without scripts. Viewers of Life According to Jim and 'Til Death would notice little or no difference. I'd watch Carson Daly's show if it went interactive and parts of his body and brain were wired to behavioral-modification-through-electrical-shock switches on the Interweb. That might give me a reason to tune in/participate. Repeatedly.

And, seriously, I'd pay to watch Jorge Garcia just drive around the island in his VW bus and screw up Lost continuity with shit he makes up while stoned on Maui Waui. The flash-forwards could show him in the 30th century fighting the lizard-aliens from V with a scantily-clad Libby at his side.

When the writer's strike is over, they can explain it all away by finding Hurley hallucinating in a field. Then for the remaining episodes he'll be in the background munching out on Dharma chips and cookies.

Writers Guild of America Solidarity Beard Update #2

As the number of unwatched Daily Shows and Colbert Reports that I stockpiled months ago dwindle in my TiVo queue, the reality of the strike is hitting home.

Here's a perfectly executed swipe at Viacom by Jon Stewart's writers. It's worth watching just to hear the phrase "herpes in their nasal passages."



Of course my lush facial hair continues to grow--at an uncoordinated snail's pace--much to the amusement (and aggravation) of my female readers. But it's the effort that counts here, gals.

Writers Guild of America Solidarity Beard Update #1

OK, I'm not actually a member of the WGA. And, yeah, I didn't stop using my razor until ten days after the protest actually began. (It's also true I let it grow for reasons that had nothing to do with the strike.)

The fact remains: I'm an aspiring writer and I'm out of work at the same time as my professional brethren.

This is my beard at three weeks and counting.


The next time you sit down in front of your TiVo and feel utterly disgusted that a show like Crowned gets air time, think about the folks who actually create content for the comedies and dramas you love the most.

'Cuz right now they're out there carrying signs and sporting beards at least ten days longer than mine.