FYI for those of you who are interested in learning more about Eat To Live, I am selling an Eat To Live Bundle on ebay.

The set includes both of Dr. Fuhrman's DVDs, the 5 CD audio book "Disease-Proof Your Child", and an unused container of Dr. Fuhrman's Cocoa Powder (I bought it, then thought better of adding cocoa powder back to my diet -- too tempting!).

- "New Economic Partnership." NEP. Hmm. Sounds so familiar. Wasn't there another famous NEP somewhere? Some other exciting NEP cooked up by a really trustworthy and benevolent organization? Oh, now I remember.

Monday may finish the regular scheduled picketing until the New Year, but there's still a lot to do before everyone settles down for cookies and milk in front of the fire.

Tuesday (12/18) is the day writers of crime and cop shows turn out in force in Los Angeles and New York to stand up and be counted.

In Los Angeles, the best minds in pursuit of criminal activity will hold a rally at the original " scene of the crime", the headquarters of the AMPTP:

15503 Ventura Blvd at the corner of Firmament (a few blocks west of the 405), Encino

Lately my favorite non-dairy frozen treat is a simple frozen fruit sorbet: I push frozen bananas, pineapple, and strawberries through my Champion Juicer, and out comes perfect, creamy sorbet with no added sugar.

What we have been calling the "Union Solidarity Fund" is now officially called the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund. Our friends at the Foundation have stepped up to coordinate the tremendous outpouring of generosity from businesses, fans, writers, actors, directors and the public to help non-WGA professionals affected by the strike. We will link to information on how to apply for assistance as soon as it is on the Foundation site.

The Foundation is accepting donations now. Send them to 7000 W. Third St. LA 90048, and indicate "Industry Support Fund."

Happy Valentine's Day! Check out my Valentine's Menus post for ideas for tonight's dinner at home (what? you're going out? are you crazy?). I still have no idea what I'm making! Back to business....

I have the February Blues. I tend to get shack happy this time of year. I just want to shake it off! Friends have the flu. It's cold. I'm bored. I'm irritable with the hubby, kid, family. And it's not just me. Everyone else is too cranky to deal with. I think bears have the right idea. You go to sleep when it's cold, wake up and flowers are blooming. I wish I was a bear.

“RECONCILIATION” BENEFIT!

WHEN: Tuesday, March 4th at 8 p.m.

WHERE: The Laugh Factory

PROCEEDS WILL GO TO THE WGF INDUSTRY SUPPORT FUND

To celebrate the end of the strike, Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada will host a “Reconciliation” Benefit at the Laugh Factory, Tuesday, March 4th at 8 p.m. Proceeds go to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund to assist all those NON-WRITERS

This next story comes via Housing Panic and originates from CNNMoney.

Kent and Mysti Cope both worked for top subprime lenders. Mysti was at New Century Financial where she was a V.P. of eCommerce Customer Service while Kent was a Senior V.P. at First NLC Financial. With the subprime implosion, the couple suddenly went from two 6 figure incomes to absolutely nothing.According to CNNMoney, the Copes have about $10,000 per month in bills they got to pay. Not exactly a good position to be in when there's no steady income coming in.

Tomorrow night Jerry O'Connell ("Carpoolers," "Crossing Jordan") Kerri Kenney ("Reno 911," "The Ten," "The State"), and stand-up comedian Dan Mintz (writer, "Luckie Louie") will perform in Talk Show: The Talk Show at iO West Theater. Half the proceeds go to the Industry Support Fund - a fund set up by the WGA for non-WGA members affected by the strike.

Here are the details:
11pm THIS FRIDAY,

It's Thanksgiving week, and in the spirit of that we hope all our readers will take some time to help those in need to whatever extent they can.

The excellent LiveJournal community wga_supporters recently ran this note from David Rambo of CSI:

In Boston, WGA members and supporters rallied. Jamie Paglia (Eureka), Rob Kutner (Daily Show), Joss Whedon (Buffy/Firefly/Dollhouse)were all in attendance.

Check out more photos by viewing the Flickr photoset by Brad Searles.

Lots of good stuff to share.

- Patrick Goldstein of the LA Times is a sharp and skeptical columnist. He took a few shots at writers before the strike began. But in his most recent column, he argues that the companies are dead wrong to use fear of a digital future as an excuse not to cut in content creators. "If the studios really believe they can't share a sliver of profits with the people who create what they sell, they'll be the losers. If you don't believe in the future, you shouldn't be in show business."As Patrick writes, entertainment is a business built on optimism. Writers believe in the future. CEOs only seem to when investors are listening. Which is it going to be, guys?

The Industry Support Fund, founded by the Writer's Guild Foundation to provide financial relief to non-WGA industry members impacted by the strike, has raised over a quarter million dollars, and has already given away more than half of what they've raised. The fund anticipates continuing to donate $40,000 - $45,000 a month over the next several months as industry members find their feet financially.

The Writer's Guild Foundation is working closely with the Actor's Fund to help distribute the money. Separately, The Actor's Fund has spent half a million on strike-related relief since the beginning of the strike. A non-profit that offers an array of services to all performing arts professionals, The Actor's Fund is not just for actors. For more information check out their website at www.actorsfund.org.

To find out how to get help from the Industry Support Fund, or to make a donation, go to www.wgfoundation.org/supportfund.html.

HermesHautaCourroie

We've gone BANANAS! First I went ape for this monkey bento container from Japan. Then when Mr. Monkey arrived he needed his very own banana napkin. You can see how things went from there...

The top container holds two Tofu Lettuce Cups -- gingery tofu, peanuts, coconut and lime juice wrapped in buttercrunch lettuce leaves.

Tom Green has been getting all web 2.0 social media on us with a decent enough show that he broadcasts live nightly from his house. The Tom Green channel on the web displays his real home phone number for any and all to call and ask questions on air. Celeb guests like Perez Hilton, Tony Hawk, Dr Drew and Kenny+Speny come on over to Tom's house and bring items for later resale on eBay to raise funds to keep the show on the air. Viewers get to vote on what the funds are actually spent on (necessary vid equipment or a useless stuffed bear, for instance). Podcasts on iTunes, yep. Blog, yep. Mass calls to submit user-gen YouTube vids of you watching him.

All he needs now is a groundswell of viewers and paying advertisers and he has a disruptive model for the giants to be concerned about (or mimic).

Writer and actress Nia Vardalos, seen here with Phil Rosenthal and Tom McGowan, sponsored a toy drive this Monday. She had this to report:

So many people came by the Raleigh Van Ness Gate (WGA, TEAMSTERS and SAG) and we took two truckloads of toys to the fire station! People brought food for SOVA too – enough to fill two large boxes. It was so much fun, and a great feeling to be part of such an uplifting day!

Thanks to Nia for organizing the event, and thanks to all who donated!

Title: Hearts and Minds
Author: Rosy Thornton
ISBN: 978-0-7553-3388-2
Publisher:Headline review/2007
Pages: 341

I had read the review of this book on BookPlease's blog. I had left a comment there that I will read it if I get hold of it. The author, Rosy Thornton read my comment and she sent me an email offering me the book which I gladly accepted. After I started reading it, I had to finish it at one go.

storyboard moleskine
Originally uploaded by benbarren This is why I love my Moleskine storyboard so much (buy cheap from here or try your live ebay luck ere'), from CodingHorrors blog : "So how do we prototype the UI without relying on our development tools? One way is simple paper prototyping." - Saints are killing the dogs early in the first quarter, Frank Ozzie Arrigo will be happy !

Late Show writers talk on the picket lines about their determination to stay out until a fair deal is reached.

To all the late-night hosts who have stood with us in solidarity through this, and have paid out of their own pocket to keep their non-writing staff and crew from suffering, we can't say enough to thank them.

As the Industry Support Fund and The Actors Fund (which administers the ISF) continue to help industry workers who lost income and health care coverage during the strike, we offer this helpful post from freelance journalist and United Hollywood lover Becca Bryan. -TES

DON'T GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN! THE ACTORS FUND IS THERE FOR EVERYONE.

by Becca Bryan

As someone who has lost a few

From the very awesome Advergirl Blog - hat tip to Dave Armano's fierce Twittering:

Question: What blogs and books do I read to stay on top of trends?

Well, I should say that 'staying on top of trends' is a pretty relative term these days. But, to stay somewhat aware of the cool stuff in my tiny area of addiction/interest, here are my top picks:

Blogs:

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has been very supportive of our strike. They've paid for billboards reading, "Hey Studios... Do the Write Thing. 1.9 million janitors, healthcare workers, public employees, and security officers support the writers' struggle for fairness." At last week's union solidarity rally they marched with us, as they have on several other occasions.

Jamie Masada has offered to host a weekly show at the Laugh Factory (8001 W Sunset Blvd at Laurel, 323-656-1336) to benefit the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund. The first show will be held tomorrow, Wed. Dec. 19 at 10pm. Entrance to the show is free for anyone who makes a contribution to the Fund. Checks made out to the Writers Guild Foundation will be accepted at the door. The shows will continue for the duration of the strike. Donations of new toys and/or new winter clothing will also be accepted and distributed to those affected by the strike.

(The following is from WGA Member Joshua Beckett regarding the SEIU Rally that took place in downtown LA this past Thursday.)

Just wanted to brief those of you who missed the SEIU rally today. It was heartfelt...and loud!! There were many, many WGA members there -- it looked like there were almost as many WGA folks as SEIU marchers! And what a great feeling that was! Truly.