This was sent out today by the WGA:

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK – The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) today voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting

This email was just sent to strike captains. It contains info on the NegCom vote, the Board and Council votes, the pending vote to lift the strike, and the pending vote to ratify the contract.

DEAR STRIKE CAPTAINS,

This morning, the WGA Negotiating Committee unanimously and unconditionally recommended the terms of the proposed 2008 MBA to the WGAW Board and WGAE Council. The Board and Council

Rich Gossage was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame today. He received an astounding 86% of the vote, and was the only player on the ballot who was elected. Congratulations to him.

Jim Rice was denied for the 14th time. He fell just 16 votes short, and now has just one final chance to make it from the baseball writers before his eligibility runs out. He received 392 votes, or 72.2% of the votes cast. Bert Blyleven, another very worthy candidate, was denied yet again, too.

The travesty for both continues.

For clarity -- and because not everyone could get to one of the meetings last night in NY or LA -- here's a handy little FAQ for some of the questions we're hearing.

What's the 48 hour vote for again?

It's a vote on whether or not to lift the strike (which in the Constitution is called "the restraining order".) If the vote passes, writers can go back to work.

It's not a vote on the contract,

Tomorrow afternoon, the baseball writers will announce their choices (if any) for the 2008 class for the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are a few worthy candidates on this year's ballot, and one I really hope finally gets the call is one James Edward Rice.

With all the hubbub going on about "The Steroids Era" and The Mitchell Report, this should work into Jim Rice's favor this season. He was simply one of the best hitters of his era, and a bit underappreciated. His vote totals have gone up in recent years (even if they did recede slightly last year), as many writers have taken a second look at his accomplishments.

12/12 and 12/13, 1-4pm, at the WGA Theater: 135 S. Doheny Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90211

David Milch will host two days of discussion, focused on creating a new, participatory business model for writers. Please remember that parking at the theater is limited, and available on a first come, first served basis.

The second day of David Milch's The Idea of the Writer: A Writing Discussion will begin at 2:15pm, an hour later than originally scheduled, to allow people picketing time to get to the WGA Theater.

Thursday 12/13, 2:15pm-4:00pm
WGA Theater
135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

David Milch (creator "Deadwood," "NYPD Blue") will host a discussion at the Writer's Guild Theater titled "The Idea of the Writer." There is no cover charge for this event and all are welcome on a first come, first serve basis. Limited parking is available at the theater.

People keep asking me who I'm planning to vote for Tuesday and I didn't have an answer -- it was a very tough call. Then I saw an ad last night in which Robert Kennedy Jr. endorses Hillary, and that sealed the deal.

I'm voting for Obama.

If at approximately 12:10pm tomorrow, Nick Counter reverts to his true form (a writhing pile of worms), well, he was warned. -JAWe, the horror writers of the WGA, don't necessarily believe that the AMPTP is evil. Rather, we believe they've been invaded by evil spirits whose devilish agenda is the destruction of our Guild. For this reason we have decided to conduct this exorcism for the mutual benefit of this industry. We may be dark souls, but we do believe that good eventually triumphs over evil.

We encourage our brothers and sisters in horror to join our procession by emailing Jace Anderson at creepymofo [at] roadrunner [dot] com or Scott Kosar at scottkosar [at] mac [dot] com. And, of course, we welcome ALL writers to come and support our fight at Warners Gate 4, Tuesday at noon.Today was the toy drive, tomorrow the demon drive.

Cast from THE OFFICE: Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez and Ed Helms, along with Kate Walsh (GREY'S ANATOMY, PRIVATE PRACTICE), Mo Collins (MAD TV), and Robert Ben Garant (RENO 911) join the cast of the "Armando Show" at iO Theater to raise money for the Industry Support Fund.

Cast from THE OFFICE backstage at the show:

Kate Walsh:

Robert Ben Garant:

A special message from organizer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2008

Writers Guild Members Overwhelmingly Ratify New Contract

LOS ANGELES – The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have issued the following statement regarding Contract 2007 negotiations:

“The Writers Guild has reached a binding independent agreement today with Worldwide Pants that will allow Late Night with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return to the air with their full

Digby, (who has turned off commenting apparently because it bugs her when people figuratively yell at each other by hurling photons down fiber optic cables) gives this account of the battle for California's Democratic voters -- Obama reaching past the cerebral cortex to forge a mystic connection with the lizard brain, Clinton's generals meticulously marshalling the troops. Note that in neither case is the election about public policy.

And of course it cannot be. Elections are about very expensive theater, as edited and repackaged by a corporate media with its own bizarre obssessions that have no discernible relationship to any definition of the national interest or the interests of any definable group within society except for their own self adoring selves; and as transmitted directly by the campaigns to the extent they can pay for advertising. Secondarily, once sufficient brains have been rewired by the dramaturgy, the zombies have to be marched to the polls, which is where the military-style organization comes in.

All of this costs immense amounts of money, so that's where it all begins. And that's our form of government -- a moneyocracy.

I'm in China this week, attending a conference on antidiscrimination law organized by the Yale Law China center and Sichuan University held at Chengdu in Sichuan province.

Speaking of discrimination, a law student who picked me up at the airport explained to me that he had heard of Balkinization in China but that, at least in Chengdu, the site was blocked. When I got to the hotel I checked and sure enough, he was right.

(I was able to determine that the site is still up in the United States by using a proxy server).

It is not entirely clear why Balkinization is sufficiently subversive that its content is blocked in China; however, Interent blocking schemes are often arbitrary.

Masi Oka (Hiro) came to support the writers, along with many of the rest of the cast.

Writers, actors and fans of the show "Heroes" all picketed together at Universal on Tuesday.

Check out the whole album to see everyone together on the lines (and see what Claire's dad looks like without the hornrims.)

photos by Mark.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) issued the following statement regarding the Golden Globe Awards today. So despite rumors to the contrary, it certainly does look like the Globes will be held behind a picket line.
Personally, I am still voting for the black tie pickets, and coverage on the Internet of anyone who choses to join us. Of course, since the Internet is so new-fangled and

HOOT, HOLLER AND LAUGH WITH STRIKING WGA MEMBERS AT iO WEST THEATER

While the more than eight-week old WGA strike is anything but funny, the staff at iO WEST is standing up and speaking out to provide some relief for the writers in the form of comedy and donations.

In a show of solidarity, every Monday during the month of January, iO WEST’s hit show, “The Armando Show,” will be donating half

I've been avoiding a few big-time classics for awhile, mainly because they are so long.

I've decided to buck up and read at least one of them, and, since I'm so bad at making decisions, I thought I'd leave it up to you. With that I bring you Reading Faceoff, Round One: Classics Edition. Voting ends in two days, so vote now! Feel free to comment to further explain your choice.

UPDATE: Voting is closed! I didn't mean to delete the poll, but I did and I guess life just sucks, doesn't it? Take my word for it: Anna Karenina won, with a whopping (not really whopping, but I like the word) 40% of the vote.

I don't expect to have finish it too too soon...procrastination is still my forte, and I've been putting this one off for years. So, expect a post on it...soonish.

National Pubic Radio does a lot of those person on the street interviews with prospective primary voters, and while they are not good for my blood pressure, they force me to confront an inconvenient truth. Here are the Republican voters I've heard recently:

• A guy whose number one priority is getting the U.S. out of Iraq. He has decided to vote for John McCain because McCain's a military veteran, and that means he's the guy who knows how to end the war and bring the troops home. One major problem with that theory is that McCain has absolutely no intention of bringing the troops home. On the contrary, he says that he doesn't mind if they stay there for 100 years.
• A woman who says that she's going to vote for Mitt Romney because "he's a committed Christian, and he isn't ashamed of it." Uh, lady -- I've got news for you.
  

SCI FI CHANNEL DAY FOR FANS & WRITERS:
Jaime Paglia, co-creator of "Eureka" is inviting fans to join the writers, producers and cast members from Sci Fi Channel's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, EUREKA, FLASH GORDON, PAINKILLER JANE, and others for a rally at NBC Studios.

12 noon - 2 pm at NBC STUDIOS, 3000 W. Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA.

SPOOKY WEDNESDAY AT WARNER BROS:
For the last two Thursdays writers

Everyone here at The Sports Flow is encouraging you to get out and vote at your states primary or caucus today. Exercise your right to vote, there is nothing more fundamental than our very own right to vote. This year, your vote matters more than ever. More and more people are turning out to vote, people want change. Our country is pretty divided right now, so your vote does indeed matter more than ever this year.

Woohoo, it is Friday! I really did not want to get out of bed this morning. It was super cold. We should have probably put on the heat last night. I also woke up at 2am this morning to go to the bathroom, so I feel like I didn’t sleep very well. The cold weather is making my fibromyalgia act up. I am really achy this morning. How difficult is it to set up a live web cast? I was thinking of web casting my baby shower for friends and relatives that will be unable to attend.

Hollywood with a capital H:

SuperTuesday is fast approaching, the closest thing to a national primary we'll likely ever see. It's time to lay down a marker for what we expect from election administrators on Tuesday. No polling place -- not one -- should run out of ballots on Tuesday.

Last night I received a very nice email from Victoria G., a nice 10-year-old girl from Massachusetts, who also happens to be a Red Sox blogger. Victoria alerted me to the fact that she is in the running for the position of Captain of Red Sox Kid Nation.

Red Sox Kid Nation currently having the vote to determine the final 12 Captains, and there are 25 kids currently in the running, between the ages of 10 and 14, including Victoria. They were originally selected from a pool of 700 contestants, from all over the United States. Victoria has done some wonderful things to help people in her neck of the woods, like raising money for breast cancer research, helping her local baseball team and helping feed hungry people. And of course, she is a dedicated fan of the Red Sox.

To find out more about the Red Sox Kid Nation Captains contest and how to vote for Victoria, go here.

This past Wednesday, I entered a contest over at the great web site Surviving Grady, as Red and Denton asked fans to write in with "the one person you'd love to spend a day with at Fenway Park." It could be anyone, living or dead, and you had to explain why. The winner gets the new 6-DVD set, "The Essential Games of Fenway Park."

The site got hundreds of entries, and the boys had a tough time narrowing it down to five. So, they expanded it to ten, and this morning, they announced on their site the finalists.

And my entry is one of the ten finalists.

I'm really blown away that it was chosen. If you go over to Surviving Grady, you can read it. It's not hard to figure out which is mine, but if you go to the fifth of the ten, "Dear Friend," that's mine.

December 16, 2007

Dear Writers Guild of America Members,

I am writing to you on behalf of 120,000 proud members of Screen Actors Guild who stand with you in solidarity as your strike continues. We believe that now more than ever, we must remain strong and even more committed to achieving our common objectives. We are proud to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with you and SAG will be there for as long as it takes.

Your fight is our fight. Our National Executive Director Doug Allen and I are working around the clock with Patric Verrone and David Young to coordinate our strike support efforts. I'm sure you have seen some of the thousands of Screen Actors Guild members who've been walking the picket lines in Los Angeles, New York and around the country for the last six weeks.

(News Release from the Writers Guild of America)

Hundreds of Screen Actors Guild Members Join Picket Lines Outside Universal Studios

on Day Nine of WGA Strike

UPDATE: WGAw membership meeting this Saturday, February 9, at 6:30 PM. Shrine Auditorium, 649 W Jefferson Blvd 90007.

Last Friday, WGAw President Patric Verrone gave this interview to United Hollywood's Jeff Berman. When asked about rumors, Verrone says flatly, "They're never true."