This letter was submitted anonymously by a working reality writer. He/She requires anonymity, because otherwise, he/she fears being fired for writing this.

Dear AMPTP,

Today, I read on your website, “thousands of people in reality and animation have chosen not to join the WGA.”
This statement is false.

As a writer (aka "Supervising Producer", the name I'm given to get around having to give me a WGA contract) who has worked in reality television for over three years and who knows many people on the reality circuit, I can tell you that reality writers desperately want to be part of the WGA.

The Gary Payton Rule (thu ger'-e pa'-tun rool) noun. The unofficial name for an NBA rule passed in 2005 which stipulates that players who are traded and then waived by their new team cannot sign back with the team that traded them for 30 days (20 days in the offseason).

Usage example: [From the LakersGround.net forums] "It's the Gary Payton rule, for when Gary Payton refused to report to Atlanta after being traded there from Boston."

Clark Gillies

New York Islanders 1979-1986
Buffalo Sabres 1986-1988

Legends of Hockey home page

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Other sites of interest:

I did it...it's finished...out there...being chewed, and heavily scribbled, over by my editor, in green ink. But I did it, it's over, a thing now with a life of its own, out there in the world... I don't know if this sad-happy feeling has a name.

Actually this is a little premature, there's a way to go yet...There is lots and lots of editing and weeks, and probably weeks, yet of fine-combing through it all — adding and subtracting and whatever else goes into the next stage. But this stage is over, deadlines have been met and everyone has read it, and I am left heart hammering in my chest, not knowing what to do with myself; waiting.

With a web site and press release that push hard to position the company as revolutionary, Disney today announced the launch of Stage 9 Digital Media. They claim to have 20 web series in various stages of development, ranging from comedy to science fiction. 

Tech Crunch's Eric Schonfeld wasn't impressed by Stage 9's first series, SQUEEGEES: "Lame doesn’t begin to describe this three-and-half-minute comedy about the hijinks of a window-washing crew ... What ABC fails to understand is that when it comes to Web video, authenticity trumps production values." 

NewTeeVees's Chris Albrecht characterizes SQUEEGEES as another example of big-media creating web shows that are merely "shorter versions of what already exists in old media." He calls the show "sit-comy" but funny, and he faults Disney for a cardinal internet sin: not allowing users to embed the show in their own sites. 

I started this blog about six months ago to say a few things about marketing, work out some of my ideas, discuss marketing and basically do like millions of others - have a take and see if anybody reads.

I've been writing less lately for a couple reasons: first, I've become quite busy with a number of other distractions and blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list. Second, I've become very frustrated with one little, tiny problem with Blogger: I can't post a picture!

The Basketbawful spies are everywhere. Literally. Case in point: The September issue of HOOP magazine, the NBA's official bi-monthly publication, contains a very special Easter egg. A seven-foot, two-inch, incredibly funny-looking Easter egg. Check out the S in HITS:

Okay, now take a closer look:

Yep. That's our boy. Here's a mug shot for comparison purposes:

"Man, I love playing crappy teams!"

Perverts of the world rejoice! A UK-based grad student named Joe Malia has invented a device that will allow you to post to your sports blog at work or view online porn at the public library. It's the Techno Privacy Scarf!!

Who needs dignity and self-esteemwhen you have porn and privacy?

Basketbawful reader Mithat Gurdal submitted the following picture, which proves once and for all that man love knows no boundaries, be they work or race-related...

Editor's note: Keep the man love coming, people. And I mean that purely in the "send me e-mail" sense of the word.

Funtastic extra: The word verification for this post? qqeeyr. Seriously.

Another attempt to catch up to Dewey's assignment this week, looking at storytelling in other forms than books. This week I thought it would be appropriate to discuss live theatre as a story form. Appropriate especially because this is opening week at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and I was lucky enough to attend the opening of Hamlet through the generosity of a friend with an extra ticket. Now, I think I've mentioned before that Hamlet is my favourite Shakespeare, as far as you can call favourites with Will. I've read Hamlet more than once, and have seen many versions performed on film and on stage. This week's performance was set in Edwardian times, mostly apparent through the costuming. The set was very sparse, as appropriate on the theatre's thrust stage, and the effect of lighting and of orchestration and on-stage musicians was to provide that illusory setting. It was really successful, though I did find some of the background music a little intrusive -- of course, I am a person who can't stand having the radio on when I'm trying to do something requiring thought, so maybe that's just me!

She Speaks to Nature
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Where is it going to? Because I seem to be losing all sense of it. I completed this piece on February 21st, five days ago tonight. Yet it feels like it was something I did ages ago.

I'm tired, so very tired. And I am sick with a cold round two just after recovering.

I was waiting to write the perfect post about what went into this piece but life just kept pushing it aside. Now nearly a week later and it still hasn't been written. But I love this piece too much to ignore it and not share it here in my blog. So much of myself went into the creation. Images taken from various sketches, block printing, gocco, collage and even some drawing and painting all dancing together on the stage of the canvas. They work together to hopefully create a vibrant and complex yet well balanced piece. Collage challenges me in a totally new way.

dirty triple (durt'-e trip'-uhl) noun. A triple-double in which one of the three "double" categories is blocked shots.

Usage example: Before he transformed into a creaky mummy, Dikembe Mutombo was a master of the dirty triple.

Word history: The term was coined by Basketbawful reader LooseChange. Here's what she had to say about it:

I was going to blame my blogging death on twitter. Score 1 - Microblogging. Once you go from multiple daily 500 word posts to bi-hourly 140 characters blackberry texts, your pen-ultimate stop is when you end up just clicking "share" on 5-12 posts from the 1200 feeds you read on google reader and think 'thats close enough to blogging'. But, the final nail in the coffin was the Moleskine Storyboard, which took most of my documented thoughts onto a 9 x 14cm pocketsize book. BenBarren.Blogspot.com didnt have a chance, till now.

my hair is dark
Originally uploaded by m.Lee My friend's cancer has spread, we don't know much more than that. Right now it seems like the best we can hope for is stage two. Stage four is very bad. Thirty-eight year old father of three young boys.

I'm having a friend over for lunch today because I could really use the company. He works from home so can bring his laptop and work in the living room. There is a great sandwich place about a ten minute walk from my place. They have popovers and lots of veggie options. They are much better than the hipster place down the street five minutes from me.

I am going to get back to drawing with my Wacom tablet before doing some light cleaning before my friend comes over. It isn't easy to use, but that is part of the fun.

It's been a while since I posted on an issue where I could let readers buy or sell. I'm bringing it back tonight.

I'm sure many of you remember back in June when University of Louisville reporter Brian Bennett was evicted from the press box in the fifth inning of Louisville's 20-2 victory for live blogging during the game. More recently the NCAA has adjusted their policy a bit this year to include regulations for live blogging all sports. In all their ridiculosity, here they are:

Fall Sports

Something I noticed over at Mellow Monk:

Not bookish (unless you count having 1000 arms as being more convenient for reading multiple books at once) but so fascinating! A representation of the Japanese goddess of Mercy, Senju Kannon, by a deaf stage troupe. It's quite beautiful.

man region (man re'-juhn) noun. The male genital area, consisting of a penis, scrotum, and (in most cases) two testicles.

Usage example: Nothing hurts quite like getting hit in the man region.

Word History: Beefy McManstick. Fandangled Mandangler. Longrod Von Hugenstein. Rodzilla. The Schlongmaster 2000. Zamboni Baloney. So many ways to refer to a man's Love Truncheon, so few of which can be used on national television. Broadcasters usually just say something insufferably lame like "he had the wind knocked out of him" or "he's shaken up." But now, thanks to the legendary Reggie Miller, we have a real option.

Here's a blogging meme I stole from Dewey. I should have another review posted tomorrow on The Grass is Singing, another Doris Lessing novel.

1. Do you remember learning to read? How old were you?
According to my grandmother, I learned to read at two. I can’t help but think she’s exaggerating, though. Perhaps she just means that I would read back the stories that she read to me. If she is correct, I’m a genius and I should be elected next ruler of the world. That is all.

2. What do you find most challenging to read?
I don't so much find anything in particular challenging to read; I do, however, find it challenging to read after a long day or when I'm tired. It's right to sleep if I do.

3. What are your library habits?

Okay. I have to admit, when I read that Shaq called Steve Nash on the phone and said, "I will not let you down," it gave me chills. Now that I've had a day to calm down, my glass is half full of Shaq. I still don't think it was the best move Steve Kerr could have made this season -- why didn't he go after KG last summer?! -- but Shaq, old and lame though he may seem, still brings a few things to the table. Hey, the Lakers won two championships in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final three seasons, and they might have gone for three in a row if Magic Johnson and Byron Scott hadn't gotten injured during the 1989 NBA Finals. And most of the criticisms aimed at Shaq -- namely that he can't keep up with the Suns' fast break, that he's lost his explodability around the basket, and that he's a slow-footed, ham-handed liability on defense -- were all levied against Kareem 20 years ago.

Yesterday was a bittersweet day of baseball for me. I was rooting for the Rockies to beat the Red Sox and try and make a series out of things. This was obviously a disappointment. However, upon finding out that Arod had turned down the Yankees, I was ecstatic and almost proud of him. I thought it was so cool that he was turning down the evil empire to go and play somewhere else. The only problem is in the way in which he did it.

Denver Nuggets defense: The Charlotte Bobcats are 20th in the league in scoring (95.4 PPG), but Denver let them score 119 points. That's the most points the Bobcats have scored since late last season, when they dropped 122 on the Wizards. Memo to the Nuggets: If you want to be legit, you can't let teams like Charlotte score 119 points on you. Still, despite all that, Denver would have won the game if not for...

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.

poster boy (pos'-tuhr boi) noun. A player who gets posterized, be it once, throughout a game, or repeatedly over the course of his entire career (see The Collected Works of Gregory Donovan Ostertag).

Usage example: Kyle Korver recently became the poster boy of the year.

"Hands...feel like...stone..."

stone hands (ston handz) noun. A term used to describe the hands of a player who has extreme difficulty -- note the emphasis on extreme -- catching a basketball, dribbling a basketball, passing a basketball, and finishing layups. In some radical cases, the player can't even dunk effectively. The dunk, of course, being a shot that's successfully converted something like 100 percent of the time. Let me put it another way: The only reason you would ever hand this person your baby is if you didn't want that baby anymore. Also, you probably shouldn't let him carry the grocery bag with the eggs and bread in it.

The NCAA Tournament is about a month away and I absolutely cannot wait. Here's our current projections of the top 4 seeds and conference winners.

1 Seeds
Memphis- Should easily be a 1 seed with the C-USA schedule
UNC- I think they'll prevail, once Lawson is back and to full strength they should just about win out and win the ACC Tourney
UCLA- they will win the Pac 10 tourney which should secure the 1 seed
Tennessee- the SEC is down this year and no one is really posing that much of a threat to them

2 Seeds
Kansas- should be a 1 seed, but Texas or A&M could easily knock them off in the Big XII tourney
Duke- I see them losing to UNC and possibly in the ACC Tourney
Georgetown- still have to play Louisville, Marquette, and UConn but two of them are at home. I see them at least making the Big East Tourney Final
Texas- playing as good as anyone now but tough schedule coming up

3 Seeds
Butler- Could easily win out but being a mid-major and easy schedule won't get them a 2 seed

"Free tacos?! Hell yeeeeeeeah!"
free taco excitement (fre tah'-ko ek-sit'-muhnt) noun. The (slightly irrational) enthusiasm that the crowd feels in the late stages of a live basketball game when the home team is close to reaching an activator on the back of the ticket that will provide the fans with free fast food. In many cases, this will rouse the crowd into a chanting, foot-stomping frenzy, even in the late stages of a meaningless regular season blowout.

I'm feeling like a lazy blogger today. I have things I can blog about but can't get into it. So, I'll use this meme from Dewey to inspire me (hopefully).